4,947 research outputs found

    An agile and adaptive holonic architecture for manufacturing control

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    Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. 2004. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Port

    Assessing self-organization and emergence in Evolvable Assembly Systems (EAS)

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    Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de ComputadoresThere is a growing interest from industry in the applications of distributed IT. Currently, most modern plants use distributed controllers either to control production processes, monitor them or both. Despite the efforts on the last years to improve the implementation of the new manufacturing paradigms, the industry is still mainly using traditional controllers. Now, more than ever, with an economic crisis the costumers are searching for cheap and customized products, which represents a great opportunity for the new paradigms to claim their space in the market. Most of the research on distributed manufacturing is regarding the control and communication infrastructure. They are key aspects for self-organization and there is a lack of study on the metrics that regulate the self-organization and autonomous response of modern production paradigms. This thesis presents a probabilistic framework that promotes self-organization on a multiagent system based on a new manufacturing concept, the Evolvable Assembly Systems/Evolvable Production Systems. A methodology is proposed to assess the impact of self-organization on the system behavior, by the application of the probabilistic framework that has the dual purpose of controlling and explaining the system dynamics. The probabilistic framework shows the likelihood of some resources being allocated to the production process. This information is constantly updated and exchanged by the agents that compose the system. The emergent effect of this self-organization dynamic is an even load balancing across the system without any centralized controller. The target systems of this work are therefore small systems with small production batches but with a high variability of production conditions and products. The agents that compose the system originated in the agent based architecture of the FP7-IDEAS proejct. This work has extended these agents and the outcome has been tested in the IDEAS demonstrators, as the changes have been incorporated in the latest version of the architecture, and in a simulation and more controlled environment were the proposed metric and its influence were assessed

    The concept of "Industry 4.0" applied to a SME

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    In the last years manufacturing enterprises are facing the fourth industrial revolution. This work wants to give the readers a knowledge about the "Industry4.0" world with an exhaustive explanation of the whole potentiality of its tools. The main objective of the thesis is to report the improvements given by the digitalization of an industrial system in terms of analysis and management of the whole industrial process

    Component-based control system development for agile manufacturing machine systems

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    It is now a common sense that manufactures including machine suppliers and system integrators of the 21 st century will need to compete on global marketplaces, which are frequently shifting and fragmenting, with new technologies continuously emerging. Future production machines and manufacturing systems need to offer the "agility" required in providing responsiveness to product changes and the ability to reconfigure. The primary aim for this research is to advance studies in machine control system design, in the context of the European project VIR-ENG - "Integrated Design, Simulation and Distributed Control of Agile Modular Machinery"

    Proceedings, MSVSCC 2018

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    Proceedings of the 12th Annual Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Student Capstone Conference held on April 19, 2018 at VMASC in Suffolk, Virginia. 155 pp

    Service-oriented architecture for device lifecycle support in industrial automation

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    Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores Especialidade: Robótica e Manufactura IntegradaThis thesis addresses the device lifecycle support thematic in the scope of service oriented industrial automation domain. This domain is known for its plethora of heterogeneous equipment encompassing distinct functions, form factors, network interfaces, or I/O specifications supported by dissimilar software and hardware platforms. There is then an evident and crescent need to take every device into account and improve the agility performance during setup, control, management, monitoring and diagnosis phases. Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigm is currently a widely endorsed approach for both business and enterprise systems integration. SOA concepts and technology are continuously spreading along the layers of the enterprise organization envisioning a unified interoperability solution. SOA promotes discoverability, loose coupling, abstraction, autonomy and composition of services relying on open web standards – features that can provide an important contribution to the industrial automation domain. The present work seized industrial automation device level requirements, constraints and needs to determine how and where can SOA be employed to solve some of the existent difficulties. Supported by these outcomes, a reference architecture shaped by distributed, adaptive and composable modules is proposed. This architecture will assist and ease the role of systems integrators during reengineering-related interventions throughout system lifecycle. In a converging direction, the present work also proposes a serviceoriented device model to support previous architecture vision and goals by including embedded added-value in terms of service-oriented peer-to-peer discovery and identification, configuration, management, as well as agile customization of device resources. In this context, the implementation and validation work proved not simply the feasibility and fitness of the proposed solution to two distinct test-benches but also its relevance to the expanding domain of SOA applications to support device lifecycle in the industrial automation domain

    Computational intelligence approaches to robotics, automation, and control [Volume guest editors]

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    No abstract available

    Fractal architecture for 'leagile' networked enterprises.

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    The manufacturing environment and markets in recent times are becoming increasingly dynamic, diverse and unpredictable, due mainly to fast evolution of products and technology, erratic customer behaviour and high consumerism and an increasingly shorter lead-time. The burden of the impact falls on organisational structures built on centralized, rigid manufacturing architecture, because they cannot cope or adapt to the highly uncertain or unpredictable nature of the market. Enterprises who wish to survive these challenges need to rethink their business and manufacturing models, and most importantly reinvent their tactical, operational and organizational formulas to leverage their strategic long term visions.Newer manufacturing systems to curb the effects of this upheaval have to promote an entirely decentralised, flexible, distributed, configurable and adaptable architecture to ameliorate this condition. Many philosophies are proposed and studied towards planning, monitoring, and controlling the 21st century manufacturing system. These include - Bionic manufacturing system (BMS), Holonic manufacturing system (HMS), Fractal manufacturing system (FrMS), Responsive manufacturing etc.This research program focuses on the FrMS, which has vast conceptual advantageous features among these new philosophies, but its implementation has proved very difficult. FrMS is based on autonomous, cooperating, self-similar agent called fractal that has the capability of perceiving, adapting and evolving with respect to its partners and environment. The fractal manufacturing configuration uses self regulating, organisational work groups, each with identical goals and within its own area of competence to build up an integrated, holistic network system of companies. This network yields constant improvement as well as continuous checks and balances through self-organising control loops. The study investigates and identifies the nature, characteristic features and feasibility of this system in comparison to traditional approaches with a detailed view to maximising the logistical attribute of lean manufacturing system and building a framework for 'leagile' (an integration of lean and agile solutions) networked capabilities. It explores and establishes the structural characteristic potentials of Fractal Manufacturing Partnership (FMP), a hands-on collaboration between enterprises and their key suppliers, where the latter become assemblers of their components while co-owning the enterprise's facility, to create and achieve high level of responsiveness. It is hoped that this architecture will drive and harness the evolution from a vertically integrated company, to a network of integrated, leaner core competencies needed to tackle and weather the storm of the 21st century manufacturing system

    Evaluation of exposures and respiratory health concerns in a paper converting equipment manufacturing facility

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    "In January 2012, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health received a confidential employee request for a health hazard evaluation at a paper tissue converting equipment manufacturing facility regarding concerns about lung disease and air quality, with exposures to coolants, oils, solvents, paper dust, exhaust fumes, welding and plasma cutting fumes, and lacquer thinner encountered during production activities. In June 2012, we toured the facility; interviewed employees, managers, and the company's nurse; observed employees at work; assessed some of the mist collectors and vacuum pumps; and collected bulk samples of unused (neat) and in-use process fluids. Gram-negative bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas oleoverans/pseudoalcaligenes, were present in all in-use fluid samples ranging from 140 million colony forming units per milliliter to 1.4 billion colony forming units per milliliter. Concentrations of endotoxin, a component of gram-negative bacterial cell walls, in the fluid samples ranged from 3,001 endotoxin units per milliliter to 108,017 endotoxin units per milliliter. We identified four nonsmoking employees who had severe lung disease, including one employee who required lung transplantation. In response, we conducted medical record reviews and obtained reviews of lung tissue specimens for the four employees with severe lung disease. Lung tissue specimens from the employees, obtained by lung biopsy or at the time of lung transplantation, were reviewed by five pulmonary pathologists at three different institutions.The pathologists found the tissue samples demonstrated an unusual pattern of lung disease involving lymphocytic bronchiolitis with extension into alveolar ducts and emphysema. Chest computed tomography scans primarily demonstrated centrilobular emphysema. Spirometry demonstrated airways obstruction and that diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide was decreased, consistent with small airways disease and emphysema. In an effort to better understand what might have caused the cases of severe lung disease and to prevent future cases of illness, we conducted a detailed industrial hygiene survey in February 2013 and a medical survey in March 2013. The industrial hygiene survey involved collecting personal and area air samples for thoracic aerosol, metalworking fluids, and endotoxin; area air samples for bioaerosols, volatile organic compounds, and metals, and total particulate (collected with closed-face cassette) for microbiome analysis; realtime measurements of volatile organic compounds and size-selective particulate; collection of bulk process fluids for analysis of culturable bacteria, culturable fungi, endotoxin, and microbiome; and examination of the airflow using a safe tracer gas. The medical survey involved administering a health questionnaire and breathing tests to employees. In addition, a microbiome analysis of lung tissue specimens from the four employees with severe lung disease was performed. Local and state health officials, and physicians who worked in the local community, including a regional medical center and tertiary care referral center, were contacted regarding their awareness of other cases of this severe lung disease occurring in the surrounding region. During the 2013 survey, we identified a variety of processes with the potential to generate airborne exposures. For example, metals (steel [85-90%], aluminum [10-15%], and cast iron [less than 1%]) and plastics (less than 1%) were cut using saws, pressurized water, or plasma technology. Cut pieces were then processed into parts using grinders, mills, and lathes. Welding and painting were performed. Assembled machines were tested for functionality using customers' paper. We also found the facility used two metalworking fluids, preserved and non-preserved. The preserved metalworking fluid was designed for use with a bactericide and the non-preserved metalworking fluid did not require bactericide. Most process fluid bulk samples demonstrated growth of gram-negative bacteria, particularly Pseudomonas oleovorans/pseudoalcaligenes, at levels ranging from 70 colony forming units per milliliter to 57 million colony forming units per milliliter. Concentrations of endotoxin in the fluid samples ranged from 338 endotoxin units per milliliter to 390,633 endotoxin units per milliliter. Thoracic aerosol, metalworking fluids, metals, and volatile organic compounds were measureable in air at levels below occupational exposure limits and were highest in production areas. Two personal endotoxin samples from employees in the machine shop were above the Dutch Expert Committee on Occupational Safety (DECOS) recommended exposure limit of 90 endotoxin units per cubic meter (EU/m3). Assessment of the ventilation in the production area using a safe tracer gas demonstrated flow from the machine shop to the assembly area, highlighting opportunities for air contaminants in the machine shop area to reach assembly employees. Among current employees, some symptoms were more common than expected, while spirometric abnormalities were not in excess. Physicians and public health practitioners in the community and surrounding region had not observed cases of severe lung disease involving lymphocytic bronchiolitis with extension into alveolar ducts and emphysema occurring outside of employees at this facility. Lung tissue samples from the four employees with severe lung disease involving lymphocytic bronchiolitis with extension into alveolar ducts and emphysema were more enriched with Pseudomonas bacteria compared with lung tissue samples obtained from patients who did not work at the facility and underwent lung biopsies at the same nearby regional hospital. Because there was a cluster of workers with unusual lung disease, the cause of the lung disease was uncertain, and organized medical surveillance of the workforce was not in place, we conducted follow-up medical and industrial hygiene surveys in September 2016. The industrial hygiene survey consisted of collecting area air samples to analyze for thoracic aerosol, metalworking fluid and endotoxin, and bulk process fluid samples analyzed for culturable bacteria, culturable fungi, bacterial populations (microbiome) using molecular methods, and endotoxin. The medical survey consisted of a health questionnaire and breathing tests, and analysis of microbiome using molecular methods for samples taken from the skin, nose, and mouth of employees. The medical records for an additional employee identified as having severe lung disease were reviewed and lung tissue specimens were reviewed by the same five pathologists that had previously reviewed lung tissue from four employees. The overall concentrations of thoracic aerosol and extracted metalworking fluid in the air samples were lower during the 2016 survey compared with the 2013 survey. The installation of nine new mist collectors and the natural ventilation from open windows and bay doors might have contributed to the decrease in these concentrations. Pseudomonas oleoverans/ pseudoalcaligenes was the only type of gram-negative bacteria identified by culture with concentrations ranging from 370 colony forming units per milliliter to greater than 30 million colony forming units per milliliter. Endotoxin concentrations ranged from 35 endotoxin units per milliliter to 10,059 endotoxin units per milliliter. Microbiome analyses identified differences in the types of bacteria between the two types of metalworking fluids. Preserved metalworking fluid samples were enriched with different types of bacteria, including Brevundinomonas, Alcaligenaceae (u.g.), and Sphingobacterium. In contrast, non-preserved metalworking fluid samples were predominantly enriched with Pseudomonas. Among the total population of current employees who participated in the 2016 medical survey, the occurrence of wheeze in the last 12 months was more common than expected while spirometric abnormalities were not in excess relative to the general population. Twelve participants had declines in lung function exceeding 10% between 2013 and 2016, including two employees in the production area with marked declines of approximately one-third or more of their lung function. Ten of the 12 employees with declines in lung function exceeding 10% worked in the assembly or machine shop areas. One of the employees who had an excessive decline in lung function was a nonsmoker who worked in the production area and had a lung biopsy demonstrating the same pattern of disease previously identified among four employees. Samples of non-preserved metalworking fluids had greater bacterial similarity with human samples (skin, nasal passage, and oral cavity) taken from employees in the machine shop compared with samples taken from employees in administration. Thus, a total of five nonsmoking employees who worked in either the assembly or machine shop areas were diagnosed with an unusual and advanced lung disease characterized by lymphocytic bronchiolitis with extension into alveolar ducts and emphysema; each had chronic breathing difficulty, and one underwent lung transplantation. Although evaluation of this single case cluster did not identify a definitive specific cause for the five cases of a rare, severe lung disease, the occurrence of this cluster indicates that production-related inhalational exposures at this facility were contributory. The occurrence of a new case between 2013 and 2016 raises concerns for ongoing risk. Given the small proportion of production workers who have developed this unusual and advanced lung disease, some asyet unidentified susceptibility factor might be present in those employees who developed disease. In the absence of certainty regarding the specific agent or combination of agents responsible for the cluster of lung disease identified in this facility, we recommend engineering controls to maintain production-related airborne exposures to the lowest level feasible and administrative controls to ensure that only those who need to be in production areas are present. We also recommend consideration of providing respiratory protection in the form of disposable filtering facepiece respirators with any P- or R-series particulate filter for voluntary use by employees who enter the production area. We also recommend implementing a medical monitoring program that includes periodic spirometry for employees who work in the production area so that disease can be detected early, should it occur again." - NIOSHTIC-2NIOSH no. 20054729Recommended citation for this report: NIOSH [2019]. Health hazard evaluation report: Evaluation of exposures and respiratory health concerns in a paper converting equipment manufacturing facility. By Stanton ML, Nett RJ. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH HHE Report No. 2012-0055-3337.201

    Integration: A new design model for apparel and retail environments

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    As founder of Brinkworth, a London-based design consultancy, I am writing this thesis from a creative practitioner’s perspective. The main research question is: How has the role and the activity of an interior designer for apparel retail environments evolved since the intervention of digital platforms, including social media and online shopping? Pertaining to this lead research question are the following two questions: How have customer behaviour patterns changed due to the intervention of digital and social media platforms? And how has brand engagement and communication with their customer community evolved with respect to the development of digital technologies? The title of this PhD by public works, Integration, describes the key approach to my new model, which delivers appropriate physical retail spaces through a four-way system of integration: brand, space, location and community. A donor building is designed so as to successfully host the brand and facilitate the fusing of its customer community within the building’s own local culture. It theorises that the physical branded retail space is at the heart of a brand’s external facing retail activity. It is primarily the place that gives an invaluable opportunity for the development of a personal relationship between the customer community and the brand. This space is also the nucleus in which platforms of digital immersion, product fusion and narrative are integrated within a central, physical hub. This concept of integration seeks to replace the convention of outmoded, repetitive, traditional retail rollout methods. This thesis of public works outlines new models of thinking taken from Brinkworth’s portfolio. Utilising the research methodology of reflexivity, it contributes new knowledge to the field of professional practice and academic research in apparel retail design, both in terms of the design work carried out and the reflection on that work. The thesis starts by examining the academic context through an analysis of the limited published practitioners’ literature that it seeks to succeed. The research extends into broader and relevant academic areas of study. The specifics of apparel retail design will then be discussed, providing a blueprint by which Brinkworth implements its strategies and demonstrating why the process is significant. An assessment of how to structure and approach interior design for retail, as well as evidence and project planning information will be included within the thesis, something that has not been previously documented in this field of study. A recently formulated Model of Integration is theorised, demonstrated and disseminated through the case studies selected in order to exemplify each retail environment typology. This dynamic Model of Integration, driven by the evolving relationship between the brand and its customer community, is reflected in the communicative relationship between online and physical retail environments. This, in turn, drives the creation of a new type of outcome. In support of this, the resulting physical retail spaces produced are named Activation Retail Environments. These multipurpose retail environments host activities broader than retail, and include hospitality, brand/product education and events, where the customer is an active participant in a spatial and personal relationship with the brand. Following the Academic Context, a chapter entitled Typologies and Strategies seeks to identify the key individual types of physical retail stores. It also demonstrates the optimum approach to tackling each category of store. My Model of Integration is illustrated through examples from Brinkworth’s portfolio in the following chapter, and the thesis evidences the discussed retail typologies through a broad selection of completed projects
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