Research On Product Lifecycle Information Tracing Based On Resource Meta-model

In the manufacturing field, product lifecycle information tracking helps enterprise tracehistory information and supports root cause analysis when quality problems come, so as toimprove the reliability and safety of the product. Meanwhile, the collection of usefulinformation from all stages of product lifecycle is the premise of product manufacturingoptimization strategy proposing, by analyzing and mining historical data. Therefore, as toenterprise, it becomes an inevitable trend to establish mechanism for product lifecycleinformation collection and tracking. However, in traditional manufacturing enterprises,product lifecycle information usually scatters in different subsystems, because of the lack ofunified and organized product lifecycle information management system. In addition, theinconsistency of product information amount and properties during different lifecycle stagesleads to the requirement for unified standard or models to support the organization andcollection of information.To solve the above problems, in this paper, an information model oriented productlifecycle is proposed, supporting the collection and organization of product lifecycleinformation, and ensuring its completeness, consistency and traceability. And based on themodel, combining with web service technology, product information tracking method basedon resource meta-model is designed. The integration and tracking of product lifecycleinformation are realized through the flexible configuration and control mechanism of theresource meta-model.Following is the main contribution of this paper:(1) Framework for product lifecycle information tracking based on resource meta-modelmethodThe framework has three layers. Data source connection layer parses the meta data aboutdatabase connection, and builds relation between data source layer and resource layer.Resource meta-model layer encapsulates and configures meta data to meta resource, throughcalling predefined operations in operation set upon resource meta-model and configuresresource accessing authority for accessing control. Information accessing layer uses RESTweb service to realize information tracking. (2) Product lifecycle information modelAn information model for product lifecycle information collection and integration isdesigned, including sub-models for each stage. The key business operations during thelifecycle are mapped to modeling operations. Meanwhile the conversion rule for sub-modelsis proposed to make sure the continuity of the information model.(3) Configurable resource meta-model mapping mechanismAccording to the application requirements, the operations in operation set upon theresource meta-model can be called for flexible configuration of meta-resources.(4) Resource accessing control and realization mechanism based on Web serviceBased on the control of meta-model, the method of mapping product lifecycleinformation into resource instance is designed, so that the information can be accessed bycalling REST web services.Finally, a prototype system is developed according to the method proposed before. Andan example which uses the system managing and tracking the product lifecycle informationgenerated during the process of manufacturing in one aerospace factory is demonstrated toverify the feasibility of proposed method.