A service oriented manufacturing grid system with uncertain information

Abstract

Purpose – The increase in demand variability created by manufacturing enterprises presents new challenges for increasing resource usage and sharing flexibility. For this reason, it is of great importance to research manufacturing grids and their service modes. The purpose of this paper is to establish a systematic strategy and a system tool for manufacturing grid systems. Design/methodology/approach – A manufacturing service oriented manufacturing grid (MSoMG) system is presented with open grid service architecture as the system architecture and GT3.9 as a development tool. A framework is proposed to support MSoMG by providing advisory tools and methods for uncertain information analysis and processing, multi-objective decision making of manufacturing grid service execution, manufacturing grid service performance prediction based on knowledge template, and flexible manufacturing grid service scheduling and solution. The methodology of the adopted rough set is discussed in detail. Finally, the design support strategies for MSoMG are investigated to guide the coordination of manufacturing activities. Findings – Many conventional methods and models become very limited for manufacturing grid service with uncertain information. The processing of uncertain information and reasonable application flow can help to improve the completion rate and reliability of manufacturing grid services. Practical implications – This research provides a solid foundation for manufacturing gird operations and can promote the use of a manufacturing grid mode. Originality/value – A MSoMG system is presented. The manufacturing grid service with uncertain information is considered as well as design support strategies.