automated production
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automated Production Systems (aPS) are highly complex, mechatronic systems that usually have to operate reliably for many decades. Standardization and reuse of control software modules is a core prerequisite to achieve the required system quality in increasingly shorter development cycles. However, industrial case studies in aPS show that many aPS companies still struggle with strategically reusing software. This paper proposes a metric-based approach to objectively measure the m aturity of i ndustrial IEC 61131-based co ntrol s oftwar e in aPS (MICOSE4aPS) to identify potential weaknesses and quality issues hampering systematic reuse. Module developers in the machine and plant manufacturing industry can directly benefit as the metric calculation is integrated into the software engineering workflow. An in-depth industrial evaluation in a top-ranked machine manufacturing company in food packaging and an expert evaluation with different companies confirmed the benefit of efficiently managing the quality of control software.

Abstract. The article presents the results of research in the direction of improving technological equipment for internal threading of parts in a flexible automated production. Methods for assessing the operational and technological reliability of a flexible manufacturing module (FMM) of thread processing are considered, which can be used as the basis for the developed method of synthesis of its elements. It is proposed to consider the technological system of the flexible manufacturing module (FMM) of thread processing as a system in which transitions from state to state occur under the action of the simplest flows with parameters of the transition probabilities of a continuous Markov chain. The developed mathematical model describing the state of the FMM taking into account the failures of the functioning of its elements, parametric failures, as well as taking into account the recovery after these types of failures, makes it possible to reflect the influence on the operation of the module of the parameters of the flows of failures and restorations of the tool, machine tool, fixture, loading device. The solution of the obtained systems of equations of final probabilities allows for given (or experimentally obtained) intensities of failure streams (functioning and parametric) for FMM threading to obtain the values of the probability of failure-free operation, as well as the probabilities of finding the system in an inoperative state due to corresponding failures. The measures taken make it possible to solve the synthesis problem at the level of structural and layout optimization, so that at the stage of parametric synthesis to determine the elements that are vulnerable according to the developed criterion, the improvement of which will lead to the creation of the most efficient system.

PurposeRoutine dynamics provide a robust theoretical framework to explore a wide range of organizational phenomena. However, the study of routines and the effect of technology on its performativity in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) still lack attention by researchers. This paper aims to analyze how the balance between process technology and human cognition affects routines' performativity in SMEs.Design/methodology/approachIt was conducted a multicase study composed of Brazilian SMEs in the bakery industry. Data collection took place through interviews with managers and employees, observation of operational processes and document analysis. Thematic content analysis was adopted for categorization and data analysis.FindingsThe authors’ findings allow inferring there is no primacy of a more automated or artisanal production process to achieve competitiveness, which breaks the paradigm of the superior performance of automated production over the artisanal process that haunts SMEs. Though technology increases production efficiency, the artisanal approach can be valuable at promoting a company by commercially using this know-how to explore other business models appreciated by the public.Practical implicationsThe authors’ proposals became relevant in a practical perspective once it works as a parameter for SME managers' decision-making about new investments in production resources and to foster public policies and other actions developed by support services for small businesses.Originality/valueThis study expands the frontiers in routines literature on SMEs, which lacks deepening. From this, SME managers can intensify actions to optimize process routines performativity through technologies or human cognition to keep the routines on track.

The integration of modern IT technologies in production equipment does not only enable them to acquire information from different sources and provide it to others but also to make decisions depending on the situation. Due to the limited processing power of such equipment, usage of state machine to describe and program it is considered a promising direction. However, the necessity of intensive interaction of the equipment units causes problems related to interoperability, which are usually solved with the usage of ontologies. The objective of the presented research is to model state machines of production robots via ontologies. The results are demonstrated on the example of a fragment of an automated production line.

The article states that the relevance of modeling processes, followed by analysis of the features of the transformation of the technological phantom of the real object, in particular precision instrumentation products, which affects the accuracy of shaping the formation of this object in automated production. The main purpose of this study was to substantiate analytical models of transformations of the technological phantom of the object, taking into account the type of coordinate systems, which can be observed transformation of some coordinates into others. These features of the transformations significantly affect the accuracy of the formation of this object. The main analytical models that determine the features of the formation of the technological phantom and the need to combine the technological phantom with the mass of the object, which provides opportunities to take into account the problems of manufacturing surface elements, determine the features of shaping the accuracy of reproduction of objects From the analytical models obtained in our work, we have the opportunity to say that for any object the technological phantom has a geometric construction, and the shape of this construction is the main factor influencing the accuracy of object formation. The research substantiates the analytical model of transformations of the technological phantom of the object, which determines the dependence of the geometric characteristics of the formation of the precision object, which is made using certain additive or destructive (with decreasing mass of the real object) technological processes. In further research, the model of shaping technological objects in space requires modeling of the peculiarities of mass representation in view of the energy connections of the technological phantom of the object in a certain volume, which has the task of determining and improving manufacturing accuracy.

As the new climate change driven regulations are brought into the force and energy prices and sustainability awareness increased, many companies are looking for the most efficient way to reduce their energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this context, the food industry as one of the main energy consumers within the industry sector plays a significant role. This paper analyses the current energy consumption in a biscuit manufacturing company and considers a number of possible solutions for the energy efficiency improvements. The company uses modern and automated production processes and has signed a Climate Change Agreement. The experimental part involves identification of the energy users, as well as analysis of the energy bills, operation times, production schedule and on-site measurements of energy consumption. The opportunities for energy efficiency improvements, GHG emissions and costs reduction are investigated and additional information about the investments and payback period of the proposed improvements discussed. A number of opportunities for improvement are identified within the production area with a potential savings of 23%, which corresponds to EUR 40,534.00 and 190 tCO2, annually. It was found that the significant savings could be achieved by better managing the production lines and reducing operational hours from equipment, with no impact on productivity and no capital investment required. Further savings can be achieved through technical improvements requiring capital investments. All those improvements and savings make a significant contribution in accomplishing environmental targets set out by the FDF1 agreement.

Consider optimizing a periodic schedule for an automated production plant as a last step of a more comprehensive design process. In our scenario, each robot’s cyclic sequence of operations and trajectories between potential waiting points have already been fully specified. Further given are those precedences that fix sequence requirements on operations between different robots. It remains to determine the starting time for each operation or movement of each robot within a common cyclic time period so as to avoid collisions of robots that operate in the same space simultaneously. So the task is to find a conflict-resolving schedule that minimizes this common periodic cycle time while observing all precedence relations and collision avoidance constraints. The proposed cycle time minimization problem for robot coordination has, to the best of our knowledge, not been studied before. We develop an approach for solving it by employing binary search for determining the smallest feasible period time of an iso-periodic event scheduling problem (IPESP). This is a variant of the periodic event scheduling problem in which the objects that have to be scheduled need to obey exactly the same period time. The possibility to wait arbitrarily long at waiting points turns out to be essential to justify the use of binary search for identifying the minimum cycle time, thereby avoiding bilinear mixed integer formulations. Special properties of the given scenario admit bounds on the periodic tension variables of an integer programming formulation. Although the IPESP subproblems remain NP-complete in general, these bounds allow solving real-world instances sufficiently fast for the approach to be applicable in practice. Numerical experiments on real-world and randomly generated data are supplied to illustrate the potential and limitations of this approach. Summary of Contribution: When designing automated production plants, a crucial step is to identify the smallest possible per unit period time for the production processes. Based on periodic event scheduling ideas, we develop and analyze mathematical methods for this purpose. We show that the algorithmic implementation of our approach provides an answer to current real-world designs in reasonable time.

The research relates to the field of automation of technological preparation of production in transport equipment manufacturing sector and proposes the concept of choosing the optimal design model for a complex of technical means within a control system in automated production. The factors characterising the dynamics of the processes have been studied, and the corresponding mathematical models have been drawn up, considering the cost characteristics and the economic feasibility of adopting integratedtechnical means.The main objective of this work is to propose consideration of all parameters that have weight, including the dynamics of technical and economic processes. It is shown that cost characteristics are direct indicators of economic efficiency of the implemented complex of technical means.Methodically, this work was carried out based on economic and mathematical analysis of adoption of a complex of technical means at a transport equipment manufacturing enterprise considering approaches previously suggested by researchers.Thus, for the most accurate determination of the final cost of a certain product option, it is necessary to consider all factors of design decisions. Based on these data, a model of cost characteristics of products is built, analysing which it is possible to select the optimal product design, optimal assemblies and units with specific components and specific quality indicators. This allows obtaining the optimal technological version of the design solution during manufacturing.A method of searching for an optimal production cycle when introducing an automated production system is proposed. It is proposed to consider the losses associated with temporary freezing of funds, including the need to perform a convolution of optimization criteria. To formalise the process of making optimal decisions, it is also proposed to harmonise the products and market needs. Besides, the search methodology should include the search for an optimal group of employees responsible for implementation of specific and narrowly focused tasks, which makes it possible to improve the quality indicators of automated production with an adopted complex of technical means (CTM).To minimise the time spent on entire commissioning of a product from the development stage to receipt of the finished product, it is required to speed up the development work. This can be done by increasing production capacity, as well as by reducing the time of partial cycles of the structure’s existence.Even though the model is becoming excessively redundant, we suppose that introduction of additional elements is necessary to consider all the nuances that help choosing the best solution regarding optimisation issues, which will allow determining of the full economic efficiency of the complex.

New production technologies create more opportunities to meet people’s needs. However, they inevitably increase the antropogenic load on the environment. Therefore, the social conditions of industrial production have to be changed in such a way as to use the new technologies to solve the emerging problems without aggravating them. One option is to increase the knowledge intensity of production, which means that specific weight of knowledge should be embodied in the production and dominate the material costs. Another option is to replace human functions by automated production means. However, the current social production conditions concentrate new technological opportunities on the production and sales growth, which further increases consumption and the volume of absorbed natural resources. Consumption also grows due to the false needs imposed on consumers. Knowledge-intensive production creates prerequisites for the transition to the second generation industrial society, but this transition alone cannot solve the numerous global problems. The only solution is to replace the current economic criteria of production and consumption with those based on reason and culture, i.e. noonomy, which is a non-economic way of satisfying people’s needs. The roadmap towards noonomy should be a consciously managed strategic project based of the concept of strategizing developed by Professor V.L. Kvint.