KNOWLEDGE ELICITATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A KNOWLEDGE-BASED SYSTEM FOR PRODUCTION SCHEDULING

A prototype knowledge-based system for automated production scheduling has been developed for a press shop, which manufactures laminations for stator and rotor packs and cores for electric motor production. The system is PC (personal computer) based, user friendly, and may be interfaced to the existing computer-based MRP (material requirements planning) system, making the transfer of production data quick and easy. The knowledge-based system has been tested and validated over a range of production circumstances and the predicted production schedules show close agreement with those manually produced, over longer time-scales, by the human scheduler. The knowledge elicitation procedures developed are described and, in particular, the use of a large flow diagram to describe the decision-making process during scheduling is discussed. The visual representation of the structure of the decision-making process is of particular benefit in aiding clarity of communication between the knowledge engineer and the domain expert. The techniques for knowledge acquisition within the production scheduling environment have been formalized and their use is advocated for use in the development of scheduling systems. For the prototype system to be of practical benefit within the press shop, further development of the system is necessary to enable all the presses and lamination combinations to be scheduled. This is currently being carried out within the company.