Methods, systems, and computer program products for managing movement of work-in-process materials in an automated manufacturing environment

A system for managing movement of work-in-process (WIP) materials between processing units in an automated manufacturing environment, comprising:

• an automated manufacturing line having multiple processing units;
• at least one work-in-process material lot positioned at a given instant in time at a point along the automated manufacturing line, the at least one work-in-process material lot including production materials;
• a process controller operably coupled to the at least one work-in-process material lot;
• means for tracking the position of the at least one work-in-process material lot;
• a means for determining and inputting to the process controller an actual down time having a start time and a duration, and a list of one or more of the processing units inoperative during the down time;
• a solver product;
• and
• a database accessible by the solver product including information regarding a plurality of maximum dwell times, each of the maximum dwell times associated with one of the processing units for which a work-in-process material lot may remain at a given processing unit while maintaining a minimum threshold integrity value of the production materials;
• wherein the solver product is responsive to the position of the at least one work-in-process material lot, the duration of the down time, and the maximum dwell time to generate a report identifying actual dwell time and maximum dwell time for the at least one work-in-process material lot.

A computer program product for managing movement of work-in-process (WIP) materials between processing units in an automated manufacturing environment, the computer program product including instructions for implementing a method, comprising:

• tracking a position of a work-in-process material lot, the work-in-process material lot including production materials;
• receiving a list of one or more of the processing units designated to be inoperative during a future projected down time;
• receiving a start time and a duration of the future projected down time;
• determining a maximum dwell time associated with each of the designated processing units, the maximum dwell time specifying a maximum amount of time the work-in-process material lot may remain at each of the designated processing units while maintaining a minimum threshold integrity value of the production materials;
• and
• scheduling movement of the work-in-process material lot during an interim between a current time and the start time of the future projected down time based on a current position of the work-in-process material lot, the current time, the start time and duration of the future projected down time, and the maximum dwell time.