Open hypermedia for product support

Abstract

As industrial systems become increasingly more complex, the maintenance and operating information increases both in volume and complexity. With the current pressures on manufacturing , the management of information resources has become a critical issue. In particular, ensuring that personnel can access current information quickly and e ectively when undertaking a speci®c task. This paper discusses some of the issues involved in, and the bene®ts of using, open hypermedia to manage and deliver a diverse range of information. While the paper concentrates on the problems speci®cally associated with manufacturin g organizations , the problems are generic across other business sectors, such as healthcare, defence and ®nance. The open hypermedia approach to information management and delivery allows a multimedia resource base to be used for a range of applications and it permits a user to have controlled access to the required information in an easily accessible and structured manner. Recent advancement in hypermedia also permits just-in-time support in the most appropriate format for all users. Our approach is illustrated by the discussion of a case study in which an open hypermedia system delivers maintenance and process information to factory-¯oor users to support the maintenance and operation of a very large manufacturin g cell.

Information systems support for CNC machinists: Evaluating the impact of information technology at the shop floor

“…Nevertheless, it is found that business benefit can be derived from hypermedia-based systems, due to substantially lower administrative costs than than those incurred with paper-based systems (Wills et al, 2002). Provisional cost-benefit analysis estimates an annual saving of £50,000 and a 3-year payback on investment at the evaluation research setting.…”

“…The application of kiosks in manufacturing could therefore be appropriate to add security and robustness to hypermedia-based systems. Wills, Sim, Crowder, and Hall (2002) find that accurate retrieval of required information within a manufacturing system is considered time critical. Conventional information management techniques are found to be insufficient due to the high number of documents requiring cross-referencing in a variety of formats (Wills et al, 2002).…”

“…Wills, Sim, Crowder, and Hall (2002) find that accurate retrieval of required information within a manufacturing system is considered time critical. Conventional information management techniques are found to be insufficient due to the high number of documents requiring cross-referencing in a variety of formats (Wills et al, 2002). It is therefore stated that an estimated 10% of an organization's technical assets (i.e., paper-based information) are either missing or incorrectly indexed.…”

“…Thus, the actual cost or benefit of such systems should not be measured in terms of increased productivity but in terms of reduced administrative costs. Indeed, Wills et al (2002) highlight the inefficiencies of managing paper-based documentation on such a large scale.…”

Issues in Moving to a Semantic Web for a Large Corporation

“…Due to the increase in virtual enterprises, lean and agile manufacturing, the demands for correct and easily accessible information have not abated. Wills et al have demonstrated the effective application of open hypermedia to industrial applications [22].…”