Patent ID: 7369911

Claim:
A method for managing movement of work-in-process (WIP) materials between processing units in an automated manufacturing environment, comprising: tracking a position of a work-in-process material lot, the work-in-process material lot including production materials; receiving a list of one or more of the processing units designated to be inoperative during a future projected down time; receiving a start time and a duration of the future projected down time; determining a maximum dwell time associated with each of the designated processing units, the maximum dwell time specifying a maximum amount of time the work-in-process material lot may remain at each of the designated processing units while maintaining a minimum threshold integrity value of the production materials; and scheduling movement of the work-in-process material lot during an interim between a current time and the start time of the future projected down time based on a current position of the work-in-process material lot, the current time, the start time and duration of the future projected down time, and the maximum dwell time.