Enterprise modeling for CIM information systems architectures: an object-oriented approach

Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) information systems have become extremely important to the global competitiveness of most manufacturing firms. And although much has been written about CIM development and implementation many problems still plague practitioners. For example, lack of integration, islands of automation, sub-optimization of resources, and the inability to migrate to future technology are a few types of problems. Further, few methodologies have been developed that systematically address these issues. In this paper, we outline an Object-Oriented approach to modeling manufacturing enterprises. The approach offers a procedure and techniques for defining CIM information systems architectures which could serve as blueprints for CIM development and implementation in manufacturing enterprises.