SMART Manufacturing is "An integrated, knowledge-enabled, model- rich enterprise in which all operating actions are determined and executed proactively applying the best possible information and a wide range of performance metrics."
Smart Manufacturing extends from requirements, product and process design to execution, delivery and life-cycle support.
10 Attributes of Smart Process Manufacturing
1. Intelligent actions and responses
2. Operating assets are integrated and self-aware
3. Adapts to abnormal situations
4. Data when, where, and in the form needed
5. Proactive failure prevention
6. Rapid response for proactive control
7. Environmentally sustainable
8. People: knowledgeable, empowered and trained
9. Recognize the limits of automation
10. Drive strategic enterprise performance
Manufacturing IS about data…NOT about machines. The data that is being continuously generated by smart machines and transmitters must be translated into actionable information.
- Enable assets to autonomously recognize and respond to situations
- Develop techniques and standards for integration across the supply chain
- Integrate enterprise and plant level planning
- Provide comprehensive knowledge capture and knowledge management solutions
Components of SMART Manufacturing:
- Distributed intelligent manufacturing
- Decisions and actions made at lower level of plant granularity
- Coordinated/aggregated smart units
- Centralized hierarchical management to coordinated distributed management
- Explicit management of risk and uncertainty
- Robustness to risk and changing situations
- Greater flexibility and responsiveness to overall goals
- Distributed business and operating intelligence to units through integrated models
I have been in manufacturing for a number of years and have been involved with a major smart manufacturing project using autonomous agent software on a Department of Defense Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) project back in the 1990s; we built a platform where autonomous agents (software) represented each machine, tooling, fixture, operator, unit operation and part broker in the a job shop and would communicate and self-organize to determine the optimal factory schedule. We were all excited when DeviceNet hit the market because these were smart sensors that were somewhat self aware and thought the "smart manufacturing" vision was only a few years off. Fast forward 15 years and the vision has not made much progress. I just hope it is not another 15 years before smart manufacturing is more of the norm than visionary. Let me know what you think.
Thanks,
Ben Moore
Agent Technologies, Inc.
References:
1) SPM EVO July 2009 (Smart Process Manufacturing Engineering Virtual Organization)
http://www.oit.ucla.edu/NSF-EVO-2008/
2) “The Evolution of Smart Manufacturing” by Walt Boyes Editor in Chief Control and ControlGlobal.com
