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In this paper a new method in multi response experimental design is proposed to determine the optimal settings for controllable factors, where the responses are uncorrelated. This method leads to improving the quality characteristic with the lower process capability index (PCI) with more priority. Due to the application of this study in a batch manufacturing and existing of some parts in each treatment,...
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In this paper, a mathematical model is formulated to integrate cell formation and cell layout simultaneously with considerations of alternative process routings, operation sequences, production volume and different cellular layout type. Due to the combinatorial nature of cell formation problem and cell layout problem, an efficient tabu search (TS) approach has been proposed to address these issues...
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This paper concerns the estimation of flow times of jobs to be produced in a Flexible Manufacturing Cell (FMC) consisting of a number of identical machines. An analytical expression is derived from a careful analysis of the elements of the flow time. Next, a simulation study is performed which mimics reality and serves as a reference for the comparison with analytical results. As a conclusion, we...
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Operator allocation is a key aspect of manufacturing with both direct and indirect implications on system performance. Resource capacity must be managed carefully while still considering human factors like probability of operator error, job satisfaction, and worker (and skill) retention. In many cases human resources are flexible in their ability to handle various types of jobs, and this condition...
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This paper discusses a scheduling problem of two-cluster tools for multi-type wafers with processing time windows. Firstly, a decomposition method is used to decomposes the two-cluster tool into three reduced single-cluster tools (RCT). Then, an events-driven algorithm, based on the temporal constraint sets, is proposed for the reduced single-cluster tool with the objective of minimizing the time...
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In this paper, we study a two-stage M/G/1 queue with discretionary priority. We construct an imbedded Markov model for specific time points on the time axis. By investigating the embedded Markov chain, the marginal queue length distribution, mean queue length and mean waiting time can be figured out. As the special cases, the exponential, constant and triangular service times are considered.
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Increasing the reliability of a system is generally achieved by using redundant components, which results in raising the system cost. A great challenge in system design is to improve the system reliability while still meeting the resources limitations, typically the budget constraints. This paper considers the redundancy allocation problem (RAP) for series-parallel systems with warm standby sparing...
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In the last years, among the several available renewable Distributed Energy Resources (DER), a growing attention has been paid to small wind turbines (i.e., < 200 kWp). In particular, during the last years the Italian market has been growing up very rapidly (since only 7–10 years ago it simply was not existing while nowadays the total installed power has reached 8 MWp). In such a new market...
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This research evaluates Taiwan National Telecommunication Program using the DEA approach and analyzes impacts of team communications on R&D performance by establishing a SEM relationship. The results show that team communications are highly correlated with the R&D performance. For the high-scored projects, they have the internal communication patters with a higher frequency of meeting but...
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Currently Design and Build (D&B) has gained popularity in the construction industry due to its attractive financial aspects. The development projects are implemented by D&B because of its special nature, crucial time requirements and size. Many D&B projects ended in the hands of contractors lacking knowledge on the other major constraints of this procurement method. They are basically...
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This paper studies preemptive project scheduling with resource constraints. We developed a particle swarm optimization (PSO) method based on two different particle representations to solve the problem which permits each activity to preempt at most once. Computational experiments are provided to investigate the performance of PSO-based approaches and to compare two representations. The result shows...
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The increase in competitiveness in the construction industry has been compelling companies to offer better quality products that are completed on time. This is not an easy task. One of the essential aspects to be catered for so as to reach this aim is to engage on adequate planning, which involves prioritizing the activities to be carried out. This includes medium-term planning. During this stage,...
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For local enterprises which Integration into the global manufacturing network, the importance of using external information has been increasingly paid attention by scholars. This paper propose and test a model of how inter-firm network effect firm's absorptive capacity. Using data of manufacturing firms, the results indicate that Network centrality and size of network have significant positive effects...
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The main goal of this paper is to develop a general methodology for both pinpointing the weak elements of public transportation (PT) systems and finding least-cost solutions for improvements. The methodology is based on network routing, scheduling, and real-time control algorithms. These algorithms detect deficiencies and failures of the PT network and in operations planning. The main practical objective...
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Under the recent global worldwide economic crisis, small business enterprises (SBEs) are considered to be a major force behind the South Africa's economy. Regarding the strategy of quality management, probably the most serious constraint of SBEs is that the management is often constantly under time pressure, usually dealing with the urgent staff and operational matters. Quality management does not...
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This study focuses on thin-film solar cell investment in the green energy industry, collecting and screening key factors of dynamic evaluation and presenting them to experts for modification. This evaluation model comprises three stages, namely planning, setup and import, with dimensions such as macro environment, group resource, supply chain, market, technology, equipment, raw material and finance...
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Knowledge management (KM) initiatives on innovation and product quality have developed a whole new level of strategy and competitive advantage for many industries. However, researchers believe that although employee motivation in knowledge sharing is important, it becomes a neglected issue. The key issue here is that employees should realize that KM initiatives are linked very strongly to new product...
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The orthogonal cutting-stock problem consists in finding an optimal arrangement of n items on identical dimension bins. Several placement heuristics are used to perform this task. In our article, we are interested in the orthogonal cutting problem, taking into account the guillotine and the orientation constraints. We propose a new placement heuristic inspired by the BLF routine, which tries to place...
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Transfer of knowledge through educational games is emphasized within the last decades to support the knowledge construction process, irrespective of the declining attention of the new scientific generation. With the research driven nature of founded projects at university, the challenge of knowledge transfer is even intensified by its specific and abstract character. This paper concentrates on the...
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Doctoral student experience has been seen to have impact on study satisfaction and further the successful degree completion. Earlier research suggests that students need different forms of support during their studies. Therefore, this study investigates how different forms of support effect on doctoral students' experience in progress, particularly in experienced progress in research. The study was...
