Trust-Aware Production Scheduling for Flexible Manufacturing

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Solution Overview

Problem

In Industry 4.0 scenarios with flexible production scheduling, ensuring trustworthiness of products across multiple production resources distributed over different operators is challenging, as existing systems struggle to dynamically adjust to changing trustworthiness requirements.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method that determines trustworthiness information for each production resource, creates a production schedule considering trustworthiness requirements, and adjusts the schedule dynamically to ensure compliance, using cryptographic protections and distributed ledgers to verify trustworthiness.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If production scheduling is made flexible and dynamic in Industry 4.0 scenarios, then production adaptability and resource utilization are improved, but ensuring trustworthiness of products becomes difficult to maintain

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduction flexibilityVSAvoidtrustworthiness

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by evaluating trustworthiness information of production resources before scheduling and by attaching trustworthiness certifications to production steps in advance. This ensures that when flexible scheduling occurs, trustworthiness requirements are pre-established and maintained, resolving the contradiction between production flexibility and trustworthiness assurance.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where trustworthiness information is continuously evaluated and fed back into the scheduling process. The production schedule is dynamically adjusted based on real-time trustworthiness assessments of production resources, ensuring that flexible production decisions always maintain required trustworthiness levels.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If production resources are scheduled manually in advance using digital twins and ERP systems, then trustworthiness evaluation is improved, but production flexibility and dynamic adjustment capability deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetrustworthiness evaluationVSAvoidproduction flexibility

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces manual scheduling mechanisms with an automated computer-implemented method that uses digital twins and ERP systems. The mechanical/manual process of manual scheduling is substituted with an automated system that simultaneously handles trustworthiness evaluation and flexible scheduling, resolving the contradiction between manual trust evaluation and automated flexibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameters of the scheduling process by introducing trustworthiness information as a dynamic scheduling parameter. Instead of static manual scheduling, the system automatically adjusts production schedules based on real-time trustworthiness parameter changes of production resources, enabling both flexible scheduling and continuous trustworthiness evaluation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If trustworthiness information is automatically determined for production resources, then trustworthiness assurance is improved, but system complexity and data processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetrustworthiness assuranceVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system achieves universality by making the production execution system perform multiple functions: it not only executes production tasks but also automatically determines trustworthiness information, evaluates trustworthiness requirements, and manages scheduling. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate complex systems, resolving the contradiction between trustworthiness assurance and system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP4672106A1Method and device for performing a technical production job

Publication Date: 2025.12.31 SIEMENS AG

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AI summary

A computer-implemented method of performing a technical production job (101, 102) in a number of production steps (110-114) using a plurality of production resources (201-206), wherein a respective trustworthiness requirement (130-134) is defined for each of the production steps, comprises: a) determining trustworthiness information (220) for the plurality of the production resources; b) creating a production schedule (250) in which each of the number of production steps is assigned to one or more specific ones of the plurality of production resources, wherein the production schedule is created in consideration of the trustworthiness requirements of the production steps and the determined trustworthiness information of the production resources; and c) causing the technical production job to be performed according to the created production schedule. The method ensures that production is performed in a trustworthy way even in a flexible production environment.