Possibilistic scheduling routing for short-notice bushfire emergency evacuation under uncertainties: An Australian case study

This paper aims to develop a capacitated vehicle routing solution to evacuate short-notice evacuees with time windows and disruption risks under uncertainties during a bushfire. A heuristic solution technique is applied to solve the triangular possibilistic model to optimise emergency delivery service. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by comparing it with a designed genetic algorithm on sets of 20 numerical examples. The model is then applied to the real case study of 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia. The results show that it is possible to transfer the last-minute evacuees during the Black Saturday bushfires under the hard time window constraint. Network disruptions however have impact on resource utilisation. The modelling outputs will be useful in the development of emergency plans and evacuation strategies to enhance rapid response to last-minute evacuation in a bushfire emergency.     

Exploring information technology governance and control of web site content: a comparative case study

Information technology (IT) governance is a key component of corporate governance. Effective IT governance can support web-based strategic initiatives such as the dissemination of information on corporate web sites. However, the IT governance literature does not provide insights about the role of IT governance in controlling this information. There is also a lack of research in the web-based reporting literature on the important issue of control of web site content. This comparative case study aims to explore the relationships between IT governance and the control of web site content. In doing so, IT governance structures, processes and relational capabilities, as well as web site content control, are first described for each of four cases. Then, profiles of relationships between IT governance and web site content control are identified and key attributes characterizing the profiles are outlined. Findings suggest that IT governance within firms is more developed than the control of web site content. Moreover, IT governance structures, processes and relational capabilities can be related to control of web site content processes. IT governance structures can also be related to control of web site content structures and relational capabilities. This study contributes to the governance, control and web-based reporting literatures as an exploratory step before building a theory of relationships between IT governance and web site content control. Further, the study has practical implications as it enhances the understanding of the role of Boards of Directors, senior executives and internal auditors in IT governance and the control of web site content.     

Evaluation of heuristics for scheduling in a flowshop: a case study

The problem of finding the best permutation schedule for a flowshop has engaged the attention of researchers for almost four decades. In view of its NP-completeness, the problem is not amenable to the development of efficient optimizing algorithms. A number of heuristics have been proposed, most of which have been evaluated by using randomly generated problems for a single measure of performance. However, real-life problems often have more than one objective. This paper discusses a live flowshop problem that has the twin objectives of minimizing the production run-time as well as the total flowtime of jobs. Five heuristics are evaluated in this study and some interesting findings are reported.     

Supply chain capabilities for customisation: a case study

Abstract

Despite the growing interest in supply chain management (SCM), there is little literature on knowledge and competences needed to properly configure and manage a supply chain. There are some interesting methodologies to map the knowledge and the techniques used in the supply chain of a sector and transfer them in another sector. This is particularly important when cross-fertilisation of practices can support sectors facing global competition as the footwear industry. New business opportunities can in fact be exploited addressing the needs of specific target groups searching for customised fashion and healthy shoes. Based on literature review and case study analysis of twelve companies within the fashion and orthopaedic footwear supply networks, this work compares the relevant processes and the distinctive capabilities necessary in managing supply networks to implement customisation, identifying and highlighting the interchangeable best practices that could serve as a new common knowledge base to be shared by the two sectors.     

Schedule nervousness in a manufacturing system: a case study

Schedule nervousness has received significant attention from the academics for almost three decades. However, the majority of published works on schedule nervousness have relied upon experimental results as a basis for making conclusions and there appears to be very little field-based evidence presented in the relevant literature. This paper presents a case study of schedule nervousness based on field observations in a shoe manufacturing company in Indonesia. A model to quantify nervousness is also presented. This study provides an insight that schedule nervousness is an important issue in practice and efforts to quantify nervousness, as well as to understand how it occurred, are necessary in order to reduce nervousness.     

Resources for modern highway development: Oklahoma as a case study

Creating a system of public roads has been a constant process for territories and states of the Trans-Mississippi West since the early years of the nine- teenth century. This article examines resource material for researching the development of highways in Oklahoma, and places special emphasis on the need to explore local and state activities in conjunction with federal policy and national trends. As a case study of one Plains state, it should prove useful in pursuing research of road development in other western states from the early 1800s to the present.     

Supply chain strategies for speciality foods: a Norwegian case study

Despite strong market interest in speciality foods, producers find market access and distribution challenging. This exploratory research includes a literature review and five case studies of supply chains relating to shellfish, cheese, meat, potato and miscellaneous speciality foods in the mid-Norway region. The study identifies key supply chain configuration parameters from the extant literature, and these are used to analyse the cases. The study makes three main contributions to the literature: an analytical framework for analysing the supply chain characteristics of speciality foods; important supply chain factors for accessing the conventional food supply chain; and five propositions for improving market access. We argue that the speciality foods supply chain should be configured according to these propositions to ensure responsiveness to customer needs and to strengthen market access.     

Designing optimal routing strategies for a manufacturer: A case study

A study of the vehicle transportation system for a manufacturer is presented. An algorithm based on a dynamic programming model is developed so as to find the optimal transportation arrangements referring to the composition of the vehicles as well as the routing of these vehicles. The algorithm is run under the current condition as well as under a number of different scenarios. It is shown the algorithm can solve the problem with reduced computational complexity. The findings and suggestions resulting from the study can help the department manager in reviewing current operations arrangement and determining future operations arrangements.     

Cloud platforms for remote monitoring system: a comparative case study

Abstract

Currently, industrial companies are increasingly introducing services to extend their tangible products. Remote monitoring solutions are one of the most implemented services by machine builders to manage their relationship with customers and also improve their business performance in the digital manufacturing era. However, the conventional method of remote monitoring cannot fulfill distributed business environments. Therefore, new solutions are needed to enable remote connection in manufacturing. By reviewing recent literature and proposing new features for software which can be used for remote service and operations, this research paper introduces a remote monitoring system connecting into a central cloud-based system with edge computing network architecture, namely Cloud-based Remote Monitoring (CloudRM). This proposed CloudRM also has been implemented in two different case companies for analysis and evaluation from a value proposition and technical implementation point of view. It shows significant improvement in production management and measurement by using CloudRM.     

RFID technology for increasing visibility in ETO supply chains: a case study

This paper presents the application of an innovative system for increasing visibility along an Engineer-To-Order supply chain. The system has been applied in a leading Italian company that manufactures vessels and tube heat exchangers. By means of this method, the company shares information about its shop floor activities with other actors in the supply chain, i.e. clients and suppliers. The system elements are as follows: Radio-frequency identification transponders (to identify either components, operators, tooling machines (e.g. welding machines) or production phases), a Wi-Fi network (to communicate data) and a web-based application that is accessible by the company’s clients. This paper shows the methodology that is used to define the system’s architecture and the technical solutions adopted. Benefits in terms of reduction in costs for monitoring and control have been observed. Moreover, customers perceived the increased visibility of the production process to be a valuable service.     

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.     

Career transition in the Chinese context: a case study

This study explores career transition in the transitioning Chinese context. Given the transitioning nature in the overall Chinese society and the affected individuals involved in equally massive career transitions, this study investigates the career transition phenomenon through the lens of an MBA case in China. We examine career transition types and associated constraints and challenges. Two distinctive types of career transitions emerged as context specific career transitions that have not been documented in the literature. As the study only presented the tip of the iceberg of the large-scale career transition taking place in China, we further discuss the implications and future research directions on the career transition phenomenon.     

Development of sustainable platform for modular product family: a case study

Abstract

Defining product platform architecture is a critical issue to design and develop product variants. Different factors are highly dependent on the architecture type, such as number of variants, to measure modularity level, component commonality, market demand, etc. It is directly related to manage product portfolios and setting up business plan of a company. Before defining a product platform, whether it is modular or integral product designers need to follow specific design guidelines and checklists. This research mainly focuses on to define the platform architecture as well as provides necessary design guidelines and checklists for the product designers. It also highlights an example product of a case company with the objective to clarify/validate the proposed product design approach. In conclusion, this paper outlines the findings from this research and proposed some critical questions need to be answered within the scope of future research potentials.     

Group technology cell design: a case study

Rising production costs, combined with competitive pressures, have resulted in an increased focus on the need for effective manufacturing planning and control. To remain competitive, organizations are exploring new ways for increasing productivity while reducing work-in-progress inventories and product lead time. This article describes a case study of the successful introduction of production cells in a company engaged in small batch production. The company is described and its manufacturing problems presented. Following a detailed analysis of the utilization of machines in the company's machine shop, a new manufacturing technique, giving improved work flow, is proposed.     

Real-time schedule adjustment decisions: a case study

Service capacity management has been extensively studied and successfully applied in many industries, with an emphasis on tour/shift scheduling and assignment decisions. However, few studies have addressed real-time work schedule adjustment decisions made necessary by demand uncertainty and/or labor supply disruption. This case study deals with the real-time work schedule adjustment decision and investigates the association of managerial experience, workforce mix (full- and part-time staff), and information accuracy with managers’ adjustment decisions. We designed an experiment that involved practicing service managers from a McDonald's franchise who provided their adjustment decisions for a given set of test scenarios. Their decisions were analyzed and evaluated via a controlled experiment. Using profitability as the primary performance measure, the study identifies the following outcomes: First, senior managers of a store with a higher proportion of part-time staff made more adjustments and attained slightly higher profitability than junior managers, when all employees accepted adjusted schedules. Second, managers of a store with a higher proportion of part-time staff were able to make slightly higher profits, particularly when capacity shortages occurred. And third, to achieve the majority of the benefits from schedule adjustments, it is sufficient to search for information that correctly identifies the direction of demand changes, rather than identifying the exact magnitude of the changes.     

Understanding performance measurement dynamism: a case study

This paper elaborates on the notion of performance measurement (PM) dynamism. The paper’s argument is based on a literature review and an interventionist case study. The analysis of the structure of PM dynamism is deepened by using New Institutional Sociology theory as a tool. PM dynamism was found to occur at four different levels: in setting the role of performance measures for decision making in general, in the use of measures, in the selection of measures and within the components of single measures. PM dynamism allows, for instance, measures used only for specific and topical purposes (ad hoc), in contrast to the views presented in the extant literature, which reject measures that are not institutionalized. The use of up-to-date measures, a major implication of understanding PM dynamism more thoroughly, could lead to more efficient strategy implementation and enactment at different levels. The originality of the article consists of identifying the rationale and the levels of PM dynamism and of the consideration that the use of ad hoc measures may have a positive impact on managing performance.     

Meaningful work at a distance: A case study in a hospital

Having a positive impact on other people's lives typically increases the likelihood of regarding one's work as meaningful. In some settings, however, employees have little or no contact to those who experience the impact of their work. Our paper examines how such distance affects these employees' construction of their work as meaningful. We present the findings of an in-depth case study of medical laboratory workers who do not typically interact with their patients. Drawing on interviews and observational data, we identify three sensemaking practices through which employees overcome the physical and perceived psychological distance to patients: assembling various pieces of information about the patient, sharing patient-related stories with colleagues, and relating themselves to patients and their medical problems. We also find that overcoming distance to patients can result in emotional stress, which is why some employees prefer staying at a ‘safe’ psychological distance. Our paper contributes to the meaningful work literature by examining how actors make work meaningful when they are physically distant from their object of work. We also contribute to a critical understanding of meaningful work by showing how efforts to render one's work more meaningful can intensify stress and emotional tension.