Expert scheduling system for a Prototype Flexible Manufacturing Cell: A framework

In this paper, a conceptual framework is proposed to develop a knowledge base scheduling system for a Prototype Flexible Manufacturing Cell (FMC). This Prototype FMC has been established in Industrial Engineering Laboratory at The University of Manitoba. The proposed framework has three components: (i) a simulation model of the FMC to acquire realistic knowledge base for the expert system; (ii) a Production Simulator to evaluate the current production outline; and (iii) a framework of Expert Scheduling System (ESS) to provide an appropriate scheduling rule under the prevailing manufacturing environment.