W. Muszyński

Cp-based Decision Making for Sme

Abstract Constraint programming (CP) is an emergent software technology for declarative description and effective solution of large combinatorial problems, which has proven to be useful, especially in such areas as integrated production planning. In that context, the CP can be considered as a well-suited framework for the development of decision-making software supporting small and medium size enterprises (SME) in the course of Production Process Planning (PPP). The aim of the paper is to present the CP modelling framework as well as to illustrate its application to decision making in the case of a new production order evaluation. The paper emphasises benefits derived from CP-based Decision Support Systems and focuses on constraint satisfaction driven decision making rather than on optimal solution searching.

The Use of Intelligent Systems for Planning and Scheduling of Product Development Projects

Abstract The paper investigates the use of intelligent systems to identify the factors that significantly influence the duration of new product development. These factors are identified on the basis of an internal database of a production enterprise and further used to estimate the duration of phases in product development projects. In the paper, some models and methodologies of the knowledge discovery process are compared and a method of knowledge acquisition from an internal database is proposed. The presented approach is dedicated to industrial enterprises that develop modifications of previous products and are interested in obtaining more precise estimates for project planning and scheduling. The example contains four stages of the knowledge discovery process including data selection, data transformation, data mining, and interpretation of patterns. The example also presents a performance comparison of intelligent systems in the context of variable reduction and preprocessing. Among data mining techniques, artificial neural networks and the fuzzy neural system are chosen to seek relationships between the duration of project phase and other data stored in the information system of an enterprise.

CLP-Based project-driven manufacturing

Abstract Constraint programming (CP) is an emergent software technology for declarative description and effective solving of large combinatorial problems. Such problems are frequently encountered in area of integrated production planning, where CP can be considered as a well-suited framework for the development of Production Process Planning (PPP) decision support software for small and medium size enterprises. In this context, the utility of the CP methodology lies mainly in providing an answer whether a given production order, specified by its cost and completion time, can be accepted in a given manufacturing system specified by the time-constrained production resource availability. The aim of the paper is to present the CP modeling framework as well as to illustrate its application in the design of decision support systems aimed at PPP of a new production order.

Production flow planning based on CLP approach

The paper provides a presentation of a method of balancing the work order requirements of with given production capabilities in a planning horizon. Constraint logic programming (CLP) is an emergent software technology for declarative description and effective solving of combinatorial problems especially in the area of integrated production planning. In that context, the CLP can be considered as a well-suited framework for development of decision-making software supporting small and medium size enterprises in the course of production process planning. The aim of this paper is to present the CLP modeling framework as well as to illustrate its application to decision making in the case of a new production order prototyping

Decision support tool for resource allocation subject to imprecise data constraints

This paper deals with resource allocation in multi-project manufacturing system design, where more than one shared renewable resource type may be required by the manufacturing operation and the availability of each type is time limited. The aim of the paper is to present a knowledge-based and Constraint Programming-driven approach to resource allocation where that data can be imprecise. The presented design scheme is used as a framework for developing a task oriented Decision Support Tool for Project Portfolio Prototyping (DST4P3). The tool provides a prompt and interactive service to a set of routine queries defined in terms of both direct and inverse resource allocation tasks.

Automated Vehicles' Work Planning in Flexible Manufacturing Systems

The problem of rules setting in coordination of automated vehicles access to shared system resources (sections of their transportation paths) which assure a deadlock free and starvation free flow of the executed processes belongs to NP-hard problems. Assuming that there are local (controlling access to shared resources) rules of priority dispatching, the problem deals with setting conditions sufficient for a pair (initial state, set of priority dispatching rules). The assumed knowledge base way of specifying a transportation subsystem leads to solving a logic-algebraic method decision problem. In this regard, the working knowledge representation synthesis method constitutes a significant contribution to the development of programming methods aimed at distributed control procedures design.

Distributed control for systems of concurrent production flow

Abstract A synchronization mechanism for periodic job shops with blocking where concurrent flows of AGVs have to compete safely (i.e. being starvation and deadlockfree) for access to shared system path sectors is investigated. A distributed AGVs control policy that restricts an AGV entering a path sector in an FMS is proposed. The conditions sufficient for design of a pair (priority dispatching rules, an initial processes allocation), which can be treated as a distributed control procedure, are presented. An illustrative example of AGVs distributed control prototyping is provided.

Cyclic scheduling of multimodal processes in mesh-like environment

A processes composed of sequences of local cyclic The theoretical prediction of the behavioral properties of periodic structures is less difficult than in the case of nonperiodic ones. That is because all the information needed to describe the entire structure is given by the elementary substructure itself and by the manner it repeats in the whole periodic structure. So, only a small portion of the structure (which includes the repeating substructure) needs to be considered to obtain the properties of the whole periodic structure. In that context, the contribution provides the discussion of some system periodicity issues, and is aimed at modeling and evaluation of relationships linking the system structure features with required systems functioning.

Cyclic Scheduling: Diophantine Problems Perspective

Abstract Cyclic scheduling concerns of rules aimed at resources assignment as to minimize a given objective function, e.g. the cycle of order execution, feasible timetabling. Such kind of problems belongs to a class of the NP-hard ones. Moreover, assuming integer character of data domain it belongs to the class of Diophantine problems that implies their undecidability. In that context, the contribution emphasizes benefits derived from Diophantine problems perspective while focuses on cyclic steady state reachability problem. The conditions sufficient for periodic behaviour of a system composed of sequential, repetitive processes are the main objective. The relationship between system resource constraints and an initial state as well as priority rules allocation is investigated. Finally, the conditions assuring steady state behavior of the system controlled by distributed set of dispatching rules are discussed.

Projects portfolio prototyping

Decision makers, choosing the right project portfolio, face the problem of making optimal decision that meets an organisationpsilas objectives and priorities in uncertain situation under given constraints with various sources of knowledge often semi-structured or ill structured. Proposed approach provides the framework allowing one to take into account both: distinct (pointed), and imprecise (fuzzy) data, in a unified way. The illustrative examples regarding of project management evaluation in the context of the investment efficiency, the financial liquidity, and robustness to disturbances caused by time constrained resources availability are enclosed.