Application to Resource Allocation Problems in a Flow-Shop Manufacturing System

This paper proposes an agent-based architecture for a Web-based DSS. The basic research consideration is that Internet facilitates access to data, information, and knowledge sources available online. The proposed DSS mainly includes five components: Analyzer Agent (AA), Proposal Agent (PrA), Resource agent (RA), Production Agent (PA), and Coordinator Agent (CA). In particular, the agents are used to collect information and generate alternatives that would allow the user to focus on significant solutions. They communicate through the JADE platform, and exploit the potential advantages of Web 2.0 tools and Web services in carrying out their different tasks. We also present in this work the coordination protocol that supports the distributed and decentralized task achievement. The functions of each component are discussed and a corresponding prototype system is developed. Finally, some simple scenarios are given for the purpose of illustrating the feasibility of our approach.