Plug & play methodologies for inter-level, enterprise logistics and control
Mohsen A. Jafari, Thomas O. Boucher, Hans Michael Hanisch · 2004
We propose an approach for integration of different levels of logistics and control in a uniform methodology. The main issue is that the formalisms we use on different levels allow fast and easy re-configuration at all levels, from business level down to shop floor control. The proposed technology promotes the plug & play concept and utilizes a similar formalism across all layers of an enterprise and between enterprises within a supply chain. Each plug & play component has embedded in it a controller which can be re-configured dynamically and automatically according to the rules and protocols defined at the upper layers of enterprise or the network it belongs to. Each component also embeds a monitoring system, which provides feedback on its status and if necessary can participate in a distributed diagnosis in the case of faults, drifts, and other disturbances. The paper presents the concepts we have been developing so far and addresses future work on integration of our approaches.