New manufacturing system a "world first" for UK

Citation

(2002), "New manufacturing system a "world first" for UK", Assembly Automation, Vol. 22 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.2002.03322cab.006

New manufacturing system a "world first" for UK

Keyords: Holonic manufacturing

A revolutionary new approach to manufacturing, which will benefit both producers and consumers is being developed by a unique UK-based alliance of commerce and academe.

The University of Cambridge's Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), one of the world's leading centres for manufacturing innovation, has joined with "smart" software expert Agent Oriented Software (AOS) to create a dedicated team which will work with major manufacturing and logistics companies to develop and implement "holonic manufacturing" systems.

"Holonic manufacturing is based on the principle of treating a production process as a set of individual, autonomous elements or 'holons' that combine to coordinate operations right through from customer order to despatch of goods" says Duncan McFarlane, head of Automation and Control at IFM. Once an order has been placed, a set of instructions can be electronically attached to the core part of the product – for instance, the case of a mobile phone, to "explain" how it will be made. As the product moves through the factory, it can in effect "ask" at each stage for the part, peripheral or even colour of the front cover or aerial that it requires.

"This means that every product can be automatically built to individual demands, but eliminating the expense and delay of traditional customisation, making the concept a real boon to the consumer", explains Andrew Lucas, MD of AOS. "However, the advantages to manufacturers are also significant, for example beating the competition to offer new products, being able to offer a greater product range at the same price, aiming for 'zero stock' on hand, and reorganising quickly if there are problems such as machine breakdowns. This new approach is a 'smarter' way to manufacture – it will help to make British manufacturing more competitive, and better able to make its vital contribution to the UK economy."

The results of the work being undertaken by the team are expected to become commercially available within the next year, and the new system is likely to be on many factory floors by 2005. So the day that you can order your new car or mobile, and it will build itself to your specifications, is closer than you might think!

For further information: Dr Andrew Lucas, AOS Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)7867 806552; E-mail: andrew.lucas@agent-software.co.uk or Dr Duncan McFarlane, Institute for Manufacturing. Tel: +44 (0) 1223 338069; E-mail: dcm@ffi-eng.cam.ac.uk