A novel method of modeling collaborative processes in manufacturing

In a manufacturing system, we need to capture collaborative processes among its participants in order to clearly define supporting functions of a system. However, pervasive process modeling techniques, including IDEF3, Petri nets, and UML, are not sufficient for modeling collaborative processes. Therefore, we have developed a novel modeling method referred to as collaborative process modeling (CPM) to describe collaborative processes. CPM models can be transformed into marked graph models so that we can use the analysis power of Petri nets. In this paper, we first briefly discuss the aforementioned process modeling techniques. Then, we illustrate the CPM method and transformation rules with illustrative examples. CPM allows us to develop collaborative process models, understand and facilitate the realization of collaboration, and verify models before rushing into the development.