Design of integrated manufacturing planning, scheduling and control systems: a new framework for automation

The automation and integration of manufacturing planning, scheduling and control functions have, for a long while, been targeted in computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches. Current systems, however, are human-based and they can only be characterised as decision support systems (DSS) rather than automated systems. Global competition and the need for improved responsiveness, particularly in low-volume, high-variety manufacturing industries, necessitate further integration and automation in planning, scheduling and control functions. We consider that, to achieve automation, the concepts and techniques from operations research (OR), control theory (CT), and computer science (CS) should be integrated, enriched and unified to provide a platform for automation. This paper presents a fresh perspective for understanding the design issues involved and proposes a new framework for the automation and integration of planning, scheduling and control functions. A fully automated flow shop production system is presented to illustrate the applicability of the new framework.