ABSTRACT
Within the manufacturing sector computers are used to aid in ordering, stock control and control of the factory down to shop floor operation. Current research has identified the need to provide decision making at the lowest possible level. This is deemed necessary to meet rising demands in product variability and customer requirements for both make-to-order products and quality expectations. Within the European community some researchers are examining the problems that arise at the bottom of the hierarchy. One such project is the use of Knowledge Based Systems (KBS) as real time CIM-Controllers for distributed factory supervision. A subset of this overall work is a workcell controller for dynamic production, quality and management within electronic applicancies, the tyre and cable industry and finally, Integrated Circuit production [Isen,1990].
