ExPlanTech and ExtraPlanT: multi-agent technology for production planning, simulation and extra-enterprise collaboration

Not only highly flexible production processes require the proper production planning to ensure high effectiveness. But especially the high flexibility makes the production planning and acquisition of relevant data completely complicated. The need of on-line join to supply chain multiplies the planning problem in consequence of tasks processed for the partners, tasks that may be processed by partners, and partners’ plans actualizations. The fast and precise cooperation with the suppliers can shorten the production lead-time and it also can increase utilization of the factory. From the planning perspective it is irrelevant whether the system reasons about in house manufacturing workshop or about a subcontracting company. There is strong demand for universal and flexible technology for the production planning that is able to increase utilization of resources and supports a decision making in a selection of orders. The flexibility of the technology should allow to adapt the system to changes in the production structure, and to allow collaboration with partners. The system should consider differences between intra-enterprise collaboration, which can be seen altruistic from the general view of the planning tool, and the extra-enterprise cooperation, which is between self-interested individuals (without any central point having their internal knowledge). The system also should use a universal description of resources, including product design and development, production, stores and transport. The system has to be able to support not only internal production processes and integration of external business processes, but also universal secure access to the data. We focus the production planning support technology having a need of following elements: