On the Use of Fuzzy Inference Systems for Assessment and Decision Making Problems

The Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) is a popular paradigm for undertaking assessment/measurement and decision problems. In practical applications, it is important to ensure the monotonicity property between the attributes (inputs) and the measuring index (output) of an FIS-based assessment/measurement model. In this chapter, the sufficient conditions for an FIS-based model to satisfy the monotonicity property are first investigated. Then, an FIS-based Risk Priority Number (RPN) model for Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is examined. Specifically, an FMEA framework with a monotonicity-preserving FIS-based RPN model that fulfils the sufficient conditions is proposed. A case study pertaining to the use of the proposed FMEA framework in the semiconductor industry is presented. The results obtained are discussed and analyzed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.