Holonic Manufacturing Control: Rationales, Developments and Open Issues

Holonic manufacturing systems promise to support a more plug-and-play approach to configuring and operating manufacturing processes, and thereby could underpin an increasing need for market responsiveness and mass customised products. This paper is concerned with the manufacturing control issues associated with holonic manufacturing systems. It addresses three key issues: Firstly, by examining current industrial trends and comparing this with a vision for what holonic systems should deliver, a clear business rationale is provided. Secondly, key developments in the area of holonic control systems are summarised and used to highlight both achievements and outstanding gaps in the research. This then leads to the final section in which a number of open issues in holonic manufacturing control are highlighted. In particular, barriers to the successful adoption of these methods are examined.