Method for managing product segments of product production rules

• US 8,301,274 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2010
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Monument Peak Ventures, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Raviola, Alessandro, Reggio, Elena
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US12/758,335
• Publication Number:
  US 20100268365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 932 Days
• Field of Search: 700/26, 700/51, 700/104, 700/105, 700/95, 700/115, 700/108, 700/121, 702/188
• US Class Current: 700/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

An effective method for managing product segments of product production rules within a manufacturing execution system adapted for providing a final product includes the following steps: a) each one of a plurality of sets of product segments are associated within one of a set of product production rules which are stored in a database under a reference standard product production rule (like a simple “manufacture of a car”); b) a command (e.g. from an operator) is inputted to the database for performing one of following selectable operations: i) add a new product segment; ii) remove one of previous product segment; iii) replace a previous product segment by a new one; c) a further set of new product production rules comprising previous product segments and a further product segment (related to the selectable operation and automatically detected in each product production rule) are introduced in the database; d) an indicator related to the selected operation (i, ii, iii) is inserted in said new product production rule. Finally, e) an algebraic operation is performed on all product segments of both the reference standard product production rule and the new product production rules (for example it performs an addition of the product segments), so that the algebraic operation delivers a final standard product production rule resulting from one of the selected operations of adding i), removing ii), replacing iii).

Claims

1. A method for managing product segments of product production rules within a manufacturing execution system adapted to provide a final product, the method applied as an algorithm implemented on a server with a database and comprising the steps of:

a) associating each one of a plurality of sets of product segments within one of a set of product production rules that are stored in the database under a reference standard product production rule;

b) inputting a command to the database for performing one of following selectable operations;

i) add a new product segment;

ii) remove a previous product segment;

iii) replace a previous product segment with a new product segment;

c) introducing a further set of new product production rules comprising previous product segments and a further product segment in the database;

d) inserting an indicator related to operation (i, ii, iii) selected in step b) in the new product production rule; and

e) performing an algebraic operation on all product segments of both the reference standard product production rule and the new product production rules, so that the algebraic operation delivers a final standard product production rule (PPR'"'"') resulting from one of the operations of adding i), removing ii), replacing iii) selected in step b).

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the indicator comprises a positive sign for adding (i) a new product segment or a negative sign for deleting (ii) a previous product segment.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the indicator for replacing (iii) a previous product segment with a new product segment comprises a priority information that is selectively attached to each product segment and the priority information provides a position of replacement in a list of priority assigned product segments.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the indicator for replacing (iii) a previous product segment with a new product segment comprises a priority information that is selectively attached to each product segment and the priority information provides a position of replacement in a list of priority assigned product segments.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the indicator comprises each type of a category of product segments.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference standard product production rule and the new product production rules comprise hierarchically connected sub-product production rules that contain further product segments on which the management is applied recursively.