Distributed manufacturing support systems: the integration of distributed group support systems with manufacturing support systems

Current Manufacturing Support Systems (MSS), such as Computer-aided Manufacturing (CAM) Systems, Computer-aided Design (CAD) Systems, Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) Systems, Material Resource Planning (MRP) Systems, and Manufacturing Accounting Control (MAC) Systems, are mostly independent systems that are operated in limited decision spaces, provide mainly formal and quantitative information, and thus pursue a goal of local optimization. To assist modern manufacturing in meeting the needs for integration, communication, collaboration, and decision making, we introduce the concept of integrating MSS with Distributed Group Support System (DGSS) into a Distributed Manufacturing Support System (DMSS). A rigorous system design approach is taken to model the manufacturing information requirements from a global perspective and pattern decision making processes within the structural (organizational design) and infrastructural (information system design) elements of manufacturing. The result is a conceptual DMSS design that provides an intelligent interface, accommodates incremental manufacturing integration, offers controllable message exchange facilities, and allows configurable communication networks.