Manufacturing Networks
Nowadays end-users demand high variety and custom-engineered products. To be able to respond to these demands and stay competitive, a smart design and control of high-mix low-volume manufacturing systems is critical. This becomes possible by the rapidly increasing amount of real-time sensor and production data that can be shared among products and production resources, thus creating an Internet of Things. It facilitates the optimization of a factory as a whole: instead of sub-optimizing production units and processes separately, we can create flexible, intelligent and even autonomous manufacturing networks. The manufacturing research line aims at making this vision a reality.
We conduct research in topics such as:
- Data-driven models that combine prediction and optimization to improve operational KPIs
- Automated planning and scheduling mechanisms to interlink and control manufacturing operations, maintenance and material handling
- Optimized bio-manufacturing systems to enable cheaper and faster access to next-generation drugs
In these topics, research methodologies are used such as simulation, stochastic modeling and analysis, Markov decision processes, linear and nonlinear optimization techniques, data-mining, artificial intelligence and statistical techniques.
Research projects
Current projects include:
- AML – Advanced manufacturing logistics
to realize an advanced (automated) manufacturing logistics system at the Brainport Industries Campus for a 24/7 pay-per-use support system in the Factory of the Future. - SNAP - Smart network for optimal planning
to automate, integrate and optimize the planning processes of back-end operations at Nexperia - OUTPUT - optimal utilization through planning and production intelligence
to optimize material flows of front-end operations at Nexperia - OPT-BIOMAN - Modeling and optimization of bio-manufacturing operations
to reduce fermentation costs and lead times at MSD - RARE - Optimization models for pharmaceutical industry
to improve affordability and accessibility to rare disease therapeutics - Optimizing poultry processing operations
at Marel Stork