Machines (Jul 2023)

Analyzing Consultancy on Production Systems Based on the Digital Triplet Concept

  • Takaomi Sato,
  • Hiroki Takeuchi,
  • Shinsuke Kondoh,
  • Yasushi Umeda

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/machines11070706
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 7
p. 706

Abstract

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This study aims to analyze the process flow of skilled consultants who utilize production improvement know-how and digital technology to enhance production systems in external companies. The concept of a Digital Triplet (D3), which expands the authors’ Digital Twin framework to include the intelligent activity world, is adopted as it aligns with this study’s objective. Given the complexity of the problems faced by production system consulting and the resulting inadequacy of reusing decision-making processes of skilled engineers based on the Generalized Process Model (GPM) using D3, a production system consulting modeling method is proposed. This method incorporates the Generalized Production System Consulting Process Model (GCPM) to generalize the production system consulting process. Using the proposed method, a case study focusing on energy-saving improvements was conducted to describe and analyze the consulting process of skilled consultants. The results show that the proposed method effectively captures the process flow of skilled consultants while considering the iterative structure of the GCPM. Additionally, utilizing the GCPM enables a comprehensive view of the entire process, facilitating an understanding of how knowledge and tools are utilized in various contexts.

Keywords