IoT-enabled planning, control, and execution in ETO manufacturing: dynamics, requirements, and system architecture: a case study of Brunvoll AS

Confidential until 18. May 202

Achieving manufacturing excellence through the integration of enterprise systems and simulation

This paper discusses the significance of the enterprise systems and simulation integration in improving shop floor’s short-term production planning capability. The ultimate objectives are to identify the integration protocols, optimisation parameters and critical design artefacts, thereby identifying key ‘ingredients’ that help in setting out a future research agenda in pursuit of optimum decision-making at the shop floor level. While the integration of enterprise systems and simulation gains a widespread agreement within the existing work, the optimality, scalability and flexibility of the schedules remained unanswered. Furthermore, there seems to be no commonality or pattern as to how many core modules are required to enable such a flexible and scalable integration. Nevertheless, the objective of such integration remains clear, i.e. to achieve an optimum total production time, lead time, cycle time, production release rates and cost. The issues presently faced by existing enterprise systems (ES), if properly addressed, can contribute to the achievement of manufacturing excellence and can help identify the building blocks for the software architectural platform enabling the integration

Multi Agent Systems in Logistics: A Literature and State-of-the-art Review

Based on a literature survey, we aim to answer our main question: “How should we plan and execute logistics in supply chains that aim to meet today’s requirements, and how can we support such planning and execution using IT?†Today’s requirements in supply chains include inter-organizational collaboration and more responsive and tailored supply to meet specific demand. Enterprise systems fall short in meeting these requirements The focus of planning and execution systems should move towards an inter-enterprise and event-driven mode. Inter-organizational systems may support planning going from supporting information exchange and henceforth enable synchronized planning within the organizations towards the capability to do network planning based on available information throughout the network. We provide a framework for planning systems, constituting a rich landscape of possible configurations, where the centralized and fully decentralized approaches are two extremes. We define and discuss agent based systems and in particular multi agent systems (MAS). We emphasize the issue of the role of MAS coordination architectures, and then explain that transportation is, next to production, an important domain in which MAS can and actually are applied. However, implementation is not widespread and some implementation issues are explored. In this manner, we conclude that planning problems in transportation have characteristics that comply with the specific capabilities of agent systems. In particular, these systems are capable to deal with inter-organizational and event-driven planning settings, hence meeting today’s requirements in supply chain planning and execution.supply chain;MAS;multi agent systems

Improving materials management in electronics manufacturing

The aim of this thesis is to determine how in-plant materials management in electronics manufacturing can be improved and to show how a strategy for improvement can be developed for Celestica Limited's Kidsgrove plant. The literature was reviewed to bring out the current issues and topics of interest in materials management. An industrial analysis, through company visits and case studies, was carried out. A number of "best practices" were identified from the literature and the case studies. The "best practices" identified were prioritisation methods, outsourcing of value added services, shop floor control systems, focused stores, tailored logistics, use of computers, trace ability, use of technology or automation, automatic identification, maintaining data integrity, internet-enabled supply-chain, JIT or hybridised JIT-MRP, Kanban, linking and communication of MPS's, application of technology, kitting and recording actual usage of material. [Continues.

Successfully implementing a Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) solutions.

Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) is a system that companies use to measure and control critical production activities. As the installed base of MES installations grows, claims that MES does not have a positive impact on the day-to-day operations within manufacturing companies are more common. Documented results and anecdotal evidence are also now available. Due to the pace at which this market has grown, more and more vendors and implementation partners are entering the market. Organizations that wish to successfully implement a MES solution need to be well informed and educated about the intricacies of software implementations. Organizations need to ensure that they are in control of the implementation and not at the mercy of the software vendors and implementation partners for success. Organizations need to plan the whole implementation process thoroughly and top level management need to drive the initiatives within the organization to ensure success

Mid-term capacity planning process and tool for textile services company

This development project was carried out for Lindström Oy. The purpose of the project was to do a needs assessment for medium-term purchase planning and develop a process for it. The goal also included comparing alternative software as a tool for the process. The process needs to bind the long-term plan forecast to the ongoing purchasing process. This will be done by using the plan as a base and updating the plan more often, in a weekly basis. The plan is updated and validated by the Mid-term Planner who is the only one making changes to the plan. The plan is then shared with the execution parties. The search for the application software was started from what are already in use at Lindström. These software are used in different levels of the purchasing and production planning. All systems are very different and all of them have very different strengths and weaknesses. None of the solutions were a perfect match and were unable to fulfill all the requirements set for the tool. There was not one clear winner, but one favourite was found

Improvement of production processes by measuring

The purpose of the thesis was to find out how the production processes of a company that manufactures medical devices can be improved by measuring. Unambiguity, usefulness, and ease of use were important features of the indicators for the company. These goals were answered with the following research questions: which of the company’s functions are significant for improving production processes, what important indicators are available for the significant functions, and which important indicators can be reported automatically. The research material was compiled by literature review and observation. The literature review presented background theory of research methods, economical manufacturing, management information systems, and databases. Information on the company's production processes, information systems and the indicators in use was collected through observation. The research material was analyzed by correlation analysis, thematic analysis, and classification. Correlation analysis was used to determine which departments and functions are relevant for improving production processes. Correlation analysis was also used to find causal links between existing indicators and their benefits in order to find new indicators for the company and automation opportunities for reporting the indicators. Thematic analysis examined the relevance of all the indicators found at a general level. Finally, classification was used to examine the relevance of the indicators to the company's strategy. The study found that the company’s most significant functions in improving production processes are quality assurance, production, and maintenance and technology development. A total of 30 important indicators were discovered, of which 24 were found to be suitable for automated reporting. The resulting indicators were found to be reliable at three different levels: the reliability of the data sources, the general relevance, and the relevance to the company's strategy. Six of the indicators found were highlighted in terms of general relevance and ten in terms of business strategy. Of all the indicators found, OEE and inventory turnover, which were not yet used by the company, were particularly prominent in terms of general relevance. The most relevant indicators for the company's strategy were energy efficiency, resolved CAPA cases in relation to all cases, production profit, and net profit or loss on investment. It was also seen as useful for the strategy to derive efficiency indices from the above-mentioned indicators and the costs of each significant function, so that the efficiency of each function can be measured in a comparable way

Supply chain management tools and methods

In today's business environment, manufacturers need to manage their enterprises as an inseparable part of a supply chain. Key to achieving this is the creation of an extended and integrated information system. In an attempt to find out what needs to be done to improve current supply chain methods and tools, the current research project 1) reviewed the literature to establish current approaches to Supply Chain Management (SCM); 2) identified what tools and methods are available; 3) categorised the current approaches to supply chain management and established a current practice SCM model; 4) identified the requirements for improved SCM; 5) produced an outline requirements specification for improved SCM. The research has made a number of contributions to knowledge. A literature survey on the subject of what SCM involves and what a SCM system is was carried out and was followed by the conclusions that existing software systems have not been classified and tested against the criteria of a true SCM system. A survey of existing SCM software solutions provided data for an analysis of what typical SCM applications include and concluded that a comprehensive SCM solution currently does not exist. That conclusion was verified by a survey based on SCM expert interviews. Three case studies were carried out that looked into different parts of the supply chain and demonstrated the significance of advanced SCM functionality for each one of them. The case studies also involved the design and implementation of a supply chain mapping tool and a supplier relationship management tool. Finally, a conceptual specification of an improved SCM system was developed. The research will be of interest to practitioners in the area of SCM that are looking for ideas to improve SCM procedures and namely, are looking into implementing or developing an already existing software system for SCM. It also suggests ideas for further research, which may be of interest to research students who are interested in the area of SCM.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The measurement of information flow efficiency in supply chain management

Characteristics such as speed of reaction, order accuracy, operational flexibility and sustained quality have become fundamental in successful business today. The success of aligning a supply chain to attain these characteristics depends largely on the use of efficient communication and information technology. Communication between supply chain members requires that relevant information is transferred from its point of inception to the next point(s) of use. The transfer of information entails an efficient flow of information between systems, between systems and humans and between humans, which is directly associated with the effective interoperability between the various entities handling the relevant information. Accordingly, the realisation of interoperability will mean a faster information flow and, thus, an effective decision-making process. This research, therefore, will propose indicators and metrics for the assessment of the information flow efficiency of a business and, in particular, of a supply chain, examine the existing techniques of information flow measurement, and identify inherent weaknesses. New information flow efficiency metrics are developed and categorised into different indicators, which are based on the quality of the information as it is applied in finance, information technology and the principles of business performance measurements. This research will illustrate that these quality characteristics drive an effective and efficient information flow which, in turn, enables them to be used both as indicators and as associated metrics of information flow efficiency. Explorative analysis and statistical cluster analysis identified the most important indicators and associated metrics based on the results of a survey instrument designed specifically for this purpose. Scales were developed to facilitate the numeric assessment of the metrics and indicators. In order to prove the ability of the new indicators and associated metrics to differentiate between different levels of information flow efficiency, the new metrics were applied in sample organisations and the responses evaluated. This research lays an important foundation in terms of the ability to assess information flow efficiency which is, in turn, necessary in order to gain a better understanding of the performance of supply chains in a time where real-time information flow and electronic integration are becoming strategic business success factors.Business ManagementD. Com. (Business Management