INVESTIGATION OF EMPLOYEES’ PERCEPTION ABOUT LEAN IMPLEMENTATION

Lean implementation and its sustainability are strongly linked with the organizational culture and working environment especially how employees interact with each other’s and what’s their attitude towards their jobs. Literature reveals that employee’s behaviour towards lean implementation is controversial; some perceives this positive and others take this negative. This study aims at investigating varying employees’ perceptions towards lean because of their position at work. Very commonly known lean tool ‘Kaizen’ (Continuous Improvement) has been selected for this purpose where data has been collected through a questionnaire (α=0.85) from four textile organizations (N=339; white collars and blue collars employees working at the shop floor); level and maturity of lean implementation in each organization was done before conducting the study. It has been concluded that white collar work group perceptions about Kaizen implementation are more positive than blue collar employees. Moreover, employees with the lowest positive perception are likely to be more dissatisfied with their jobs. The study also identified the factors which contribute towards the development of negative perceptions. However, the study is limited to one lean tool (Kaizen) and its implementation in textile sector. The results of the study provide opportunity to understand perceptions about lean implementation and their relationship with job satisfaction and how perceptions can be improved for the purpose of achieving higher performance through rapid lean implementation

Application of Labelled K Means Clustering for GIS Contract Automation

K Means Clustering is an unsupervised classification technique which is suitable for the dataset which do not have any class labels. The absence of labels constrained its application on different text data sets. Labelled K Means clustering generate labels for the clusters obtained from K Means Clustering which makes this technique more decisive for text data sets. A novel application of Labeled K Means Clustering for automation of technical part of GIS contracts is given in this paper. Geographic Information System (GIS) contract which is signed between GIS service provider and a client requires an efficient tracking system during all its vital phases (development, operation and maintenance).  At present, the tracking is done in a non-discrete manner through manual inspection.  Manual tracking is inevitable because (1) no indicators have so far been developed for evaluation by an automatic tracking system, (2) No automated system exists to evaluate the performance of GIS service provider and the client on the basis of performance indicators and (3) there is no centralized mechanism for penalizing negligence of either party.  This paper proposes (1). a method to regulate the technical part of the GIS contract by suggesting a simple and wizard-based Graphical user interface. (2). Conversion of existing manually prepared contracts into electronic contracts through lexeme-based congregation which is done through labelled K Means Clustering. These converted clusters are then stored into centralized database. Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) is used to train the system on performance indicators defined for compliance by both contracting partie

A Role of Mn atoms on tensile properties of light weight CHQ steel

Alloying elements always play a crucial role in any steel grade to change the mechanical properties and each element plays his role. The present work has been performed to reveal the role of Mn atoms on tensile properties of experimental steel. Two steels were chosen A and B, in steel A no Mn was present but in steel B Mn was present. Both steels were heat treated at 850°C and 1175°C for 1hr holding time and then microstructure was taken and grain size distribution was calculated using matrox inspector and the results were plotted by using origin data software. The mean grain size of steel A at 850°C indicates the 13.10µm and that of the steel B is 33.10µm. Similarly the mean grain size at 1175°C for steel A is 9.02µm and 18.50µm for steel B. The mean grain size in steel A decreases from 13.10µm to 9.02µm at 850°C and mean grain size at 1175°C decreases to 33.10µm to 18.50µm. Tensile testing was performed to see the effect of Mn particles on tensile properties and it was observed that the strength ratio increases in the steel B in which Mn is present but on the other side steel A in which Mn is absent does not show such behavior. The presence of Mn atoms at the grain interface was confirmed by line scanning in the SEM and line scanning shows the peak of Mn present at the interface of two grains

Comparative Analysis of Tensile Strength of Multifilament Silk and Vicryl Sutures used in Surgery

Sutures made with different materials are used in surgery for multiple reasons. These materials may be monofilament or multi filaments based on either natural or synthetic content. Mechanical and physical properties of sutures are crucial requirements to make an informed decision for their appropriate use in surgery. This study was aimed at determining and comparing the tensile strength of sutures made with silk and vicryl materials in straight and knot pull. An experimental study was conducted. Samples of sutures made with silk and vicryl used for surgery were collected from various pharmaceutical companies of Lahore. These were evaluated for their tensile strength by using DX Instron tester with two configurations. The results depicted that multifilament suture made with silk fiber had better tensile strength as compared to the vicryl in both straight and knot pull type

Techno-Economic Survey Analysis of UPS System as Backup Power Source during Load Shedding

The energy crisis in Pakistan has forced the general public (consumers) to use backup power source based on portable generator sets and Un-interrupted Power Supply (UPS). In order to maintain continuity of supply to basic appliances such as lights and ceiling fans, majority of consumers use UPS with battery backup due to less initial cost as compared to portable generator sets. Since the use of UPS as backup power source, several technical and economic issues to their use have come about. Most of the consumers are unaware of the problems related to the use of UPS and their up-keeping. From the utility side there is no policy as regard to the problems that may be experienced on the distribution feeders to use of UPS. Lack of standards as to the performance of UPS has made the local industry to manufacture cheap sub-standard systems that may have negative impact on the utility supply and the consumer load. The objective is to conduct a survey in Peshawar District, most affected by load shedding, highlighting the technical and economic impact of UPS. The survey will help in research related to UPS, for setting standards, policy and to address the areas where improvement is needed

Evaluating the Social Aspect of Sustainable Construction for Pakistan via Analytical Hierarchy Process

Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Sustainable Construction have no universal definition. In the past decade researchers have presented models for sustainability and identified factors for different countries. Most of the definition related to sustainability, sustainable development, and sustainable construction relies on economy, environment and society. This makes social aspect (society) to be of prime importance. This paper focuses on the social aspects of the sustainable construction. Most of the sustainability studies are carried out through questionnaire or interviews. Similarly, this papers also uses the questionnaire for data collection.  The collected data is analyzed with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The pair wise comparison (From To) charts are generated for mean, mode and median independently. The analysis on the basis of mean, mode and median are also carried out independently. The factors are ranked on the basis of their Eigen values obtained from AHP analysis

'Re-designing and Operational Analyses of the Sediment Transport Control in Irrigation Canal Network'

The purpose of this research was to improve the existing design of the irrigation canals in Punjab. The design of an entire canal network is a tiresome and laborious work, where engineers spend months to design canals. Over the years, engineers and agriculturists in the Punjab have been trying to find a solution to the sediment transport problem which occurs in existing irrigation system. To address these problems, the canals can be analyzed to point out the flaws in design and operation mechanism. This study used a Physics based mathematical model, which can aid the engineers to design and analyze the canals on scientific basis. The research evaluated the existing design of BRBD link canal using SETRIC (Sediment Transport in Irrigation Canals) model based on Saint Venant shallow water equation and also, compared the sediment deposition’s result under various maintenance conditions for both Brownlie and Engelund Hansen predictor methods. The data related to BRBD canal, including its cross-sectional properties, hydraulics and sediment parameters were acquired from the Irrigation Department, Lahore. The paper also described the problem which exists in design and operation of the canal by comparing it with original field data. The BRBD canal achieved a regime condition in 1.5 years. The results of sediment deposition produced by Brownlie predictor were more accurate than Engelund Hansen. The sediment deposition volume for Reach 2 was about 593084 m3, whereas for Reach 1 Brownlie method predicted a sediment deposition of 26675 m3 and it was discovered that this large volume of sediments were deposited due to cross-sectional anomalies along the canal such as the geometry of Reach 2 varied abruptly; at one section the width was 21.54 m and the very next section it faced a contraction and reduced to 16.46 m and at RD 372+638, the width of channel expanded to 45.72 m, which then reduced to 43.28 m. ​Thus, to make possible efficient flow of water in BRBD Link canal and to decrease the sediment volume, the canal’s cross-sections were redefined. After this, the canal was remodeled on SETRIC by providing gradual changes in geometry rather than abrupt changes, which showed positive results, and sediment deposition was reduced by 35.25 %. If further modifications are made in the geometry of BRBD canal, the sediment deposition can be minimized which can help in saving billions of tax payer money spent on “Bhal Safai” and maintenance

An SVC based Power Quality Improvement Model for Consumers Connected to Weak Busses in Distribution Systems

Power quality is a major concern considering weak bus systems. In order to improve power quality, residential consumers go with voltage stabilizers as a cheap solution consequently overstressing weak busses. Industrial consumers use other alternatives like switched capacitor banks to cope with low power factor but the limitation is step-wise reactive power injection which does not meet the changing load requirements. Real time improvement requires constant monitoring and real-time injection of Volt-Ampere-Reactive (VAR) which is possible with the help of a Static VAR Compensator (SVC). An SVC based Power Quality Improvement (PQI) is proposed in this paper which addresses the real time varying reactive VAR requirement with reduced harmonic content. &nbsp

HYBRID PARTICLE SWARM ALGORITHM FOR SCHEDULING IN CELLULAR MANUFACTURING SYSTEM- A CASE STUDY

Cellular Manufacturing System (CMS) lies in the heart of lean manufacturing with goal of producing the wide variety of products as efficiently as possible. Increase in customer demand for more customized products had forced industries to shift to CMS. Once CMS has been established scheduling becomes one of the challenging task. So, in present work, a real case study based on scheduling problem in CMS is presented and a hybrid particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is proposed to achieve an optimize sequence. The PSO is integrated with NEH algorithm to achieve an optimal sequence faster. A mathematical model is presented to evaluate two conflicting performance measures; minimization of work in process (WIP) and maximization of average machine cell utilization. Implementation of proposed algorithm had increased the utilization from 65% to 82 % while minimized the WIP to 6 parts from 25parts

Material Handling Cost Consideration in Process Plan Selection for Reconfigurable Manufacturing System

In today’s market, ever-changing products and demands are major concerns for every manufacturer. Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (RMS) are so designed as to have customized flexibility and cost-effective reconfiguration whenever a design change in products/product families is needed. In RMS, the process plan is designed such that changes in demand or features etc. can easily be reflected without major loss in manufacturing time or cost. The costs usually included are machine usage, tool usage, machine change, tool change costs etc. All the parameters related to these costs become a part of the process plans. The focus of this research is to include material handling equipment such as transport and positioning equipment in the process plans and hence, to include their usage cost in the overall mathematical model. This will lead to a more accurate design of process plan particularly in terms of MHE related to each machine required to produce a part. The inclusion of MHE cost gives an idea about the impact of these equipment on overall cost of manufacturing. The presented model will help in the decision-making process of allocating part to machines & also allocating MHE to each machine considered in the process plan