Authors: Caterina Genua; Silvestro Giuffrida; Salvatore Rinaudo

Abstract: In the highly competitive semiconductor industry, shop floor controls have recently become fundamental for production controllers and industrial engineers. Despite the emphasis put on SFS techniques, the impact on the actual operations of the fab may not reflect controllers' expectations. A framework has been developed which provides them with means of analyzing the production flow, through statistical analysis of equipment, operators and flow linearity parameters, and through data collection for historical comparisons between simulated and real activity of the fab, which can be helpful for documenting the improvements on manufacturing performance offered by the use of shop floor controls.

Keywords: shop-floor,scheduling,manufacturing processes,control system design,simulators,production,equipment,efficiency

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00350

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Christian Artigues; Stephane Dauzere Peres; Alexandre Derreumaux; Olivier Sibille; Claude Yugma

Abstract: We propose a method for solving a dayly batching and scheduling problem of lots of wafers in the diffusion area of a semiconductor plant. The involved complex constraints include in particular both minimal and maximal time lags and there are multiple objectives. The method is based on a disjunctive graph which allows fast calculation of operation start times from a partial or complete batching proposition. A prototype interactive software issued from this research is currently in test in the ATMEL Rousset fabrication unit.

Keywords: wafer fabrication,diffusion area,batch scheduling,disjunctive graph,local search

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00368

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Alexander A. Kolokolov; Lidia A. Zaozerskaya

Abstract: The problem of service centers location is formulated as a bicriteria optimization problem of finding a dominating set in graph. We investigate the properties of this problem and propose the methods for its solving. The results of computer experiment for instances with random data are presented.

Keywords: integer programming,multiple-criterion optimization,graphs,algorithms,trade offs

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00225

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: L. Brotcorne; J.-P. Cote; P. Marcotte; G. Savard

Abstract: Whereas pricing models have in the past often been approached from a purely academic standpoint, optimal pricing is nowadays considered as a central financial and operational tool in several industries. The optimal pricing problem, involving two decision makers acting non cooperatively and in a sequential way, can be adequately modelled as a bilevel program. In this paper we present a theoretical and algorithmic study of this class of bilevel problems, devoting a special attention to the problem of setting profit maximizing tariffs on a transportation network.

Keywords: pricing,operations research,bilevel programming

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00234

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Olga Guschinskaya; Alexandre Dolgui

Abstract: Ten best exact and heuristic methods for Transfer Line Balancing Problem (TLBP) are compared in a computational experiment. The TLBP deals with the optimization of design solutions for serial machining lines. Such lines consist of a sequence of unit head machines. The operations are grouped into blocks at every station. These blocks are executed sequentially and the operations within each block are performed simultaneously by the same multi-spindle head. The objective is to assign the operations to blocks and the blocks to stations minimizing the total number of station and spindle heads. The challenge is to minimize the line cost and time for line design. Experimental results are presented. They help to choose the best optimization method for each situation.

Keywords: machining transfer lines,line balancing,optimization,graph theory,mixed integer programming,heuristics,random search

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00218

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Fernando H. Ataide; Fabiano C. Carvalho; Carlos E. Pereira; Marco A. Wehrmeister

Abstract: Currently, distributed control systems (DCS) are becoming widely in used the embedded application domain. Especially in the automotive area, which is considering the possibility of replacing the major part of mechanical and/or hydraulic systems for electronic systems, the importance of reliable communication plays a key role. Nevertheless, it is necessary to understand and explore the facilities of the underlying communication platform in order to build reliable distributed control functions. In this context, this work presents a comparative analysis of embedded protocols focusing on the communication paradigm, which can be of type event-triggered or time-triggered. In addition, the timing behavior of a steer-by-wire model was extracted by simulating the system at the MAC network level, considering first a event-triggered and then a time-triggered protocol.

Keywords: real-time protocols,clock synchronization,fault-tolerance

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00052

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Heidemarie Brasel; Andre Herms; Marc Morig; Thomas Tautenhahn; Jan Tusch; Frank Werner; Per Willenius

Abstract: In this paper, the problem of scheduling n jobs on m machines in an open shop environment is considered so that mean flow time becomes minimal. Since this problem is strongly NP-hard, different constructive and iterative heuristic algorithms are developed and discussed. Computational results are presented for problems with up to 50 jobs and 50 machines, respectively. The quality of the solutions is estimated by a lower bound for the corresponding preemptive open shop problem and by an alternative estimation of mean flow time.

Keywords: schedule algorithms,multimachine,optimization,implementation

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00072

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Qilin Shu; Chengen Wang

Abstract: To build a complete, reusable and highly consistent product lifecycle information model, the product lifecycle is divided into five stages: requirement analysis, conceptual design, engineering design, manufacturing, and service & support. Accordingly, five stage product models (requirement analysis model, conceptual design model, engineering design model, manufacturing model, and service & support model) are discussed. To integrate all information of a product lifecycle and support networked manufacturing mode, the key elements of product lifecycle modelling are discussed and a framework of product lifecycle modelling is proposed. Further, the relationship and evolvement of product models at different stages are described. Finally, a Web-based integration framework is proposed to support interoperability of distributed product data sources.

Keywords: products,lifecycles,modelling,architectures,management systems

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00369

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: S. Cavalieri; W. M. Ghislandi

Abstract: Aim of the paper is to define a scientific structure to prove the reason why nearmisses should be the joint between the safety department and the rest of the company. The structure is composed of a model based on the set theory which enables us to denote the categories "error", "incident", "mishap", "accident" and "near-miss", and a classification algorithm to exactly define each category. This double-step structure helps in the understanding of how to use the power of near-misses properties to implement a company-wide improvement program.

Keywords: safety,classification,algorithms,flowcharts,behaviour,feedback systems,error detection

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00048

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Olivier Simonin; Olivier Grunder

Abstract: This paper focuses on cooperation between heterogeneous robots, especially when they have to help themselves. The considered robotic system is composed first of an "intelligent" robot that submits failures preventing it to move, and second, of a set of simple autonomous mobile robots able to push. The paralyzed robot can send signals in order to recruit mobile robots and to indicate a sense to follow. The whole system can be seen as a box-pushing task where the box is a robot asking to move along a specific path. The different robot behaviors are presented and some experiments are analysed.

Keywords: autonomous mobile robots,agents,co-operation,self-adaptive control,artificial intelligence

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00117

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Mohamed Khalgui; Xavier Rebeuf; Francoise Simonot-Lion

Abstract: This paper deals with control applications designed using the component-based standard IEC 61499. In this standard, a function block is an event triggered component and an application is a function blocks network. Supposing end to end delays on applications behaviour, the hard temporal validation of FBs network may be not feasible. We propose to weaken these delays by tolerance constraints deduced from specifications. Exploiting the (m, k) model to specify these constraints, we propose a schedulability analysis generating a degraded scheduling to use by a sequencer at run-time.

Keywords: real-time,scheduling algorithms,control applications,functional blocks,tolerance

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00046

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Mikhail Y. Kovalyov; T. C. Edwin Cheng; Vladimir Kotov; C. T. Ng

Abstract: The Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) problem is a fundamental problem in supply and inventory management. An optimal solution to this problem in a closed form exists under the assumption that time and the product are continuously divisible. This paper studies problem D-EOQ, in which time and the product are discrete. Furthermore, in the objective function, there is a fixed cost for each order and a fixed cost for each product unit in an order of the maximum size. It is shown that the continuous relaxation of problem D-EOQ provides a solution that can be up to 50% worse than the optimal solution and this worst-case error bound is tight. Properties of an optimal solution of the problem D-EOQ are established. These properties allow to solve many special cases in polynomial time and can be used to derive a polynomial time algorithm for the general case of the problem D-EOQ.

Keywords: algorithms,inventory control

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00144

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Sabeur Elkosantini; Denis Gien

Abstract: In our days, companies are subject to several constraints of flexibility, quality, cost, etc. Their human resources were always considered as a source of dysfunction and non-quality. In this context, it is important to analyze and study the behavior of the employees at work and to integrate their needs and requirements in some quality management methods and approaches. The first part of this paper presents a method to represent, model and simulate their behavior in work. It will be completed by analyzing and studying the existing relations between employees. The second part of the article details this study and completes it by a case study.

Keywords: simulation,modeling,production systems,operators,product quality,graphs

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00110

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: A. Dourgnon-Hanoune; T. Dang; B. Dissert; S. Reguigui

Abstract: In this paper, we describe a framework for knowledge management of Instrumentation and Control (I&C) using a Content Management System (CMS) with ontology extension. Such approach provides an efficient and meaningful search of nontextual and textual information corresponding to a consistent terminology, and a lifecycle management of documents. A innovative architecture of the framework has been developed using web services in order to integrate two Commercial-Off-The-Shelf.

Keywords: instrumentation and control (I&C),industrial IT,knowledge management,competence network,collaborative network,ontology,CMS,COTS,portal,web services

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00051

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Ali Mehrabi; Jean-Pierre Campagne; Armand Baboli

Abstract: In this paper we present a framework for examining the effects of information sharing and system cooperation in a distribution system, with random ordering leadtime. The system consists of a depot and several retailers. The depot is not allowed to hold any inventory. Regarding the two major decisions in a depot problem, we claim that different patterns of information sharing can be considered in replenishment decisions and different modes of cooperation can be considered in allocation decisions. We proposed to model the leadtime uncertainty as a finite-state Markov Chain.

Keywords: supply chain management,information sharing,modes of cooperation,Markovian leadtime

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00159

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Andrei Lobov; Corina Popescu; Jose L. Martinez Lastra

Abstract: Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems prompt for improvement of validation methods. Validation methods should provide ease of adaptation to the changes in system functionality caused by reconfiguration. We describe a framework of tools that may assist in the validation of RMS. We utilize closed loop formal modelling aiming to save the time spent on developing test cases and running exhaustive tests to prove system correctness.

Keywords: validation,reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS)

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00275

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Ying Liu; Wen Feng Lu; Han Tong Loh

Abstract: Often ranked at the top of the core competencies by manufacturing firms, product design & development (PDD) is indeed a series of knowledge intensive activities. It demands timely information and diverse support from various knowledge sources to help the company remain competitive. Therefore, the integration of current information and existing knowledge, either internally owned or externally located, has become increasingly important. In this paper, a framework to serve PDD personnel for better information and knowledge management purpose based on text mining (TM) methodology is proposed. Several key initiatives undertaken are explained and moreover, the encouraging results achieved in our attempt to integrate manufacturing domain knowledge in conventional TM tasks are demonstrated.

Keywords: knowledge management,text mining,product design and development,manufacturing

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00339

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Vladimir Servakh; Tatyana Shcherbinina

Abstract: In the paper the resource constrained project scheduling problem is considered. Two fully polynomial time approximation schemes (FPTAS) are constructed for the problem with bounded width of the partial order in two cases that are NP-hard in the strong sense. The time complexity of the FPTAS for the problem to minimize the project completion time is O(2KKM(N2/ε)K) operations. Here K is the width of the partial order, and ε is an accuracy of the obtained solution. For the problem to minimize the average job completion time, an FPTAS with the running time O(2KKM(N3/ε)K) has been proposed. As a corollary, there is an FPTAS for the job shop scheduling problem with a bounded number of jobs.

Keywords: scheduling problem,dynamic programming,approximation solution,FPTAS

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00082

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Nadia Hamani; Nathalie Dangoumau; Etienne Craye

Abstract: A new modeling approach for mode handling of Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) is presented in this paper. At first the basic concepts of this modeling approach are introduced. Then the modeling steps of the FMS functional model are presented and illustrated through an example of a flexible manufacturing cell. The proposed method is modular, hierarchical and supports re-use concept. The established model is generic and well adapted to our control system context. Integration within this control system in particular within the supervision framework, is studied in the last paragraph.

Keywords: flexible manufacturing systems,control system,supervision,mode handling,functional and behavioral modeling

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00152

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Carlos Henrique dos Santos; Guilherme Bittencourt; Raul Guenther; Edson De Pieri

Abstract: This paper investigates the possibility of applying a hybrid control with a fuzzy approach for redundancy resolution to an autonomous underwater vehicle-manipulator system (UVMS). This algorithm generates a desired trajectory for the vehicle that takes into account two control objectives: the energy savings and the increase of system manipulability by a smooth actuation. The computer simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of this approach.

Keywords: fuzzy logic,hybrid systems,singularity,underwater vehicle-manipulator systems

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00123

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: N. Safaei; R. Tavakkoli-Moghaddam; S. Jabal-Ameli

Abstract: This paper presents a mixed-integer linear programming approach for cell formation problem (CFP) by assuming that the product mix and part demand change under a multi-period planning horizon. As a result, the best cell design for one period may not be efficient for subsequent periods and then reconfiguration of cells is required. The advantages of the proposed model are as follows: considering different inter and intra-cell movements, batch sizes, alternative process plan for part types, sequencing part-operation, machine relocation, cell size, and flexibility of cell number. The objective is to minimize the sum of the depreciation and relocation machine cost as well as inter and intra-cell movements cost.

Keywords: generalized cell formation problem,mathematical model,dynamic environment,batch size

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00213

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Christophe Gravier; Jacques Fayolle

Abstract: In this paper, we are aiming at providing a complete, platform independent, framework, for the remote control of high technological instruments in extended enterprises. There is no denying that the future of executive systems is made of security, scalability, authentication, "real time" accesses, multiplatform and multi-users. Of course, this implies to deal with the needs of the architectures being able to supply the corresponding system. Meanwhile, such architecture could provide new possibility for remote manufacturing such as partial device loan (if the human computer interaction could fit into a given context). Finally, we will expose Human Computer Interactions challenges for our collaborative and clearance-based executive systems.

Keywords: executive systems,collaborative systems,human computer interaction,extended enterprise,middleware,remote laboratory

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00348

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Imen Essafi; Yazid Mati

Abstract: We consider a job-shop scheduling problem with release dates and due dates, with the objective of minimizing the total weighted tardiness. A genetic algorithm is combined with an iterated local search that uses a neighborhood based on a disjunctive graph model. In this paper, we show that the efficiency of genetic algorithms does no longer depend on the schedule builder when an iterated local search is used. Computational experiments carried out on instances of the literature show the efficiency of the proposed algorithm over the existing methods.

Keywords: job-shop scheduling,total weighted tardiness,hybrid genetic algorithm

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00261

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Pascal Blanc; Isabel Demongodin; Pierre Castagna

Abstract: In the age of globalisation and virtual enterprises, industrial firms are challenged by a volatile and demanding market as well as an everyday more competitive environment. As a main actor of the enterprise integration, manufacturing control systems should be designed in order to answer in a flexible way these necessities of reactivity and profitability. Approaches such as Holonic Manufacturing System propose a structure organized as a loosely coupled network of communicating and cooperating agents to solve this problem. Based on an industrial application, and inspired by this approach, an implementation to achieve the manufacturing control is proposed.

Keywords: flexible manufacturing systems,agile control,agents,industrial process

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00217

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006

Authors: Duy Long Ha; Stephane Ploix Eric Zamai; Mireille Jacomino

Abstract: This paper presents a new three-layer household energy control system capable both to satisfy the maximum available electrical energy constraint and to maximize user comfort criteria. These layers are composed by: an equipment layer, with local and fast control mechanism, a protection layer, which is triggered when energy constraints are violated, and an anticipation mechanism, which adjusts future set-points of equipments in order to tackle energy events that can be forseen. The scheduling problem of the set-points of equipments is modelled by a graph and solved by the Bellman-Ford's algorithm. This control mechanism makes it possible to have a more flexible control of the overall power consumption in housing in exploiting natural thermal energy accumulation.

Keywords: energy control system,home automation,scheduling,dynamic programming

Identifier: 10.3182/20060517-3-FR-2903.00011

Conference: 12th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing, 2006

Location: Ecole des Mines, Saint Etienne, France

Start Date: Wed May 17 2006 - End Date: Fri May 19 2006