Charter of AAAI Special Interest Group in Manufacturing

1. MISSION : The Special Interest Group in Manufacturing (SIGMAN) is an alliance of members of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) who are interested in the theory and practice of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as applied to manufacturing problems such as materials and design, operations and production, distribution and field service, and organization and management. SIGMAN exists to facilitate communication and cooperation among those interested in defining manufacturing problems which are amenable to AI-based solutions, developing and describing such solutions, and evaluating implementations in service and against one another. SIGMAN supports its members through such activities as holding business meetings, organizing workshops, publishing newsletters, and maintaining benchmark problem sets.
2. GUIDELINES : SIGMAN seeks contributions from the research community and from the applications community. It is vitally interested in helping applications set the priorities for research and research set the expectations for applications. SIGMAN is interested in research concepts which are applicable to manufacturing problems, and application examples which employ AI concepts. It is especially interested in projects which attempt critical evaluation of particular theories applied to specific real problems. Both positive and negative results are of interest. SIGMAN is interested in the precise definition of paradigmatic manufacturing problems, the clear and complete description of AI solutions, and the unambiguous evaluation of implementations. It is particularly interested in the availability of well-defined problem sets and performance benchmarks as aids to communication and progress.
3. MEMBERS : The membership of SIGMAN shall be open to any member of the AAAI as defined in the AAAI By-Laws. Application is made by request to AAAI to be included on the SIGMAN mailing list. Support of SIGMAN is included in AAAI membership fees. Termination of membership in AAAI includes termination of membership in SIGMAN.
4. OFFICERS : The officers of SIGMAN shall be drawn from the membership of the SIG. No person may hold more than one office simultaneously. The officers shall include ...
   • An ACADEMIC CO-CHAIR, normally a full-time employee of an academic institution, who shall be elected to a two year term of office immediately prior to the annual business meeting in even years (beginning in 1990), and an INDUSTRIAL CO-CHAIR, normally a full-time employee of a commercial corporation, who shall be elected to a two year term of office immediately prior to the annual business meeting in odd years (beginning in 1989). The duties of these CO-CHAIRPERSONS shall include organizing and conducting the yearly business meeting, representing SIGMAN to the AAAI parent (the senior current CO-CHAIRPERSON shall be designated as the "AAAI Liaison"), promoting interaction between SIGMAN and other bodies, supporting the organization and execution of workshops, and assuring interaction between the sub-areas of SIGMAN.
   • TWO MEMBER-AT-LARGE OFFICERS each of whom shall be elected to a two year term of office immediately prior to an annual business meeting. The duties of these officers shall include actively identifying problems of interest to the members, organizing workshops and other activities, and promoting cooperation among experts and practitioners in AI and Manufacturing. [Change approved in 1996]
   • A NEWSLETTER SECRETARY, who shall be elected to a two year term of office immediately prior to an annual business meeting. The duties of the NEWSLETTER SECRETARY shall include actively soliciting and collecting material of interest to the membership, and compiling and issuing the newsletter as appropriate (not less than 4 times per year), in machine readable and transmittable form when possible.
   • A BENCHMARK SECRETARY, who shall be elected to a two year term of office immediately prior to an annual business meeting. The duties of the BENCHMARK SECRETARY shall include actively promoting the definition of problems, description of solutions, and evaluation of implementations by the SIGMAN membership, and maintaining these definitions, descriptions, and evaluations, in machine readable and transmittable form when possible. (NOTE: These activities should in no way be construed as involving "standardization" of any kind, and no member is required to use the benchmarks.)
5. ELECTIONS : Nominations shall be made by the SIGMAN membership, at least 90 days prior to the annual business meeting, generally in response to a call for nominations published in the SIGMAN newsletter. Nominations shall be validated by the SIGMAN COUNCIL including verification of qualifications and confirmation of desire to serve if elected. Ballots shall be circulated to the SIGMAN membership at least 45 days prior to the annual business meeting, generally by inclusion in the SIGMAN newsletter. Election shall be made by simple majority of returned ballots post-marked not later than 15 days prior to the annual business meeting. Results shall be announced at the annual business meeting. Terms of office shall begin at the close of the annual business meeting.
6. COUNCIL : The SIGMAN COUNCIL shall consist of the six SIGMAN Officers as identified in this document, and the most recent past CO-CHAIRPERSON. The senior current CO-CHAIRPERSON shall organize and conduct SIGMAN COUNCIL meetings. Each current SIGMAN officer shall have one vote, the most recent past CO-CHAIRPERSON voting only in case of a tie. Any vacancy occurring in the COUNCIL shall be appointed by the COUNCIL until the next regular election.
7. BUSINESS MEETINGS : The yearly business meeting of SIGMAN shall be held at the AAAI Conference in years when such a conference is held, or during the IJCAI Conference in years when such a conference is held in North America and there is no separate AAAI Conference, or at the discretion of the COUNCIL with thirty day written notice to the SIGMAN membership in years when neither a AAAI Conference nor a North American IJCAI Conference is held. These meetings shall be chaired by the CO-CHAIRPERSONS of SIGMAN.
8. TECHNICAL MEETINGS : SIGMAN shall hold technical meetings as suggested by the members, validated by the COUNCIL, and approved by the Conference Committee and Executive Council of the AAAI parent. Unless otherwise approved by the COUNCIL, the technical meetings shall be chaired by one or more of the CO-CHAIRPERSONS of SIGMAN. While it is strongly encouraged that domain experts (including non-members of SIGMAN) be included in technical meetings as active participants, the meeting chair must approve their attendance in advance in the context of the goals of the particular meeting.
9. MISCELLANEOUS : Matters arising during the conduct of the business of SIGMAN which are not explicitly defined in this document shall be decided by the COUNCIL of SIGMAN with reference to the AAAI By-Laws. The Executive Council of the AAAI parent shall have final authority over any and all disputes.