Aim
To teach the basic principles for automation systems in the manufacturing industries and their dynamic interaction with market factors such as variations in demand and prices for raw material, transports, and inventory. To give insight into current problems and trends of companies in region, through guest lectures and projects.

Knowledge and understanding
For a passing grade the student must

• be able to define and explain basic concepts in manufacturing automation

• be able to purposefully chose between different model types for product flows

• be able to derive basic properties of a production line from the properties of the individual units, and be able to characterise how the units influence the global behaviour

• be able to quantify relations between supply and demand in a supply chain with multiple units

• be able to distinguish between physical and functional enterprise models

• be familiar withe the most important industry standards for automation systems

Skills and abilities
For a passing grade the student must

• be able to, independently, interpret technical specifications on a production system and be able to recognize common constraints, based on na understanding for how the automation system will be used and how it will interact with its environment

• be able to chose model structure for simple dynamic behaviours subject to disturbances

• to be able to draw conclusions from numerical calculations about the reasonableness of models and specifications, and the consequences for the interactions of the system with its external environment

Judgement and approach
For a passing grade the student must

• understand relations and limitations when simplified models are used to describe a complex dynamic production system

• show the ability for team work and cooperation in projects and project presentations

Contents
Event-based and continuous dynamic models for product flows, effects of feedback, pricing models with convex utility functions, measures for production efficiency, issues that effect the economic outcome of an investment in automation, functional enterprise models, physical enterprise models, software systems for automation, industry standards.

Literature
To be decided