Modular distributed models of production systems: a Petri net-based approach

Modeling and simulation are key performance analysis and control techniques to optimize decision-making as well as design and operate complex production systems. They are also indicated as one of the technological pillars of modern industry and IT solutions supporting the implementation of the roadmap toward Industry 4.0 in the areas of digital transformation and automation. In the context of the required rapid transformation of today’s enterprises, it becomes extremely important to look for solutions that allow the use of the existing infrastructure, information, and energy, so as to minimize the negative impact of new technologies and the transformation process itself on the environment. The article presents an approach to modeling large and complex production systems with the use of distributed Petri net models allowing the use of the possessed IT infrastructure as consistent with the idea of sustainable development in the activities of enterprises. This eliminates two major problems that render traditional models unusable. The first is related to the difficulties in analyzing and verifying models of enormous size and infinite space of states. The second is related to the required computing power, if such analyzes are to be performed on one computing unit, which would force the producers to replace the IT infrastructure. For this purpose, modular Petri nets are introduced. Other benefits of modularization, such as smaller components that can be independently analysed, are also presented in the paper. The proposed modular Petri net has been implemented in the proprietary GPenSIM software. The paper is complemented by a practical example of industrial modeling of production systems with automated guided vehicles (AGVs) using the modular model with intelligent Petri modules.