Distributed and collaborative production management systems in discrete part manufacturing: A review of research and technology

Distribution has been proposed as a promising methodology to enhance future production management systems in discrete part manufacturing. This research is aimed at finding out what distribution in this context really is about. The purpose of the document is to clarify concepts related to this subject, review proposed approaches and assess the state of knowledge of this subject. The point of view is research-oriented. The distribution of production management systems is considered by interpreting production management as distributed information processing. The conceptual frameworks of distributed information processing are applied to studying production management. The design of an information system architecture, operation scheme and the technical structures required are noted as subproblems in the development of a distributed production management system. The major proposed approaches for designing these parts of a distributed production management system are reviewed. Advanced distributed production management systems are more a research issue than existing practice. The research results of this subject are rather more tentative than sound. This especially applies to hypotheses about better operational flexibility, reliability and long-term maintainability in practical applications. It is not clear how large the impact of distribution is on these properties as opposed to other influencing factors. Furthermore, current technology enables only partly the development of truly distributed production management systems. However, distributed production management systems are a pontentially promising research and development topic.