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Vinoth Kumar K., Loganathan T.G. and Jagadeesh G.
The Purpose of this study is to prove the possibility of developing low cost mechanical anti – lock braking system (ABS) for the passenger’s safety.
Abstract
Purpose
The Purpose of this study is to prove the possibility of developing low cost mechanical anti – lock braking system (ABS) for the passenger’s safety.
Design/methodology/approach
The design methodology of the proposed newer mechanical ABS comprises of two units, namely, the braking unit and wheel lock prevention unit. The braking unit actuates the wheel stopping as and when the driver applies the brake, whereas the wheel lock prevention unit initiates wheel release to prevent locking and subsequent slip/skidding. The brake pedal with master cylinder assembly and double-arm cylinder forms the braking unit, brake pad cylinder, movable brake pad, solenoid valve and dynamo forms the wheel lock prevention unit. The dynamo coupled with the rotor energises/de-energises the solenoid values to direct airflow for applying brake and release it, which makes the system less energy-dependent.
Findings
The braking unit aids in vehicle stops, by locking the disc with the brake pad actuated by a double-arm cylinder. The dynamo energises the solenoid valve to activate the brake pad cylinder piston for applying the brake on the disc. Instantaneously, on applying the brake the dynamo de-energises the solenoid to divert the pneumatic flow for retracting the brake pad thereby minimizing the braking torque. The baking torque reduction revives the wheel rotating and prevents slip/skidding.
Originality/value
Mechanical ABS preventing wheel lock by torque reduction principle is a novel method that has not been evolved so far. The system was designed with repair/replacement of the parts and subcomponents to support higher affordability on safety grounds.
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The contract is part of a continuing and massive effort to modernise and enhance air defence capability across Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) in the face of Russia’s aggression in…
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB283797
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Merve Cerrahoğlu and Feray Maden
The most important need after natural disasters is the sheltering. However, most of the existing temporary shelters do not meet all requirements for long-term use and not provide…
Abstract
Purpose
The most important need after natural disasters is the sheltering. However, most of the existing temporary shelters do not meet all requirements for long-term use and not provide adequate flexibility within the space. This paper aims to develop a transitional postdisaster shelter transforming from a closed shape to an expanded form in response to changing functional and spatial needs of disaster victims. The study also proposes alternative unit combinations for various functions, and settlement layouts to create a comfortable living environment for occupants.
Design/methodology/approach
The research methodology is based on theoretical and design frameworks which requires inductive and deductive approaches. Forming the background of the study, the theoretical framework consists of four parts which are literature review on temporary shelters presenting state-of-the-art; determination of design guidelines and strategies based on shelter standards; identification of technical requirements; and analysis of existing temporary shelters. Having three parts, the design framework includes design of transformable transitional shelter based on three-dimensional modeling, creation of different unit combinations to be used for various purposes and development of settlement layouts as case studies.
Findings
The analysis conducted in this study demonstrates that most of the existing temporary shelters have limited geometric configurations and major problems in terms of their performance, transportation and storage. On the other hand, the transformable shelter proposed by the authors can provide form and spatial flexibilities thanks to its expansion properties, occupy less space for transportation, easily be transported to any desired location in its compact state and be customized according to user needs. Several units can be combined either to serve larger families or to be used for different functions.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature as presenting not only a theoretical framework on temporary shelters but also a design framework on transformable shelter design for the ones who are willing to develop similar transformable shelters based on the determined guidelines, strategies and requirements.
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An interview with Zeynep Ton, a professor of practice in the operations management group at MIT Sloan School of Management, about er latest book, The Case for Good Jobs: How Great…
Abstract
Purpose
An interview with Zeynep Ton, a professor of practice in the operations management group at MIT Sloan School of Management, about er latest book, The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay & Meaning to Everyone’s Work.
Design/methodology/approach
She believes that leaders can either view their employees as a cost to be minimized, invest little in them and operate with high turnover, or they can see them as drivers of profitability and growth—investing heavily in them, designing their work for high productivity and contribution and therefore operating with low turnover.-- “the good jobs strategy.”
Findings
The secret sauce of good jobs strategy is four operational choices—focus and simplify, standardize and empower, cross-train and operate with slack—that improve productivity and contribution and make that higher investment possible.
Practical implications
The competitive costs of low people investment are even higher than the poor operational execution costs.
Originality/value
By making the work better and increasing pay, companies can better attract and keep their talent and enforce high standards, which improve execution and service, uplifting revenue. Few have examined this important topic more closely than Zeynep Ton, a professor of practice in the operations management group at MIT Sloan School of Management, best-selling author of The Good Jobs Strategy: How the Smartest Companies Invest in Employees to Lower Costs and Boost Profits.
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Martin Hoesli, Louis Johner and Jon Lekander
Using data spanning 145 years for Sweden, the authors investigate the benefits of holding multi-family properties for investors who aim to hedge wage growth.
Abstract
Purpose
Using data spanning 145 years for Sweden, the authors investigate the benefits of holding multi-family properties for investors who aim to hedge wage growth.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors assess the risk-adjusted excess return that results from adding multi-family properties to a mixed-asset portfolio that aims to track wage growth. The authors also analyse the macroeconomic determinants of asset returns. Finally, the authors test whether a causal relationship exists between the growth rate of real wages and that of real net operating income.
Findings
The benefits from holding multi-family properties are the greatest for low-risk allocation approaches. For more risky strategies, the role of real estate is more muted, and it varies greatly over time. Holding real estate was most beneficial during the first two decades of the 21st century. Multi-family properties are found to be the only asset class to be positively related to wage growth. The authors show that the net operating income acts as the transmission channel between wages and property returns.
Practical implications
The paper assesses whether the growing interest of pension funds for multi-family properties is warranted in the context of a portfolio that aims to track wage growth.
Originality/value
Using long term data makes it possible to use a rolling windows approach and hence to consider multiple outcomes for an allocation strategy over a typical investment horizon. This permits to assess the dispersion of performance across several periods rather than just one as is commonly done in the literature. The results show that the conclusions that would be drawn from looking at the past two or three decades of data differ substantially from those for earlier time periods.
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Chirag Suresh Sakhare, Sayan Chakraborty, Sarada Prasad Sarmah and Vijay Singh
Original equipment manufacturers and other manufacturing companies rely on the delivery performance of their upstream suppliers to maintain a steady production process. However…
Abstract
Purpose
Original equipment manufacturers and other manufacturing companies rely on the delivery performance of their upstream suppliers to maintain a steady production process. However, supplier capacity uncertainty and delayed delivery often poses a major concern to manufacturers to carry out their production plan as per the desired schedules. The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision model that can improve the delivery performance of suppliers to minimise fluctuations in the supply quantity and the delivery time and thus maximising the performance of the supply chain.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors studied a single manufacturer – single supplier supply chain considering supplier uncertain capacity allocation and uncertain time of delivery. Mathematical models are developed to capture expected profit of manufacturer and supplier under this uncertain allocation and delivery behaviour of supplier. A reward–penalty mechanism is proposed to minimise delivery quantity and time of delivery fluctuations from the supplier. Further, an order-fulfilment heuristic based on delivery probability is developed to modify the order quantity which can maximise the probability of a successful deliveries from the supplier.
Findings
Analytical results reveal that the proposed reward–penalty mechanism improves the supplier delivery consistency. This consistent delivery performance helps the manufacturer to maintain a steady production schedule and high market share. Modified ordering schedule developed using proposed probability-based heuristic improves the success probability of delivery from the supplier.
Practical implications
Practitioners can benefit from the findings of this study to comprehend how contracts and ordering policy can improve the supplier delivery performance in a manufacturing supply chain.
Originality/value
This paper improves the supplier delivery performance considering both the uncertain capacity allocation and uncertain time of delivery.
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Miisa Törölä and Mika Rautanen
Globally, health problems are very common among prisoners. A mental state examination aims to help in recognising psychiatric problems among offenders and the possible association…
Abstract
Purpose
Globally, health problems are very common among prisoners. A mental state examination aims to help in recognising psychiatric problems among offenders and the possible association of these psychiatric issues with their committed crime. The legal-medical term “reduced criminal responsibility” refers to a weakened sense of reality and the ability to control one’s behaviour because of compromised mental health and without an evaluated need for forensic psychiatric hospitalisation. However, little is known about the actual need for the health care of prisoners with reduced criminal responsibility (PRCR). The purpose of this study was to explore treatment-related visits to prison by PRCR in Finland.
Design/methodology/approach
The research data comprise information on PRCR’s treatment-related visits and that of a matched control group (n = 222). Descriptive cross-tabulation with X²- and nonparametric Mann–Whitney U-tests and Cox regression analyses are applied.
Findings
The results show that almost every PRCR had at least one treatment-related visit during their sentences. Visits to a psychiatric hospital for prisoners, to the prison hospital and especially to a civil hospital are more common among PRCR. The need for treatment appears significantly earlier in their sentences.
Originality/value
These findings demonstrate the PRCR’s greater need for access to health services and the need for further development between the Health Care Services for Prisoners, Prison and Probation Service of Finland and public health and social services in Finland. More exploration of the medical reasons and locational distribution of the vast amount of civil hospitalisation is needed.
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Ahsan Haghgoei, Alireza Irajpour and Nasser Hamidi
This paper aims to develop a multi-objective problem for scheduling the operations of trucks entering and exiting cross-docks where the number of unloaded or loaded products by…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a multi-objective problem for scheduling the operations of trucks entering and exiting cross-docks where the number of unloaded or loaded products by trucks is fuzzy logistic. The first objective function minimizes the maximum time to receive the products. The second objective function minimizes the emission cost of trucks. Finally, the third objective function minimizes the number of trucks assigned to the entrance and exit doors.
Design/methodology/approach
Two steps are implemented to validate and modify the proposed model. In the first step, two random numerical examples in small dimensions were solved by GAMS software with min-max objective function as well as genetic algorithms (GA) and particle swarm optimization. In the second step, due to the increasing dimensions of the problem and computational complexity, the problem in question is part of the NP-Hard problem, and therefore multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithms are used along with validation and parameter adjustment.
Findings
Therefore, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and non-dominated ranking genetic algorithm (NRGA) are used to solve 30 random problems in high dimensions. Then, the algorithms were ranked using the TOPSIS method for each problem according to the results obtained from the evaluation criteria. The analysis of the results confirms the applicability of the proposed model and solution methods.
Originality/value
This paper proposes mathematical model of truck scheduling for a real problem, including cross-docks that play an essential role in supply chains, as they could reduce order delivery time, inventory holding costs and shipping costs. To solve the proposed multi-objective mathematical model, as the problem is NP-hard, multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithms are used along with validation and parameter adjustment. Therefore, NSGA-II and NRGA are used to solve 30 random problems in high dimensions.
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Raul Beal Partyka and Ely Laureano Paiva
This paper aims to present the vertical integration state-of-the-art and propose an expansion of the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) field by identifying gaps and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present the vertical integration state-of-the-art and propose an expansion of the operations and supply chain management (OSCM) field by identifying gaps and bottlenecks.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses a systematic literature review based on a sample of 173 OSCM field articles, collected from Scopus and Web of Science databases.
Findings
There are no single factors, such as future costs, structures or skills development, in the decision to vertically integrate operations. It is necessary to combine the vision of production costs with the perspective of governance and transaction costs. In addition, it is essential to consider the competency perspective and its impact on capability building.
Research limitations/implications
Few studies have attempted to understand how vertical integration is used in terms of OSCM research themes and theories. Vertical integration can help companies face challenges and serve as a potential solution for achieving better prices, demand control and quality management.
Practical implications
The significant role of vertical integration mechanisms in supply chains is crucial for managers evaluating a firm's reconfiguration with more vertical operations. Policymakers interested in supporting the smoothness of vertical integration decisions in regulatory agencies play a key role as contingencies.
Social implications
In times of global challenges, vertical integration is a strategy known to be more effective for firms to obtain a competitive advantage, making them more resilient.
Originality/value
This paper addresses gaps in the vertical integration theme and provides insights for future research development.
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