Abstract: A monitoring system of a dynamical arrangement of pieces takes part in a process related to a manufacturing executing system is presented. At least one of the pieces is spatially movable and the arrangement is free of interfacing signals for signaling a spatial position of the pieces at a control unit of the manufacturing executing system. The monitoring system contains a camera which is spatially positionable in a free selected neighborhood closed to predefined pieces and which acquires an image of a field of interest of the dynamical arrangement, a motion detection unit at an output of the camera that provides a detection of a spatial motion of one of the pieces, and an interface at the output of the camera for transmitting the acquired image to an input of a monitoring unit to extract information on a status of the arrangement which is interpretable in the control unit.

Abstract: A method and a system control just in time item production via kanban cards. The items are transformed according to a flow shop containing a raw material buffer followed by a sequence of production pairs containing one workstation and an assigned buffer. A local buffer threshold parameter is provided and denotes the desired safety stock of the items of the specific type in the buffer. A global demand threshold parameter is provided and denotes the quantity of items of the specific item type required along the downstream process to satisfy the estimated demand. Whenever a kanban card is associated to an item of a specific type switches status, it is assigned one of four priority levels indicating the priority level of the production request. At each production pair, an item is produced of a type whose priority level is the highest according to a given priority model.

Abstract: A method and a system execute a scheduled production process having an execution duration within a production schedule executed by a manufacturing execution system. The method includes defining within the production process a resource required for the execution of the production process and defining for the resource a sequence-dependent setup sub-process having a setup duration, a productive sub-process and a sequence-dependent teardown sub-process. The production process is scheduled with a start-time. At a predetermined period at the start-time of the production process, the production process for dispatching and subsequent executing is confirmed. In response to the confirmation, individual production processes are created for the sequence-dependent setup sub-process, the production sub-process and the teardown sub-process. The created individual production processes are linked together by precedence constraints defining a sequence of the created individual production processes.

Abstract: A method for scheduling a production process is disclosed, wherein a production order requiring components is placed on a production schedule, the availabilities of the components, which are required for the production order, are detected by a computing unit, production orders requesting one or more of the components are classified depending on the availabilities of the corresponding components, and the production order is displayed with a first optically observable marker if the order requests a missing component and/or produces a missing component.

Abstract: A method and a system control just in time item production via kanban cards. The items are transformed according to a flow shop containing a raw material buffer followed by a sequence of production pairs containing one workstation and an assigned buffer. A local buffer threshold parameter is provided and denotes the desired safety stock of the items of the specific type in the buffer. A global demand threshold parameter is provided and denotes the quantity of items of the specific item type required along the downstream process to satisfy the estimated demand. Whenever a kanban card is associated to an item of a specific type switches status, it is assigned one of four priority levels indicating the priority level of the production request. At each production pair, an item is produced of a type whose priority level is the highest according to a given priority model.

Abstract: A method enables efficient and coherent sample data storage in a system containing data transmitting and receiving devices. The algorithm is implemented by storing reverse-delta encoded data at a receiver side in a chronologically correct order by a data list and a recovery table, independently of the transmission device. The sender device compares a previously attached timestamp corresponding to each sent data sample to a timestamp attached to an acknowledge signal which it gets back from the receiver device, in order to find out which sample had been correctly received at the receiver side. If the sender does not receive a corresponding pair of timestamp and acknowledge signal until a predefined time interval has elapsed, it automatically resends at least one not acknowledged data sample.

Abstract: In order to increase the efficiency of a production process a new method is presented. Thereby a flow of items is generated in a production system. Electronic devices that are attachable to the items are used for tracking the items. An identification of a first electronic device attached to a first item is read out. The identification is forwarded to a computer system that steers the flow of items. Due to a reception of the identification by the computer system, a transport status indicating authorization or prohibition to process the second item is set. The transport status is then transmitted to a second electronic device with an authorizing signal that is sent from the computer system to the second electronic device. The second electronic device contains a signal receiver circuit for receiving the authorizing signal and the second electronic device is attached to the second item.

Abstract: A monitoring system of a dynamical arrangement of pieces takes part in a process related to a manufacturing executing system is presented. At least one of the pieces is spatially movable and the arrangement is free of interfacing signals for signaling a spatial position of the pieces at a control unit of the manufacturing executing system. The monitoring system contains a camera which is spatially positionable in a free selected neighborhood closed to predefined pieces and which acquires an image of a field of interest of the dynamical arrangement, a motion detection unit at an output of the camera that provides a detection of a spatial motion of one of the pieces, and an interface at the output of the camera for transmitting the acquired image to an input of a monitoring unit to extract information on a status of the arrangement which is interpretable in the control unit.

Abstract: A method and a system execute a scheduled production process having an execution duration within a production schedule executed by a manufacturing execution system. The method includes defining within the production process a resource required for the execution of the production process and defining for the resource a sequence-dependent setup sub-process having a setup duration, a productive sub-process and a sequence-dependent teardown sub-process. The production process is scheduled with a start-time. At a predetermined period at the start-time of the production process, the production process for dispatching and subsequent executing is confirmed. In response to the confirmation, individual production processes are created for the sequence-dependent setup sub-process, the production sub-process and the teardown sub-process. The created individual production processes are linked together by precedence constraints defining a sequence of the created individual production processes.

Abstract: A method and a system for scheduling a manufacturing process planned by an enterprise resource planning and produced by equipment on a shop floor. A production scheduler within a manufacturing executing system schedules tasks of the manufacturing process. The production scheduler is enabled to display the current production schedule in a Gantt-chart and it is enabled to display for each equipment of the shop floor the time periods that are already scheduled and those time periods that are still unscheduled. A selector selects a specific equipment a time period still unscheduled. A query module is provided for querying a production database for this specific equipment to find at least one task that fits into the time period still unscheduled.

Abstract: A method for scheduling a production process is disclosed, wherein a production order requiring components is placed on a production schedule, the availabilities of the components, which are required for the production order, are detected by a computing unit, production orders requesting one or more of the components are classified depending on the availabilities of the corresponding components, and the production order is displayed with a first optically observable marker if the order requests a missing component and/or produces a missing component.

Abstract: A method models a manufacturing process. The modelling is performed by a business layer and an execution layer. The method includes defining a generic equipment class containing a first placeholder, defining at least one generic process segment class associated with the generic equipment class and containing a second placeholder, defining a specific equipment sub class derived from the generic equipment class, and defining a specific process segment sub class derived from the generic process segment class. The specific process segment sub class is associated with the specific equipment sub class and models the manufacturing process by using the first and second placeholder on the business layer. The business layer is responsible for planning decisions at the level of the placeholders representing the generic classes of equipment and process segments. The execution layer is responsible of scheduling decisions at the level of the specific sub classes of equipment and process segments.

Abstract: A method enables efficient and coherent sample data storage in a system containing data transmitting and receiving devices. The algorithm is implemented by storing reverse-delta encoded data at a receiver side in a chronologically correct order by a data list and a recovery table, independently of the transmission device. The sender device compares a previously attached timestamp corresponding to each sent data sample to a timestamp attached to an acknowledge signal which it gets back from the receiver device, in order to find out which sample had been correctly received at the receiver side. If the sender does not receive a corresponding pair of timestamp and acknowledge signal until a predefined time interval has elapsed, it automatically resends at least one not acknowledged data sample.

Abstract: A device for electronic identification of items has a signal receiver circuit and a visual signaling unit that, based on a received signal, indicates a transport status of an item to which the device for electronic identification of items is attachable. The device provides a way for enhancing the identification, tracking and transportation of items for logistical purposes.

Abstract: In order to increase the efficiency of a production process a new method is presented. Thereby a flow of items is generated in a production system. Electronic devices that are attachable to the items are used for tracking the items. An identification of a first electronic device attached to a first item is read out. The identification is forwarded to a computer system that steers the flow of items. Due to a reception of the identification by the computer system, a transport status indicating authorization or prohibition to process the second item is set. The transport status is then transmitted to a second electronic device with an authorizing signal that is sent from the computer system to the second electronic device. The second electronic device contains a signal receiver circuit for receiving the authorizing signal and the second electronic device is attached to the second item.

Abstract: In a method for production planning in a manufacturing execution system of a shop floor, the following steps are performed: obtaining shop floor data from the shop floor; analyzing the shop floor data using detection logic to detect a disturbance and to provide an opportunity for a corrective action; and generating a production schedule based on the detected disturbance and opportunity for a corrective action by a scheduler.