This paper introduces an RFID-enabled real-time manufacturing
execution system (RT-MES) for mass-customization production
(MCP) companies whose shop-floor management faces the challenges
of manual and paper-based data collection, plans and schedules
affected by large number of disturbances and high WIP inventory
level. RFID devices are systematically deployed in MCP sites to create
an RFID-enabled real-time ubiquitous manufacturing environment. In
the intelligent ambience, typical manufacturing resources are converted
into smart objects (SOs) which can be traced and tracked and
real-time production data can be collected. RFID-enabled RT-MES
utilizes the real-time information to support real-time planning,
scheduling, execution and control. A hybrid flow shop scheduling
problem with k stages is discussed and solved with real-time job
pools and various rules. With the help of real-time data collection and
scheduling, visibility and traceability of materials is improved and
WIP inventory is controlled in a certain level