Development of an Autonomous Systems Development Tool (ASDT) for application within manufacturing operations-planning [TSB: 5908-45002]. |
Partners
Preactor International Ltd (PIL)
Preactor International is an independent company based in the UK. First formed in 1984 the company is the #1 company specializing in advanced planning and production scheduling software and, through its partnerships with other software vendors and system suppliers, offers implementation and software support all over the world. Its flagship product, Preactor, was developed during an extensive joint development project (FORCAST, Flexible Operational Real-time Control And Scheduling Tools) under the European EUREKA initiative during the period 1988-1993. Now in version 11, this suite of scalable, flexible and configurable advanced planning and production scheduling tools has become the price/performance leader in every market in which it has a presence, and is setting the standard by which other packages are measured. More than 3,000 companies in 67 countries now use Preactor in almost every business sector. From manufacturing to logistics, staff scheduling to airports.
Each year a considerable proportion of its revenues are committed to research and development. PIL's extensive development programme is designed to ensure that existing users are kept up to date with the latest effective and proven technologies and have a cost of ownership that enables wider use of the product throughout their enterprise. PIL is involved in a number of international collaborative projects with support from the European Commission. These, as well as PIL's extensive development programme, are designed to ensure that existing users have access to the latest effective and proven technology and have a cost of ownership that enables wider use of the product throughout their enterprise.
As the lead partner PIL will be providing an overall project management role in the project. In addition to this, their software development background and knowledge of advanced planning and scheduling systems (and their integration with leading ERP packages) will be a critical foundation to the work proposed.
Centre for Factories of the Future (CFF)
CFF is an education, training, research and development company based in Coventry. CFF have many years of experience in EU/European research and development projects including EUREKA, SOCRATES, PETRA, ADAPT, FORCE, COMETT and many national programmes including TSB funded research projects. Key areas of expertise at CFF include; Business re-engineering, automation in manufacturing SME’s and the advancement of Artificial Intelligence in Pull System Business models. CFF undertake work in the computing and IT sector and this includes a focus on the potential for automation and AI techniques in improving the efficiency and profitability of enterprises.
CFF will provide technical development support to the proposed research programme. Their expertise in the commercialisation of innovative research will be essential in the development of the ASDT software tool. In addition, their experience in the fields of autonomous systems and the use of advanced AI techniques in the manufacturing sector will be vital during the software development phase of the project.
Tata Steel Europe Limited (TSL)
Tata Steel is Europe's second largest steel producer. With main steelmaking operations primarily in the UK and the Netherlands, they supply steel and related services to the construction, automotive, packaging, mechanical engineering and other markets worldwide. TSL is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, one of the world’s top ten steel producers. The combined enterprise has an aggregate crude steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and approximately 80,000 employees across four continents. As such, TSL are a large manufacturing organisation with a wide ranging product portfolio including the manufacture of High Variety/Low Volume steel products from their Speciality division based in Sheffield.
As a large end-user with a requirement for robust, efficient and adaptive operational planning, they are an ideal collaborator for this work. Their role will focus on the provision of production and operational data for use in the creation of a software demonstrator for the ASDT tool. This will include extensive data capture and modelling of their facilities and will be an integral part of the requirements specification element of the project. They will also provide essential input of end-user’s needs in terms of functionality and interface design for the software tools produced.
Plessey Semiconductors Limited (PSC)
Plessey Semiconductors Ltd. is a privately owned British electronics company that develops and manufactures robust, innovative products for the communications, industrial and medical instrumentation and high-reliability markets. Plessey products include high-performance amplifiers, RF components, data converters, power regulators, imaging sensors, programmable DSPs and special ASICS. They find uses in end products as diverse as TV systems, CAT scanners, radar systems, dental imaging, position control systems, DNA sequencers or medical implants.
PSC will provide the project with a detailed insight into the requirements for high value manufacturing operations within semiconductor production. This industry has been identified as a key market for the research outcomes as it exemplifies the types of complex production process subjected to increasing customer demands product customisation that are a focus of the work. PSC will be extensively involved in the specification of the project requirements and will provide a case study for the primary deliverable of the project, the ASDT demonstrator software tool.
TDK-Lambda Power Supplies (TDK)
TDK-Lambda UK is a unit of the TDK Corporation, a leading global electronics company. TDK-Lambda UK is now Britain's largest designer and manufacturer of both standard and configurable AC-DC and DC-DC power supplies. TDK-Lambda UK supply AC-DC power supplies, DC-DC converters, Programmable (Laboratory) power supplies and EMC/EMI filters to the UK market. As a high value manufacturer of electronic equipment within a complex supply chain, TDK has a need for excellent planning and scheduling systems to support its production processes. TDK excel in the provision of customer tailored solutions and offer a wide spectrum of products to their customer base. This requirement for high levels of product customisation needs flexible and adaptive operational planning procedures in order to meet customer demands.
As an end-user of the research, TDK will assist in defining the requirements for the ASDT tool. They will also provide validation and case study data for the software demonstrator deliverable.
Vision in Print Limited (VIP)
Vision in Print provides an industry-specific and cost-effective service to help printers and packaging manufacturers to proactively improve their own productivity and competitiveness. It achieves this goal with industry support and through a close relationship with the printing industry's trade bodies, suppliers and purchasers of print services. The company was founded in April 2003 as the Print and Packaging Industry forum, VIP focuses on one of the two main recommendations of the DTI-funded Print-21 report - that companies must optimise productivity for long term security and growth. To achieve this goal, VIP employs continuous improvement and Lean Manufacturing techniques. The programmes developed by VIP cover a wide range of process improvement techniques with tailoring to companies of all sizes and production disciplines. In addition, the company provides a range of essential resources to support companies' own continuous improvement activities.
As part of their remit, VIP actively seeks involvement in innovative and novel research that could lead to improvements within the printing and packaging industry. VIP will provide the project with knowledge and experience of this industry, expanding the potential marketability of the project deliverables. Their experience in process improvement and lean manufacturing will provide technical support in the development of the software for the definition of production control logic.
De Montfort University (DMU)
De Montfort University (DMU) through its Centre for Manufacturing will contribute their considerable research, industrial and project management experience in the fields of discrete event simulation, genetic algorithms, biological control logic, adaptive systems, performance metrics and database design. They have been involved in several collaborative EPSRC funded research projects involving the use of modelling and discrete event simulation and recently completed an EPSRC feasibility study to examine the potential for using biological control logic to develop autonomous operations planning systems. This experience has been utilised in a number of research, educational and consultancy projects for leading UK aerospace and automotive organisations.
Professor Stockton is Director of the Centre for Manufacturing and leads the Lean Engineering Research Group within this centre. He has amassed over 20 years research, industrial and project management experience in the fields of cost modelling and the optimisation of manufacturing systems design. This experience has been utilised in a number of research and consultancy projects for leading UK aerospace and automotive organisations. Dr Derek Steeple has over 10 years’ experience of supply chain management and skills in running customer supplier problem solving forums.
Professor Stockton has published over a 140 conference and journal papers and is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology journal and the Manufacturing Committee of the Association of Cost Engineers.