Order batching and picking in a synchronized zone order picking system

Order picking has been considered as one of the most critical operations in warehouse. In this study, we propose an analytical approximation model based on probability and queueing network theory to analyze order batching and picking area zoning on the mean order throughput time in a synchronized zone picker-to-part order picking system. The resulting model can be easily applied in the design and selection process of order picking systems. © 2011 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM 2011), Singapore, 6-9 December 2011. In Proceedings of the IEEE IEEM, 2011, p. 156-16

Total Productive Maintenance Strategy In A Semiconductor Manufacturer: A Case Study

The role of maintenance in manufacturing has become more crucial and important in today’s competitive environment. It is estimated that maintenance cost contributed approximately 10-30 percent of total operation cost. In order to stay competitive, manufacturing companies are forced to introduce production improvement programs to increase both quality and productivity. Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a well-known and very useful methodology which allows manufacturing firms to attain near ideal conditions with zero downtime, zero defects and zero accident. The objective of this paper is to study the effectiveness of TPM implementation in a multinational semiconductor manufacturer. In this study a bottleneck process from the production line was chosen and continuous improvements were implemented to improve equipment effectiveness. The results achieved are very encouraging in the reduction of equipment downtime, improvement in overall equipment effectiveness, employee motivation and reduction in number of accidence rate at the shop-floor

Causal relationship between eWOM topics and profit of rural tourism at Japanese Roadside Stations "MICHINOEKI"

Affected by urbanization, centralization and the decrease of overall population, Japan has been making efforts to revitalize the rural areas across the country. One particular effort is to increase tourism to these rural areas via regional branding, using local farm products as tourist attractions across Japan. Particularly, a program subsidized by the government called Michinoeki, which stands for 'roadside station', was created 20 years ago and it strives to provide a safe and comfortable space for cultural interaction between road travelers and the local community, as well as offering refreshment, and relevant information to travelers. However, despite its importance in the revitalization of the Japanese economy, studies with newer technologies and methodologies are lacking. Using sales data from establishments in the Kyushu area of Japan, we used Support Vector to classify content from Twitter into relevant topics and studied their causal relationship to the sales for each establishment using LiNGAM, a linear non-gaussian acyclic model built for causal structure analysis, to perform an improved market analysis considering more than just correlation. Under the hypotheses stated by the LiNGAM model, we discovered a positive causal relationship between the number of tweets mentioning those establishments, specially mentioning deserts, a need for better access and traf^ic options, and a potentially untapped customer base in motorcycle biker groups

An Action Design Research on development and deployment of a computer-based group discussion support tool for achieving consensus and culture change at an educational institution

Organisational culture change is a long and complex process that typically takes years to complete and has a very low success rate. This project addresses the problem by the proposed use of an Action Design Research Methodology to build and deploy an IT artifact named Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument-Spilter (OCAI-Spilter) to speed up cultural change while reducing failure rate. OCAI-Spilter should be able to fast-track culture change by addressing the problem of scalability and process losses encountered in most change projects involving large numbers of people. We used an iterative prototyping process to continuously refine the tool in use. We also reviewed the design principles in Action Research Design to improve the usability of the tool. New design principles and learning were derived from this process. Finally, we showed the effectiveness of the artifact by measuring the results of the tool in use through culture surveys and alignment, as well as idea generation that was administered through the tool

Internet of things

Manual of Digital Earth / Editors: Huadong Guo, Michael F. Goodchild, Alessandro Annoni .- Springer, 2020 .- ISBN: 978-981-32-9915-3Digital Earth was born with the aim of replicating the real world within the digital world. Many efforts have been made to observe and sense the Earth, both from space (remote sensing) and by using in situ sensors. Focusing on the latter, advances in Digital Earth have established vital bridges to exploit these sensors and their networks by taking location as a key element. The current era of connectivity envisions that everything is connected to everything. The concept of the Internet of Things(IoT)emergedasaholisticproposaltoenableanecosystemofvaried,heterogeneous networked objects and devices to speak to and interact with each other. To make the IoT ecosystem a reality, it is necessary to understand the electronic components, communication protocols, real-time analysis techniques, and the location of the objects and devices. The IoT ecosystem and the Digital Earth (DE) jointly form interrelated infrastructures for addressing today’s pressing issues and complex challenges. In this chapter, we explore the synergies and frictions in establishing an efficient and permanent collaboration between the two infrastructures, in order to adequately address multidisciplinary and increasingly complex real-world problems. Although there are still some pending issues, the identified synergies generate optimism for a true collaboration between the Internet of Things and the Digital Earth

Validation of a modular and wearable system for tracking fingers movements

Supervising manual operations performed by workers in industrial environments is crucial in a smart factory. Indeed, the production of products with superior quality at higher throughput rates and reduced costs with the support of Industry 4.0-enabling technologies is based on the strict control of all resources inside the factory, including workers. This paper shows a protocol for validating a new wearable system for tracking finger movements. The wearable system consists of two measuring modules worn on the thumb and index finger that measure flexion and extension of the proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint by a stretch sensor and rotation of the proximal phalanx (PP) by an inertial measurement unit. A marker-based opto-electronic system is used to validate the proposed device by capturing specific finger movements. Four movements that simulate typical tasks and gestures, such as grasp and pinch, were specifically performed. The maximum root-mean-square error is 3.7 deg for the roll angle of PP. The resistance changes of the stretch sensors with respect to flexion and extension of the PIP joint is 0.47 Ω/deg. The results are useful for data interpretation when the system is adopted to monitor finger movements and gestures

Arduino Based Paperless Queue Management System

Queue management system is designed in organizing queues at service sectors like banks and post offices, which expected to have a large number of customers daily. Conventional ways of managing queues like issuing paper tickets printed with queue number, leads to several problems such as paper tickets littering and also long queueing or waiting time. Therefore, this paper presents the development of a system to manage queues more efficiently and eco-friendly. The proposed system consists of a Graphical User Interface (GUI), which is used to obtain customers’ mobile phone numbers and the processing unit, which generates the queue number and initiate the ticket to be sent to customers’ mobile phones via SMS, thus replacing the utilization of papers. Moreover, this system additional features allow customers to remotely obtain their queue number just by sending request to the system through SMS, and also reminding the upcoming customers that their turns are nearly arriving, a feature which is very useful especially for those who are waiting outside the premise. Simulations and experimental tests were conducted to ensure the reliability and the efficiency of the proposed system. The proposed system is supporting the development of sustainable green technology, and the expected increase of system efficiency may contribute in improving customers’ satisfaction

Social media for supply chain risk management

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR

Strategies For Cross-Company Collaboration From An OEM's Perspective In The Context Of Digital Ecosystems

The mechanical engineering industry is facing significant challenges due to digital transformation. Business model innovation, such as service-oriented business models, is required to maintain competitive advantage. These innovative business models require capabilities that traditional manufacturing companies may not possess. These capabilities can be developed through cooperation in ecosystems. This paper examines the development of ecosystems and cross-company cooperation in mechanical engineering. The aim is to develop a strategy for cross-company cooperation within the framework of a practical example, which presents capability development framework for an OEM. A scenario analysis compares different alternatives to the cross-company collaboration strategy. The paper compares the approaches of the platform economy and the federative data space in the context of research projects. The methodology is based on a design science research approach and expert interviews to generate practice-oriented findings, as well as a literature review for theoretical insights