This paper presents the architecture of Agent-based Manufacturing Execution Systems dedicated for short-series production support. The functional models are based on the ANSI/ISA-95 (IEC/ISO 62264) standard. The workflow and information exchange for Manufacturing Operations Management are defined by ISA 95 and implemented under a dynamic Agent-based environment. The proposed system is organised as a fully heterarchical architecture, without a central administration or system orchestrators. Unlike most of the existing agent software that are based on Java, the proposed solution is based on Microsoft’s Model-View-Controller and was created under the ASP.NET technology. Holons, which collect information from the real production system, are a Cyber Physical part of the application. Agents process information using Internet services that are available for human users and for the other agents as well. The proposed approach has been verified on the use case of the system that was created to support the production of electronic devices in the Prototyping Department of Continental Ingolstadt. The system model, applied communication mechanisms and examples of agents are presented in this paper. The research part of this paper is focussed on simulation-based planning for a short-series production schedule. The simulation results can be used to support the decision-making process

This paper presents an original methodology and related algorithms that are dedicated to monitoring energy efficiency in discrete production stations. The learning phase of the algorithm is executed during the regular production process and is based on observations of the behaviour of the production station and energy consumption measurements. The collected information is then processed using data-mining procedures in order to find the clusters that reflect the energy consumption profiles that are specific for different variants of production. The profiles are used to monitor energy efficiency and detect anomalies. The main benefit of the proposed approach is its flexibility. No additional calibrating operations or technological knowledge are required. Although the presented proof by research results are focussed on pneumatic air installations, the proposed methodology can also be used for other media. The output of the proposed solution is a very precise estimation of energy consumption in reference to a given variant of production. It allows for the accurate detection of compressed air consumption anomalies. Such anomalies can be caused by technical (machine faults) and technological (human errors) problems. The proposed methodology can be applied for the optimisation of energy consumption and for the detection of machine maintenance problems that are visible through abnormal compressed air consumption.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common rheumatic disease with arthritis, and causes substantial functional disability in approximately 50% patients after 10 years. Accurate measurement of the disease activity is crucial to provide an adequate treatment and care to the patients. The aim of this study is focused on a computer aided diagnostic system that supports an assessment of synovitis severity. Material and methods: This paper focus on a computer aided diagnostic system that was developed within joint Polish–Norwegian research project related to the automated assessment of the severity of synovitis. Semiquantitative ultrasound with power Doppler is a reliable and widely used method of assessing synovitis. Synovitis is estimated by ultrasound examiner using the scoring system graded from 0 to 3. Activity score is estimated on the basis of the examiner’s experience or standardized ultrasound atlases. The method needs trained medical personnel and the result can be affected by a human error. Results: The porotype of a computer-aided diagnostic system and algorithms essential for an analysis of ultrasonic images of finger joints are main scientific output of the MEDUSA project. Medusa Evaluation System prototype uses bone, skin, joint and synovitis area detectors for mutual structural model based evaluation of synovitis. Finally, several algorithms that support the semi-automatic or automatic detection of the bone region were prepared as well as a system that uses the statistical data processing approach in order to automatically localize the regions of interest. Conclusions: Semiquantitative ultrasound with power Doppler is a reliable and widely used method of assessing synovitis. Activity score is estimated on the basis of the examiner’s experience and the result can be affected by a human error. In this paper we presented the MEDUSA project which is focused on a computer aided diagnostic system that supports an assessment of synovitis severity.

In this paper a novel information model that can be used in Manufacturing Execution Systems is presented. The model is based on the fusion of ISA95, AML and OPC UA. ISA95 is used to define, unify and describe the details of a product and production technology. It also enables communication with ERP systems. The AML standard allows information about the production facilities to be presented. The OPC UA address space represents different parts of an information model while the OPC communication protocol enables it to be linked to actual production systems. The proposed concept is illustrated using an actual example of a production line for electronic devices.