Improved integration of information in discrete part manufacturing environments

Abstract

The flow and coordination of information across an enterprise is handled through complex networks of manual and automated processes. Forty years ago, the proliferation of computers spawned a revolution in automating many functional silos within a business via Material Requirements Planning applications. These systems evolved over time into Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions as more functionalities were included in the scope of their planning modules. Only four years ago, the availability of high bandwidth Internet access at the corporate level also started revolutions beyond company walls, with Supply Chain Management and Customer Relationship Management applications. Companies have recently invested heavily in these Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Customer (B2C) solutions. However, electronic commerce, or "e-Commerce", has thus far been unable to achieve its "Shop Floor to Top Floor", "Sensor to Boardroom", or "Factory Floor to Executive Door" transparency of data as it was intended to do. The reason for this failure is that these applications typically lack direct links to the real-time status information from manufacturing operations. This thesis attempts to bridge the gap between the enterprise wide applications and the vast amount of data trapped in the controls and machinery on the manufacturing floor. The vision to integrate these pieces is referred to as electronic manufacturing, or more commonly "e-Manufacturing". This newly emerging e-Manufacturing market is expected to offer rapid growth for companies who can move fast enough to capture a sizeable share. While ERP vendors appear best positioned to push from the "top-down" into this space, this thesis demonstrates that the control vendors with a "bottom-up" strategy may prove to be more successful. The developments in this thesis are built upon ABB's Industrial ^IT technology. Given Industrial ^IT 's ability to quickly integrate to a variety of data sources in real-time, e-Manufacturing related feasibility studies were conducted in four of ABB's facilities. The thesis also suggests strategies for implementing these kinds of solutions successfully.