Title: A conceptual framework for scheduling purposes in mass customisation systems: an agent-based approach

Authors: Ali Orhan Aydin, Semra Tunali

Addresses: Industrial Engineering Department, Yasar University, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey. ' Industrial Engineering Department, Dokuz Eylul University, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

Abstract: Effective planning and scheduling in Mass Customisation Systems (MCSs) is a challenging issue due to the complexity related to planning and scheduling activities. Current software applications fail to meet the requirements of these systems in the job scheduling domain. This paper presents a scheduling system denominated the Intelligent Customisation Scheduler Agent (ICSA) and discusses the underlying approaches (i.e., the metaheuristic scheduling approach, the Generic-Bills-of-Materials (GBOM) and agent technologies) employed in developing the system.

Keywords: intelligent agents; planning; scheduling; mass customisation systems; MCSs; agent-based systems; multi-agents systems; MAS; metaheuristics; generic bills of materials; generic BOM; GBOM.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMASSC.2009.023383

International Journal of Mass Customisation, 2009 Vol.3 No.2, pp.208 - 225

Published online: 20 Feb 2009 *

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