A cooperative scheduling system for paper machinery manufacturing

This paper is a proposal and preliminary report about the development of a cooperative, interactive, and intelligent decision-support tool for the scheduling of paper machinery manufacturing. The development of this system is supported by a research programme, that aims to develop a general framework for the optimisation of any discrete part production. The factory in question has an automated scheduling system, but it is involved in the processing of the orders only, and is in the lack of higher level integration. The scheduling and decision making in case of machine breakdowns and other unexpected events is not supported by computers at all, a foreman is in control on the shop-floor. The first aim of the project is to provide an interactive tool for the one that is in charge of rough production planning, and for the foreman who has to reschedule the production dynamically. This is realised by a simulation interface, where they can set experimental values of production, and submit it to simulation or heuristics and then make better decisions based on the simulations' results. Further decision-support is planned also, the system should suggest a reasonable alternative, and the extraction of information for strategic decisions in the development of the production system is planned as well.