A modified hierarchical production planning system integrated with MRP: A case study

In this paper, a hierarchical planning system is proposed which integrates aggregate capacity planning with MRP. This system is to be implemented in a metal box manufacturing company which multi-user MRP system covering manufacturing activities as well as procurement sales order processing and accounting systems. The hierarchical planning system includes a medium-range aggregate planning model adapted to the firm's requirements and strategies. The model consists of a mathematical formulation which covers labour capacity has already installed a constraints and includes certain cost estimations in the objective function. The planning horizon of the medium range planning is taken as twelve months in order to cover sales seasonality. The aggregate production quantities resulting from the optimized medium-range planning model are disaggregated according to procedures already found in the literature. Furthermore, the theoretical infeasibilities pertaining to the disaggregation procedures are also resolved in an heuristic manner. Using the latter modified disaggregation procedure, a feasible disaggregated plan is generated for the whole planning horizon. The proposed plan is compared with the current production policy of the firm and it is observed that the proposed plan leads to backorder reduction.     

A new prototype system for optimized job shop scheduling

Optimal scheduling of shopfloor activities in an environment of discrete part manufacturing is discussed. The scheduling problem is a well known NP complete one. The main part, the sequencing problem, has been tackled using two techniques: virtual resources identification and taboo search heuristics. The first approach allowed the authors to reduce the complexity of the sequencing from a job shop to a general flow shop problem. On the other hand, the search for an optimal solution, with respect to a fixed strategy, has been achieved via the taboo search. A synthesis of the results of a large number of tests is presented as well as the results of an application to a real case. The latter is shown in comparison with the output of the system being presently used in the examined factory.     

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.     

Manufacturing management strategies for environmental protection: Toward the environmental upgrading of management and manufacturing systems to cope with environmental laws

Recent environmental problems have been caused by business activities and a lifestyle based on mass production, mass consumption and mass disposal. These problems have also become global in scale. Increasingly, global efforts are being applied to preserve and improve the environment. NEC, a worldwide electronics manufacturer, created its own environment action plan called Eco-Action 21. This is a continuously evolving plan applied throughout the NEC group and subsidiaries. Globally, 34 NEC manufacturing sites have received ISO 14001 certification. NEC Tohoku in Japan and NEC Ireland obtained BS 7750 certification even before this. NEC improves subcontractors' environmental behaviour with our accumulated expertize and technology derived from our ISO experience and our own development. Input for this paper was not only from NEC Tohoku and the NEC group, but also from outside NEC.     

Dynamic selection of dispatching rules for job shop scheduling

Although the academic contribution to job shop scheduling is abundant, its impact on practice has been minimal. The most preferred approach to job shop scheduling in the industry is dispatching rules. A major criticism against dispatching rules is that there is no single universal rule. The effective choice of dispatching rules depends on the scheduling criterion and existing job shop conditions. In this paper, the authors have proposed a scheduling method based on the analytic hierarchy process, that dynamically selects the most appropriate dispatching rule from several candidate rules. The selection is based on the existing job shop conditions. This method is applied to two formal job shop problems, and the results for single dispatching rules are inferior to the method proposed in this paper.     

An examination of the ISO 9001:2000 standard and its influence on the integration of management systems

Abstract

Analysis of the literature and examination of the various models of integration and testing in the field, have revealed five key issues relating to management system integration. This paper examines the recently published ISO 9001 : 2000 quality management system standard to see how it addresses these issues, under the headings of compatibility, scope and organizational culture. The examination reveals that while compatibility with the ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards has been improved in some areas, a different approach and model of a management system has been used. The paper suggests that differences in the scope of the standards are also likely to give rise to different sub-cultures which will hinder integration, and scope and culture are more important than compatibility. This leads the authors to conclude that new models of integration should be based on an approach and definitions which can be used in any management system, as well as an integrated one. Models of an integrated management system should also emphasize the need for no significant differences in the scope of the integrated systems, and a strong culture which supports the main requirements of TQM.     

浅谈我国婚姻法探望权的执行

在我国司法界中探望权的执行存在着一定的难度。由于探望权执行表现为一种需要长期反复的行为,其执行的对象又是特定的相对人,并且需要多方配合才能实现,这就增加了执行的难度。要完善这一立法,应从其性质入手,深入分析在执行中遇到的问题及相应的解决方法,并借鉴他国经验,从而完善我国探望权的执行。     

Use of time and preferences for time allocation among urban,employed, married women

This study examines the relationship between employed wives' preferences for household production time, employment time, leisure, and their actual time use. A random sample of 235 employed, married women estimate their time use on an average weekday and weekend day in 13 activities and indicate their preferences for time in those activities. Hierarchical multiple regression procedures are used to examine the relationships between actual and preferred time use. Weekday employment time is not related to preferences for more or less time in household production but wives allocating more time to employment want to spend less time at that employment and more time in leisure. Weekend employment time is related to preferences for more time in leisure, child care, and other household work. Time spent performing household work is not related to preferences for more or less time in any activity except the desire for more leisure time on weekends.Ann Renigar Hiatt is Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Services, College of Education and Allied Professions at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223. Her research interests include employed women's time allocation, time pressures, and use of time management strategies. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.Deborah D. Godwin is Associate Professor in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Her research has focused on husbands' and wives' time allocation to household production, the effects of women's employment on family economic functioning, and family financial management. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensbore.     

The role of aspirations and aspirations adaptation in explaining satisficing and bounded rationality

The explanation of bounded rationality in terms of satisficing has been received with skepticism, but Simon's claim that satisficing reflects aspirations and their adaptation could help resolve the matter, particularly taking account of the amplifications introduced by Selten to include motivational factors. Experimental investigations by Guth and his colleagues provide some support. Open-ended, in-depth interviews by Bewley and Schwartz help explain the factors that influence aspirations (which may differ for different tasks), giving attention to affective influences and also to context. They suggest a positive but more complicated relationship between the relative success in realizing profits aspirations and the adaptation of those aspirations, and also in the consequences that aspiration levels have for bounded rationality.     

The Enchantment of Agriculture: State Decentering and Irrigated Rice Production in Bali

This article explores state involvement in the ‘enchanted’ aspects of irrigated rice production in Bali, Indonesia. Modernising states invariably forward what Max Weber called the rationalisation and disenchantment of the world. In irrigation management, the Indonesian colonial and postcolonial states operated staunchly on this model. ‘Enchanted’ elements of Balinese rice production involving temples and rituals were assumed irrelevant and sidelined. Recently, however, bursts of state-funded construction of irrigation temples and shrines suggest a surprising shift. The post-Suharto decentralised state appears to be supporting the enchantment of irrigated agriculture. This article deals with the relationship between legislation under the decentralised state and ritual building activities in Balinese irrigation associations (subak). We examine how contemporary farmers view the new emphasis on ‘ritual technology’. Does it constitute decentralised support of the farmers' world, of local priorities and variance, or a new homogenising project?