A heterarchical generic discrete manufacturing simulation model and its application in a world class manufacturing environment

Current factory design and evaluation is very primitive. Factory components are designed in many cases independently. Product and process design are not well integrated. An encompassing framework is needed for iterating through a series of total factory designs, searching for optimal performance. In addition, a vehicle is needed for predicting the performance of a proposed advanced manufacturing system, so that engineers may have a sound means for evaluating such proposals. A heterarchical discrete manufacturing SIMNET II simulation model (SIMCELLS) was developed as a comprehensive methodology for designing and evaluating discrete manufacturing systems. SIMCELLS allows manufacturing systems engineers to experiment with alternative system structures and control strategies while seeking that combination of design features that will produce the desired overall system performance. The model in combination with a modernization programme is enabling a firm to successfully manufacture and sell trucks meeting international standards. The SIMNET II model     

An Entropy Measure of Flow Dominance for Predicting Operations Performance

The flow of jobs within a system is an important operating characteristic that influences system performance. While the majority of previous studies on manufacturing performance consider product flows only as an implicit parameter of the design, we introduce an explicit measure of flow dominance based on entropy and test its efficacy in predicting the performance of manufacturing systems. In computing entropy flow dominance (EFD), we aggregate information embedded in the routings of all products within a system into a single measure. EFD is designed to indicate on a 0–1 scale the level of flow dominance, where 1 represents a pure flow shop and 0 represents a pure job shop. The result is a simple measure that provides managers a way to explain and predict complex phenomena. Our experimental results indicate that EFD is a statistically significant determinant of manufacturing system performance. Furthermore, the model including EFD as an independent variable accurately predicts manufacturing system performance as measured by job flow time, flow time standard deviation, and work in process. We note that the same results can also apply to service systems, such as the “back‐room” low‐contact type systems, that have similar characteristics as manufacturing systems.     

Monitoring the improvement of an overall industrial performance based on a Choquet integral aggregation

The design and use of performance measurement systems (PMSs) have received considerable attention in recent years. Indeed, industrial performances are now defined in terms of numerous criteria to be synthesized for overall improvement purposes. The analysis of the literature leads to the conclusion that most of the proposed approaches deal with a qualitative approach of this multi-criteria issue. But only a few quantitative models for PMSs have been proposed in order to better monitor the continuous improvement cycle. Among them, the one proposed by the authors, based on a Choquet integral aggregation operator, allows to express an overall performance according to subordination and transverse interactions between the criteria involved. But, as this model is nonlinear, it is useful to define pieces of information aimed at aiding the manager to improve the performance situation. Thus, this article is a contribution to the managers’ requirements for optimizing the improvement of the overall performance versus the allocated resources. In this view, indexes of efficiency and predictive improvement are proposed. The approach is applied to a case study submitted by a company manufacturing kitchen and bathroom furniture which wants to upgrade the monitoring of its “environment and quality improvement plan”.     

A model for an integrated manufacturing system implementation in China: a case study

This paper describes a process which a company adopted to enhance her manufacturing system in a step-by-step manner. In order to increase the competitiveness of the company, the authors have identified a number of improvement strategies which were specific to the economic and political environment in China. The center of the strategies is a vision of an integrated manufacturing strategy. The detailed design and implementation of this vision is conducted through the proposed systematic manufacturing strategic analysis. The integration process encompasses various elements such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRPII) and Real-Time Monitoring System (RTMS), it emphasises not only the use of appropriate modern technology but also the management of technology change. In this paper, a concept model is used to describe the integration process, the detailed implementation is also elaborated using a proposed implementation process model. By adopting the integrated manufacturing system, and through continuing improvement, the productivity and hence the profitability of the company is increased. It is anticipated that the integrated approach to the design and implementation of manufacturing systems will be an important contribution towards the manufacturing strategy in a labour intensive environment such as China.     

Measuring management quality in the factory

The last decade has seen a growing consensus that manufacturing matters. The factory as the producing unit is the core of the firm's manufacturing activities. However, even now, it is not agreed on or even fully understood what constitutes a well-managed factory. This article attempts to create a causal model of management quality in the plant, identifying key managerial levers for improving plant performance. The model is based on an integrated view of three core processes: supply chain, product and process development, and strategy deployment. We postulate that the joint performance of the three processes is determined by the quality with which they are managed. Management quality is operationalized as consisting of six types of action: delegation (or decentralization), integration (or coordination), measurement, employee participation, communication, and employee development.This management quality model has been applied to the design of the Top Usine 1995 Best Factory Award administered in cooperation with the French weekly L'Usine Nouvelle. Data collected from participating plants do substantiate our view that plant performance is substantially driven by management quality: the six management quality dimensions are shown to be statistically linked to performance improvement rates in the plant, and we provide further evidence of this link by detailing the case example of the award winner. Our survey also shows that supply management appears to be a common problem area for the factories participating in the Top Usine award, including the best ones.     

Hierarchical model to design manufacturing systems applied to a metal-mechanic company

This paper describes the application of a model to design and manage the manufacturing process through an integrated system, using a Hierarchical methodology-by means of different aggregation and disaggregation stages with an appropriate time horizon. The hierarchical model obtained allows interfacing between the master schedule and the schedule of the orders. At each level of the hierarchical model some decisions have to be made in order to design the manufacturing system, but having a model that also takes into consideration the management of the system. To do this it is necessary to use aggregated information concerned with the level at which decisions are made. It is obtained from the database, which contains the information at the highest level of aggregation. This model has been applied to a metal mechanic company, that makes final products such as car washers, etc. The benefits of this approach for the company are addressed in this paper.     

组织改进活动与持续改进绩效关系模型的实证研究

在复杂多变的全球化环境中,制造类企业面临激烈竞争,这要求企业实施持续改进的先进管理模式。但企业资源常常是有限的,而传统理论中的持续改进活动则过于繁杂,操作难度较大,故提出对持续改进绩效有显著正向影响的九项组织改进活动,据此针对组织改进活动和持续改进绩效之间的关系建立了模型,并利用Continuous Innovation Network(CINet)等数据库的数据进行了统计检验。结果表明其拟合优度指数满足要求,模型比较理想。组织在持续改进过程中可将模型中的九项改进活动作为重点,逐步开展持续改进的各项活动,提高组织绩效,进而全面实现持续改进。同时,若要重点提升产品及服务水平或组织效率则应主要开展相关模型中的改进活动,有针对性的提升组织绩效。     

基于作业的多产品生产决策的数学规划模型

随着企业制造环境发生的重大变化,作业成本计算(Activity-Based Costing——ABC)及作业成本管理(ABM)应运而生。本文基于ABC,对在先进生产模式下多种产品生产决策的数学规划模型进行了全面、深入的研究。构造了线性模型及对偶形式,并对对偶模型的管理上含义的涵义进行了探讨。     

AN EXAMINATION OF THE INDIRECT PRODUCTIVITY GAINS FROM QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Recent theoretical work suggests that quality-improvement activities can yield significant indirect effects through process improvements and reduced factory congestion and confusion, benefits that are overlooked or hidden in most management accounting or cost of quality systems. Using time series data from two consumer durables manufacturing plants, I estimate the indirect productivity gains from quality improvement. The evidence from the plants indicates that the indirect effects from improved quality are at least two to three times the direct benefits attributable to lower scrap, rework, and inventory holding costs. An important implication of these findings is that companies that justify investments and measure performance based only on the direct costs of poor quality will motivate managers to make suboptimal decisions regarding quality-improvement activities.     

Evaluating the Simplified Conjoint Expected Risk Model: Comparing the Use of Objective and Subjective Information

The simplified Conjoint Expected Risk (CER) model by Holtgrave and Weber posits that perceived risk is a linear combination of the subjective judgments of the probabilities of harm, benefit, and status quo, and the expected harm and benefit of an activity. It modifies Luce and Weber's original CER model—that uses objective information to evaluate financial gambles—to accommodate activities such as health/technology activities where values of the model variables are subjective. If the simplified model is a valid modification of the original model, its performance should not be sensitive to the use of subjective information. However, because people may evaluate information differently when objective information is provided to them than when they generate information on their own, the performance of the simplified CER model may not be robust to the source of model-variable information. We compared the use of objective and subjective information, and results indicate that the estimates of the simplified CER model parameters and the proportion of variance in risk judgments accounted for by the model are similar under these two conditions. Thus, the simplified CER model is viable with activities for which harm and benefit information is subjective.     

The implementation of digital technologies for operations management: a case study for manufacturing apps

Abstract

Manufacturing applications address business to business (B2B) with highly customised applications developed for specific requirements, offering highly specialised solution-oriented and service-based software components, systems, and digital tools that aim at a fast and accurate decision-making support system. The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of digital technologies for operations management using manufacturing or engineering apps (eApps), for product design and manufacturing processes. In particular, starting from the specific needs of two companies from mature European industries as automotive and food, this work depicts how this kind of solutions can support companies and improve their operations. In particular, related benefits and challenges faced for the full implementation of the developed tools are highlighted. Moreover a business model to exploit the manufacturing apps is also proposed. The business model proposed for the exploitation of the eApps supports the commercialisation of all the revenue streams offered by this rapidly growing sector taking into account the specific needs of the concerned stakeholders through a diversified value proposition.     

面向CRM的动态质量体系管理数据的模型

以ISO9000质量管理体系为背景,本文详细地分析了企业质量体系管理的信息层次结构与流程,针对质量体系的制定、改版以及质量持续改进,研究了质量体系管理对数据模型的复用性、可引用性与可回朔性的要求,讨论了现有质量管理信息系统的局限性,提出了动态质量体系管理数据模型,给出了模型的结构和功能,总结了所提模型的特点。最后,给出了实例分析。     

Does China receive more regional FDI than gravity would suggest?

It is an empirical regularity that the activities of multinational corporations are concentrated in their home region. This has been shown to be the case for a majority of the 500 largest multinationals as well as for subsets of this 500 sorted by region or industry. The analysis has also been applied to the activities of a sample of all US and OECD multinationals, aggregated by country. These concentrations have been explained using theories, such as region-bound FSAs which constrain the ability of multinationals to internationalize, as well as transactions costs which make doing business outside a multinational’s home market more costly. To date, there has been no analysis that focuses on the regional and global character of multinational activity destined for China. This paper works to fill that void. Using data on FDI into China from each investor country over the period 1995–2005, this paper documents a significant regional concentration of Asian multinational activity operating within China. This regional concentration is sustained even after the special relationships with Hong Kong and (other) Offshore Financial Centres are accounted for. The evidence therefore extends the evidence of regional concentrations of MNE activities found elsewhere to China and its relationship with Asia.     

THE USE OF INDUSTRIAL SOFTWARE TO CREATE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING ACTIVITIES IN OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT COURSES

Computer-based manufacturing planning and control (MPC) systems are widely used in industry to gain competitive advantage through integration and coordination of managerial activities. In collegiate business schools, important operations management activities are taught and studied, often by sequential examination of discrete topics such as aggregate production planning, master production scheduling, capacity planning, material planning, and production activity control. This paper explores the potential use of industrial MPC software in the classroom to create experiential learning activities that address the dynamic and integrative nature of operations management. Experiences with this pedagogical approach over the past decade are reported.     

An Empirical Investigation of Costs in Batching Decisions*

This paper examines the use of costs and cost functions to model lot‐sizing decisions in batch manufacturing. The cost functions used to model a wide variety of manufacturing systems are typically derived from average cost models of unconstrained inventory problems. The use of setups and average inventories as the basis for modeling the economics of a typical batch manufacturing cell is shown to be inadequate. An alternative physical model that focuses on lead times provides a model that more closely represents the underlying value of such a cell.     

Strategic Manufacturing Planning Systems and Their Linkage to Planning System Success

Academics and practitioners alike are focusing more attention on manufacturing strategy after having recognized the important role it plays in shaping the success of industrial firms. Even though research in this area has increased in the last decade, the focus of much of that work has been on the content rather than the process of the manufacturing strategy. Consequently, this study attempts to understand the important elements of the strategic manufacturing planning process and its effectiveness. Borrowing from the extant literature in the fields of strategic management and information systems, we propose a research model that relates strategic manufacturing planning system design to planning system success. Using structured questionnaires, empirical data is collected from over 200 manufacturing executives to test the model hypotheses. Planning process in manufacturing was found to be a bottom‐up approach from a corporate or business perspective, which differs from the top‐down planning process prevalent in strategic information systems planning process. Findings also indicate that greater planning system success in manufacturing is associated with a planning system that combines some “rational” elements (formality, comprehensiveness, control focus, longer horizon) with others that lend adaptability (wider participation and more intense interaction). But the strategic manufacturing planning system is more than just a collection of independent planning characteristics. Instead, it can be viewed as a gestalt planning system whereby planning characteristics move together in affecting overall planning system success.     

基于公理设计理论的仿真软件评价方法研究

针对仿真软件评价优选问题,提出一种基于公理设计理论的仿真软件评价方法。以公理设计理论为指导建立仿真软件评价模型,通过信息公理以信息量大小为测度来度量仿真软件产品的优劣。考虑到备选方案评价指标信息具有不完全性和模糊性特征,采用信息公理中的经典信息量计算方法存在局限性,对信息公理中的信息量计算方法进行拓展,提出基于单值点、区间数相离度、满意度和模糊信息的信息量计算方法。结合经典的和拓展的信息量计算方法,给出仿真软件评价流程。以某生产制造企业选择仿真软件产品为例,说明所提出方法的可行性和有效性,实验结果也揭示了在仿真软件商业领域竞争中软件质量起到至关重要的作用。     

企业持续改进的组织行动模型实证研究

在复杂多变的全球化环境中,制造类企业面临激烈的竞争,这要求企业实施持续改进的先进管理模式。但企业中的各项改进活动应如何进行、由谁负责,则成为持续改进执行过程中的难点,故提出对持续改进绩效有显著正向影响的不同主体的三类组织改进活动,据此针对组织改进活动和持续改进绩效之间的关系建立了模型,并利用Continuous Innovation Network(CINet)等数据库的数据进行了结构方程模型的实证。结果表明,其拟合优度指数满足要求,模型比较理想。组织在持续改进过程中可将模型中的三类活动作为重点,逐步开展持续改进的各项活动,提高组织绩效,进而全面实现持续改进。     

Lead factory operationalisation and challenges

Abstract

This paper deepens the understanding of the lead factory concept by examining how the lead factory role is operationalised and what challenges are associated with it. The research is based on an explorative case study of eight Swedish lead factories in the manufacturing industry. The empirical findings suggest that the understanding of the lead factory concept should be extended as it is not restricted to one type of set-up. The findings show a spectrum ranging from an entire manufacturing plant, parts of a plant, to a virtual plant considered to be the lead factory. The research also shows a broad range of challenges experienced by lead factories. Several of these are related to and originate from unclear role, responsibility and mandate of the lead factory. The lack of dedicated resources for lead factory activities, specifically long-term development and difficulties in measuring the benefits of the role, were other challenges faced.     

Scheduling with Sequencing Flexibility*

This study examines the effects of sequencing flexibility on the performance of rules used to schedule operations in manufacturing systems. The findings show that taking advantage of even low levels of sequencing flexibility in the set of operations required to do a job results in substantial improvement in the performance of scheduling rules with respect to mean flowtime. Differences in the mean flowtime measure for various rules also diminish significantly with increasing sequencing flexibility. Performance improvements additionally result for such due-date related performance measures as mean tardiness and the proportion of jobs tardy. At high levels of sequencing flexibility, some nonparametric scheduling rules outperform the shortest processing time rule in terms of the mean flowtime criterion. Rules based on job due dates also outperform rules based on operation milestones in terms of tardiness related criteria at high levels of sequencing flexibility. The implications of these findings for the design of manufacturing systems and product design are noted.