JPH06176033A - Operation schedule generating device for product processing facility - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the operation schedule generating device for product processing facilities which can generate a proper operation schedule correspond ing to the stock states by products in buffer facilities arranged before and after the facilities. CONSTITUTION:The operation schedule generating device 1 judges stock states, etc., by products in a warehouse and a silo from 2nd buffer warehousing quantity accumulation curves by products, discharged from charging facilities to the warehouse, which are generated by an arithmetic part 2 and 1st buffer facility warehousing quantity accumulation curves by products, discharged from production facilities to the silo on the upstream side of the charging facilities, which are generated on the basis of the 2nd buffer warehousing quantity accumulation curves. Then the operation schedule of the charging facilities is determined by the inference, process of an inference part 3, which uses the rule of a rule base 4, corresponding to the respective judged stock states, etc., by changing the settings of warehousing periods by the products to the warehouse and silo and the stock quantities.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention, for example, performs a predetermined process on each product from a first buffer facility which stores a plurality of types of products for each product, and delivers the product to a subsequent second buffer facility, for example, product filling. The present invention relates to an operation schedule creation device that creates an operation schedule of product processing equipment such as equipment.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Up to now, an operation schedule creation device for a product processing facility having a buffer facility at the front stage or the rear stage of the facility has been invented and filed by the present inventors and disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-104544. Is mentioned. In the operation schedule creation device of the above disclosure, based on the product storage amount of one buffer facility provided before or after the product processing facility represented by the filling facility or the like, or the preset shipping amount for each product, A draft operation schedule of the product processing facility is created. The operation schedule plan can be expressed as, for example, a Gantt chart in which the product processing time by the product processing facility is assigned to each product. At the same time, each cumulative curve in the schedule target period for each product is created from the storage amount and the output amount of each product in the buffer facility. Each cumulative curve is created based on both the product processing time and the product processing amount on the operation schedule. With respect to the cumulative curves of the storage amount and the output amount of each product created in this way and the operation schedule plan of the product processing facility, the schedule calculation time t
The cumulative value f (t) and the cumulative value g (t) of the product in the buffer equipment in the above are the initial stock of the product in the buffer equipment as V (t ₀ ) (t ₀ : the initial schedule calculation. Time) and the quantity of inventory at the time t is V (t), it is possible to avoid the stock inventory of the products in the buffer equipment if the relationship shown by the following equation is satisfied. V (t) = V (t ₀ ) + f (t) −g (t) ≧ 0 (1) Therefore, the storage amount f (t) or the output amount g (t) determined by the above operation schedule proposal The operation schedule proposal is appropriately modified and determined so that the above equation (1) always satisfies the relationship.

[0003]

As described above, in the conventional operation schedule creating apparatus, the product processing is performed so that the stock amount of each product satisfies the constraint condition (equation (1)) for one buffer facility. The plan was to create a facility operation schedule. By the way, considering the configuration in which the buffer equipments are respectively provided in both the front stage and the rear stage, the product processing equipments should be set so that the relationship between the storage volume of each product in each buffer equipment satisfies the above equation (1). It is necessary to determine the operation schedule of the system by organically linking it with the changes in the storage volume at each buffer facility. For example, taking an example of a filling facility having a product silo in the front stage and a product warehouse in the rear stage, when the product inventory amount in the product warehouse becomes excessive, the product filling amount by the filling facility is decreased or extended. In addition, it is necessary to change or modify the operation schedule so that the operation of the filling equipment is stopped. Then, according to the operation schedule corrected in this way, the delivery amount of each product delivered from the product silo to the filling facility must be reduced accordingly. As described above, for example, the planner tries to create an operation schedule of the product processing equipment so that the stock amount of each product in both the buffer equipment before and after the equipment that is mutually affected is kept within an appropriate range. Then, a great deal of labor and time are required to correct the operation schedule proposal. In particular,
When the types of products to be handled and the types of processing by the product processing equipment are extremely large, or when the schedule target period is extremely long, it is practically impossible to manually determine an appropriate operation schedule. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an operation schedule creation device for a product processing equipment capable of creating an appropriate operation schedule corresponding to the situation of each product in both the buffer equipment provided before and after the equipment. .

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the main means adopted by the present invention is the gist of the present invention. Each product from the first buffer facility for storing a plurality of types of products In the operation schedule creating device for creating the operation schedule of the product processing equipment which performs the predetermined processing on the subsequent second buffer equipment, the product is delivered from the product processing equipment within the schedule period to the second buffer equipment. The second buffer storage amount cumulative curve for each product is stored in the second buffer facility within a range that exceeds the preset planned shipping amount cumulative curve for each product that is stored by the second buffer facility. The second buffer warehousing amount cumulative curve creating means created by setting the warehousing amount, and warehousing to the first buffer equipment within the schedule target period. To set the warehousing time and warehousing amount for each product to the first buffer equipment within a range that exceeds the curve based on the created second buffer warehousing amount cumulative curve for each product. From the first buffer warehousing amount cumulative curve creating means created by the above, the second buffer warehousing amount cumulative curve and the first buffer warehousing amount cumulative curve created above, the second buffer equipment and the schedule target of the first buffer equipment Inventory status judging means for judging at least the stock status of each product within the period;
Changing the storage time and storage amount of each product into the second buffer facility and / or the first buffer facility according to at least the stock status of each product of the determined second buffer facility and first buffer facility And a schedule changing unit that changes the operation schedule of the product processing facility. It is also possible to use, for example, an expert system that applies a rule describing the processing contents of the product processing equipment to the inference processing as the schedule changing means of the main means. In addition, at least the stock status of each product in the schedule target period of the second buffer equipment and the first buffer equipment calculated by the stock status determination means in the main means has a priority for appropriately creating an operation schedule. It is also possible to attach.

[0005]

In the operation schedule creating apparatus for the product processing facility according to the present invention, first, the second buffer storage amount cumulative curve for each product delivered from the product processing facility to the second buffer facility within the schedule target period It is created, for example, by setting an operation schedule plan of the product processing equipment within a range in which the second buffer equipment does not run out of stock due to each delivery. Similarly, the first buffer storage amount cumulative curve for each product stored in the first buffer facility is within a range that does not cause stock-out in the first buffer facility based on the created second buffer storage amount cumulative curve. , It is created by setting the operation schedule plan of the product processing equipment. Then, for each product of the second buffer facility and the first buffer facility, the stock status such as the inventory amount and the warehousing amount is determined from the created second buffer warehousing amount cumulative curve and the first buffer warehousing amount cumulative curve. To be done. In this way, the operation schedule of the product processing facility is determined by the second inventory status determining means.
By changing the storage time and storage volume of each product in the second buffer facility and / or the first buffer facility according to at least the stock status of each product of the buffer facility and the first buffer facility It will be changed appropriately.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings for the understanding of the present invention. The following embodiments are examples of embodying the present invention and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an operation schedule creation device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a filling facility to which the operation schedule creation device is applied and its peripheral equipment, Fig. 3 is a graph showing the storage and storage amount accumulation curves in the warehouse, Fig. 4 is a graph showing the storage and storage amount accumulation curves in the silo, and Fig. 5 is for improving the inventory status in the silo. 6 is an explanatory view showing the rule contents for improving the stock status in the warehouse, etc., FIG. 7 shows the rule contents for determining the setting order of the filling jobs, and FIG. FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram when the urgency rank at that time is higher, FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram when the urgency rank at that time is lower, and FIG. 8 is an operation schedule of the filling facility. 9 is a flowchart showing the basic procedure of the process for correcting / changing the value, FIG. 9 shows the detailed processing procedure of each step of FIG. 8, (a) is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of step S100, and (b) is the processing of step S200. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of step S300, FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the detailed procedure of step S201 (inference start preprocessing unit) of FIG. 9B, and FIG. The flowchart which shows the detailed process sequence of step S202 (planning process preprocessing part) of (b), FIG. 12 is step S2 of FIG. 9 (b).
03 (latest day detailed planning section) showing a detailed processing procedure, and FIG. 13 shows step S20 in FIG. 9B.
4 (normal plan planning section) is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure, and FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of step S205 (planning processing post-processing section) of FIG. 9B.

As shown in FIG. 1, the operation schedule creating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a central processing unit (CPU:
(Not shown) is the center, and silos 11 are installed before and after the equipment.
A computing unit 2 for computing / creating an operation schedule of a filling facility 10 (an example of a product processing facility: see FIG. 2) in which a warehouse 12 (an example of a second buffer facility) is provided (an example of a first buffer facility). , Schedule period, estimated shipping amount of each product shipped from the filling facility 10 or warehouse 12, other facility data of the filling facility 10, silo 11, warehouse 12 or other, initial inventory amount of each product in silo 11 or warehouse 12 An input section 6 for setting and inputting the above in advance prior to the creation of the operation schedule, the operation schedule calculated and created by the operation section 2, each accumulation curve (abbreviated as ACC) for the silo 11 and the warehouse 12; Output unit 7 for printing / displaying and outputting (described later), various programs, input data input from input unit 6 and operation unit 2 In the storage unit 5 for storing the calculated data and the like, the inventory amount of each product in the silo 11 and the warehouse 12, the manufacturing status of the product in the production facility 13, the schedule target period of the product to be stored in the silo 11 or the warehouse 12. Change the setting of the storage time and the storage amount of each product in the silo 11 and the warehouse 12 according to the content of the condition part, such as the type of product, the packing situation, etc. (corresponding to "at least the stock condition" in general). By doing so, a rule base 4 (an example of rule storing means) that stores a rule having a schedule change action for changing the operation schedule of the filling facility 10 as a conclusion part, and calculation by the calculation part 2 at every schedule calculation time t・ A rule that at least the determined stock status is suitable is extracted from the rule base 4 by inference processing, Reschedule the action described in the conclusion part of a rule issued has been an inference unit 3 for outputting the arithmetic unit 2.
The operation unit 2 of the operation schedule creation device 1 is
It is communicably connected to an external host computer 8. As a result, data such as the safety stock amount of the silo 11 and the warehouse 12, the filling capacity of the filling equipment 10, and the command to allocate the product type to each silo 11 are directly input from the host computer 8 to the computing unit 2 or vice versa. The operation schedule finally determined by the operation schedule creation device 1 is transmitted to the host computer 8.

As shown in FIG. 2, a filling facility 10 to which the above-mentioned operation schedule creating apparatus 1 is applied includes, for example, a lorry filling machine 10 _d for directly filling a lorry for directly shipping a product of each product type, and a flexible container for the product. (Hereinafter F
2 FC filling machines for filling each type into C)
0 and _a, 10 _b, the product paperback: has and a PB filling machine 10 _c that bagging the (bag hereinafter abbreviated as PB). Incidentally, it is intended to fill the product into FC filling machine 10 _b for refilling the product in FC Raleigh or PB if the FC filling machine 10 _b need. On the upstream side of the filling facility 10, a plurality of silos 11 for storing the products from the production facility 13 for manufacturing a plurality of types of products for each product type are arranged in parallel.
On the other hand, the FC filling machine 10 is provided downstream of the filling equipment 10.
A warehouse 12 is provided for storing products from _a or PB filling machine 10 _{c according} to product type and packing style (in this case, packing style is FC or PB). Note that the product from the lorry filling machine 10 _d (lorry as a packaging) is directly shipped by the lorry without passing through the warehouse 12. It should be noted that in the silo 11, almost all types of products may remain stored in one of the silos 11 until the time of filling the product. However, once the special type of product is stored in the silo 11, the entire amount of the filling facility 1 is promptly prepared in preparation for the next receipt from the production facility 13.
It has a constraint that it is filled with 0, which requires its silo 11 to be emptied. On the other hand, the manufacturing of the product by the production facility 13 is performed 24 hours a day. On the other hand, as a general rule, the operation of the filling facility 10 and the shipping work are performed only during the daytime, not during the nighttime on weekdays and on weekends and holidays. The total number of workers involved in the operation of the filling equipment 10 is fixed. These total workers are assigned as appropriate according to the operation status of each filling machine 10 _a to 10 _d of the filling facility 10. However, each filling machine has a minimum number of workers.

The operation schedule creating apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the filling equipment 10 to which the same is applied, and its peripheral equipments 11 to 11
13 is configured as described above. Therefore, the operation of creating the operation schedule of the filling facility 10 by the operation schedule creating apparatus 1 will be described below. First,
An accumulation curve for each product type stored in the silo 11 from the production facility 13 (an example of a first buffer storage amount cumulative curve; hereinafter abbreviated as first buffer ACC) and products delivered from the filling facility 10 to the warehouse 12. A procedure for creating an accumulation curve (an example of a second buffer warehousing amount cumulative curve; hereinafter abbreviated as a second buffer ACC) for each product type and packing style will be described below. ACC model of products by product type / packing type in warehouse 12 For example, if the above product is type A / packaging type X (= Y), the change in the inventory quantity of products of type / packaging type Y in warehouse 12 is expressed by the following equation. It is described in the ACC model. V _WX (t) = V _WX (t ₀ ) + f _WX (t) −g _WX (t) ・ ・ ・ (2) V _WX min ≦ V _WX (t) ≦ V _WX max ・ ・ ・ (3) where , V _WX (t): Warehouse inventory amount of “Y” V _WX (t ₀ ): Warehouse initial inventory amount of “Y” f _WX (t): Cumulative receipt amount (filling amount) of “Y” g _WX ( t): Cumulative amount of shipment (shipment amount) of “Y” Cumulative amount of receipt _fWX (t) in the above formula (2) is the type / packaging Y
Corresponding to the filling amount of the filling facility 10 for the product. Therefore, the cumulative value f _WX (t) of the warehousing amount can be expressed by the following formula as the sum of the filling amounts of the products of the above-mentioned product type / packing style Y from the schedule start time t ₀ to the schedule calculation time t.

[Equation 1] However, m = min (i: iεI) -1 (5) Here, i represents the order of work, t _XSi is the i-th work start time, and I is t <t _XSi. Is a set of i satisfying When t _XSm ≤t ≤t _XEm (during filling work), t _X ^* = t ... (6) When t> t _XEm (after filling work), t _X ^* = t _XEm ... (7) Is. Here, ν represents the filling speed, and the subscripts S and E
Indicates the start date and time and the end date and time of the filling work.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the second buffer ACC for each product type / packing style Y delivered from the filling facility 10 to the warehouse 12 within the schedule target period is a preset delivery planned amount g _WX. Within the range that exceeds the cumulative curve of (t) (that is, within the range that does not cause product out-of-stock in the warehouse 12), the time when the product is charged into the warehouse 12 (an example of the time when the product is stored) and the amount of the product (the amount of the product received) One example) is uniquely created by being set by the calculation unit 2 on the Gantt chart. That is, the calculation unit 2 is an example of the second buffer storage amount cumulative curve creating means according to the present invention. It should be noted that the upper limit value V _WX max of the stock amount in the warehouse 12 is not set individually for each product type and packing style, but is set for the total stock quantity of products for all product types and packing styles. Represented by.

[Equation 2] Furthermore, the upper limit value V of the stock quantity of products for all types and packing styles Y
_WX max changes depending on the combination of product type and packing style, and can be increased by renting an external warehouse, for example. Therefore, the upper limit value V _WX max of the stock quantity is not treated here as a constraint condition. That is, the equation (3) is transformed as follows. V _WX min ≤ V _WX (t) (3 _a ) And, if there is no further storage of the product from the filling facility 10, it falls below the safe stock amount V _WX min of the product in the warehouse 12 from at least that time. Also, the time LST at which the filling work must be performed before the product is put into the warehouse is the time t ′ at which the following formula is established when f _WX (t) = 0 in the formula (2). . V _WX (t ') = V _WX (t ₀ ) -g _WX (t') = V _WX min (9) Therefore, before the time LST, for the product of the product type / packaging Y Have to be filled. Accumulation curve model in silo 11 Here, the change in the stock quantity in silo 11 of type A is described by the ACC model of the following equation. _{V HA (t) = V HA} (t 0) + f HA (t) -g HA (t) -R A (t) ··· (10) V HA min ≦ V HA (t) ≦ V HA max ··・ (11) Where, V _HA (t): silo inventory of “A” V _HA (t ₀ ): initial silo inventory of “A” f _HA (t): storage amount of “A” (production equipment Production amount) Cumulative value g _HA (t): Cumulative amount of shipping (filling amount) excluding “A” truck shipments _RA (t): Cumulative value of “A” truck transports

Note that, in the equation (10), the cumulative value of the output amount from the silo 11 is, as shown in FIG. 4, the cumulative value g _HA (t) of the product filling amount for the warehouse 12 and the cumulative value R of the truck shipment.
It is the sum of _A (t). That is, the above-mentioned accumulated amount g _HA (t)
Is equivalent to the total accumulated amount of the products in all packaging for the product type A and can be expressed by the following equation.

[Equation 3] However, m, t _A ^* is calculated by equations (5) to (7) for each package. On the other hand, the cumulative value f _HA (t) of the amount of goods stored in the silo 11 is calculated by the following equation as the sum of the production amounts of the type A in the production facility 13 that manufactures a plurality of types.

[Equation 4] However, n = min (i: iεI) -1 (14) where t _DSi is the start time of the i-th work and I is the set of i satisfying t <t _DSi. . When t _DSn ≤ t ≤ t _DEn (during production), t _D ^* = t ... (15) When t> t _DEn (after production), t _D ^* = t _DEn ... (16) Here, q represents the production speed of the product in the production facility 13, and the subscripts S and E represent the production start date and time and the end date and time of production of a lot of the product in the production facility 13. However, the production speed q in the production facility 13 is constant here. Therefore, for each product type, under the condition that the cumulative value of lorry shipment _RA (t) is known, (1
0), (11), (13) within the range (1
_{Obtaining the} cumulative value g _HA (t) of the filling amount by the formula 2) is nothing but planning a filling schedule of products of all types in a certain type for the warehouse 12. However, at this time, the expressions (2) and ( _3a ) regarding the warehouse 12 must be satisfied at the same time. That is, from the equation (12), the cumulative value g _HA (t) of the filling amount can be expressed as the following equation.

[Equation 5] Here, f _WAXj (t) indicates the cumulative value of the filling amount for the product of the type “A” in the packing form “X _j ”. On the other hand, this silo 11
The time LST obtained from the ACC model in Eq. (6) is the time t ″ at which the following expression holds when g _HA (t) = 0 in the expression (10). V _HA (t ″) = V _HA (t ₀ ). _{+ f HA (t ") -R} a (t") = V HA max ··· (18) It should be noted, shows the ACC product of the second buffer ACC is packing X related varieties a shown in FIG. 3 However, the ACC represented by the accumulated filling amount g _HA (t) shown in FIG. 4 is obtained by summing the accumulated filling amounts of all the packing types except the lorry for the common variety A. Therefore, in the case of the above-mentioned cumulative amount of lory shipment _RA (t) = 0, the ACC formed by the cumulative value of fill amount g _HA (t) naturally corresponds to the ACC of the cumulative amount of delivery from the silo 11.

[0012] In this way, the silo 11 from the production facility 13
The first buffer ACC for each product type stored in the product is stored in the second buffer ACC (g _HA
(T)) and the tanky shipment cumulative curve are added to the silo 11 within a range that exceeds a cumulative curve (that is, a curve based on the second buffer ACC) that is the sum of the curves and that does not exceed the silo capacity upper limit V _HA max. It is created by the calculation unit 2 by setting a manufacturing time (an example of a warehousing time) and a manufacturing amount (an example of a warehousing amount) in the production facility 13 for a product to be manufactured. That is, the calculation unit 2 is an example of the first buffer storage amount cumulative curve creating means according to the present invention. However, in the above model, in order to facilitate understanding, one type of product is stored in one silo. That is, it is assumed that there is one silo having a total capacity of the storage capacities of the silos 11 for the sake of convenience of the plurality of silos 11 capable of storing one type of product. Then, the arithmetic unit 2 uses the second buffer ACC and the first buffer ACC created as described above to perform the schedule target period of the product in the warehouse 12 and the silo 11 for each product type or product type / packing style. In-house inventory status and product manufacturing status in the production facility 13 are determined. For example, if the inventory of products in the warehouse 12 or silo 11 is not too large over the entire period, or if there is a moment when the inventory becomes large, then (t)
It is determined whether or not the stock quantities V _WX (t) and V _HA (t) in each of the stock quantities are below the respective safety stock quantities V _WX min and V _HA min. That is, the arithmetic unit 2 is an example of the inventory status judging means according to the present invention.

In the operation schedule creating apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the rules having the contents shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are set in advance via the input unit 6 and stored in the rule base 4. For example, the rules shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are rules for improving the stock status of products in the silo 11 and the warehouse 12. In the condition part of these rules, as a result of judging the operation schedule of the filling equipment 10 created as described above, the inventory status of the product in the silo 11 or the warehouse 12 and the production equipment on the next day or the day after the schedule correction target day. 13 manufacturing statuses (hereinafter referred to as "urgent status") and the like are described. The urgency status is assigned an urgency rank (an example of priority; an integer of 0 to 9) according to the content of the urgency status. This urgency level rank is for preferentially setting the storage time of the product in the warehouse 12 or silo 11 for each product type / packaging type or product type in accordance with the urgent level situation. The urgency rank is the manufacturing process of the above-mentioned production equipment 13,
It is preset based on the type of product being manufactured in the final process of the production facility 13, and the respective times LST calculated from the first buffer ACC or the second buffer ACC. In the conclusion section of the rule, the operation schedule of the filling facility 10 is modified / changed so that the stock quantity of the product in the silo 11 or the warehouse 12 is kept within an appropriate range according to the urgency rank of the condition section. Action (an example of a schedule change action) is described. And
In the condition part of each rule, the target rank of the urgency rank that will improve the urgency status of the silo 11 or warehouse 12 at that time by the operation schedule modified / changed by executing the action of the conclusion part Is also set. Then, as a result of the operation schedule of the filling facility 10 being corrected / changed by executing the action of the conclusion part of a certain rule, the next stage when the urgency rank of the urgency situation judged at that time does not reach the target rank The action of is also set secondary. In the condition part of the rule of FIG. 6, “there is a large amount of planned residue” means the relationship of “standard packed amount × possible days <plan remaining” for the standard packed amount preset for each product type / packing style. The term "plan balance is appropriate" means the relationship "standard filling amount x number of days that can be filled> plan balance". The "next day" is the day after the day when the filling work is not performed, such as Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and the day when the next filling work is possible. The “present day” is the day until the next day described above, and may be multiple days. The "standard filling amount" means a standard filling work amount that is preset based on the working time specified for each product type and packing style. And "forced filling instruction" means
For example, when repairing the silo 11 or when a low-quality product occurs in the production facility 13, it is necessary to forcibly instruct the execution of the filling operation regardless of the stock status of the silo 11. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in both the silo 11 and the warehouse 12, the urgency status of each is judged from the operation schedule plan of the filling facility 10 set at that time, and the urgency rank of each is determined accordingly. However, when modifying or changing the above operation schedule proposal, it is necessary to select the action of one of the rules.

Therefore, FIG. 7 shows a rule for selecting a filling job corresponding to each urgency rank obtained for the silo 11 side or the warehouse 12 side. In this case,
(A) shows the case where each urgency rank is high (for example, 5 or higher), and (b) shows the case where any urgency rank is low (for example, 4 or lower). Here, the "filling job" means one filling work unit that is continuously performed.
Further, when the filling job is selected and assigned on the Gantt chart in accordance with the urgency rank of the rules shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the constraint conditions exemplified below must be taken into consideration. Equipment restrictions ・ Restrictions on equipment, such as the limited number of filling machines that can be used for each product type. Inventory restrictions ・ Safety stock quantity of products for each product type and packing style is set in the warehouse 12, and the filling equipment 1 is below this safe stock quantity.
Do not create a zero operating schedule proposal. -Each silo 11 has an upper limit of product inventory for each product type. -Some silos 11 have a safety stock amount set. In this case, the above operation schedule plan must be created so that the product inventory amount for each product type is between the above safety inventory amount and the stock upper limit. I have to. (Satisfying this constraint condition corresponds to matching with the production plan of the product in the production facility 13.) Worker constraint-There is an upper limit to the total number of workers who perform filling work. The number of workers involved in the filling work for each filling machine is specified in advance,
It is preferable to carry out with the number of members as much as possible. Work time restriction ・ As a general rule, filling work is performed only during the daytime on weekdays. However, in order to fulfill the filling job corresponding to the higher urgency rank, overtime work and holiday work are not absent. Restriction on special product-The order of switching the filling jobs for products of special product follows the manufacturing order of the product in the production facility 13.・ Products of special varieties once stored in a silo 11
The entire amount must be dispensed from this silo 11 in one filling job. Delivery time constraint ・ In this case, since the production facility 13 is basically a make-to-stock production process corresponding to the planned shipment amount, if the respective inventory amount constraints in the warehouse 12 and silo 11 are satisfied, the product type and packing style The expected delivery time of each product is also adhered to.

Therefore, the procedure for creating the operation schedule of the filling facility 10 by the inference processing using the above-mentioned rules in the operation schedule creating apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 8, the basic procedure of the process of creating the operation schedule is roughly divided into three steps (S100 to S300). For example, in step S100, the input data input to the inference unit 3 is set in the calculation unit 2. And step S20
At 0, the inference unit 3 executes inference processing based on the input data to create an operation schedule plan of the filling equipment 10. Furthermore, in step S300, the schedule proposal created by the inference unit 3 is evaluated, and whether the schedule proposal is adopted or not is determined based on the above-mentioned constraint conditions. Then, an operation schedule proposal that satisfies all the above constraint conditions is adopted and transferred to the host computer 8. First, in step S100, as shown in FIG. 9A, the production schedule planning data of the production facility 13, the silo 11
Also, the initial inventory data of products in each type / type / packing in the warehouse 12 and the shipping schedule data (shipping amount and shipping time) from the warehouse 12 and lorry are received from the host computer 8 (host computer) ( S101). Each of the received data is set and stored in the data table of the memory 5 (S102 to S104,). The basic data such as the facility capacity of each facility and the safety stock amount of the silo 11 and the warehouse 12 are set in advance in the data table of the memory 5, and only when the contents of each change, the input unit 6 It is rewritten and updated from outside via. Next, in step S200, an operating schedule plan is created by inference processing using the rule with the urgency rank. As shown in FIG. 9B, the inference processing by the inference unit 3 is performed by the inference start preprocessing unit (S2
01) and a filling plan planning processing unit that executes inference processing.

First, in the inference start preprocessing unit in step S201, a knowledge base having contents that should be originally prepared is created prior to execution of the inference process. Here, the contents of the knowledge base that should be originally prepared are knowledge of resource relationships (focused resource, occupied resource, consumed resource), where the focused resource is the equipment that is the target of the operation schedule (specifically, the filling facility). 10 each filling machine), the occupied resources are resources (here, workers etc.) that are occupied while a certain filling operation is being performed, and the consumption resources are by performing the filling operation. Resources that decrease or increase (here, the amount of inventory in silo 11 and warehouse 12). Knowledge of standard relations (manufacturing standard of product in production facility 13, switching standard and stopping standard of filling machine of filling facility 10) Process information of production facility 13 and the like. These are registered in advance in the data table of the memory 5 as a knowledge base as described above, but as shown in FIG. 10, only when the setting needs to be changed (S1, YES), a new one is added in step S100. The data is read, and the contents of the knowledge base are rewritten and updated or added in step S201 (S2).
Next, the planning process preprocessing unit (S2 of the filling plan planning processing unit
In 02), as shown in FIG. 11, the working day calendar for the filling facility 10 is set (S3). Then, for each silo 11, the stock upper limit amount of the silo 11 is set based on the product type stored and the bulk specific gravity of the product (S4). Furthermore, a production schedule plan for the final process of the production facility 13 is set (S5). Here, for example, the initial stock amount of the product for each product type of the silo 11 is also set, so that the initial first buffer ACC can be created from the production schedule plan and the initial stock amount. Next, the product inventory amount in the warehouse 12 is set (S6). At the same time, the initial inventory quantity and shipping schedule of products by product type and packing style are set, and based on these, the initial second buffer A
CC is created. Then, based on the inventory plan and sales plan (shipping plan) for the warehouse 12 in which the production amount of the product for each product type and packing style (this production amount is hereinafter referred to as an order) required within the schedule target period is set in advance. Is determined (S7). Further, at this time point, one filling job (temporary filling job) is provisionally set for one order of the determined orders (S8).

In the filling plan planning processing section (see FIG. 9B), the processing of the latest detailed planning section (S203) for the first N days of the schedule period and (N + 1) days Inference processing for drafting an operation schedule is performed by the processing of the normal planning unit (S204) for the eyes and beyond. The processing by these steps is basically executed using the same method, but the normal planning unit (S204) is devised so that the constraint conditions are relaxed and the calculation time is reduced. First, as shown in FIG. 12, first in the latest day detailed plan making unit (S203), the filling work load in the inference period up to the Nth day is first obtained by rough estimation, and the basic total overtime hours according to this filling work load. Is determined (S9).
Then, the first day (= 1) is set as the schedule target day M (planning day) (S10, S11). in this case,
Since this is the first calculation and the backtrack is not executed (S12, NO), the processing procedure moves to step S13. At this point, the computing unit 2 uses the created second buffer ACC and first buffer ACC to determine the stock status of products of each type / packing type / type within the inference period of the warehouse 12 and silo 11. It judges and outputs to the inference unit 3.
Therefore, the inference unit 3 extracts from the rule base 4 a rule having a urgency level situation (see FIG. 6) to which the stock situation and the like on the side of the warehouse 12 conforms at that time from the rule base 4 by inference processing, and the emergency associated with this rule is extracted. Degree rank is set (S1
3). With respect to the silo 11, the urgency rank is similarly set using the rule of FIG. 5 (S14). Then, according to the respective urgency ranks of the warehouse side and the silo side set in this way, the urgent filling job is selected with the highest priority that the urgent filling work should be performed at this point according to the rule of FIG. (S15). Then, the processing amount of the selected filling job is determined based on the action (FIGS. 5 and 6) of the extracted rule with reference to the filling capacity of the available filling machine, the basic overtime hours, and the like ( S1
6), this filling job is allocated on the Gantt chart based on the action of the above rule (S17). When this allocation plan (operating schedule plan) cannot be issued (S1
8, No), the process proceeds to step S19, but other than that, usable equipments, workers, silos 11, and warehouses 1
The information about the inventory quantity of 2 is set (S21), and the allocation plan of the Gantt chart is updated based on these (S22). Then, when the filling job of the product of the higher rank (5 or more) of the urgency level is not completed (S2
3, YES) or when there is a margin in the worker load (S24,
In the case of (YES), the processes of steps S15 to S22 described above are repeatedly executed.

The fact that the above allocation plan could not be created when the process proceeds from step S18 to step S19,
For example, it is output to a CRT or the like of the output unit 7 and consulted by the operator. Whether the operator cancels the allocation plan on the planning date and executes backtracking (re-planning) (S19,
YES), or whether to give up and proceed to the next day (NO) is set and input from the input unit 6. Thus, for example, when backtracking is performed, the process of step 20 is performed after step S12 (YES) on the same planning date (M = 1). For example, the allocation plan of the filling job is changed, or the priority of the filling machine used for the filling job is changed. This corrects the allocation plan in step S17. In this way, the above step S1
The processes of 1 to S25 are repeatedly executed every day until the planning date becomes N days (S26). That is, the inference unit 3, the rule base 4, and the calculation unit 2 are an example of the schedule changing unit according to the present invention. Then, the remaining filling jobs for which the filling process could not be completed by the Nth day for each order of the product of each product type / packing type / product type are processed by the next normal planning unit (S204) (S27). ).
The processing of the normal planning unit (S204) shown in FIG.
It is executed for the period from the (N + 1) th day to the last day of the schedule target period. The process of the normal planning unit is a processing procedure that omits steps S12, S19 and S20 in the process of the detailed planning unit of the nearest day, that is, a backtrack for canceling the operation schedule plan that has already been planned and re-planning. Processing procedure (S
28-S42). As a result, the calculation time can be extremely shortened. The reason for dividing into two planning parts as described above as the process for creating the operation schedule is that the operation schedule for the most recent day until the Nth day is actually used as a work instruction sheet, etc. It is a plan to be carried out, but after the (N + 1) th day, the purpose is to observe the consistency with the manufacturing plan in the production facility 13 and to estimate the approximate amount of the filling work load. Therefore, the operation schedule created by the normal planning section is re-planned as the operation schedule of the latest day detailed planning section before the actual (N + 1) day elapses.

Then, in the post-planning processing section (S205, FIG. 9 (b)), as shown in FIG. 14, the detailed plan planning section (S203) and the normal plan planning section (S20) for the latest day.
The operation schedule of the filling facility 10 created in 4) is displayed on the output unit 7 as a Gantt chart (S).
43). Note that it is also possible to display the stock amount trend information for each product type / product type / packing type in the silo 11 and the warehouse 12, the worker load, and the like. Then, regarding the operation schedule created as described above, overtime hours, silos 11
Also, it is evaluated based on the stock amount in the warehouse 12, the number of unprocessed (unallocated) filling jobs, and the like (S44). Therefore, the operator determines the final operation schedule by interactively adding / modifying the filling job based on the evaluation result in step S44 through the input unit 6 (S45). At this time, PB and F filled with product
It is also possible to incorporate a special filling job such as C refilling into the operation schedule. The operation schedule thus adopted by the operator is output as a work instruction sheet from the output unit 7 such as a printer (S46). Regarding the operation schedule created in this way, in step S301 of FIG. 9C,
The planner makes the final decision on whether to accept or reject. And
The non-adopted operation schedule is discarded (S302), and only the adopted operation schedule is transferred to the host computer 8 (S303) to share information with the production schedule plan, sales and shipping plan, etc. regarding the production facility 13. To be
According to the operation schedule creation apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the operation schedule of the filling facility 10 can be appropriately and automatically created, and can be applied to products of many kinds and many loads, or long-term schedule targets. An appropriate operation schedule can be created even during a period. For example, the conventional operation schedule for the filling facility 10 was a plan for 2 to 3 days ahead, but according to the apparatus of this embodiment, it is 2 to 3 days.
The operation schedule up to a month ahead can be created with relatively high accuracy. Also, silo 1 as a buffer facility
It is possible to keep the product inventory quantity in 1 or the warehouse 12 within the appropriate range and maintain the minimum inventory quantity.

[0020]

The present invention is constructed as described above. As a result, it is possible to create an appropriate operation schedule of the product processing equipment corresponding to the stock status of each product in both the buffer equipment provided before and after the equipment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an operation schedule creation device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a filling facility to which the operation schedule creation device is applied and peripheral facilities therefor.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing each accumulation curve of a storage amount and a storage amount in a warehouse.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing each accumulation curve of a storage amount and a storage amount in a silo.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of rules for improving the stock status and the like in a silo.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the content of rules for improving the stock status and the like in a warehouse.

FIG. 7 shows the content of rules for determining the setting order of filling jobs, (a) is an explanatory diagram when the urgency rank at that time is higher, and (b) is a lower urgency rank at that time. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a basic procedure of a process for correcting / changing the operation schedule of the filling facility.

9 shows a detailed processing procedure of each step in FIG.
(A) is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of step S100, (b) is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of step S200, and (c) is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of step S300.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of step S201 (inference start preprocessing unit) of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of step S202 (planning processing preprocessing unit) of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the detailed processing procedure of step S203 (latest day detailed plan planning unit) in FIG. 9B.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of step S204 (normal plan planning unit) of FIG. 9B.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a detailed processing procedure of step S205 (planning processing post-processing unit) of FIG. 9B.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Operation schedule creation device 2 ... Calculation part 3 ... Inference part 4 ... Rule base 10 ... Filling facility (product processing facility) 11 ... Silo (first buffer facility) 12 ... Warehouse (second buffer facility)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. The second buffer after the predetermined processing is performed on each product from the first buffer facility that stores a plurality of types of products for each product.
In the operation schedule creating device for creating the operation schedule of the product processing equipment to be delivered to the buffer equipment, the second buffer storage amount cumulative curve for each product delivered from the product processing equipment to the second buffer equipment within the schedule period is displayed. , The second buffer facility is created by setting the warehousing time and warehousing amount of each product in the second buffer facility within a range exceeding a preset planned warehousing amount cumulative curve for each product 2 buffer storage amount cumulative curve creation means, and the above-mentioned first within the above-mentioned schedule target period
In the range exceeding the curve based on the created second buffer storage amount cumulative curve for each product to be stored in the buffer facility, the storage timing of each product into the first buffer facility and From the second buffer storage amount cumulative curve creation means and the first buffer storage amount cumulative curve created by setting the storage amount, the second buffer equipment and the first buffer storage amount cumulative curve
Stock status determination means for determining at least the stock status of each product of the buffer equipment within the schedule target period, and the second status according to at least the stock status of each product of the second buffer equipment and the first buffer equipment that has been judged. A product comprising schedule changing means for changing the operation schedule of the product processing facility by changing the storage time and storage amount of each product to the buffer facility and / or the first buffer facility. An operation schedule creation device for processing equipment. 2. The schedule changing means comprises the second
At least the stock status of each product of the buffer equipment and the first buffer equipment is used as a condition section, and the storage of each product into the second buffer equipment and / or the first buffer equipment is performed according to at least the stock status of each product of the condition section. Rule storage means for storing a rule whose conclusion is a schedule change action for changing the operation schedule of the product processing facility by changing the setting of the timing and the amount of goods received, and for each product judged by the stock status judging means. 2. The operation of the product processing facility according to claim 1, further comprising: an inference means for extracting at least a rule whose inventory status is suitable from the rule storage means by inference processing and executing a schedule change action of the extracted rule. Schedule creation device. 3. The at least inventory status of each of the products of the second buffer equipment and the first buffer equipment determined by the inventory status determination means within the schedule target period, at least corresponding to the inventory status. The operation schedule creation of the product processing equipment according to claim 1 or 2, to which priority is given to preferentially set a storage time for each product into the two-buffer equipment and / or the first-buffer equipment. apparatus. 4. The product processing facility is a filling facility which fills each product from the first buffer facility into a plurality of types of packaging containers for each packaging container and dispenses the products to the second buffer facility. The operation schedule creation device for the product processing facility according to any one of 1 to 3.