Investment prioritizing in high tech industries based on SWARA-COPRAS approach

One of the symbols of developed countries is high tech industries. High tech industries have a large margin. One of the priorities of developing countries is the progress in this type of industries. The decisions about priority of developing an industry are so hard that seems it should be seen from different perspectives. This research is focused on decision and policy making in priority of high tech industries in Iran. Two MCDM methods are applied in this research for decision making in this area. SWARA for evaluating and weighting criteria and COPRAS for evaluating and ranking alternatives are applied. Eleven experts from different fields participated in this research to make decision with SWARA and COPRAS. Four high tech industries including Biomedical Micro Electromechanical Systems (BioMEMS), Nano Technology, Biotechnology, and Biomedical Engineering were selected for this research. These industries were selected based on the potential of Iran. Final result shows that Nanotechnology is at the top of priorities in Iran. Authors believe that this methodology can be useful in other issues in this and other areas of research

Productizing carbon footprint and handprint for wood construction

Abstract. The construction industry is recognized as one of the leading industries contributing significantly to carbon footprint creation. While the footprint concept is utilized for negative environmental impacts, handprint is a new topic, ‎which refers to positive environmental impacts that businesses can gain and communicate by offering goods and ‎services that reduce customers’ footprints. This thesis aims to study methods that promote low-carbon construction with a small carbon footprint but a large carbon handprint. For that goal, wooden construction was chosen as a highly promising solution for creating carbon handprints and reducing the carbon footprints of construction. The study combines a literature review and qualitative analysis of empirical data collected from two companies and one specialist. This study first reviewed the literature to identify the critical elements of carbon handprint and footprint in general and wooden construction. Then data is gathered through semi-structured interviews to study the potential of wooden buildings in decreasing the construction carbon footprint and increasing construction handprint. This study applies the Gioia method for data analyses. Findings show that the construction industry has a lot of carbon footprint elements, such as materials, energy, transportation, and supply chain. Results show that wood products are beneficial to the environment, businesses and customers. Also, the critical role of centralized product data and the systematization of sales items in reducing carbon emissions in wooden construction is demonstrated. We conclude that carbon footprint and handprint could be productized, decrease carbon footprint and increase carbon handprint via replacing footprint sources with sustainable materials, energy, construction processes, transportation, and supply chains in the construction industry

A smart knowledge deployment method for the conceptual design of low-carbon products

As the consciousness of the global environment and sustainability has increased, low-carbon products have played a vital role in the transformation to a circular economy. Advanced smart design technology has enabled product designers to fulfill customer requirements by offering tailor-made functions and low-carbon solutions. However, although the existing approaches used in the conceptual design process can help in functional reasoning, knowledge modelling, and scheme evaluation, the smart reuse of knowledge, such as in design model improvement and concept scheme iteration for lower carbon emission, the corresponding process evaluation concerning carbon footprint has not been given sufficient attention. To resolve this, in this work, a smart knowledge deployment method is proposed for reasoning, configuring, and optimizing the conceptual scheme (CS) based on carbon emission evaluation and interaction. First, to match discretized knowledge, sub-function requirements after function decomposition are mapped with granular clustered knowledge into a matrix based on a requirement function knowledge deployment (RFKD) model. Second, the derived candidate concept schemes (CCSs) are selected in three steps: conflict-based primaries, configuration, and carbon footprint ranking. Finally, the initial conceptual scheme (ICS) with the lowest carbon emission is used as input for the interactive genetic algorithm (IGA) to better capture a comprehensive set of user feedback on potential candidate schemes through interactions. Accordingly, improvements are completed as intended. The prototype design and an experimental study of a brand-new friction-wear testing machine are conducted. The results suggest that the proposed approach could effectively reduce the carbon emissions of products obtained through CS and improve the convergence of the schemes produced via genetic operation

Productization of building information models

Abstract. Building information models contain a great amount of data in various lifecycle phases throughout building projects. Data is generally not seen as an asset yet building information models’ (BIM) value is recognized. Seeing BIM models value as an asset and maintaining a structured product lifecycle management (PLM) in organization leads to need of productization of BIM Models, just like tangible products. Building information modeling is a known term within the building industry, but product lifecycle management is unconventional. Productization practices that include PLM have few examples in the academia or of use in the building industry. This thesis aims to study the possibilities of productizing building information models to commercial and technical items and presents background to it. Building information models are currently not seen as commercial products, but it is acknowledged they are valuable and have great potential in changing the practices and productivity in the whole building industry. BIM models are not handled as products, and they are not included to order-delivery-invoicing practices and systems as commercial products. BIM models can contain a broad and multidimensional amount of information and some structuring practices of BIM models remind closely of bill of material (BOM) in technical product structures. Information content of BIM models increases and becomes more precise continuously, but to benefit financially of the additional value of BIM models is insufficient in terms of understanding their possibilities in content and commercial value. This thesis presents the definition and current state of the productization practices of BIM models and offers a recommendation to productize BIM models as a part of construction object configuration commercially and technically. The work is done reviewing current literature and via a current state analysis of a case company. Within the thesis, it is recommended to be establish a new product category into construction product offering alongside to hardware, software, and services: BIM products. From the commercial aspect, it is recommended to divide BIM models into three categories based on their status in a commercial product portfolio: open BIM models, BIM model products and BIM model systems. The recommendations of building a BIM model product structure are based on a BIM framework theory, which allows to separate the broad and multidimensional information structures of BIM models in structured and understandable form. The results of this study can be generalized and used in the building industry internationally. The results of this thesis are significant for any organization wanting to change their building information models’ status from technical tools into commercial products in a structured way.Tiivistelmä. Rakennusalan tietomallit sisältävät merkittävän määrän dataa rakennushankkeen eri elinkaaren vaiheissa. Datan ei ole tyypillisesti ajateltu olevan yrityksen pääomaa, mutta kuitenkin on tunnistettu, että tietomalleilla on arvo. Mikäli tietomallien arvo tunnistetaan, ja niitä halutaan alkaa kohtelemaan yrityksen pääomana, johtaa se tuotteen elinkaarenhallinnan (PLM) käytäntöjä noudattavalta organisaatiolta tarpeeseen tuotteistaa tietomallit, kuten fyysiset tuotteetkin. Termeinä tietomalli on tunnettu rakennusalalla, kun taas PLM on harvinaisempi; PLM ja tuotteistuskäytännöt ovat rakennusalalla vähän tutkittuja ja vähän käytössä. Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena on tutkia mahdollisuuksia siihen, miten tietomallit tuotteistettaisiin kaupallisiksi ja teknisiksi tuotteen osiksi, sekä esittää taustatietoja tietomallien tuotteistukselle. Tällä hetkellä tietomalleja ei ajatella kaupallisina tuotteina, vaikka niiden arvo ja mahdollisuudet jopa koko rakennusalan muuttamiseen ja tuottavuuden parantamiseen tunnistetaan. Tietomalleja ei myöskään käsitellä kuten tuotteita, eivätkä ne ole osa tilaus-toimitus-laskutus-käytäntöjä tai -ohjelmistoja kaupallisina tuotteina. Tietomallit voivat kuitenkin sisältää huomattavan määrän monimuotoista informaatiota, ja jotkut tietomallien rakenteen kuvaukset muistuttavat jopa tuotteistamisesta tuttuja teknisten tuoterakenteiden BOM:a (Bill-of-Material). Tietomallien datasisältö lisääntyy ja tarkentuu jatkuvasti, mutta kuitenkin ymmärrys tietomallien sisältöön liittyvistä kaupallisista mahdollisuuksista on liian vähäistä, jotta niistä voitaisiin hyötyä kaupallisesti. Tämä tutkimus esittelee ja määrittelee tämänhetkiset tietomallien tuotteistuskäytännöt ja tarjoaa ratkaisuehdotuksen tietomallien tekniseen ja kaupalliseen tuotteistukseen osaksi rakennusalan tuotevalikoimaa. Työ on tehty perehtymällä kirjallisuuskatsaukseen ja tekemällä nykytila-analyysi valitusta case-yrityksestä. Tämän työn tuloksena suositellaan uuden tietomalli-tuotekategorian perustamista nykyisten rakennusalan tuotevalikoiman fyysisten tuotteiden (HW), ohjelmistotuotteiden (SW) ja palvelutuotteiden (service) rinnalle. Tutkimuksen perusteella tietomallituotteet olisi myös syytä jakaa kaupallisen käytön perusteella kolmeen pääkategoriaan; ilmaiset tietomallituotteet, kaupalliset tietomallituotteet ja tietomallijärjestelmätuotteet. Tietomallien tuoterakenteen muodostamiseen ehdotetaan käytettävän BIM framework-teoriaa, jonka avulla monimuotoisia tietorakenteita on helpompi strukturoida. Tämän tutkimuksen tuloksia voidaan käyttää yleisesti rakennusalalla niin kansallisesti kuin kansainvälisesti. Tutkimuksen tulokset ovat merkittäviä sellaisille organisaatioille, jotka tunnistavat tietomalliensa datasisällön arvon pääomana ja siten haluavat johdonmukaisesti muuttaa heidän tietomalliensa statuksen teknisestä apuvälineestä kaupalliseksi tuotteeksi ja siten osaksi tuoteportfoliotaan

A framework of contextual knowledge in three dimensional computer aided design for mechanical engineering undergraduates

Today’s industries demand engineering graduates who are equipped with good knowledge and skills in using modern Three Dimensional Computer Aided Design (3D CAD). However, the recent research findings show that there is a lack of contextual knowledge among Mechanical Engineering Undergraduates when utilizing 3D CAD modeling software to develop a good product design. Most of them are not able to contextualize their created model in the aspects of manufacturing and user applications. This study was conducted to explore the essential contextual knowledge elements in the process of developing 3D CAD models among practitioners in manufacturing industries. The constructs of digital product modeling were established for this study, known as the contexts of Model Creation, Model Manipulation, Model Visualization and Model Transfer. A transcendental phenomenology approach was used as the main research design of this study. The participants of this study were practicing engineers from a shipbuilding company in Peninsular Malaysia. They have been purposefully selected to explore their experiences in utilizing the elements of contextual knowledge in 3D CAD modeling applications in their daily design works. All collected data were analyzed using phenomenological analysis. The textural and structural descriptions were gathered to capture what and how the essential contextual knowledge elements from each practicing engineer in the application of 3D CAD modeling within four digital product modeling contexts. Relevant documents were analyzed from practicing engineers to triangulate the main data for this study. The study has successfully developed a framework of Contextual Knowledge in 3D CAD modeling, which consists of three main elements: Realization, Design Intention and Normalization. By injecting these three elements in teaching and learning 3D CAD modeling, students can be expected to develop a creative and innovative product design and may lead to better usability of 3D CAD software in the product modeling process

MATHEMATICAL MODELING FOR PLATFORM-BASED PRODUCT CONFIGURATION CONSIDERING TOTAL LIFE-CYCLE SUSTAINABILITY

Many companies are using platform-based product designs to fulfill the requirements of customers while maintaining low cost. However, research that integrates sustainability into platform-based product design is still limited. Considering sustainability during platform-based design process is a challenge because the total life-cycle from pre-manufacturing, manufacturing and use to post-use stages as well as economic, environmental and societal performance in these stages must be considered. In this research, an approach for quantifying sustainability is introduced and a mathematical model is developed for identifying a more sustainable platform. Data from life-cycle assessment is used to quantify environmental factors; criteria from the Product Sustainability Index (ProdSI) are used to quantify societal factors. The Analytic Hierarchical Process method is used to assess relative importance of societal factors and the weighted sum method is used in the objective function for overall multi-objective optimization. A bicycle platform configuration will be used as a case study to demonstrate the application of the model. The relationship between commonality of the platform and sustainability performance is analyzed

MCDM y Logística y Transporte

El concepto de Gestión de la Cadena de Suministro Ecológica (GSCM) es la integración del pensamiento ambiental en la gestión de la cadena de suministro (SCM). Por lo tanto, la GSCM es esencial para utilizar el enfoque de toma de decisiones con criterios múltiples (MCDM) para influir en el impacto ambiental general de cualquier organización que participe en las actividades de la cadena de suministro. Más importante aún, la MCDM puede contribuir a mejorar los resultados del desarrollo sostenible, de modo que cuantificar las compensaciones entre los criterios económicos, sociales y ambientales, es decir, identificar las opciones de producción ecológica. El objetivo de este documento es definir los conceptos teóricos relacionados con el tema de la MDL y la logística, clasificar los métodos de análisis multicriterio en el ámbito de la logística y el transporte, realizar un examen de la bibliografía relacionada con la aplicación de estos métodos en la cadena de suministro ecológica, en particular la selección de proveedores ecológicos para analizar los resultados y sacar conclusiones.The concept of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) is the integration of environmental thinking into supply chain management (SCM). Therefore, GSCM is essential for using the multi-criteria decision-making approach (MCDM) to influence the overall environmental impact of any organisation involved in supply chain activities. Most importantly, MCDM can contribute to improving sustainable development outcomes by quantifying the trade-offs between economic, social and environmental criteria, i.e., identifying environmentally sound production options. The aim of this document is to define the theoretical concepts related to the topic of CDM and logistics, to classify multi-criteria analysis methods in the field of logistics and transport, to conduct a literature review related to the application of these methods in the organic supply chain, in particular the selection of organic suppliers to analyse the results and draw conclusions.Departamento de Organización de Empresas y Comercialización e Investigación de MercadosMáster en Logístic

A DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR REMANUFACTURING AND REMANUFACTURABILITY ASSESSMENT

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH