An overview of manufacturing knowledge sharing in the product development process

This paper provides an overview of reported research relevant to the management of manufacturing related knowledge and highlights the sharing of knowledge in the product development process. Previous research and concepts reported by international researchers and examples of the research projects carried out by the authors’ research teams will also be introduced. Publications reviewed are in the scope of information, communication and knowledge management technologies in product development and manufacturing. Some key concepts and issues in knowledge management are introduced first, as a foundation for the remainder of the review. The different approaches to knowledge management and knowledge sharing, and the different types of knowledge and key issues in the product development process are discussed. Then manufacturing knowledge and its application in the product development is reviewed. The focus is given to the discussion of the approaches to sharing manufacturing knowledge relating to the product development process and indicating the future challenges and research directions

DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR ASSEMBLY LINE PLANNING -MODULAR SUBSYTEMS FOR A LARGE SCALE PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

In the domain of assembly lines, process sheets are entities that carry assembly process descriptions (work instructions), assembly time estimations, product workspaces and other configuration management and control information. These process sheets get assigned to workstations during the process of assembly line balancing. In this research two tools have been developed to aid in the assembly line planning process. In order to ensure that assembly line workers do not intrude upon each other\u27s workspace, two assembly processes operating on the same product workspace must not be assigned to the same station. Generating and maintaining product workspace information for every process sheet is automated by use of the Product Workspace Identification Tool developed in this research. This tool uses CAD data, custom built analysis software, and web-based databases to define, compute, and store product workspace information. All assembly work instructions must have time studies. These time studies are used primarily in line balancing. Methods Time Measurement (MTM) is a set of charts that provide standard assembly time estimations based on the parts (and their surrounding space) that are being assembled. In the adapted version of MTM that is used for this research, there are twenty-two MTM tables and several pieces of information are required to arrive at an assembly time study. Using the MTM tables to generate assembly time estimates is cumbersome simply because the number of work instructions for a given product can run into the thousands. The MTM estimate generator presented in this thesis provides decision support to the process sheet author by presenting a reduced set of MTM tables and also by performing filtering within the MTM tables. Testing and validation of this tool showed that it has a mapping accuracy of 75%. These two tools are modular subsystems of a large production management system

A task based manufacturing knowledge maintenance method

The effective use of computer based tools to support decision making in manufacturing industry is critical to business success. One of the most critical areas is during product design and especially in design for manufacture. This research will help in understanding of how manufacturing knowledge can be effectively maintained for an existing knowledge base. The work will use modern product lifecycle management tools in combination with a knowledge based environment in order to explore the effectiveness of the methods produced. This work is a part of the SAMULET (Strategic Affordable Manufacturing in the UK through Leading Environmental Technologies) research program and was done in association with an aerospace manufacturing company. The main focus of this research is to define a novel method for maintaining the machining knowledge associated with manufacturing of Xtra Wide Body (XWB) High Pressure (HP) turbine blade. The four main elements explained in this thesis are, a) the literature review done on knowledge management and knowledge maintenance, b) industrial investigation done on a manufacturing facility, c) detailed explanation of a novel manufacturing knowledge maintenance method d) four iterative case studies used for the evaluation and iterative improvement of the method. The research concludes that the aspect of knowledge maintenance is important. It is imperative to set out a formalised and mandated knowledge maintenance process in an organisation to keep the knowledge up-to-date and relevant. It has been shown that a novel task based knowledge maintenance method comprising a Knowledge Maintenance Process (KMP) and a Knowledge Maintenance Template (KMT) provides an effective route to knowledge maintenance. Three maintenance tasks, check relevancy, knowledge filtering, and integrity checking have been considered in detail for successful knowledge maintenance. Four iterative case studies have been conducted for the experimental evaluation of the maintenance method. As the result of these evaluations a novel method for maintaining the machining knowledge of XWB HP turbine blade was defined

Analysis of manufacturing operations using knowledge- Enriched aggregate process planning

Knowledge-Enriched Aggregate Process Planning is concerned with the problem of supporting agile design and manufacture by making process planning feedback integral to the design function. A novel Digital Enterprise Technology framework (Maropoulos 2003) provides the technical context and is the basis for the integration of the methods with existing technologies for enterprise-wide product development. The work is based upon the assertion that, to assure success when developing new products, the technical and qualitative evaluation of process plans must be carried out as early as possible. An intelligent exploration methodology is presented for the technical evaluation of the many alternative manufacturing options which are feasible during the conceptual and embodiment design phases. 'Data resistant' aggregate product, process and resource models are the foundation of these planning methods. From the low-level attributes of these models, aggregate methods to generate suitable alternative process plans and estimate Quality, Cost and Delivery (QCD) have been created. The reliance on QCD metrics in process planning neglects the importance of tacit knowledge that people use to make everyday decisions and express their professional judgement in design. Hence, the research also advances the core aggregate planning theories by developing knowledge-enrichment methods for measuring and analysing qualitative factors as an additional indicator of manufacturing performance, which can be used to compute the potential of a process plan. The application of these methods allows the designer to make a comparative estimation of manufacturability for design alternatives. Ultimately, this research should translate into significant reductions in both design costs and product development time and create synergy between the product design and the manufacturing system that will be used to make it. The efficacy of the methodology was proved through the development of an experimental computer system (called CAPABLE Space) which used real industrial data, from a leading UK satellite manufacturer to validate the industrial benefits and promote the commercial exploitation of the research

Conception et développement d'un système multi-agent d'aide à la décision pour la gestion de production dynamique

Une prise de décision efficace repose souvent sur le contrôle de l'information dans le temps, cette action vise à capturer des éléments d'information les plus importants qui sont mis à jour de différentes manières. L'intégration des agents aux Systèmes Interactifs d'Aide à la Décision (SIAD) fournit un moyen rentable pour la prise de décision. Les agents planifient dans le système et poursuivent leurs buts et sous-objectifs en coopérant, coordonnant leurs tâches et en négociant entre eux afin de répondre avec souplesse et intelligence aux situations dynamiques et imprévues. En gestion de production temps-réel, le système d'aide à la décision mémorise l'état courant de l'atelier. Il connaît à tout moment l'ensemble des décisions et des événements possibles. Nous distinguons trois contextes d'aide à la décision : (i) aide à la décision pour une séquence admissible; (ii) aide à la décision pour le recouvrement de l'admissibilité et (iii) aide à la décision et à la négociation entre les centres de décision hors du contexte planifié. La présente thèse propose un SIAD à base d'agents afin de résoudre certains problèmes d'incertitude dans le système d'ordonnancement de la production dynamique. Le système développé donne aux centres de décision la possibilité pour prendre des décisions dans un contexte dynamique. Plus précisément, les Stations Intégrées de Production (SIP) seront équipées d'un comportement suffisant pour exécuter des opérations concrètes et réagir simultanément à la complexité des problèmes causés par l'ordonnancement dynamique dans des situations réelles. Ces agents expriment leurs préférences en utilisant la méthode ELECTRE III, afin de résoudre les différences. Le mécanisme de négociation est basé sur le Protocole Contract Net (CNP). Le protocole développé sur JADE fournit des échanges de messages entre les agents et leur propose des comportements prédéfinis. L'approche est testée à travers des scénarii simples.An effective decision making is often based on control information in time. This action aims to capture the current state of the most important information elements updated in different ways. For Decision Support Systems (DSS), the software agents' integration provides an automated, cost-effective means for making decisions. The agents in the system autonomously plan and pursue their actions and sub-goals to cooperate, coordinate, and negotiate with others, and to respond flexibly and intelligently to dynamic and unpredictable situations. In real-time production management, the DSS memorizes the current state-of the workshop. It knows constantly all possible decisions and the possible events involved. We distinguish 3 contexts for the decision-making aid: (1) Decision-making aid in the context of an acceptable sequence; (2) Assistance for the admissibility covering; and (3) negotiation support among different decision-making centers in a dynamic context. The present thesis proposes an agent architecture-based DSS in order to solve some uncertainty problems in dynamic production system scheduling. The proposed DSS gives the decision centers the opportunity to make decisions in a dynamical context. Specifically, Integrated Station of Production agents (ISP) will be equipped with a sufficient behavior to carry out practical operations and simultaneously react to the complex problems caused by the dynamic scheduling in real situations. These agents express their preferences by using ELECTRE III method in order to solve differences. The negotiation mechanism is based on the Contract Net Protocol (CNP). The coordination protocol developed on JADE provides message exchanges between agents and offers them predefined behaviors. The approach is tested through simple scenarios

Kurumsal bir imalat bilişim modeli önerisi

06.03.2018 tarihli ve 30352 sayılı Resmi Gazetede yayımlanan “Yükseköğretim Kanunu İle Bazı Kanun Ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun” ile 18.06.2018 tarihli “Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge” gereğince tam metin erişime açılmıştır.Bilişim teknolojileri ve imalat alanındaki çalışmalar incelendiğinde; imalat işletmelerinin bilişim teknolojilerinden etkin bir biçimde faydalanmaları ve kendi işletmelerine ait sağlam bir bilişim altyapısı ve modeli oluşturmaları gerekliliği dikkat çekmektedir.Yapılmış olan çalışmalar ışığında bu tez çalışmasında imalat işletmelerine yönelik olarak bütünleşik bir imalat bilişim sistemi kurmak amacıyla ?Kurumsal İmalat Bilişim Modeli? önerisinde bulunulmuştur. Bu model ile imalat işletmesi kurumsal, stratejik, fonksiyonel, teknik, değerlendirme ve uygulama alanlarında ele alınarak bütünleşik bir bilişim modeli geliştirilmiştir.Literatür çalışmalarında imalat işletmesini bir bütün olarak ele alıp, teknik altyapısı üzerinde bilişim sistemi planından yatırım değerlendirme sürecine kadar olan tüm aşamalara yer veren bir modelin eksikliğinin görülmesi üzerine bu çalışma gerçekleştirilmiştir.Bütünleşik olarak tasarlanmış olan bu model önerisi ile imalat yapan işletmelere kendi sistemleri ile uyumlu ve etkin bir bilişim sistemi altyapısı kurmaları için yol gösterilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Ayrıca modelin gerçek bir sistemle örtüşmesinin ve benzerliğinin analiz edilmesi için iki farklı işletmede uygulama çalışması gerçekleştirilmiştir.When the literature on information technologies in manufacturing systems is studied, it is clear that manufacturing enterprises have to use information technologies effectively and these enterprises have to build a robust information infrastructure and information model for their organization.For this reason in this study an information model called ?Enterprise Manufacturing Information Model: EMIM? is proposed and developed to integrate manufacturing information system for the manufacturing firms. The manufacturing enterprise is analyzed on firm?s organizational, strategic, functional, technical, appraisal and integration-implementation areas by this model.There are a lot of information models for the manufacturing enterprises. These models focus on firms from local or processes point of view. They do not focus on the technical infrastructure in detail. This indicates the need for a more detailed analysis on the technical structure of firms from making the decision for the investment on information system stage to appraising the investment stage. That?s why, this study is conducted to cover this gap.With all of the stages of this integrated model, assisting an effective and compatible information infrastructure and guiding how to build an effective and robust information system is aimed. Also, similarity and overlapping analyses of the model and real enterprises are implemented in two different enterprises

Acquisition and sharing of innovative manufacturing knowledge for preliminary design

This study investigates the identification, acquisition and sharing of innovative manufacturing knowledge for the preliminary design of complex mechanical components. Such components need to satisfy multiple, often conflicting design and performance requirements. Some degree of innovation may be required, involving the development of new manufacturing processes. The innovative nature of this manufacturing knowledge makes it difficult to define, codify and share, especially during preliminary design, where this can present significant risks in the design process. Current methods of knowledge sharing do not account for the immature nature of innovative manufacturing knowledge and the combined explicit and tacit elements needed to express it. A flexible interpretive research study with inductive and hypothesis testing elements was undertaken to explore this novel knowledge management problem. During the inductive phase, two data collection activities were undertaken to investigate the manufacturing knowledge required for the preliminary design of gas turbine engines. Using a data driven approach, the main findings which emerged were: the need to include an assessment of the maturity of the design process; the need to use a range of tacit and explicit knowledge to effectively share this and the need to manage knowledge across different domain boundaries. A conceptual framework of the findings was used to develop a hypothesis of knowledge requirements for preliminary design. For the hypothesis testing phase, a systematic methodology to identify, acquire and share innovative manufacturing knowledge for preliminary design was developed from the knowledge requirements. This approach allowed both explicit and tacit knowledge sharing. An evaluation of the methodology took place using three different industrial cases, each with a different component / manufacturing process. The evaluations demonstrated that using the range of knowledge types for transferring knowledge was effective for the specific cases studied and confirmed the hypothesis developed.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo