A Conceptual Model for Operational Control in Smart Manufacturing Systems

Advancements in computer integrated manufacturing and intelligent devices have spurred a revolution in manufacturing. To maximize their potential, smart operational control mechanisms must not only integrate real-time data from system operations, but also formulate and solve a wide variety of optimal-control analyses quickly and efficiently and then translate the results into executable commands. To support design of smart operational controllers, this paper proposes a conceptual model capable of integrating a description of the control activities in the manufacturing operations management level of the enterprise with a description of the physical system and an explicit interface to optimal-control analyses.