An auction-based mechanism for decentralised backlog management in industry 4.0 semi-heterarchical architectures

The adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies necessitates decentralised production control within semi-hierarchical architectures, balancing centralised management with local operational autonomy. This setting underscores the need for effective horizontal coordination among autonomous control units to prevent performance bottlenecks caused by backlog in virtual order queues. To address this challenge, this paper designs and evaluates a novel auction-based mechanism specifically conceived for the dynamic, proactive reallocation of jobs among these units. Inspired by auction theory but tailored for operational needs, the mechanism integrates factors like workload balance, queue status, and performance targets into a dynamic bidding process aimed at enhancing system responsiveness and preemptively reducing queue stagnation. The effectiveness of this coordination strategy is assessed through simulation, confirming that the proposed proactive mechanism significantly improves cycle time stability compared to systems lacking inter-unit job exchange. Notably, these stability gains are achieved whilst maintaining the productivity advantages offered by established dispatching rules. The results highlight the potential of this targeted, auction-based approach for improving horizontal coordination in complex Industry 4.0 manufacturing environments.