Component Oriented Design of Change-Ready MPC Systems

Agile manufacturing is defined as the capability of manufacturing systems to survive and prosper in a competitive environment of continuous and unpredictable change, by reacting quickly and effectively to changing markets driven by customerdesigned products and services. A new agile Manufacturing Planning and Control (MPC) system design is needed to respond to the changeability of the underlying manufacturing system as well as to the uncertainty of the surrounding environment. It should be resilient to change and responsive to its environment. It should satisfy required performance measures and achieve the required competitive strategy. A new conceptual model and framework to handle MPC system problems from the system perspective is introduced. Component Based Software Engineering (CBSE) provides the tools and the power to design the proposed new system. The MPC system should be able to achieve the required balance between demands and supply, high service levels, low inventories and deal with volume-mix issues. The coordination and interactions between different system components achieve the required system resilience and peak system performance.