Identification of Platform Candidates Through Production System Classification Coding

Abstract

Changeable and reconfigurable manufacturing appears as a natural response to a need for improved variety management. Such manufacturing systems are complicated to develop, and it can be advantageous to base or build these systems on product and production platforms. Development of platforms is, however, not a trivial task. Currently, identification and selection of candidates for inclusion in a platform is typically subjective relying on experts and tacit knowledge. The objectivity of this process can be strengthened by collecting data on existing production systems in a company and comparing these systems to each other. To do so, a coherent, consistent and preferably digital representation of multiple production systems is needed. In this research, a production system classification coding (PSCC) scheme is employed to classify and structure data for a number of existing production systems, spanning multiple departments and product families. Candidates for a production platform covering the included production systems are identified based on ranking certain platform drivers, processes and enablers.