Evolvable production systems: A new business environment

Abstract

The increasing threats and opportunities, on the global markets, challenge today the company at several levels. The actual Manufacturing Systems becomes dramatic for the survival and prosperity of the organization. Agility, Sustainability and high rate of Re-usability are the main objectives of an “Evolvable Production System”. Task-specific and process-oriented modules with embedded intelligence, together with distributed control based on agent technology are the cornerstones of an EPS. The realization and management of this kind of systems entail an ontological approach due to their implicit complexity. The reference architecture is the key to canalize the underlying holism of an EPS towards an effective instantiation, which exploits the “Emergent Behavior”, the key driver of the Evolvability of a system. The issues related with the application of this view, such as dynamic link between product and system design as well as the management of a module repository, underline the weakness of present business models. Therefore a model for the emplacement of a System that follows the “Evolvable Paradigm” predicament has been produced in order to enable further studies. One of the conclusions of the work is the need for a more suitable approach to business by the main actors involved in the realization of an EPS. Sharing information and standards about product design and modules realization becomes a compulsory strategic