Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the availability of information on the equipment to be serviced affects field‐service delivery performance.

The research was performed as a case study with a capital goods manufacturer and its service network. The analysis is based on interviews, a survey of companies in the service network, and warranty records.

In the case setting, it was found that 40 percent of failed service visits were caused by a lack of information. In addition, almost one third of the service visit's duration was used to inquire for detailed information on the equipment in order to be able to diagnose the problem. Preparation of the on‐site visit is identified as a critical information enabled step for high performance field‐service delivery. In the studied case setting, access to reliable information would significantly improve the service call success ratio and shorten duration of on‐site service operations.

The results on the importance of equipment information for the preparation of the service visit are indicative, as the findings are based on a single case study. Further research is needed on how users, service companies and original equipment manufacturers can collaborate on improving availability of equipment information to enhance performance in field‐service delivery.

Service call success ratio is one of the most significant cost‐saving opportunities in field‐service delivery. The paper shows how introducing an information‐enabled preparation step before making the service call can significantly improve service call success ratio, reduce maintenance costs, and improve equipment uptime.

The paper presents an empirical study highlighting the importance of equipment information in preparations performed prior to accessing the servicing site in field‐service delivery.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the underlying design information and success factors for production equipment acquisition, in order to support the design of high‐performance production systems.

The research strategy employed was an in‐depth case study of an industrialization project, together with a questionnaire of 25 equipment suppliers.

The study provides the reader with an insight into the role of design information when acquiring production equipment by addressing questions such as: What type of information is used? How do equipment suppliers obtain information? What factors facilitate a smooth production system acquisition?

Limitations are primarily associated with the chosen research methodology, which requires further empirical studies to establish a generic value.

The implications are that manufacturing companies have to transfer various types of design information with respect to the content and kind of information. More attention has to be placed on what information is transferred to ensure that equipment suppliers receive all the information needed to design and subsequently build the production equipment. To facilitate integration of equipment suppliers, manufacturing companies should appoint a contact person who can gather, understand and transform relevant design information.

External integration of equipment suppliers in production system design by means of design information is an area that has been rarely addressed in academia and industry.

This research outlines the technological structure of the entire Japanese manufacturing and service industry using the patent information from research and development (R&D) activities to set R&D goals.

By analyzing the technological development capability of individual companies, the direction of the companies' R&D activities and current state of technological fusion between them can be understood. A group of companies participating in a particular product/service market must have the same technological development capabilities. As a result, the ratio of patent applications by a company to the total number of applications in a technical field will be similar across companies. This study uses the inter-company correlation coefficient of the ratio of patent applications by technical field as an index of technological development capability. A total of 167 major companies covering the major industries of Japan were analyzed. The analysis period was 15 years from 2004 to 2018, and the technical fields were rearranged to 42 fields with reference to the International Patent Classification (IPC)-Technology Concordance used by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Considering the fluctuation in patent application opportunities, the number of patent applications was collected for at least three years for the analysis of patent applications by technical field, company and industry.

Examining the entire Japanese industry, the research found that chemicals, ceramics, non-ferrous metals and electrical/electronic equipment act as intermediaries between the respective groups and are linked to the transportation equipment, electrical/electronic equipment and information and communication services industries that are currently driving the Japanese economy. However, the technical connections between these groups are relatively loose. Over the last 15 years, the propagation structure of technical knowledge information has not changed. The progress of technological fusion remains within the scope of commerce and is conditioned by commerce.

Studies focusing on the technological development capability between companies and the technological structure of the Japanese manufacturing and service industries are almost non-existent since 2000 when Japan's economic growth slowed. The analytical methods presented in this research can be applied to individual companies to gain an understanding of technical positions of companies and can be useful for planning a technical environment, business or R&D strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate expert systems (ES) for selection of material handling (MH) equipment on their use of information and generation of equipment, and provide guidelines that can enhance developing them in the future.

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to evaluate efficiency of ES on their use of information and generation of equipment. Characteristics of benchmark ES are identified to serve as guidelines in developing future ES.

Results of DEA indicate that most ES use a large amount of information that does not commensurate with the number and variety of equipment they generate.

The ideal MH equipment for a situation is not known whether it is selected by ES or other procedures. Therefore, this study focusses on efficiency of ES in using information to generate MH equipment without regard to whether ES produce the right equipment for a situation or not.

Developers of future ES should consider the efficiency of an ES in using information and generation of equipment, in addition to considering its functions and methodologies. They should utilize means similar to those employed by benchmark methodologies and other ones that can be thought of to economize information and generate more number and variety of equipment, and thus render ES more useful to facility designers and manufacturing managers.

The paper presents the first evaluation of ES for selection of MH equipment. The evaluation performed should enhance development of future ES in this field, and can be extended to ES in other application domains.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the financial potential of new service businesses in the context of a global machinery manufacturer. The objective is to examine the supportive role of management accounting (MA) and control in service business development, which has not been empirically examined previously.

The paper takes advantage of an interventionist case study at a global machinery manufacturer and is empirically based on a comprehensive examination of the service business potential in the selected product category in different market areas. The researchers were actively involved in the accounting development activities underlying this paper.

The results suggest that the development of a global service business is necessary to build on market area characteristics. An analysis should combine financial information and equipment fleet information across product lines and organizational units.

MA and control practices tend to require significant development to actually support the process of identifying and capturing the service business potentials. As the findings are limited to one case environment, further studies should address the longitudinal evolution of MA and control, and the choice and utilization of different performance measures, in similar contexts.

The paper provides managerial insights on how to utilize MA information and proposes ideas for performance indicators.

The process examined in this paper responds to the need for tools and techniques supporting service business development. MA and control could provide a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of service business profitability potential and support in identifying and prioritizing the possible avenues of realizing such potential.

Although fewer than 150 years have passed since Jacques Daguerre perfected the first photographic image in 1839, the flood of evolving equipment and applications has already generated a broad and richly varied field. Simultaneously one of the youngest arts and one of the newest technologies, photography is now used in medical research, space exploration, criminal investigations, agricultural production, design of industrial machinery, ad infinitum. At one extreme, it records family life and supplies the surest method of identification on drivers' licenses. At the other end of the spectrum, photography (once denounced in haute couture) has within the past five years not only become an “acceptable” art form, but has assumed centerstage in museums and exhibits throughout the United States and Europe.

The decline in US productivity growth is now well recognized. What is not so obvious is that this is at a time when expenditures for information technology (IT) have grown at a faster rate than ever before. Shows that for the period 1980‐89, labour productivity grew at an annual rate of 1.29 per cent while capital productivity declined at a rate of ‐0.12 per cent. Information technology expenditures during this period grew at 8.6 per cent with office, computing and accounting machinery growing even faster at 10.22 per cent. Over $867 billion has been spent on IT equipment alone. Looks at the evolution of technology expenditures and productivity growth in the US economy. Argues that it is important for the information systems community to reconsider some of its dominant design paradigms – specifically, that IT investment needs to be evaluated from the standpoint of its capacity to boost productivity.

States that traditional information security models address only the micro view of how to maintain a secure environment by controlling the flows of information within protection systems and the access to controlled data items. Argues that these models do not aim to, and cannot, reflect the information security level of an organization. Describes an information security model using a hypertext approach. The model aims to prepare a macro view of the current information security situation in order to provide an overview of the information security risk to a wider audience in an organization. An administrative information system has been analysed to demonstrate the hypertext information security model.

The paper presents one of the first attempts to identify and categorise the fundamental barriers currently preventing the multibillion semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry from implementing existing B2B e-trading models for its secondary market. It furthermore proposes a global e-business strategy supporting aftermarket integration with the industry's supply chain.

Because of the global nature of the industry, the research employs a multiple case-study design to explore the state-of-the-art in semiconductor excess management. The data for this analysis are obtained through a number of in-depth interviews with experts from a cross-section of the industry, and further supplemented and validated with a systematic literature review and public corporate data.

The results indicate that significant market imperfections still exist in the industry due to information and knowledge deficits, organisational inefficiency and IP-related concerns. The considerable levels of third-party competition to the original equipment manufacturers raise questions about the existence and efficacy of reverse logistics processes and Closed-Loop Supply Chain (CLSC) management strategies in this industry. It has been shown that a leaner semiconductor supply chain is achievable through the implementation of the proposed B2B e-marketplace, maintaining the information exchange on the surplus/obsolete equipment and parts.

These outcomes are unique for supporting the design of the first global e-marketplace for the secondary semiconductor equipment and spares. The results can, furthermore, inform the standardisation of the semiconductor aftermarket transactions, streamline knowledge exchange mechanisms amongst different industry players and improve pricing strategies. These contribute to knowledge of principles allowing the aftermarket e-trading to become a key part of the value network in high-tech manufacturing industries.

The purpose of this chapter is to study the key components of well-balanced information economy. The authors offer a hypothesis that progressive development of information economy in the country depends on the balance of its components. The methodology of the research is based on using the method of comparative analysis and analysis of statistical information for determining the state, tendencies, and dynamics of development of the main components of well-balanced information economy. The research allowed for generalization of certain empirical data on structural components of well-balanced information economy of Russia. The performed research showed that there is a difference in approaches to determination of the essence of information economy and variety of approaches to its structure. Also, there is a sustainable tendency of growth of the key components of information economy: in the sphere of production of means of information equipment, reliability of functional equipment grows, its weight and dimensions reduce, and energy saving ratio increases; in the sphere of production of information products, variety of products grows and limits of their usage expand – from professional activities to application in households; service sphere in information economy is the fastest growing component – especially in the sphere of telecommunication systems. Russia is peculiar for imbalance between separate components of information economy, which is deepened by excessive dependence of domestic market of the information and communication technology (ICT) on foreign suppliers; as a result of which Russian companies lag behind their rivals. Hence, formation of well-balanced information economy requires symbiosis of efforts of the state, private business, and scientific community. Qualitative growth of economy is possible with technologies that allow evaluating the current state of markets and spheres and conducting effective forecasting of their development, as well as reacting to changes in the situation in national and world markets.