Title: RFID-enabled complex event processing application framework for manufacturing

Authors: Ji Fang, George Q. Huang, Ting Qu, YingFeng Zhang

Addresses: Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, China. ' Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, China. ' Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, China. ' Key Laboratory of Contemporary Design and Integrated Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China

Abstract: In order to face up with classic manufacturing challenges such as high work in progress (WIP) inventories, complexity in production planning and scheduling, and low labour and machine utilisation, many manufacturing companies made their efforts in implementing RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Devices) throughout the manufacturing workshops. Through this way, all production data in manufacturing fields can be obtained in real time, and it improves the flexibility and responsivity to the changing market for the companies. However, at the same time the RFID deployment also introduces a new challenge which requires an effective and efficient method to handle the large amounts of events. This paper proposes an application framework for a real-time Complex Event Management System (CEMS) based on RFID equipments deployment. With the use of Complex Event Processing (CEP) technologies, this system allows users to obtain interested and meaningful information from large numbers of primitive events captured from the RFID devices deployed in manufacturing shop-floor in real time. This paper presents the RFID deployment infrastructure first, and then system design of the CEMS is proposed.

Keywords: RFID; radio-frequency identification; Auto-ID; data capture; real-time manufacturing; production planning; scheduling; work in process; WIP; inventories; high work in progress; complexity; machine utilisation; labour utilisation; workshops; production data; flexibility; responsivity; changing markets; event handling; complex event management systems; CEMS; complex event processing; CEP; meaningful information; primitive events; manufacturing shop-floors; deployment infrastructures; Petri net; services operations; services management; informatics; logistics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSOI.2011.038313

International Journal of Services Operations and Informatics, 2011 Vol.6 No.1/2, pp.30 - 44

Published online: 07 Mar 2015 *

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