Contextualising manufacturing data for lifecycle decision-making

TLDR

Recent advances allow manufacturing data to be captured and contextualised across lifecycle phases, yet integrating this information for efficient decision‑making remains challenging. The study investigates mapping STEP, MTConnect, and QIF standards to integrate lifecycle information silos. A reference implementation at the NIST Smart Manufacturing Systems Test Bed demonstrates how mapped data can be used to support lifecycle decision‑making. The prototype correlates test‑bed data to provide context for specific decision‑making viewpoints.

Abstract

Recent advances enable data from manufacturing systems to be captured and contextualised relative to other phases of the product lifecycle, a necessary step toward understanding system behaviour and satisfying traceability requirements. Significant challenges remain for integrating information across the lifecycle and enabling efficient decision-making. In this paper, we explore opportunities for mapping standard data representations, such as the Standard for the Exchange of Product Data (STEP), MTConnect, and the Quality Information Framework (QIF) to integrate information silos existing across the lifecycle. To demonstrate this vision, we describe a reference implementation with a contract manufacturer in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Smart Manufacturing Systems Test Bed. Using this implementation, we explore how knowledge generated from manufacturing can support lifecycle decision-making. As a case study, we then present an interactive prototype correlating the test bed's data based on the context that must be provided for a specific ecision-making viewpoint.