Adaptive production systems are defined and used to illustrate adaptive techniques in production system construction. A learning paradigm is described within the framework of adaptive production systems, and is applied to a simple rote learning task, a nonsense syllable association and discrimination task, and a serial pattern acquisition task. It is shown that with the appropriate production b...

The Mechanical Engineering Laboratory developed a prototype desktop machining microfactory. The microfactory, which will enable considerable savings in terms of energy, space, and resources, is a downsized production system whose size is very small with respect to the dimensions of the products. The desktop microfactory consists of machine tools such as a microlathe, a milling machine, a press ...

This paper presents a simulation analysis on the effects of robust master production scheduling. Up to now, relatively highly aggregated planning models for robust master production scheduling were regarded and the realizability of the planning results was not considered. This paper analyses a more detailed model for master production scheduling than in previous works. The evaluation of the pla...

This study uses a generalized stochastic frontier framework to model a multiple-output rice production system and analyses farm-level technical inefficiency of rice farming in Assam, India. Primary data for this study was collected in 2009-2010 from 310 farm-households in four non-contiguous districts of Dhubri, Morigaon, Dibrugarh, and Cachar that are located in different agro-climatic regions...

This paper describes and compares nine methods of assessing the welfare of farm animals at herd level. A distinction is made between two types of welfare parameter: the environmental and the animal-based. The relative weight of these parameters, together with variation in their measurability, explains many of the differences between the methods with which the paper is concerned. To discuss the ...

This research examines the adoption of information technology in small and medium sized enterprises in Japan. SMEs comprise more than 99 percent of the total Japanese enterprises. These one million-plus businesses employ 72.7 percent of workers and account for more than 50 percent of the total value and almost 60 percent of the value added. SMEs are not only a crucial source of employment, but ...

Production planning and production control mainly focus on optimising the entire production system of a company. On the basis of hierarchical planning as a suitable method for solving this task, this paper shows besides the economic dimension taken into account so far that there are also social and ecological effects which will have to be considered in the process of planning. For this purpose,...

A partial maintenance productivity goal is that the "rm should seek to maximize its maintenance productivity in economic terms, and should aim at producing any level of output which is decided upon at minimum maintenance cost with respect to the production system's state. The state of objects or production systems is such a property, i.e., a multidimensional property. In this paper we amalgamat...

Up to now, production systems only concern was to minimize production costs or optimize the utilization of production resources. But with the increasing energy prices and the growing concern over the environmental impact of production systems (industrial systems consume a quarter of all energy), efficient use of energy in manufacturing environment cannot be ignored any longer. MANUbuilding conc...

This paper describes the specification of requirements and the functionality, of a novel agricultural mechanisation system based on small smart machines. It separates the current mechanisation methods from the original plant requirements and in doing so allows a new specification to develop based on agronomic, economic and environmental needs that can lead to a more sustainable production syste...