A Case Investigation of Product Structure Complexity in Mass Customization Using a Data Mining Approach

Abstract

This paper presents a data mining method for analyzing historical configuration data providing a number of opportunities for improving mass customization capabilities. The overall objective of this paper is to investigate how specific quantitative analyses, more specifically the association rule Apriori, can support the development within the three fundamental mass customization capabilities. The results of the Apriori analysis can be utilized for improving the configuration process by introducing soft constraints and consolidating the product structure by joining components or modules and finally for improving production planning and control.