Object‐oriented database systems in manufacturing: selection and applications
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02635570110386553 |
| Pages | 97-105 |
| Published date | 01 April 2001 |
| Date | 01 April 2001 |
| Author | Qingyu Zhang |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Object-oriented database systems in manufacturing:
selection and applications
Qingyu Zhang
The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, USA
Introduction
The trend in manufacturing systems is to
change from island of automation to
enterprise-wise integration, from physical
processing workers to information
processing workers, and from management
of people/activity to management of
information about people/activities. Many
companies are going in for computer
integrated manufacturing (CIM) to improve
productivity and competitive advantage and
to meet survival needs of world class
manufacturing enterprises in the 1990s and
beyond. CIM incorporates a wide range of
information technologies such as EDP, MIS,
DDS, ES, CAD, CAM, CAPP, FMS, etc.
Although progress has been made over the
years, there are few methodologies to assist
with the system planning and development of
these complex systems (Flatau, 1988; Ciampa,
1988; Nalder and Robinson, 1987; Banerjee,
1986). This lack of methodologies has led to
many problems (Yeomans et al., 1986;
Ciampa, 1988; Gunn, 1987) such as a lack of
integration methods, lack of standards, lack
of understanding of CIM variables, island of
automation paradigm, and a confusing and
narrow definition of CIM.
Many authors (Leavitt, 1965; Galbrait, 1977;
Yadav, 1983; Grant et al., 1992) have pointed
out the importance of synergy among task,
technology, people, communication, and
structure in CIM implementation. So object-
oriented modeling of information systems
has been suggested (Bailin, 1989; Bulman,
1989; Coad and Yourdon, 1990) such as object-
oriented product modeling and design
(Usher, 1993), object-oriented shop floor
control and distributed scheduling (Kim et
al., 1996), object-oriented process planning
(Usher, 1996a, b; Gu and Zhang, 1994), object-
oriented product data exchange integration
(An and Leep, 1995), andobject-oriented bill of
materials (Chung and Fischer, 1994). At the
same time, making CIM work effectively calls
for a high level of interoperability,
integration, and data sharing, therefore
bringing databasesand database management
systems (DBMS) to the forefront.
Today, the relational database model and
relational database management system
(RDBMS) have been the de facto industry
standard for organizing and managing data
in most CIM environments. Some authors
(Vasilash, 1990; Lockemann et al., 1991) hold
that the relational data model is very
powerful and serves as a bridge to connect
the islands of automation. It is mature and
reliable, and it has proven to be a flexible
platform for evolution toward new
applications, furthermore, the relational
model is based on the formal mathematical
model while the object-oriented model is not.
Although the object-oriented model
incorporates many useful concepts such as
inheritance, abstraction, behavior
encapsulation, reuse, and message passing, it
can not be as robust and rigorous as one that
is grounded in theory. In contrast, in recent
years, many other scholars (Schatz, 1988;
Tonshoff and Dittmer, 1990; Cattell, 1991;
Rasmus, 1991; Gomsi and DeSanti, 1992) have
stated the limitations and inadequacies for
using RDBMS for CIM and lean toward
object-oriented database management
systems (OODBMS). Especially an object-
oriented approach to modeling integrated
systems is emphasized by many authors
(Motavalli, 1997; Do, 1997; Watterson, 1998)
Database requirements of CIM
applications
CIM encompasses the use of computers and
the integration of all activities necessary to
transform purchased materials into
products, to deliver products to customers,
and to support the performance of
production. A CIM system is created by
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[97]
Industrial Management &
Data Systems
101/3 [2001] 97±105
#MCB University Press
[ISSN 0263-5577]
Keywords
Object-oriented computing,
Database management,
Manufacturing
Abstract
As manufacturing systems change
from island of automation to
enterprise-wise integration,
object-oriented database and
database management systems
have many superior features to
meet the new requirements.
Based on the comparison with
relational databases, this paper
discusses the selections and
characteristics of the object-
oriented database and database
management systems (OODBMS)
in manufacturing and summarizes
the current studies and
applications. It helps managers to
choose appropriate OODBMS
products based on the degree of
complexity of their firm's entity
and data items. It provides a
direction for future research.
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