Patent Publication Number: US-2007100645-A1

Title: Management of a process

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
      The present disclosure relates to management of a process and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for monitoring and controlling a process.  
     BACKGROUND  
      Processes, such as material handling processes, are typically used to manipulate a plurality of objects, such as parts or packages, in one or more stages thereof to transform the objects toward a more desired state. Multiple processes may be interrelated to perform successive manipulations to produce a desired final product. Typically, each of the multiple processes and/or stages has a different throughput capacity and/or has a different processing cycle time per object or per a group of objects. Throughput and cycle times are typically a function of the available resources for a given stage or process, e.g., the consumables available to manipulate the objects within a particular process or stage. Resources are often limited and the allocation of those resources throughout a process can impact the cost associated with manipulating the objects and a cumulative cost of operating the process to achieve a desired manipulation.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,739,512 (“the &#39;512 patent”) issued to Guerrero et al. discloses a system for tracking components within a network environment. Specifically, the &#39;512 patent discloses a system including a plurality of manufacturing entities configured to manipulate various features of components and a component tracking module configured to be in communication with the plurality of entities. As components move through and between the manufacturing entities, the component tracking module receives data, such as test reports, performance criteria, variances, and location, associated with the components. This data may be accessed by users and/or operators of the manufacturing entities to monitor and track the plurality of components in order to indicate receipt of goods, generate purchase orders, pay invoices, and update and maintain inventory accounts automatically. Additionally, the data may be used to aid collaboration to integrate efforts between the entities to compare and adjust the production of the components. Furthermore, the data may be used to identify objects that were manipulated similarly to an identified inferior component.  
      Although the &#39;512 patent may track the location of components manipulated by a plurality of manufacturing entities, it may not identify information regarding the allocation of resources between the entities. Additionally, the &#39;512 patent may not reallocate resources from one or more entities having a surplus of resources to an entity having a deficiency in resources. Furthermore, the &#39;512 patent may not allocate resources as a function of a cost associated with manipulating the components.  
      The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In one aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method for controlling a process configured to manipulate objects. The method includes identifying at least one object to be manipulated within the process. The method also includes consuming at least one resource to manipulate the at least one object and monitoring the consumption of the at least one resource and the manipulation of the at least one object. The method further includes establishing a cost value of the at least one object as a function of the consumption of the at least one resource.  
      In another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a system. The system includes a process having at least one stage within which at least one object is manipulated. At least one resource is affiliated with the at least one stage. The system also includes a controller configured to monitor a consumption of the at least one resource within the at least one stage and to communicate a signal when the consumption exceeds a predetermined consumption.  
      In yet another aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a method for controlling a material handling process as a function of a cost of manipulating a plurality of objects. The method includes identifying the plurality of objects to be manipulated within the process. The method also includes determining a schedule to manipulate the plurality of objects and manipulating the plurality of objects. The method further includes monitoring a manipulation of at least one of the plurality of objects and determining the cost of manipulating the plurality of objects. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an exemplary diagrammatic illustration of a process in accordance with the present disclosure;  
       FIG. 2  is an exemplary flow chart of a method to control the process of  FIG. 1 ; and  
       FIG. 3  is an exemplary flow chart of a method of monitoring the manipulation of objects within the process of  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary process  10  such as, for example, a material handling process, within which one or more objects  50  may be manipulated. Specifically, process  10  may include one or more stages  12  configured individually and/or cooperatively, within which objects  50  may be manipulated. Process  10  may also include resources  20  which may be consumed within stages  12  to affect the manipulation of objects  50 . Process  10  may also include communicators  30  and a controller  40  configured to monitor the manipulation of objects  50  and control the allocation of resources  20  within process  10 . It is contemplated that process  10  may be configured to affect, via stages  12 , any type of manipulation such as, for example, tooling, coating, geometry shaping, heat treating, packaging, transporting, arranging, refining, assembling, and/or any other type of manipulation. It is also contemplated that process  10  may be interrelated with additional processes (not shown) within which objects  50  may also be manipulated previously, subsequently, and/or concurrently so as to, for example, transform raw materials into finished products. It is further contemplated that process  10  may include any type of process configured to affect any type of manipulation known in the art such as, for example, a refining process, a fabrication process, a manufacturing process, a painting process, an assembly process, a packaging process, a warehousing process, or a combination of one or more such processes.  
      Stages  12  may include a first, second, third, and fourth stages  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c ,  12   d  configured to affect successive and/or concurrent operations configured to manipulate objects  50 . A further description of stages  12  is made below with reference to first stage  12   a  for clarification purposes only. It is noted that the description of first stage  12   a  is applicable to second, third, and fourth stages  12   b ,  12   c ,  12   d . Specifically, first stage  12   a  may include any operation configured to perform one or more manipulations of objects  50  such as, for example loading, welding, bolting, coating, washing, heating, cleaning, and/or any operation known in the art. For example, first stage  12   a  may be configured to receive a first object in a less desirable state, affect one or more manipulations on the first object, and deliver the first object to second stage  12   b  in a more desirable state. It is contemplated that process  10  may include any number of stages  12  and is illustrated as having at least four stages for explanatory purposes only.  
      Resources  20  may be allocated with respect to stages  12  and may be configured to be consumed to manipulate objects  50 . For example, the resources may include machinery, e.g., robots or tooling, labor, e.g., manual labor or mechanized labor, utilities, e.g., electricity or fuel, vehicles, e.g., carts or trucks, supplies, e.g., coatings, packaging materials, time, and/or other consumables configured to be affiliated with and/or utilized by one or more stages  12  to, for example, change the physical characteristics and/or the arrangement of objects  50 . Resources  20  may be allocated among stages  12  as first, second, third, and fourth resources  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c ,  20   d , associated with first, second third, and/or fourth stage  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c ,  12   d , respectively. Resources  20  may incur a cost associated with the operation and/or consumption thereof. A cost of resources  20  may be a function of the use, e.g., a cost of electricity, may be determined whether or not consumed, e.g., a cost of labor, and/or may be based on any other suitable manner. It is contemplated that the cost of resources may include a currency expense of resources  20 , a value attributable to the utilization of resources  20 , a worth of time associated with not manipulating other objects, and/or any type of expense applicable to resources  20 . It is also contemplated that resources  20  may be consumed within stages  12  to establish a desired manipulation of objects  50  such as, for example, by being operated, by being utilized on a one-time basis, by being recycled and utilized on a multi-time basis, and/or consumed in any suitable manner. It is further contemplated that resources  20  may be allocated to more than one of stages  12  in any suitable distribution or arrangement, as desired.  
      Communicators  30  may be disposed relative to stages  12  to communicate with resources  20  and controller  40 . Specifically communicators  30  may include first, second, third, and fourth communicators  30   a ,  30   b ,  30   c ,  30   d  each associated with first, second, third, and fourth stage  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c ,  12   d . For example, communicators  30  may include sensors, audio and/or visual alarms, timers, displays, monitors, input/output devices, barcode scanners, computers, global positioning systems, radio frequency transmitters, infrared and/or optical transmitters, cellular telephones, pagers, walkie-talkies and/or any other known indicator. Communicators  30  may each be configured to monitor and/or display conditions of one or more resources of stages  12 . For example and with reference to first stage  12   a  for clarification purposes only, communicator  30   a  may be configured to monitor a time that one or more of objects  50  may be manipulated by first stage  12   a  and communicate that time to controller  40 . Communicator  30   a  may also be configured to display a warning light relative to first resources  20   a  with respect to a time that objects  50  are manipulated within first stage  12   a . Communicator  30   a  may also be configured to monitor a consumption of resources  20   a  within first stage  12   a  and communicate data indicative of such a consumption to controller  40 , e.g., communicators  30   a  may monitor a consumption of electricity required to operate machinery to manipulate objects  50  within first stage  12   a . Communicator  30   a  may further be configured to monitor an allocation of first resources  20   a  with respect to the manipulation of objects  50  within first stage  12   a  to determine, for example, a surplus or deficiency in first resources  20   a  desired to manipulate objects  50  within first stage  12   a . It is contemplated that communicator  30  may include any number of communicators each operatively associated with stages  12  and/or resources  20  and configured to communicate with controller  40 . It is also contemplated that process  10  may include additional communicators (not shown) configured to monitor and/or display resources within additional processes (not shown) or may include fewer communicators than that illustrated. It is further contemplated that communicators  30  may interact with controller  40  in any suitable manner, such as, for example, via radio frequencies, hardwired connections, optically, via the Internet, via a local area network, and/or via any manner known in the art.  
      Controller  40  may be configured to monitor process  10  and control the allocation of resources  20  relative to stages  12 . Controller  40  may include one or more microprocessors, a memory, a data storage device, a communications hub, and/or other components known in the art. It is contemplated that controller  40  may be integrated within a general process control system capable of controlling additional functions and/or operations of process  10  and/or stages  12 . It is also contemplated that controller  40  may be configured to control and/or affect the operation of additional processes, e.g., previous and/or subsequent processes with respect to process  10 . It is further contemplated that controller  40  may further include additional and/or different components, such as, for example, an input device, an output device, a display, a printer (not shown), an audio-video device (not shown), removable data storage devices (not shown), and/or other components known in the art.  
      Specifically, controller  40  may be configured to receive inputs from one or more of communicators  30  indicative of various indicia and/or criteria of process  10  and/or stages  12 . Controller  40  may perform one or more algorithms to determine appropriate output signals to affect control of stages  12  and/or resources  20 . Controller  40  may also be configured to perform one or more algorithms to monitor process  10  as a function of resources  20  and objects  50 . For example, controller  40  may be configured to monitor a consumption of first resources  20   a  within first stage  12   a  with respect to objects  50  being manipulated therein and control a reallocation of resources  20  to and/or from first stage  12   a  as a function of a deficiency and/or a surplus of first resources  20   a  relative to a desired amount of resources  20   a  within first stage  12   a . As such, controller  40  may be configured to reallocate resources  20  within process  10  and among stages  12  to improve the consumption of resources  20  utilized to manipulate the objects, e.g., controller  40  may reduce a cycle time of an object through stage  12   a  by reallocating surplus resources from one or more of second, third, or fourth stages  12   b ,  12   c ,  12   d  to cure deficient resources within first stage  12   a.    
       FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary first method  200  which may be performed by controller  40  to monitor process  10  and/or control the allocation of resources  20 . Specifically, first method  200  may be configured to identify one or more of objects  50  that may be manipulated within stages  12  of process  10 , step  202 , and determine one or more of objects  50  that are available for manipulation, step  204 . First method  200  may also be configured to determine a schedule of manipulating the available objects, step  206 , and monitor the manipulation of the available objects with respect to process  10 , step  208 . First method  200  may further be configured to deliver the manipulated objects, step  210 .  
      Step  202  may identify a first subgroup of objects  50  that may be manipulated within one or more of stages  12  of process  10 . Specifically, controller  40  may be configured to communicate with one or more databases and/or receive one or more inputs indicative of one or more objects  50  that may be desired and/or required to be manipulated. For example, controller  40  may identify such objects by referencing one or more purchase orders electronically and/or physically stored within or external to controller  40 . Such purchase orders may include data indicative of a desired quantity of finished products and/or a desired delivery schedule thereof. Controller  40  may be configured to interpret such data and identify the first subgroup of objects to establish the desired quantity and/or delivery of finished products. It is contemplated that the first subgroup of objects desired to be manipulated within process  10  may have different cycle times, different lead times, and/or have different priorities for manipulation to achieve the desired quantity and/or delivery of the finished products. As such, step  202  may be configured to account for different types of objects desired to be manipulated within process  10  to achieve one or more different quantities, types of finished products, and/or delivery schedules thereof.  
      Step  204  may determine a second subgroup of objects  50  available for manipulation. Specifically, controller  40  may be configured to communicate with one or more databases and/or receive one or more inputs indicative of one or more of objects  50  that are available to be manipulated within process  10 . For example, process  10  may not be capable and/or it may not be desirous to manipulate objects  50  within process  10  until objects  50  have been manipulated within one or more previous processes. As such, controller  40  may compare the first subgroup of objects with one or more objects  50  that have been manipulated within the one or more previous processes and establish the second subgroup as those objects meeting each criteria. It is contemplated that the one or more previous processes may manipulate objects that may not be desired to be or may not require manipulation within process  10 . It is also contemplated that the one or more previous processes may affect the manipulation of various objects with an unsuitable delivery to process  10 , e.g., manipulate objects which are not to be manipulated within process  10 , manipulate objects having disparate cycle times between the previous process and process  10 , and/or manipulate objects in other manners which adversely impact the manipulation of those objects within process  10 . As such, step  204  may be configured to account for uncoordinated manipulation between process  10  and one or more previous processes.  
      Step  206  may determine a schedule to manipulate the available objects, e.g., the second subgroup of objects, and determine a schedule of resources  20  to manipulate the available objects. Specifically, controller  40  may be configured to perform one or more algorithms to arrange the available objects in a schedule to be manipulated within process  10 . For example, controller  40  may compare one or more characteristics of the available objects, such as, for example, physical size of the objects, cycle times, lead times, requirements of resources  20 , and/or any other criteria, to determine a suitable schedule. Step  206  may determine first, second, third, fourth resources  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c ,  20   d  associated with first, second, third, and fourth stages  12   a ,  12   b ,  12   c ,  12   d  that are desired and/or necessary to manipulate the available objects within stages  12 . It is contemplated that resources  20  may be allocated and reallocated between stages  12  as desired and controller  40  may be configured to estimate a future time when resources originally desired to be associated with first stage  12   a  may be desired to be reallocated and associated with second stage  12   b . It is contemplated that step  206  may establish a schedule of available objects and predict a desired allocation and/or reallocation of resources  20  as a function of any desired criteria, such as, for example, historical data indicative of a time of manipulation for similar objects. It is also contemplated that the schedule of available objects may include objects arranged in series, objects arranged in parallel, objects identified as capable of being manipulated in one or more stages  12  substantially simultaneously, and/or in any other schedule. It is further contemplated that a determined schedule may be based on a predicted consumption of resources  20 , that one or more determined schedules may be compared with one another, and one of the compared schedules may be selected as a function of the predicted consumption of resources. As such, step  206  may be configured to account for differences in manipulations among stages  12  and differences in resources  20 .  
      Step  208  may monitor the manipulation of the available objects within process  10 . Specifically, controller  40  may be configured to receive one or more inputs from communication devices  30  indicative of one or more operational conditions of process  10 . For example, controller  40  may receive signals indicative of a location of objects within process  10 , of the amount of resources  20  being consumed within one or more stages  12 , and/or receive additional signals. Controller  40  may also deliver signals indicative of shortages of resources  20  within one or more of stages  12 , indicate alarms and/or visual devices within one or more stages  12  to reallocate resources among stages  12 , and/or deliver additional signals. A further description of step  208  is made below with reference to  FIG. 3 . Step  208  may also be configured to populate one or more databases with data indicative of the received and/or delivered signals. Such databases may be available in substantially real time to indicate up to date consumption of resources  20 , location of objects  50  within process  10 , an amount of resources  20  consumed to manipulate objects  50  to date, and/or indicate other desired operating resources of process  10 . Additionally, controller  40  may be configured to determine a cost value by relating costs associated with the consumption of resources  20  with objects  50  being manipulated such as, for example, comparing the electricity costs associated with operating machinery to manipulate objects  50  within first stage  12   a  and track such costs in real time to indicate the total costs expended to manipulate objects  50 .  
      Step  210  may deliver the objects manipulated within process  10  to a subsequent process. Specifically, controller  40  may identify and/or indicate manipulated objects as ready for delivery to a subsequent process. It is contemplated that first method  200  may be repeated at any desired frequency such as, for example, daily, at the start of a work shift, at the receipt of a purchase order for a quantity of finished products, and/or at any other frequency.  
       FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary second method  300  which may be performed by controller  40  within step  208  of first method  200  and which may be configured to monitor objects  50  manipulated within process  10 . Specifically, second method  300  may include receiving a signal indicative of an object entering a stage, step  302 . Second method  300  may also include monitoring resources  20  associated with manipulating the object within the stage and comparing the monitored resources with predetermined resources, step  304 . Second method  300  may also include delivering a signal to reallocate resources  20  if a monitored resource nears or exceeds a predetermined resource, step  306 . Second method  300  may further include receiving a signal indicative of the object leaving the stage.  
      Step  302  may include receiving a signal indicative of an object entering a stage. Specifically, one or more communicators  30  may deliver a signal to controller  40 . For example, first communicator  30   a  may identify when an object enters first stage  12   a  by, for example, scanning a barcode or other indicia operably connected to the object as the object becomes affiliated with first stage  12   a . It is contemplated that communicators  30  may identify objects within stages  12  by any suitable mechanism, such as, for example, scanning a bar code on a carrier supporting the object, sensing an emitted global positioning system signal, and/or other location identification mechanisms known in the art.  
      Step  304  may be configured to monitor one or more resources  20  associated with manipulating the object within the stage. Specifically, controller  40  may be configured to monitor and/or store data indicative of a time the object may be affiliated with a stage, the amount of resources consumed to manipulate the object, and/or monitor other resources known in the art. For example, controller  40  may be configured to monitor the time an object is affiliated with first stage  12   a  and monitor the amount of electricity consumed within first stage  12   a  during the same time. As such, controller  40  may be configured to relate the object and the amount of electricity consumed to manipulate the object within first stage  12   a . It is contemplated that controller  40  may be configured to monitor any type of resource such as, for example, electricity, fuel, supplies, and/or labor, associated with manipulating objects  50  within stages  12  and to functionally relate any type of resource with objects  50  manipulated with any of stages  12 . As such, step  304  may be configured to establish a cost value of manipulating objects  50  as a function of the time the object is manipulated within a stage and the amount of consumed resources during that time. It is contemplated that the manipulation of objects  50  may include idle periods wherein characteristics of objects  50  may not be affected, e.g., objects  50  may be temporarily stored within one or more stages  12  pending manipulation within that stage. As such, controller  40  may be configured to disregard or include such an idle period during monitoring of resources  20  and thus in determining a cost value, as desired. It is further contemplated resources  20  may include a plurality of resources and that controller  40  may be configured to monitor each of the plurality of resources and establish a cost value of manipulating objects  50  as a function of the consumption of the plurality of resources.  
      Step  306  may include delivering a signal to reallocate resources  20  if a monitored resource nears or exceeds a predetermined resource value. Specifically, controller  40  may be configured to deliver a signal to one or more of communicators  30  to affect a reallocation of resources  20  among stages  12 . For example, controller  40  may receive a signal from first communicator  30   a  indicating that a time an object has been manipulated within first stage  12   a  exceeds or is about to exceed a predetermined desired time for manipulation of such an object. Controller  40  may determine that such a signal is indicative of a deficiency in first resources  20   a  and may, as a result, deliver a signal to one or more of second, third, or fourth communicators  30   b ,  30   c ,  30   d  to indicate the determined deficiency. As such, second, third, or fourth resources  20   b ,  20   c ,  20   d  may be reallocated to first stage  12   a  to cure the deficiency therein.  
      Step  308  may include receiving a signal indicative of the object leaving the stage. Similar to step  302 , one or more communicators may deliver a signal to controller  40 . For example, first communicator  30   a  may identify when the object leaves first stage  12   a  by, for example, scanning a barcode or other indicia operably connected to the object as the object ceases affiliation with first stage  12   a  and/or when the object becomes affiliated with second stage  12   b . Similar to step  302 , communicator  30   a  may deliver a signal to controller  40  to indicate that the object may no longer be affiliated with first stage  12   a  via any suitable mechanism known in the art. It is contemplated that controller  40  may only receive signals indicative of objects entering stages  12  and that controller may be configured to determine that a signal indicative of an object entering a given stage may also be indicative of the object leaving a previous stage. It is also contemplated that controller  40  may only receive signals indicative of object leaving stages  12  and that controller may be configured to determine that a signal indicative of an object leaving a given stage may also be indicative of the object entering a subsequent stage.  
      Step  310  may include second method  300  being repeated for all or substantially all objects  50  manipulated within process  10 . Second method  300  may also be repeated for a given object through each of stages  12 . As such, controller  40  may be configured to monitor the available objects manipulated within process  10  and stages  12 . It is contemplated that controller  40  may be configured to perform second method  300  substantially simultaneously for a plurality of objects  50  that may be manipulated within a plurality of stages  12 , so as to monitor the manipulation of objects  50  in substantially real time. It is also contemplated that second method  300  may be repeated at any frequency to monitor and establish data indicative of the manipulation of the available objects, such as, for example, substantially continuously, periodically, daily, at discrete time intervals, and/or at any interval as desired. It is further contemplated that first and second methods  200 ,  300  may each be repeated as desired to monitor and control process  10  to affect manipulation of objects  50  and deliver manipulated objects  50  to a subsequent process.  
      It is noted that the description of process  10  above is for explanatory purposes only and is not limited to the scope described. The description of process  10  is applicable to process  10  embodying any degree of object manipulation. For example, the above description includes process  10  embodied as a particular processing function, e.g., a paint line, wherein stages  12  are stations therein, e.g., a loading station, a painting station, and/or a curing station, such that process  10  is interrelated with other processing functions, e.g., a fabrication line and/or an assembly line. The above description also includes process  10  embodied as a industrial operation e.g., a manufacturing plant, wherein stages  12  are processing functions therein, e.g., a fabrication line, a paint line, and/or an assembly line, such that process  10  is affiliated with other industry operations, e.g., a mining operation and/or a retail selling operation. The above description also includes process  10  embodied as a processing station, e.g., a painting station, wherein stages  12  are operating areas therein, e.g., a staging area, a storage area, and/or a supply area, such that process  10  is affiliated with other processing stations, e.g., a loading station and/or a curing station.  
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY  
      The disclosed system may be applicable to any process. The disclosed system may be configured to monitor and/or control any process within which one or more objects may be manipulated. Additionally, the disclosed system may be configured to monitor and selectively reallocate resources from one stage to another. The operation of controller  40  and first and second methods  200 ,  300  is explained below with reference to process  10  configured as a painting process for clarification purposes only, and it is noted that the explanation thereof is applicable to process  10  configured as any process.  
      Process  10  may be configured to apply a coating to objects  50  and stages  12  may be configured to affect manipulations such as, for example, loading, washing, masking, priming, coating, curing, unmasking, unloading, and/or other manipulations as is known in the art. Process  10  may, for example, receive objects  50  from a fabrication process configured to, for example, stamp, extrude, weld, and/or form objects  50  in any suitable manner known in the art. Process  10  may deliver objects  50  to an assembly process configured to, for example, connect, attach, link, and/or otherwise combine objects  50  into a finished product.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , controller  40  may determine one or more of objects  50  desired to be painted within process  10  as a function of purchase orders received for a given quantity of finished products assembled by the assembly process for a given lead time (step  202 ). One or more of objects  50  desired to be assembled may also be desired to be fabricated by the fabrication process. The fabrication process may, however, not form objects  50  according to the given quantity and/or lead time of the finished products. As such, controller  40  may determine the one or more of objects  50  that are desired to be painted within process  10  and that are fabricated by the fabrication process (step  204 ).  
      Controller  40  may determine a schedule desired to manipulate objects  50  available to be painted (step  206 ). Controller  40  may perform one or more algorithms to determine a schedule as a function of cycle times and lead times of manipulating the available objects and the desired quantity and delivery of the finished products. For example, controller  40  may compare the time required to paint one or more of the available objects with the time required to assemble painted objects into finished products. It is contemplated that controller  40  may determine the schedule as a function of only a portion of the available products, such as, by determining a schedule based only on physically large objects, or objects known to consume relatively large amounts of resources  20  within process  10  e.g., frames and/or chassis. As such, controller  40  may disregard other available objects, such as, relatively small objects, and/or objects known to consume relatively small amounts of resources  20  within process  10 . For example, controller  40  may be configured to disregard bolts or washers, that are desired to be painted and assembled yet that may not significantly impact the schedule of process  10 .  
      Controller  40  may also be configured to predict an allocation of resources  20  within process  10  as a function of the determined schedule (step  206 ). Specifically, controller  40  may be configured to predict the consumption of resources  20  desired to paint objects  50 . For example, controller  40  may predict a desired consumption of labor within a masking stage of process  10  as a function of the quantity or type of objects  50  desired to be painted. Controller  40  may perform one or more algorithms to analyze objects  50  with respect to predetermined times. Such predetermined times may be indicative of a desired time to manipulate objects  50  within stages, e.g., the loading stage and/or the washing stage, configured to manipulate objects  50  before the masking stage, to predict a desired consumption of labor within the masking stage. It is contemplated that the amount of labor affiliated with stages  12  may be limited, e.g., labor may not be able to be consumed within all of stages  12  of process  10  concurrently because sufficient labor allocated to each of stages  12  may not be available and/or desirable, e.g., because sufficient labor allocated to each of stages  12  may be too expensive. As such, controller  40  may, for example, allocate the available labor to the loading stage to complete the manipulation therein and predict a reallocation of the available labor from the loading stage to the masking stage to complete the manipulation therein. It is contemplated that controller  40  may communicate one or more signals to communicators  30  to indicate to the available labor when such labor may be allocated to the loading stage and when such labor may be reallocated to the masking stage. For example, controller  40  may communicate a signal to the loading stage when the labor affiliated with the loading stage may be desired to be reallocated to the masking stage. It is also contemplated that controller  40  may communicate a signal to resources  20  to indicate a future time when resources  20  may be desired to be reallocated to the masking stage, e.g., controller  40  may communicate a signal to indicate a future time when labor affiliated with the loading stage may be desired to be reallocated to the masking stage.  
      Objects  50  may then be manipulated within process  10  to apply a desired coating thereon. Resources  20  may be consumed within stages  12  to establish the desired manipulation. For example, a loading stage may consume labor, time, space, and/or fuel to transport available objects from the fabrication process to process  10 . Similarly, a masking stage may consume labor, time, space, and/or materials, e.g., tape, to cover portions of the manipulated objects that are not desired to receive a coating. Additionally, a coating stage may consume robotics, time, space, and/or material to apply a coating, e.g., a paint, to the objects. Furthermore, a curing stage may consume electricity, time, and/or space to expose objects  50  to an elevated temperature within an oven. It is noted that the above explanation is exemplary and provided for explanatory purposes only.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , controller  40  may monitor the consumption of one or more of the resources  20  consumed within stages  12  and determine a cost associated with manipulating objects  50  within process  10  (step  208  and second method  300 ). For example, controller  40  may be configured to receive signals indicative of the quantity and/or type of objects  50  being cured within the curing stage, e.g., scanned indicia. Additionally, controller  40  may compare a cost of electricity per unit time with the amount of electricity and time consumed to cure objects  50  within a curing stage of process  10 . As such, controller  40  may compare the cost of electricity and objects  50  cured within the curing stage and determine a cost of curing objects  50 . It is contemplated that controller  40  may be configured to similarly determine costs associated with any other resource  20  consumed within one or more stages  12 .  
      Because controller  40  performing first and second methods  200 ,  300  may be configured to control process  10  to affect manipulation of objects  50  therein and monitor the consumption of resources  20 , controller  40  may obtain information regarding the allocation of resources  20  within process  10  and, in particular, among stages  12 . As such, controller  40  may be configured to reallocate resources from one of stages  12  having a surplus of resources  20  to another of stages  12  having a deficiency in resources  20 . Additionally, controller  40  may control process  10  as a function of a cost value of consuming resources  20  and may reduce costs associated with manipulating objects  50 . Furthermore, because controller  40  may monitor the consumption and allocation of resources  20  as objects  50  are manipulated within process  10 , controller  40  and first and second methods  200 ,  300  may provide a substantially real time management of process  10 .  
      It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed system for management of a process. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosed system. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents