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21 – 30 of over 2000Surbhi Uniyal, Sachin Kumar Mangla and Pravin Patil
Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) assist managers to improve their operational efficiency while aiming at reducing the generation of waste. The purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) assist managers to improve their operational efficiency while aiming at reducing the generation of waste. The purpose of this paper is to construct a structural model of the SCP practices in a supply chain context.
Design/methodology/approach
The work is based on the experience of supply chain professionals, a case study and literature review related to SCP. The present work recommends an assessment framework by prioritizing the SCP oriented practices using best-worst method.
Findings
The current work is an effort to understand the significance of SCP practices and to reveal their level of influence in developing a sustainable culture in value chains. Data for this work are derived from an automotive company operating in India. Findings reveal that the “resource efficiency” acquires the highest rank and “sharing assets” acquires the last lank among all SCP practices.
Research limitations/implications
It is difficult to finalize the SCP practices. This work uses the expert’s approach for this. In this way, the process needs to be conducted very carefully.
Practical implications
This research can assist automotive managers and practitioners in efficiently utilizing their companies’ resources, which would result in superior business effectiveness by generating higher employment opportunities in value chains.
Originality/value
Efforts have been made to contribute in the identification and analysis of SCP oriented practices. The developed structural model will help in understanding the ranking of practices.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the topic of sustainable construction and provide an adequate discussion of the current thinking. Achieving a balance between economic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the topic of sustainable construction and provide an adequate discussion of the current thinking. Achieving a balance between economic, social and ecological aims is a challenge. Managing and implementing sustainability requires the commitment of all stakeholders and new ways of working, thinking and learning.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology of this study consists of a literature review in the research field of sustainable construction and its associated impacts upon the climate, waste production and energy, materials and water usage. The aim is not to provide an in-depth, detailed analysis of specific processes and cases in the construction sector, but to present the need for rethinking sustainable construction in comprehensive terms.
Findings
The paper provides insights about the importance of sustainable construction. It suggests that all stakeholders at all stages should commit to sustainability to enable change in perception to start with.
Research limitations/implications
Further investigation on methods and techniques and interviews to construction companies will suggest a consistent framework for implementation “real-time”.
Practical implications
The paper highlights the importance of a coordinated supply chain action in the construction sector and emphasizes the need for construction companies to train and invest in resource- efficient building methods and practices. This will manage the balance between stability and change.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates the need to study further how resources efficiency can be adopted in the construction sector to further enable sustainability.
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David Oglethorpe and Graeme Heron
The increasing focus on environmental sustainability and social responsibility within business agendas often leads to expectations that solutions lie in the downscaling…
Abstract
Purpose
The increasing focus on environmental sustainability and social responsibility within business agendas often leads to expectations that solutions lie in the downscaling, decentralising and deconsolidating of supply chains and logistics systems. This is no more acute than within the climate change agenda, the single biggest environmental challenge to industry today. The purpose of this paper is to challenge these notions and suggest that environmental burden actually decreases across increasing logistical scale and supply chain sophistication.
Design/methodology/approach
Primary and secondary life cycle analysis and carbon auditing case evidence detailing and describing operations throughout the food supply chain is used to show what happens to resource efficiency when we chose possible “downscaling” routes.
Findings
The paper contends that the principle of economic efficiency leading to environmental efficiency (or “lean is green”) is more generally applicable against our previous expectations and that supply chain sophistication and logistical scale is more likely to lead to environmental benefit rather than cost.
Practical implications
From a commercial and industrial point of view, the paper provides evidence to promote conventional supply chain management good practice as a means of driving the demand needed for the technological change required to achieve climate change targets. This is good news for suppliers and distributors, particularly in the light of global economic conditions. From a consumer and policy perspective, the upshot of the paper is a call for more pragmatic thinking and a reminder that critical evidence‐based decision making should be used when judging how best to formulate supply strategies.
Originality/value
This paper represents a fresh way of thinking utilising more robust evidence amongst a set of issues that have become precariously muddled and confused.
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Claudia Calle Müller, Piyush Pradhananga and Mohamed ElZomor
The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption, 30% of raw material use, 25% of solid waste, 25% of water use, 12% of land use and…
Abstract
Purpose
The built environment is responsible for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption, 30% of raw material use, 25% of solid waste, 25% of water use, 12% of land use and 33% of greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, environmental improvement and decarbonization are becoming increasingly critical objectives for the construction industry. Sustainable construction can be achieved through several practices, including: considering life-cycle assessment, circular construction, resource efficiency and waste management and providing eco-efficient materials, reducing energy demands and consumption and incorporating low-carbon technologies and renewable energy sources. To achieve sustainable construction goals, it is critical to educate the future workforce about decarbonization, circular construction and how to overcome the challenges involved in transitioning to sustainable construction. This study aims to understand the gap in student knowledge related to decarbonization and circular construction and the importance of incorporating these topics in civil engineering and construction management curricula.
Design/methodology/approach
This study surveyed 120 undergraduate and graduate students at one of the largest minority-serving institutions in the USA to understand the gap in student knowledge related to decarbonization and circular construction as well as the importance of incorporating these topics in civil engineering and construction management curricula. The authors conducted several statistical measures to assess the consistency, reliability and adequacy of the sample size, including the Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy, the normality test to evaluate the appropriateness of using an ordered probit regression analysis and a multicollinearity test to observe the correlation between independent variables. The data was analyzed using ordered probit regression analysis to investigate the need for a curriculum that serves in educating students about decarbonization and circular construction.
Findings
The results of this research highlight the gaps in students’ knowledge pertaining to sustainable practices and the importance of providing future construction workforce with such knowledge to tackle global inevitable challenges.
Originality/value
The findings of this study contribute to sustainable construction bodies of knowledge by advocating for a reformed curriculum to prepare the future workforce and adopt less carbonized, more circular approaches within the engineering and construction industry.
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Fazıl Gökgöz, Engin Yalçın and Noor Ayoob Salahaldeen
The banking industry, which is one of the most significant industries when taking into account both deposit sizes and employment statistics in Turkey, is one of the country's…
Abstract
Purpose
The banking industry, which is one of the most significant industries when taking into account both deposit sizes and employment statistics in Turkey, is one of the country's primary economic drivers. In this regard, it is highly important to evaluate banks as it is necessary to present to what extent they use their resources efficiently. The main purpose of the study is to analyze the efficiencies of Turkish banks by the two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) and Malmquist productivity index (MPI).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors aim to analyze both the efficiency and productivity of Turkish banks by two-stage DEA and the MPI, which enable decomposing into sub-sections of production processes. Hence, more detailed insight into the Turkish banking system can be presented through two-stage efficiency and production approaches.
Findings
DEA results indicate that two out of three state-owned banks achieved resource efficiency while none of the investigated banks performed profit efficiency throughout the investigated period. Besides, average resource efficiency is found higher than average profit efficiency in Turkish banks. MPI results reveal that both technological and technical improvement prospects exist for Turkish banks.
Originality/value
The original contribution of this paper is to employ two-stage DEA and the MPI, which reflect both the static and dynamic performance of the Turkish banking sector. In this regard, this study aims to be a pioneer by both reflecting the static and dynamic performance analysis of Turkish banks.
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Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to determine the relative efficiency of the top-ranked gynecology departments in the United States as designated by the U.S. News & World…
Abstract
Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used to determine the relative efficiency of the top-ranked gynecology departments in the United States as designated by the U.S. News & World Report ranking. DEA is a linear programming base procedure used to determine the relative efficiency of operating units that have similar characteristics. Efficiency scores are calculated by comparing two different input sets to the performance of each gynecological department. Ranking based on DEA more completely and accurately represents gynecological departments. Further, DEA makes it possible to fairly compare specific departments. The new ranking coupled with the efficiency score accrued by each hospital will motivate and guide hospital administrators to improve the performance of hospital gynecology departments by better utilizing expensive resources.
Francesco Rizzi, Chiara Pellegrini and Niccolò Todaro
Among world’s economies, the circular economy (CE) has become popular especially in the European Union and China, which opens several opportunities for sustainability leaders to…
Abstract
Among world’s economies, the circular economy (CE) has become popular especially in the European Union and China, which opens several opportunities for sustainability leaders to gain a first-mover advantage and, consequently, to pursue organizational sustainability and growth. In spite of public policy support, since CE often requires entrepreneurial innovation among complex networks of companies, most companies are still learning how to manage knowledge dynamics at the inter-organization level. The chapter starts by defining the key characteristics of CE and identifying the peculiarities in terms of inter-firm cooperative and competitive relations, which help in delineating contributions from the green supply chain literature. The second section shows – through the discussion of term maps – how multiple- and inter-disciplinary streams of research are increasingly linked by hard (i.e., information communication technologies based) and soft (i.e., relational and organizational) aspects of knowledge management. The third section provides a discussion on key hard and soft factors that characterize four knowledge dynamics, i.e., knowledge creation, knowledge storage, knowledge transfer, and knowledge sharing that can improve the adoption and integration of circular processes within inter-organizational coopetitive strategies. Particular attention is here given to the cross-analysis of outcomes from theoretical papers, case studies, and quantitative empirical researches that contribute to shaping relations between internal and external factors that might play as predictors of a successful implementation of CE principles. Finally, the last section concludes with recommendations for improving organizational and managerial capabilities to manage inter-firm knowledge dynamics while pursuing CE objectives in international business environments. Beside this guidance for practitioners, directions for further research are suggested for each pillar of the emerging conceptual model.
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Pieter Johannes Theron Conradie, Dimitri Dimitrov, Gert Adriaan Oosthuizen, Philip Hugo and Mike Saxer
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the combination of selective laser melting (SLM) and 5-axis CNC milling to produce parts from titanium powder. The aim is to achieve a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the combination of selective laser melting (SLM) and 5-axis CNC milling to produce parts from titanium powder. The aim is to achieve a more resource-efficient manufacturing process by reducing material wastage and machining time, while adhering to quality requirements.
Design/methodology/approach
A benchmark titanium aerospace component is manufactured with two different approaches using subtractive and additive manufacturing technologies. The first component is produced from a solid billet using only 5-axis CNC milling. The second component is grown from powder using SLM to produce a net-shaped part of which the final shape and part accuracy are achieved through 5-axis CNC milling. The potential saving of material and machining time of the process combination is evaluated by comparing it to the conventional purely CNC approach. The form accuracy, surface finish, mechanical properties and tool wear for the two processes are also compared.
Findings
The results show that the process combination can be used to produce Ti components that adhere to aerospace standards. With the process combination, a material saving of 87 per cent was achieved along with a reduction of 21 per cent in machining time. Further improvements are possible using optimized SLM build and machining strategies.
Originality/value
This paper presents the results of a resource efficiency assessment on the combination of SLM and 5-axis CNC milling for the titanium alloy, Ti6Al4V. It is expected that this process combination can make a significant contribution towards reducing material wastage and machining time for aerospace applications.
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Felix T.S. Chan, Zhengxu Wang, Yashveer Singh, X.P. Wang, J.H. Ruan and M.K. Tiwari
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model which schedules activities and allocates resources in a resource constrained project management problem. This paper also considers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a model which schedules activities and allocates resources in a resource constrained project management problem. This paper also considers learning rate and uncertainties in the activity durations.
Design/methodology/approach
An activity schedule with requirements of different resource units is used to calculate the objectives: makespan and resource efficiency. A comparisons between non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm – II (NSGA-II) and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm – III (NSGA-III) is done to calculate near optimal solutions. Buffers are introduced in the activity schedule to take uncertainty into account and learning rate is used to incorporate the learning effect.
Findings
The results show that NSGA-III gives better near optimal solutions than NSGA-II for multi-objective problem with different complexities of activity schedule.
Research limitations/implications
The paper does not considers activity sequencing with multiple activity relations (for instance partial overlapping among different activities) and dynamic events occurring in between or during activities.
Practical implications
The paper helps project managers in manufacturing industry to schedule the activities and allocate resources for a near-real world environment.
Originality/value
This paper takes into account both the learning rate and the uncertainties in the activity duration for a resource constrained project management problem. The uncertainty in both the individual durations of activities and the whole project duration time is taken into consideration. Genetic algorithms were used to solve the problem at hand.
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Florian Pape, Oliver Maiss, Berend Denkena and Gerhard Poll
The efficient and economical use of natural resources is a big issue. Machine elements with a rolling contact are highly relevant because of their wide application in technical…
Abstract
Purpose
The efficient and economical use of natural resources is a big issue. Machine elements with a rolling contact are highly relevant because of their wide application in technical systems and a large production quantity. Innovative hard machining can reduce the friction and increase the fatigue strength of rolling element bearings. The purpose of this study is to focus on the surface properties of such parts.
Design/methodology/approach
A new model to predict bearing fatigue life is presented which takes compressive residual stresses in the bearing subsurface area into consideration. The investigated bearings were machined by the processes of hard turning, hard turning with subsequent deep rolling and a combination of hard turning and deep rolling (turn-rolling) in one process step. Changes in the residual stress state during bearing fatigue tests were investigated and the influence of residual stresses on the bearings fatigue life was researched.
Findings
Both combinations including the deep rolling process decrease the surface roughness and induce compressive residual stresses. As a result, the L10 fatigue life of roller bearings was increased by the factor of 2.5. Owing to the developed models, this effect can be considered within the design process.
Originality/value
In the context of the research program “Resource efficient Machine Elements (SPP1551),” machining processes of bearings were investigated regarding the bearing fatigue life. By inducing beneficial residual stresses on the bearings’ subsurface area, the fatigue life could be increased. Thus higher resource efficiency was achieved. To increase the productivity, a combination of hard turning and deep rolling was evaluated.
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