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The purpose of this paper is to systematically investigate the patient flow and waiting time problems in hospital emergency departments (EDs) from an integrated voice of customer (VOC) and voice of process (VOP) perspective and to propose a new lean framework for ED process.

A survey was conducted to better understand patients' perceptions of ED services, lean tools such as process mapping and A3 problem-solving sheets were used to identify hidden process wastes and root-cause analysis was performed to determine the reasons of long waiting time in ED.

The results indicate that long waiting times in ED are major concerns for patients and affect the quality of ED services. It was revealed that limited bed capacity, unavailability of necessary staff, layout of ED, lack of understanding among patients about the nature of emergency services are main causes of delay. Addressing these issues using lean tools, integrated with the VOC and VOP perspectives can lead to improved patient flow, higher patient satisfaction and improvement in ED capacity. A future value stream map is proposed to streamline the ED activities and minimize waiting times.

The research involves a relatively small sample from a single case study. The proposed approach will enable the ED administrators to avoid the ED overcrowding and streamline the entire ED process.

This research identified ED quality issues from the integration of VOC and VOP perspective and suggested appropriate lean tools to overcome these problems. This process improvement approach will enable the ED administrators to improve productivity and performance of hospitals.

As a critical component in the entrepreneurial process, knowledge is essential to the study of how entrepreneurs compete under constraints. Research in this area is challenged by the unobservable and imprecise nature of knowledge which inhibits advanced theory building and testing, and we explore this problem by analyzing the relationship between the entrepreneurial process, constraints to the process, and knowledge flows. We apply and extend a systems-theoretic framework that identifies the knowledge system in entrepreneurial organizations, and develop an integrative model to guide future research.

The purpose of research is to examine the communication optimization theory by comparing two business process representation approaches and related redesign guidelines through an experiment.

The experiment examined two process representation approaches involving 114 subjects. Each method gravitated around a different business process representation – one placed emphasis on business process activities and their sequencing, and the other on the web of communication interactions found in business processes.

The key finding was that an emphasis on a communication‐oriented view of processes seems to increase perceived modeling quality and redesign success.

Data were collected from various information systems classes at a university. The participants were not redesign team members in an actual organizational redesign project. Future studies should focus on the characteristics of the designers.

The findings should allow managers and practitioners involved in operational‐level process redesign to acknowledge and focus on the flow of information rather than just the activities performed or at least determine a balance between these two approaches. Further, the information system developers and designers should be able to better align information systems design with business processes techniques. Using communication flow methodologies in the analysis stage should significantly help the design and the development processes.

This research was one of the first experimental studies to test the communication flow optimization theory and its effect on business process redesign.

The aim of this paper is to suggest a method to redesign business processes from the viewpoint of knowledge flows using a knowledge map.

Knowledge flows and business processes cannot be separated because knowledge is inputted and outputted through business processes. Knowledge flows inherit the feature and appearance of corresponding business processes; therefore, one can identify problems within business processes by analyzing corresponding knowledge flows. The methodology is composed of the following sections: knowledge mapping, knowledge profiling, knowledge flow identification, knowledge flow optimization and TO‐BE process visualization.

This paper provides a methodology for knowledge flow‐based business process redesign and ten guidelines for knowledge flow optimization. The case study demonstrates that the proposed ideas constitute knowledge‐intensified business processes.

A more formal validation method that is based on the statistical analysis must be provided to assert the proposed guidelines for knowledge flow optimization as the truly optimized ones.

This paper's idea provides the practical methodology and guidelines that can be directly applicable to performing business process redesign by introducing a real case.

This paper's ideas not only provide present companies with a practical way to enhance their business process to be more knowledge‐focused, but also promote the current economy to be more knowledge‐intensive.

Continuous process flow is a prerequisite of lean systems as it helps to reduce throughput times, improve quality, minimize operational costs, and shorten delivery times. The purpose of this paper is to empirically demonstrate the application of a methodology that combines a time‐based study, discrete‐event simulation and the trial and error method to enable a leaner process through more efficient line balancing and more effective flow for a park homes production process. This method is replicable across other contexts and industry settings.

The paper reviews the UK park homes production industry and, specifically, a major factory that builds these homes. It compares the factory method to traditional on‐site construction methods. An empirical study of production times was carried out to collect data in order to analyse the current workload distribution and the process flow performance of the park homes production process. Finally, seven discrete‐event simulation models were developed in order to test different scenarios and define the optimum line balance for every section of the production process.

By combining time study, discrete‐event simulation and trial and error methods, the workload distribution and process flow performance of the park homes production line were analysed and improved. A reduction of between 1.82 and 36.32 percent in balancing losses in some sections of the process was achieved.

This paper supports current knowledge on process flow improvement and line balancing by exploring and analysing these issues in a real‐life context. It can be used to guide production management practitioners in their selection of methods and demonstrates how they are exploited when seeking to improve process flow, efficiency and line balancing of production operations.

The study uses a real industrial application to demonstrate how the methodological combination and deployment of process flow improvement strategies, such as time study, simulation, and trial and error, can help organisations achieve process flow improvements and, as a consequence, a leaner production process.

Concurrency is a desirable property that enhances workflow efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to propose six polynomial-time algorithms that collectively maximize control flow concurrency for Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) workflow models. The proposed algorithms perform model-level transformations on a BPMN model during the design phase of the model, thereby improving the workflow model’s execution efficiency.

The approach is similar to source code optimization, which solely works with syntactic means. The first step makes implicit synchronizations of interdependent concurrent control flows explicit by adding parallel gateways. After that, every control flow can proceed asynchronously. The next step then generates an equivalent sequence of execution hierarchies for every control flow such that they collectively provide maximum concurrency for the control flow. As a whole, the proposed algorithms add a valuable feature to a BPMN modeling tool to maximize control flow concurrency.

In addition, this paper introduces the concept of control flow independence, which is a user-determined semantic property of BPMN models that cannot be obtained by any syntactic means. But, if control flow independence holds in a BPMN model, the model’s determinism is guaranteed. As a result, the proposed algorithms output a model that can be proved to be equivalent to the original model.

This paper adds value to BPMN modeling tools by providing polynomial-time algorithms that collectively maximize control flow concurrency in a BPMN model during the design phase of the model. As a result, the model’s execution efficiency will increase. Similar to source code optimization, these algorithms perform model-level transformations on a BPMN model through syntactic means; and the transformations performed to each control flow are guaranteed to be equivalent to the control flow. Furthermore, a case study on a real-life new employee preparation process is provided to demonstrate the proposed algorithms’ usefulness on increasing the process’s execution efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a computational approach to establish the effect of various flow drilling screw (FS) process and material parameters on the quality and the mechanical performance of the resulting FS joints.

Toward that end, a sequence of three distinct computational analyses is developed. These analyses include: (a) finite-element modeling and simulations of the FS process; (b) determination of the mechanical properties of the resulting FS joints through the use of three-dimensional, continuum finite-element-based numerical simulations of various mechanical tests performed on the FS joints; and (c) determination, parameterization and validation of the constitutive relations for the simplified FS connectors, using the results obtained in (b) and the available experimental results. The availability of such connectors is mandatory in large-scale computational analyses of whole-vehicle crash or even in simulations of vehicle component manufacturing, e.g. car-body electro-coat paint-baking process. In such simulations, explicit three-dimensional representation of all FS joints is associated with a prohibitive computational cost.

Virtual testing of the shell components fastened using the joint connectors validated the ability of these line elements to realistically account for the strength, ductility and toughness of the three-dimensional FS joints.

The approach developed in the present work can be used, within an engineering-optimization procedure, to adjust the FS process and material parameters (design variables) in order to obtain a desired combination of the FS-joint mechanical properties (objective function).

This paper gives a review of the finite element techniques (FE) applied in the area of material processing. The latest trends in metal forming, non‐metal forming, powder metallurgy and composite material processing are briefly discussed. The range of applications of finite elements on these subjects is extremely wide and cannot be presented in a single paper; therefore the aim of the paper is to give FE researchers/users only an encyclopaedic view of the different possibilities that exist today in the various fields mentioned above. An appendix included at the end of the paper presents a bibliography on finite element applications in material processing for 1994‐1996, where 1,370 references are listed. This bibliography is an updating of the paper written by Brannberg and Mackerle which has been published in Engineering Computations, Vol. 11 No. 5, 1994, pp. 413‐55.

Describes an empirical study of 15 business processes in three organizations. Business process data were collected in the context of action research projects where the researcher was involved in organizational development activities. Suggests that business processes tend to cut across different departments owing to a contemporary phenomenon ‐ the specialization of knowledge. This leads to the specialization of work with the multiplication of functions and departments in organizations. Also suggests that 70 per cent or more of the product flow through business processes in organizations is made up of information. Discusses organizational implications of these results as regards organizational design and business process redesign focus.

To identify operations and logistics issues which are critical for the operational performance in modular assembly processes.

Based on case studies of Volvo Cars, Toyota, and Saab, the paper identifies operations and logistics issues that are critical for the operational performance of modular assembly processes. The issues are used for extending our understanding of the design and operation of modular assembly processes.

The issues identified concern production planning, deviation handling, assembly flow balance, small unit disadvantages, and module flow control. They reveal that a modular assembly process design brings structural disadvantages related to the dispersion of activities and resource needs. The issues also demonstrate the need for extensive coordination across the interfaces of the decoupled parts of the process.

The findings will mainly be relevant for firms that design and produce complex products involving several technologies and that use company‐specific modules as is the case in the automotive industry, for instance.

Operations and logistics managers may use the findings in order to design and operate modular assembly processes, provide input to the design of modular products, analyze operations and logistics issues before the firm decides to go modular, or not.

Complements existing research on modular assembly processes by outlining structural disadvantages and explaining the need for extensive coordination in such processes.