K. Efthymiou

Flexibility and complexity: is it a trade-off?

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between flexibility and complexity. A number of flexibility measurement approaches are presented and are connected with the flexibility types they address. A series of measures and methods for the analysis and assessment of static and dynamic complexity are provided. A new measure for the assessment of static complexity, based on network complexity, is introduced. The relationship between flexibility and complexity is investigated with the help of two sets of indicative, simple and yet realistic manufacturing systems.

On the Configuration and Planning of Dynamic Manufacturing Networks

Manufacturing organizations have been attempting to improve the operation of supply networks through efficient supply chain management. Dynamic manufacturing networks (DMNs) constitute chains of diverse partners, whose operation and interaction may change in a rapid and often not predictable way. While the existing supply chain models are quite static and examine transportation modes, product changeover and production facility options with fixed suppliers and over a long period of time, the DMNs address operations and risks on a daily basis. In this paper, a novel decision-making approach is proposed for supporting the process of configuring a DMN from a holistic perspective, taking into account production, transportation and time constraints as well as multiple criteria such as time and cost.

Manufacturing systems complexity analysis methods review

In the globalised and interconnected market, demand fluctuation along with the requirements of high product quality, low cost, short lead time and high customisation may lead to an increase in manufacturing complexity. Over the past years, several methods, following different theories and approaches, have been proposed for the analysis of manufacturing complexity. In this paper, the concepts of a manufacturing system’s complexity are discussed. This study is a systematic and rigorous attempt to identify and synthesise the research done in the manufacturing systems’ complexity domain. Special emphasis is given to the approaches based on a theoretical analytical framework that provide a quantitative analysis of manufacturing systems complexity. These approaches and their applications to industrial problems are presented, classified and discussed.

A Knowledge Based Collaborative Platform for the Design and Deployment of Manufacturing Systems

The PLM systems do not provide any link to actual performance indicators, related to cost, time, and quality parameters. This paper describes a collaboration platform, based on a semantic core that expresses knowledge about Products, Processes and Resources. The platform is internet based, connecting engineers in the extended enterprise with shopfloor personnel. The concept is based both on a series of distinct components and elements comprising the knowledge base, and on a set of software agents. The latter are interfaced with a set of Computer Aided (CAx) systems and provide decision support capabilities for the design of a production line.

Intelligent Scheduling for Manufacturing Systems: A Case Study

The aim of this paper is the presentation of a scheduling method, its implementation to a software system, and its application to a commercial refrigerator factory. The method employs the modeling of the factory’s resources and the assignment of the workload of the resources in a hierarchical fashion. The developed software system simulates the operations of the factory and provides a schedule for the manufacturing system’s resources. The system is integrated with a holistic virtual platform, namely Virtual Factory Framework that allows it to exchange data related to product, process, resources, and key performance indicators along with other software components also integrated with the Virtual Factory Framework. A set of digital scheduling experiments with data, coming from a real manufacturing system are conducted in order to validate the proposed method and the implemented system under different operational conditions.