A multi-agent based framework for real-time monitoring and scheduling to handle dynamic changes

Abstract

Manufacturing industries are under great pressure caused by the rising costs of energy, materials, labor, capital, and intensifying worldwide competition. In particular, frequent change of customer requirements is a tough challenge to manufacturing company. To deal with this problem adequately, real-time monitoring and scheduling is an essential task to be competitive. Conventional static scheduling system cannot deals with this problem effectively. The new requirements to overcome the limitations of conventional scheduling method are as follows: First, a new approach can monitor and reflect the real situation of shop floor in real-time. Second, it can model the various parameters and performance objectives of shop floor in a scheduling system with accuracy. Agent technology is particularly appealing to model and solve the monitoring and scheduling problems in manufacturing industries. Proposed in this paper is real-time monitoring and scheduling framework based on autonomous multi-agents. And to show the usefulness of proposed framework, a prototype system is developed and implemented. The main advantage of proposed framework is to generate a realistic and easy-to-understand schedule by imitating real-world decision-making process. ? 2015, North Atlantic University Union NAUN. All rights reserved.