Copyright © 2008 The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers
Regular Section -- Papers -- Office Information Systems |
An RFID-Based Manufacturing Control Framework for Loosely Coupled Distributed Manufacturing System Supporting Mass Customization
1 The author is with the Department of Information Management, China University of Technology, Taiwan., 2 The author is with the Institute of Information Management, National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. E-mail: ystsai{at}ms72.hinet.net, 3 The author is with the Institute of Information Management, National Chiao Tung University and Identification and Security Technology Center, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Taiwan.
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Abstract |
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In this study we propose a manufacturing control framework based on radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology and a distributed information system to construct a mass-customization production process in a loosely coupled shop-floor control environment. On the basis of this framework, we developed RFID middleware and an integrated information system for tracking and controlling the manufacturing process flow. A bicycle manufacturer was used to demonstrate the prototype system. The findings of this study were that the proposed framework can improve the visibility and traceability of the manufacturing process as well as enhance process quality control and real-time production pedigree access. Using this framework, an enterprise can easily integrate an RFID-based system into its manufacturing environment to facilitate mass customization and a just-in-time production model.
Key Words: radio-frequency identification (RFID), mass customization, shop-floor control, production pedigree
Manuscript received January 18, 2008. Manuscript revised May 26, 2008.