Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Manufacturing Systems
j our nal home page: www. el sevi er . com/ l ocat e/ j mansys
Technical paper
Virtual approach to holonic control of the tyre-manufacturing system
Marko Jovanovi c
a,
, Samo Zupan
b
, Marko Starbek
c
, Ivan Prebil
b
a
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Chair of Modelling in Engineering Sciences and Medicine, Slovenia
b
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Chair of Modelling in Engineering Sciences and Medicine, Slovenia
c
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Chair of Cybernetics, Mechatronic and Production Engineering, Slovenia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 25 January 2013
Received in revised form19 May 2013
Accepted 9 July 2013
Available online 16 August 2013
Keywords:
Tyre manufacturing
Holonic manufacturing system
Virtual environment
UML
JADE
a b s t r a c t
Tyre manufacturers aiming to remain competitive in complex modern markets must promptly adjust
to the changes within the production environment. With traditional tyre-manufacturing systems, a
slow response during optimization of the manufacturing process and low-level adaptability to system
disturbances is evident. The presented approach to virtual holonic control of the tyre-manufacturing
system enables dynamic response in the event of new optimization demands, decrease of the impact of
disturbances on system productivity and smaller future investments in the manufacturing equipment.
The developed virtual manufacturing environment enables analysis of the manufacturing process,
visualization of operations, management of simulation parameters of the operations and analysis of
the control system behaviour within a virtual manufacturing system prior to the implementation of
the suitable control approach into a real-life manufacturing system. This helps to avoid failures in the
manufacturing system due to potential disadvantages of the manufacturing system structure or lack of
coordination between control parameters.
Evaluation of the holonic control approach implementation within the virtual tyre-manufacturing sys-
temis performed based onsimulation tests for various scenarios, whereby system operation in stable and
unstable condition is taken into account. At the end, analysis results are presented. By means of the virtual
tyre-manufacturing system, optimization requirements in stable condition of the holonic control system
can be achieved in real time compared to the optimization which is applied in the conventional control
approach. In the event of a disturbance, the holonic control approach increases productivity compared
to the conventional control approach.
2013 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Tyre manufacture takes place in 18EU countries with approx-
imately 90 plants. In Europe there are 7 of 10 world leading tyre
manufacturers and they contribute to 59% of world production. In
2009, tyre manufacture in Europe decreased by 30% compared to
year 2007due torecession. According tothe EuropeanTyre and Rub-
ber Manufacturers Association ETRMA[1], inthe same periodsales
of passenger car tyres decreased by 10%, while the sales of cargo
vehicle tyres decreased by as much as 25%. Data for year 2010 and
2011 showan increase of production in both branches.
Increased complexity in environment of global economic com-
petition is a vital characteristic of todays tyre manufacture
and results in changes within the manufacturing system and

Corresponding author at: University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engi-

neering, Chair of Modelling in Engineering Sciences and Medicine, A sker ceva c. 6,
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. Tel.: +386 1 4771 190; fax: +386 1 4771 178.
E-mail addresses: msjovanovic@gmail.com, marko.jovanovic@fs.uni-lj.si
(M. Jovanovi c).
manufacturing process. More thanone billiontyres of various types
are manufactured each year for different vehicle types. Various
sizes of individual tyre types additionally increase complexity of
manufacturing processes. Tyre manufacturers aiming to remain
competitive in such market conditions must promptly adjust to the
changes within the production environment and market demands
in regard to high quality and competitive prices.
The tyre manufacturing process usually consists of ve oper-
ations: mixing of raw materials for the manufacture of tyre
components, preparation of components, green-tyre manufac-
turing, vulcanization and nal build-up. Tyre components are
assembled in the green-tyre manufacturing operation to produce
a green or uncured tyre. The green-tyre manufacturing opera-
tion is performed inside the green-tyre manufacturing system.
After that, green tyres are loaded into presses and cured (vul-
canized). After nal build-up, the tyre manufacturing process is
completed. This paper will focus onthegreen-tyremanufacturing
operation.
Traditional tyre-manufacturing systems have a centralized con-
trol structure, whereby central control unit is applied to the control
of the manufacturing process. With such systems, a slowresponse
0278-6125/$ see front matter 2013 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2013.07.005
M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128 117
Table 1
Basic characteristics of control structures.
Structure of
manufacturing system
control
Control characteristic Advantages Disadvantages
Centralized structure Central control unit Good optimization results in standard
manufacturing systems with
deterministic manufacturing process
Low-quality response to system
disturbances and low-level
adaptability of control systemto
manufacturing systemmodication
Hierarchical structure Multiple control units on
multiple hierarchical levels
Distributed control process; better
systemefciency
Does not promote the responsiveness
to disturbances compared to
centralized structure
Modied hierarchical
structure
Interactions between control
units on the same hierarchical
level
Promotes the responsiveness to system
disturbances
Complex communication protocols
between structure entities
Heterarchical structure Hierarchical connection
Client-Server is non-existent
High-quality response to system
disturbances and high-level
adaptability of control systemto
manufacturing system
re-conguration
Poor optimization results due to local
nature of decision making process
is evident during optimization of the manufacturing process and in
the event of any systemdisturbances.
Up-to-date research studies showthat optimization of the man-
ufacturing process and its adaptability to system disturbances
can be achieved simultaneously by means of modern control
approaches. Control structures of tyre-manufacturing systems
must, therefore, have the ability of dynamic response in the event
of new optimization demands and occurrence of any system dis-
turbances. Manufacturing systems withsuchcharacteristics enable
sufcient exploitation of production capacities, decrease of the
impact of disturbances on systemproductivity and smaller invest-
ments in manufacturing equipment.
2. Background
The structure of a manufacturing control systemincludes a set
of rules and guidelines which are developed as software envi-
ronments and which enable control of complex manufacturing
systems [2]. There are four basic types of control structures: cen-
tralized, hierarchical, modied hierarchical and heterarchical. In
his research, Dilts [3] presented the evolution of these control
structures. Basic characteristics of control structures are shown in
Table 1.
Traditional manufacturing systems and their control structures
are very inadaptable and have a low-quality response to dynamic
changes in the system since they lack the required characteristics
of responsiveness, exibility and robustness. Disturbances in man-
ufacturing systems lead to deviations from the initial plans and
decrease in productivity due to machine operating delays.
The most signicant control structures intraditional approaches
to manufacturing systemcontrol are the following: COSIMA (COn-
trol Systems for Integrated MAnufacturing) [4], CHAMP (Chalmers
Architecture and Manufacturing for exible Production) [5], and FACT
(Factory Activity ConTrol model) [6]. Dufe and Piper [7] were the
rst to implement a non-hierarchical control approach within the
manufacturing cell. Based on test results, they came to a conclusion
that the heterarchical approach offers the following advantages:
increased tolerance to system disturbances, increased possibility
of system modication and decreased costs of control software
development.
2.1. Agent control of manufacturing systems
In order to eliminate disadvantages of traditional approaches
to manufacturing control, new approaches are implemented in
manufacturing control systems based on the agent control struc-
ture. The main characteristics of agent control systems are
decentralized architecture and parallel control of activities by
means of autonomous entities also known as agents.
There is no universal denition of an agent. However, an agent
can be dened as follows: An autonomous component that rep-
resents physical or logical object in the system, capable to act in
order to achieve its goals, and being able to interact with other
agents, when it does not possess knowledge and skills to reach its
objectives alone [8]. Communication among agents is based on
utilization of the same communication language and mutual pro-
tocols. Communicationandcooperationamongagents helptosolve
complex problems on the system level which exceed the capacity
of a single agent.
Inthe eldof agent research, manystudies have beenperformed
which focus on design of agent systems and methodology of agent
systemimplementation into manufacturing systems [913]. Buss-
mann and Schild [9] implemented agent-based approach to the
control of exible production systemwithin DimlerChrysler. man-
Age framework developed by Heikkila [10] has been tested in the
MASCADA project [14], in an electronics manufacturing demon-
stration test system. Wang [11] developed a generic agent-based
intelligent control systemfor real-time distributed manufacturing
environments. Park [12] presented an autonomous manufacturing
system based on swarm and cognitive agents in order to adapt to
disturbances. The number of real-life implementations is low due
to the heterarchical approach which does not include the required
hierarchy. Insuchsystems, agents functionas entirely independent
entities, thereby making the production goal achievement more
difcult.
2.2. Holonic control of manufacturing systems
The strategy of holonic manufacturing systems is based on the
concept which was developed for living organisms and social orga-
nizations by A. Koestler [15]. In accordance with this strategy,
complexsystems haveahierarchical structureandconsist of holons
which function as a unit and part of another unit i.e. holon at
the same time. The HMS consortium [16] dened a holon as an
autonomous andcooperativepart of amanufacturingsystemwhich
has the function of transforming, transferring, storing and evaluat-
ing information and physical objects. The basic difference between
a holon and an agent is that a holon can include not only a software
component i.e. anagent but alsoa machine whichis integratedwith
a software component.
118 M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128
Aholonic manufacturingsystemis ahierarchical groupof holons
within which manufacturing activities of a manufacturing system
are performed based on mutual interaction of holons. The basic
idea of the holonic approach is maintaining the hierarchical control
structure, while at the same time autonomy is given to entities
in the control structure of a manufacturing system. The holonic
approachthereby combines the advantages of boththe hierarchical
and heterarchical approach [17] and presents a transition between
a hierarchical and heterarchical system. Depending on the need, a
holon can function either as part of the hierarchical structure or as
part of the heterarchical structure.
Hierarchy within decentralized manufacturing systems is
necessary due to distributed integration of various levels of a man-
ufacturing systemas well as solving conicts between autonomous
entities and preserving the coherence of goals in a manufacturing
system[18]. In a manufacturing environment, the main purpose of
holonic control is distributed performance of operations and coop-
eration among independent entities in the systemstructure, which
is contrary to the algorithm of operations in centralized control
structures [19].
Cooperation between independent entities in the systemstruc-
ture can be introduced by means of coordination mechanisms.
For the modelling of coordination mechanisms, UML (Unied Mod-
elling Language) is suitable [20]. OMG (Object Management Group)
[21] denes the Unied Modelling Language as a symbol lan-
guage for labelling, demonstration and development of software
systemcomponents. The UML sequence diagramis a dynamic dia-
gramthat shows interactions among systemobjects arranged in a
time sequence with the purpose of achieving set goals. It has pre-
determined semantics, syntax and application rules [22]. The UML
activity diagramis another important diagramto describe dynamic
aspects of the system. Activity diagrams show the workow from
oneactivitytoanother. Theactivitycanbedescribedas anoperation
of the system.
Comparison of the characteristics of the holonic and traditional
control approach, shown in Table 2, shows the basic differences in
the structure which lead to a completely different functioning of
both systems.
In the eld of manufacturing, the holonic approach has been
appliedinseveral studies [2334]. Heikkila [24] was amongthe rst
researchers who focused on the holonic approach to manufactur-
ing control for the model of manufacturing robot cells. Brussel [25]
developed a holonic structure of manufacturing systems named
PROSA (Product-Resource-Order-Staff Architecture), which consists
of three holon types: product holon, order holon and resource
holon. The PROSAstructure canbe complementedwithstaff holons
which include expert knowledge that could enable preservation
of coherence of the whole systems goals. Leitao and Restivo
[26] developed the ADACOR structure (ADAptive holonic COntrol
aRchitecture for distributed manufacturing systems), which includes
autonomous andcooperativeholons similar tothePROSAstructure.
However, they also included a supervisor holon for supervision of
operational holons under their coordinationdomains. This type of a
holon enables establishment of stable hierarchy within distributed
systems. The aforementioned structure introduces adaptive con-
trol of the manufacturing process and combines optimization of
manufacture with agile reactions to systemdisturbances.
PROSA and ADACOR present reference structures for future
development of holonic control systems since they determine the
method of structure development, terminology within the struc-
ture, entities and their functions in the structure.
In literature, a few real-life implementations of holonic man-
ufacturing systems are presented [2729]. Bal [34] upgraded the
holonic control approach with a systemof a virtual environment in
which control of systemoperation is possible even in the develop-
ment phase.
Fig. 1. The owof operations in the entire tyre-manufacturing system.
2.3. Virtual manufacturing systems
Virtual manufacture is referred to as the use of information
technology and computer simulation to model real-world manu-
facturing processes for the purpose of analysing and understanding
them [34]. Virtual manufacture does not result in material or
products, but rather in information on products and technical
parameters of the manufacture. Virtual manufacture enables anal-
ysis of the manufacturing process and control system behaviour
within a virtual manufacturing system prior to the implementa-
tion of the manufacturing process and suitable control approach
into a real-life manufacturing system. This helps to avoid direct
implementation of the control systeminto the manufacturing sys-
tem, which may cause failures in the manufacturing systemdue to
potential disadvantages of the manufacturing system structure or
lack of coordination between control parameters.
Virtual manufacture enables feasibility evaluation of the pro-
duction process plan in the manufacturing system, evaluation of
manufacturing system design as well as optimization of the man-
ufacturing process.
In literature, many concepts of virtual manufacturing systems
can be found which are applied in various elds of manufacture
[3436]. Bal and Hashenipour [34] have developed a virtual plant
approachtodiecastingandstudiedtheimplementationof aholonic
manufacturing systeminto a virtual environment.
3. Description of the green-tyre manufacturing system
The owof operations in the entire tyre-manufacturing system
is shown in Fig. 1.
With the green-tyre manufacturing system, it is possible to
lay and wind onto the drums 11 different raw material compo-
nents, which are in the form of belts and beads. The green-tyre
manufacturing system is intended for winding tyre components,
individual belts and the tread onto the winding and shaping drum.
The green-tyre manufacturing system enables manufacture of a
complete green tyre without intermediate transport. It consists of
three mainmachininggroups: the mainmachine, the right side (the
M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128 119
Table 2
Characteristics of the traditional and holonic control approach.
Traditional control approach Holonic control approach
Control system Static, centralized or hierarchical Dynamic
Relations among entities in structure Client-server relations Holon-holon relations
Decision-making mechanism Centralized, with top to bottomapproach Decentralized, with bottom-up approach
Communication in structure One to many entities in structure Many to many entities in structure
Fig. 2. Plan viewof the green-tyre manufacturing system.
right server) and the left side (the left server). Each of these main
groups consists of manufacturing modules, which enable letting
off, transport, cutting, laying, winding and shaping of individual
components. The manufacturing module consists of many manu-
facturing components i.e. machines.
Plan view of the green-tyre manufacturing system is pre-
sented in Fig. 2.
Structure of time within tyre-manufacturing system is pre-
sented in Fig. 3.
Operation stages performed within the green-tyre manufac-
turing systemis presented in Fig. 4.
The right side of the green-tyre manufacturing system (the
right server) is intended to wind the following components: inner
liner, ply, sidewall and chipper. The left side of the green-tyre
manufacturing system (the left server) is intended to wind the
following components: breaker 1, breaker 2, breaker 3, breaker
4, breaker wedge, shoulder wedge, tread. It is possible to lay all
four belts on the breaker server. The laying trays for breaker 1 and
breaker 4 are on the lower level and for breaker 2 and breaker 3 are
on the upper level (Fig. 5). Breaker 1 is applied on the lower side of
thedrumas well as breaker 4. Breaker 2andbreaker 3areappliedon
the upper side of the drum. Withthe servers for the shoulder wedge
and breaker wedge, it is possible to apply the shoulder wedge and
the breaker wedge. There is also the tread server on the left side of
the green-tyre manufacturing systemwhich is intended to apply
the tread to the drum. The tread is applied as the last belt. Roller
conveyors, though not directly productive, play a signicant role in
the integrationof manufacturing components into the green-tyre
manufacturing system.
4. Approach
The structure of the virtual manufacturing environment which
includes a model of the virtual green-tyre manufacturing system
and a model of holonic control is shown in Fig. 6.
The virtual manufacturing environment enables communica-
tion between the virtual model of the manufacturing system and
the holonic control system. For each machine of the green-tyre
Fig. 3. Structure of time within tyre-manufacturing system(adapted from[37]).
Note: p a number of green tyres to be manufactured within the order, te
processing time of a green-tyre unit.
manufacturing system, an operational holon consisting of phys-
ical and software components will be developed in accordance
with the ADACOR control structure. The physical component of the
holon within the virtual manufacturing system is a virtual model
of the real-life machine. The software component of the holon is an
autonomous agent which during the process of control and manu-
facture optimizationenables communicationandcooperationwith
other holons in the system. The software component of the holon
functions as a supervisor of the virtual model of the manufacturing
component.
The structure of the operational holon of the manufacturing
component are shown in Fig. 7.
Modelling of the virtual manufacturing system includes inte-
gration of data on available manufacturing capacities, ow of the
operations, materials and information about the real-life manufac-
turing system. The 3D model of the green-tyre manufacturing
system is developed based on the existing CAD documentation.
Modelling of the virtual green-tyre manufacturing system will
be performed by means of the SolidWorks software. The inter-
face between the virtual model of the manufacturing component
and the software component of the holon will be developed by
means of the LabVIEW software. The interface will be developed
as a logic software component which transforms the operational
parameters of the control systeminto control signals for execution
of operations in the virtual manufacturing environment.
120 M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128
Fig. 4. Operation stages within the green-tyre manufacturing system.
Note: The green-tyre manufacturing systemallows execution of only one operation stage at a time.
Fig. 5. Virtual model of the left side of the green-tyre manufacturing system.
The green-tyre manufacturing systemis a modular multi-line
manufacturing system wherein the green-tyre manufacturing
operation is performed based on a series of separate operational
stages (Fig. 4). Thus far, only very few research activities have
been performed in the eld of holonic control and optimization of
line manufacturing systems. With the exception of Bal [34], other
researchers have mainly focused on the control of assembly manu-
facturing lines [2830], automated lines for material handling [19]
and control of robotized manufacturing cells [32,38].
Development of the virtual control environment for tyre man-
ufacture includes the following:

design of the holonic control system structure and design of

holons,

design of mechanisms of inter-holon coordination, and

conduct of holonic control of themanufacturingprocess bymeans

of simulation.
It is presumed that the presented approach to the analysis of
the green-tyre manufacturing systemand the implemented con-
trol system will enable a better understanding, easy upgrade and
modication of mechanical characteristics and systemoperations.
Modication of mechanical characteristics of the manufacturing
system will include replacement of mechanical and drive-unit
components necessary to obtain the manufacturing operation
parameters.
An approach to integration of agent-based holons and man-
ufacturing capacities into the virtual green-tyre manufacturing
systemwill be presented, which will enable the following:

synchronized operation of all components of the virtual manu-

facturing system,

realizationof the optimizationcriterionina stable manufacturing

environment, and

establishment of optimal systemoperation in the event of distur-

bances.
In order to achieve the set objectives, various mechanisms of
inter-holon coordination are to be developed.
4.1. Structure of the holonic control systemand description of
holons
The holonic structure is present at all levels of the production
environment, from the lowest control levels of machine cooper-
ation to the highest organizational levels of the manufacturing
system.
Development of the holonic control system includes develop-
ment and implementation of each individual holon of the control
structure, which is developed by means of object-oriented pro-
gramming. In the development of the holonic control approach,
the JADE platform (Java Agent Development Environment) [39] is
applied. It is an open-source platformwhich includes the Java Class
Library. The library enables development of agents by means of
attributes required for a specic application as well as develop-
ment of characteristic behaviour types which enable sending and
receiving of messages in accordance with the FIPA protocol [40].
The structure of the holonic control systemwhich includes four
different types of holons: product holon, planning holon, control
holons and operational holons (Fig. 6) is developed based on the
ADACOR structure [25].
The operator holon is developed as user interface which
enables determination of the optimization criterion and allows
beginning of the optimization process in the green-tyre man-
ufacturing system. The user interface is applied by experts with
information on orders based on which values of the optimization
criterion are dened. The planning holon, product holon and oper-
ator holon are expert holons which are part of the organizational
level of a structure.
The tyre-manufacturing system enables manufacture of many
types of tyres. Each tyre type is presented by means of the product
holon, which includes technical and technological characteristics
of a product as well as the material of components forming a tyre,
their input dimensions and mutual position, and precision of the
geometrical green tyre model.
The planning holon together with the product holon and the
main control holon develops the sequence of operation stages on
the manufacturing system level depending on the order and tyre
type.
M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128 121
Fig. 6. Structure of the virtual green-tyre manufacturing environment.
Fig. 7. Structure of the operational holon.
The main control holon, which is at the highest level of the
control structure, denes the sequence of operation stages for each
module.
The control holon of the module denes the sequence of oper-
ation phases for each machine within the module.
The operational holon presents a machine within the
green-tyre manufacturing system. The operational holon denes
operational parameters (the position, velocity and acceleration) of
executive mechanical components of the machine mechanism by
means of which process control is performed. Operational holons
formholon groups which present manufacturing modules. Groups
are formed within the main control holon based on technical
and technological characteristics and mutual constraints between
individual manufacturing components. Each holon group or man-
ufacturing module includes the control holon.
Withinthe software component of operational holons, a numer-
ical method is developed for each mechanical component of
machine mechanisms which determines basic characteristics of
mechanical components (Fig. 8) based on which calculation of
drive-unit parameters can be performed and applicability of com-
ponents and mechanisms in the manufacturing operation veried.
The operational holon shown in Fig. 7 includes not only a
software component but also a communication module for com-
municationwithother holons andadatabasewithdataontechnical
and technological characteristics of the machine and data on val-
ues of operational and drive-unit parameters obtained in various
stages of the manufacturing operation.
4.2. Communication mechanisms of inter-holon coordination
Each holon within the control structure of the green-
tyre manufacturing system includes functions and relations of
Fig. 8. Basic numerical methods of mechanismcomponents for calculation of drive-
unit parameters within the Feed Motion Conveyor.
122 M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128
communication which are performed in agreement with other
holons. Communication relations among holons are dened based
on a set of messages. Holon functions and its relations with other
holons determine the coordination mechanism within the manu-
facturing control process. The holonic control system within the
green-tyre manufacturing system does not have an explicitly
dened control structure but temporary control structures are
denedbasedontheestablishedcoordinationmechanism. Thepro-
cess of the green-tyre manufacturing control is initiated when a
product i.e. a tyre type is dened in the control structure. Within
the product holon which is an expert holon, technical and tech-
nological characteristics of a product are dened and include the
material of tyre components, their input dimensions and mutual
position as well as precision of the geometrical tyre model. Fig. 9
shows the coordination mechanism of distributed manufacture
control in stable condition of the manufacturing system opera-
tionwhereinno optimizationrequirements or systemdisturbances
are present. Based on the established coordination mechanism, the
control structure of the holonic control system is hierarchical in
this example, which means operation holons in the control struc-
ture have a low-level of autonomy. Therefore, for determination
of operational parameters of the machines, guidelines of higher
hierarchy levels are required.
The planningholonis anexpert holonwhichincooperationwith
the product holon and the main control holon denes the sequence
Fig. 9. Coordination mechanismof distributed manufacturing control in stable con-
dition of the manufacturing systemoperation.
of operation stages. In the process of dening the sequence of
operation stages, holons performs the following tasks: determina-
tion of the sequence of operation phases within operation stages,
assignation of operation phases to the machines, description of
Fig. 10. UML sequence diagram of inter-holon cooperation within the coordination mechanism of control in stable condition of the green-tyre manufacturing system
operation.
M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128 123
Fig. 11. Coordination mechanism of inter-holon cooperation in the hierarchical
cycle of the optimization process in stable condition of the manufacturing system
operation.
Fig. 12. Coordination mechanism of inter-holon cooperation in the heterarchical
cycle of the optimization process in stable condition of the manufacturing system
operation.
operation phases and determination the initial times value of oper-
ation phases. The product holon informs the planning holon about
technical and technological characteristics of the tyre type to be
manufactured (1). On the other hand, the planning holon obtains
information on technical and technological characteristics of the
manufacturing system from the main control holon, which has
insight into all available manufacturing modules and machines in
the manufacturing system(2).
The maincontrol holondenes the sequence of operationstages
for each module of the manufacturing system(3) and monitors the
operation stages realization. Based on the sequence of operation
stages for each module obtained from the main control holon (4),
module control holons dene the sequence of operation phases
(5) i.e. the operational plan for each machine within the module
and monitor the operation phases realization. Thereby, operational
plan is not calculated in advance, but arises fromcontingent inter-
action. Operational holons dene operational parameters for each
operationphase. Basedonthecommunicationbetweenoperational
holons withinthe same module, the coordinationmechanismtakes
Fig. 13. Algorithmof inter-holon cooperation in unstable condition of the green-
tyre manufacturing operation.
Note:OP operational parameters of the operation phase which a machine has
to perform, i information from sensors, MP actual parameters of the opera-
tion phase, comparison comparison due to disturbance detection, cooperation
operational holon in which the disturbance has occurred cooperates with other
operational holons with the purpose of transferring the operation phase to another
machine which can perform that operation phase, select - select an appropriate
operation holon fromthe group of operational holons which have the ability to per-
form the operation phase, send operational holon sends operational parameters
of the operation phase to the selected operational holon,
time necessary for elimination of the failure impact on productivity, Tztime nec-
essary for replacement of damaged machine components, Tptime necessary for
preparation of operation phases on alternative machines.
into account technical and technological constraints among func-
tionally connected operation phases. Operational parameters (6)
which are sent to the virtual model of the manufacturing machine
are positions, velocities and accelerations of executive mechani-
cal components of the machine. Simulation results of the virtual
model of the manufacturing systemare simulated values of opera-
tional parameters (7). Simulated values of operational parameters
are veried based on the numerical methods of machine mech-
anisms (Fig. 8). Thereby, the following drive-unit parameters of
the machine are obtained: maximum rotational speed, maximum
acceleration, load and mechanisms inertia, constant torque, accel-
eration torque, peak torque and root mean squared torque.
The model of holon cooperation within the coordination mech-
anism of control in stable condition of the tyre-manufacturing
systemoperation is shown in UML sequence diagramin Fig. 10. The
formal modelling of structural and behavioural specication of the
control systemis developed with UML sequence diagramin order
124 M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128
Fig. 14. Simulation results for the scenario of manufacturing systemoperation in unstable condition.
tosimplifythe understanding andtoget the comprehensive viewof
the system functionality. Messages communicated among holons
within coordination mechanisms of control are basic messages of
JADE ACL (Agent Communication Language), which is in accordance
with the FIPA standards. The INFORM message enables distribu-
tion of information requested by other holons, the QUERY message
sends questions, the REQUEST message sends requests for per-
formance of specic methods, while the PROPOSE message sends
proposals for performance of specic tasks. Answers to QUERY and
REQUEST messages are sent via REPLY messages, while answers to
a PROPOSAL are sent via AGREE and REFUSE messages. The mes-
sage type name is placed above the arrowed line, while methods
are placed on the right side of the arrowed line. In our approach,
simplied encoding of the message content was used which treats
the content of the message as a string whose meaning is depended
on the application. In the future work our aim is to develop an
application-specic ontology by extending the class Ontology pre-
denedinJADEandaddingaset of schemas describingthestructure
of concepts, agent actions and predicates that are allowed to com-
pose the content of messages.
When an optimization request for decrease of processing time
of a green-tyre unit in the green-tyre manufacturing sys-
tem occurs within the expert operator holon, a new coordination
mechanism of production control in the control structure of the
manufacturing systemis established and the optimization process
is initiated.
Based on the established coordination mechanism, at the begin-
ning of the optimizationprocess the control structure of the holonic
control system is hierarchical. Operational holons in the control
structure still have a low level of autonomy and require guide-
lines of higher levels of hierarchy for determination of operational
parameters.
The model of inter-holon cooperation within the coordination
mechanism of control in the hierarchical optimization process
in accordance with requested optimization criterion is shown in
Fig. 11. The planning holon denes optimized processing time of
a green-tyre unit (2) on the basis of the optimization criterion,
which is communicated by the operator holon (1). The main con-
trol holon denes the optimized times of operation stages for each
module in the green-tyre manufacturing system (3). The algo-
rithm of determination of optimized times of operation stages for
each module takes into account technical characteristics of the
module and characteristics of the required operation stage qual-
ity, based on which it is determined if the module takes part in the
optimization process. Based on the optimized time on the module
level, the module control holon denes optimized times of oper-
ation phases for each machine in the module (4). The algorithm
of determination of optimized times of operation phases for each
machine takes into account technical and technological constraints
among functionally connected phases performed by machines in
the module as well as technical characteristics of each machine,
based on which it is determined if the machine takes part in the
optimization process.
In accordance with the optimized times of operation phases,
operational holons dene optimized operational parameters
of operation phases (5). If individual mechanical components,
machine mechanisms or drive-units are not in accordance with
optimized parameters, they are to be replaced with those that
full parameter criteria. Replacement of individual mechanical or
drive-unit components is performed only when it is economically
justied. The approach can also be applied for determination of
characteristics of mechanical and drive components already in the
phase of design of the tyre-manufacturing system. This enables
optimal design of the green-tyre manufacturing system for var-
ious operation scenarios which are previously analyzed through
simulation in the manufacturing systemmodelling phase.
Subsequent hierarchical cycles in the algorithmof the optimiza-
tionprocess are adaptingtothe state of manufacturingcomponents
in order to determine its optimal times and operational parame-
ters of operation phases and to improve the precision of system
optimization. When it is determined that subsequent optimiza-
tion cycles would not improve the required precision of system
optimization in accordance with the required criterion, the control
structure of the systembecomes heterarchical. Operational holons
increase the level of autonomy and independently from higher
levels of hierarchy, the guidelines of which are denied, dene oper-
ational parameters of operationphases whichare sent tothe virtual
model of the manufacturing system. The algorithmfor independent
M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128 125
Fig. 15. Time owof the process of eliminating the machine breakdown impact on
productivity
Note:pa number of green tyres to be manufactured within the order, p
1
a
number of green tyres manufactured until the occurrence of failure, time nec-
essary for elimination of the failure impact on productivity, teprocessing time of a
green-tyre unit, te
1
optimized processing time of a green-tyre unit, p
2
a num-
ber of green tyres manufactured with alternative machines, Tztime necessary for
replacement of damaged machine components, Tptime necessary for preparation
of operation phases on alternative machines.
denition of operational parameters of the machine within oper-
ational holons is based on Newton Interpolation Polynomials.
Interpolation knots of the Newton Interpolation Polynomials are
operational parameters of the operational phases achieved in the
previous optimization cycles. Interpolation knots are written in
data bases of each operational holon. The model of inter-holon
cooperation within the coordination mechanism of control in the
heterarchical cycle of the optimization process in accordance with
the required criterion is shown in Fig. 12.
To achieve adaptability of the green-tyre manufacturing sys-
tem in the event of system disturbances, it is necessary to rst
detect the disturbance andits positioninthe manufacturingsystem
and then implement a suitable algorithmfor elimination of the dis-
turbance impact on systemproductivity. Communication between
the operational holons and the planning holon is a process of
Fig. 17. Time ow of the process of eliminating the machine breakdown failure
impact on systemproductivity
Note:pa number of green tyres to be manufactured within the order, p
1
a num-
ber of green tyres manufactured until the occurrence of failure, time necessary
for eliminationof thefailureimpact onproductivity, teprocessingtimeof agreen-
tyre unit, te
1
optimized processing time of a green-tyre unit, Tztime necessary
for replacement of damaged machine components.
continuous supervision of the green-tyre manufacturing opera-
tion based on which systemdisturbances are determined. It is not
possible to write an algorithm of elimination of the disturbance
impact for each scenario of the disturbance occurrence in the sys-
tem. Since systemdisturbances can be predicted, the algorithmof
elimination of the disturbance impact can be written based on the
expected condition of the systemafter a disturbance has occurred.
In our example, the following algorithm in the form of the UML
activity diagram (Fig. 13) was developed for the occurrence of a
machine breakdown in the system.
Whena disturbance occurs inthe formof a machine-breakdown
in the green-tyre manufacturing system the hierarchical struc-
ture of the control system changes to heterarchical, whereby a
coordination mechanismof control in unstable condition is estab-
lished with the purpose of eliminating the failure impact on system
productivity.
The mechanismof the control structure change is based on the
increased level of autonomy of the operational holons in the struc-
ture which independently fromthe higher levels of hierarchy, the
guidelines of which are denied, dene the operational parameters
of virtual model machines, the purpose of which is to eliminate the
failure impact onsystemproductivity. Newoperational parameters
of operation phases of the machine are determined based on time
Fig. 16. Simulation results for the scenario of manufacturing systemoperation in unstable condition in the event of single failure.
126 M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128
Table 3
Simulation results for manufacturing system operation in stable condition during optimization process for the optimization criterion for decrease of processing time of a
green-tyre unit.
Optimization criterion: decrease of processing time of a green-tyre unit
Operation stage: Breaker 2 winding, Value of the optimization criterion for decrease of operation stage time: 10%
Operation
phase
Description of operation
phase
Modules
a
Machines
a
Time of an operation phase [s]
Existing conventional
control approach
Holonic approach (simulation results)
Coordination
mechanismFig. 9
Coordination
mechanismFig. 11
Coordination
mechanismFig. 12
5 Unwinding the belt;
moving the belt to the
cutting position; cutting
the belt to dened length
BS 2 LO 2, SC 2,
FMC 2
15 14.96 13.69 13.39
10 Moving the belt to the
winding position
BS 2 FMC 2, AC 2 18.5 18.41 16.80 16.41
15 Winding the belt BS 2, LD FMC 2, AC 2,
LD
15 14.96 13.69 13.39
Time of an operation stage [s] 48.5 48.33 44.18 43.19
Percentage of achieved optimization criterion in real time [%] 0 0 8.59 10.64
a
Names of modules and machines are dened in Fig. 5.
Table 4
Simulation results for the scenario of manufacturing systemoperation in unstable condition when elimination of the failure impact is performed within operation stage of
the module in which a failure has occurred.
Machine breakdown: FMC 2, P=150 green tyres/day, p=150 green tyres, p
1
=50 green tyres, Tz =3600s, Tp=400s, t =Tp, p
2
=6 green tyres (Fig. 15)
Elimination of the failure impact: within an operation stage of the module in which a failure has occurred.
Operation stage: Breaker 2 winding
Operation
phase
Description of
operation phase
Modules Machines Flowtime of an operation phase [s]
Primary Alternative Primary Alternative Existing
conventional
control approach
(unstable
condition)
Holonic approach (simulation results)
Coordination
mechanismFig. 9
Coordination
mechanismFig. 13
5 Unwinding the belt;
moving the belt to the
cutting position;
cutting the belt to
dened length
BS 2 BS 3 LO 2, SC 2, FMC 2 LO 3, SC 3, FMC 3 15 14.96 13.96
10 Moving the belt to the
winding position
BS 2 BS 3 FMC 2, AC 2 FMC 3, AC 3 18.5 18.41 17.06
15 Winding the belt BS 2, LD BS 3, LD FMC 2, AC 2, LD FMC 3, AC 3, LD 15 14.96 13.96
Time of an operation stage [s] 48.5 48.33 44.98
Productivity on the systemlevel [green tyres/day] 144 150 150
Percentage of achieved productivity [%] 96 100 100
Table 5
Simulation results for the scenario of manufacturing systemoperation in unstable condition when elimination of the failure impact is performed within operation stages of
the left side of the green-tyre manufacturing system.
Machine breakdown: FMC 2, P=150 green tyres/day, p=150 green tyres, p
1
=50 green tyres, Tz =3600s, Tp=1200s, t =Tp, p
2
=4 green tyres (Fig. 15)
Elimination of the failure impact: within operation stages of the left side of the green-tyre manufacturing system.
Operation stage Time of an operation stage [s]
Existing conventional control approach
(unstable condition)
Holonic approach (simulation results)
Coordination mechanismFig. 9 Coordination mechanism
Fig. 13
Shoulder wedge winding
a
45 44.85 44.85
Breaker 1 winding 38.5 38.28 36.07
Breaker 2 winding 48.5 48.33 45.58
Breaker wedge winding
a
35 34.8 34.8
Breaker 3 winding 48,5 48,33 45,58
Breaker 4 winding 38.5 38.28 36.07
Tread winding
a
20.5 20.28 20.28
Productivity on the systemlevel
[green tyres/day]
144 150 150
Percentage of achieved productivity [%] 96 100 100
a
Optimization of the operation stage is not possible due to technological limitations related to the quality of the manufacturing process (see Fig. 4).
M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128 127
t, which is the non-operational time of the manufacturing system,
and time , which is necessary for elimination of the failure impact
on productivity within the order. Based on the relation between
time t and time , it is determined whether the process of failure
impact elimination is performed within the operation stage of the
moduleinwhichthefailurehas occurred, onthesideof thegreen-
tyre manufacturing systemwhere the failure occurs or within the
entire green-tyre manufacturing system.
The production supervision process in the green-tyre man-
ufacturing system determines two conditions: the condition of
normal operation and the condition with disturbances. Once a fail-
ure occurs, the manufacturing process is interruptedanda requests
for cooperation are sent fromthe disturbed operational holon and
functionally connected operational holons to operational holons of
the machines which have the same or similar technical and tech-
nological characteristics andwhichare alsofunctionallyconnected.
This means that it is possible to move the entire operation stage to
another module. If cooperation is performed among holons in the
side of the green-tyre manufacturing systemin which the failure
has occurred, the other side of the manufacturing system which
the failure has no impact on keeps the hierarchical control struc-
ture. In the event of transferring the operation phase to another
machine, the operational holon which assumes the performance of
the broken-down machine operation must change its sequence of
operation phases.
If the process of eliminating the impact of the machine break-
down on systemproductivity cannot be performed by cooperation
among holons, a request for replacement of damaged machine
components is sent to the planning holon. In the process of elim-
inating the failure impact, optimized operational parameters of
operation phases remain active until complete elimination of the
failure impact on system productivity, i.e. until the moment t +
fromthe occurrence of the failure. After the time interval t +, the
operational holons which have changed their operational parame-
ters return to operational parameters prior to the occurrence of the
disturbance and decrease the level of autonomy, which means the
control systemagain takes over the hierarchical structure.
4.3. Simulation in virtual manufacturing system
The aim of the virtual manufacturing system application is to
improve the structure design of the green-tyre manufacturing
system and increase reliability of implementation of the holonic
control approach into a real-life manufacturing environment. Sim-
ulationwithinthe virtual manufacturing systemenables analysis of
both the manufacturing system operation in various optimization
scenarios and the process of eliminating the disturbance impact
on productivity in an unstable manufacturing environment. This
makes the manufacturing system proactive since, in the event
of similar scenarios, the results of proactive simulations and the
recovery action report are already available for use in a real-life
manufacturing system.
Presented is a 3Dvirtual model of the green-tyre manufactur-
ing systemwhich through simulation enables visual verication of
the impacts of the holonic control approach applied in the opti-
mization process in accordance with the optimization criterion
in stable operating condition as well as with adaptability to sys-
temdisturbances. The holonic control structure is less predictable
in comparison to the traditional centralized structure. However, a
virtual manufacturing environment enables its analysis and better
understanding.
Evaluation of the holonic control approach implementation into
the virtual green-tyre manufacturing system will be performed
basedonthe analysis of results of quantitative manufacturing char-
acteristics: productivity and processing time of a green-tyre unit.
Productivity is anindicator of the manufacturing systemsuccess
and is dened as the number of manufactured units of a product
within a certain time unit. Processing time of a green-tyre unit
is a time necessary for manufacturing of a product unit. Evalua-
tion of the holonic control approach implementation within the
tyre-manufacturing system will be performed based on simula-
tion tests for various scenarios, whereby systemoperation in stable
and unstable condition is taken into account. For each scenario,
manufacture of a single tyre type is taken under observation. Final
evaluation of the holonic control approach implementation can be
performed by comparing the results of quantitative manufacturing
characteristics withinthe holonic control approachfor various sim-
ulation scenarios in stable and unstable condition with the results
obtained within the existing conventional control approach.
5. Results and discussion
Simulation of the manufacturing process is performed as fol-
lows:
(1) In the optimization process for a specic value of the crite-
rion for decrease of processing time of a green-tyre unit in stable
operatingcondition, comparisonof various control structures of the
holonic control approach is made (the results given in Table 3 are
presented only for a single operation stage and not for the entire
green-tyre manufacturing operation).
(2) The holonic approach to green-tyre manufacturing control
in the process of eliminating the machine breakdown impact on
systemproductivity i.e. in unstable condition (Fig. 13) is compared
to the existing conventional control method in unstable condition
and holonic control approach in stable operating condition of the
green-tyre manufacturing system(Fig. 9).
Example 1. There is a possibility of transferring operational
phases performed within a module in which a machine break-
down has occurred into another module. Simulation results for
the scenario of manufacturing systemoperation in unstable condi-
tion when there is a possibility of transferring operational phases
into another module are presented in tables (Tables 4 and 5) and
diagrams (Fig. 14).
Example 2. There is no possibility of transferring operation
phases performed within a module in which a failure has occurred
into another module.
Simulation results for the scenario of manufacturing system
operation in unstable condition when there is no possibility of
transferring operation phases into another module are presented
only in diagrams (Fig. 16).
By means of the virtual green-tyre manufacturing systemwith
a distributive method of control within the holonic control system,
optimization requirements can be achieved in real time compared
to the so-called ofine method of optimization which is applied in
the conventional control approach (Table 3). The ofine method
of optimization includes termination of the manufacturing pro-
cess and reprogramming of the central control unit. In the event
of failure on manufacturing system components, the holonic con-
trol approach offers better stability and possibility of eliminating
the failure impact on system productivity. In the event of a sin-
gle failure occurring during the order, the holonic control approach
increases productivity by 4% compared to the conventional con-
trol approach (Tables 4 and 5). In the event of multiple failures,
the advantage of applying the holonic control approach is of great
signicance.
6. Conclusions and future research
The paper presents the holonic virtual control approach applied
in the green-tyre manufacturing system. The approach included
128 M. Jovanovic et al. / Journal of Manufacturing Systems 33 (2014) 116128
integration of a virtual model of the green-tyre manufactur-
ing system with a holonic control platform for the purpose of
holonic control both in the process of manufacture optimization
in accordance with the optimization criterion in a stable manufac-
turing environment and in the process of eliminating the machine
breakdown impact in an unstable manufacturing environment.
The effects of the holonic control approach were tested in various
scenarios of simulation analyses. The presented approach can be
applied in other manufacturing environments with development
of appropriate virtual models of the manufacturing system in the
SolidWorks and LabViewsoftware and appropriate holonic control
platformin JADE software.
The presented approach enables holonic integration with other
operations of the tyre-manufacturing process as well integration of
theentiremanufacturingprocess withother parts of theproduction
environment of a plant.
Integrationof the control approachwiththe manufacturing pro-
cess within the virtual manufacturing environment has enabled
computer analysis of the manufacturing system operation by
means of simulation.
Future research will be focused on development of an environ-
ment for implementation of the holonic control approach into a
real-life green-tyre manufacturing system. Control andoptimiza-
tionof the manufacturing process withinthe virtual manufacturing
systemwill be performed in parallel with the real-life manufactur-
ing process.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to express the appreciation to the managers
and staff of the company SMM PRODUCTIONSYSTEMS Ltd. for their
technical support.
References
[1] http://www.etrma.org
[2] Babiceanu R, Chen FF. Development applications of holonic manufacturing sys-
tems: a survey. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 2006;17:11131.
[3] Dilts DM, Boyd NP, Whorms HH. The evolution of control architectures
for automated manufacturing systems. Journal of Manufacturing Systems
1991;10:7993.
[4] Bauer A, Bowden R, Browne J, Duggan J, Lyons G. Shop oor control systems -
fromdesign to implementation. London: Chapman & Hall; 1994.
[5] Andersson N. On modelling and implementing shop oor control systems PhD
Thesis. Gothenburg, Sweden: Department of ProductionEngineering, Chalmers
University of Technology; 1997.
[6] Arentsen AL. A generic architecture for factory activity control, PhD Thesis,
laboratory of design production and management. Twente, The Netherlands:
Faculty for Mechanical Engineering, University of Twente; 1995.
[7] Dufe NA, Piper RS. Nonhierarchical control of manufacturing systems. Journal
of Manufacturing Systems 1986;5:141.
[8] Leito P. Agent-based distributed manufacturing control: a state-of-the-art
survey. Engineering Applications of Articial Intelligence 2009;22:97991.
[9] Bussmann S, Schild K. An agent-based approach to the control of exible pro-
duction systems. In: Proceedings of the 8th IEEE International Conference on
Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation. 2001. p. 4818.
[10] Heikkil T, KollingbaumM, Valckenaers P, Bluemink G-J. An agent architecture
for manufacturing control: manAge. Computers in Industry 2001;46:31531.
[11] Wang L, Balasubramanian S, Norrie DH. Agent-based intelligent control sys-
temdesignfor real-time distributedmanufacturing environments. In: Working
Notes of the ABMWorkshop. 1998. p. 1529.
[12] Park H-S, Tran N-H. An autonomous manufacturing systembased on swarmof
cognitive agents. Journal of Manufacturing Systems 2012;31:33748.
[13] Baker AD. A survey of factory control algorithms that can be implemented in
a multi-agent heterarchy: dispatching, scheduling, and pull. Journal of Manu-
facturing Systems 1998;17:297320.
[14] http://www.mech.kuleuven.be/mascada/
[15] Koestler A. The ghost in the machine. London: Arkana Books; 1969.
[16] http://www.ims.org
[17] Van Brussel H, Bongaerts L, Wyns J, Valckenaers P, Van Ginderachter T. A con-
ceptual framework for holonic manufacturing: Identication of manufacturing
holons. Journal of Manufacturing Systems 1999;18:3552.
[18] Sousa P, Silva N, Heikkila T, Kollingbaum T, Valckenaers P. Aspects of
Co-operation in distributed manufacturing systems. In: Proceedings of the Sec-
ond International Workshop on Intelligent manufacturing Systems. 2000. p.
60517.
[19] Babiceanu RF, Chen FF, Sturges RH. Framework for the control of automated
material-handling systems using the holonic manufacturing approach. Inter-
national Journal of Production Research 2004;42:355164.
[20] http://www.uml.org
[21] http://www.omg.org
[22] Bell D. UMLs Sequence Diagram. In: in IBM; 2004.
[23] Kotak D, Wu S, Fleetwood M, Tamoto H. Agent-based holonic design and
operations environment for distributed manufacturing. Computers in Industry
2003;52:95108.
[24] Heikkila T, Jarviluoma M, Juntunen T. Holonic control for manufacturing
systems: design of a manufacturing robot cell. Integrated Computer-Aided
Engineering 1997;4:20218.
[25] Van Brussel H, Wyns J, Valckenaers P, Bongaerts L, Peeters P. Reference archi-
tecture for holonic manufacturing systems: PROSA. Computers in Industry
1998;37:25574.
[26] Leito P, Restivo F. ADACOR. A holonic architecture for agile and adaptive man-
ufacturing control. Computers in Industry 2006;57:12130.
[27] Heikkila T, Rannanjarvi L, Sallinen M, Rintala M. A holonic shot-blasting sys-
tem. In: Deen SM, editor. Agent-based manufacturing: advances in the holonic
approach. Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 2003. p. 255302.
[28] Bussmann S, Sieverding J. Holonic control of an engine assembly plant: an
industrial evaluation. In: Proceedings of the2001IEEEInternational Conference
on Systems. 2001. p. 16974.
[29] Fletcher M, Lucas A, Jarvis D, Jarvis J, Ronnquist R, McFarlane D, Brusey JA.
Thorne JACK-basedholonic control of a gift box packing cell. Cambridge, United
Kingdom: Internal report of the centre for distributed automation and control,
distributed information and automation laboratory; 2003.
[30] Jarvis DH, Jarvis JH. Holonic diagnosis for anautomotive assembly line. In: Deen
SM, editor. Agent-Based manufacturing: Advances in the Holonic Approach.
Berlin: Springer-Verlag; 2003. p. 193208.
[31] Gayed N, Jarvis DH, Jarvis JH. A strategy for the migration of existing man-
ufacturing systems to holonic systems. In: Proceedings of the 1998 IEEE
International Conference on Systems. 1998. p. 31924.
[32] Borangiu T, Gilbert P, Ivanescu N-A, Rosu A. An implementing framework for
holonic manufacturing control with multiple robot-vision stations. Engineer-
ing Applications of Articial Intelligence 2009;22:50521.
[33] Langer G, Alting L. An architecture for agile shop oor control systems. Journal
of Manufacturing Systems 2000;19:26781.
[34] Bal M, Hashemipour M. Virtual factory approach for implementation of holonic
control in industrial applications: a case study in die-casting industry. Robotics
and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 2009;25:57081.
[35] Gausemeier J, Bohuszewicz OV, Ebbesmeyer P, Grafe M. Cyberbikesinteractive
visualization of manufacturing processes in a virtual environment. In: Jacucci
G, Olling GJ, Preiss K, Wozny MJ, editors. Globalization of Manufacturing in the
Digital Communications Era of the 21th Century. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic
Publisher; 1998. p. 41324.
[36] Jain S, Choong NF, Aye KM, Luo M. Virtual factory: an integrated approach to
manufacturing systems modeling. International Journal of Operations & Pro-
duction Management 2001;21:594608.
[37] Starbek M, GrumJ, Ku sar J. The FlowTime of Operation. Journal of Mechanical
Engineering 2000;46:6676.
[38] ChirnJL, McFarlaneDC. Aholonic component-basedapproachtorecongurable
manufacturing control architecture. In: Proceedings of the 11th International
Workshop on Database and Expert Systems Applications. 2000. p. 21923.
[39] http://jade.tilab.com
[40] http://pa.org