knowlEdge Project –Concept, methodology and innovations for artificial intelligence in industry 4.0

AI is one of the biggest megatrends towards the 4th industrial revolution. Although these technologies promise business sustainability as well as product and process quality, it seems that the ever-changing market demands, the complexity of technologies and fair concerns about privacy, impede broad application and reuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models across the industry. To break the entry barriers for these technologies and unleash its full potential, the knowlEdge project will develop a new generation of AI methods, systems, and data management infrastructure. Subsequently, as part of the knowlEdge project we propose several major innovations in the areas of data management, data analytics and knowledge management including (i) a set of AI services that allows the usage of edge deployments as computational and live data infrastructure as well as a continuous learning execution pipeline on the edge, (ii) a digital twin of the shop-floor able to test AI models, (iii) a data management framework deployed along the edge-to-cloud continuum ensuring data quality, privacy and confidentiality, (iv) Human-AI Collaboration and Domain Knowledge Fusion tools for domain experts to inject their experience into the system, (v) a set of standardisation mechanisms for the exchange of trained AI models from one context to another, and (vi) a knowledge marketplace platform to distribute and interchange trained AI models. In this paper, we present a short overview of the EU Project knowlEdge –Towards Artificial Intelligence powered manufacturing services, processes, and products in an edge-to-cloud-knowledge continuum for humans [in-the-loop], which is funded by the Horizon 2020 (H2020) Framework Programme of the European Commission under Grant Agreement 957331. Our overview includes a description of the project’s main concept and methodology as well as the envisioned innovations.The research leading to these results has received funding from the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Commission under Grant Agreement No. 957331 for EU Project knowlEdge –Towards Artificial Intelligence powered manufacturing services, processes, and products in an edge-to-cloud-knowledge continuum for humans [in-the-loop].Peer ReviewedTreball signat per 21 autors/autores: Sergio Alvarez-Napagao, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Spain; Boki Ashmore, ICE, United Kingdom; Marta Barroso, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Spain; Cristian Barrué, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Spain; Christian Beecks, University of Münster, Germany; Fabian Berns, University of Münster, Germany; Ilaria Bosi, LINKS Foundation, Italy; Sisay Adugna Chala, Fraunhofer FIT, Germany; Nicola Ciulli, Nextworks, Italy; Marta Garcia-Gasulla, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Spain; Alexander Grass, Fraunhofer FIT, Germany; Dimosthenis Ioannidis, CERTH/ITI, Greece; Natalia Jakubiak, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain; Karl Köpke, Kautex Textron, Germany; Ville Lämsä, VTT Technical Research Centre, Finland; Pedro Megias, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Spain; Alexandros Nizamis, CERTH/ITI, Greece; Claudio Pastrone, LINKS Foundation, Italy; Rosaria Rossini, LINKS Foundation, Italy; Miquel Sànchez-Marrè, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Spain; Luca Ziliotti, Parmalat, ItalyPostprint (author's final draft

What cases on lean hospital transformation tell us?

The scientific knowledge about the lean transformation of hospital processes is at best in its “emerging” phase; neither related international, nor Hungarian literature offers a systematic, comprehensive description of the phenomenon (Brandao de Souza, 2009). In this paper empirical evidences concerning the lean transformation of hospital processes are researched and systemized. Thus it provides a new insight of existing knowledge in order to provide solid base for further researches and practical actions

Perspectives of Integrated “Next Industrial Revolution” Clusters in Poland and Siberia

Rozdział z: Functioning of the Local Production Systems in Central and Eastern European Countries and Siberia. Case Studies and Comparative Studies, ed. Mariusz E. Sokołowicz.The paper presents the mapping of potential next industrial revolution clusters in Poland and Siberia. Deindustrialization of the cities and struggles with its consequences are one of the fundamental economic problems in current global economy. Some hope to find an answer to that problem is associated with the idea of next industrial revolution and reindustrialization initiatives. In the paper, projects aimed at developing next industrial revolution clusters are analyzed. The objective of the research was to examine new industrial revolution paradigm as a platform for establishing university-based trans-border industry clusters in Poland and Siberia47 and to raise awareness of next industry revolution initiatives.Monograph financed under a contract of execution of the international scientific project within 7th Framework Programme of the European Union, co-financed by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (title: “Functioning of the Local Production Systems in the Conditions of Economic Crisis (Comparative Analysis and Benchmarking for the EU and Beyond”)). Monografia sfinansowana w oparciu o umowę o wykonanie projektu między narodowego w ramach 7. Programu Ramowego UE, współfinansowanego ze środków Ministerstwa Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego (tytuł projektu: „Funkcjonowanie lokalnych systemów produkcyjnych w warunkach kryzysu gospodarczego (analiza porównawcza i benchmarking w wybranych krajach UE oraz krajach trzecich”))

The Viability of Alternative Call Center Production Models

[Excerpt] The central question of this paper is whether a mass customization strategy coupled with high involvement work practices is an economically viable model for service and sales call centers. If so, under what conditions and why? To answer these questions, in the next section, we describe alternative models of call center management. In section III, we present a conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between management practices, workers reactions to those practices, and performance outcomes. We then review empirical evidence on these relationships, focusing primarily on studies of call centers or related service workplaces. In section IV, we draw on evidence from two recent quantitative studies of call centers to examine the performance outcomes of high involvement practices in this context. We close with a discussion and critique of existing evidence and suggestions for future research

Desarrollo de un manual de operaciones básicas del centro de mecanizado vertical CNC VMC 800 bridgeport de la Escuela de Ingeniería Industrial de la ESPOCH.

El presente trabajo consiste en la elaboración de un manual de operaciones básicas para el centro de mecanizado vertical CNC VMC 800 Bridgeport de la Escuela de Ingeniería Industrial de la ESPOCH. El objetivo principal del proyecto es la elaboración de guías para la ejecución de procesos de mecanizado en piezas, utilizando el mencionado centro de mecanizado y bajo el diseño y programación CNC en el software Siemens NX 10. Se pretende contribuir favorablemente en la formación académico profesional de los estudiantes de la carrera de Ingeniería Industrial de la ESPOCH, a través de la vinculación de la teoría con la práctica correspondiente a la asignatura de CAD/CAM, tomando en cuenta la importancia de esta área del conocimiento tecnológico, que cada día tiene un mayor incremento, debido a las ventajas que ofrece en relación a los procesos de mecanizado convencionales. Las prácticas propuestas se dirigen a orientar y capacitar a los estudiantes en la operación del centro de mecanizado, partiendo desde el nivel básico que conlleva la identificación de las partes principales, especificaciones técnicas y seguridades del Centro de Mecanizado Vertical hasta la realización de mecanizado complejos. En cada una de las guías se establecen ejemplos que permiten que los estudiantes cuenten con el procedimiento a seguir para la obtención de las piezas deseadas y se complementan con información teórica y normas de seguridad para precautelar su integridad física. Finalmente se propone que los estudiantes elaboren un informe al final de cada práctica.This research consists on the elaboration of a basic operation manual for the vertical machining center CNC VMC 800 Bridgeport in the Industrial Engineering School at ESPOCH. The project objective is to developed guides for the execution of machining parts processes by using the machining center and he CNC design and programming in the Siemens NX 10 software. The purpose is to contribute positively to the academic-professional training of the Industrial Engineering career students at ESPOCH, considering that this is an important area of the technological knowledge which is increasing due to its advantages over the traditional machining processes The proposal is focused on orienting and training students in the management of the machining center; starting in the basic level whose contents include the identification of the main parts, technical instructions, and the safety of the Vertical Machining Center, and ending with more complex machining processes. In each one of the guides there are examples about the procedures students have to follow to get the needed parts and there is also information about the theory and safety rules to ensure the students physical integrity. Finally, it is proposed that students write a report at the end of each practice

Strategic Knowledge Measurement and Management

Knowledge and intellectual capital are now recognized as vital resources for organizational survival and competitive advantage. A vast array of knowledge measures has evolved, spanning many disciplines. This chapter reviews knowledge measures focusing on groups of individuals (such as teams, business and organizations), as they reflect the stock or flow of knowledge, as well as enabling processes that enhance knowledge stocks and flows. The chapter emphasizes the importance of organizational value chains, pivotal talent pools and the link between knowledge and competitive success, in understanding the significance of today’s knowledge measures, and opportunities for future research and practice to enhance them

Human Resources Strategy: The Era of Our Ways

The purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of the main features and trends in human resources (HR) strategy. Inasmuch as people are among the most important resources available to firms, one could argue that HR strategy should be central to any debate about how firms achieve competitive advantage. But this “people are our most important asset” argument is actually fairly hollow in light of the evidence. Far too many articles on HR start with this premise, but the reality is that organizations have historically not rested their fortunes on human resources. The HR function remains among the least influential in most organizations, and competitive strategies have not typically been based on the skills, capabilities, and behaviors of employees. In fact, as Snell, Youndt and Wright (1996:62) noted, in the past executives have typically tried to “take human resources out of the strategy equation--i.e., by substituting capital for labor where possible, and by designing hierarchical organizations that separate those who think from those who actually do the work.

Coopetition and innovation. Lessons from worker cooperatives in the Spanish machine tool industry

This is an electronic version of the accepted paper in Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing[EN] Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how the implementation of the inter-cooperation principle among Spanish machine-tool cooperatives helps them to coopete–collaborate with competitors, in their innovation and internationalization processes and achieve collaborative advantages. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a multi-case approach based on interviews with 15 CEOs and research and development (R&D) managers, representing 14 Spanish machine tool firms and institutions. Eight of these organizations are worker-cooperatives.. Findings – Worker -cooperatives achieve advantages on innovation and internationalization via inter-cooperation (shared R&D units, joint sales offices, joint after-sale services, knowledge exchange and relocation of key R&D technicians and managers). Several mutual bonds and ties among cooperatives help to overcome the risk of opportunistic behaviour and knowledge leakage associated to coopetition. The obtained results give some clues explaining to what extent and under which conditions coopetitive strategies of cooperatives are transferable to other types of ownership arrangements across sectors. Practical implications – Firms seeking cooperation with competitors in their R&D and internationalization processes can learn from the coopetitive arrangements analyzed in the paper. Social implications – Findings can be valuable for sectoral associations and public bodies trying to promote coopetition and alliances between competitors as a means to benefit from collaborative advantages. Originality/value – Focusing on an “ideal type” of co-operation -cooperative organisationsand having access to primary sources, the paper shows to what extent (and how) strong coopetitive structures and processes foster innovation and internationalization

Analysis reuse exploiting taxonomical information and belief assignment in industrial problem solving

To take into account the experience feedback on solving complex problems in business is deemed as a way to improve the quality of products and processes. Only a few academic works, however, are concerned with the representation and the instrumentation of experience feedback systems. We propose, in this paper, a model of experiences and mechanisms to use these experiences. More specifically, we wish to encourage the reuse of already performed expert analysis to propose a priori analysis in the solving of a new problem. The proposal is based on a representation in the context of the experience of using a conceptual marker and an explicit representation of the analysis incorporating expert opinions and the fusion of these opinions. The experience feedback models and inference mechanisms are integrated in a commercial support tool for problem solving methodologies. The results obtained to this point have already led to the definition of the role of ‘‘Rex Manager’’ with principles of sustainable management for continuous improvement of industrial processes in companies

Global Human Resource Metrics

[Excerpt] What is the logic underlying global human resources (HR) measurement in your organization? In your organization, do you measure the contribution of global HR programs to organizational performance? Do you know what is the most competitive employee mix, e.g., proportion of expatriates vs. local employees, for your business units? (How) do you measure the cost and value of the different types of international work performed by your employees? In the globalized economy, organizations increasingly derive value from human resources, or “talent” as we shall also use the term here (Boudreau, Ramstad & Dowling, in press). The strategic importance of the workforce makes decisions about talent critical to organizational success. Informed decisions about talent require a strategic approach to measurement. However, measures alone are not sufficient, for measures without logic can create information overload, and decision quality rests in substantial part on the quality of measurements. An important element of enhanced global competitiveness is a measurement model for talent that articulates the connections between people and success, as well as the context and boundary conditions that affect those connections. This chapter will propose a framework within which existing and potential global HR measures can be organized and understood. The framework reflects the premise that measures exist to support and enhance decisions, and that strategic decisions require a logical connection between decisions about resources, such as talent, and the key organizational outcomes affected by those decisions. Such a framework may provide a useful mental model for both designers and users of HR measures