Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12

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Journal of Manufacturing Systems

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmansys

Technical Paper

Industry 4.0: Development of a multi-agent system for dynamic value stream T

mapping in SMEs
⁎
Zhuoyu Huanga, , Jiwon Kima, Alireza Sadrib, Steve Doweyb,c, Matthew S. Darguscha,c
a
School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia
b
School of Manufacturing, Materials and Mechatronics, RMIT, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
c
Defence Materials Technology Centre, VIC 3122, Australia

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: As the next wave of productivity, Industry 4.0 aims to enhance the competitiveness and efficiency of manu-
Industry 4.0 facturers by bridging the gap between industrial manufacturing and information technology. Through digita-
Multi-agent system lisation, it provides the advantage of enabling the real-time/near-real-time monitoring of manufacturing. This
Dynamic value stream mapping digital information allows monitoring tools such as Value Stream Mapping (VSM) to help the decision makers
Node-RED
efficiently capture the non-value-adding processes on the factory floor. However, the application of VSM into
small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), including diverse manufacturing environments, is not an easy task.
It is even more challenging especially when the product processing is more complicated and requires im-
provements to labour management and facility utilization. Conventional VSM is not competent to handle the
contemporary rapid dynamic manufacturing environment, complex material flow or efficiency of machine and
labour performance. These three are the most important resources on the shop floor to bring transparency to the
decision maker. We present a multi-agent system composed of several cost effective embedded Arduino systems
as agents and a Raspberry-Pi® as a core agent. Equipped with Cyber-Physical System (CPS) technology, these
agents, placed on or near the station, can reflect the non-linear material value flow without modelling the
process or using RFID tags. Moreover, through the sensor node installed in each machine and by knowing the
staff ID, the agents could send the relevant information in the form of dynamic value stream mapping (DVSM) in
near-real-time for storage, analysis and visualization. We present a suitable visualization tool based in Node-
RED® to carry out DVSM.

1. Introduction
Accompanied by the rapid development of Information and
Communication Technologies and the advent of many disruptive
technologies, the fusion of physical and virtual cyber in the manu-
facturing industry through Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) marks the
arrival of Industry 4.0 [1]. In the exploitation of CPS, Industry 4.0 has
reshaped industrial value creation in manufacturing [2]. In this context,
the
Prime Minister’s Industry 4.0 Taskforce policy implemented by
Australia aims to maximise the benefit to the SMEs from this technical
revolution [3]. Furthermore, the development of easy to deploy and
affordable wireless networks, accurate and smart sensor technologies,
along with cost effective cloud computing technologies have provided
increasing opportunities for SMEs seeking to engage with Industry 4.0
[4]. Through the application of these technologies, the manufacturing
resources are converted into smart objects that aim to improve the
transparency and contribute to focus on the customer value in the im-
provement process.
As a powerful and successful method for operational management to
gain productivity, Lean manufacturing, representative of Toyota’s
production philosophy, has been accepted as best practice [5]. The
implementation of Lean aims to reduce inventory levels that are was-
teful, while shortening transportation and labour motion time to
eliminate the production lead time [6,7]. More reasonable manpower
arrangement in the production process, continuous improvement, and a
focus on value-adding activities by eliminating waste have been the
important characteristics of Lean production [8]. The most important of
these is understanding the added value of each process. To visualize
this, Value Stream Mapping (VSM) was first presented in “Learning to
See” by Mike Rother and John Shook as a versatile tool [9]. Focusing on
the whole manufacturing productivity instead of discrete cells [10],

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zhuoyu.huang@uq.net.au (Z. Huang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmsy.2019.05.001
Received 30 November 2018; Received in revised form 18 April 2019; Accepted 5 May 2019
0278-6125/ © 2019 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Z. Huang, et al.
their first value stream map, simply drawn by hand, was able to display
the static production flow [11]. However, the snapshot nature of VSM is
only suitable for visualizing production lines with one product or a
product family [12] and it is difficult to apply to complex multiple
material and product flow conditions. Developers of VSM admit it is
impossible to draw every part’s value stream if they are many, espe-
cially for Make-To-Order jobshops with many types of materials, such
as welded fabrications, stamping dies, etc [13]. The deficiency of VSM
results in the difficulty of its application to SMEs. It cannot provide
enough insight into their material flow, let alone the rationality of la-
bour arrangement and efficiency of machine utilization.
This study explores the combination of a cyber-physical multi-agent
system with Lean manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0. The
contributions of this paper include:
1) Innovative multi-layer dynamic value stream mapping (DVSM) is
proposed to handle the dynamic value adding condition of the multi
flow material.
2) Multi-machine handling DVSM on the basis of machine utilization
and operator performance is shown by the cyber-physical multi-
agent system, which contributes towards digital Lean manu-
facturing.
3) The cyber-physical multi-agent system is proposed for the virtuali-
zation of the shop floor resources.
The remainder of this paper is organised as follows. Section 2 pro-
vides the background of the multi-agent systems development and the
dynamic value stream to highlight the research gap. A case study of a
factory will be analysed in Section 3, together with the discussions
about the multi-agent system and DVSM. The simulation test results and
further improvements will be presented in Section 4. Section 5 con-
cludes the research work and highlights the future study.
2. Background
A multi-agent system is a set of autonomous agents connected
through a network [34] that exhibit some capabilities of sensing and
handling autonomously in a complex dynamic environment [35]. By
means of the Cyber-Physical System (CPS), the manufacturing plan that
is initialized manually can pass through each agent. In combination
with sensors, the material flow can be monitored by the agents in near-
real-time.
2.1. Multi-agent systems
The multi-agent system, a branch of artificial intelligence, is defined
as a set of agents representing physical or logical objects, capable of
coordinating with each other so as to achieve their goals [14]. To name
a few advantages, the software developed for agents is relatively simple
and the system can be rapidly deployed, leading to shorter developing
time, lower labour and future maintenance costs [15].
To mention a few applications of the concept, Barenji et al. de-
scribes a multi-agent system characterized as intelligent managers in-
teracting with the local network. The station controller agent (SCA) is
thought to be the core part of the system. Firstly, it reads the messages
from tags using RFID gates through the agent machine interface (AMI),
then conducts the corresponding analysis for the components to decide
the next processing step. Afterwards, the SCA asks the AMI to control
the physical equipment by assigning the resources and appropriate
commands [16]. The architecture presents the multi-agent ability to
handle flexibility, agility and re-configurability provided by discrete
stations, but the location of assets is obtained by the RFID technology
which is yet to be prevalent on the factory floor. In a complex robotic
assembly system, Švaco et al. applied a multi-agent architecture in
different types of robots for negotiation and task delegation. However,
the main problem found in traditional assembly is notably the
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Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12
limitation of the memory and processing power of the controlling unit.
More processing power is obtained by locally handling the delegated
tasks of decision making and process planning [17]. Nevertheless, from
the review above, it can be seen that information exchange has been
vital to the success of multi-agent systems. Barbosa et al. designed a
cyber-physical multi-agent system which could reason the sequence of a
conveyor system through detecting input signals. Furthermore, the
agents could resort to the CPS technology to communicate their loca-
tion sequence in any condition and their own locations [18]. The
communication technology can also help the multi-agent exchange
production information with each other prior to the arrival of material
flow, which helps to set up a plan in the downstream agent. When the
input sensor is trigged, indicating the arrival of material, the agent can
quickly reason the material information and start to monitor the pro-
cess in its station.
2.2. Dynamic value stream
Dynamic Value Stream Mapping enhances the features of traditional
value stream mapping. There are two main methods used for DVSM
which will be discussed in this section: simulation models for analysis
and agent location by auto-identification, mostly achieved by using
radio frequency identification (RFID).
2.2.1. Model simulation
Combining simulation and value stream mapping brings flexibility
to changing the state. Vikraman et al. applied ExtendSim® software to
build a process model based on the input of data collected over thirty
days in seven information types. By comparing the results of various
production schemes, an optimized future state for energy saving was
found [19]. Similarly, by means of observing historical data. Abdoli
et al. innovatively built a dynamic value stream map in a warehousing
context. They applied Pareto-distribution in the model to display
comprehensive process chain KPIs [20]. Both methods have success-
fully applied the VSM tool in other areas not specific to the manu-
facturing sector, but the model set up over a period of time could not
deal with complex or unforeseen conditions. Pawel et al. used Vensim®
software to analyse the inventory level dynamically in order to find the
lowest size of inventory that would sustain a smooth flow in the pro-
duction. The model was based on the current state value stream which
had been analyzed and developed [21]. The advantage of running
DVSM simulation is making the buffer sizes transparent. Azubuike et al.
presents a case study of a collision repair shop, which is characterized
as a customized job. In the context of Industry 4.0, the customized job
will be the focus even though it is a challenge to the enterprises. To
handle the random data generated by customer orders, they first ap-
plied Stat::Fit® software to transform the data into adequate statistical
distributions, then modelled the future state map using ProModel® [22].
However, this method of pre-processing data based on statistics could
hide some special product manufacturing conditions that the produc-
tion system did not handle well. In fact, it is better to reflect all the
customized jobs dynamically rather than based on their frequency.
Agyapong-Kodua et al. placed a Computer Integrated Manufacturing
Open System Architecture (CIMOSA) into a make-to-order furniture
company by separating into discrete processes. The manufacturing
process involved multiple flows, so they applied decomposition to
capture minute levels of operation [23]. However, a system only mi-
micing the real-life behaviour seems not enough for the fast-paced
developing market. We can find that the widespread combination of
multiple flow manufacturing and customized jobs happening in In-
dustry 4.0 makes setting up a model a strenuous task.
From the review above, it can be inferred that three drawbacks are
prominent when setting up a simulation model: 1) collecting enough
data for a robust model is an expensive task because only specialists are
competent to carry it out; 2) models based on previous data are lacking
the agility to handle future uncertainties, especially when the
Z. Huang, et al.
manufacturing of custom made products needs to be monitored and
analysed; and 3) when one sequence of the processes changes, new data
collection and re-modelling is inevitable. Sterman states that there is no
single method to build successful models for all applications [24]. This
is true especially when specialists with different backgrounds may
propose different models for the same setting. To prevent that, instead
of using the model to imitate the dynamics of the system, RFID-enabled
methods to reflect the real conditions by collecting real-time or near-
real-time data becomes more promising.
2.2.2. Radio frequency identification (RFID)
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a widely used technology
for identifying and locating assets by capturing wireless data [25]. An
RFID system is composed of three principal parts: tags, readers and
middleware. The tag has a microchip integrated within that could ei-
ther be written on or be read from, in unique codes through the an-
tenna. The reader is located in a known area for reading or writing tags
and performs the task when the tag is in a suitable range. The mid-
dleware is responsible for dealing with the identification messages to
show the route of objects and run the database application [26]. RFID is
a mature technology and has been successfully applied in logistics and
supply chains due to its traceability and reliability of its communication
technology. Because of this superiority, the technology has been ex-
plored for utilization in monitoring the manufacturing environment.
Joshi applied RFID in the laboratory to simulate cellular manufacturing
and tested different cellular layouts using cheap semi-passive RFID tags
to show its cost effectiveness [27]. However, semi-passive tags are not
as popular as passive tags because of their limited commercial appli-
cations.
Zhong et al. deployed passive tags on the items in the workshop and
monitored the staff by their ID cards so that a suitable schedule could be
set based on the data [28]. Also, Aydos et al. placed tags on raw ma-
terials and tag readers in the area of interest to store the time stamps
when items passed through machine or inventory areas [29]. Both
studies explore near-real-time monitoring methods where the burden of
calculation for the centralized controller is not heavy. However, the
obvious issue of using passive RFID tags is that it requires operators to
manipulate the tags. These tags will cause trouble to the machine or
conveyor belt if the operator forgets to remove intermediate tags as
required during processing. In contrast to the near-real-time mon-
itoring, Arkan et al. established real-time tracking using a real time
location system (RTLS). This solution is based on active tags using ultra
wide band (UWB) to send signals as input data to a triangulation al-
gorithm. From the algorithm calculations, the precise real-time location
can be identified [30]. However, when the number of objects increases,
the burden of calculation is heavier and the method is not cost effective
for SMEs. Muawia et al. mentions the value of DVSM in the real-time
process monitored by integrating RFID and VSM [31], but the map
drawn is similar to the conventional VSM which is not useful as a vi-
sualization tool for modern factories.
It is evident that using RFID for collection of real-time or near-real-
time data to locate product flow is deficient for the manufacturing
sector. Instead, collecting timestamps for the arrival and departure of
items to track the product flow in near-real-time/real-time is more
beneficial to process improvement.
3. Research methodology
To structure the VSM, large amounts of dynamic data needs to be
collected from the production line. Tantik et al. states that in the con-
text of Industry 4.0, this could be achievable by using cyber-physical
production systems [32]. As a result, we propose a multi-agent system
with CPS technology to track the product flow in a factory. Ad-
ditionally, when products enter or leave a designated place, an event is
triggered and the time of the event is recorded. This allows the high
computational complexity of real-time information processing to be
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Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12
avoided. CPS technology links the physical agent and the virtual re-
presentation together. As such, the upstream agent can send the pro-
duction information to the downstream agent that can set plans locally.
When material arrives, the implemented sensor node is triggered and
the agent can match the material with the information. In the mean-
time, the agent monitors material by looking at the sensor at the buf-
fers. When material enters or leaves, the buffers’ sensors are triggered
and the agent sends the timestamp to the core agent. The core agent is
responsible for displaying the condition of that machine in near-real-
time. We eliminate the incorporation of sensor hardware in our study,
by replacing its signaling function with manually pressing a button.
In our method, traditional VSM is used to visualize the material
flow, while the multi-agent system is designed to depict the dynamic
value stream of material flow, machine operating status and manpower
performance. The effectiveness of this method is explored using an
example of an Australian SME. First, we analyse the example factory
production and describe its characteristics. Then, we discuss the design
of our multi-agent system. Multiple flow DVSM will then be performed
and the application of the system will be discussed in two scenarios,
considering material flow and machine/manpower flow.
3.1. VSM analysis of the factory
According to Rother and Shook, the whole value stream is com-
prised of the supplier loop, pacemaker loop and production loop [9].
Compared to Industry 2.0 and 3.0 where mass production was the aim,
an Industry 4.0 approach not only allows but also encourages mass
customization. As a result, our example considers an Australian SME
that is manufacturing aluminum canopies for installation on utility
vehicles, which can be customized to accommodate customer pre-
ferences or specific vehicle sizes. The manufacturing process is char-
acteristically make-to-order, with fluctuating and unpredictable de-
mand. In the context of the original three loops of VSM, our example
captures typical problems faced by Australian custom manufacturers:
• The supplier loop illustrates the frequency of purchases made by the
enterprise, aiming to lower the stock and to prepare the raw mate-
rials just in time to serve the production demand. However, in
Australia, due to long-distance transportation and high labour costs,
it is usually difficult for SMEs to request suppliers to transport small
volumes of raw material at high frequencies. The Just-In-Time
model is not effective in these conditions; to account for these
conditions, suppliers generally set long due dates for manufacturers
to pay the costs, while manufacturers order large amounts of a
variety of materials to last for longer periods, e.g. a week or two. As
a result, the manufacturers take on some cost for the stock size but
save on cash flow. The real-time material consumption reflected to
the decision maker is used as an indicator of the amount of raw
material supplied. In our system, the raw material condition is re-
corded every time it is taken out of the stock and if necessary, the
information could be connected to the existing application software
of the enterprise such as an ERP system.
• The pacemaker loop is closely associated with the customer de-
mand. Based on the customer demand and the lead time, the takt
time can be calculated and used as a reference for the decision
maker to set the production rate of each process. For a make-to-
order factory, it is not feasible to obtain a reliable estimate of the
demand in advance, so the pacemaker loop cannot be set to optimize
the upstream production process. To account for this, the takt time
adopts the format of display used in the Yamazumi board as defined
in Lean [33]. It is composed of a horizontal line as a reference to
display the most distinctive part.
• In the production loop, traditionally effective methods such as the
supermarket pull system or First in First out (FIFO) are not feasible
for our custom manufacturing scenario. Consequently, the real-time
monitoring of production becomes more important to alleviate any
Z. Huang, et al.
waste happening on the shop floor in order to avoid any bottlenecks.
As a result, multi-agents are designed to be placed near the pro-
duction units to monitor the processing time within the material
flow unit and the wasted time while waiting in the buffers. The
collected data helps the decision maker identify the source of waste.
3.2. Multi-agent system
As part of an ongoing effort to apply and communicate Industry 4.0
practices to SMEs, we have designed a hardware package named
“Factory in a Box” or FIAB. Its computing hardware simulates the
production resources in a factory to allow trainees to observe the vi-
sualization of material flow and condition of other resources. In the real
environment, the system could monitor the real material flow, machine
operation status and human performance by connecting the sensor
nodes to visualise DVSM immediately. However, as the work presented
in this paper has been performed in a laboratory setting, we use FIAB as
a simulation tool to visualize the production process of the factory.
The hardware part of the system is composed of four Digi® XBee
wireless modules, two OLED displays, three Arduino Leonardos, one
Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi3) and a large monitor. If necessary, the system
could be extended with more Arduinos or RPi3 as agents. This system
applies Node-RED in RPi3 to display the near real-time information in
the monitor. Node-RED is an open source flow-based software, devel-
oped originally for wiring hardware devices together, and has become
one of the most popular tools used for IoT applications. XBee wireless
modules are used to form a Zigbee® network among agents. When
monitoring the operating status of machines, the XBee module could be
used as a sensor node by connecting its digital I/O to the machine
mechatronic relay. OLED displays are used to show the material flow
information to the operator of the machine.
In summary, each station agent’s job is to record:
1) the individual operator labour time at the station
2) the machine operating time and idle time
3) the processing time and identification number of the component(s)
at the station
4) the waiting time and identification number of the component(s) in
the buffer around the station
3.3. DVSM of material flow
Traditional VSM lacks the ability to deal with complex bills of
materials in flow diagrams [13]. However, as a result of the con-
nectivity of agents in Industry 4.0, DVSM is possible for multiple-flow
processes. The following definitions are useful:
1) Cycle time (CT): time elapsed in a station for one product from input
to output.
2) Processing time (PT): the time an individual part takes in the re-
spective production process. It is classified into two conditions when
several parts or materials are processed together:
3) Several parts are processed individually in a continuous process, e.g.
laser cuts sheets one after another
4) Several parts are processed simultaneously in a batch process, e.g.
heat treatment using a basket full of parts
5) Processing quantity (PQ): quantity of processed components from
one raw material.
6) Buffer time (BT): the duration of time a product stays in the buffer.
Due to multi-flow processing, several material flows will be created
and the product is produced on the basis of these flows; accordingly,
both the material flows and the overall process flow will be dis-
tinguished.
From the raw material’s point of view, the processing time PTj is
composed of the cycle times CTi of several parts i with the total number
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Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12
being PQ, for each raw material j as shown in Eq. (1).
n
PTj = ∑ CTi , n = PQ
i=1 (1)
The raw material buffer time is decided by the maximum wait time
due to the processing of previous components, as shown in Eq. (2).
BTj = max(BTi ), i = 1…PQ (2)
From the overall process’ perspective, the processing time PT is
composed of the process time PTj of several raw materials j, as shown in
Eq. (3), where n is the total number of raw materials.
n
PT = ∑ PTj
j=1 (3)
The buffer time is based on the maximum wait time expended by a
raw material, as shown in Eq. (4), where j is the raw material number.
BT = max(BTj ) (4)
To visualize the raw material flows and the overall flow, a multi-
layer value stream map is presented as shown in Fig. 1. The figure
shows the detailed part flows comprising the whole process. The pro-
cess flow proceeds in the direction of the green arrow, the blue arrow
indicates the direction of increasing time consumption and the red
arrow indicates the cascading raw material flows (VSM1, VSM2, …
VSM7).
3.4. DVSM of machine and manpower flow
The cost of any particular product is primarily determined by the
time it takes the material to flow through the value stream [34]. Labour
and machine costs are significant in the flow, but traditional VSM fails
to incorporate these factors in the product cost. This makes it unsuitable
to cope with the increasing customization demands of Industry 4.0,
because each product’s value steam condition is different. DVSM re-
flects the utilization of many resources and it has become a key element
in Lean manufacturing [35].
Generally, the operating time (OT) illustrates the duration for which
a particular part stays in the production process. This is seen as a value-
adding activity in traditional VSM. However, the OT comprised of the
operator’s manual work and the machine utilization time still includes
non-value-adding times. For example, in the operation of a milling
machine shown in Fig. 2, the value-adding and non-value-adding times
are distinguishable by their darker and lighter shades respectively. The
utilization time represents the machine processing time and the down
time represents the occasional machine repair time. While the machine
stays idle during the loading and unloading of components, the op-
erator only works during this time, at the beginning and the end of the
operating time; the remaining time spent waiting is a significant waste.
As Vieira et al. points out, the processing and loading/unloading times
depend highly on the ability of workers. This makes manufacturing
stochastic and creates indeterminacy [36]. As a result, it is necessary to
distinguish the time types of OT by monitoring the operator and ma-
chine individually, as demonstrated by a multi-machine handling sce-
nario shown in Fig. 3. Notably, this arrangement is common in Aus-
tralian manufacturing due to the high labour costs.
In Fig. 3, the repair time of machines is not considered for simpli-
city. In order to explore the dynamic characteristics of DVSM, we
consider two situations of multi-machine handling. The overlapping
times are colored yellow, during which the value-adding process of the
product costs both operator and machine times. When one machine
begins to work, the operator leaves this machine for a period of time.
During this time, the product value stream should not include the op-
erator time, since the operator has been adding value to another pro-
cess. Situation 1 diverts from situation 2 when the machine utilization
time finishes and the operator fails to return. This absence leads to idle
Z. Huang, et al.
Fig. 1. Multi-Layer Value Stream Mapping.
time of the machine which increases cost. These two situations both
conceivably happen in real manufacturing environments. If the labour
cost is high and the operator is responsible for manipulating more
machines, then the idle time (black) occurring in situation 1 is rea-
sonable. On the other hand, if the quantity of component production is
prioritised, situation 2 better suits the requirements because the op-
erator could arrive and prepare the loading of the next component.
4. Simulation test
In this section, we present two cases of using the multi-agent system
to perform DVSM of material flow. The first case is the canopy manu-
facturer, a scenario typical of Australian custom-made product manu-
facturers. Facing competition from standard-sized low-cost imports, it is
necessary to identify the waste in this factory. For this case, we focus on
the multi-flow VSM. The second case explores the DVSM of machine
utilization and manpower performance for multi-machine handling,
which addresses a prevalent problem in factory based manufacturing
processes.
Fig. 2. Operation Time with Different Time Types [37,38].
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Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12
4.1. Canopy production
The canopy is assembled from many components; seven pieces of
raw sheet metal coming from stock (Station Stock) need to be cut into
fifteen parts using the laser machine (Station A), bent into specific
shapes by the folding machine (Station B), assembled into a product by
welding (Station C) and moved back to the stock (Station Stock).
4.1.1. Multi-agent system setup and manufacturing prepare
The configuration of the agents used in our simulation is shown in
Fig. 4. In the actual manufacturing environment, the agents could be
placed on or near machines or stock, while in this demonstration, they
are considered to directly represent the stations accordingly.
In the production process, the first step involves the cutting of each
raw sheet metal into two or three components of any shape using the
CAD files released from the design team, but these components do not
have identification numbers. The ID is created by the agent station, but
the operator on the shop floor needs to place the components in the
machines based on a priority table (such as the example shown in
Z. Huang, et al.
Fig. 5), where the lower the number, the higher the priority. Also, the
decision makers can distinguish between different components using
this table to track specific components.
In the case shown in Fig. 6, the order number 49 is created and the
seven raw materials are named 49-1 to 49-7 by the stock station. At
station A, the raw material 49-1 will be cut into two components which
have priority 1 and priority 13 in the table, so they are named 49-1-1
and 49-1-2 respectively. At the bending station B, the components’
shapes are altered but the quantities remain the same, so the identifi-
cation numbers remain unchanged. Components 49-5-1 and 49-7-1,
which form the floor of the canopy, are passed to station C without
bending. The components are assembled at station C to finish the pro-
duct; as this is the aim of the order, the identification numbers at station
C will be changed to the order number 49.
Each raw material processing plan is initially generated by the core
agent (RPi3) in the form of a data packet to be sent to all agents. The
packet is comprised of the order number, the material identification
number and the processing station conditions; this allows the agents to
determine what the material processing condition is. Every time a raw
material is used from scratch, the form needs to be filled. In Fig. 7, the
right panel shows the production status of the previous sheet metal that
was sent, raw material number 1. The left panel has been filled with the
information of the current raw material number 2, which will update
the right panel when submitted. Moreover, by submitting a material for
processing, not only will the information be sent to the designated
stations, but it can also inform the other decision makers instantly.
Based on the information of raw material consumption, the E-Kanban
system [39] can be set to build the integration of the horizontal level to
improve the Just In Time manufacturing by the information shared on
the supply chain.
Since sheet metal processing may be considered analogous to or-
igami [40], we simulate the manufacturing process by assuming that
Fig. 4. Placement of Multi-Agents.
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Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12
Fig. 3. Operating Time of Multi-Machine Handling.
cutting paper represents the laser cutting machine, folding paper
emulates the bending process, and sticking these paper components
together simulates the assembly. During bending, the bending tools are
replaced by dismounting and mounting based on the shape of the
components. To account for this, simulation items were displaced ac-
cording to the number of bending tool replacements. During the man-
ufacturing process, the OLED display shows the material number
staying in the buffer, and the number of the last received material. From
Fig. 8, we can see that the OLED for the buffer between stations A and B
(station A–B) shows that the item processed in station B is the com-
ponent 49-3-1-1-1. This indicates that the order number is 49 and the
raw material number is 3; the third number indicates the priority
compared to the other components created from the same raw material,
and the fourth and fifth numbers show the input and output numbers of
station B respectively. Similarly, the first three numbers shown on the
OLED for the buffer between stations B and C convey the same meaning
as the previous OLED, and the fourth number indicates the number of
components required to be assembled at station C.
The components are processed on a First in First Out (FIFO) basis;
the OLED displays whether or not a component is in the buffer via filled
or unfilled circles respectively. In Fig. 8, it can be seen that four items
have been processed through both stations A and B and are waiting at
the buffer between B and C (station B–C) to be processed at station C. As
station A–B indicates eleven filled circles, the user can understand that
there are eleven items yet to be processed, while one of the eleven is
currently being processed at station B. Simultaneously, the information
in the OLED of station B–C shows four components are in this buffer and
the component number tells the operator that the latest arrival is the
second component from raw material 2 of order 49. Since station C
needs all 15 parts to trigger the assembly job, station C remains in the
waiting stage. If the OLED displays the word “IN” as is the case of
station A–B, it indicates that a component (49-3-1-1-1) has moved from
Z. Huang, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12

Fig. 5. Prioritization Table.

Fig. 6. Components Process Diagram.

Fig. 7. Interface Setup.

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Z. Huang, et al.
Fig. 8. LED Displays at Snapshot of Manufacturing Process.
the buffer into the next station (B) and the value adding process has
started. If the OLED displays the word “OUT”, it indicates that the
component number displayed is the most recent component to finish
processing at the station. The OLED at buffers only show the informa-
tion relevant to its process. For example, at station B, the input to
station C will not be displayed. In the meantime, the updated calcula-
tion results will be sent to core agent RPi3 and instantly visualized.
4.1.2. Visualisation results
Fig. 9 depicts the value stream mapping for raw material number 7,
titled VSM7. Since it is a simulation, without loss of generality, the
processing time is much shorter than real conditions and the unit of
time is in minutes. Station Stock-A represents the time period that raw
material No.7 waited to be processed by the laser cutting machine.
Since the laser cutter processes one material at a time, the waiting time
for the raw material is relatively long. Station A represents the laser
machine processing state. Because one sheet of metal is cut into several
components with specific shapes continuously, based on Eq. (1), each
component’s cycle time is assumed to be the same at about 0.25 min as
shown in the pie chart. The time spent in station A–B indicates the long
non-value adding time caused by waiting for station B to finish its
Fig. 9. The Flow of Raw Material Number 7.
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Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12
process. In the simulation, multi-process handling was utilised which
means only one operator was responsible for all the processes. This
increases the duration of waiting. In addition, increased processing time
in station B leads to more latency for the last several components to be
processed. The processing sequence for station B was according to the
components’ process diagram (Fig. 6) which meant that the waiting
time for component 49-7-3 was the longest at about 10.59 min. Station
B is a bending machine with independent sources, so the total proces-
sing time is calculated through the addition of three different cycle
times. As 49-7-1 is the canopy floor with no need of bending, its pro-
cessing time at station B is zero. Considering that the three stations are
value-adding, the bars in Fig. 9 shown are coloured green. Notably, at
station B–C, the waiting time is the least out of all the raw materials
(VSM1-VSM6) as all other components are waiting for 49-7-1 to 49-7-3
to be sent for assembly. In station C, the welding involves the use of all
the parts. Each component’s cycle time is calculated by dividing the
total time spent at station C by the number of components. The time
spent at the last step, at Station C-Stock, is the time it takes the cus-
tomer to pick up the product. This is one area where waste occurs,
affecting space for stock and the cash flow.
In the overall VSM (Fig. 10), we can find that each pie chart consists
Z. Huang, et al.
Fig. 10. Overall Value Stream Mapping.
of seven sub flows from VSM1 to VSM7 indicated by the yellow arrow,
representing the VSM of seven raw materials. From Stock-A in the
overall map, we can see that the raw material waiting time increases
gradually with the sequence. Also, in station A, the seventh material
consumes the most time because it needs to be cut into three compo-
nents. From the VSM, it is easy to find that the bottleneck occurs at
station A–B and station B.
Since the customer demand fluctuates, the takt time cannot be
calculated in advance but it can be used as a reference; dynamic value
stream mapping uses the horizontal line of the matrix as a takt time
reference, which is over 10 min as seen in Fig. 10. We next examine the
ability to quickly display the results of process optimization.
4.1.3. Dynamic response characteristics
Considering the bending machine’s long changeover time (CO)
caused by adjusting the bending tools, it is necessary to optimize the
production strategy by collectively processing 49-1-2, 49-2-2, 49-3-1,
49-4-1, 49-7-2, and 49-7-3 because they are all similar types of frames
and the bending tools need only be prepared once for all of these
components.
We set a new order to be processed. The order identification number
is set to 50, and new raw materials are prepared to be processed. The
left OLED screen in Fig. 11 shows that similar types of frames have been
picked up and processed by the bending machine in succession rather
than using a FIFO sequence. In the right screen, we can find that six
frames have been processed and are waiting in the buffer station B-C
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Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12
and the last component to have been processed is 50-7-3.
Even though the optimization of production is only applied at sta-
tion B, extensive effects can be seen throughout the shop floor as shown
in Fig. 12. The shortened processing time at station B reduces the
overall waiting time consumed at station A-B since the bending process
can be started more rapidly without adjusting tools. Similarly, this leads
to a reduction in the waiting time at station B-C, because the compo-
nents have been prepared faster for assembly. The visualization of the
optimization test can be presented rapidly in a new value stream map.
Furthermore, if the user wishes to find detailed time savings, they
could quickly find the specific component through the VSM1˜VSM7
sub-flows.
In this case, through the optimization of the manufacturing tech-
nique, the lead time has been reduced relatively. However, there is still
some space to improve the manufacturing further based on the Lean
technique.
The Heijunka [33], which is seen as enabling production to run
smoothly and minimizing over burden by levelling the production vo-
lume and type, can be applied to the further improvement. In order to
minimize the unreasonable waiting in the station A-B, strategies could
be implemented to control the volume output from the station A based
on the CPS system. As soon as the components staying in the station A-B
reache a level amount, the signal could be triggered to prevent any new
order flow to station A.
Additionally, in the station C, when the welder takes away all the
accumulated components from the buffer at one time, the pull effect is
Z. Huang, et al.
Fig. 11. LED Display of Optimized Process.
Fig. 12. Optimized Process Overall Value Stream Mapping.
created [41]. It is feasible for the E-Kanban system to be set on the
station in the upstream. When the signal of items taken away is trig-
gered, it works as a reminder to fill up the buffer in time.
4.2. Multi-machine handling
In this section, we explore the product value stream in the station
and its relation to the machine and worker. We simulate two multi-
machine conditions and observe the different effects on the value
stream. In the real environment, it is easy to wire the mechatronic relay
with the digital IO to monitor the operation status. In this case, we
simulate the operation of two machines using Arduinos and monitor
them using XBee modules. The station agent placed nearby is in charge
of receiving signals from the XBee module represented by the red ar-
rows in Fig. 13 and analysing the machine operating status. After that,
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Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12
the messages are sent to the core agent, represented by the green arrow
in Fig. 13. The black arrows in Fig. 13 show the movement route of the
worker between two machines.
Since the layout of machines are different in these two conditions,
the value stream is affected differently, resulting in two different sets of
results as dynamically shown in Fig. 14. The outer circle represents the
machine time and the inner circle represents worker time. The utili-
zation time is set to 10 s in this example, which could be changed based
on the real machine processing time. In scenario 1, the worker firstly
loads the components into machine A, then attends to loading machine
B. After that, the operator moves back and unloads the components
from machine A, and lastly unloads the components from machine B.
Looking at the results, it can be observed that in scenario 1, the distance
between machines causes the operator to be unable to arrive before the
machine finishes processing. In condition 2, the operator manages to
Z. Huang, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12

Fig. 13. Diagram of Simulation Layout for Two Production Scenarios.

arrive before the machine finishes processing. The decision maker can designated operator to quickly handle the change.
adjust the process strategy based on the real conditions.
Due to the different requirements for mass customized products, the
5. Conclusion
workload related for each person or station is not the same, making
Mura and Muri happen unpredictably. Shojinka, which means “labor
In this study, a cyber-physical multi-agent system is presented. The
linearity”, is meant to meet the production requirement with the as-
system can interoperate with other existing MES systems. The char-
signment of workers. Through the CPS system, any imbalance in con-
acteristics of modularity and decentralization make the system less
ditions caused by fluctuation will be monitored and reflected to the
complex and more flexible in the application. The real time and virtual

Fig. 14. The Value Stream of Two Scenarios with Two Machines and One Operator.

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Z. Huang, et al. Journal of Manufacturing Systems 52 (2019) 1–12

characteristics of the system make transparent the conditions of mate-
rial, workforce, and machine. These features innovatively display a
[16]
material’s dynamic value steam and DVSM for machine and worker,
which can provide valuable information for the decision maker and
makes progress towards a digital lean manufacturing system through [17]
the adoption of CPS-Heijunka and an E-Kanban system. In the future, on [18]
the basis of this CPS system, all the resources on the manufacturing
shop floor will be virtualized. Furthermore, the relations among key
parts of the manufacturing value stream will be established in cyber
space; this will enhance the ability to adapt to variation, which makes it [19]
possible for the customer to participate in manufacturing via the cyber
[20]
network.
[21]
Acknowledgements
[22]
Zhuoyu Huang and Prof. Matthew S. Dargusch acknowledge the [23]
support of the ARC Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing of
Medical Devices (IH150100024). Prof. Matthew S. Dargusch and Dr.
[24]
Steve Dowey acknowledge the support of the Defence Materials
Technology Centre (DMTC). [25]
[26]
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