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.     

Integrated project operations and personnel scheduling with multiple labour classes

The main theme of this paper is improving project schedules by integrating the scheduling of project jobs and labour resources. An ILP model is presented of the integrated project operations and personnel scheduling problem with multiple labour categories. Traditionally, this problem is solved in two steps: first, operations are scheduled by solving the resource-constrained project scheduling problem; then, labour categories are scheduled by solving the personnel days-off scheduling problem. The proposed model combines the two stages into an integrated problem, which is solved in one step. Using 48 test problems, the two methods were compared in terms of total cost, labour cost and scheduling efficiency. The results clearly indicate that the integrated model outperforms the traditional two-step method.     

Multi-site aggregate production planning with multiple objectives: A goal programming approach

This paper addresses the problem of aggregate production planning (APP) for a multinational lingerie company in Hong Kong. The multi-site production planning problem considers the production loading plans among manufacturing factories subject to certain restrictions, such as production import/export quotas imposed by regulatory requirements of different nations, the use of manufacturing factories/locations with regard to customers' preferences, as well as production capacity, workforce level, storage space and resource conditions of the factories. In this paper, a multi-objective model is developed to solve the production planning problems, in which the profit is maximized but production penalties resulting from going over/under quotas and the change in workforce level are minimized. To enhance the practical implications of the proposed model, different managerial production loading plans are evaluated according to changes in future policy and situation. Numerical results demonstrate the robustness and effectiveness of the developed model.     

Integrating MRP and finite capacity planning

Traditional production control systems based on the manufacturing resource planning concept do not sufficiently support the planner in solving capacity problems, ignore capacity constraints and assume that lead times are fixed. This leads to problems on the shop floor, that cannot be resolved in the short term. This paper focuses on solving these capacity problems by improving capacity planning at the material requirements planning MRP level through integration of MRP and finite capacity planning. This results in a planning method for simultaneous capacity and material planning. The planning method is based on a new and more accurate primary process model, giving the planning algorithm more flexibility in solving capacity problems. The algorithm is based on advanced scheduling techniques and uses aggregated information, thus combining speed and accuracy. The algorithm is designed to use the available flexibility: alternative routeings, safety stock, and replanning of production orders and requirements. This paper also discusses such related issues as robustness, memory and the role of the human planner.     

A chain game for distributed trading and negotiation

This position paper introduces a simulation gaming environment for enacting a production network. The environment aims to be an integrative laboratory for investigating supply networks, as well as being a versatile training tool. The primary focus is on food production networks. The environment enables a number of teams of participants, each representing one actor in a food chain, to conduct business together. The teams can have the role of auction, co-operation, wholesaler, factory, retail chain, and retail outlet. Producers and consumers are either enacted or simulated. The game leaders freely determine the products and production methods in each run of the game. The gaming environment takes performance, process and institutional aspects of chains into account. It is particularly suited for investigating issues of sustainability and trust. Currently the gaming environment is under development. The paper presents version 1B. This version can be found at http://www.chaingame.org. It runs on the Web, enabling to model distributed chains.     

On deterministic production planning: a tutorial note

Abstract

Short-term single-product production planning problems with linear, convex or concave production cost functions can be solved using simple and intuitive structural rules. These rules provide pedagogical insights into some methods used for longer term problems.     

Experimental earliness/tardiness production planning with the due window system

In order to use the philosophy of JIT to improve the production planning method of MRP-II, we propose the experimental software system of the earliness/tardiness produc tion planning problem with due window. By means of the approaches and model reported in this paper, the optimal production planning can be achieved. The recommended model extends the problem of due window from the shop scheduling level into the aggregated planning level of mass manufacturing systems. Simulation results have demonstrated that the experimental software is a useful tool for the production management of repetitive manufacturing enterprises.     

Integrated approach for optimizing quality control in international manufacturing networks

Abstract

This article aims at providing an integrated approach for optimizing quality control in International Manufacturing Networks (IMN) which can be characterized by consisting of numerous plants acting autonomously according to an individual target system. A key challenge is to ensure the overall process quality despite distributed value creation processes and differing target systems in dynamic environments. Hence, the developed approach allows for identifying potentials in the quality control strategy using a value stream-based method to visualize quality characteristics and procedures in the production process chain. Furthermore, the approach contains a framework for identifying possible improvement measures and a simulation-based evaluation concept to evaluate the effects of different measures with respect to individual target systems. The simulation combines elements of a discrete-event simulation in order to depict the value stream with agent-based modelling for realizing different target systems by considering distinctive plant roles. The article concludes with a case study of a globally operating automotive supplier to apply the approach. A forward research agenda is proposed that evaluates the approach in multiple cases, deriving patters across companies or industries.     

The project of a new of neural networks products line: An application

The aim of this paper is to propose a new approach to the issue ofpositioning and pricing a firm's new products line; it is shown here how to conceive an artificial neural system able to find the optimal solution. The formulation of the problem follows the model proposed by Dobson and Kalish, while the implementation is based on the Hopfield Neural Network, thus used here for a new class of problems. The model shows a capacity to converge to the optimal solution; besides its effectiveness, this technique appears to also be efficient if applied to such a production problem.     

Development of an integrated information management model: A case of textile industry

For past two decades many organisations have tried to implement integrated information management systems for better production management based on co-ordination of information and therefore activities of different departments. Although Enterprise Resource Planning systems have been in the market for the past decade, many industries find it difficult to implement such systems due to the amount of work involved in streamlining the documentation, customisation and of high costs reported in implementation. An attempt is made through this paper to propose an integrated model, which can be easily understood by production personnel, with specific emphasis on the textile sector.     

Aggregate production planning with workforce transferring plan for multiple product types

This paper presents the aggregate production planning for multiple product types where the worker resource can be transferred among the production lines. A mathematical model was formulated in spreadsheet format. Then the spreadsheet-solver technique was used as a tool to solve the model. A real situation of a manufacturing company was selected as a case study. The actual data was used to test and validate the proposed model. The optimal aggregate production plan provides the information on managing the available production capacity together with the useful workforce transferring plan. The obtained solutions were compared to those of another approach where the workers cannot be transferred among the production lines. The total cost is significantly reduced when the workers are allowed to transfer among the production lines.     

Vertical Integration with Price‐Setting Competitive Newsvendors*

This article addresses the problem of distribution channel design under demand uncertainty. We consider two manufacturers, each producing a substitutable product and selling it through either a decentralized or an integrated retail store, which is modeled as a price‐setting newsvendor. A multiplicative demand function incorporating a random shock term is assumed. Of primary interest is how demand uncertainty and production cost affect the equilibrium distribution channel structure. Results indicate the following: On the one hand, if the random shock term is uniformly distributed on [0, x], then the equilibrium design does not depend on the variance of the shock. On the other hand, if the random shock term is uniformly distributed on [1 −r, 1 +r], then the equilibrium design does depend on the variance of the shock. In particular, an increase in r favors the integrated structure where both channels are integrated and hurts the decentralized configuration where both channels are decentralized. Additionally, we explain the qualitative similarities and differences between the structural properties of the equilibrium distribution channel structure when demand is, and is not, uncertain. We also establish that production cost always favors the decentralized structure, while it hurts the integrated one. One important managerial implication of our study is that, by reducing the number of decisions made in supply chains, the impact of demand uncertainty can be controlled to a certain extent.     

Task parallelism in distributed supply organizations: a case study in the shoe industry

This paper describes the application of the parallel integration evaluation model (PIEM) in an industrial case study. The PIEM model is based on modelling the interactions among supply network parties. It generates the parallel configuration of production and supply servers yielding the minimum total production and supply time/cost for the system, Φ. The design solution recommended by the model obeys the tradeoff that parallelism introduces into the networked supply operating system: while direct-production/supply time Π decreases, the overhead of interaction time among the networked parties, T, increases. The interaction time comprises two delay generating factors, limiting the implementation of massively parallel supply networks: the delay due to communication, negotiation, and coordination among the parties, K, and the congestion delay Γ at shared resources in the supply network. These two types of delay factors are positively correlated with the network's degree of parallelism, Ψ, and they affect inversely the total production supply and delivery time of the organization. The PIEM model has been applied to the case of a globally distributed shoe supply network. The resulting recommendations yielded significant savings of about 35% of the annual operating costs. Following the success of this case study, the model has been generalized and implemented as a supply network design optimization tool.     

Risk management in plant investment decisions: risk typology,dimensions and process

Abstract

Managing risk associated with plant location decisions is a growing concern as companies seek to reassure investors about the robustness of their strategies. However, little attention has been paid to the systematic evaluation of risk associated with new plants. This paper investigates risk management practices in plant investment decisions through detailed case investigations in a cross section of industrial businesses at different levels of maturity in order to observe current practices, identify common principles and to synthesis systematic approaches to risk management. It identifies key risk categories and dimensions of risk management, building on three key bodies of literature – global manufacturing, investment and risk management     

Constrained production lot-size model with trade-credit policy: 'A comparison geometric programming approach via Lagrange'

In this paper our main objective is to investigate a deterministic inventory production lot-size model with a permissible delay in payment under a restriction. We analyse our deterministic inventory model under a restriction which will be assumed as the average inventory level. In fact we use in our analysis two approaches: the geometric programming approach; and the Lagrange method. Then a comparison between these two approaches is performed, which is our aim. Finally we deduce some previously published works of other researchers as special cases.     

An agent-based approach to modelling virtual enterprises

This paper describes how virtual enterprises (VEs) can be modelled using the AGORA multi-agent architecture, designed for modelling and supporting cooperative work among distributed entities. The model consists of a structure of AGORAs and agents, where AGORAs are facilitators of cooperative work for agents and the agents represent the partners of the VE, the cooperative mechanisms and the service providers. The distributed and goal-oriented nature of the VE provides a strong motivation for the use of agents to model VEs. The main advantages of this approach are that the structure of AGORAs provides a homogeneous modelling environment throughout the life cycle of the VE, traceability of the VE activities and a history of the VE. In addition to these, it is important to point out that, agents being computational entities, the resulting model provides an easy and efficient passage from the model to the computational support that is required by the VE.     

Pull system performance measures: a review of approaches for system design and control

Abstract

Research into the effect of three factors on four major system performance measures for pull system design and control are reviewed. The three factors are: (1) qualitative or quantitative nature of the approach, (2) traditional production control or pull system approach, and (3) systems/integrative characteristics of the approach for the performance measures. The four performance measures are: (I) throughput, (2) quality, (3) material Dow, and (4) flexibility. Articles were evaluated in terms of the performance measures and factors with several articles discussed in depth, Journals and other sources were chosen to be searched based on the source having published refereed articles related to pull system performance evaluation. Articles on quantitative pull systems are not well represented in the literature. Traditional approach methods     

基于评价结论的二次组合评价方法研究

针对不同的组合评价方法所获取的一次组合评价结果依旧存在不一致性和收敛性较差等问题,提出了"二次组合评价"的概念,并研究了一种基于评价结论的二次组合评价方法。给出了该方法的关键流程和实现步骤,主要包括综合评价问题描述,单一评价方法的问题描述,组合评价方法的问题描述,评价结论的一致性分析,基于偏移度最小的二次组合评价方法选取以及二次组合评价的收敛性分析,并通过算例对本文提出的二次组合评价方法进行分析,案例研究结果表明二次组合评价结果的误差要远小于各一次组合评价结果的误差,与一次组合评价相比,二次组合评价的组合效果更好,有效性更强。通过二次组合评价可以有效提高一次组合评价的一致性和收敛性,降低一次组合评价的组合误差,提高综合评价整体评价结论的可信度。     

Out of mind,out of sight? Leading distributed workers to ensure health and safety

ABSTRACT

Current frameworks of leadership are based on face-to-face interaction. A growing number of workers work away from their main location of work; this makes it challenging for leaders to ensure the health and safety of distributed workers. In the present study, we explore the relationship between line managers’ health and safety leadership and distributed workers’ health and safety behaviours. We also explore the organisational procedures and practices that may enhance the impact of health and safety leadership. We included a broad range of distributed workers (in analyses, minimum N?=?626) from 11 organisations. We found that health-and-safety-specific leadership was positively related to distributed workers’ self-rated health, safety compliance and safety proactivity. These relationships were augmented by distributed workers’ sense of being included in the workplace. Knowledge sharing among colleagues was associated with safety compliance when health-and-safety-specific leadership was low. Our results indicate that one way of addressing the challenges of distributed working may be through line managers putting health and safety on the agenda.     

A disaggregation problem for a multiplant,multiproduct scheduling application

Abstract

This paper discusses an integer programming technique for planning production when there are multiple plants involved in the production of a number of products and the plants are relatively close. This allows for the closing of one plant during a planning period with a shift of the mobile resources, mainly labour, to other plants. The model is introduced and then an example problem is given. Finally, there is a discussion of why this method improves upon other techniques proposed to solve this problem. Some actual case studies are cited.