Browsing by Author "Hutabarat, Windo"
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Item Open Access A 3D immersive discrete event simulator for enabling prototyping of factory layouts(Elsevier, 2015-10-27) Oyekan, John; Hutabarat, Windo; Turner, Christopher J.; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Prajapat, Neha; Ince, Nadir; Gan, Xiao-Peng; Waller, TonyThere is an increasing need to eliminate wasted time and money during factory layout design and subsequent construction. It is presently difficult for engineers to foresee if a certain layout is optimal for work and material flows. By exploiting modelling, simulation and visualisation techniques, this paper presents a tool concept called immersive WITNESS that combines the modelling strengths of Discrete Event Simulation (DES) with the 3D visualisation strengths of recent 3D low cost gaming technology to enable decision makers make informed design choices for future factories layouts. The tool enables engineers to receive immediate feedback on their design choices. Our results show that this tool has the potential to reduce rework as well as the associated costs of making physical prototypes.Item Open Access Adapting petri nets to DES: stochastic modelling of manufacturing systems(D A A A M International Vienna, 2018) Simon, E.; Oyekan, John; Hutabarat, Windo; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Turner, Christopher J.Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) is commonly used for the simulation of manufacturing systems. In many practical cases, DES practitioners have to make simplifications or to use the software in an unconventional or convoluted fashion to meet their needs. Petri nets enable the development of transparent models which conciseness are a synonym of increased flexibility and control for designers. Furthermore, Petri nets take advantage of a solid mathematical ground and constitute a simple language. However, Petri nets lack the software capabilities to realise their full potential. This study investigates the suitability and relevance of Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) software for Petri net modelling in the context of manufacturing systems. A framework is developed for the modelling of different classes of Petri nets on DES. Analytical models of asynchronous flow lines are developed. Initial results show that the analytical models are without closed-form solution and the explosion of the state space is observed, justifying the use of computational methods and simulation for the analysis of manufacturing systems. This study shows that the gain in flexibility provided by Petri nets provides a new insight into the effects of stochasticity on setup and failure times in manufacturing systems.Item Open Access Combining virtual reality enabled simulation with 3D scanning technologies towards smart manufacturing(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2017-01-19) Hutabarat, Windo; Oyekan, John; Turner, Christopher J.; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Prajapat, Neha; Gan, Xiao-Peng; Waller, AnthonyRecent introduction of low-cost 3D sensing and affordable immersive virtual reality have lowered the barriers for creating and maintaining 3D virtual worlds. In this paper, we propose a way to combine these technologies with discrete-event simulation to improve the use of simulation in decision making in manufacturing. This work will describe how feedback is possible from real world systems directly into a simulation model to guide smart behaviors. Technologies included in the research include feedback from RGBD images of shop floor motion and human interaction within full immersive virtual reality that includes the latest headset technologies.Item Open Access Comparison of sequential and integrated optimisation approaches for ASP and ALB(Elsevier, 2017-07-11) Ab Rashid, Mohd Fadzil Faisae; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Hutabarat, WindoCombining Assembly Sequence Planning (ASP) and Assembly Line Balancing (ALB) is now of increasing interest. The customary approach is the sequential approach, where ASP is optimised before ALB. Recently, interest in the integrated approach has begun to pick up. In an integrated approach, both ASP and ALB are optimised at the same time. Various claims have been made regarding the benefits of integrated optimisation compared with sequential optimisation, such as access to a larger search space that leads to better solution quality, reduced error rate in planning and expedited product time-to-market. These benefits are often cited but no existing work has substantiated the claimed benefits by publishing a quantitative comparison between sequential and integrated approaches. This paper therefore compares the sequential and integrated optimisation approaches for ASP and ALB using 51 test problems. This is done so that the behaviour of each approach in optimising ASP and ALB problems at different difficulty levels can be properly understood. An algorithm named Multi-Objective Discrete Particle Swarm Optimisation (MODPSO) is applied in both approaches. For ASP, the optimisation results indicate that the integrated approach is suitable to be used in small and medium-sized problems, according to the number of non-dominated solution and error ratio indicators. Meanwhile, the sequential approach converges more quickly in large-sized problems. For pure ALB, the integrated approach is preferable in all cases. When both ASP and ALB are considered, the integrated approach is superior to the sequential approach.Item Open Access A decision-making framework for the implementation of remanufacturing in rechargeable energy storage system in hybrid and electric vehicles(Elsevier, 2018-07-25) Okorie, Okechukwu; Turner, Christopher J.; Salonitis, Konstantinos; Charnley, Fiona; Moreno, Mariale; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Hutabarat, WindoAs data from manufacturing and digital intelligence become a pervasive feature of our economy, it becomes increasingly important to leverage on this data in the creation of new forms of value. Within emerging concepts such as Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and the Internet of Things (IoT), understanding decision-making and stakeholders’ interaction is important in optimising manufacturing and post-manufacturing processes. Of interest is the post-manufacturing phase for the Rechargeable Energy Storage system, (RESS), a battery system embedded in hybrid and electric automobiles. This research develops a decision-making framework for the RESS component, employing data-driven remanufacturing as the circular approach for implementation. Findings highlight useful manufacturing data employed in remanufacturing for the RESS technology. This study concludes by giving recommendations on how decisions made by stakeholders and their interaction can inform manufacturers on design for remanufacturing.Item Open Access Development of a tuneable test problem generator for assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing(SAGE Publications, 2012-11-30) Ab Rashid, Mohd Fadzil Faisae; Hutabarat, Windo; Tiwari, AshutoshAssembly optimisation activities that involve assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing have been extensively studied because of the importance of optimal assembly efficiency to manufacturing competitiveness. Numerous research works in assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing mainly focus on developing algorithms to solve problems and to optimise assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing. However, there is a scarcity in works that focus on developing problems to test these algorithms. In optimisation algorithm development, testing algorithms by a broad range of test problems is crucial to identify their strengths and weaknesses. This article proposes a generator of assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing test problems with tuneable complexity levels. Experiments confirm that the selected combination of input attributes does control the generated assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing problem complexity, and also that the generated problems can be used to identify the suitability of a given algorithm to problem types.Item Open Access Discrete event simulation and virtual reality use in industry: new opportunities and future trends(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2016-08-18) Turner, Christopher J.; Hutabarat, Windo; Oyekan, John; Tiwari, AshutoshThis paper reviews the area of combined discrete event simulation (DES) and virtual reality (VR) use within industry. While establishing a state of the art for progress in this area, this paper makes the case for VR DES as the vehicle of choice for complex data analysis through interactive simulation models, highlighting both its advantages and current limitations. This paper reviews active research topics such as VR and DES real-time integration, communication protocols, system design considerations, model validation, and applications of VR and DES. While summarizing future research directions for this technology combination, the case is made for smart factory adoption of VR DES as a new platform for scenario testing and decision making. It is put that in order for VR DES to fully meet the visualization requirements of both Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet visions of digital manufacturing, further research is required in the areas of lower latency image processing, DES delivery as a service, gesture recognition for VR DES interaction, and linkage of DES to real-time data streams and Big Data sets.Item Open Access Gesture detection towards real-time ergonomic analysis for intelligent automation assistance(Springer, 2016-07-10) Mgbemena, Chika Edith; Oyekan, John; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Xu, Yuchun; Fletcher, Sarah R.; Hutabarat, Windo; Prabhu, Vinayak AshokManual handling involves transporting of load by hand through lifting or lowering and operators on the manufacturing shop floor are daily faced with constant lifting and lowering operations which leads to Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders. The trend in data collection on the Shop floor for ergonomic evaluation during manual handling activities has revealed a gap in gesture detection as gesture triggered data collection could facilitate more accurate ergonomic data capture and analysis. This paper presents an application developed to detect gestures towards triggering real-time human motion data capture on the shop floor for ergonomic evaluations and risk assessment using the Microsoft Kinect. The machine learning technology known as the discrete indicator—precisely the AdaBoost Trigger indicator was employed to train the gestures. Our results show that the Kinect can be trained to detect gestures towards real-time ergonomic analysis and possibly offering intelligent automation assistance during human posture detrimental tasks.Item Open Access Immersive mixed reality training for complex manufacturing(Frontiers Media, 2017-01-27) Gonzalez-Franco, M.; Pizarro, R.; Cermeron, J.; Li, Katie; Thorn, J.; Hutabarat, Windo; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Bermell, P.In the complex manufacturing sector a considerable amount of resources is focused on training workers and developing new skills. Increasing the effectiveness of those processes and reducing the investment required is an outstanding issue. In this paper, we present an experiment (n=20) that shows how modern metaphors such as collaborative Mixed Reality can be used to transmit procedural knowledge and could eventually replace other forms of face-to-face training. We implemented a Mixed Reality setup with see-through cameras attached to a Head Mounted Display. The setup allowed for real-time collaborative interactions and could simulate conventional forms of training. We tested the system implementing a manufacturing procedure of an aircraft maintenance door. The obtained results indicate that performance levels in the Immersive Mixed Reality training were not significantly different than in the conventional face-to-face training condition. These results and their implications for future training and the use of Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality paradigms in this context are discussed in this paper.Item Open Access Impact of model fidelity in factory layout assessment using immersive discrete event simulation(Operational Research Society, 2016-04-13) Petti, Alessandro; Hutabarat, Windo; Oyekan, John; Turner, Christopher J.; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Prajapat, Neha; Gan, Xiao-PengDiscrete Event Simulation (DES) can help speed up the layout design process. It offers further benefits when combined with Virtual Reality (VR). The latest technology, Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR), immerses users in virtual prototypes of their manufacturing plants to-be, potentially helping decision-making. This work seeks to evaluate the impact of visual fidelity, which refers to the degree to which objects in VR conforms to the real world, using an IVR visualisation of the DES model of an actual shop floor. User studies are performed using scenarios populated with low- and high-fidelity models. Study participant carried out four tasks representative of layout decision-making. Limitations of existing IVR technology was found to cause motion sickness. The results indicate with the particular group of naïve modellers used that there is no significant difference in benefits between low and high fidelity, suggesting that low fidelity VR models may be more cost-effective for this group.Item Open Access Information channel diagrams: an approach for modelling information flows(Springer Science Business Media, 2012-06-19) Durugbo, Christopher; Hutabarat, Windo; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Alcock, Jeffrey R.In this article, the ‘information channel diagram' (ICD) approach is introduced as a diagrammatical tool for modelling information flow during the delivery phase of organisations in which goods are deployed or delivered to customers. An initial review and evaluation of current tools for modelling information flow will be conducted based on the characteristics of information flow during the delivery phases in organisations. Diagrammatic primitives and a prescribed modelling methodology for developing an ICD will be presented, and a case scenario of the delivery phase of an organisation within the health care sector will be applied to demonstrate the use of the ICD. The article concludes by discussing some applications, generalisation potential and limitations of the ICD approacItem Open Access An integrated representation scheme for assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing(Glasgow Caledonian University, 2011-12) Ab Rashid, Mohd Fadzil Faisae; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Hutabarat, WindoIn a typical assembly optimisation, Assembly Sequence Planning and Assembly Line Balancing are performed independently. However, competition has compelled the manufacturer to innovate by integrating the optimisation of both problems. To incorporate ASP and ALB optimisations into a single integrated optimisation, a clear prerequisite is the availability of integrated ASP and ALB representation. Although many assembly representation works has been proposed, none of them fully meet the requirements of integrated optimisation because they were developed independently from various needs. In this paper, an integrated representation scheme for ASP and ALB that incorporate essential optimisation information is developed. The proposed representation scheme is built based on assembly tasks and represented using precedence graph and data matrix. The outcome from presented example showed that the information for ASP and ALB optimisation can be integrated and represented using task based precedence graph and data matrix, without discarding important attributes.Item Open Access Intelligent composite layup by the application of low cost tracking and projection technologies(Elsevier, 2014-12-10) Such, Matthew; Ward, Carwyn; Hutabarat, Windo; Tiwari, AshutoshHand layup is still the dominant forming process for the creation of the widest range of complex geometry and mixed material composite parts. However, this process is still poorly understood and informed, limiting productivity. This paper seeks to address this issue by proposing a novel and low cost system enabling a laminator to be guided in real-time, based on a predetermined instruction set, thus improving the standardisation of produced components. Within this paper the current methodologies are critiqued and future trends are predicted, prior to introducing the required input and outputs, and developing the implemented system. As a demonstrator a U-Shaped component typical of the complex geometry found in many difficult to manufacture composite parts was chosen, and its drapeability assessed by the use of a kinematic drape simulation tool. An experienced laminator's knowledgebase was then used to divide the tool into a finite number of features, with layup conducted by projecting and sequentially highlighting target features while tracking a laminator's hand movements across the ply. The system has been implemented with affordable hardware and demonstrates tangible benefits in comparison to currently employed laser-based systems. It has shown remarkable success to date, with rapid Technology Readiness Level advancement. This is a major stepping stone towards augmenting manual labour, with further benefits including more appropriate automation.Item Open Access Modelling collaboration using complex networks(Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam., 2011-08-01T00:00:00Z) Durugbo, Christopher; Hutabarat, Windo; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Alcock, Jeffrey R.Collaboration means working together to achieve a common goal or to solve a problem, and in modern businesses, it is an important factor for information sharing and quality. This is due to the ability of collaborations to shape the structure and behaviour of organisations through the pooling of expertise and standardising of work patterns. Grounded on complex network theory and collaborative design research, a mathematical model of information flow for analysing collaboration in organisations is proposed in this article. The model defines concepts for characterising organisational structures for collaboration and proposes indicators for assessing organisational behaviour in terms of collaboration within organisations. The article concludes by discussing the applications and limitations of the proposed model.Item Open Access Multi-objective discrete particle swarm optimisation algorithm for integrated assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing(Sage, 2016-10-24) Ab Rashid, Mohd Fadzil Faisae; Hutabarat, Windo; Tiwari, AshutoshIn assembly optimisation, assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing have been extensively studied because both activities are directly linked with assembly efficiency that influences the final assembly costs. Both activities are categorised as NP-hard and usually performed separately. Assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing optimisation presents a good opportunity to be integrated, considering the benefits such as larger search space that leads to better solution quality, reduces error rate in planning and speeds up time-to-market for a product. In order to optimise an integrated assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing, this work proposes a multi-objective discrete particle swarm optimisation algorithm that used discrete procedures to update its position and velocity in finding Pareto optimal solution. A computational experiment with 51 test problems at different difficulty levels was used to test the multi-objective discrete particle swarm optimisation performance compared with the existing algorithms. A statistical test of the algorithm performance indicates that the proposed multi-objective discrete particle swarm optimisation algorithm presents significant improvement in terms of the quality of the solution set towards the Pareto optimal set.Item Open Access A product-service system approach to telehealth application design(SAGE, 2016-06-30) Flores-Vaquero, Paul; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Alcock, Jeffrey R.; Hutabarat, Windo; Turner, Christopher J.A considerable proportion of current point-of-care devices do not offer a wide enough set of capabilities if they are to function in any telehealth system. There is a need for intermediate devices that lie between healthcare devices and service networks. The development of an application is suggested that allows for a smartphone to take the role of an intermediate device. This research seeks to identify the telehealth service requirements for long-term condition management using a product-service system approach. The use of product-service system has proven to be a suitable methodology for the design and development of telehealth smartphone applications.Item Open Access Re-distributed manufacturing to achieve a circular economy: A case study utilizing IDEF0 modeling(Elsevier, 2017-07-11) Moreno, Mariale; Turner, Christopher J.; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Hutabarat, Windo; Charnley, Fiona; Widjaja, Debora; Mondini, LuigiThe minimization of energy, waste, and emissions in operations are the foremost sustainability goals in industry. The shift from a linear product lifecycle to a circular one is required, along with increased energy efficiency and reduced resource use, to achieve these goals. This paper examines how the use of Re-Distributed Manufacturing (RdM) and a Product-Service System (PSS) approach, while leveraging the latest digital manufacturing technologies, enables the shift to this new economic model. A case study illustrates this new approach and relates it to the shoe manufacturing industry. The ShoeLab case study includes an outline of the business model options supporting this new approach to sustainable production highlighting the circularity that may be achieved in employing RdM and the latest digital manufacturing technologies in the form of 3-D printing. The research conducted indicates that using IDEF0 modelling could help to realize the full potential of RdM such as the manufacturing and transport of products involving less material, energy and waste.Item Open Access A review on assembly sequence planning and assembly line balancing optimisation using soft computing approaches(Springer Science Business Media, 2011-12-31T00:00:00Z) Ab Rashid, Mohd Fadzil Faisae; Hutabarat, Windo; Tiwari, AshutoshAssembly optimisation activities occur across development and production stages of manufacturing goods. Assembly Sequence Planning (ASP) and Assembly Line Balancing (ALB) problems are among the assembly optimisation. Both of these activities are classified as NP-hard. Several soft computing approaches using different techniques have been developed to solve ASP and ALB. Although these approaches do not guarantee the optimum solution, they have been successfully applied in many ASP and ALB optimisation works. This paper reported the survey on research in ASP and ALB that use soft computing approaches for the past 10years. To be more specific, only Simple Assembly Line Balancing Problem (SALBP) is considered for ALB. The survey shows that three soft computing algorithms that frequently used to solve ASP and ALB are Genetic Algorithm, Ant Colony Optimisation and Particle Swarm Optimisation. Meanwhile, the research in ASP and ALB is also progressing to the next level by integration of assembly optimisation activities across product development stages.Item Open Access Simulation to enable a data-driven circular economy(MDPI, 2019-06-19) Charnley, Fiona; Tiwari, Divya; Hutabarat, Windo; Moreno, Mariale; Okorie, Okechukwu; Tiwari, AshutoshThis paper presents an investigation on how simulation informed by the latest advances in digital technologies such as the 4th Industrial Revolution (I4.0) and the Internet of Things (IoT) can provide digital intelligence to accelerate the implementation of more circular approaches in UK manufacturing. Through this research, a remanufacturing process was mapped and simulated using discrete event simulation (DES) to depict the decision-making process at the shop-floor level of a remanufacturing facility. To understand the challenge of using data in remanufacturing, a series of interviews were conducted finding that there was a significant variability in the condition of the returned product. To address this gap, the concept of certainty of product quality (CPQ) was developed and tested through a system dynamics (SD) and DES model to better understand the effects of CPQ on products awaiting remanufacture, including inspection, cleaning and disassembly times. The wider application of CPQ could be used to forecast remanufacturing and production processes, resulting in reduced costs by using an automatised process for inspection, thus allowing more detailed distinction between “go” or “no go” for remanufacture. Within the context of a circular economy, CPQ could be replicated to assess interventions in the product lifecycle, and therefore the identification of the optimal CE strategy and the time of intervention for the current life of a product—that is, when to upgrade, refurbish, remanufacture or recycle. The novelty of this research lies in investigating the application of simulation through the lens of a restorative circular economic model focusing on product life extension and its suitability at a particular point in a product’s life cycle.Item Open Access Survey on the use of computational optimisation in UK engineering companies(Elsevier, 2015-01-22) Tiwari, Ashutosh; Hoyos, Paula Noriega; Hutabarat, Windo; Turner, Christopher J.; Ince, Nadir; Gan, Xiao-Peng; Prajapat, NehaThe aim of this work is to capture current practices in the use of computational optimisation in UK engineering companies and identify the current challenges and future needs of the companies. To achieve this aim, a survey was conducted from June 2013 to August 2013 with 17 experts and practitioners from power, aerospace and automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), steel manufacturing sector, small- and medium-sized design, manufacturing and consultancy companies, and optimisation software vendors. By focusing on practitioners in industry, this work complements current surveys in optimisation that have mainly focused on published literature. This survey was carried out using a questionnaire administered through face-to-face interviews lasting around 2 h with each participant. The questionnaire covered 5 main topics: (i) state of optimisation in industry, (ii) optimisation problems, (iii) modelling techniques, (iv) optimisation techniques, and (v) challenges faced and future research areas. This survey identified the following challenges that the participant companies are facing in solving optimisation problems: large number of objectives and variables, availability of computing resources, data management and data mining for optimisation workflow, over-constrained problems, too many algorithms with limited help in selection, and cultural issues including training and mindset. The key areas for future research suggested by the participant companies are as follows: handling large number of variables, objectives and constraints particularly when solution robustness is important, reducing the number of iterations and evaluations, helping the users in algorithm selection and business case for optimisation, sharing data between different disciplines for multi-disciplinary optimisation, and supporting the users in model development and post-processing through design space visualisation and data mining.