RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing information tracking infrastructure for extended enterprises

In extended enterprises, real-time manufacturing information tracking plays an important role and aims to provide the right information to the right person at the right time in the right format to achieve optimal production management among the involved enterprises. However, many enterprises are caused by lack of timely, accurate and consistent manufacturing data. The laggard information transfer flow and the unmatched information transfer method bring extended enterprises much more uncertainty and unknowingness. This paper proposes a RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing information tracking infrastructure (RTMITI) to address the real-time manufacturing data capturing and manufacturing information processing methods for extended enterprises. Following the proposed infrastructure, the traditional manufacturing resources such as employees, machines and materials are equipped with RFID devices (Readers and Tags) to build the real-time data capturing environment. In addition, a series of manufacturing information processing methods are established to calculate and track the real-time manufacturing information such as real-time manufacturing cost, progress, WIP (Work-in-progress) inventory etc. in parts/assemblies/products at machines/shop floors/enterprises/ extended enterprises levels. Finally, a case study is given to demonstrate the developed framework and corresponding methodologies. © 2010 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Integrated platform for real-time control and production and productivity monitoring and analysis

In this paper is proposed the IndustSystems, which is an integrated platform that aims at controlling and monitoring of production and evaluation of productivity in real time, via web access, using hybrid and scheduling algorithms that allow management and optimized use of production resources and perfect synchronization of production flows.This work was supported by FCT “Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia” under the program: PEst20152020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based wireless manufacturing systems, a review

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is one of the most promising technological innovations in order to track and trace products as well as material flow in manufacturing systems. High Frequency (HF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID systems can track a wide range of products in the part production process via radio waves with level of accuracy and reliability.   As a result, quality and transparency of data across the supply chain can be accurately obtained in order to decrease time and cost of part production. Also, process planning and part production scheduling can be modified using the advanced RFID systems in part manufacturing process. Moreover, to decrease the cost of produced parts, material handling systems in the advanced assembly lines can be analyzed and developed by using the RFID. Smart storage systems can increase efficiency in part production systems by providing accurate information from the stored raw materials and products for the production planning systems. To increase efficiency of energy consumption in production processes, energy management systems can be developed by using the RFID-sensor networks. Therefore, smart factories and intelligent manufacturing systems as industry 4.0 can be introduced by using the developed RFID systems in order to provide new generation of part production systems. In this paper, a review of RFID based wireless manufacturing systems is presented and future research works are also suggested. It has been observed that the research filed can be moved forward by reviewing and analyzing recent achievements in the published papers

Smart objects embedded production and quality management functions

In this paper, smart objects embedded production and quality management functions are proposed, to promote accurately support decision-making processes, from the shop floor level up to higher decision-making levels. The proposed functions contribute for different kind of problems solving in production and quality management, such as production planning and control, scheduling, factory supervision, real-time data acquisition and processing, and real-time decision making. The web access at different middleware devices and tools, at different decision levels, along with the use of integrated algorithms and tools, embedded in smart objects, promotes conditions for better decision-making for optimized use of knowledge and resources in production systems. The relevance of the proposed smart objects embedded production and quality management functions has been validated positively in a manufacturing company.The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through the grants: “Projeto Estratégico – UI 252 – 2011–2012” reference PEstOE/EME/UI0252/2011, and “Ph.D. Scholarship Grant” reference SFRH/BD/85672/2012.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

RFID-Based Manufacturing Execution System for Mould Enterprises

According to the problem that it's difficult for mould enterprises to manage and control the production process accurately by using the current manufacturing execution system, the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology was introduced into the manufacturing execution system. In this paper, a RFID-based manufacturing execution system is proposed for tracing and managing the real-time manufacturing process of mould. The framework of RFID-based manufacturing execution system for mould enterprises was established, under this framework, the key technologies including RFID-based shop-floor model of mould enterprises, information fusion model for real-time monitoring, objective function of dynamic job shop scheduling were described respectively. Finally, through the research and application of the system, a novel mode was provided for manufacturing process management of mould enterprises

RFID System Implementation: State of the Art of Guidelines, Frameworks, Models, and Methods

For radio frequency identification (RFID) system implementation in supply chain, there are numerous commercial and academic documents and publications available. RFID technology facilitates reading of objects without physical and visual contact with real-time data transfer. In order to provide an overview of the state of the art of knowledge development on the topic, this paper systematically classifies and analyzes documents and publications regarded as guidelines, frameworks, models, and methods on RFID system implementation using a proper selection criteria, classification method and content analysis methodology. For this purpose, documents and publications on the topic that are published between 2004 and 2015, that are easily available publically online and through libraries, and that address topics relevant during the process of RFID system implementation were reviewed. A comprehensive review of existing documents and publications is provided and business and technology requirements are assessed. Totally, sixty-seven documents are short-listed for six categories based on selected criteria, where forty documents concentrate on economic analysis and special implementation aspects of RFID and only twenty-seven documents address categories of project management, implementation from the perspective of large and small and medium enterprises, and special business domains. Accordingly, irrespective of the quality and scope of the documents, the overall number of documents is small as there are different facets of an RFID system implementation and diversities in RFID applications because of the characteristics of the technology and uniqueness of business processes and needs. Based on the findings, the paper proposes future research areas

System architecture for blockchain based transparency of supply chain social sustainability

Social sustainability is a major concern in global supply chains for protecting workers from exploitation and for providing a safe working environment. Although there are stipulated standards to govern supply chain social sustainability, it is not uncommon to hear of businesses being reported for noncompliance issues. Even reputable firms such as Unilever have been criticized for production labor exploitation. Consumers now increasingly expect sellers to disclose information on social sustainability, but sellers are confronted with the challenge of traceability in their multi-tier global supply chains. Blockchain offers a promising future to achieve instant traceability in supply chain social sustainability. This study develops a system architecture that integrates the use of blockchain, internet-of-things (IoT) and big data analytics to allow sellers to monitor their supply chain social sustainability efficiently and effectively. System implementation cost and potential challenges are analyzed before the research is concluded

RFID data reliability optimizer based on two dimensions bloom filter

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a flexible deployment technology that has been adopted in many applications especially in supply chain management. It provides several features such as to monitor, to identify and to track specific item hidden in a large group of objects in a short range of time. RFID system uses radio waves to perform wireless interaction to detect and read data from the tagged object. However, RFID data streams contain a lot of false positive and duplicate readings. Both types of readings need to be removed to ensure reliability of information produced from the data streams. A small occurrence of false positive can change the whole information, while duplicate readings unnecessarily occupied storage and processing resources. Many approaches have been proposed to remove false positive and duplicate readings, but they are done separately. These readings exist in the same data stream and must be removed using a single mechanism only. In this thesis, an efficient approach based on Bloom filters was proposed to remove both noisy and duplicate data from the RFID data streams. The noise and duplicate filter algorithm was constructed based on bloom filter. There are two bloom filters in one algorithm where each filter holds function either to remove noise data and to recognize data as correct reading from duplicate data reading. In order to test the algorithm, synthetic data was generated by using Poisson distribution. The simulation results show that our proposed approach outperformed other existing approaches in terms of data reliability

Concepção e projecto de um sistema de produção assistida por computador de mobiliário de cozinha

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia MecânicaA indústria do mobiliário é um dos sectores de maior impacto em Portugal (tanto a nível industrial como económico). Todavia, é ainda um sector muito fragmentado, caracterizado por uma falta de eficiência produtiva e uma organização industrial pouco desenvolvida. Por outro lado, o parque de máquinas instalado é relativamente moderno e tecnologicamente capaz de todos os processos de produção; porém, a inexperiência ou a falta de formação e conhecimento dos trabalhadores, conduz ao seu sub-aproveitamento. Apesar de todo o know-how existente na maioria das empresas deste sector industrial (relacionado com todos os processos, recursos e capacidades), estas nem sempre conseguem encontrar a melhor solução para uma organização sustentável. Assim, uma re-organização do sistema de produção – e a sua consequente optimização – é considerada o factor-chave fundamental, de modo a alcançar uma produção eficiente e sustentável. Este trabalho contribui para o estudo e desenvolvimento de uma metodologia aplicada em ambiente industrial, onde o fluxo produtivo e o fluxo de informação são optimizados. Desta forma, é efectuada uma análise a todo o processo de produção, do ponto de vista da informação técnica, ao longo de todas as etapas produtivas (projecto, fabrico e montagem). Na fase de projecto é realizada uma análise mais completa e detalhada, permitindo a análise e identificação de todos os parâmetros críticos. Assim, este trabalho pretende o desenvolvimento de uma metodologia de trabalho, que assenta no desenvolvimento de modelos de informação, alcançada por um completo tratamento computacional (em Microsoft Excel) das especificações técnicas e todos os outros parâmetros de produção, ao longo de todo o processo. Consequentemente, este trabalho visa também a optimização do fluxo produtivo. Por fim, os modelos desenvolvidos e todas as metodologias correspondentes, bem como os resultados da re-organização da produção, são comprovadas num caso de estudo no meio industrial (no segmento do mobiliário de cozinha).According to the major industrial associations, the furniture industry is one of the most important sectors in Portugal (both at the industrial and economical level). Nevertheless, it still is a very fragmented industry, characterized by a lack of productive efficiency and a poorly developed industrial organization. Contrasting with this scenario, the installed machinery is relatively modern and technologically capable for all production processes, but the workers’ inexperience and lack of formation/knowledge leads to its underutilization. All of these factors combined together lead to an inefficient and low production capacity. Thus, despite all the production and management know-how (related to processes, resources and capabilities) available in the majority of furniture industries, these still cannot succeed in finding the best organization and sustainable solution. Therefore, a re-organization of the manufacturing system – and its consequent optimization – is considered as the imperative key to achieve an eco-efficient production. This work contributes to the research and development of a methodology to be applied in the industrial environment in which the technical data and workflow are optimized. In order to do so, an analysis of the entire process of furniture production is conducted, throughout all the stages (design, manufacturing and assembly) and at the communications level. A revision of technical specifications exchanged between those main departments was performed considering both the computational and paper based workflow. The design project phase requires a complete and thorough analysis, as the most important phase in all the furniture production process, allowing the identification (and further optimization) of its crucial parameters. The main focus is the development of a standard information model, made by full computational treatment (using Microsoft Excel) of the technical specifications and all other production parameters throughout the whole process, envisaging the plant workflow optimization. Finally, the developed framework and corresponding methodologies, as well as the results of the production reorganization, are demonstrated in an industrial case study (in the kitchen cabinets segment)