Aggr

egat
epl
anni
ng
Aggr egat epr oduct ionpl anni ngisconcer nedwi ththedet ermi nationofpr oduct i
on,
i
nv entory ,andwor kf orcel evelstomeetf luctuat i
ngdemandr equi r
ement sov era
planninghor izont hatr angesf r
om si xmont hst ooney ear .Ty picall
ythepl anninghor izon
i
ncor por atet henextseasonal peaki ndemand.Thepl anni nghor izoni sof tendividedi nto
per i
ods.Forexampl e, aoney earplanninghor izonmaybecomposedofsi xone- mont h
per i
odspl ust wot hr ee-mont hper i
ods.Nor mal ly,
thephy sical r
esourcesoft hefirm are
assumedt obef i
xeddur ingt hepl anninghor izonofi nter estandt heplanni ngef fortis
orientedt owar dthebestut i
l
izationoft hoser esour ces, giv ent heext ernal demand
requirement s.
Sincei tisusual l
yi mpossi blet oconsi derev eryf i
nedet ail associ atedwi tht hepr oduct i
on
processwhi lemai ntainingsuchal ongpl anninghor i
z on, iti smandat oryt oaggr egat et he
i
nf ormat ionbei ngpr ocessed.Theaggr egatepr oduct i
onappr oachi spr edicatedont he
existenceofanaggr egat euni tofpr oduct i
on, suchast he av erageitem, ori ntermsof
wei ght,vol ume, product iont i
me, ordol l
arv alue.Pl ansar et henbasedonaggr egate
demandf oroneormor eaggr egateitems.Oncet heaggr egat epr oductionpl ani s
gener ated, const raintsar ei mposedont hedet ail
edpr oduct ionschedul i
ngpr ocess
whi chdeci dest hespeci ficquant iti
est obepr oducedofeachi ndivi
dual item.
Thepl anmustt akei ntoaccountt hev ari
ousway saf i
rm cancopewi thdemand
fl
uct uationsas
wel last hecostassoci atedwi t
ht hem.Ty pi
cal lyaf i
rm cancopewi t
hdemand
fl
uct uationsby :

(a)Changi ngthesi zeoft hewor kforcebyhi r

ingandfi
ri
ng,thusal l
owi ngchangesi nthe
producti
onr ate.Excessiv euseofhi ringandf i
ri
ngmaylimitedbyuni onr egul
at i
onsand
maycr eatesev erelaborpr oblems.
(b)Varyi
ngt hepr oductionr atebyintroducingovert
imeand/ oridl
et i
meorout side
subcontracting.
(c)Accumul atingseasonal i
nventori
es.Thet radeof
fbetweent hecosti ncurr
edi n
changingpr oduct i
on
ratesandhol dingseasonal invent
oriesisthebasicquesti
ont ober esolvedinmost
practi
calsituations.
(d)Planningbackor der
s.
Theseway sofabsor bi
ngdemandf l
uctuati
onscanbecombi nedtocr eateal arge
numberof
alt
ernati
vepr oduct i
onpl anningoptions.

Cost srel
evanttoaggr egatepr oducti
onpl anning:
(a)Basicproduct i
oncost s:mat er
ialcosts,directlaborcosts,
andoverheadcost
s.I
tis
customar ytodividethesecost sintovariableandf i
xedcosts.
(b)Cost sassociatedwithchangesi nthepr oductionrate:
costsi
nvolv
edi nhi
ri
ng,
trai
ning,andlayingoffper sonnel,aswell asov ert
imecompensat i
ons.
(c)Inventor
yrelatedcosts.

Aggregat
epr oducti
onplanni
ngmodel smaybev aluabl
easdeci sionsupportsyst
ems
andto
eval
uateproposalsinunionnegot
iat
ions.Herewel i
mitourstudyt oli
nearcostmodel
s
andtoabr i
efdiscussi
onofmodelswi thquadrat
iccosts..Beforepresenti
ngamodel
basedonli
nearprogrammi ngwewill
discusstwoext r
emeaggregat
eproduct
ionpl
ans:
Thejust
-i
n-t
imepr oduct
ionplanandtheproduct
ion-smoot
hingpl
an.
I
EOR4000: Producti
onManagementpage2Pr ofessorGui
l
lermoGall
ego

TheJust -
in-ti
mepr oduct
ionpl an,al
soknownast hechasepl an,consistsi
nchangi ng
the
productionratetoexactlysatisf
ydemand.Thei deaisconsistentwiththeJITpr oducti
on
phil
osophyandr esult
sinlowhol dingcostsbutmayr esul
tinhighcostofadj usti
ngthe
productionrate,i.
e.,
highfi
ringandhi ri
ngcostsorhighidl
etimes.Asaconsequence, t
he
j
ust -
in-
ti
mepl anisbestsuitedtosituati
onswherethecostofchangi ngt heproducti
on
rateisrelat
ivelyi
nexpensive.

Thepr oduction-smoothingplan,al
soknownast hestableplan,consi
stsi
nkeepingthe
producti
on
rateconstantovertime.Thisstrat
egymi nimizesthepr oducti
oncostwhenpr oducti
on
costsareconv ex.Astable,maketost ock,pr
oduct ionstrat
egyneedst obui
ldinvent
ori
es
to
copewi t
hpeaksi ndemandandmayr esultinhighhol dingcosts.Asaresul
t,t
he
producti
onsmoot hing
planisbestsuitedtosituati
onswherei nvent
or ycarryi
ngcostsar elow.

Ani
ndust
ri
alr
obot
Ani ndustr
ial r
oboti samani pul
atordesignedtomov emat er
ial
s, part
sandt ools,and
perform av ari
etyofpr ogrammedt asksinmanuf acturi
ngandpr oducti
onset t
ings.
Industri
alrobotsar ereshapingthemanuf actur
ingi ndustr
y.Theyar eoft
enusedt o
perform dutiesthatar edangerousorunsuitabl
ef orhumanwor kers.
Thei ndustri
al r
oboti sagoodf i
tformanyappl i
cat ions.I
tismostof tenusedf orarc
welding,mat eri
al handli
ng,andassembl yappli
cat i
ons.Theyaregr oupedaccor di
ngt o
numberofaxes, str
ucturetype,si
zeofwor kenv elope,payl
oadcapabi l
it
y,andspeed.A
robotcontrollerprovidestheinter
faceforprogrammi ngandoper ati
ngtheindustrial
robot.Adev icecal l
edat eachpendantisusedt opl otthemotionsneededt oper f
or mthe
applicat
ion.

Conv
eyor
conv eyorsy stem isacommonpi eceofmechani cal handli
ngequipmentt hatmov es
mat eri
alsfrom onel ocat iontoanot her.Conv eyorsar eespeciall
yusefulinappl i
cati
ons
i
nv olvi
ngt hetranspor tati
onofheav yorbul kymat er i
als.Conveyorsyst
emsal l
owqui ck
andef fi
cienttranspor t
at i
onf orawi dev arietyofmat erial
s,whichmaket hem v ery
popularint hemat er
ial handli
ngandpackagi ngindust ri
es.Manykindsofconv eyi
ng
systemsar eav ai
lableandar eusedaccor dingt ot hev ari
ousneedsofdi ff
erent
i
ndust ri
es.Ther ear echai nconv ey ors(floorandov erhead)aswel l
.Chainconv eyors
consistofencl osedt racks, I-
Beam, towline, power&f r
ee,andhandpushedt roll
eys.
Conv eyorsy stemsar eusedwi despr eadacr ossar angeofindustri
esduet othe
numer ousbenef i
tstheypr ovide.
Conv eyorsar eablet osaf elytranspor tmat er ial
sfrom onel eveltoanother,whichwhen
donebyhumanl aborwoul dbest renuousandexpensi ve.
Theycanbei nstal
ledalmostany wher
e,andaremuchsaf erthanusingaf orkli
ftorother
machinetomov emateri
als.
Theycanmov eloadsofallshapes,si
zesandwei ght
s.Also,manyhav eadv ancedsafety
feat
uresthathelppreventaccident
s.
Thereareav ari
etyofopti
onsav ail
abl
eforrunningconveyingsystems,includingthe
hydraul
i
c,mechani cal
andf ul
lyautomatedsystems,whichar eequippedtof iti
ndivi
dual
needs.

Anaut
omat
edgui
dedv
ehi
cle
Anaut omat edgui dedv ehicleoraut omat icgui dedv ehicle( AGV)i samobi l
er obott hat
foll
owsmar kersorwi resi nthef loor, orusesv i
sion, magnet s,orl aser sf ornav igation.
Theyar emostof tenusedi nindust ri
al appl icat i
onst omov emat er i
alsar ounda
manuf act uri
ngf acili
tyorwar ehouse.Appl icat i
onoft heaut omat icgui dedv ehicle
broadeneddur i
ngt hel at e20t hcent ury .I
ntroduct i
on[ edit]
TheAGVcant owobj ect sbehi ndt hem i ntrailerst owhi cht heycanaut onomousl yattach.
Thet railerscanbeusedt omov erawmat erialsorf inishedpr oduct .TheAGVcanal so
storeobj ectsonabed.Theobj ectscanbepl acedonasetofmot or i
zedr ollers
(convey or )andt henpushedof fbyr ev ersingt hem.AGVsar eempl oyedi nnear lyev ery
i
ndust ry ,includi
ngpul p, paper , met als, newspaper ,andgener almanuf act uri
ng.
Transpor tingmat er i
alssuchasf ood, linenormedi cinei nhospi talsi sal sodone.
AnAGVcanal sobecal ledal asergui dedv ehi cl
e( LGV) .I
nGer manyt het echnol ogyis
alsocal ledFahr erl
oseTr anspor t
sy steme( FTS)andi nSwedenf rar l
sat ruckar .Lower
costv er sionsofAGVsar eoft encal l
edAut omat edGui dedCar ts( AGCs)andar eusual l
y
guidedbymagnet ictape.AGCsar eav ailablei nav arietyofmodel sandcanbeusedt o
mov epr oduct sonanassembl yl i
ne, transpor tgoodst hroughoutapl antorwar ehouse,
anddel i
v erloads.
Thef i
rstAGVwasbr oughtt omar keti nt he1950s, byBar r
et tElect ronicsofNor t
hbrook,
Il
li
nois, andatt het imei twassi mpl yat owt ruckt hatf oll
owedawi rei nt hef loorinstead
ofar ail.Outoft hist echnol ogycameanewt ypeofAGV, whi chf oll
owsi nv isibleUV
mar ker sont hef l
oori nst eadofbei ngt owedbyachai n.Thef ir
stsuchsy stem was
deploy edatt heWi l
li
sTower( former l
ySear sTower )inChi cago, Illi
noi stodel ivermai l
throughouti tsof f
ices.

Packmobi lewithtrailerAGV
Ov ert
hey ear
st het echnol ogyhasbecomemor esophi
sticatedandt odayautomated
vehicl
esar emainlyLasernav i
gatede.g.LGV(LaserGuidedVehi cle).Inanautomated
process,LGVsar epr ogrammedt ocommuni catewithotherrobotst oensureproducti
s
mov edsmoot hlythr ought hewar ehouse,whetheri
tisbeingst or
edf orfutur
euseorsent
dir
ectl
yt oshippingar eas.Today,theAGVpl aysanimpor tantrol
ei nthedesignofnew
factor
iesandwar ehouses, saf
elymov i
nggoodst othei
rr i
ghtfuldestinat
ion

Anaut
omat
edst
orageandr
etr
iev
alsy
stem
Anautomat edstorageandr et
ri
evalsyst
em (ASRSorAS/ RS)consi
stsofavariet
yof
computer-
controll
edsy stemsf orautomati
call
yplacingandr
etri
evi
ngloadsfrom def
ined
stor
agelocati
ons.Aut omat edstorageandretr
ievalsyst
ems(AS/RS)arety
picall
yused
i
napplicat
ionswher e:
Therei
sav eryhighv olumeofl oadsbeingmov edintoandoutofstor
age
Storagedensi tyisimportantbecauseofspaceconst rai
nts
Nov alueisaddedi nthi
spr ocess( nopr ocessi ng, onlystorageandt ransport
)
Accuracyiscr it
icalbecauseofpot entialexpensi v edamagest othel oad
AnAS/ RScanbeusedwi thst andar dl oadsaswel lasnonst andardl oads,meani ngt hat
eachst andardl oadcanf i
tinauni for mly-sizedv olume; forexampl et hefil
m canistersin
theimageoft heDef enseVi sual I
nf ormat ionCent erareeachst oredaspar tofthe
contentsoft heuniformlysizedmet al boxes, whi chareshowni nt hei mage.Standar d
l
oadssi mpl
ifythehandl i
ngofar equestofani tem.I naddi t
ion,auditsoft heaccur acyof
theinventoryofcont entscanber est r
ictedt othecont entsofani ndiv i
dualmetal box,
ratherthanunder goingat op-to-bot tom sear choft heent i
refaci
li
ty ,
forasi ngl
eitem.

Adv ant ages

Anef fect iveautomat edst orageandr etrieval sy stem pr ovidessev eral benefitsf orsuppl y
chainmanagement :
Anef ficientAS/ RSsy st em hel pscompani escutexpensesbymi nimizi ngtheamountof
unnecessar ypar tsandpr oduct si nst orage, andi mpr ovingorgani zationoft hecont ent s
ofawar ehouse.Duet oaut omat edpr ocesses, i
tal soal lowsf ormor est oragespacedue
tohigh- densi tystorage, nar r
owerai sles, etc.
Automat i
onr educesl aborcost swhi l
el ower ingwor kforcer equirement sandi ncr easing
safety.
Model i
ngandmanagi ngt hel ogi calrepr esent ationoft hephy sical stor agefaci l
ities( e.g.
racking, etc.).Forexampl e, i
fcer tainpr oduct sar eof tensol dtoget herorar emor e
popul art hanot hers,thosepr oduct scanbegr oupedt ogetherorpl acedneart hedel i
v ery
areat ospeedupt hepr ocessofpi cking, packi ngandshi ppingt ocust omer s.
Enabl i
ngaseaml essl inkt oor derpr ocessi ngandl ogisticsmanagementi nordert opi ck,
pack, andshi pproductoutoft hef acilit
y.
Tracki ngwher epr oduct sar est ocked, whi chsuppl i
er stheycomef rom, andt hel engt hof
ti
met heyar estored.Byanal yzingsuchdat a, compani escancont rol i
nv entoryl ev elsand
maxi mi zet heuseofwar ehousespace.Fur t
her mor e,fir
msar emor epr eparedf ort he
demandsandsuppl iesoft hemar ket, especi allydur ingspeci al ci
rcumst ancessuchasa
peakseasononapar ticul armont h.Thr ought her epor tsgener atedbyanAS/ RSsy stem,
fi
rmsar ealsoabl etogat herimpor tantdat at hatmaybeputi namodel forittobe
analyzed.

Leanmanuf
act
uri
ng
Leanmanuf acturi
ngorl eanproduct ion,oftensimpl y"l
ean" ,
isasy stemat i
cmet hodfor
theel i
minati
onofwast e("Muda" )wi t
hinamanuf acturingsy st
em.Leanal sot akesinto
accountwast ecr eatedt hroughov er
burden( "Mur i
")andwast ecr
eat edthrough
unev ennessinwor kloads( "Mura" )
.Wor kingfrom theper specti
veoft hecl i
entwho
consumesapr oductorser vi
ce,"value"isanyact ionorpr ocessthatacust omerwoul d
bewi ll
ingtopayf or.
Leanmanuf acturi
ngmakesobv iouswhataddsv alue,byreducingev eryt
hingel se( whi
ch
notaddi ngvalue).Thi smanagementphi losophyi sderivedmost lyfrom theToy ota
Product i
onSy stem (TPS)andi dent i
fi
edas" l
ean"onl yinthe1990s.TPSi sr enownedf or
i
tsf ocusonr educt i
onoft heoriginalToy otasevenwast estoimpr oveov erallcustomer
value,buttherear ev ary
ingper spect i
vesonhowt hisisbestachiev ed.Thest eady
growt hofToy ota,from asmal lcompanyt othewor l
d'slargestautomaker ,hasf ocused
attenti
ononhowi thasachi evedt hissuccess.
Af undament alpri
ncipleofl
eanmanuf act
uringisdemand-basedfl
owmanuf act
uri
ng.I
n
thistypeofpr oducti
onsetti
ng,i
nventoryi
sonl ypul
ledthr
ougheachproducti
oncenter
wheni ti
sneededt omeetacust omer'sorder.Thebenefi
tsofthi
sgoali
nclude:
Decr easedcycletime
Lessi nvent
ory
Increasedproduct i
vi
ty
Increasedcapi t
alequipmentuti
l
izat
ion

LeanManuf actur
ingi samanufacturi
ngapproacht hatfocusesonmi nimizi
ngcost s.It
meanst hereisami nimalamountofmoneyi nvestedi nrawmaterial
sandi nventoryatall
ti
mes.I tfol
lowsademand- basedf l
owst y
le.Iti
sdr i
v enbyami ndsetthatthereis
al
way sroom forimpr ov
ement,andregularl
ymeasur eshowwel lfacil
i
ties,materi
als,and
ti
mear ebeingutil
ized.Commonl yusedmet ri
csfort hisareOEE.Thedesi gnitsel
fal so
i
sv i
ewedt hroughal ensofconti
nualimprovement.

Agi
leManuf
act
uri
ng
Agi
lemanufact
uri
ngismanufact
uri
ngt hatr
espondsqui
cklyt
ocustomerdesi
resand
i
nputt
hroughahighl
yint
egrat
edinf
ormat i
ontechnol
ogycommunicat
ionsyst
em to
pr
oducehigh-
qual
it
y,hi
ghl
ycustomizablemodularpr
oduct
s.

Thei nt
ernalst
ructureoftheorganizationi
sradicall
ydif
fer
entf r
om thetr
adi
ti
onal model
,
conv er
ti
ngcommuni cat
iontoal ev
el playi
ngfi
eldwi t
hbossesandmanager stakingthe
roleasenablersofsmal lt
eamsofhi ghlyr
esponsibleempl
oy eeswhoar egi
venthe
freedom tousetheirski
llandcreativ
ityinshor
tuni nt
err
uptedcy cl
estocomplet
et he
wor kinawayt hatmakest hecustomerhappy .

Si
mil
ari
ti
es

Bot
hl eanandagilemanufact
uringaresuitedformodernmanager swhodesiret
o
i
ncreasebusinesssustai
nabi
li
tyandr evenue.Botharedesignedtokeepcompanies
compet i
ti
ve.Theybothmustbedeci dedonear lyint
hemanuf actur
ingplanni
ngprocess,
astheyaffectal
laspectsoft
hepr ocess.Bothrelyonstat
isti
calanaly
sisandopen
communi cati
onbetweenalli
nvolvedstakeholders.

Di
ff
erences

Leanmanuf actur
ingf
ocusesonreducingcost
s,al
lowingcompaniesgreat
erpri
ce
fl
exibi
li
ty.Agilemanufact
uri
ngfocusesonrespondingquickl
ytounexpect
edcustomer
requests,all
owingcompaniest
ocapi t
ali
zeonthehighestpossi
blenumberofsal
es
opportunit
ies.

Productionconfigurationforagil
emanuf actur
ingusesf ewerpeopl e,r
elyi
ngmor eon
automat i
onandmodul ardesignthanleanmanuf acturi
ng,whichreliesheavi
lyonpeople.
Regardinginventory,leanmanuf actur
ingr equi
resahi gherinv
entoryofsmal lerpart
s,
whileagilemanuf acturingrequi
resaloweri nventoryduet omodul ardesign.The
modulardesignal somakesagi lemanuf acturi
ngsy stemsmor ereadyt oadaptt o
customizati
onr equest s.
Ar
econf
igur
abl
emanuf
act
uri
ngsy
stem
Ar econf igur abl emanuf acturingsy st em ( RMS)i sonedesi gnedatt heout setf orrapid
changei ni tsst ructure,aswel l asi tshar dwar eandsof twar ecomponent s, i
nor derto
quickl yadj usti tspr oduct ioncapaci tyandf unct ional i
tywi thinapar tf ami lyi nr esponse
tosuddenmar ketchangesori ntr i
nsi csy stem change. TheReconf i
gur abl e
Manuf actur ingSy stem ( RMS)aswel lasoneofi tscomponent st heReconf i
gur able
Machi neTool (RMT)wer einv ent edi n1999i nt heEngi neer ingResear chCent erfor
Reconf i
gur abl eManuf act uri
ngSy stems( ERC/ RMS)att heUni versi
t yofMi chi ganCol l
ege
ofEngi neer i
ng.TheRMSgoal i
ssummar i
zedbyt hest at ementExact lyt hecapaci ty
andf unct ional ityneeded, exact lywhenneeded.
Ideal Reconf igur ableManuf actur ingSy stemspossesssi xcor eRMSchar acter ist
ics:
Modul ar i
ty ,Integr abili
ty, Customi zedf lexibil
i
t y,Scal ability,Conv ertibility,and
Diagnosabi l
ity.[5][6]At ypical RMSwi llhav esev eraloft hesechar act eristics, thoughnot
necessar il
yal l.Whenpossessi ngt hesechar act erist
ics, RMSi ncreasest hespeedof
responsi v enessofmanuf acturingsy st emst ounpr edict edev ents,suchassudden
mar ketdemandchangesorunexpect edmachi nef ail
ur es..TheRMSf aci li
tat esaqui ck
product ionl aunchofnewpr oduct s, andal l
owsf oradjust mentofpr oduct ionquant i
ti
es
thatmi ghtunexpect edlyv ary.Thei deal r
econf igur ablesy stem pr ovidesexact l
ythe
funct ional ityandpr oduct ioncapaci tyneeded, andcanbeeconomi cal lyadj ust edexact ly
whenneeded.Thesesy st emsar edesi gnedandoper atedaccor dingt oKor ensRMS
Principl es.
Thecomponent sofRMSar eCNCmachi nes, Reconf i
gur ableMachi ne
Tool s,Reconf igur ableInspect i
onMachi nesandmat erial transpor tsy st ems( suchas
gant riesandconv eyors)t hatconnectt hemachi nest of ormt hesy stem.Di ff
er ent
arrangement sandconf igurationsoft hesemachi neswi l
l affectthesy stem' spr oduct i
vit
y.
Acol lect ionofmat hemat i
cal tool s,whi charedef i
nedast heRMSSci enceBase, maybe
util
izedt omaxi mi zesy stem pr oduct iv i
tywi t
ht hesmal lestpossi blenumberofmachi nes.

RMSPr i
nci ples
Reconf igur ablemanuf actur i
ngsy stemsoper ateaccor di ngt oasetofbasi cprincipl
es
formul atedbypr ofessorYor am Kor enandar ecal l
edKor en
sRMSpr inciples.Themor e
ofthesepr i
nciplesappl icablet oagi v enmanuf acturingsy stem, themor ereconf i
gurabl
e
i
st hatsy st em.TheRMSpr inciplesar e:
1.TheRMSi sdesi gnedf oradj ustabl epr oduct ionr esour cest or espondt oimmi nent
needs.*TheRMScapaci tyisr apidl yscal ablei nsmal l
,opt imal increment s.*TheRMS
functional i
tyi sr
api dlyadapt abletot hepr oduct ionofnewpr oduct s.
2.Toenhancet hespeedofr esponsi venessofamanuf acturingsy stem, coreRMS
charact eristi
csshoul dbeembeddedi nt hewhol esy stem aswel lasi nitscomponent s
(mechani cal,communi cat i
onsandcont rols).
3.TheRMSi sdesi gnedar oundapar tfami l
y,wi t
hj ustenoughcust omi zedflexibi
lit
y
neededt opr oduceal lpartsi nt hatf ami ly.
4.TheRMScont ainsaneconomi cequi pmentmi xoff lexible( e.
g.,CNC)and
reconf i
gur ablemachi neswi thcust omi zedf lexibil
it
y ,suchasReconf i
gur ableMachi ne
Tools, Reconf i
gurabl eInspect ionMachi nes, andReconf i
gurabl eAssembl yMachi nes.
5.TheRMSpossesseshar dwar eandsof twar ecapabi liti
est ocost -effecti
velyrespondt o
unpredi ctableev ent sbot hext ernal (mar ketchanges)andi ntri
nsicev ents( machine
fail
ure).
Hol
oni
cManuf
act
uri
ngSy
stem
AHol onicManuf acturi
ngSy st
em (HMS)i samanuf acturingsy stem (MS)t hatis
distributiv
elycont r
olledaccordingtotheholoni csystem par adigm.TheMScomponent s
aremodel edasaut onomous, coll
aborati
veent it
ies(agent s)
, call
edholons.The
product i
onor derholoncallsfortherequi
redr esources( r
esour cehol
ons)andpr oduct
ion
exper ti
se( producthol on)andschedulestheconsecut i
vepr oduct i
onsteps.St affhol
ons,
e.g.,schedul ers,maybeusedt ogivecentral
izedadv ice.Manuf actur
ingexecut i
onis
achi evedbyadi stri
butedmul t
i-
agentsystem t hatcoordinatesandcont rolsthe
i
nt eractionsbet weent heholonssoast ocombi netheadv antagesofhi erarchi
caland
het erarchicalcontrol.

TheHol onicManuf actur i

ngSy stem (HMS)isanewpar adi
gm fornext -
generation
manuf acturi
ngsy stems, whichpr esent
saconceptt hatcanbeusedt oachiev eagil
e
manuf acturi
ngsy stems.I tsuggestsanewpar adigm inmanuf acturi
ng,whichchanges
ourol doutl
ook, yetbr i
ngsmanychal l
engingtechnicalproblemst osolve.TheHMS
theoryfocusesspeci fi
callyont hefiel
dofmanuf acturi
ngcontrolandinformat i
on
technologyinmanuf acturi
ng.HMSi saimedatmeet i
ngthechallengesofmanuf act
uring
envir
onmentf ormasscust omi zati
onorlow-volumeandhi gh-
variet
yproduct s.Theidea
behindHMSi st opr ovideady namicanddecent rali
zedmanuf acturi
ngpr ocess, i
nwhich
humansar eeffecti
v elyintegrated,sothatchangescanbemadedy nami cal
lyand
continuously.

Thecent ralconceptofHMSi sthet erm Holon ,whichor iginat esf r

om thewor kofA.
Koest l
er.AHol onisdef i
nedassi multaneousl yawhol eandapar tofthewhol e,thusit
canbemadeupofot herhol ons.Thi sproper t
yensur est hathol onsar est abl
ef orms,
whichcansur vivedistur
bances.Fur thermor e,aHol oni saut onomousandco- operati
ve
andsomet i
mesi nt
elli
gent .Thisproper t
yensur esthatt heyar eint er
medi ateforms, which
providethepr operfunctional i
tyforthef ormt heyar epar tof .Al ternati
vely,hol
onshav ea
self
-asserti
vet endency ,
whi chisamani festati
onoft heiraut onomousnat ure,andhav e
anintegrati
vet endency ,whi chexpressesdependenceont hel argerwhol eort heirco-
operativenature.TheHol on'shy bri
dchar acteristi
csal l
owsf orent it
iesthatco- operat
e
withotherent i
tiesbyof feringser vi
cest othem ( servers)andatt hesamet i
mecanact
autonomousl yasf reeaent ity(f
reeagent )
.

Agent
-BasedSy
stemsf
orManuf
act
uri
ng
Theemer gingparadigm ofagent -basedcomput ati
onhasr ev ol
ut i
onizedt hebui ldi
ngof
i
ntelli
gentanddecent ral
izedsy stems.Thenewt echnologiesmetwel lt
her equir ements
i
nal ldomainsofmanuf acturingwher eproblemsofuncer t
ai ntyandt empor aldy namics,
i
nf or
mat i
onsharinganddi st
ribut edoper ati
on, orcoordinationandcooper ationof
autonomousent it
ieshadt obet ackl ed.I
nthepapersof twareagent sandmul ti
-agent
systemsar eint
roducedandt hroughacompr ehensivesur vey ,theirpotential
manuf act
uringapplicati
onsar eout l
ined.Speci alemphasi sisl aidonmet hodol ogical
i
ssuesanddepl oy edindust r
ialsy st ems.Afterdi scussingopeni ssuesandst rategic
researchdir
ecti
ons, weconcl udet hattheevol uti
onofagentt echnol ogiesand
manuf act
uringwillprobablypr oceedhandi nhand.Thef or
mercanr eceivereal
chal
lengesf r
om thelatt
er,
which,i
nturn,wi
l
lhav
emor eandmorebenefi
tsi
nappl
yi
ng
agenttechnologi
es,presumablyt
ogetherwi
thwell
-est
abl
i
shedoremergi
ngappr
oaches
ofotherdisci
pli
nes.