1 Development of a Knowledge Model for Managing Schedule Disturbance in Steelmaking

This paper presents the development of a knowledge model, which describes the reasoning process in managing schedule disturbance (MSD) in steelmaking. Literature review shows the lack of research in developing a knowledge model for decision making in steelmaking. In this paper the knowledge model distinguishes three knowledge categories: the task knowledge, the inference knowledge and the domain knowledge. The knowledge is captured for ten most common types of disturbances in steelmaking. It is observed that a common inference model exists for the disturbance management. A knowledge elicitation methodology called XPat [eXpert Process Knowledge Analysis Technique] combined with CommonKADS approach was used to capture process knowledge for managing schedule disturbance in steelmaking. Finally the knowledge model is validated through paper based simulations of three common disturbance scenarios. The validation process consisted of three components: accuracy, completeness and consistency. Keywords: Managing schedule disturbance, steelmaking, application of knowledge modelling, knowledge engineering