Graph theory and network analytics and diagnostics for process optimization in manufacturing
AssigneeTIBCO Software Inc.
InventorsThomas Hill, Pawel Lewicki
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system, method, and computer-readable medium are disclosed for analysis and characterization of manufacturing information such as process trees or genealogies using graph theory. More specifically, using graph theory to analyze manufacturing information of a manufacturing operation allows for deep analysis of relationships between batches or units in a process tree and their closeness or distance, to identify clusters associated with specific quality characteristics or problems, to identify common antecedents of specifically labeled batches (e.g., problem batches), and/or to detect overall desirable or undesirable characteristics of the process tree (e.g., centrality, etc.).
Claims19
A computer-implementable method for predicting characteristics of unmeasured batches in a manufacturing operation, comprising:
- identifying, using one or more computing device processors, manufacturing units of a manufacturing operation;
- characterizing, using the one or more computing device processors, the manufacturing units as nodes associated with a manufacturing operation graph representation;
- characterizing, using the one or more computing device processors, at least one of an input material, a supplier, a part, or another input associated with the manufacturing operation as nodes associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation;
- characterizing, using the one or more computing device processors, manufacturing steps associated with the manufacturing operation as connections associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation;
- generating, using the one or more computing device processors, the manufacturing operation graph representation using the characterized nodes and connections;
- measuring, using the one or more computing device processors, a characteristic of a batch associated with the manufacturing operation;
- identifying, using the one or more computing device processors, connections between the measured batch and an unmeasured batch associated with the manufacturing operation;
- computing, using the one or more computing device processors, based on the identified connections associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation, a degree of connectedness between the measured batch and the unmeasured batch;
- and
- predicting, using the one or more computing device processors, based on the degree of connectedness, a characteristic of the unmeasured batch.
A computer system for predicting characteristics of unmeasured batches in a manufacturing operation, the computer system comprising:
- a processor;
- a data bus coupled to the processor;
- and
- a non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code, the non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code associated with a plurality of computer operations and comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for:
- identifying manufacturing units of a manufacturing operation;
- characterizing the manufacturing units as nodes associated with a manufacturing operation graph representation;
- characterizing at least one of an input material, a supplier, a part, or another input associated with the manufacturing operation as nodes associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation;
- characterizing manufacturing steps associated with the manufacturing operation as connections associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation;
- generating the manufacturing operation graph representation using the characterized nodes and connections;
- measuring a characteristic of a batch associated with the manufacturing operation;
- identifying connections between the measured batch and an unmeasured batch associated with the manufacturing operation;
- computing, based on the identified connections associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation, a degree of connectedness between the measured batch and the unmeasured batch;
- and
- predicting, based on the degree of connectedness, a characteristic of the unmeasured batch.
A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium embodying computer program code for predicting characteristics of unmeasured batches in a manufacturing operation, the computer-readable storage medium comprising graph theory manufacturing operation representation code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions configured for:
- identifying manufacturing units of a manufacturing operation;
- characterizing the manufacturing units as nodes associated with a manufacturing operation graph representation;
- characterizing at least one of an input material, a supplier, a part, or another input associated with the manufacturing operation as nodes associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation;
- characterizing manufacturing steps associated with the manufacturing operation as connections associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation;
- generating the manufacturing operation graph representation using the characterized nodes and connections;
- measuring a characteristic of a batch associated with the manufacturing operation;
- identifying connections between the measured batch and an unmeasured batch associated with the manufacturing operation;
- computing, based on the identified connections associated with the manufacturing operation graph representation, a degree of connectedness between the measured batch and the unmeasured batch;
- and
- predicting, based on the degree of connectedness, a characteristic of the unmeasured batch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.