Implementation of a Holonic Product-Based Platform for Increased Flexibility in Production Planning

In the Industry 4.0 era, production planning problems are very relevant to production systems and are essential parts of the supply chain. Broadly speaking, production planning problems are tackled using models and methodologies, aiming for optimal solutions. This work introduces realism and stability to optimal production planning strategies using a holonic, product-driven manufacturing platform with increased flexibility. A model based on an anarchic holonic architecture and embedded intelligence logic provides decision-making capacity in a “production lot” in the face of disturbances. The proposed model is validated by comparing the results obtained with a lot-streaming mathematical programming model. Results show that significant changes in lot processing times (disturbances) generate significant changes in completion times. The proposed platform reduces up to 10.95% completion times in face of disturbances, generating significant benefits by increasing flexibility.