After the successful performance test, the prototype was moved to the manufacturing facility for the cylinder head of the OM 646 (which is a four cylinder diesel engine) and was augmented with two additional machines, a washing machine and a robot for the automatic loading and unloading of workpieces. At this facility, it was used for approximately five years in day-to-day operation to process cylinder heads for the OM 646 and the OM 602 engine as well as other manufacturing parts, until the end of the product life-cycle of the OM 646.
According to the operating personnel of the prototype, the agent-based control system was very reliable. There was hardly any maintenance of the control agents necessary during the five years of operation. In particular, it was possible to introduce new products to the production system without adapting the control agents.
It can thus be concluded that agent technology can run reliably in day-to-day operation of an industrial process.
July 1999 — The prototype undergoes three weeks of performance test.
End of 1999 — The prototype starts to produce cylinder heads in day-to-day operation (until 2005).
During the five years of operation, on average, the prototype was constantly operated on two shifts (which are about 16 hours per day) and five days per week.
2005 — The prototype is torn down due to the end of the product life-cycle (of the OM 646).