Search results

Output from the Irish Dairy Industry has grown rapidly since the abolition of quotas in 2015, with processors investing heavily in capacity expansion to deal with the extra milk volumes. Further capacity gains may be achieved by extending the processing season into the winter, a key enabler for which being the reduction of duration of the winter maintenance overhaul period. This paper aims to investigate if Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques can be used to enhance operational maintenance performance, thereby releasing additional processing capacity.

Combining the Six-Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology and the structured approach of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) widely used in process industries creates a novel hybrid model that promises substantial improvement in maintenance overhaul execution. This paper presents a case study applying the DMAIC/TAM model to Ireland’s largest dairy processing site to optimise the annual maintenance shutdown. The objective was to deliver a 30% reduction in the duration of the overhaul, enabling an extension of the processing season.

Application of the DMAIC/TAM hybrid resulted in process enhancements, employee engagement and a clear roadmap for the operations team. Project goals were delivered, and original objectives exceeded, resulting in €8.9m additional value to the business and a reduction of 36% in the duration of the overhaul.

The results demonstrate that the model provides a structure that promotes systematic working and a continuous improvement focus that can have substantial benefits for wider industry. Opportunities for further model refinement were identified and will enhance performance in subsequent overhauls.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and tools of DMAIC and TAM have been combined into a hybrid methodology and applied in an Irish industrial setting.

Asset maintenance in manufacturing industries is a critical issue as organizations are highly sensitive towards maximizing asset uptime. In the advent of Industry 4.0, maintenance is increasingly becoming technology driven and is being termed as Maintenance 4.0. Several barriers impede the implementation of Maintenance 4.0. This article aims at - exploring the barriers to implementation of Maintenance 4.0 in manufacturing industries, categorizing them, analysing them to prioritize and suggesting the digital technologies to overcome them.

Twenty barriers to the implementation of Maintenance 4.0 were identified through literature survey and discussion with the industry experts. The identified barriers were divided into five categories based on their source of occurrence and prioritized using fuzzy-technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), sensitivity analysis was carried out to check the robustness of the solution.

“Data security issues” has been ranked as the most influencing barrier towards the implementation of Maintenance 4.0, whereas “lack of skilled engineers and data scientists” is the least influencing barrier that impacts the implementation of Maintenance 4.0 in the manufacwturing industries.

The outcomes of this research will help manufacturing industries, maintenance engineers/managers, policymakers, and industry professionals for detailed understanding of barriers and identify easy pickings while implementing Maintenance 4.0.

Manufacturing industries are witnessing a paradigm shift due to digitization and maintenance 4.0 forms the cornerstone. Little research has been carried in Maintenance 4.0 and its implementation; this article will help in bridging the gap. The prioritization of the barriers and digital course of actions to overcome those is a unique contribution of this article.

The objective of this study is to investigate the concept of “earthquake resistance” in high-rise buildings and assess the current level of structural strength in the areas where these structures are situated. The study aims to identify and implement necessary measures to enhance resilience in these areas. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to develop a conceptual framework focusing on earthquake resistance's meanings, stages and physical elements to achieve these goals.

This study focuses on Istanbul, a city known for its high earthquake risk, specifically targeting the Atasehir district. The research utilizes the DEMATEL (Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method to evaluate urban resilience parameters. Additionally, the Fuzzy TOPSIS (Preference Ranking Technique by Similarity) method is employed to analyze the location of five buildings in Atasehir, using criterion weights derived from this methodology.

The findings indicate that resilience varies depending on the distance of the buffers. Moreover, the amount and quality of urban equipment in the study areas have a significant impact on the earthquake resistance level of the surrounding areas where high-rise buildings are situated. Building upon this analysis, the study suggests the implementation of measures aimed at augmenting the quantity and quality of urban facilities in the study areas, consequently enhancing urban resilience.

The originality and value of this study lie in its examination of seismic resilience within the context of high-rise buildings and the identification of necessary measures to increase resilience in areas where these structures are prevalent. By focusing on Istanbul, a city with a high earthquake risk, and specifically selecting the Atasehir district as the study area, this research provides a comprehensive conceptual framework for understanding urban resilience and its physical components. Moreover, the study offers a fresh perspective on urban resilience by highlighting the influence of tall buildings on the surrounding areas. Ultimately, it provides practical recommendations for architects, urban planners and other stakeholders to improve regional earthquake resilience.

The primary objective of this paper is to show a systematic and methodological approach for the digitalization of critical clinical pathways (CPs) within the healthcare domain.

The methodology entails the integration of service design (SD) and action research (AR) methodologies, characterized by iterative phases that systematically alternate between action and reflective processes, fostering cycles of change and learning. Within this framework, stakeholders are engaged through semi-structured interviews, while the existing and envisioned processes are delineated and represented using BPMN 2.0. These methodological steps emphasize the development of an autonomous, patient-centric web application alongside the implementation of an adaptable and patient-oriented scheduling system. Also, business processes simulation is employed to measure key performance indicators of processes and test for potential improvements. This method is implemented in the context of the CP addressing transient loss of consciousness (TLOC), within a publicly funded hospital setting.

The methodology integrating SD and AR enables the detection of pivotal bottlenecks within diagnostic CPs and proposes optimal corrective measures to ensure uninterrupted patient care, all the while advancing the digitalization of diagnostic CP management. This study contributes to theoretical discussions by emphasizing the criticality of process optimization, the transformative potential of digitalization in healthcare and the paramount importance of user-centric design principles, and offers valuable insights into healthcare management implications.

The study’s relevance lies in its ability to enhance healthcare practices without necessitating disruptive and resource-intensive process overhauls. This pragmatic approach aligns with the imperative for healthcare organizations to improve their operations efficiently and cost-effectively, making the study’s findings relevant.

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between Lean manufacturing and Industry 4.0 for small and medium size of enterprise in Japan and Brazil.

The authors conducted a quantitative survey (20 companies in Japan and 30 companies in Brazil) combined with a qualitative interview (2 companies in Japan and 15 companies in Brazil).

According to the quantitative study, 90% of them practice Lean manufacturing and 40% of them practice Industry 4.0. In the qualitative study in Brazil, four managers responded that the Lean manufacturing is a prerequisite for Industry 4.0 since any production process with waste cannot be productive, even with sophisticated digitalization technology.

The authors explored further the relationship between “defensive Digital Transformation (DX),” which is based mainly on Lean manufacturing, and “offensive DX,” which relates to customer value creation through Industry 4.0. This study clarifies the relationship and plays as a roadmap to develop better the manufacturing from current status to the vision of Industry 4.0.

The implementation of the digital economy has had a considerable influence on the manufacturing industry, and this paper aims to address the important issues of how to capture the opportunities presented by digital innovation and promote the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry, as well as the improvement of quality and efficiency.

Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces and cities between 2010 and 2021, this study establishes the panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model and uses impulse response function analysis to evaluate the influence of the digital economy on the high-quality transformation and upgrading of China's small home appliance industry across five dimensions under the digital economy.

The development of digital infrastructure has not demonstrated a noteworthy capacity for advancing the transformation and upgrading of the small home appliance industry. Furthermore, digital industrialization has exerted a minimal restraining influence on this process. Nevertheless, digital governance has consistently exhibited a substantial impact on facilitating the transformation and upgrading of the small home appliance industry. While both industrial digitization and digital innovation hold significant potential for promoting the transformation and upgrading of the small home appliance industry, their sustainability remains limited.

The organization should logically join independent innovation and open innovation, construct an industrial ecosystem for the profound convergence of the digital economy and compact household appliances, use digital-wise science and technology to empower the establishment of brand effects, strengthen the portrayal of the digital standard framework for the intelligent compact household appliance industry, advance the development of a public stage for computerized administrations in the compact household appliance industry and develop a strategy ecosystem for computerized assets in the compact household appliance industry.

This study offers systematic evidence of the relationship between the digital economy and the development of the small home appliance industry. The results of this research contribute to the literature on the impact of the digital economy on the manufacturing sector and provide a logical explanation for the transformation and upgrading of the small home appliance industry within the context of the digital economy.

The performance of large-scale projects is often challenged due to major environmental changes that occur during their life. However, literature has paid little attention to the governance adaptations required to respond effectively to these changes. This paper aims to study changes in the project environment over time, the corresponding governance adaptations and their impact on project performance.

To ensure triangulation between two sources of evidence, we used both primary and secondary data sources and examined 14 projects through 2 studies, the first focused on seven documented, illustrative case projects and the second on interviews with senior and project managers involved in seven additional projects.

We found the key environmental changes that should trigger appropriate governance adaptations to be market evolutions, technological advancements and sociopolitical events. However, we also found that these necessary governance adaptations are not commonly implemented timely, sufficiently or effectively.

The paper distills the dynamics of large-scale projects in achieving project effectiveness and raises theoretical propositions on the combination of environmental changes and deficient governance adaptations that, over time, turns efficient projects into ineffective projects and discusses implications for theory and practice.

Through the “Going Digital Initiative,” the Ghanaian government has introduced policies that aim at improving the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure of the country. These ICT policies have benefited numerous sectors of the Ghanaian economy. In logistics management, ICT has impacted drone medical delivery in the healthcare and maritime sectors. However, the importance of ICT is not realized in the motorcycle goods transport (MGT) industry, regardless of its popularity and high economic dependency. Second, all research on motorcycles is focused on diverse social concerns, and no study has attempted to analyze ICT implementation for MGT operations. This is a significant gap in logistics management. Hence, the study aimed to investigate the impact of ICT on Ghana's MGT industry empirically.

The study adopts a two-phase data collection approach to collect the data. The authors use partial least square structural equation modeling to analyze the study's measurement and structural assessment model.

ICT positively impacts MGT and the drivers considered. The drivers positively influence MGT. The study further analyzes novel results on the relationships between the drivers and their mediating roles in enhancing MGT performance.

The study's originality is the extension of ICT adoption and usage in MGT. The lack of literature on the importance of ICT for MGT services makes this study the primary source of literature, and the relationships investigated are unique as the research area is unexplored.

The advancement in science and technology has led to the existence and continuous growth of various physical machines and now computer programs which are supposed to perform once thought unbelievable multi-tasks for humans.

Many firms, governments, industries and syndicates are switching to automated process for achieving maximum output and having minimum cost and errors in the manufacturing and various other processes, hence the role of human involvement is getting decreased. With the Industry 4.0 standards being opted, industry gurus have been forecasting the limiting power of human labour and interaction and fears exist complete replacement of human beings from the working environment by robots and automated machines.

Artificial intelligence has aggressively overtaken almost all fields of businesses and human resource (HR) hasn't been either immune to that. Robotics is an important factor as well.

Technology implementation has its own benefits and negative impacts which is creating fears among various professionals with regards to their complete replacement by machines.

The following paper looks deeply into various researches performed by scholars to have a thorough knowledge of present-day status of human–machine collaboration and the challenges organizations are facing. It will help in understanding the current scenario of HR with modern technologies.

The design for deconstruction (DfD) technique, a contemporaneous solution to demolition by optimizing disassembly activities to enable reuse, has recently emerged with several promises to promote the circular economy. However, little attention has been given to its implementation among design professionals, especially in the Global South. Therefore, this study aims to explore the drivers for DfD implementation among design professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI).

The study adopted a mixed research approach (explanatory sequential design) with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. Data from the survey were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, one-sample t-Test, and normalization value (NV) test after a review of pertinent literature. These data were then validated through semistructured interviews with ten design professionals with in-depth knowledge of DfD.

The findings revealed that although all ten drivers are important, the eight key drivers for the DfD implementation were identified as, in order of importance, “Availability of computer software applications regarding DfD,” “Inclusion of DfD in the formal education of design professionals,” “Increasing public awareness of the concept of DfD,” “Organizing workshops/seminars for design professionals on the concept of DfD,” “Availability of DfD training,” “Regulation regarding DfD,” “Industry guidance regarding DfD” and “Establishing a market for salvaged construction components.”

This study's findings provide insights into an under-investigated topic in Ghana and offer new and additional information and insights into the current state-of-the-art on the factors that drive DfD implementation.