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1 – 10 of 20Shao Xiao, Zhixiang Chen and Bhaba R. Sarker
Equipment reliability significantly impacts productivity, and in order to obtain high equipment reliability and productivity, maintenance and production decision should be…
Abstract
Purpose
Equipment reliability significantly impacts productivity, and in order to obtain high equipment reliability and productivity, maintenance and production decision should be made simultaneously to keep manufacturing system healthy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the joint optimization of equipment maintenance and production decision for k-out-of-n system equipment with attenuation of product quality and to explore the impact of maintenance on the production and cost control for manufacturers.
Design/methodology/approach
A multi-period Markov chain model for k-out-of-n system equipment is set up based on the assumption that the deterioration of equipment is a pure birth process. Then, the maintenance cost, setup cost, inventory holding cost, shortage cost, production cost and the quality cost are analyzed with the uncertain demand and the attenuation of product quality stemmed from equipment deterioration. The total lowest cost per unit time and its specific calculation method are presented. Finally, the robustness and flexibility of the method are verified by a numerical example and the effects of equipment deterioration intensity and attenuation of product quality are analyzed.
Findings
The result shows that the joint decision model could not only satisfy the uncertain demand with low cost and strong robustness but also make the output products high quality level. In addition, the attenuation of product quality would influence the equipment maintenance and production decision and leads to the production waste and increases the operation cost greatly.
Originality/value
Implications derived from this study can help production maintenance managers and reliability engineers adequately select maintenance policy to improve the equipment efficiency and productivity with high quality level at a relatively low cost.
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Xinfeng Lai, Zhixiang Chen and Bhaba R. Sarker
The purpose of this paper is to study a production lot sizing problem with consideration of imperfect manufacturing and emergency maintenance policy, providing managerial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study a production lot sizing problem with consideration of imperfect manufacturing and emergency maintenance policy, providing managerial implication for practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the authors introduce two models, where in Model I, shortages are not allowed and repair times are negligible. In Model II, shortages are allowed and are partially backlogged, and repair times are assumed to be exponentially distributed, algorithm is developed to solve the models, numerical examples were demonstrated the applications.
Findings
Results show that in the Model I, demand rate is the most significant parameter affecting the average expected cost, whereas the time needed to breakdown after machine shift is the most significant factor affecting the production lot size. Therefore, reduction in the time needed to breakdown after machine shift would be helpful for determining an appropriate production lot size in Model I. In Model II, repair time parameter is the most significant factor affecting the average expected cost. Reducing the value of machine shift parameter would be helpful for determining an adequate production lot size and reducing decision risk.
Practical implications
This paper can provide important reference value for practitioners with managerial implication of how to effectively maintain equipment, i.e. how to make product lot size considering the influence of the maintenance policy.
Originality/value
From the aspect of academia, this paper provides a solution to the optimal production lot sizing decision for an imperfect manufacturing system with consideration of machine breakdown and emergency maintenance, which is a supplement to imperfect EMQ model.
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among just-in-time (JIT), total quality management (TQM) and production operations performance (POP) based on…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships among just-in-time (JIT), total quality management (TQM) and production operations performance (POP) based on the survey data from Chinese manufacturing firms, provide managerial implications of effectively implementing JIT and TQM for firms in developing countries.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were collected from 173 Chinese manufacturing firms. Three hypotheses on the relationships among JIT, TQM and POP were first established based on literature review. Empirical study method of structural equation modeling using SPSS and AMOS as data processing tools is employed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that, on one hand, JIT positively influences TQM and POP; on the other hand, although TQM also has positive relationship with POP, the relationship is not significant at a given significant level. Meanwhile, the author survey also shows that JIT and TQM have complementary relationship, i.e., JIT and TQM can benefit each other in a firm.
Practical implications
TQM is a base of implementing JIT, it is valuable to concurrently implement JIT and TQM in manufacturing firms in order to improve the POP.
Originality/value
It is believed that this research reveals new insights about the JIT and TQM implementation in Chinese manufacturing firms; it has practice value for firms to improve the implementation performance of JIT and TQM.
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Zhixiang Yin, Jianzhong Cui, Yan Yang, Yin Ma, Wei Wang, Jin Yang and Xia Sun
The bottleneck of current DNA computing paradigms based on brute‐force search strategy is that initial solution space grows exponentially with problem size, thus only…
Abstract
Purpose
The bottleneck of current DNA computing paradigms based on brute‐force search strategy is that initial solution space grows exponentially with problem size, thus only trivial instances of NP‐complete problem can be solved. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel molecular program based on sticker models for solving dominating set problems.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors do not synthesize the initial solution pool containing every possible candidate solution as previously reported algorithm. Instead, solutions DNA molecules to the problem of interest are constructed during the course of computation.
Findings
It is shown that “exponential explosions” inherent in current DNA computing paradigms may be overcome in this way.
Originality/value
The paper proposes an error‐resistant DNA algorithm based on sticker model for solving minimum dominating problems.
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Zhixiang Chen and Bhaba R. Sarker
The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of learning effect and demand uncertainty on aggregate production planning (APP), provide practitioners with some…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of learning effect and demand uncertainty on aggregate production planning (APP), provide practitioners with some important managerial implications for improving production planning and productivity.
Design/methodology/approach
Motivated by the background of one labour-intensive manufacturing firm – a mosquito expellant factory – an APP model considering workforce learning effect and demand uncertainty is established. Numerical example and comparison with other two models without considering learning and uncertainty of demand are conducted.
Findings
The result shows that taking into account the uncertain demand and learning effect can reduce total production cost and increase flexibility of APP.
Practical implications
Managerial implications are provided for practitioners with four propositions on improving workforce learning effect, i.e. emphasizing employee training, combing individual and organizational learning and reduction of forgetting effect.
Originality/value
This paper has practice value in improving APP in labor-intensive manufacturing.
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Zhixiang Chen and Li Li
The purpose of this paper is to study the information support technologies of integrated production planning control for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) driven…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the information support technologies of integrated production planning control for OEM (original equipment manufacturer) driven networked manufacturing systems, and offer implications to firms for implementing networked manufacturing.
Design/methodology/approach
OEM driven networked manufacturing and its operations modes and support technologies are first discussed. Then, integration framework of production planning and control is proposed and relative technologies are discussed. Finally, a case of the application of information support technologies in networked manufacturing is illustrated.
Findings
Both theory analysis and case experience show that information integration and sharing are critical for effective operations of OEM driven networked manufacturing and an integrated production planning and control system can benefit firms for successfully operating a networked manufacturing system.
Practical implications
It is valuable to develop and apply integrated production planning and control systems in OEM driven networked manufacturing, Firms should pay more attention to information sharing and communication with partners and utilize advanced information technologies to synchronize the operations of partners.
Originality/value
Integration framework of production planning and control proposed in this paper has originality and the technology strategies are also practical. Managerial ideas, technology framework and application strategies of integrated production planning and control are helpful for firms to implement OEM driven networked manufacturing.
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The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the relationships among organization ownership structure, implementation of just‐in‐time (JIT), and production…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the relationships among organization ownership structure, implementation of just‐in‐time (JIT), and production operations performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A theory model for explaining the relationships among ownership, manufacturing strategy and performance was constructed, and then several hypotheses were tested using statistical analysis models based on questionnaire responses from Chinese manufacturing firms.
Findings
The results show that organization ownership not only impacts the implementation of JIT and operations performance, but also impacts the relationship between JIT implementation and operations performance. Moreover, the results show that, for firms operated in China, the implementation frequency of JIT practices varies with organization ownerships; the foreign and joint venture firms (JVFs) were found to have a higher level of JIT implementation and can also achieve better performance from JIT implementation than state‐owned and private‐owned firms (POF). Also, JIT implementation was found to have a significantly positive relationship with operations performance in all types of ownership firms, with the exception of private ownership firms.
Research limitations/implications
The research only covers manufacturing firms in China. Further research is needed to test the wide implications of this research in other countries or industries.
Practical implications
This paper provides insights into how to improve JIT implementation performances, especially in various organization ownership structures.
Originality/value
The paper appears to be one of the first studies of relationship between ownership structure and JIT implementation in China manufacturing environment.
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Eryong Liu, Yingxin Zhang, Xiang Wang, Zhixiang Zeng, Huiling Du and Hongmei Qin
This paper aims to improve the tribocorrosion properties of 316L, thus WC/Ni60 coated 316L was prepared by thermal spraying technique.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to improve the tribocorrosion properties of 316L, thus WC/Ni60 coated 316L was prepared by thermal spraying technique.
Design/methodology/approach
Composition and microstructure of WC/Ni60 coating was investigated, and tribological properties of 316 L and WC/Ni60 coating were studied under dry sliding, deionized water and artificial seawater.
Findings
The results showed that WC/Ni60 coating was lamellar structure, and the phase composition consisted of γ-Ni solid solution, carbides and borides. Furthermore, the hardness and corrosion resistance of 316 L in static seawater and wear resistance in dry sliding were improved by WC reinforced nickel-based coating. Furthermore, tribocorrosion results demonstrated that wear resistance of WC/Ni60 coating was also significantly better than 316 L, especially for higher load at artificial seawater. The reason can be attributed to the fact that the passive film of WC/Ni60 coating consisted of tungsten carbide, Ni(OH)2 and FeOOH for WC/Ni60 coating and only FeOOH for 316 L.
Originality/value
According to this study, it can be concluded that WC phases acted as a role in resisting the wear damages. Meanwhile, Ni-based materials performed well in corrosion resistance. Thus, the combined-effect Ni-based alloys and WC phases in WC/Ni60 coating showed better tribocorrosion performance than 316 L.
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Fuliang Ma, Zhixiang Zeng and Yimin Gao
This paper aims to study the tribocorrosion and the surface repassivation behaviors of Monel 400 alloy in artificial seawater.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the tribocorrosion and the surface repassivation behaviors of Monel 400 alloy in artificial seawater.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, the tribocorrosion behavior of Monel 400 alloy was studied under different applied loads in artificial seawater by using a pin-on-disk tribometer equipped with an electrochemical workstation. The applied loads were selected ranging from 50 to 200 N. The surface repassivation behavior of Monel 400 alloy was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
Findings
It was demonstrated that mass loss was determined by the combined effect of mechanical wear and chemical corrosion. The surface repassivation mechanism of the alloy is that layer corrosion product film formed on the surface of Monel 400 alloy, which can protect metal matrix from future corrosion.
Originality/value
This research adds original content in revealing the tribocorrosion and surface repassivation behaviors of Monel 400 alloy under different loads, which offer a theoretical basis for the application under the corrosion and wear environment of Monel 400.
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