A proposal for an operational methodology to assist the ranking-aggregation problem in manufacturing

Abstract Ranking aggregation is an ancient problem with some characteristic elements: a number of experts, who individually rank a set of objects according to a certain (subjective) attribute, and the need to aggregate the resulting expert rankings into a collective judgment. Although this problem is traditionally very popular in fields such as social choice, psychometrics, and economics, it can also have several interesting applications in manufacturing, e.g., for customer-oriented design, reliability engineering, production management, etc. Through a case study related to cobot-assisted manual (dis)assembly, the paper illustrates an operational methodology and various useful tools that assist in tackling the problem practically, effectively, and with a critical mind. The most relevant proposed tools assist in estimating the degree of concordanceamong experts, the collective judgment’s consistency and robustness. The paper is aimed at scientists and practitioners in manufacturing.