Fuzzy Bayesian reliability and availability analysis of production systems

To have effective production planning and control, it is necessary to calculate the reliability and availability of a production system as a whole. Considering only machine reliability in the calculations would most likely result unmet due dates. In this study, a new modelling approach for determining the reliability and availability of a production system is proposed by considering all the components of the system and their hierarchy in the system structure. Components of a production system are defined as production processes; components of the processes are defined as sub-processes. In this hierarchical structure we could model all kinds of failures such as material and supply, management and personnel, and machine and equipment. In the analysis, a fuzzy Bayesian method is used to quantify the uncertainties in the production environment. The suggested modelling approach is illustrated on an example. In the example, also a separate reliability and availability analysis is conducted which only considered machine failures, and the results of both analyses are compared.     

Project scheduling under resource constraints: Application of the cumulative global constraint in a decision support framework

This paper concerns project scheduling under resource constraints. Traditionally, the objective is to find a unique solution that minimizes the project makespan, while respecting the precedence constraints and the resource constraints. This work focuses on developing a model and a decision support framework for industrial application of the cumulative global constraint. For a given project scheduling, the proposed approach allows the generation of different optimal solutions relative to the alternate availability of outsourcing and resources. The objective is to provide a decision-maker an assistance to construct, choose, and define the appropriate scheduling program taking into account the possible capacity resources. The industrial problem under consideration is modeled as a constraint satisfaction problem (CSP). It is implemented under the constraint programming language CHIP V5. The provided solutions determine values for the various variables associated to the tasks realized on each resource, as well as the curves with the profile of the total consumption of resources on time.     

Theory and methodology on the global optimal solution to a General Reverse Logistics Inventory Model for deteriorating items and time-varying rates

In this paper, we present a unified general inventory model for integrated production of new items and remanufacturing of returned items for an infinite planning horizon. Our model considers a production environment that consists of three shops. The first shop is for remanufacturing returned items, the second shop is for manufacturing new items, while the third shop is for collecting returned items to be remanufactured in the first shop. The system is subject to joint production and remanufacturing options, the first one is to produce new items while the second one is to reproduce/recycle the returned items “as-good-as new”. Items deteriorate while they are in storage, and production, remanufacturing, demand, return, and deterioration rates are arbitrary functions of time. A closed form for the total relevant costs as well as a rigorous mathematical proof, which shows the global optimality of the solution to the underlying inventory system are introduced. Illustrative examples, which explain the application of the theoretical results as well as their numerical verifications, are also given.     

Analysis of the maximum level policy in a production-distribution system

We consider a production-distribution system, where a facility produces one commodity which is distributed to a set of retailers by a fleet of vehicles. Each retailer defines a maximum level of the inventory. The production policy, the retailers replenishment policies and the transportation policy have to be determined so as to minimize the total system cost. The overall cost is composed by fixed and variable production costs at the facility, inventory costs at both facility and retailers and routing costs. We study two different types of replenishment policies. The well-known order-up to level (OU) policy, where the quantity shipped to each retailer is such that the level of its inventory reaches the maximum level, and the maximum level (ML) policy, where the quantity shipped to each retailer is such that the inventory is not greater than the maximum level. We first show that when the transportation is outsourced, the problem with OU policy is NP-hard, whereas there exists a class of instances where the problem with ML policy can be solved in polynomial time. We also show the worst-case performance of the OU policy with respect to the more flexible ML policy. Then, we focus on the ML policy and the design of a hybrid heuristic. We also present an exact algorithm for the solution of the problem with one vehicle. Results of computational experiments carried out on small size instances show that the heuristic can produce high quality solutions in a very short amount of time. Results obtained on a large set of randomly generated problem instances are also shown, aimed at comparing the two policies.     

基于数据的生产过程调度方法研究综述

生产过程调度是自动化、工业工程和管理工程等领域的热点研究方向. 迄今, 在生产过程调度方法研究上已取得很多成果, 其主要涉及生产过程调度问题建模和优化方法. 本文在对常用生产过程调度方法的国内外研究状况进行简要综述的基础上, 主要针对复杂生产过程调度问题, 论述了基于数据的生产过程调度方法的研究背景、涵义和研究现状.     

Production scheduling and vehicle routing with time windows for perishable food products

We propose a nonlinear mathematical model to consider production scheduling and vehicle routing with time windows for perishable food products in the same framework. The demands at retailers are assumed stochastic and perishable goods will deteriorate once they were produced. Thus the revenue of the supplier is uncertain and depends on the value and the transaction quantity of perishable products when they are carried to retailers. The objective of this model is to maximize the expected total profit of the supplier. The optimal production quantities, the time to start producing and the vehicle routes can be determined in the model simultaneously. Furthermore, we elaborate a solution algorithm composed of the constrained Nelder–Mead method and a heuristic for the vehicle routing with time windows to solve the complex problem. Computational results indicate our algorithm is effective and efficient.     

台达机电产品在塑料薄膜生产线上的应用

本文主要介绍了台达机电产品（触摸屏、PLC、变频器、温控器等）在塑料薄膜生产线上的整合应用。该控制系统操作界面友好简单,结合台达HMI、PLC和变频器等工控产品,实现了设备的技术升级与高效节能,体现出台达自动化产品较高的性价比。运行实践证明,台达产品稳定可靠,控制效率高,值得业界同行借鉴和推广。     

A robust scheduling method based on a multi-objective immune algorithm

A robust scheduling method is proposed to solve uncertain scheduling problems. An uncertain scheduling problem is modeled by a set of workflow models, and then a scheduling scheme (solution) of the problem can be evaluated by workflow simulations executed with the workflow models in the set. A multi-objective immune algorithm is presented to find Pareto optimal robust scheduling schemes that have good performance for each model in the set. The two optimization objectives for scheduling schemes are the indices of the optimality and robustness of the scheduling results. An antibody represents a resource allocation scheme, and the methods of antibody coding and decoding are designed to deal with resource conflicts during workflow simulations. Experimental tests show that the proposed method can generate a robust scheduling scheme that is insensitive to uncertain scheduling environments.     

Using online simulation in Holonic manufacturing systems

This paper deals with the use of online simulation on Holonic manufacturing systems. Concepts needed for the use of online simulation in a classical hierarchical system were already defined, the observer being the central one. The behavior's differences between both classes of systems are studied to determine the best way to adapt these concepts to this new environment. In the product resource order staff approach (PROSA) reference architecture, staff holons were chosen to welcome the simulation models and the observer. An application on an industrial sized Holonic manufacturing system is described to demonstrate the validity of the approach.     

Distributed control of production systems

This editorial introduces the special issue of the Elsevier journal, Engineering Application of Artificial Intelligence, on Distributed control of production systems. The current technology in communication and embedded systems allows products and production resources to play a more active role in the production process. This new active capacity will generate major changes in organizations and information systems (e.g., Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)). New approaches are now required for modelling, testing and assessing the features made possible by the decisional and informational capabilities of these new active entities. One among the many possibilities is to use agents and holons, since agent and holon-based approaches assume interaction between intelligent entities to facilitate the emergence of a global behavior. This special issue thus focuses on the possible applications of distributed approaches for the design, evaluation and implementation of new control architectures for production systems. Both fundamental and applied research papers are presented.