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1 – 10 of over 35000
Article
Publication date: 1 August 2003

K.D. Barber, F.W. Dewhurst, R.L.D.H. Burns and J.B.B. Rogers

Many companies are taking a process view as a result of business‐process re‐engineering exercises, statutory compliance (e.g. Securities and Futures Authority), reaction to market…

5775

Abstract

Many companies are taking a process view as a result of business‐process re‐engineering exercises, statutory compliance (e.g. Securities and Futures Authority), reaction to market forces (e.g. to achieve accreditation under ISO9001:2000 or BS5750) and the promotion of integrated computer and information systems (e.g. computer integrated manufacture). This means questioning the way in which companies operate and has implications for management. Business process modelling (BPM) and business‐process simulation (BPS) help to facilitate process thinking. BPM provides management with a static structured approach to business improvement, providing a “holistic” perspective on how the business operates, and provides a means of documenting the business processes while BPS allows management to study the dynamics of the business and consider the effects of changes without risk. There are a number of BPM and BPS methodologies, approaches and tools available, each of which may be applicable to different circumstances. This paper briefly reviews the diverse literature in relation to manufacturing management. Evidence from the literature indicates that few tools are available for supporting manufacturing‐business‐process‐management and that, except for a few small‐scale processes, BPS implementations in manufacturing have had limited success. This paper identifies the reasons for this and suggests a practical way forward until hardware and software limitations are overcome.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2018

Osama Abdulhameed, Abdurahman Mushabab Al-Ahmari, Wadea Ameen and Syed Hammad Mian

Hybrid manufacturing technologies combining individual processes can be recognized as one of the most cogent developments in recent times. As a result of integrating additive…

Abstract

Purpose

Hybrid manufacturing technologies combining individual processes can be recognized as one of the most cogent developments in recent times. As a result of integrating additive, subtractive and inspection processes within a single system, the relative benefits of each process can be exploited. This collaboration uses the strength of the individual processes, while decreasing the shortcomings and broadening the application areas. Notwithstanding its numerous advantages, the implementation of hybrid technology is typically affected by the limited process planning methods. The process planning methods proficient at effectively using manufacturing sources for hybridization are notably restrictive. Hence, this paper aims to propose a computer-aided process planning system for hybrid additive, subtractive and inspection processes. A dynamic process plan has been developed, wherein an online process control with intelligent and autonomous characteristics, as well as the feedback from the inspection, is utilized.

Design/methodology/approach

In this research, a computer-aided process planning system for hybrid additive, subtractive and inspection process has been proposed. A framework based on the integration of three phases has been designed and implemented. The first phase has been developed for the generation of alternative plans or different scenarios depending on machining parameters, the amount of material to be added and removed in additive and subtractive manufacturing, etc. The primary objective in this phase has been to conduct set-up planning, process selection, process sequencing, selection of machine parameters, etc. The second phase is aimed at the identification of the optimum scenario or plan.

Findings

To accomplish this goal, economic models for additive and subtractive manufacturing were used. The objective of the third phase was to generate a dynamic process plan depending on the inspection feedback. For this purpose, a multi-agent system has been used. The multi-agent system has been used to achieve intelligence and autonomy of different phases.

Practical implications

A case study has been developed to test and validate the proposed algorithm and establish the performance of the proposed system.

Originality/value

The major contribution of this work is the novel dynamic computer-aided process planning system for the hybrid process. This hybrid process is not limited by the shortcomings of the constituent processes in terms of tool accessibility and support volume. It has been established that the hybrid process together with an appropriate computer-aided process plan provides an effective solution to accurately fabricate a variety of complex parts.

Details

Rapid Prototyping Journal, vol. 24 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2546

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 November 2010

Nils Hoeller, Christoph Reinke, Jana Neumann, Sven Groppe, Christian Werner and Volker Linnemann

In the last decade, XML has become the de facto standard for data exchange in the world wide web (WWW). The positive benefits of data exchangeability to support system and…

Abstract

Purpose

In the last decade, XML has become the de facto standard for data exchange in the world wide web (WWW). The positive benefits of data exchangeability to support system and software heterogeneity on application level and easy WWW integration make XML an ideal data format for many other application and network scenarios like wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Moreover, the usage of XML encourages using standardized techniques like SOAP to adapt the service‐oriented paradigm to sensor network engineering. Nevertheless, integrating XML usage in WSN data management is limited by the low hardware resources that require efficient XML data management strategies suitable to bridge the general resource gap. The purpose of this paper is to present two separate strategies on integrating XML data management in WSNs.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents two separate strategies on integrating XML data management in WSNs that have been implemented and are running on today's sensor node platforms. The paper shows how XML data can be processed and how XPath queries can be evaluated dynamically. In an extended evaluation, the performance of both strategies concerning the memory and energy efficiency are compared and both solutions are shown to have application domains fully applicable on today's sensor node products.

Findings

This work shows that dynamic XML data management and query evaluation is possible on sensor nodes with strict limitations in terms of memory, processing power and energy supply.

Originality/value

The paper presents an optimized stream‐based XML compression technique and shows how XML queries can be evaluated on compressed XML bit streams using generic pushdown automata. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first complete approach on integrating dynamic XML data management into WSNs.

Details

International Journal of Web Information Systems, vol. 6 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1744-0084

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 September 2019

Rupeng Yuan, Fuhai Zhang, Jiadi Qu, Guozhi Li and Yili Fu

This paper aims to provide a novel obstacle avoidance method based on multi-information inflation map.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a novel obstacle avoidance method based on multi-information inflation map.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the multi-information inflation map is introduced, which considers different information, including a two-dimensional grid map and a variety of sensor information. The static layer of the map is pre-processed at first. Then sensor inputs are added in different semantic layers. The processed information in semantic layers is used to update the static layer. The obstacle avoidance algorithm based on the multi-information inflation map is able to generate different avoidance paths for different kinds of obstacles, and the motion planning based on multi-information inflation map can track the global path and drive the robot.

Findings

The proposed method was implemented on a self-made mobile robot. Four experiments are conducted to verify the advantages of the proposed method. The first experiment is to demonstrate the advantages of the multi-information inflation map over the layered cost map. The second and third experiments verify the effectiveness of the obstacle avoidance path generation and motion planning. The fourth experiment comprehensively verifies that the obstacle avoidance algorithm is able to deal with different kinds of obstacles.

Originality/value

The multi-information inflation map proposed in this paper has better performance than the layered cost maps. As the static layer is pre-processed, the computational efficiency is higher. Sensor information is added in semantic layers with different cost attenuation coefficients. All layers are reset before next update. Therefore, the previous state will not affect the current situation. The obstacle avoidance and motion planning algorithm based on the multi-information inflation map can generate different paths for different obstacles and drive a robot safely and control the velocity according to different conditions.

Details

Industrial Robot: the international journal of robotics research and application, vol. 47 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1999

S.W. Lee, J.W. Yoon and D.Y. Yang

Two kinds of time integration methods; the dynamic explicit method and the static implicit method, have been compared, especially with emphasis on the shell formulations and the…

Abstract

Two kinds of time integration methods; the dynamic explicit method and the static implicit method, have been compared, especially with emphasis on the shell formulations and the stress integration methods. Two methods have been applied to the benchmark problem named the S‐rail stamping process, provided by NUMISHEET’96 committee, in order to compare their numerical results with each other and with the average values of the experiments as well. Based on the comparisons, it is shown that both time integration methods can be successfully applied to industrial sheet metal stamping simulations. In detail, the static implicit method is advantageous over the dynamic explicit method in terms of accuracy, while the latter is known to be more efficient than the former in terms of computation efficiency.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 August 2019

Marek Szelagowski and Justyna Berniak-Woźny

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the current business process management (BPM) maturity models meet the requirements of evaluating organizations in the…

1266

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the current business process management (BPM) maturity models meet the requirements of evaluating organizations in the knowledge economy (KE) which manage processes in a dynamic way.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, a content analysis of the OMG (2008) Business Process Maturity Model and ten research papers on the practical application of business process management maturity models was conducted. The nature of the study is descriptive and based solely on information from secondary data sources.

Findings

The research results reveal that the current BPM maturity models do not correspond with the knowledge-based organizations and take into account knowledge-intensive (usually dynamic) processes in a very limited way. That is why the adaptation of the current BPM maturity models to the KE is needed.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the BPM theory and practice in two ways. First, it provides an enhanced insight into the requirements of the KE toward BPM and BPM maturity models by distinguishing between static and dynamic processes. Second, it formulates the recommendations on possible ways of adapting the current BPM maturity models to the requirements of the KE.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 2006

Roland W. Lewis, Eligiusz W. Postek, Zhiqiang Han and David T. Gethin

To present a numerical model of squeeze casting process.

2090

Abstract

Purpose

To present a numerical model of squeeze casting process.

Design/methodology/approach

The modelling consists of two parts, namely, the mould filling and the subsequent thermal stress analysis during and after solidification. Mould filling is described by the Navier‐Stokes equations discretized using the Galerkin finite element method. The free surface is followed using a front tracking procedure. A thermal stress analysis is carried out, assuming that a coupling exists between the thermal problem and the mechanical one. The mechanical problem is described as an elasto‐visco‐plastic formulation in an updated Lagrangian frame. A microstructural solidification model is also incorporated for the mould filling and thermal stress analysis. The thermal problem is solved using enthalpy method.

Findings

During the mould‐filling process a quasi‐static arbitrary Lagrangian‐Eulerian (ALE) approach and a microstructural solidification model were found to be applicable. For the case of the thermal stress analysis the influence of gap closure, effect of initial stresses (geometric nonlinearity), large voids and good performance of a microstructural model have been demonstrated.

Research limitations/implications

The model can also be applied to the simulation of indirect castings. The final goal of the model is the ability to simulate the forming of the material after mould filling and during the solidification of the material. This is possible to achieve by applying arbitrary contact surfaces due to the sliding movement of the cast versus the punch and die.

Practical implications

The presented model can be used in engineering practice, as it incorporates selected second‐order effects which may influence the performance of the cast.

Originality/value

During the mould‐filling procedure a quasi‐static ALE approach has been applied to SQC processes and found to be generally applicable. A microstructural solidification model was applied which has been used for the thermal stress analysis only. During the thermal stress analysis the influence of gap closure and initial stresses (geometric nonlinearity) has been demonstrated.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2001

Zoran Vojinovic and Vojislav Kecman

In this paper we are presenting our research findings on how effective neural networks are at forecasting and estimating preliminary project costs. We have shown that neural…

Abstract

In this paper we are presenting our research findings on how effective neural networks are at forecasting and estimating preliminary project costs. We have shown that neural networks completely outperform traditional techniques in such tasks. In exploring nonlinear techniques almost all of the current research involves neural network techniques, especially multilayer perceptron (MLP) models and other statistical techniques and few authors have considered radial basis function neural network (RBF NN) models in their research. For this purpose we have developed RBF NN models to represent nonlinear static and dynamic processes and compared their performance with traditional methods. The traditional methods applied in this paper are multiple linear regression (MLR) and autoregressive moving average models with eXogenous input (ARMAX). The performance of these and RBF neural network and traditional models is tested on common data sets and their results are presented.

Details

Construction Innovation, vol. 1 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1471-4175

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 December 2006

Daniel Pakkala and Juhani Latvakoski

A novel distributed middleware service platform, called MidGate platform, is presented in this paper. The central contribution is description of the developed MidGate platform and…

Abstract

A novel distributed middleware service platform, called MidGate platform, is presented in this paper. The central contribution is description of the developed MidGate platform and its architecture focusing especially on the adaptation, context‐awareness, and personalization of mobile and pervasive services. The research problem addressed is how to facilitate the development of interoperable applications and services into heterogeneous and distributed service gateway based environments. A requirement analysis of future mobile and pervasive services and key technologies has been carried out to establish a solid base and requirements for the development of the MidGate platform. The key mechanisms supporting adaptation, context‐awareness, and personalization of applications and services are presented. The novel middleware architecture solution of the MidGate platform utilizing these key mechanisms is also described. The MidGate architecture utilizes the emerging Generic Service Elements (GSE) approach, where generic and collectively utilizable services are provided to applications as middleware services that are part of a service platform. The main contribution of this research is the definition of a set of GSEs, the related MidGate platform architecture and its evaluation. The evaluation of the MidGate platform has been carried out in series of laboratory prototypes. The evaluation indicates that the MidGate platform solution is well applicable in various service gateway‐based distributed systems and extends well into resource‐constrained mobile environments.

Details

International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1742-7371

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2005

Bo Bernard Nielsen

This article traces the evolution of strategic management and knowledge management research during the past four decades with particular emphasis on the role of knowledge in…

Abstract

This article traces the evolution of strategic management and knowledge management research during the past four decades with particular emphasis on the role of knowledge in interorganizational collaborative arrangements. By outlining the main strategic management perspectives in contemporary business literature and combining them with current knowledge management perspectives, an indication of the evolution of research pertaining to strategic knowledge management emerges. It is shown that most of the current strategic knowledge management research is conducted within the existing paradigms of strategic management. A criticism of this is offered and the article concludes by offering a new, more dynamic perspective of knowledge management, focusing on the synergies of knowledge‐related capabilities in explaining the formation and economic justification of strategic collaborative arrangements.

Details

Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1059-5422

Keywords

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