Coping with lists in the ifcOWL ontology

Over the past few years, several suggestions have been made of how to convert an EXPRESS schema into an OWL ontology. The conversion from EXPRESS to OWL is of particular use to architectural design and construction industry, because one of the key data models in architectural design and construction industry, namely the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) is represented using the EXPRESS information modelling language. In each of these conversion options, the way in which lists are converted (e.g. lists of coordinates, lists of spaces in a floor) is key to the structure and eventual strength of the resulting ontology. In this article, we outline and discuss the main decisions that can be made in converting LIST concepts in EXPRESS to equivalent OWL expressions. This allows one to identify which conversion option is appropriate to support proper and efficient information reuse in the domain of architecture and construction

A method to generate a modular ifcOWL ontology

Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Semantic Web technologies are becoming more and more popular in the Architecture Engineering Construction (AEC) and Facilities Management (FM) industry to support information management, information exchange and data interoperability. One of the key integration gateways between BIM and Semantic Web is represented by the ifcOWL ontology, i.e. the Web Ontology Language (OWL) version of the IFC standard, being one of reference technical standard for AEC/FM. Previous studies have shown how a recommended ifcOWL ontology can be automatically generated by converting the IFC standard from the official EXPRESS schema. However, the resulting ifcOWL is a large monolithic ontology that presents serious limitations for real industrial applications in terms of usability and performance (i.e. querying and reasoning). Possible enhancements to reduce the complexity and the data size consist in (1) modularization of ifcOWL making it easier to use subsets of the entire ontology, and (2) rethinking the contents and structure of an ontology for AEC/FM to better fit in the semantic web scope and make its usage more efficient. The second approach can be enabled by the first one, since it would make it easier to replace some of the ifcOWL modules with new optimized ontologies for the AEC-FM industry. This paper focuses on the first approach presenting a method to automatically generate a modular ifcOWL ontology. The method aims at minimizing the dependencies between modules to better exploit the modularization. The results are compared with simpler and more straight-forward solutions

Editorial: Formal Ontologies meet Industry

The Formal Ontologies meet Industry (FOMI) workshop series is a scientific initiative supported by the International Association for Ontology and its Applications (IAOA) aimed at bringing together academics and practitioners interested in ontologies for industry. FOMI addresses research and application topics concerning, e.g., the design of domain-specific ontologies, the development of ontology-based information systems, or the investigation of the theoretical underpinnings of formal ontology when tuned to engineering applications

performance evaluation of stochastic forward and reverse supply networks

Abstract The variability of the arrival and service processes has a strong impact on the performance of supply chain networks (SCNs), especially when the reverse flow to the manufacturer is considered. This paper proposes to use approximate analytical models to quickly evaluate the performance of SCN configurations during the design phase of the forward and reverse supply chains. The models are applied to the case of scrap-based steel production in which the role of the reverse flow is higher compared to the other reverse supply chains since a higher proportion of the raw material is provided by the reverse flow. As the solution methodology, an approach based on the queueing network model has been developed to represent general distributions of the stochastic parameters (i.e. arrival and processing rates). The accuracy of the proposed analytical models is assessed by comparing the results of numerical experiments against discrete-event simulations

Reusing domain ontologies in linked building data : the case of building automation and control

Linked data and semantic web technologies are gaining impact and importance in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Facility Management (AEC/FM) industry. Whereas we have seen a strong technological shift with the emergence of Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools, this second technological shift to the exchange and management of building data over the web might be even stronger than the first one. In order to make this a success, the AEC/FM industry will need strong and appropriate ontologies, as they will allow industry practitioners to structure their data in a commonly agreed format and exchange the data. Herein, we look at the ontologies that are emerging in the area of Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS). We propose a BACS ontology in strong alignment with existing ontologies and evaluate how it can be used for capturing automation and control systems of a building by modeling a use case

Semantic Virtual Factory supporting interoperable modelling and evaluation of production systems

Modelling, simulation and evaluation of manufacturing systems are relevant activities that may strongly impact on the competitiveness of production enterprises both during the design and the operational phases. This paper addresses the application of a semantic data model for virtual factories to support the design and the performance evaluation of manufacturing systems, while exploiting the interoperability between various Digital Enterprise Technology tools. The paper shows how a shared ontology-based framework can be used to generate consistent 3D virtual environments and discrete event simulation models, demonstrating this way how the proposed solution can provide an interoperable backbone for heterogeneous software tools

A Telemetry-driven Approach to Simulate Data-intensive Manufacturing Processes

Abstract Telemetry enables the collection of data from remote points to support monitoring, analysis and visualization. It is largely adopted in Formula One car racing, where streams of live data collected from hundreds of sensors installed on car components are transmitted to the pitwall to be used as input of real-time car performance simulations. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the potential of a telemetry-driven approach in a manufacturing environment, where researchers are still looking for efficient methods to perform valuable simulations of the production processes on the basis of real data coming from the factory. The telemetry could contribute to the implementation of a virtual image of the real factory, which in turn could be used to simulate the factory performance, allowing to predict failures or investigate problems, and to reduce costly downtime. This study addresses in particular the efforts to combine and adapt methods and techniques borrowed from the field of Formula One car racing. Moreover, the investigation of the exploitation possibilities of the factory telemetry is paired with the design of a software application supporting this technology, starting from the elicitation and specification of the functional requirements

Synchronizing physical and digital factory: benefits and technical challenges

Abstract The Digital Twin is a representation of characteristics and behavior of a factory according to various levels of detail and the scope it addresses. Its full range of capabilities can be exploited when it is synchronized with the real world. Indeed, in this case, it can be used to mirror the real operating conditions for simulating the real-time behavior, and thus forecasting factory performances. However, we are still far from its large-scale diffusion. The purpose of this work is to analyze both the major challenges that still have to be faced and some potential solutions for each of the identified challenges

Zero-point fixture systems as a reconfiguration enabler in flexible manufacturing systems

ABSTRACT: Today's manufacturing systems need to be able to quickly adapt to customer demands, ranging from high volumes of mass production to high volumes of mass customization. Flexible Manufacturing Systems provide a high degree of flexibility to cope with these challenges. They consist of machine tools capable of executing a wide range of machining operations while the use of pallets to reference and block the parts allows the decoupling of the setup operations from the machining centers activity. This paper presents an ontology-based framework to support the design and management of flexible manufacturing systems, aimed at integrating the various involved activities including the pallet configuration and process planning, the management policies for short-term production planning and the pallet checking to verify the correct configuration of the physical pallet