An overview of distributed process planning and its integration with scheduling
by Lihui Wang, Weiming Shen, Qi Hao
International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology (IJCAT), Vol. 26, No. 1/2, 2006

Abstract: Process planning and scheduling are considered as two separate and distinct phases in manufacturing. Traditional approaches to these problems do not consider the constraints of both domains simultaneously and can only result in sub-optimal solutions. This separation becomes a barrier to further improving manufacturing performance. Most process planning and scheduling systems are off-line and centralized. The process plans generated off-line may become invalid at the time of plan execution. On the other hand, scheduling based on rigid process plans may have already lost the optimal options. Today, there is an increasing need for the integration of process planning and scheduling to generate more realistic and practical solutions. This paper provides a literature review on the integration of process planning and scheduling, particularly on agent-based approaches. It is followed by an overview of our approach toward distributed process planning and scheduling. The paper is finally concluded with future research opportunities.

Online publication date: Fri, 16-Jun-2006

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology (IJCAT):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

    Username:        Password:         

Forgotten your password?


Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com