KNOWLEDGE-BASED CIM SUPPORT.

Regardless of the degree of automation, today's manufacturing systems are integrated by virtue of one and only one resource: expert human intelligence. The knowledge of trained professionals is the only 'glue' bridging these subsystems to achieve high-level corporate goals. The expert ability to weigh alternatives and make informed decisions represents the greatest value aided to the process of creating manufactured goods. The objectives of CIM - computer integrated manufacturing - imply that this value added expertise can be automated to integrate factory operations and vastly improve productivity. A top-level expert system is envisioned that understands corporate-wide CIM objectives and will help coordinate and integrate automation across the entire span of manufacturing operation from front-end design to field repair.