CIMOSA (Computer Integrated Manufacturing Open Systems Architecture)

The ESPRIT project AMICE has developed an Open System Architecture (CIMOSA) for the manufacturing industry. The main goal of CIMOSA is to support process oriented modelling of manufacturing enterprises and to provide execution support for operation of enterprise systems based on those models. Emphasis in CIMOSA is on modelling support for business users rather than for modelling specialists.

The original aim of CIMOSA (1992) was "to elaborate an open system architecture for CIM and to define a set of concepts and rules to facilitate the building of future CIM systems". One of the main ideas of CIMOSA is the categorization of manufacturing operations in:

• Generic functions: generic parts of every enterprise, independent of organization structure or business area.
• Specific (partial and particular) functions: specific for individual enterprises.

The development of CIMOSA has ultimately resulted in two key items:

• Modeling Framework: This framework supports "all phases of the CIM system life-cycle from requirements definition, through design specification, implementation description and execution of the daily enterprise operation".
• Integrating Infrastructure: This infrastructure provides "specific information technology services for the execution of the Particular Implementation Model", which has proven to be vendor independent and portable.

The framework furthermore offers an "event-driven, process-based modeling approach with the goal to cover essential enterprise aspects in one integrated model. The main aspects are the functional, behavioral, resource, information and organizational aspect".

CIMOSA can be applied in process simulation and analysis. Standardized CIMOSA models "can also be used on line in the manufacturing enterprise for scheduling, dispatching, monitoring and providing process information". One of the standards based on CIMOSA is the Generalised Enterprise Reference Architecture and Methodology (GERAM)