I must confess that I stumbled upon the object-oriented (00) world view during my explorations into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) in search of a new solution to the problem of building computer-integrated manufacturing systems (CIM). In 00 computing, I found the constructs to model the manufacturing enterprise in terms of information, a resource that is common to all activities in an organization. It offered a level of modularity, and the coupling/binding neces sary for fostering integration without placing undue restrictions on what the individual applications can do. The implications of 00 computing are more extensive than just being a vehicle for manufacturing applications. Leaders in the field such as Brad Cox see it introducing a paradigm shift that will change our world gradually, but as radically as the Industrial Revolution changed manufacturing. However, it must be borne in mind that simply using an object-oriented language or environment does not, in itself, ensure success in one's applications. It requires a different way of thinking, design discipline, techniques, and tools to exploit what the technology has to offer. In other words, it calls for a paradigm shift (as defined by Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolution, a classic text in the history of science).

Software has become a decisive cost and time factor in regard to developing and establishing manufacturing systems and setting them into operation. In addition, software determines the availability, reliability as well as functionality of manufacturing units. Software Engineering for Manufacturing Systems considers the methods and procedures required to deal with problems in the software engineering of control technology for manufacturing systems. Significantly, the following topics are addressed: * definitions and requirements of software for control technology * system design, describing forms of control software * CASE tools for the generation of a code * configuration, adaption of standard software variants, and re-usability of software * and man-machine interface. It contains the selected proceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering and Case Tools for Control Technology of Manufacturing Systems, sponsored by the IFIP and held in Germany, in March 1996.

Towards Intelligent Manufacturing Systems This book contains the selected articles from the third International Conference on lriformation Technology for Balanced Automation Systems in Manufacturing. A rapid evolution in a number of areas leading to Intelligent Manufacturing Systems has been observ@d in recent years. Significant efforts are being spent on this research area, namely in terms of international cooperative projects, like the IMS initiative, the USA NIIIP (National Industrial Information Infrastructure Protocols) project, or the European ESPRIT programme, and a growing number of conferences and workshops. The importance of the Information and Communication Technologies in the manufacturing area is weIl established today. The proper combination of these areas with the socio-organizational issues, supported by intelligent tools, is however, more difficult to achieve, and fully justifies the need for the BASYS conference and the publication of the series of books on Balanced Automation SyStems. The first book of this series focused on the topic of "Architectures and Design Methods", was published in 1995. Mahy of the fundamental aspects of manufacturing, and some preliminary results were presented in this book. Among others, the topics included: Modeling and design of FMS, Enterprise modeling and organization, Decision support systems in manufacturing, Anthropocentric systems, CAE/CAD/CAM integration, Scheduling systems, Extended enterprises, Multi agent system architecture, Balanced flexibility, Intelligent supervision systems, Shop-floor control, and Computer aided process planning.

With the approach of the 21st century, and the current trends in manufacturing, the role of computer-controlled flexible manufacturing an integral part in the success of manufacturing enterprises. will take Manufacturing environments are changing to small batch (with batch sizes diminishing to a quantity of one), larger product variety, produc tion on demand with low lead times, with the ability to be 'agile.' This is in stark contrast to conventional manufacturing which has relied on economies of scale, and where change is viewed as a disruption and is therefore detrimental to production. Computer integrated manufac turing (CIM) and flexible manufacturing practices are a key component in the transition from conventional manufacturing to the 'new' manu facturing environment. While the use of computers in manufacturing, from controlling indi vidual machines (NC, Robots, AGVs etc.) to controlling flexible manu facturing systems (FMS) has advanced the flexibility of manufacturing environments, it is still far from reaching its full potential in the environment of the future. Great strides have been made in individual technologies and control of FMS has been the subject of considerable research, but computerized shop floor control is not nearly as flexible or integrated as hyped in industrial and academic literature. In fact, the integrated systems have lagged far behind what could be achieved with existing technology.

“Changeable and Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems” discusses key strategies for success in the changing manufacturing environment. Changes can often be anticipated but some go beyond the design range, requiring innovative change enablers and adaptation mechanisms. The book presents the new concept of Changeability as an umbrella framework that encompasses paradigms such as agility, adaptability, flexibility and reconfigurability. It provides the definitions and classification of key terms in this new field, and emphasizes the required physical/hard and logical/soft change enablers. The book presents cutting edge technologies and the latest research, as well as future directions to help manufacturers stay competitive. It contains original contributions and results from senior international experts, together with industrial applications. The book serves as a comprehensive reference for professional engineers, managers, and academics in manufacturing, industrial and mechanical engineering.

Software has become a decisive cost and time factor in regard to developing and establishing manufacturing systems and setting them into operation. In addition, software determines the availability, reliability as well as functionality of manufacturing units. Software Engineering for Manufacturing Systems considers the methods and procedures required to deal with problems in the software engineering of control technology for manufacturing systems. Significantly, the following topics are addressed: * definitions and requirements of software for control technology * system design, describing forms of control software * CASE tools for the generation of a code * configuration, adaption of standard software variants, and re-usability of software * and man-machine interface. It contains the selected proceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering and Case Tools for Control Technology of Manufacturing Systems, sponsored by the IFIP and held in Germany, in March 1996.

Annotation Current IT developments like competent-based development and Web services have emerged as new effective ways of building complex enterprise systems and providing enterprise allocation integration. However, there is still much that needs to be researched before service-oriented software engineering (SOSE) becomes a prominent source for enterprise system development. Service-Oriented Software System Engineering: Challenges and Practices provides a comprehensive view of SOSE through a number of different perspectives.

One critical barrier leading to successful implementation of flexible manufacturing and related automated systems is the ever-increasing complexity of their modeling, analysis, simulation, and control. Research and development over the last three decades has provided new theory and graphical tools based on Petri nets and related concepts for the design of such systems. The purpose of this book is to introduce a set of Petri-net-based tools and methods to address a variety of problems associated with the design and implementation of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs), with several implementation examples.There are three ways this book will directly benefit readers. First, the book will allow engineers and managers who are responsible for the design and implementation of modern manufacturing systems to evaluate Petri nets for applications in their work. Second, it will provide sufficient breadth and depth to allow development of Petri-net-based industrial applications. Third, it will allow the basic Petri net material to be taught to industrial practitioners, students, and academic researchers much more efficiently. This will foster further research and applications of Petri nets in aiding the successful implementation of advanced manufacturing systems.

This volume includes 41 revised papers selected from 125 papers presented at the th 6 IFIP Technical Committee 5/Working Group 5.7 International Conference on Advances in Production Management Systems - APMS'96 -held at Kyoto, Japan, 4-6 November 1996. The task of selecting papers was accomplished by the IPC members voting. The selected papers were reviewed by IPC members who attended the conference. Based on the comments of reviewers, each paper was revised and rewritten in the format of this book. Therefore, the quality of each paper was raised very much. The papers selected in this volume were classified into invited articles and six themes taking into account the perspectives and future challenges in production management systems. Invited articles provide the overview of the present and future trend in the manufacturing world. Six themes were Next Generation Manufacturing Systems and Production Management, Benchmarking, Integration in Manufacturing and Decentralized Production Management, Strategic Aspects, Production Planning, and Production Scheduling. Each theme covers important area of present and future production management reflecting the recent trend in manufacturing toward globalization, agility in variety production, human centered manufacturing, environment consciousness, and so on. We hope that this volume will emerge a lot of new ideas to reach the goal of IFIP WG5.7 "Computer Aided Production Management" and to bridge the gap between research and industrial practice in production management systems.

Intelligent Manufacturing is part of the Advanced Manufacturing Series edited by Professor D.T. Pham of the University of Wales, College of Cardiff. This publication exposes the major issues associated with programming environments for manufacturing and illustrates specific software systems developed for industrial application. Clear and concise statements are made on the state-of-the-art and recent trends in manufacturing languages and programming environments. The book discusses the diverse approaches that are currently under consideration in North America and Europe. It gives the reader an understanding of how manufacturing languages can be used to integrate computer controlled machines and intelligent sensors in automated manufacturing systems including machine tools, robots, inspection and material handling equipment.