A Multi-agent Approach for Production Management

Multi-agent systems have been successfully used to represent distributed manufacturing systems. Each part or characteristic of the system can be represented by an agent which acts independently and in a cooperative way. A better integrated operation can emerge as the result of each agent following its own rules and communicating with the others. Better decisions from a holistic viewpoint can be achieved when manufacturing asset management is supported by a multi-agent approach. A model to manage distributed manufacturing is proposed and applied to on-shore oil fields. The distributed characteristics of oil field units, such as wells, collecting stations, compressing stations and supplies mean that they have to cooperate to reach production targets. The integrated management model carries out a cost analysis and helps to identify unprofitable assets and to support decision making processes. Agents help to reduce the load of information for the operator, giving more time to focus on situations that require greater attention. Example applications are presented in which the proposed multi-agent model, its ontology and rules, could help oil field surveillance and support decision-making process.