Towards Fractal Approach in Healthcare Information Systems: A Review

Recently, traditional information systems need adaption capabilities in order to overcome modifications and maintains of external environment. For that, researchers proposed many solutions from the Fractal method to improve the flexibility and quick adaptive of the system. Computer Information System, as widely used systems, needs modifications and adaptations to real changes. The most important action is to circulate and updating new data and information among the hosts in agent-based information systems. This paper presents the review of using features of fractal method to solve many problems in different fields. The  paper is also suggesting employing fractal features for improving the flexibility and adaption of Healthcare Information System (HIS)

A Holonic Model Of System For The Resolution Of Incidents In The Software Engineering Projects

The need of automation in the resolution of the incidents that arise in the different phases of the software engineering projects, the desire of to manage the knowledge about how to solve an incident, the high specialization that appears in the different sub-domains of knowledge (security, networking, etc.), not only at individuals' level but also at organizations' one and the high rate of changes in the IT staffs, lead us to propose a model of a system for the resolution of the incidents before mentioned, based on the concepts of holon and informon

Design of a Scalable Modular Production System for a Two-stage Food Service Franchise System

The geographically distributed production of fresh food poses unique challenges to the production system design because of their stringent industry and logistics requirements. The purpose of this research is to examine the case of a European fresh food manufacturer’s approach to introduce a scalable modular production concept for an international two‐stage gastronomy franchise system in order to identify best practice guidelines and to derive a framework for the design of distributed production systems that perform in a highly dynamic environment. The design framework was developed by creating a theoretical model through literature review and the thorough analysis of an industrial case. Information was collected through multiple site visits, workshops and semi‐structured interviews with the company’s key staff of the project, as well as examination of relevant company documentations. By means of a scenario for the Central European market, the model was reviewed in terms of its development potential and finally approved for implementation. However, research through case survey requires further empirical investigation to fully establish this approach as a valid and reliable design tool

Agent-based hierarchical production planning and scheduling in make-to-order manufacturing system

PublishedThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Nowadays, manufacturing organisations face increasing pressures from the frequent change in product type, continuous demand fluctuation and unexpected change in customer requirements. In order to survive in the turbulent environment, manufacturing organisations must become flexible and responsive to these dynamic changes in the business environment. This paper presents a hierarchical agent bidding mechanism that is particularly designed for Make-to-Order manufacturing system and attempts to enhance the operational flexibility of manufacturing system in dealing with dynamic changes in the business environment. The novelty of this mechanism is that it enables manufacturing resources to be self-organised cost-efficiently within structural constraints of manufacturing system for fulfilling customer orders. However, when orders cannot be fulfilled within the structural constraints of manufacturing systems, the mechanism can enable manufacturing resources to be regrouped flexibly across system boundaries but with minimum disturbances to existing system structure. Based on an example application to a manufacturing company, this paper demonstrates that the operational flexibility provided by this mechanism is able to help manufacturing system to respond demand fluctuation through balancing the capacity across the entire system. Meanwhile, this mechanism potentially enables manufacturing systems to deal with unexpected changes in product type. As long as the manufacturing system has the technicality required by a new product, this mechanism enables resources across the manufacturing system to be cost-efficiently and flexibly self-organised to fulfil the new product

Manufactura biológica e inteligente: atributos de la vida aplicados al desarrollo tecnológico

Los entornos altamente dinámicos caracterizados por el predominio del conocimiento como motor del desarrollo hacen que sea necesario abordar problemáticas específicas a través de enfoques multidisciplinarios. En este orden de ideas, mediante la imi- tación del comportamiento de los seres vivos se han generado técnicas y herramientas aplicadas en contextos como los tecnoló- gicos y productivos para incrementar la eficiencia y la capacidad de respuesta. Este artículo presenta los resultados de una in- vestigación efectuada mediante la aplicación de técnicas cienciométricas y de vigilancia tecnológica, con el fin de evidenciar el impacto que los conceptos y fundamentos de las ciencias de la vida han tenido sobre el desarrollo tecnológico y su gestión. De esta manera se encontró que dicho impacto se ha reflejado principalmente en la generación de conceptos y aplicaciones a temas como la manufactura inteligente, los sistemas biológicos de fabricación, la manufactura holónica y biónica, otorgando a- tributos de adaptación, autoaprendizaje, flexibilidad y capacidad de evolución a los procesos de fabricación y de manejo de in- formación, lo cual permite concluir que la gestión del factor tecnológico se ha fortalecido con base en campos como el bio- lógico, con repercusiones directas en los procesos productivos.Highly competitive settings, characterised by development being promoting by the predominance of knowledge, means that mul- tidisciplinary approaches must be adopted for dealing with specific problems. Indeed, techniques and tools have been created by imitating human beings’ behaviour and applying them to productive and technological contexts to increase efficiency and enable a quick response. This paper deals with this topic and presents the results of scientometric- and technological surveillance-based research for revealing life sciences’ impact on technological development and its management. It was found that such impact has been mainly reflected in producing concepts and applications for topics such as intelligent manufacturing, biological manu- facturing systems and holonic and bionic manufacturing, thereby providing manufacturing and information management with hu- man attributes such as adaptation, self-learning, flexibility and the ability to evolve. It may thus be concluded that technological factor management has been strengthened, based on fields such as biology, thereby leading to direct outcomes regarding pro- duction

Perspectivas e considerações sobre o aporte biológico ao desenvolvimento da gestão de tecnologia

A necessidade de que a gestão se especializasse e dirigisse algumas de suas funções à pesquisa e desenvolvimento, tem facilitado uma gerência mais pertinente da tecnologia e tem contribuído a que a própria gestão tecnológica se consolide como um campo diferenciado de conhecimento, sem ignorar que deve continuar com seu processo de evolução. Com esta investigação pretende-se contribuir para isso ao avaliar as contribuições dos elementos e conceitos biológicos a este campo da gestão, considerando seu alto grau de interação com outras disciplinas assim como a transcendência e relevância que têm tido tais contribuições para o progresso da gestão organizacional. Para tal fim empregaram-se técnicas cienciométricas em informação procedente de bases de dados de artigos e memoriais de eventos acadêmicos, encontrando-se que os avanços têm se apresentado principalmente em países desenvolvidos, sendo muito escassos no contexto latino-americano; da mesma forma, tais avanços estão dirigidos à gestão e sustentam o desenvolvimento atual da gestão do conhecimento. Adicionalmente, identificaram-se as perspectivas de desenvolvimento da relação entre biociências e gestão tecnológica, enfocadas em três aspectos: aprendizagem com base na contribuição da visão sistêmica, emprego de analogias e metáforas, e desenvolvimento de processos de inteligência. Finalmente, se propuseram as considerações sobre o papel de tal relação no contexto das economias emergentes latino-americanas.Le besoin de spécialisation et d'orientation de certaines des fonctions de la gestion vers la recherche et le développement a facilité une utilisation plus pertinente de la technologie et a contribué à la consolidation de la gestion technologique elle-même, en tant que champ différencié de connaissances, sans oublier que celle-ci doit poursuivre son processus d'évolution. Par cette recherche, on prétend contribuer à cette consolidation, dans une évaluation des apports réalisés par les éléments et concepts biologiques sur ce champ de gestion, considérant leur haut degré d'interaction avec d'autres disciplines ainsi que la transcendance et la valeur de ces apports pour le progrès de la gestion organisationnelle. À cet effet des techniques scientométriques en information ont été utilisées, procédant de bases de données d'articles et de mémoires d'événements académiques, déterminant que les progressions se sont présentées principalement dans les pays développées, et très peu dans le contexte latino-américain ; de même, ces progrès sont orientés vers la gestion de la production et supportent le développement actuel de la gestion technologique et la gestion de la connaissance. De plus, les perspectives de développement de la relation entre bio science et gestion technologique ont été identifiées sur trois aspects: apprentissage sur base de la contribution de la vision systémique, emploi d'analogies et métaphores, et développement de processus d'intelligence. Finalement des considérations ont été faites sur cette relation dans le contexte des économies émergentes latino-américaines.Management's need to specialise and orientate some of its functions towards research and development has facilitated more pertinent management of technology and has contributed towards technological management becoming consolidated as a differentiated field of knowledge (without denying that it must continue to evolve). This investigation is aimed at contributing towards evaluating the contribution of biological elements and concepts to this field of management, considering their high degree of interaction with other disciplines, as well as their significance and relevance for organisational management. Scienciometric techniques were thus used on information gleaned from databases from articles and memoirs from academic events, finding that advances have mainly been presented in developed countries, being very scarce in terms of the Latin-American context. Such advances have been orientated towards managing production and supporting current development of technological management and knowledge management. Perspectives concerning the development of the relationship between biosciences and technological management were identified, focusing on three aspects: learning based on the contribution of a systemic vision, using analogies and metaphors and developing intelligence processes. Some considerations are raised about the role of such relationship within the context of emerging Latin-American economies.La necesidad de que la gestión se especializara y orientara algunas de sus funciones hacia la investigación y el desarrollo ha facilitado un manejo más pertinente de la tecnología y ha contribuido a que la propia gestión tecnológica se consolide como un campo diferenciado de conocimiento, sin desconocer que debe continuar con su proceso de evolución. Con esta investigación se pretende contribuir a ello al evaluar los aportes de los elementos y conceptos biológicos a este campo de la gestión, considerando su alto grado de interacción con otras disciplinas, así como la trascendencia y relevancia que han tenido tales aportes para el progreso de la gestión organizacional. Para tal fin se emplearon técnicas cienciométricas en información procedente de bases de datos, de artículos y memorias de eventos académicos, encontrándose que los avances se han presentado principalmente en países desarrollados, siendo muy escasos en el contexto latinoamericano; así mismo, dichos avances están orientados a la gestión de la producción y soportan el desarrollo actual de la gestión tecnológica y la gestión del conocimiento. Adicionalmente, se identificaron las perspectivas de desarrollo de la relación entre biociencias y gestión tecnológica, enfocadas en tres aspectos: aprendizaje con base en la contribución de la visión sistémica, empleo de analogías y metáforas, y desarrollo de procesos de inteligencia. Finalmente, se plantearon las consideraciones sobre el papel de dicha relación en el contexto de las economías emergentes latinoamericanas

DEFINING AND EVALUATING AGILE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT FOR REDUCING TIME DELAYS IN CONSTRUCTION

Both competitive market forces and growing societal needs have triggered the demand for rapid delivery of construction projects, or at a minimum, for projects completed on schedule. However, schedule delays are common and recurring in construction, inevitably resulting in rework, cost overruns and legal claims. As projects become increasingly complicated, delays arise in a more unpredictable manner. The initial motivation for this research is to explore a systematic flexibility to deal with delays caused by complex changes in construction and meanwhile enhance the overall project performance. Accordingly, agile construction management is proposed in terms of a conceptual framework. Derived from agile theories in other engineering disciplines, agile management is an integrated method that allows projects thrive in a fluid environment by applying agile enablers (approaches) throughout the project lifecycle. Since agility and relevant theories are emerging in construction, the proposed agile ideas and enablers are verified by qualitative interviews with construction professionals. With ultimate goal of reducing delays, a case study is conducted investigating how much delays could be reduced if the agile enablers were used

Modelos y plataforma IEC 61499 adaptados al control distribuido de máquinas herramienta en sistemas de fabricación ágil

Los sistemas de fabricación han ido evolucionando para adaptarse a las cada vez más cambiantes demandas del mercado, pasando de los sistemas de fabricación en masa a los sistemas flexibles y, finalmente, a los sistemas ágiles. Estos últimos están soportados por sistemas reconfigurables, capaces de ser modificados sin parar su funcionamiento, así como por tecnologías de la información y la comunicación, por lo que pueden adaptarse muy rápidamente a cambios en la producción. Para denominar estos nuevos sistemas han surgido también términos como e-manufacturing, cloud-manufacturing, industrie 4.0. El estándar actual de referencia para el desarrollo de software de control en los sistemas de fabricación es IEC 61131, del que algunos trabajos han indicado su poca adecuación frente a los requisitos de los nuevos sistemas. Por este motivo ha surgido el más complejo IEC 61499, que define arquitecturas y modelos para un software de control distribuido y reconfigurable. La industria demanda a este estándar la capacidad para desarrollar software de control: predecible, escalable, mantenible y extensible. A este respecto, aunque ha sido objeto de múltiples trabajos por parte de la comunidad académica, a día de hoy IEC 61499 no ha adquirido esa capacidad, por lo que no es aceptado todavía por la industria. El objeto de la presente tesis es aportar propuestas que contribuyan a que el estándar alcance dicha capacidad. Con este fin, se propone el uso de metodologías y modelos de componentes software adaptados al dominio de aplicación, en particular, al control de máquinas herramienta en sistemas de fabricación ágil. Este dominio ha sido elegido por su complejidad, frente a los sencillos tipos de aplicación y casos de uso considerados en anteriores propuestas relacionadas con IEC 61499. Para establecer dichas metodologías y modelos adaptados se estudia en primer lugar el dominio indicado, determinando los principios de diseño de su software de control. Estos principios sirven de base para efectuar una revisión del estado actual del estándar. Seguidamente, se propone y modela el control distribuido de una máquina herramienta genérica, a partir del cual se establecen los modelos de bloque función y de ejecución IEC 61499 adaptados a ese dominio. Dichos modelos facilitan el establecimiento de una metodología de diseño, a la vez que permiten una implementación del estándar determinista, eficiente, escalable y que cumple restricciones de tiempo real. A la hora de verificar experimentalmente la metodología y los modelos adaptados es necesaria una plataforma de ejecución. Debido a que las plataformas IEC 61499 existentes no soportan dichos modelos se ha especificado, diseñado e implementado la plataforma COSME. A diferencia de anteriores plataformas, ésta incorpora características que hacen posible su empleo en entornos industriales. En este sentido, la plataforma COSME ha sido desarrollada dentro de un proyecto de investigación, transferencia y colaboración tecnológica entre la universidad y un grupo industrial fabricante de máquinas herramienta. Dicho proyecto ha permitido que esta plataforma, la metodología y los modelos adaptados hayan sido validados en casos de uso reales

Reference architecture for configuration, planning and control of 21st century manufacturing systems.

Today's dynamic marketplace requires flexible manufacturing systems capable of cost-effective high variety - low volume production in frequently changing product demand and mix. Several new paradigms, e.g. holonic, fractal, biological and responsive manufacturing, have recently been proposed and studied in the academic literature. These 'next generation of manufacturing systems' have been especially designed to meet the requirements of an unstable and unpredictable marketplace. However, very little in-depth research of the configuration, planning and control methodologies of these new concepts has been conducted. This research aims to improve the comprehension and implementation of these 21st century manufacturing systems by developing an integrated reference architecture from the combination of their distinctive features that would enable manufacturing enterprises to handle successfully the configuration/reconfiguration, planning and control activities under the conditions of uncertainty and continuous change.In the course of the research, a detailed investigation into the fractal, biological and responsive manufacturing systems is conducted in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each concept. The common and distinctive features of the paradigms are then used to merge them to create an integrated reference architecture. The fractal configuration, biological scheduling and 'resource element' representation of resource capabilities and product processing requirements are selected as the major elements of the new system. A detailed study of fractal layout design resulted in seven distinctive methods for structuring and managing fractal cellular systems. A design methodology that supports three types of dynamic scheduling is developed for biological manufacturing systems. Resource elements are used with fractal layouts and biological scheduling to enhance performance and to enable an integration of the concepts. The proposed reference architecture is modelled and evaluated using object-oriented programming, computer simulation and heuristic algorithms. The research results indicate that the performance of systems that employ biological scheduling and fractal layouts can be improved by using the concept of resource elements to utilise any hidden capabilities of resources and to achieve an optimal distribution of resources on the shop floor