Level of Automation Decision for Transportation Operations in Production – LADTOP
LADTOP: Rethinking logistics for the industry of the future
This project is looking at ways of designing intralogistics systems for production workshops, taking advantage of Industry 4.0 technologies. The design approach developed follows the principles of Systems Engineering. Methods and techniques are deployed to express the need for internal logistics, and to propose and evaluate architectures. Particular attention is paid to managing the implementation decision with all stakeholders. The objectives are to provide a design method for internal logistic
Reinventing manufacturing production systems by integrating more efficient logistics solutions tailored to the specific needs of businesses.
This project investigates ways of designing internal logistics systems for production shops, taking advantage of Industry 4.0 technologies. The design approach developed follows the principles of Systems Engineering. Methods and techniques are deployed to express the need for internal logistics, and to propose and evaluate architectures. Particular attention is paid to managing the implementation decision with all stakeholders. The objectives are to provide a design method for internal logistics systems using Industry 4.0 technologies. Firstly, it must be possible to identify the logistics requirements and the needs of the various stakeholders involved in such an implementation project. Secondly, methods must be employed to generate solution architectures. The performance of the proposed systems must be evaluated, taking into account a wide range of aspects (technical performance, acceptability, sustainability, etc.). The decision-making method must be modeled and formalized to include all project stakeholders and enable justified, shared decision-making.
We have deployed model engineering methods for modelling internal logistics systems (creation of a metamodel for Material Flow Analysis) and automatic translation into performance analysis models (Discrete Event Models). In addition, a complete design process has been defined, including the creation of alternative system architectures using CSP (Constraint Satisfaction Problem) and the evaluation of candidate architectures with a multi-criteria, multi-actor analysis method.
The following methods, tools and processes were developed during the project:
- MFA collection tool (Java development)
- Tool for generating simulation models of internal logistics systems
- Method and tool for multi-criteria, multi-actor analysis of internal logistics solutions
- Tool for generating internal logistics system alternatives
- Process for defining an internal logistics system based on an analysis of logistics requirements and industrial strategy
This project is being continued with a CIFRE thesis starting in March 2024.
This project is helping to identify new intralogistics requirements for industrial sites. Coupling is now necessary with logistics field management systems such as WMS (Warehouse Management System) or logistics robot fleet management systems. From the point of view of the criteria taken into account during the analysis, a more detailed consideration of ethics in industrial systems is being studied.
Conference paper C1 presents the overall process and the set of methods and tools that we have developed to organise this type of project, from the needs analysis (MFA) to the selection of alternatives, via the creation of alternatives and the analysis of their performance. This process is made possible by the use of the domain metamodel presented in conference paper C2. Two particularly scientifically difficult points, namely the formalised creation of alternatives and the performance analysis in a model-based context, have been published in the international journals A1 and A2 respectively.
C1. Soufi, Z., David, P., & Yahouni, Z. (2023). A Systemic approach for Material Handling System Design. In CIGI Qualita MOSIM 2023. Trois Rivières, Québec, Canada.
C2. Soufi, Z., David, P., & Yahouni, Z. (2022). A Reference Data Model for Material Flow Analysis in the Context of Material Handling System Design and Reconfiguration. In 2022 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM) (pp. 1488-1492), Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie. IEEE.
A1. Soufi, Z., David, P., & Yahouni, Z. (2024, accepté & publié en ligne Nov. 2023). Generation of material handling system alternatives: A constraints satisfaction problem approach. Computers in Industry, 155, 104045.
A2. Soufi, Z., Mestiri, S., David, P., Yahouni, Z., & Fottner, J. (2024). A material handling system modeling framework: a data-driven approach for the generation of discrete-event simulation models. Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, 1-30.
Soufi, Z.; David, P.; Yahouni, Z. A Systemic approach for Material Handling System Design. In CIGI Qualita MOSIM. 2023. Trois Rivières, Québec, Canada.
Soufi, Z.; David, P.; Yahouni, Z. A Reference Data Model for Material Flow Analysis in the Context of Material Handling System Design and Reconfiguration. In IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM). 2022, 1488-1492. Kuala Lumpur, Malaisie. IEEE.
Soufi, Z.; David, P.; Yahouni, Z. Generation of material handling system alternatives: A constraints satisfaction problem approach. Computers in Industry. 2024, 155, 104045.
Soufi, Z.; Mestiri, S.; David, P.; Yahouni, Z.; Fottner, J. A material handling system modeling framework: a data-driven approach for the generation of discrete-event simulation models. Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal. 2024, 1-30.
This project is proposed in the context of the Industry 4.0. It more directly concerns the introduction of new technologies from robotics and information & communication science in the workshops for internal logistics operations. For next generation production systems, mastering the internal logistics is still a crucial issue. Its related costs are far from being negligible regarding the operating costs in classic industries. And its influence on workshops performance through the mastering of physical flow is critical. The transportation activities are also known to be painful for humans and sometimes hard to automate. Although automatic transfer system exists, for example in microelectronics plants to convey wafers, it is possible to assume that nowadays a huge part of the transfer operations are poorly automated. One interesting question is to fully understand how the decision to automate or not the internal logistics operations is made. Additionally, with the new possibilities brought by industry 4.0 and namely by full connectivity of production actors, it is important to renew the question of automating some of the transportation operations, with production context & state aware systems.
The arrival of industry 4.0 concepts changes the historical considerations around LoA (Level of Automation). New technologies are offered to automatically perform some physical actions, with better set up time (“plug and produce” approach) and with automated decision of action thanks to a broader knowledge of the productive environment (“Internet of things” (IoT) applied in production system). Industrial resources such as machines and transportation systems are being used more intelligently taking advantage of the shop floor connectivity. Associated to this technical point of view, the collaboration between operators and robots must also be rethink since they are supposed to have deeper interactions in their activities. These new aspects of the industry of the future have to be integrated in a methodology to design and implement suitable and relevant internal logistics systems.
It is ambitioned in the project to analyze the added value of communication strategies between the transportation system and the production system and the cooperation to be defined with operators. The flexibility, efficiency, and robustness of these systems shall be analyzed. Namely, the performance of a production system equipped with a mixed transfer system combining operators and connected automated transporters, in presence of unexpected events will be addressed. In this project, it is proposed to deeply analyze the design of internal transportation systems for production sites, through the prism of LoA decision. The ambition is to deliver a design and decision process to make sound automation decision for transportation activities for various industrial contexts. Alongside, to a detailed design approach, it appears very relevant to also propose best practices. For example, it seems valuable to describe generic scenarios (relevant representative industrial case) with their associated recommended practice in term of design.
This project will use 2 types of validation and experimentation field. The first will be the use of an operations management emulation platform currently developed in our lab. The second will be experiments at industrial partners’ plants.
The global objective of the project can be summed up as developing a methodology to implement internal logistics system for manufacturing plants in an industry 4.0 context, based on an analysis of the relevant Level of Automation.
Project coordination
Pierre DAVID (Laboratoire des Sciences pour la Conception, l'Optimisation et la Production de Grenoble)
The author of this summary is the project coordinator, who is responsible for the content of this summary. The ANR declines any responsibility as for its contents.
Partnership
G-SCOP Laboratoire des Sciences pour la Conception, l'Optimisation et la Production de Grenoble
Help of the ANR 215,784 euros
Beginning and duration of the scientific project:
January 2020
- 48 Months
