An Integrated Database for Real-time Management of Stockyard "stockman": a Case Study in Precast Concrete Products Industry

This project is a follow up from a stockyard layout planning research conducted by the authors where simulation approach has been used to establish the best stock layout for the efficient storage, loading and dispatch of precast concrete products. It was concluded from the research that a more robust real-time management system should be in place to implement stockyard layout plans and assist production planners and stockyard managers to monitor stock movement to retrieve products in an efficient manner. A real time database system "StockMan" has been designed to manage the stock of concrete products, that is integrated with AutoCAD and simulation model for efficient positioning and visualisation of the stock. The storage locations for the products are determined through the simulation model and actual supply from the production lines (presses). In this paper, database development, integration with planning and forecasting system, information exchange and visualisation are presented. This is a real time management system that is capable of assisting managers with decision making in stock movement and control.