MODELING AND SIMULATION OF A LEAN SYSTEM. CASE STUDY OF A PAINT LINE IN A FURNITURE COMPANY

Since they were first developed, lean methodologies have grown in importance and scope and have been applied in both manufacturing and service. However, determining how to transform a common manufacturing company into a lean one, as well as how to evaluate the future company, are challenges for both researchers and manufacturers. This paper presents a case study of a lean manufacturing implementation for the paint line system in a furniture company. A systematic method for execution is shown. In addition, a simulation model is constructed to evaluate the new system in comparison with the MRP system. The new system promises much improvement in terms of a resource’s utility and the system’s productivity.Lean Techniques, Simulation Model, Paint Line, Furniture Company.

Manipulation monitoring and robot intervention in complex manipulation sequences

Compared to machines, humans are intelligent and dexterous; they are indispensable for many complex tasks in areas such as flexible manufacturing or scientific experimentation. However, they are also subject to fatigue and inattention, which may cause errors. This motivates automated monitoring systems that verify the correct execution of manipulation sequences. To be practical, such a monitoring system should not require laborious programming.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Supporting adaptiveness of cyber-physical processes through action-based formalisms

Cyber Physical Processes (CPPs) refer to a new generation of business processes enacted in many application environments (e.g., emergency management, smart manufacturing, etc.), in which the presence of Internet-of-Things devices and embedded ICT systems (e.g., smartphones, sensors, actuators) strongly influences the coordination of the real-world entities (e.g., humans, robots, etc.) inhabitating such environments. A Process Management System (PMS) employed for executing CPPs is required to automatically adapt its running processes to anomalous situations and exogenous events by minimising any human intervention. In this paper, we tackle this issue by introducing an approach and an adaptive Cognitive PMS, called SmartPM, which combines process execution monitoring, unanticipated exception detection and automated resolution strategies leveraging on three well-established action-based formalisms developed for reasoning about actions in Artificial Intelligence (AI), including the situation calculus, IndiGolog and automated planning. Interestingly, the use of SmartPM does not require any expertise of the internal working of the AI tools involved in the system

The role of a manufacturing execution system during a lean improvement project

Observation is a key aspect within a Lean improvement project. The project team starts from scratch and analyses the current situation by walking through the production process. During the last decade, the digitization of manufacturing operations has had its share of attention. Different kinds of software tools collect and analyze real-time data and turn them into valuable knowledge to support and optimize manufacturing operations. These systems are commonly referred to as Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES). The historical data – incorporated in these systems – can be used to support or validate the Lean efforts. As MES enforces the standard way of working on the production floor, it is also crucial to (re)align the system with the Lean improvements. A case study within a food and beverage company illustrates this dual role of an MES during a Lean improvement project

Komunikační standardy vhodné pro systémy MES, navržené pro malé a střední firmy

A MES (Manufacturing Execution System) is a system that large companies use to measure or control critical production activities. Individual parts of this system can be used as a model for development of tools suitable for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It can demonstrate how manufacturing systems works and which communication standards are usable. The communication standards enable data acquisition, data processing, storing and their conversion for any production report. Furthermore, interfaces for web clients allow displaying the raw or transformed data as a text or a graphic chart. The development of tools for an access to the data retrieved from MES software is described in this paper.Systémy MES (Manufacturing Execution System) jsou využívány společnostmi pro měření a řízení kritických výrobních činností. Jednotlivé části zmíněného systému lze využít jako model pro vývoj nástrojů specifických pro malé a střední firmy. Lze využít principy, jak průmyslové systémy pracují a komunikační standardy, které se pro tento účel hodí. Komunikační standardy umožňují měření a následný sběr výrobních dat, jejich zpracování, ukládání a konverzi na jakýkoliv druh reportu. Navíc s použitím rozhraní pro webové prohlížeče lze zobrazovat „surová“ data z výroby nebo přepočtené, konsolidované hodnoty jak v textové podobě, tak i ve formě grafu. V tomto příspěvku je popsán proces tvorby jednotlivého nástroje MES systému

RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing execution system for discrete manufacturing: Software design and implementation

Discrete manufacturing (DM) refers to produce products in non-sequential processes so as to respond to market and customer requirements quickly under limited lead-time. However, in shop-floor management, DM companies usually confront challenges such as information gaps between different manufacturing units, slow responsiveness to customer changes, and poor visualization. The main reasons are lacking of efficient manufacturing data collection manners and software to support shop-floor management. This paper introduces an RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing execution system (RT-MES) for improving DM shop-floor management level in the perspective of illustrating the RT-MES software design and implementation. Several contributions from this paper are significant. First, a framework of RFID-enabled RT-MES is proposed, which is generic and helpful for enterprise information system (EIS) construction. Second, a plug-universal database-aided design (PUDAD) concept and its realization are elaborated, which could reduce RT-MES development and implementation cycle. Third, an interface middleware is reported to enable RT-MES real-time intercommunication with other EISs such as SAP ERP. Fourth, a real-life case study describes how RT-MES to enhance a typical DM firm's shop-floor management, which can be referenced by other DM companies when they initiate and implement RFID-enabled solutions. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2011 IEEE International Conference on Networking, Sensing and Control (ICNSC 2011), Delft, the Netherlands, 11-13 April 2011. In Proceedings of ICNSC, 2011, p. 311-31

Towards the integration of process and quality control using multi-agent technology

The paper introduces a vision on the design of distributed manufacturing control systems using the multi-agent principles to enhance the integration of the production and quality control processes. It is highlighted how agent technology may enforce interaction of manufacturing execution system and distributed control system, enhancing the exploitation of the available information at the quality control and process control levels. A specific focus is made on a suitable engineering methodology for the design and realization of such concept. Innovation is also presented at the level of adaptive process control and self-optimizing quality control, with examples related to a home appliance production line

Agent based prototype for interoperation of production planning and control and manufacturing automation

This work describes a model for distributed dynamic Production Planning and Control (PPC) agent based system, which includes interoperation with manufacturing automation. It is presented a demonstration prototype involving distributed software agents and industrial equipment integration, which implements part of the developed model functionalities. Clients can send orders, and resources may apply for those orders fulfilment. Resources with orders allocated to, start automatically the required manufacturing operations. The prototype was implemented integrating several tools, including Lab VIEW and LEGO Mindstorms components. This is useful to validate the integration, proposed by the dynamic PPC model, between production planning processes and manufacturing execution operations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio