METHODS AND TOOLS FOR MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISE MODELING AND MODEL ENACTMENT

To design, build and operate contemporary manufacturing enterprises it is necessary to formalise the processes within these life-cycle phase s, thereby providing a basis for automated support and the definition of reference solutions. In 1991 a research program entitled 'model dri ven CIM' was funded by the UK Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) to provide support for integrated manufacturing systems engine ering. A prime deliverable of the work is a collection of CASE workben ches comprising software tools, models and infrastructural services wh ich support system design and build. The paper provides an overview of the life-cycle engineering methods conceived and developed. It introd uces three separate workbenches which, via two different approaches to system build, formalise and realise a link between design models and real-world run-time systems. Each approach provides a means of enactin g system models in a way which semi-automates resource-consuming imple mentation processes. As a result more effective and wider-scope integr ated manufacturing systems can be realised for a given engineering inv estment. The paper also identifies key issues which need to be conside red when comparing and combining the two approaches. This consideratio n is important in respect of classifying potential application areas f or each approach and identifying problems which need to be overcome be fore realising their full potential.