Aspects of a knowledge-based tool for manufacturing systems design

In the face of increasing worldwide competition, many manufacturing companies are reassessing their operations. Systematic design of manufacturing systems increasingly requires the adoption of a multidisciplinary approach involving all aspects of a company's activities. In carrying out this task, well structured knowledge-based systems can act as a useful tool for supporting the work of trained manufacturing systems engineers. This is due to the complex and iterative nature of the systems design process which requires the integration of knowledge from a number of application domains. User acceptance of the resulting knowledge-based system is critically dependent on the human-computer interface which, in this case, must be adaptable to the varied requirements of users with different levels of expertise and specialist skills. This paper describes the facilities provided in one such knowledge-based tool developed to help redesign existing manufacturing systems.