Hospital Waste Management through Green QFD Implementation

Based on case studies conducted in various health institutions, the high production of medical waste is one proof that medical waste management is still problematic. This study examines various problems in the field of medical waste management. This study explores staff perceptions of medical waste management. This study aims to determine the level of knowledge and attitudes as well as the role of health workers on medical waste management. Here we study the quality index and environmental index of two health care centers, one is a private hospital and one is a government hospital and compared these two indices with each other via a questionnaire survey. To produce more environmentally friendly services, customers, and environmental criteria must be considered during the decision-making process, and the Implementation of Green QFD (G-QFD) provides a very useful methodology to meet this goal

Review of Systems Engineering (SE) Methods and Their Application to Wave Energy Technology Development

The design of effective and economically viable wave energy devices involves complex decision-making about the product based on conceptual design information, including stakeholder requirements, functions, components and technical parameters. The great diversity of concepts makes it extremely difficult to create fair comparisons of the relative merits of the many different designs. Conventional design approaches have proved insufficient to guarantee wave energy technologies meet their technical and economic goals. Systems engineering can provide a suitable framework to overcome the obstacles towards a successful wave energy technology. The main objective of this work is to review the well-established systems engineering approaches that have been successfully implemented in complex engineering problems and to what extent they have been applied to wave energy technology development. The paper first reviews how system information can be organised in different design domains to guide the synthesis and analysis activities and the definition of requirements and metrics, as well as the search for solutions and decision-making. Then, an exhaustive literature review on the application of systems engineering approaches to wave energy development is presented per design domain. Finally, a set of conclusions is drawn, along with some suggestions for improving the effectiveness of wave energy technology development.Authors would like to thank the Basque Government through the research groups IT1314‐19 and GIU19/276 and the Scottish Government for the support of Wave Energy Scotland

Toma de decisiones basada en la productividad en Pymes manufactureras: aproximación desde la Lógica Difusa

One of the challenges that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face is knowing when to make the necessary organizational changes and the appropriate decisions that will not affect their level of productivity. Identifying the factors involved in decision making in SMEs is related with the need to be aware of their business environment and labor productivity variables in terms of effectiveness of Best Operational Productivity Practices (abbreviated BPPO in Spanish), support systems, and knowledge transfer applied to production management. For this purpose, the context must be analyzed from a comprehensive perspective. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine productivity-based decision making in manufacturing SMEs using the fuzzy logic approach. As a sample, we analyze six SMEs in the city of Medellín, Colombia, by means of the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) model. Regarding the methodology of this study, we rigorously applied the different steps of the fuzzy method to the SMEs under study following a descriptive approach. This allowed us to select the conditions that were closer to the fuzzy principles, thus confirming the effectiveness of fuzzy logic in business decision making. In addition, our findings contribute to lines of research by providing a methodological framework focused on productivity (BOPP) which can support business decision making.Uno de los retos para la pequeña y mediana empresa (PYME) es entender y conocer en qué momento debe hacer los cambios organizacionales y tomar las decisiones adecuadas que no afecten su nivel de productividad. Comprender los factores que involucran la toma de decisiones en las Pymes está relacionado con la necesidad de entender el entorno de los negocios y sus variables de productividad laboral referido a la efectividad de las buenas prácticas de productividad operacional (BPPO), sus sistemas de apoyo y de transferencia de conocimiento aplicado a la administración de la producción. Para entenderlo, se debe analizar el contexto desde una perspectiva integral. Es por esta razón que el presente artículo pretende examinar la toma de decisiones basada en la productividad en Pymes manufactureras a través de la utilización de lógica difusa, tomando como caso 6 Pymes de Medellín, Colombia, donde se empleó el modelo Índice de Productividad Total de Factores (IPTF). Con respecto a la metodología, se hace desde la ejecución rigurosa de los diferentes pasos del método borroso en las Pymes con un enfoque descriptivo, lo que permitió seleccionar las condiciones más cercanas a los principios difusos, confirmando la efectividad de la lógica difusa en el proceso de toma de decisiones empresariales. Además, como resultado significativo, se aporta a líneas de investigación, con una orientación metodológica basada en la productividad (BPPO) que apoyan la toma de decisiones empresariales

Análise das etapas de seleção e priorização do portfólio de novos produtos em uma empresa têxtil

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de ProduçãoAtualmente, a gestão de portfólio de produtos é um processo de grande relevância. É um dos processos responsáveis por manter a posição competitiva das organizações, alocar adequadamente os recursos de desenvolvimento de produtos, e assegurar uma maior objetividade e eficácia na seleção dos projetos de novos produtos. Nesse sentido, empresas de diversos setores industriais vêm estruturando seus processos e gestão de portfólio no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos (PDP). Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho objetiva desenvolver uma proposta de seleção e priorização de projetos de novos produtos voltada para uma empresa fabricante de produtos têxteis. Por meio de um diagnóstico inicial para identificar oportunidades de melhoria, observou-se que a empresa pesquisada apresenta oportunidades de melhorias na gestão de portfólio de produtos, em comparação aos respondentes de uma survey da associação americana PDMA (Product Development Management Association). O trabalho também consolidou uma lista de produtos subdivididos por negócios, bem como estabeleceu uma classificação inicial dos tipos de projetos de novos produtos. Estes dados foram base para a construção de uma proposta baseada em critérios tais como: a importância estratégica, margem de contribuição, volume de venda previsto, dentre outros, visando a seleção e priorização dos projetos de novos produtos. A proposta foi então confrontada com dados históricos reais, onde constatou-se alterações significativas na priorização dos produtos a serem desenvolvidos, devido a alguns fatores, dentre os quais os principais foram o super-dimensionamento das margens de contribuição e dos volumes de venda. Por meio da comparação na aplicação da proposta, conclui-se que esta possibilita que a seleção e priorização de produtos a serem desenvolvidos pela empresa ocorram de forma melhor estruturada e criteriosa. Como recomendação para trabalhos futuros, sugere-se a aplicação da proposta de seleção e priorização de produtos em outras organizações.Currently the product portfolio management is a process of great relevance. It is one of the processes responsible for maintaining the competitive position of organizations, properly allocating properly resources for new product development, and assuring greater objectivity and effectiveness in the selection of projects of new products. In this sense, companies from various industries have structured their processes of portfolio management in its new product development process (NPD). In this context, this paper aims to develop a proposal for selecting and prioritizing projects for new products in a manufacturer of textile products. Through an initial assessment to identify opportunities for improvement, it was observed that the company has opportunities for improvement in its management of product portfolio, compared to respondents in a survey of the American Association PDMA (Product Development Management Association). The work also consolidated a list of products broken down by business, and established an initial classification of the types of projects of new products. These data were the basis for the construction of a proposal based on criteria such as: strategic importance, contribution margin, sales volume forecast, among others, aiming at selecting and prioritizing new products projects. The proposal was then confronted with actual historical data. It was found significant changes in the prioritization of products to be developed, due to certain factors, among which were the over-dimensioning of contribution margins and sales volumes. By comparing the implementation of the proposal, it is concluded that the proposal allows the selection and prioritization of products to be developed by the company and a better structured and more rigorous selection process can be achieved. As a recommendation for future work, it is suggested the application of the proposed in other organizations

Pembangunan produk perbankan syariah di Indonesia dalam perspektif pelaku perbankan syariah

The islamic banking products have not been regarded as a necessity by the most of the population, including the muslim community. The public assessed that the product developed by islamic banking is unable to compete with conventional banking one. The absence of development and innovation of sharia product causes customers not to find something different between Islamic and conventional products. This study aims to; i) Knowing how the concept of the sharia product development and its implementation in the Islamic banking in Indonesia; ii) Knowing the role of sharia supervisory institutions in the development of Islamic products in the Islamic banking in Indonesia and; iii) Answering how is the response and reaction of islamic banking customers concerning with sharia products in Indonesia. This research is qualitative research with a case study approach. The data analysis techniques used were general inductive approach and content analysis. The procedures used to gather data were library research and field work involving interview and document analysis. The results of this study concluded that; i) There is no fundamental difference between both conventional and Islamic banking product development procedures. The difference is that it lies in the obligation to fulfill the sharia aspects of all the products being developed. Fulfilling of the business and sharia aspects is the main strategy for Islamic banking actors in the establishment of sharia products. The balance of the both is a determinant factor for the success or failure of Islamic products developed by both in the local market and between nations; ii) The role of the National Sharia Council has a very important position in the developing process of sharia products, considering that it is the only institution that can provide fatwas on sharia products produced by sharia banking. With the ability and competence, this sharia institution not only oversee the implementation of sharia fatwas, but it is actively involved in formulating and developing sharia products together with functionaries in charge of product development that are available in Islamic banking; iii). User response to the implementation of sharia product development is that the product developed by Islamic banking are still unable to compete with conventional banking one. Hence, the absence of sharia product innovation causes customers not to receive something different between Islamic products and conventional products. This study contributes to policy makers and industry players in the best practices of shariah banking product development and innovation