Multiagent System Integrating Process and Quality Control in a Factory Producing Laundry Washing Machines

Abstract

Manufacturing companies are currently forced to reconsider their production processes by adopting more flexible, robust, and adaptive systems, aiming to improve their competitiveness. Multiagent systems (MASs) technology is suitable to address this challenge by providing an alternative way to design these complex systems based on the decentralization of the control functions over distributed entities. This paper describes the installation of a MAS solution in an industrial factory plant producing laundry washing machines. The installed solution focuses on the integration of quality and process control, and contributes to the maximization of the factory profitability facing changing conditions by applying self-adaptation procedures at the local and global levels. The preliminary results show improvements in the production efficiency and product quality, as well as a reduction of the scrap costs.

Smart Agents in Industrial Cyber–Physical Systems

“…Also FP5 PABADIS and FP6 PABADIS'PROMISE [29,46] targeted a distributed, agent-based manufacturing control. The test-case of the EU FP7 GRACE project deployed a MAS for integrating process and quality control in the washing machine production line of Whirlpool [41] in Naples, Italy, showing benefits in terms of production efficiency and product quality, as well as a reduction of the scrap costs. The EU FP7 IDEAS project focused on the application of key enabling technologies, and particularly MAS, to enable instant/plug and produce deployment of modular equipment without reprogramming, being demonstrated by using the Masmec System for dynamic part assembly [42].…”

Agent and Cyber-Physical System Based Self-Organizing and Self-Adaptive Intelligent Shopfloor

“…The software system, or the environment of MAS, was analyzed by Valckenaers et al and the connections between the real-world entities and agent systems were given [12]. Related works on the implementation of MAS into industries were extensively conducted in different fields including process and quality control [13], object management [14], manufacturing control systems [15], etc. Furthermore, Valckenaers et al extended the concept of intelligent agents to intelligent beings, which focus on not only the capabilities of decision-making but reflecting the physical reality [16].…”

A Cloud-Based Decision Support System for Self-Healing in Distributed Automation Systems Using Fault Tree Analysis

“…Leitao et al [11] propose a MAS solution for self-adaptive manufacturing systems. The preliminary results show improvement of production efficiency and costs reduction.…”

“…Self-healing is an essential characteristic of software agents and is already experimented by many researchers as shown in [11]- [17]. Industrial software agents have been demonstrated by their capability of providing the self-healing majorly in smart grids and energy systems.…”