Building "Expert systems" when no experts exist

The new technology of Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) presents a variety of problems having to do with planning, scheduling, and control of manufacturing. These problems can be very complex, and so can require computer-based decision support for solutions. One element of such support could be artificial intelligence, of the form represented by expert systems. But there is a paradox: the more complex and novel the manufacturing problems are, the less likely it is that any humans who are expert about them even exist. This paper discusses what can be done, within the spirit if not the letter, of the AI expert-system concept, given this kind of situation.