Hélio Castro

A Review of Agile and Lean Manufacturing as Issues in Selected International and National Research and Development Programs and Roadmaps.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyze international and national research and development (R&D) programs and roadmaps for the manufacturing sector, presenting how agile and lean manufacturing models are addressed in these programs.Design/methodology/approach – In this review, several manufacturing research and development programs and roadmaps – national programs from the USA and Canada, and international programs from the European Union and from one international organization – are reviewed.Findings – The major finding of this review is that the main concerns in agile manufacturing, as highlighted in these programs, are networks, supply chain and product/service customization, and lean manufacturings inclination towards achieving better cost efficiency. Although the lean manufacturing approach has been considered in many past and present programs, analysis of the most recent programs shows a greater priority is given to the agile manufacturing approach. The path towards sustainable manufacturing...

Prototype Multiplex Communication System for Remote Control of Machine Tools

In transition from classical/traditional to modern manufacturing systems, a number of key improvements have occurred, including the ability to control a machine remotely, over Internet. The past approaches on implementing a remote control system have mostly focused on the remote controlling technology and much less on organizational aspects. The proposed work is focused on communication functionality as one of the key organizational aspects. This paper discusses a prototype implementation of communication functionality in remote control of machine tools, considering communication as an intrinsic organizational issue, aiming at improving the effectiveness of manufacturing systems integration.

A Cloud-Based Architecture with embedded Pragmatics Renderer for Ubiquitous and Cloud Manufacturing

The paper presents a Cloud-based architecture for Ubiquitous and Cloud Manufacturing as a multilayer communicational architecture designated as the Communicational Architecture. It is characterised as (a) rich client interfaces (Rich Internet Application) with sufficient interaction to allow user agility and competence, (b) multimodal, for multiple client device classes support and (c) communicational to allow pragmatics, where human-to-human real interaction is completely supported. The main innovative part of this architecture is sustained by a semiotic framework organised on three main logical levels: (a) device level, which allows the user ‘to use’ pragmatics with the system, (b) application level which results for a set of tools which allows users pragmatics-based interaction and (c) application server level that implements the Pragmatics renderer, a pragmatics supporting engine that supports all pragmatics services. The Pragmatics renderer works as a communication enabler, and consists of a set of integrated collaboration technology that makes the bridge between the user/devices and the ‘system’. A federated or community cloud is developed using a particular cloud RESTful Application Programming Interface that supports (cloud) services registration, composition and governance (pragmatics services behaves as SaaS in the cloud).

Effective Service Dynamic Packages for Ubiquitous Manufacturing System

This paper proposes a new integrated architecture for advanced manufacturing management with a Ubiquitous Management System (UMS) and a collection of adequate features to sustain it, where pragmatics on collaboration mechanisms prevails. The Market-of-Resources repository and its advanced brokering process will enable reliable interoperability, services dynamic packages and reconfiguration, as well as the (co-) management of production process, regardless information systems and using real-time collaboration mechanisms. This article contributes for building a logical model for UMS as well as an UML formalization for its supporting architecture