Intelligent Manufacturing in the Context of Industry 4.0: A Review

Strategic value of RFID in supply chain management

Mass-customization production (MCP) companies must fight with shop-floor uncertainty and complexity caused by wide variety of product components. The research is motivated by a typical MCP company that has experienced inefficient scheduling due to paper-based identification and manual data collection. This paper presents an RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing execution system (RT-MES). RFID devices are deployed systematically on the shop-floor to track and trace manufacturing objects and collect real-time production data. Disturbances are identified and controlled within RT-MES. Planning and scheduling decisions are more practically and precisely made and executed. Online facilities are provided to visualize and manage real-time dynamics of shop-floor WIP (work-in-progress) items. A case study is reported in a collaborating company which manufactures large-scale and heavy-duty machineries. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed RT-MES are evaluated with real-life industrial data for shop-floor production management in terms of workers, machines and materials.

RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing execution system for mass-customization production

Object localization based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has promising potentials. By combining localization with its identification capability, existing applications can be enhanced and new applications can be developed for this technology. This paper starts with an overview introducing the available technologies for localization with a focus on radio frequency based technologies. The existing and potential applications of RFID localization in various industries are then summarized. Moreover, RFID localization algorithms are reviewed, which can be categorized into multilateration, Bayesian inference, nearest-neighbor, proximity, and kernel-based learning methods. Also, we present a localization case study using passive RFID technology, and it shows that objects can be successfully localized using either multilateration or Bayesian inference methods. The survey also discusses the challenges and future research on RFID localization.

RFID localization algorithms and applications—a review

A casual analysis of the impact of information systems and supply chain management practices on operational performance : evidence from manufacturing SMEs in Turkey

Manufacturing enterprises and their associated production activities are becoming increasingly information intensive but the information systems used often rely on data which is assumed rather than actual. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) enabled manufacturing can bridge this gap between the physical flow of materials and the associated information flow. In this paper the fundamental issues, methodologies, applications and potential of RFID enabled manufacturing are reviewed, a simulated RFID machining process application case study is outlined, and finally a proposed methodology, framework and five-step deployment process aimed at developing a holistic approach to implementing RFID enabled manufacturing in manufacturing enterprises is detailed.

B.H. Lu

Papers

RFID enabled manufacturing: fundamentals, methodology and applications