Developing performance measurement system for Internet of Things and smart factory environment

To cope with large fluctuations in the demand of a commodity, it is necessary for the manufacturing system to have rapid reactive ability. This requirement may be secured by performance measurement. Although manufacturing companies have used information systems to manage performance, there has been the difficulty of capturing real-time data to depict real situations. The recent development and application of the Internet of Things (IoT) has enabled the resolution of this problem. In demonstration of the functionality of IoT, we developed an IoT-based performance model consistent with the ISA-95 and ISO-22400 standards, which define manufacturing processes and performance indicator formulas. The development comprised three steps: (1) Selection of the Key Performance Indicators of the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), and the development of an IoT-based production performance model, (2) Implementation of the IoT-based architecture and performance measurement process using Business Process Modelling and (3) Validation of the proposed model through virtual factory simulation. We investigated the effect of the IoT-workability on the OEE, based on the final results of the simulation, both for the planned and actual productions. The simulation results showed that the proposed model represented the timestamp data acquired by IoT and captured the entire production process, thus enabling the determination of real-time performance indicators.     

RFID-enabled product-service system for automotive part and accessory manufacturing alliances

Automotive part and accessory manufacturers (APAMs) at the lower tiers of automotive vertical supply chains have been responding to major initiatives taken by leading vehicle assemblers in adopting RFID (radio frequency identification) and ubiquitous computing technologies to alleviate their manufacturing systems. RFID-enabled real-time traceability and visibility facilitate and enhance the implementation of advanced strategies such as just-in-time (JIT) lean/responsive manufacturing and mass customisation (MC). This paper reports on findings gained from a series of industrial field and pilot studies conducted within collaborating companies. Being typically small and medium sized, APAMs are faced with business and technical challenges that are summarised by the so-called ‘three high problems’, namely high cost, high risk and high level of technical skills. This research takes a more cost-effective pragmatic approach to overcome the ‘three high problems’ by sharing out the problems among APAMs while taking a longer-term, expensive and lengthy, approach to absolutely reduce the problems. The sharing approach requires the establishment of an innovative service-oriented framework, abbreviated AUTOPS, based on the Product Service Systems (PSS) business model. RFID hardware devices are innovated into gateways as hardcore products to formulate a PSS. RFID-enabled real-time services are deployed at a common platform across members of an APAMs alliance. AUTOPS facilities are shared by APAM alliance members to reduce the start-up investment costs, reduce the level of required specialist skills, speed up installation processes and streamline maintenance services, and improve the reliability of the RFID gateway services.     

An event-driven manufacturing information system architecture for Industry 4.0

Future manufacturing systems need to be more flexible, to embrace tougher and constantly changing market demands. They need to make better use of plant data, ideally utilising all data from the entire plant. Low-level data should be refined to real-time information for decision-making, to facilitate competitiveness through informed and timely decisions. The Line Information System Architecture (LISA), is presented in this paper. It is an event-driven architecture featuring loose coupling, a prototype-oriented information model and formalised transformation services. LISA is designed to enable flexible factory integration and data utilisation. The focus of LISA is on integration of devices and services on all levels, simplifying hardware changes and integration of new smart services as well as supporting continuous improvements on information visualisation and control. The architecture has been evaluated on both real industrial data and industrial demonstrators and it is also being installed at a large automotive company. This article is an extended and revised version of the paper presented at the 2015 IFAC Symposium on Information Control in Manufacturing (INCOM 2015). The paper has been restructured in regards to the order and title of the chapters, and additional information about the integration between devices and services aspects have been added. The introduction and the general structure of the paper now better highlight the contributions of the paper and the uniqueness of the framework.     

On the stability and bullwhip effect of a production and inventory control system

This paper focuses on the discrete-time automatic pipeline, inventory and order-based production control system (APIOBPCS), a well-established production and inventory control model. The feedback mechanism within the replenishment rule enables the model to mitigate the bullwhip effect, but introduces a stability problem. In this research, a comprehensive stability analysis is conducted for arbitrary lead times using difference equation theory. On the basis of stability, a state space approach is advocated to analyse the impact of replenishment parameters, demand processes, and lead times on the robustness of the bullwhip effect. The stability results demonstrate that the production control system can easily be destabilised without incorporating the work-in-progress (WIP) feedback loop. Furthermore, it reveals that the stability problem for long lead times can be simplified with the stability condition independent of the lead time. The results obtained in this study provide useful guidelines for the selection of replenishment parameters to guarantee stability and mitigate the bullwhip effect.     

Analysis of production planning and control (PPC) systems as an efficient combination of information activities

Production planning and control (PPC) systems with their planning structures, submodules and the information and data processing show similarities with the structures of multistage multi-product manufacturing. So, here the attempt is being made on the basis of the activity analysis to integrate the information characteristics of goods involved in production with regard to the requirements of production planning into the inputoutput relationships and to represent them in the form of so-called informational production functions. Based on the formulation of information activities efficiency criteria are developed, which allow to evaluate the data processing in PPC-modules and thus to eliminate inefficient activities. A concrete application to dynamic lot sizing demonstrates the procedure.     

The elementary flux modes of a manufacturing system: a novel approach to explore the relationship of network structure and function

Elementary flux modes (EFMs) are a concept from Systems Biology, where they serve as an indicator of component relevance in metabolic networks. An elementary flux mode is a functionally relevant, non-decomposable path through a given network. In this paper, we apply elementary flux mode analysis to manufacturing systems, with the aim of using the number of EFMs as a predictor for resource significance in the manufacturing system. For this, we formulate a network representation of a manufacturing process, which allows us to define the manufacturing equivalent of a stoichiometric matrix to draw an analogy between metabolic and manufacturing systems. This, in turn, allows the computation of EFMs, which we conduct in a case-study for a real manufacturing system. We further show that the change of EFMs under resource breakdown is a good indicator of the average order lateness in the manufacturing system. In this way, EFMs provide insight into the relationship of network structure and function in manufacturing.     

动态联盟企业信息系统的结构及其重组方法研究

 基于敏捷制造的哲理，剖析了动态联盟企业信息系统的基本概念和内涵，指出了其具有系统分布性、盟员协同性、动态适应性、运作敏捷性、快速重构性等主要特征，并分析了动态联盟企业信息系统与传统企业信息系统的差异．在分析动态联盟企业信息系统结构的基础上，提出了该系统的抽象层次结构，并利用面向对象的方法进行了逐层描述． 结合所提出的三层结构，探讨了动态联盟企业信息系统重组的思想和方法．     

Virtual fusion: a hybrid environment for improved commissioning in manufacturing systems

Efficiency and quality are major factors contributing to profits in manufacturing systems. Production downtime occurs during commissioning of a new system, adoption of new processes, system faults, or (un)planned maintenance; all of which result in reduced production and profit loss. Current techniques for evaluating change to a manufacturing system rely on simulation and modeling to verify processes, but ignore the physical interactions of the work parts on the system. Implementation techniques to evaluate commissioning focus on identifying issues with the cyber interfaces, ignoring the physical interfaces. To validate the cyber and physical interfaces simultaneously, physical work are sent through the system, resulting in significant costs from scrapped work parts and loss of production time. This research proposes a virtual fusion environment where the physical interfaces between a virtual work part and a manufacturing system can be investigated in real-time, on the physical system, without the expenses associated with physical work parts. The virtual environment includes a virtual fusion filter to monitor discrepancies between the physical and virtual systems, and generate a hybrid virtual-physical input signal to the system level controller for virtualisation of a work part onto a physical system. Experimental demonstrations validate the feasibility of the proposed approach.     

A green productivity based process planning system for a machining process

In the metal cutting industry, manufacturers have strived to increase energy efficiency and to reduce environmental burdens through the use of dust collectors and waste disposers. It is more beneficial and efficient to apply the front-of-pipe technology that prevents the sources of pollutants and minimises energy use through the redesign of products and the change of process planning and machining operations. In particular, process planning for the environment, called eco-process planning, is central to increasing energy efficiency and reducing environmental burdens because process planning decisions greatly influence machining performance. At present, greenability, a term used to indicate environmental friendliness, has been little considered as a major concern in the process planning stage because process planning decisions have focused on improving productivity aspects that include speed, cost and quality. Thus, it is essential to develop an eco-process planning approach that enables the harmonisation and enhancement of greenability performance while improving productivity performance, termed green productivity (GP). This paper presents the development of a GP-based process planning algorithm that enables the derivation of process parameters for improving GP in machining operations. The core mechanism of the algorithm is the realisation of the process improvement cycle that measures GP performance by the collection of machining data, quantifies this performance by categorical representation and predicts the performance through prediction models. To show the feasibility and applicability of the proposed algorithm, we have conducted an experiment and implemented a prototype system for a turning machining process.     

Multi-objective cell formation and production planning in dynamic virtual cellular manufacturing systems

This article presents a fuzzy goal programming-based approach for solving a multi-objective mathematical model of cell formation problem and production planning in a dynamic virtual cellular manufacturing system. In a dynamic environment, the product mix and part demand change over a planning horizon decomposed into several time periods. Thus, the cell formation done for one period may be no longer efficient for subsequent periods and hence reconfiguration of cells is required. Due to the variation of demand and necessity of reconfiguration of cells, the virtual cellular manufacturing (VCM) concept has been proposed by researchers to utilise the benefits of cellular manufacturing without reconfiguration charges. In a VCM system, machines, parts and workers are temporarily grouped for one period during which machines and workers of a group dedicatedly serve the parts of that group. The only difference of VCM with a real CM is that machines of the same group are not necessarily brought to a physical proximity in VCM. The virtual cells are created periodically depending on changes in demand volumes and mix, as new parts accumulate during a planning horizon. The major advantage of the proposed model is the consideration of demand and part mix variation over a multi-period planning horizon with worker flexibility. The aim is to minimise holding cost, backorder cost and exceptional elements in a cubic space of machine–part–worker incidence matrix. To illustrate the applicability of the proposed model, an example has been solved and computational results are presented.     

Production planning optimisation for composite aerospace manufacturing

Composite materials proved highly successful for aerospace applications in the last decades, but increased cost pressure forces the composite industry to become more efficient. This requires new manufacturing technologies and optimised processes as raw material costs and labour costs are basically fixed when wanting to keep production on site. Probably the most defining process for aerospace composite production is manual layup of prepreg material with subsequent curing in an autoclave. From production planning view, this combination poses the challenge of transition from discrete layup manufacturing to batch curing processing with the restriction of limited allowed storage time of the prepreg material prior to cure. In this paper, a new approach for production order optimisation at the conjunction of discrete and batch processing is presented. The APOLLO named tool is designed to decrease throughput times, streamline production and increase autoclave utilisation in the composite aerospace industry.     

An integrated fuzzy approach for information technology planning in collaborative product development

Collaborative product development (CPD) processes are generally based on technological infrastructures. Various information technologies (IT) are proposed every day to facilitate collaboration, integration, co-design and co-development processes. In this highly uncertain environment, a systematic methodology is essential to plan the IT infrastructure needed to start and maintain a collaborative process. This study offers an integrated IT planning methodology combining fuzzy quality function deployment, fuzzy axiomatic design and fuzzy rule-based systems. The methodology is tested in a CPD case and the outcome presents an improvement path for IT for each of the collaborative parties.     

The origin of material requirements planning in Frederick W. Taylor’s planning office

Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems appeared without significant provenance. Their theoretical and practical antecedents can be traced to Frederick W. Taylor’s Shop Management that described a production planning and control system comprised of functional foremen and clerks. This system failed for it was too complex, unwieldy and expensive. Nevertheless, some elements survived – for although the whole was unmanageable, a few individual functions survived as independent sub-systems. These continued in use; with Taylor’s planning office (PO) remaining an ideal and well-known theoretical construct. The PO imposed unbearable information processing demands on contemporary manual systems. But from the mid-1930s, accounting machines started providing more capable information technologies that first allowed these individual elements to be implemented as stand-alone applications. Later they were then integrated into more full systems. Taylor’s PO provided the sub-system pieces and the conceptual framework for their subsequent recombination and extension. This paper traces the evolution of production planning and control systems from Taylor’s PO to MRP systems. Not only are the linkages between production management thinking in the different periods unappreciated, but so too are the technological relationships between the information technologies used.     

Supply chain information technologies and organisational initiatives: complementary versus independent effects on agility and firm performance

This research investigates the roles of supply chain information technologies (SCIT) and supply chain organisational initiatives (SCOI) in engendering agility and business performance in manufacturing firms. We examine two competing models, both of which incorporate agility as a mediator between the use of SCIT or SCOI and firm performance; the models differ in how the impacts of SCIT and SCOI are manifest. In one model, SCIT and SCOI are hypothesised to have separate effects on agility, which then impacts firm performance; in the second model, complementarities, or the interaction of SCIT and SCOI, impacts agility directly. Structural equation modelling results show that agility is full mediator, related to firm performance in both models. Further, the model with complementary interactions fits better. These results have implications for how manufacturing firms can position their investments in SCIT and SCOI to enhance agility and overall performance.     

Characteristics affecting management of design information in the production system design process

Although it has been argued that the design of production systems is crucial, there is a general lack of empirical studies analysing and identifying resources and capabilities required for an efficient production system design process. One of these resources is the critical role attributed to design information and one such capability is how the design information is managed. To address this research gap, this paper reports the results from two in-depth case studies in the automotive industry focusing on the management of design information in the production system design process. Our results show that design information management needs to be understood as a multidimensional concept having three dimensions: acquiring, sharing and using design information. By focusing on the three dimensions, six characteristics affecting the management of design information when designing the production system are identified. The characteristics are information type, source of information, communication medium, formalisation, information quality and pragmatic information.     

Production system design to achieve energy savings in an automotive paint shop

Vehicle painting typically consumes the largest amount of energy in an automotive assembly plant. Effective reduction of energy usage in paint shops will lead to significant savings. Substantial effort has been devoted to reducing energy usage in paint shops through renovating the painting process and equipment. In this paper, we introduce a case study at an automotive paint shop to show that the energy consumption can be reduced significantly through production system design. Specifically, by selecting the appropriate repair capacity, the number of repainted jobs can be reduced, and less material and energy will be consumed. In addition, less atmospheric emissions would be generated during the painting process. Such a technique does not need to invent new chemicals, new painting processes or new control systems in painting booths and ovens. It provides an alternative way for energy and emission reduction to achieve energy-efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturing.     

Performance measurement and management: a system of systems perspective

Despite changes in tools and practices, the conceptual foundations of performance measurement and management (PMM) are still predominantly rooted in control systems research. While PMM approaches have delivered significant organisational benefits, including creating alignment, supporting monitoring and control, and enabling prediction and optimisation of resource allocation, this paper argues that this paradigm is not capable of responding to increasingly complex and highly uncertain organisational environments. Drawing on ideas emerging in the literature on systems engineering and complex systems, we propose a novel perspective that considers PMM from a ‘system of systems’ (SoS) point of view, whose essential characteristics are autonomy, belonging, connectivity, diversity and emergence. After identifying the assumptions underpinning existing PMM approaches, we outline a SoS-based paradigm to PMM and conclude by articulating the main implications for the practice of PMM and setting out a research agenda.     

Production and subcontracting control for an unreliable manufacturing system with setups

This paper deals with the problem of joint production, setup and subcontracting control of unreliable manufacturing systems producing two product types. The production requires setups each time it switches from one product type to another. Subcontracting is an integral part of the decision-making process due to limited production capacity in existing facility. The objective is to propose an effective control policy for the considered system which simultaneously manages production, setup and subcontracting activities. The complexity of the problem lies in the interaction between internal manufacturing decisions and subcontracting that outsource a part of the production, in a dynamic and stochastic environment. An experimental optimisation approach is adopted to determine the optimal control parameters which minimise the average total cost. Extensive sensitivity analyses are performed to illustrate the robustness and the usefulness of the adopted approach. An in-depth study comparing five control policies across a wide range of system parameters is also conducted. Extended cases closer to reality are also investigated considering elements such as the preventive maintenance and the production of non-conforming products. The best control policy in terms of economic performance is then obtained. Valuable insights providing a better understanding of interactions involving production, setup, and subcontracting are discussed.     

Simulation-based regression analysis for the rack configuration of an autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval system

In this paper, a simulation-based regression analysis for the rack configuration of an autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval system (AVS/RS) is presented. The aim of this study is to develop mathematical functions for the rack configuration of an AVS/RS that reflects the relationship between the outputs (responses) and the input variables (factors) of the system under various scenarios. In the regression model, we consider five outputs: the average cycle time of storage and retrieval transactions, the average waiting time for vehicle transactions, the average waiting time of vehicles (transactions) for the lift, the average utilisation of vehicles and the average utilisation of the lifts. The input variables are the number of tiers, aisles and bays that determine the size of the warehouse. Thirty regression models are developed for six warehouse scenarios. The simulation model of the system is developed using ARENA 12.0 commercial software and the statistical analyses are completed using MINITAB statistical software. Two different approaches are used to fit the regression functions–stepwise regression and the best subsets. After obtaining the regression functions, we optimise them using the LINGO software. We apply the approach to a company that uses AVS/RS in France.