Solving integrated process planning and scheduling problem with constraint programming

Session - Scheduling and Sequencing 3: paper no. T3D3The APIEMS 2012 Conference proceedings' website is located at http://apiems.net/conf2012/Process planning and scheduling are two important manufacturing functions which are usually performed sequentially. However, due to the uncertainties and disturbances frequently occurring in the manufacturing environment, the separately conducted process plan and shopfloor schedule may lose their optimality, becoming ineffective or even infeasible. Researchers have considered the potential of integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) to conduct the two manufacturing planning activities concurrently instead of sequentially. That is, to integrate process planning with dynamic shopfloor scheduling to cope with the realtimeshopfloor status. The IPPS problem is very complex and it has been regarded as an NP-hard problem. Many researchers have attempted to solve the IPPS problem with intelligent approaches such as meta-heuristics and agent-based negotiation. In this paper, a constraint programming-based approach is proposed and implemented in the IPPS problem domain. Constraint programming (CP) features great modeling capabilities to reflect complex constraints of a problem, and there is a great potential for CP to be used to solve IPPS problems. The approach is implemented and tested on the IBM ILOG platform, and experimental results show that the CP can handle the IPPS problem efficiently and effectively.published_or_final_versio

Application of auto-ID in agent-based manufacturing control

Conference Theme: Soft Computing Techniques for Advanced Manufacturing and Service SystemsSession - MA-Ha Manufacturing Technologies 1: cie177hk-1A feasibility study has been established to integrate agent and auto-ID technologies in manufacturing control applications. A multi-agent system (MAS) framework for intelligent manufacturing has been established. The intelligent MAS environment attempts to exploit the potential of Auto-ID (RFID in particular) technology in manufacturing applications. The aim is to evaluate the applications of Auto-ID, especially with RFID technology, in manufacturing control. This involves the establishment of the hardware and software interfaces to enable production and process data to be recorded and written in the Auto-ID devices. Experiments are being conducted to study the working requirements and parameters of the Auto-ID devices in the shopfloor environments. Subsequently, the RFID technology is adopted in a flexible assembly cell (FAC) to evaluate the feasibility of integrating the RFID devices in a multi-agent based manufacturing control system. A MAS infrastructure for FAC control has been developed to incorporate the coordination of the RFID devices.published_or_final_versionThe 40th International Conference on Computers & Industrial Engineering (CIE40), Awaji City, Japan, 25-28 July 2010. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering, 2010, p. 1-

An enhanced ant colony optimization approach for integrated process planning and scheduling

An enhanced ant colony optimization (eACO) meta-heuristics is proposed in this paper to accomplish the integrated process planning and scheduling (IPPS) in the jobshop environments. The IPPS problem is graphically formulated to implement the ACO algorithm. In accordance with the characteristics of the IPPS problem, the mechanism of eACO has been enhanced with several modifications, including quantification of convergence level, introduction of pheromone on nodes, new strategy of determining heuristic desirability and directive pheromone deposit strategy. Experiments are conducted to evaluate the approach, while makespan and CPU time are used as measurements. Encouraging results can be seen when comparing to other IPPS approaches based on evolutionary algorithms. © 2013 International Institute for Innovation, Industrial Engineering and Entrepreneurship - I4e2.published_or_final_versio

A framework to develop an expert injection mold planning system for early product design decisions

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A negotiation protocol to support agent argumentation and ontology interoperability in MAS-based virtual enterprises

The virtual enterprise (VE), which is formed according to some business opportunities through the collaboration of supply chain partners, is an effective way of business operation in the dynamic global market. This paper proposes an automated negotiation protocol for multi-agent system (MAS) based virtual enterprises. Firstly, to facilitate the functional integration of VEs, a MAS framework is developed to represent the whole life cycle of VEs. Secondly, a negotiation protocol supporting agent argumentation and ontology interoperability between agents is designed to handle the one-to-many negotiation scenarios in the VE context. The negotiation ontology is defined to combine the negotiation domain knowledge. Meanwhile, the ontology interoperability and agent argumentation mechanism is illustrated to ensure agents' mutual understandings. Finally, the proposed MAS framework is implemented upon the JADE platform. Simulation experiments are carried out to verify the agent interaction sequences in the negotiation protocol. © 2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 7th International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations (ITNG 2010), Las Vegas, NV., 12-14 April 2010. In Proceedings of the 7th ITNG, 2010, p. 448-45

Service-oriented architecture for ontologies supporting multi-agent system negotiations in virtual enterprise

This paper offers a service-oriented architecture (SOA) for ontology-based multi-agent system (MAS) negotiations in the context of virtual enterprises (VEs). The objective of this paper is fourfold. First, it is to design a SOA which utilizes ontology and MAS to provide a distributed and interoperable environment for automated negotiations in VE. In this architecture, individual ontologies for both the VE initiator and its potential partners are constructed to describe and store resources and service knowledge. Second, a series of semantic ontology matching methods are developed to reach agents' interoperability during the negotiation process. Third, correspondence-based extended contract net protocol is presented, which provides basic guidelines for agents' reaching mutual understandings and service negotiation. Last, a fuzzy set theory based knowledge reuse approach is proposed to evaluate the current negotiation behaviors of the VE partners. A walkthrough example is presented to illustrate the methodologies and system architecture proposed in this paper. © 2010 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

A MAS framework for the negotiation based operational integration of virtual enterprises

The virtual enterprise (VE) is an effective way of business operation in the dynamic global market. This paper proposes a multi-agent system (MAS) framework for the negotiation based operational integration of VEs. Firstly, integrating the major VE operational activities into agent functions, a MAS framework is developed to represent the whole life cycle of VEs. Secondly, a negotiation protocol supporting agent argumentation is designed to handle the partner selection and conflict solving negotiation scenarios in the VE context. Finally, the proposed MAS framework is implemented upon the JADE platform. Simulation experiments have been carried out to verify the agent interaction sequences in the negotiation protocol. ©2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 4th Annual IEEE Systems Conference, 2010, San Diego, CA., 5-8 April 2010. In Conference Proceedings, 2010, p. 535-54

Using data envelopment analysis for supplier evaluation with environmental considerations

With the proliferation of outsourcing in global market place, supplier selection has become a key strategic consideration in forming a competitive supply chain. Supplier selection has been recognized as a multi-criteria decision making problem in which suppliers are evaluated according to multiple criteria such as price, quality, delivery and service simultaneously. Facing with excessive pressures from government and customers, increasing number of companies are beginning to consider environmental issues in the procurement and supplier selection process to practice the sustainable development. It is therefore necessary to measure a supplier’s environmental performance. This paper aims to find out what kind of environmental criteria can be applied to assess suppliers overall performances. The multicriteria decision making approach data envelopment analysis (DEA) is applied to help companies to evaluate suppliers’ various environmental performance and other capabilities simultaneously. © 2013 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

CSR and environmental criteria in supplier selection

Session - Green Manufacturing Technology: paper no. M3C1The APIEMS 2012 Conference proceedings' website is located at http://apiems.net/conf2012/The supplier selection issue in today’s world does not simply depend on price anymore. Other non-price criteria such as quality, delivery and overall capability are gradually gaining equal importance. Because of the globalization of trade, the world is becoming an increasingly open and global marketplace where the intense competition is urging companies to reduce the cost and development time of a new product. Companies are forced to take every possible factor into consideration when making the strategic decision to minimize costs and product development time. That means besides taking price into consideration, companies now also has to assess the overall capability of the suppliers, such as production capability, technological capability, company reputation and other factors that are hard to be quantified, in order to make the most informed decision to strive for a balance between lowering profits and rising costs. Different companies have their own ways in carrying out the supplier selection process that aligns with their corporate strategy. This paper is interested in what criteria are used in supplier evaluation and the ranking of the criteria importance. In particular, the focus is the incorporation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental responsibility (ER) requirements into supplier selection. With the increasing awareness of CSR and ER, large international corporations have been paying more attention in selecting suppliers that are capable of adhering to the practice of sustainability. Hence, this paper aims to find out what criteria or performance indicators are adopted by companies to assess their suppliers, and how much importance CSR and ER contributes to the final decision of the selected supplier. A multi-agent system is implemented with a multi criteria decision making model to incorporate the criteria identified for evaluating supplier performance and selecting the most suitable supplier.published_or_final_versio

An agent-based negotiation model to support partner selection in a virtual enterprise

Session - MP-Fd Supply Chain Management & Logistics 4: cie182hk-1Conference Theme: Soft Computing Techniques for Advanced Manufacturing and Service SystemsIn response to the global business competitive environment, it is common for several companies to participate in a virtual enterprise (VE) to cooperate and collaborate dynamically to complete a common business opportunity. This paper proposes an agent-based negotiation model to support the partner selection process in a VE. To begin with, the VE partner selection problem is abstracted as a buyer-seller relationship such that the VE initiator is the buyer and the VE partners are sellers or vice verse. In the multi-agent system (MAS) that supports the proposed negotiation model, autonomous agents are established to represent various parties and functions of the VE. For instance, a buyer agent represents the VE initiator and the potential partners are represented by seller agents. Thus, the VE partner evaluation and selection problem is the process of finding the partners that are able to provide the buyer with the right quality products and services at the right price and at the right time. Evaluation and selection of partners is a typical multiattribute decision making (MADM) problem involving various issues that can both be qualitative and quantitative.published_or_final_versionThe 40th International Conference on Computers & Industrial Engineering (CIE40), Awaji City, Japan, 25-28 July 2010. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering, 2010, p. 1-