.

Dr Ming Lim

Dr Ming Lim
Phone number

+44 (0)121 204 3508

Email
m.k.lim@aston.ac.uk

Room number
Main Building 170

Profile
I obtained my PhD degree from the University of Exeter UK with the scholarships from the University and the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom (CVCP). Prior to the pursuit of PhD degree, I was entitled to an unconditional offer to direct entry to the second year of Engineering undergraduate programme in the University of Liverpool. I was also awarded with the two-year Scholarships for International Students from the University. With my excellent academic achievement, I graduated with a First class Honours in Bachelor Degree of Engineering and awarded a Final Year Prize by the Department of Engineering.

In 2001, I was appointed as research fellow in an EPSRC research project, Dynamically Integrated Manufacturing Systems (DIMS), based at the University of Exeter. This project aimed at increasing the agility and reconfigurability of manufacturing systems as well as of supply chain system to cope with dynamic changes in the market and production environment.

Before obtaining my lectureship at Aston University in 2006, I was appointed as business improvement manager at ePI International, a fast-growing organisation providing consultancy to clients in saving process/overhead costs in their companies. My roles included managing a team of knowledge engineers in conducting research into diverse business processes and identifying performance improvement solutions within the extended supply chain operations. I was also involved in planning and managing the development of an intelligent knowledge-based portal system, which aimed to help organisations assessing their business processes, and improving their profitability through implementing performance improvement solutions that are relevant to their business performances.

Qualifications & Education

  • Ph.D in Manufacturing Engineering and Management (2004)
    The University of Exeter, UK

  • B.Eng (Hons) in Manufacturing Engineering and Industrial Management (1st Class) (1998)
    The University of Liverpool, UK

Employment

  • 2006 – date: Lecturer in Logistics Management, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University

  • 2005 – 2006: Business Improvement Management, ePI International, UK

  • 2001 – 2004: Research Fellow, School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, University of Exeter

Teaching activity 

  • Logistics and Transportation (MSc)
  • Quality Management (MSc)
  • Facilities Design and Management (BSc)
  • Introduction to Logistics (BSc)
Research interests
My research domains are in the areas of logistics & supply chain management and manufacturing systems & management. My research interests include Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, lean & agile manufacturing, responsive & reconfigurable manufacturing/supply chain, multi-agent systems, cost & system optimisation, and system modelling & simulation.

I have established a research group – RFID Advanced Research. The aim of the research group is to explore new RFID functions to enhance the competitiveness in the supply chain and manufacturing to achieve rapid responsiveness, cost optimisation and system efficiency under dynamic changing environment. An interest group has also been established, and consists of eight organisations across different industry sectors and countries. The research group is a member of the EU RACE networkRFID. I have gained international recognition in RFID research, and have been invited to give a public seminar on RFID applications at the National RFID Centre, based at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech). Following the successful seminar, I was invited to be a session speaker and a panel member at the high-profile RFID World Asia 2009 in Singapore.

The research group has successfully secured a number of funded projects, and has project collaborations with companies from various industry sectors, including DHL Exel Supply Chain, the UK National Health Service (NHS), Hazlin of Ludlow, Carton Edge Packaging, ATMS, and UAV Engines. The group is actively supporting companies in enhancing economic competitiveness in their relative business markets, as well as in assessing their operations for RFID adoption. The group welcomes any form of collaboration with companies through, e.g. consultancy projects, student projects, or a range of funded schemes available. The group is also seeking association with other research institutions through collaborative research funding.

For further detail of my research, please email me for a copy of the information flyer.

Recent research funding

  • EPSRC CTA/DTA, TSB

PhD Supervision

  • Mr Witek Bahr (PhD project) – Managing transportation distribution network more efficiently and cost-effectively with the real-time RFID data.
  • Mr Iqbal Johal (PhD project) – Developing a new loop dispatch layout concept to optimise vehicle routing in delivery.
  • Miss Rebecca Aggarwal (PhD project) – Enhancing the use of RFID technology to deliver greater value-added services to clients (DHL Exel Supply Chain).
  • Mr Soliman Albrassi (PhD project) – Enhancing patient safety via RFID adoption (NHS PASA).
  • Mr Ahsan Munir (PhD project) – Increasing SMEs’ competency in new technology adoption and management (Pakistan’s National Engineering and Scientific Commission – NESCOM).
  • KTP project – implementing RFID technology at Hazlin of Ludlow.

Membership of Professional Bodies
I am a member of IEEE professional association and an associate member of Universities' Transport Study Group (UTSG).

Selected publications

Journal articles 

  • 2009, Lim, MK, Zhang, Z, Goh WT, An Iterative Agent Bidding Mechanism for responsive manufacturing, International Scientific Journal: Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 22(7), 1068-1079.

  • 2007, Zhang, Z, Anosike, A I and Lim, M K, Dynamically Integrated Manufacturing Systems (DIMS) - A Multi-Agent Approach, IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, Part A, 37(5), 824-850.

  • 2006, Zhang, Z, Anosike, A I, Lim, M K and Akanle, O M, An Agent-Based Approach for e-Manufacturing and Supply Chain Integration, Computers and Industrial Engineering Journal – Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Vol. 51 No. 2, 343-360.

  • 2004, Lim, M K and Zhang, Z, An integrated agent-based approach for responsive control of manufacturing resources, Computers and Industrial Engineering, Vol. 46, No.2, 221-232.

  • 2003, Lim, M K and Zhang, Z, A multi-agent based manufacturing control strategy for responsive manufacturing, Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol. 139, No. 1-3, 379-384.

Refereed conference papers

  • 2009, Aggarwal, R and Lim, M K, Impact of RFID in Reverse Logistics, 11th Int. Conf. on The Modern Information Technology in the Innovation Processes of the Industrial Enterprise, 15-16 Oct 2009, Bergamo Italy, 185-192.

  • 2009, Albrassi, S, Lim, M K, and Knight, L, RFID: Opportunities and Challenges within the Hospital Environment, 11th Int. Conf. on The Modern Information Technology in the Innovation Processes of the Industrial Enterprise, 15-16 Oct 2009, Bergamo Italy, 251-258.

  • 2009, Bahr, W, and Lim, M K, Implementation Challenges of RFID in Warehouse, 11th Int. Conf. on The Modern Information Technology in the Innovation Processes of the Industrial Enterprise, 15-16 Oct 2009, Bergamo Italy, 235-242.

  • 2009, Bahr, W, and Lim, M K, RFID Adoption Issues in the Warehouse, XIX International Conference on Material Handling, Constructions and Logistics, 15-16 Oct 2009, Belgrade Serbia, 157-160.

  • 2005, Zhang, Z, Anosike, A I, and Lim, M K, Dynamically integrated manufacturing systems – concepts and supporting methodology, Proc. Intl Conf on Changeable, Agile, Reconfigurable and Virtual Production, 22-23 Sept 2005, Munich, Germany, 281-288.

  • 2003, Lim, MK and Zhang, Z, A multi-agent iterative bidding protocol for agile manufacturing, Proc. of the International Conference on Agile Manufacturing, December 4-6, 2003, Beijing, China, 83-90.

  • 2003, Lim, MK and Zhang, Z, Iterative Agent Bidding to Increase Manufacturing Agility, Proc. of the CIRP 2nd International Conference on Reconfigurable Manufacturing, August 20-21, 2003, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

  • 2003, Lim, MK and Zhang, Z, Currency-based iterative agent bidding for agile manufacturing, Proc. of the 32nd International Conference on Computers & Industrial Engineering, August 11-13, 2003, Ireland, Vol.1, 86-91.

  • 2002, Lim, MK and Zhang, Z, Iterative Agent Bidding Mechanism Based on Genetic Algorithm, Proc. of the Joint International Conference of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management & International Conference on Electronic Commerce Engineering, 19-21 September 2002 , Beijing, China, ISBN: 7-900643-64-8, RID: 277.

  • 2002, Lim, MK and Zhang, Z, Currency-Based Iterative Multi-Agent Bidding Mechanism Based On Genetic Algorithm, Proc. of the 10th International Manufacturing Conference in China (IMCC 2002), 11-13 October 2002, Xiamen, China.

  • 2002, Lim, MK and Zhang, Z, Iterative Multi-Agent Bidding and Co-ordination Based on Genetic Algorithm, Proc. of the 3rd International Symposium on Multi-Agent Systems, Large Complex Systems, and E-Business (MALCEB 2002), 8-10 October 2002, Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany, 682-691.

  • 2001, Lim, M K and Zhang, Z, An Iterative Multi-Agent Bidding Mechanism for Optimal Control of Manufacturing Resources, Proc. of the IASTED International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Control , 19-22 Nov 2001, Tampa Florida, USA, 28-73.

  • 2001, Lim, M K and Zhang, Z, An Iterative Bidding Algorithm for Multi-agent Based Integrated Process Planning and Scheduling, Proc. of the 29th International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering, 1-3 Nov 2001, Montreal Canada, ISBN: 2-921145-27-8, Paper 86, pp26-31.

  • 2000, Lim, M K and Zhang, Z, An integrated agent-based approach for responsive control of manufacturing resources, Proc. of the 27th International Conference on Computers and Industrial Engineering, 11-14 October 2000, Beijing, China, Paper 51, CD, ISBN: 7-900043-38-1/TP-38.

  • 2000, Lim, M K and Zhang, Z, Utilising agents technology for manufacturing systems reconfiguration, Proc. of the Nato 2000 Advanced Summer Institute, Life Cycle Approaches to Production Systems: Management, Control and Supervision, 18-20 September 2000, Bordeaux, France, ASI-1.5 8-10.

  • 2000, Lim, M K and Zhang Z, Integrated manufacturing systems control using a multi-agent system, Proc. of the 33rd International MATADOR Conference, 2000, Manchester UK, 9-14, Springer-Verlag.

  • 2000, Lim, M K and Zhang, Z, A multi-agent based manufacturing control strategy for responsive manufacturing, Proc. of the 9th International Manufacturing Conference, 2000, Hong Kong, Vol.2, ISBN 962-367-292-6, pp.129-131.