A Step/Corba Framework for Integrating Manufacturing Specifications with

While much of the data involved in product and order definition has been captured in standard electronic structures such as IGES and EDI, material and process specifications are still handled as amorphous, paper-based documents. The use of manual, text-based specifications is an extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming process. Specifications are an integral part of the product and order definition effort and the lack of integration between specification content and MRP/JIT is a major obstacle in achieving an agile manufacturing enterprise. During this Phase 1 research, Renaissance Engineering (with the assistance of the Industrial Technology Institute) proposes: (1) develop a rough draft of a STEP Application Protocol for specifications; (2) define an approach for using CORBA services and facilities as the basis for software integration; and (3) create a conceptual design for integrating the STEP/CORBA approach with existing MRP systems such as SAP, BAAN, and Cincom. The resulting approach would be developed to be easily incorporated with other reference models such as those created by SEMATECH and MIIP. Instead of treating the design requirements in specifications as simple textual narrative, the proposed approach recognizes that specifications are an integral part of product data and product data exchange.