65,533 research outputs found
Designing Reusable Systems that Can Handle Change - Description-Driven Systems : Revisiting Object-Oriented Principles
In the age of the Cloud and so-called Big Data systems must be increasingly
flexible, reconfigurable and adaptable to change in addition to being developed
rapidly. As a consequence, designing systems to cater for evolution is becoming
critical to their success. To be able to cope with change, systems must have
the capability of reuse and the ability to adapt as and when necessary to
changes in requirements. Allowing systems to be self-describing is one way to
facilitate this. To address the issues of reuse in designing evolvable systems,
this paper proposes a so-called description-driven approach to systems design.
This approach enables new versions of data structures and processes to be
created alongside the old, thereby providing a history of changes to the
underlying data models and enabling the capture of provenance data. The
efficacy of the description-driven approach is exemplified by the CRISTAL
project. CRISTAL is based on description-driven design principles; it uses
versions of stored descriptions to define various versions of data which can be
stored in diverse forms. This paper discusses the need for capturing holistic
system description when modelling large-scale distributed systems.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure and 1 table. Accepted by the 9th Int Conf on the
Evaluation of Novel Approaches to Software Engineering (ENASE'14). Lisbon,
Portugal. April 201
Digital manufacturing in fiat group automobiles: virtual simulations for preliminary ergonomics optimization of workcells in the design phase of a new car model
New standards on work organization in the automotive industry, require a new concept of design methods: the human centred process. In Fiat Group Automobiles (FGA) the âDigital Manufacturingâ (DM) project has started with the goal to create simulation tools and methods to improve the design of new carsâmanufacturing processes giving a special attention to manual operations. The DM approach is based on a detailed âvirtual plantâ where virtual mannequins interact with digital models of carâs components, equipment, containers, etc. in order to simulate and improve working conditions with many benefits on ergonomics, safety, final product quality, work organization and general production costs. The key factor for this approach is that with DM methodologies, designers and engineers have, already in the design phase of a new carâs manufacturing process, a preliminary estimation of the numerical indices used in the plants to check if workcells are compliant to international standards and regional safety laws. In this way the most important ergonomic indices (like Niosh, Snook & Ciriello, EAWS, etc.) become a âdesign toolâ that allow to change/improve project solutions (designing easy and comfortable work tasks, equipment, tools, etc.) and to distribute the work load in an optimal way between workers
Implementation of R & QA practices in Research and Development programs
DOE has established a number of broad programs aimed at reducing fuel consumption. Several programs address the R&D of ground transportation propulsion alternatives to the conventional spark-ignition engine. NASA Lewis is responsible for managing the effort between the Government and industry teams involving American and foreign companies. Thus, existing NASA SR&QA procedure were modified/adapted to these R&D programs and implemented to assure that the test hardware design intent was met, the hardware was not hazardous to personnel, it would demonstrate reliable operation, and it would help establish the future R&D quality assurance and maintainability requirements. This successful low-cost approach might be applicable to other similar projects
Research in software allocation for advanced manned mission communications and tracking systems
An assessment of the planned processing hardware and software/firmware for the Communications and Tracking System of the Space Station Freedom (SSF) was performed. The intent of the assessment was to determine the optimum distribution of software/firmware in the processing hardware for maximum throughput with minimum required memory. As a product of the assessment process an assessment methodology was to be developed that could be used for similar assessments of future manned spacecraft system designs. The assessment process was hampered by changing requirements for the Space Station. As a result, the initial objective of determining the optimum software/firmware allocation was not fulfilled, but several useful conclusions and recommendations resulted from the assessment. It was concluded that the assessment process would not be completely successful for a system with changing requirements. It was also concluded that memory requirements and hardware requirements were being modified to fit as a consequence of the change process, and although throughput could not be quantitized, potential problem areas could be identified. Finally, inherent flexibility of the system design was essential for the success of a system design with changing requirements. Recommendations resulting from the assessment included development of common software for some embedded controller functions, reduction of embedded processor requirements by hardwiring some Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) to make better use of processor capabilities, and improvement in communications between software development personnel to enhance the integration process. Lastly, a critical observation was made regarding the software integration tasks did not appear to be addressed in the design process to the degree necessary for successful satisfaction of the system requirements
The Neo-Schumpeterian Model of Economic Development in the Basque Country: The role of Social Economy
In this paper we analyse the neo-schumpterian model of economic development applied to the economy of the Basque Country during the last few years and the three pillars that account for the development of a region following this model are rooted in the Basque economy in which there are company organizations that promote competition, financial institutions prepared to run risks and public authorities geared towards modernising and boosting the economy by means of tax incentives and other types of aid. However, we firmly believe that, apart from the three pillars established by the neo-schumpterians, another two should be added to this model: innovation and worker participation both in capital and profits and in management. Worker participation in enterprise is another factor which accounts for economic development in the Basque Country. In short, the cooperatives are a model of the integration of innovative and participative culture and commercial companies could apply certain elements of these cooperatives with a view to becoming more dynamic and more social.Cooperatives, innovation, management, neo-schumperian model, participation.
A Layered Software Architecture for the Management of a Manufacturing Company
In this paper we describe a layered software architecture in the management of a manufactur-ing company that intensively uses computer technology. Application tools, new and legacy, after the updating, operate in a context of an open web oriented architecture. The software architecture enables the integration and interoperability among all tools that support business processes. Manufacturing Executive System and Text Mining tools are excellent interfaces, the former both for internal production and management processes and the latter for external processes coming from the market. In this way, it is possible to implement, a computer integrated factory, flexible and agile, that immediately responds to customer requirements.ICT, Service Oriented Architecture, Web Services, Computer-Integrated Factory, Application Software
Management control of supplier relationships in manufacturing: a case study in the automotive industry.
This paper studies management control design of supplier relationships in manufacturing, a supply chain phase currently under-explored. Compared to supplier relations during procurement and R&D, which research found to be governed by a combination of formal and informal controls, supplier relations in manufacturing are more formal, so that they could be governed by more formal and less informal controls. To refine the management control system and influencing contingencies, we propose a theoretical framework specifically adapted for the manufacturing stage. This framework is investigated by an in depth case study of the supplier management control of a Volvo Cars production facility. We identify three types of suppliers visualizing the associations in the framework and illustrating the frameworkâs explicative power in (automotive) manufacturing. Furthermore, the case contradicts that supplier relations in the manufacturing phase are governed by little informal control, because the automaker highly values the role of trust building and social pressure. Most notably, a structured supplier team functions as a clan and establishes informal control among participating suppliers, which strengthens the automakerâs control on dyadic supplier relations.management control; supplier relationships; manufacturing; contingency theory; case research;
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