Design of a Production Conflict and Error Detection Model with Active Protocols and Agents

A production conflict and error detection model has been developed to detect problems that occur in a collaborative environment. A case study was performed on three automobile company agencies (vehicle delivery center, shipping yard, and dealers) in a finished vehicle distribution/shipping environment. The vehicle shipping plan was investigated and possible errors and conflicts were identified. A proposed conceptual model, conflict/error detection model (CEDM) with active middleware, which is able to detect possible errors and conflicts and reduce the loss or damage in the car shipping plan, was developed. A computerized simulator, The Management Interactive Case Study Simulator (MICSS), was adopted to simulate and detect errors and conflicts in three agencies, which are represented by three MICSS views, production, purchasing, and marketing, respectively. Experiment results show that the proposed CEDM can detect all errors and conflicts as simulated by parameters in MICSS.