A rule-based manufacturing modelling system

The paper is aimed at presenting the overall architecture and main features of the software package resulting from the Esprit III project 822-RUMS (a Rule-based Manufacturing Modelling System). Its ultimate objective was to provide small-medium enterprises (SMEs) with advanced software modules supporting long-term (strategic) planning, medium-term (materials and resources) planning, short-term (shop-floor) planning, and the underlying models of product and process. Interfaces between the RUMS modules and popular commercial MRP packages have been studied, to interact with purchasing and inventory management modules. To suit the typical SME manufacturing organisation, production planning software must take into account requirements and constraints that are generally not found in larger enterprises. Moreover, SMEs have difficulties in adopting the expensive and burdensome set of solutions that are presently needed to cover all the planning functions. A strong and continuous interaction with real cases at different SMEs has been carried out, both for validating the model and for measuring its impact on the enterprise organisation.