Bernd Scholz-Reiter

Business Process Modelling

Business Process Modelling.- 1 Business Process Modelling and Workflow Management.- From Business Process Modelling to Workflow Management: An Integrated Approach.- Workflow Management Cycle - An Integrated Approach to the Modelling, Execution, and Monitoring of Workflow-Based Processes.- Process Modelling and Execution in Workflow Management Systems by Event- Driven Versioning.- Scheduling Models for Workflow Management.- to Business Process Management Systems Concepts.- 2 Business Process Modelling and Engineering Processes.- Implementation of Information Systems Supporting Engineering Processes Based on World Wide Web.- Business Process Management for Open Processes: Method and Tool to Support Product Development Processes.- Distributed Co-operative Modelling of Production Systems.- 3 Strategic Business Planning.- A Proposal Approach for Strategic Probe: A Scanning Information Support.- Integrating the Strategic and Technical Approach to Business Process Engineering.- 4 Business Process Modelling - Experiences.- Information Technology as an Enabler of Business Processes Designing During Macroeconomic Transformation.- Integration of IT Strategy, Process Analysis and System Implementation in an Office Automation Based Process Improvement Programme.- 5 Methodological and Technical Aspects of Business Process Modelling.- A Coordination-based Approach for Modelling Office Workflow.- An Object Oriented Approach to Business Process Modelling.- Business Process Reengineering with Reusable Reference Process Building Blocks.- An Object-Oriented and Business Process-Based Meta Model of an Architecture for Management Support Systems.- Its Time to Engineer Re-engineering: Investigating the Potential of Simulation Modelling for Business Process Redesign.

Towards improved dispatching rules for complex shop floor scenarios: a genetic programming approach

Developing dispatching rules for manufacturing systems is a process, which is time- and cost-consuming. Since there is no good general rule for different scenarios and objectives automatic rule search mechanism are investigated. In this paper an approach using Genetic Programming (GP) is presented. The priority rules generated by GP are evaluated on dynamic job shop scenarios from literature and compared with manually developed rules yielding very promising results also interesting for Simulation Optimization in general.

Modelling Dynamics of Autonomous Logistic Processes: Discrete-event versus Continuous Approaches

For developing and benchmarking autonomous logistic processes, dynamic models are essential. The paper investigates two different modelling approaches regarding their abilities to describe an exemplary scenario -an autonomously controlled shop floor. A discrete-event simulation model is compared to a continuous System Dynamics model. An autonomous control strategy is developed and its effectiveness and robustness are investigated by analysing the dynamic behaviour and the logistic performance in cases of work load fluctuations and unexpected disturbances.

Flexible robot-based disassembly cell for obsolete TV-sets and monitors

Abstract Disassembly is a developing field of application for automated components for processing electronic waste. The reasons behind its rapid development are changing legislation in favor of environmental protection because of a globally increasing amount of obsolete electronic products and growing public awareness of environmental problems. A prototype of a flexible robot based disassembly cell for obsolete TV-sets and monitors has been developed at PRIELOG Logistik GmbH and is currently being adapted to the demands of industry. Main parts of this system are a disassembly robot, a handling robot, an intelligent vision system as well as software for highly flexible online planning and control of the disassembly process. A detailed description of the disassembly cell and first results of industrial adaptation are introduced in this work. The results lead to optimized reactive planning algorithms as well as improved sensor systems and the usage of universal and flexible disassembly tools and fixtures.

Autonomously controlled storage management in vehicle logistics – applications of RFID and mobile computing systems

Today, planning and control of logistic processes on automobile terminals are generally executed by centralised logistics systems, which cannot cope with high requirements for flexible order processing due to increasing dynamics and complexity. The main business processes on automobile terminals – notification of vehicles by automobile manufacturer, transport to automobile terminal, storage and technical treatment as well as delivery to automobile dealer – are planned and controlled by centralised application software systems. In the context of this article, an innovative approach to autonomous control in automobile logistics is investigated, considering as example the logistic order processing of an idealised automobile terminal of the company E.H. Harms Automobile‐Logistics. Within a simulation study, evidence of the existing application potential of autonomous control in the field of vehicle storage management is provided. Thereupon the technical feasibility of an autonomously controlled storage manage...

Modelling and Control of Production Systems based on Nonlinear Dynamics Theory

Abstract Todays highly dynamic market with its rapid changing demand requires highly dynamic order processing in very flexible production systems. Most conventional production planning and control methods do not support such fast-moving activities. A dynamical approach is introduced for modelling and control of production systems. It was developed from concepts of the Nonlinear Dynamics Theory. Manufacturing processes as well as planning and control mechanisms are seen as one unit toward the establishment of a dynamical system. The dynamical approach includes an analysis of the dynamic behaviour of the production system as well as the control of the manufacturing process by a continuous adjustment because of changes or disturbances in the environment or in the production system itself.

Dynamics in Logistics

This contributed volume brings together research papers presented at the 4th International Conference on Dynamics in Logistics, held in Bremen, Germany in February 2014. The conference focused on the identification, analysis and description of the dynamics of logistics processes and networks. Topics covered range from the modeling and planning of processes, to innovative methods like autonomous control and knowledge management, to the latest technologies provided by radio frequency identification, mobile communication, and networking. The growing dynamic poses wholly new challenges: logistics processes and networks must be(come) able to rapidly and flexibly adapt to constantly changing conditions. The book primarily addresses the needs of researchers and practitioners from the field of logistics, but will also be beneficial for graduate students.

A distributed routing concept for vehicle routing problems

Traditional solution concepts for the vehicle routing problem (VRP) are pushed to their limits, when applied on dynamically changing vehicle routing scenarios—which are more close to reality than the static formulation. By contrast, the introduced distributed routing concept is designed to match packages and vehicles and to continuously make route decisions especially within a dynamic environment. In this autonomous control concept, each of these objects makes its own decisions. The developed algorithm was entitled Distributed Logistics Routing Protocol (DLRP). But in spite of the restricted suitability of the traditional VRP concepts for dynamic environments, they are still the benchmark for any VRP-similar task. Therefore, we first present a description of the developed DLRP. Then an adapted vehicle routing problem is defined, which both sides, static and dynamic concepts, can cope with. Finally, both concepts are compared using a tabu search algorithm as a well working instance of traditional VRP-concepts. For a quantitative comparison, four solutions are given for the same adapted problem: the optimal solution as a lower bound, the DLRP solution, a tabu search solution and a random-like solution as an upper bound.

Engineering autonomously controlled logistic systems

Today enterprises are exposed to an increasingly dynamic environment. Last but not least increasing competition caused by globalization more and more requires gaining competitive advantages by improved process control, within and beyond an enterprise. Autonomous control of logistic processes is proposed as a means to better face dynamics and complexity. Autonomous control means the ability of logistic objects to process information, to render and to execute decisions on their own. To engineer logistic systems based on autonomous control, dedicated methodologies are needed. This paper proposes a methodology for system specification that consists of a notational part, a procedure model and a software tool, covering a substantial part of the overall system engineering process. Supported by this methodology a logistics process expert will be able to specify an autonomous logistic system adequately. Further research will later on complement the methodology to support the whole engineering process.

Generating dispatching rules for semiconductor manufacturing to minimize weighted tardiness

Dispatching rules play an important role especially in semiconductor manufacturing scheduling, because these fabrication facilities are characterized by high complexity and dynamics. The process of developing and adapting dispatching rules is currently a tedious, largely manual task. Coupling Genetic Programming (GP), a global optimization meta-heuristic from the family of Evolutionary Algorithms, with a stochastic discrete event simulation of a complex manufacturing system we are able to automatically generate dispatching rules for a scenario from semiconductor manufacturing. Evolved dispatching rules clearly outperform manually developed rules from literature.