Development of a knowledge model for managing schedule disturbance in steel-making

Abstract

The development of a knowledge model, which describes the reasoning process in managing schedule disturbance in steel-making, is presented. A literature review shows the lack of research in developing a knowledge model for decision-making in steel-making. The knowledge model distinguishes three knowledge categories: task, inference and domain. Knowledge is captured for the ten most common types of disturbances in steel-making. A common inference model exists for disturbance management. A knowledge elicitation methodology called eXpert Process Knowledge Analysis Technique (XPat) combined with a CommonKADS approach was used to capture process knowledge for managing schedule disturbance in steel-making. Finally, the knowledge model is validated through paper-based simulations of three common disturbance scenarios. The validation process consisted of three components: accuracy, completeness and consistency.

Acknowledgements

Research was carried out as part of a doctoral thesis at Cranfield University and was sponsored by EPSRC and Corus UK Ltd. The authors thank the employees of Corus UK for help and support during the knowledge elicitation.