Binational research project deals with adaptive production planning and control

Nowadays, many customers demand customized products in small-scale series as well as quick deliveries. This puts high requirements on production planning and control. Focusing on the so-called job shop production, researchers of BIBA – Bremer Institut für Produktion und Logistik at the University of Bremen as well as the Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) cooperate in a research project to develop a method that will help manufacturing companies to plan and control their production processes.

The aim of the research project “AdaptiveSBO” is to develop an adaptive simulation-based optimization method for the scheduling and control of dynamic manufacturing systems. This project is funded within the „Brazilian-German Collaborative Research Initiative on Manufacturing Technology“ (BRAGECRIM), initiated by German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Brazilian Ministry for Education (CAPES) to support cooperation within binational research projects in the context of manufacturing.

In Germany, the director of the BIBA, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Freitag, coordinates the project, while Prof. Dr.-Ing. Enzo Morosini Frazzon from the research group Production and Logistics Intelligent Systems at the Federal University of Santa Cararina (UFSC) coordinates it in Brazil. Prof. Frazzon obtained his PhD at the International Graduate School for Dynamics in Logistics (IGS) at the University of Bremen.

In addition, he visited BIBA several times as a guest researcher and lecturer for „Dynamics in Global Production and Logistic Systems“ at the department of production engineering at the University of Bremen. Rudolph Usinados, a Brazilian manufacturing company for mechanical components for the automotive industry, which was founded by German emigrants, also takes part in the research project AdaptiveSBO.

“Classical methods and systems do no longer meet the new requirements“

The scheduling and control of production processes has a significant influence on the performance of manufacturing systems. However, manufacturing systems are subject to dynamic influences and disturbances such as machine breakdowns or rush orders, which have to be considered for the production planning and control. The available methods and systems do no longer meet the specific requirements. Computed schedules are often not optimal since they do not consider the current state of the production system.

Within the project, a simulation-based optimization approach for adaptive production scheduling using real-time data of the manufacturing system is currently being developed. This method will meet the dynamics of production systems and allow to optimize planning decisions and control rules based on the current state of the job shop. In order to couple optimization with the real production process, a method for data-exchange between a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and a simulation-based optimization method will be developed. The method will be tested and evaluated within the shop floor of the industrial partner Rudolph Usinados.

„Job shop production puts special requirements on production planning and control”

“Job shop production is organized differently than a classical flow shop production in the automotive industry, where all operations are conducted according to the same standardized sequences”, explains BIBA researcher Mirko Kück. “Within a job shop production system, different organizational units, such as turning shops and cutting shops, are available. These units do not act according to static routines and a standardized sequence but as demanded according to individual process plans for different products.”

“The advantages of job shop production systems are that they offer more possibilities for manufacturing several different and individualized small-scale product series. This provides high flexibility regarding customer requirements”, says Kück. However, the planning and control of job shop production systems is a very complex and demanding task. This task will be addressed within this project.

“This cooperation is a benefit, not only for research and teaching”

“Global production networks as well as digitalization require that we think and work beyond company and national boundaries – also in terms of production planning and control. Thus, we cultivate several international contacts”, says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Freitag. This joint research project is a good example of the successful cooperation, which has been growing for years. It shows the value of such international partnerships for all participants. “They are a benefit not only for research and our everyday work at BIBA. Also our students profit from the cooperation – in academic education, through practical experience, through intercultural exchange and through the possibility to establish new contacts.”

“Annual BRAGECRIM Meeting takes place in Bremen for the first time”

In September, the project partners met in Brazil in order to discuss the work packages. Already in November, they will meet again. The annual BRGECRIM Meeting will take place in Bremen for the first time from 14th to 16th November, 2016. There, the current projects of BRAGECRIM will present their research results.

Attention Editors:
Pictures regarding this press release can be found at www.biba.uni-bremen.de/press2016.html or via Sabine Nollmann (e-mail: mail@kontexta.de, mobile: +49 (0)170 904 11 67)

Contacts:
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Freitag, phone: +49 (0)421 218-50 002, e-mail: fre@biba.uni-bremen.de
Dipl.-Math. Mirko Kück, phone: +49 (0)421 218-50 119, e-mail: kue@biba.uni-bremen.de

http://www.biba.uni-bremen.de
http://www.bragecrim.rwth-aachen.de/projects.html
http://www.rudolph.com.br/de