Reactive scheduling using a multi-agent model: the SCEP framework

Abstract

OATAO is an open access repository that collects the work of Toulouse researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible.Reactive scheduling using a multi-agent model: the SCEP framework B. Archimede*, T. CoudertLGP (Laboratoire G! enie de Production), ENIT ( ! Ecole Nationale d'Ing! enieurs de Tarbes), 47, Avenue d'Azereix, BP 1629, 65016 Tarbes, France AbstractMulti-agent systems have been successfully applied to the scheduling problem for some time. However, their use often leads to poorly unsatisfactory disappointing results. A new multi-agent model, called supervisor, customers, environment, producers (SCEP), is suggested in this paper. This model, developed for all types of planning activities, introduces a dialogue between two communities of agents leading to a high level of co-operation. Its two main interests are the following: first it provides a more efficient control of the consequences generated by the local decisions than usual systems to each agent, then the adopted architecture and behaviour permit an easy co-operation between the different SCEP models, which can represent different production functions such as manufacturing, supply management, maintenance or different workshops. As a consequence, the SCEP model can be adapted to a great variety of scheduling/planning problems. This model is applied to the basic scheduling problem of flexible manufacturing systems, and it permits a natural co-habitation between infinite capacity scheduling processes, performed by the manufacturing orders, and finite capacity scheduling processes, performed by the machines. It also provides a framework in order to react to the disturbances occurring at different levels of the workshop. r

Semantic transportation planning for food products supply chain ecosystem within difficult geographic zones

“…The purpose of this paper is to present an interoperable solution of a marketplace, formed by shippers and carriers, dedicated to the schedule of food transport orders. Design/methodology/approach -This transportation planning system named Interoperable-Pathfinder, Order, Vehicle, Environment and Supervisor (I-POVES) is an interoperable multi-agent system, based on the SCEP (supervisor, customer, environment and producer) model (Archimede and Coudert, 2001). Ontologies are developed to create the planning marketplace comprising demands and offers from different sources (multiple shippers and carriers).…”

“…To achieve that, suppliers must define the characteristics of services they offer in terms of aptitude degree, cost and quality, while customers have, for each project, to define their objective, in terms of expected time, cost and quality, as well as all the required services with their temporal and structural constrains needed to achieve them. SCEP has been used with success in the context of the distributed production (Archimede et al, 2014) and maintenance planning (Archimede and Coudert, 2001), where all required services of a project are known in advance (concept of routing) and associated with well-defined production services (turning, milling, etc.) and of systematic, conditional or curative maintenance services (cleaning, repair, oil changes, etc.…”

“…In this paper, details of the different cycles of auction in collaborative method are not explained as they are already explained in detail for core SCEP in the study by Archimede and Coudert (2001). Figure 8 illustrates GANTT TO window contains a list of transport orders on the vertical axis, the time on the horizontal axis and their corresponding scheduled tasks inside the chart.…”

System-of-Systems Acquisition: Alignment and Collaboration

“…As discussed in detail later in this report, the proposed collaborative web-based system is based on the concept of an architecture for distributed and interoperable management of multi-site production projects espoused in Ishak, Archimede, and Charbonnaud (2010). The kernel of this system is the SCEP (Supervisor, Customer, Environment, Producer) model (Archimede & Coudert, 2001). Based on multi-agent systems (Ferber, 1999), the SCEP allows a distributed management of acquisition programs (i.e., system programs and the SoS program) and their cooperation via a shared environment.…”

“…The kernel of this system is the SCEP (Supervisor, Customer, Environment, Producer) model (Archimede & Coudert, 2001). It is based on multi-agent systems (MAS; Ferber, 1999).…”