Agent-based architecture for flexible lean cell design, analysis and evaluation

We present an agent architecture in support of lean operations across manufacturing supply chains. Our architecture addresses the issue of heterogeneous information management, the need for analyzing mixed manufacturing approaches, and efficiency and accuracy tradeoffs of analysis methods. We propose five distinct layers to address these requirements: an XML/RDF/DAML Information Access Layer, a Resource Vector Representation Layer, an Analysis Layer, a Coordination Layer, and a Visualization Layer. Our successful results in developing agent systems in support of lean manufacturing cell and supply chain management validate our layered approach.