Design and analysis of a rule-based knowledge system supporting intelligent dispatching and its application in the TFT-LCD industry

As flexibility and agility become key success factors of a competitive manufacturing enterprise, the ability to support the short term decision making of manufacturing planning, scheduling, and dispatching becomes a critical issue. This research presents a rule-based knowledge system run on the Java Expert System Shell (JESS) platform to addresses how engineering knowledge can be dynamically represented and efficiently utilized in job dispatching. The knowledge system, called Intelligent Dispatching Decision Support System (IDDSS), is designed and implemented using the rule-based inference and reasoning approach. The distinctive technical contributions of IDDSS focus on three critically integrated elements: (1) a visualized rule editor, (2) a knowledge object data gateway, and (3) an embedded application component. Furthermore, a case study of the thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel repair line is applied to demonstrate the rule-based knowledge system for agile TFT-LCD repair job dispatching. © 2007 Springer-Verlag London Limited.