George L. Kovács

A planning and management infrastructure for large, complex, distributed projects: beyond ERP and SCM

Enterprises which are distributed in space and/or which are composed as a temporary joint venture of legally different units recently often called virtual (extended) enterprises. Planning, design and operation (management) goals and requirements of such firms are generally different from those of single, centralized enterprises. The basic feature of an extended (virtual) enterprise is that the co-operating units of it keep their independence during the life-cycle of the co-operation--what is well regulated by the rules of the given conglomerate. It has to be accepted--on the other hand--that several basic functionalities and goals are the same for all types of distributed, large, complex organizations, which are the targets of our recent study.The evolution of web-based manufacturing design/planning and operation system philosophies can be followed through the works presented in this paper. We intend to give software solutions for design, planning and operation management) of complex, networked organizations represented as nodes of networks. In the first part of the paper, solutions as given to manage complex logistics flows of distributed SMEs, giving more sophisticated solutions than the commonly used supply-chain management (SCM) packages available in the market. The second problem we solve is a complex, web-based solution to manage large, expensive, multi-site, multi-company projects using any type of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and flow management solutions. Our goal is to integrate as many available solutions as possible and to make only the appropriate frameworks including decision-support systems where necessary. The first part of the work means the establishment and application of a web server at each node of the co-operating network, while the second approach uses only once, joint web server and each node communicates with it through the network. These architectures are easy to be integrated if needed, i.e. logistic flows and project management can be solved together.

Application of artificial intelligence to problems in advanced manufacturing systems

Abstract Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) are used worldwide for the production of parts in CIM systems. The design and operation of an FMS can be achieved only by the teamwork of several experts using different computer programs. Because of the complexity and diversity of the problems to be solved, traditional programming can be used only if combined with artificial intelligence techniques, such as expert and knowledge-based systems. This paper deals with the application of expert systems to assist in quality control and the simulation and control of FMSs. Well known traditional simulation (Cinema/SIMAN) and networking (MAP) packages are combined with high performance expert systems (ALL-EX, G2) to provide acceptable solutions. This paper reports on recent work where rapid prototype rograms are under test, with the ultimate goal of providing industrially applicable programs.

Concurrent design of automated manufacturing systems using knowledge processing technology

Abstract Flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) built up from smaller, complex units, i.e. from cells (FMC) are becoming typical examples of flexible systems. The design and the operation (control) of these cells need new methods to utilize all the embedded benefits of the sophisticated and expensive elements installed for production purposes. In the case of such systems the life-cycle engineering approach has an important role. This means that during the design of automated manufacturing systems the technological plans of the future products strongly have to be taken into consideration. New technologies and methods like knowledge processing technology and cooperative problem solving techniques offer wide possibilities to design more reasonable systems. The paper describes a prototype design system that makes use of different knowledge based tools and techniques to configure, or reconfigure manufacturing cells taking into consideration technological plans. There is also a possibility for analyzing the cells by simulating and animating their operation.

Changing paradigms in manufacturing automation

This paper deals with some important aspects and their changes in the field of manufacturing automation in the last 20-30 years. The main issue of this study is the application of different computer assisted techniques, tools and means for the design, production, test, etc. of engineering products and of the manufacturing and assembly facilities to produce the products. We deal with the following main topics: CAD/CAM/CAx, CIM, concurrent engineering, application of artificial intelligence means, open systems, integration and standard communication, and their relationships. Systems developed in our laboratory will be discussed as demonstrations of certain topics, and finally an application example for intelligent control is given, where some of the above paradigms are combined.

Cross-national comparisons of product development in manufacturing

Abstract In this study we compare product development strategies and practices of five companies in the durable goods industries: one each in the United States (equipment), Sweden aerospace), Germany (electric motors), Hungary (transportation equipment), and Japan (business machines, cameras/video). In particular, we focus on the concept development phase of new product development and the attend to the aspects of the design process that may be influenced by culture. To the extent that the five cases are representative of their home countries, there appears to be ample variance across cultures to justify further, more extensive research in this arena. A model is presented which differentiates the amount of cultural influence by stage of the product development process in high technology versus low technology industries.

Knowledge management support for machine tool designers using expert enablers

A set of methods and tools for the knowledge-based design (KBD) of machine tools is described. This paper presents a method to capture and formalize engineering knowledge and a set of software applications for ‘knowledge-based engineering’ (KBE), including product data management, design processes management, design documents management and automatic rule-based geometry generation. The aim of these tools is to solve the main problems that are facing machinery companies regarding design knowledge: the long learning process for new employees, loss of collective knowledge and experience, poor management of engineering knowledge and lack of agreed company standards and procedures for design.

Open source software and open data standards in public administration

A European joint project (COSPA) with the participation of eight countries from all parts of Europe studies the application advantages (and drawbacks) of open source software (OS) and of open data standards (ODS) in public administration (PA). PAs are among the biggest computer- and software consumers world-wide, thus they should be very careful what to use, how to use. PAs spend every year a considerable amount of money for commercial off-the-shelf software licenses. By using appropriate technologies, such expenses might be either dramatically reduced, or re-routed to further develop local business ecosystems. This project aims at introducing, analyzing, and supporting the use of ODS and OS software for personal productivity and document management in European PAs

Cooperative Knowledge Processing for Engineering Design

Cooperative working environments and their development are becoming increasingly important and ever more frequent in different industrial sectors and this book provides a scientific approach for managing Team Engineering. Meta-cognitive knowledge and networks are identified as the key resources enabling engineering teams to work effectively and to reduce engineering time and this book illustrates how computer support can aid cooperative work within the context of practical methodologies and examples. The fields covered in the book include: State-of-the-art research in cooperative learning tools; Practical examples and methodologies illustrating the implementation of cooperative networks; and An interdisciplinary approach to team engineering. This valuable new book is sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and will be essential reading for researchers, engineers, technical managers involved in the development of advanced applications for engineering and manufacturing, and software design and engineering.

Object Knowledge Representation Models for Concurrent Design of FMS

Abstract A Concurrent Engineering (CE) approach to product development should include simultaneous product, process and facility design. Our research is related with the development of a CE Framework for Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) Design to give a real support to the engineer in his decision making by coupling the Manufacturing Process Planning and the Manufacturing System Design activities. To achieve our aims four different Semantic Data Models based on an object oriented methodology have been developed to represent the inter-related aspects of the product design cycle. Semantic Networks are used to represent the structural and functional relationships within and between the models. Additionally, Constraint-Based and modeling have been used to support a dynamic representation of the process planning and facility models. Finally, we model the design process to generate and evaluate different alternatives to support the designers quest for superior solutions by changing the set of assumptions and decisions. To achieve these issues paradigms such as Meta-Design and Meta-Planning based on Logic-Based modeling are applied.

Expert systems for manufacturing cell simulation and design

Abstract Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is approached by means of the application of Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) and other CA techniques, methods and programs/program systems. These programs are often implemented as knowledge-based, or expert systems and in this way they became typical examples of engineering application of artificial intelligence. The production task of CIM systems is solved by using flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). FMSs built up from smaller, complex units, i.e. from flexible manufacturing cells (FMCs) have several advantages. The design and the operation of manufacturing systems need new, sophisticated methods to utilize all the embedded benefits of the sophisticated and expensive elements installed for production purposes. New methods like knowledge processing technology, cooperative problem-solving techniques, etc., offer wide possibilities to design more reasonable systems. This paper describes prototype expert systems that make use of different knowledge-based tools and techniques to design (configure, reconfigure) and simulate manufacturing cells, taking into consideration technological plans and other relevant information.