Production Engineering and Management

It is our pleasure to introduce the 8th edition of the International Conference on Production Engineering and anagement (PEM), an event that is the result of the joint effort of the OWL University of Applied Sciences and the University of Trieste. The conference has been established as an annual meeting under the Double Degree Master Program “Production Engineering and Management” by the two partner universities. This year the conference is hosted at the university campus in Lemgo, Germany. The main goal of the conference is to offer students, researchers and professionals in Germany, Italy and abroad, an opportunity to meet and exchange information, discuss experiences, specific practices and technical solutions for planning, design, and management of manufacturing and service systems and processes. As always, the conference is a platform aimed at presenting research projects, introducing young academics to the tradition of symposiums and promoting the exchange of ideas between the industry and the academy. This year’s special focus is on Supply Chain Design and Management in the context of Industry 4.0, which are currently major topics of discussion among experts and professionals. In fact, the features and problems of Industry 4.0 have been widely discussed in the last editions of the PEM conference, in which sustainability and efficiency also emerged as key factors. With the further study and development of Direct Digital Manufacturing technologies in connection with new Management Practices and Supply Chain Designs, the 8th edition of the PEM conference aims to offer new and interesting scientific contributions. The conference program includes 25 speeches organized in seven sessions. Two are specifically dedicated to “Direct Digital Manufacturing in the context of Industry 4.0”. The other sessions are covering areas of great interest and importance to the participants of the conference, which are related to the main focus: “Supply Chai n Design and Management”, “Industrial Engineering and Lean Management”, “Wood Processing Technologies and Furniture Production”, and “Management Practices and Methodologies”. The proceedings of the conference include the articles submitted and accepted after a careful double-blind refereeing process

Modelling Behavioural Antecedents of Inter-Firm Linkages in the Irish Road Freight Industry: an Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

The Irish road haulage industry exhibits a structure dominated by singlevehicle owner-managed operators. This has implications for the Irish economy through reduced efficiency. It is crucial that Ireland’s transport policies sustain its trade-dependent economy and this study can help inform those policies. The European Union has made a commitment to promoting sustainable mobility through advanced transport logistics. One of the principal areas not previously addressed is that of barriers to ollaboration. This thesis initially examines economies of scale within the road freight industry and argues that collaborative networks can aid sustainable transport and increase efficiencies in logistics. It addresses the attitudes of operators towards collaborative alliances. An initial assessment of operators’ economic-rational decision-making was employed. A theoretical framework of behavioural economics is presented and a conceptual model based on it was employed for extracting attitudes. Non-economic factors were explored as key influencers of decision-making. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used as the foundation of the research methodology. A mixed-method survey approach was used, that is, qualitative and quantitative methods. Content analysis of the qualitative interviews was carried out in order to develop a list of modal accessible beliefs. A structured postal questionnaire was utilised as the primary research instrument. ii Structural Equation Modelling was applied in order to model the key influencers on owner-managers’ intentions to perform collaborative activities. The TPB was found to be an effective method for eliciting the influencers on industry operators. It allowed the key indicators of their intention to perform collaborative activities to be determined. Three latent factors: economic appraisal, normative pressure and control over time were key influencers. The operator’s perception of other people’s opinions had a significant influence on their intention formation. It is concluded that an educational programme would act as a catalyst to collaboratio

The longer and heavier vehicle debate: A review of empirical evidence from Germany

his paper aims to evaluate the likely effects of the adoption of Longer Heavier Vehicles (LHVs) from the perspective of logistics service providers (LSPs). The research consists of six case studies and a survey of companies which were involved LHV trials in Germany. Wider introduction of LHVs is being increasingly demanded so that road freight transport can better serve and support modern supply chains whilst achieving the desired eco-efficiency advancements. Available literature on LHVs puts a particular emphasis on five factors that need to be included in the assessment of their impact: energy efficiency, CO2 emissions, costs, safety and infrastructure. The research provides an original and innovative empirical study refining and validating the current conceptual framework for assessing LHVs demonstrating it is a valuable tool and providing evidence that the vast majority of companies participating in our study, regardless of their size, were interested in the adoption of LHVs. However, it should be noted that a key limitation of the research is that by focusing on a single country case, the nature and scale of the findings may not reflect practice in other countries and sectors. There is also a need to examine the long-term sustainability of the improvements made

Quantifying the costs of transport networks’ components

In dieser Arbeit werden die Kosten von Straßentransportnetzwerken mit Hilfe von verschiedenen Datenquellen und Methodiken quantifiziert

Disaggregated Approaches to Freight Analysis: A Feasibility Study.

Forecasting the demand for freight transport is notoriously difficult. Although ever more advanced modelling techniques are becoming available, there is little data available for calibration. Compared to passenger travel, there are many fewer decision makers in freight, especially for the main bulk commodities, so the decisions of a relatively small number of principal players greatly influence the outcome. Moreover, freight comes in various shapes, sizes and physical states, which require different handling methods and suit the various modes (and sub-modes) of transport differently. In the face of these difficulties, present DTp practice is to forecast Britain's freight traffic using a very simple aggregate approach which assumes that tonne kilometres will rise in proportion to GDP. Although this simple model fits historical data quite well, there is a clear danger that this relationship will not hold good in the future. The relationship between tonne kilometres and GDP depends on the mix of products produced, their value to weight ratios, number of times lifted and lengths of haul. In the past, a declining ratio of tonnes to GDP has been offset by increasing lengths of haul. This has come about through a complicated set of changes in product mix, industrial structure and distribution systems. A more disaggregate approach which studies changes in all these factors by industrial sector seems likely to provide a better understanding of the relationship between tonne kilometres and GDP. However, there are also problems with disaggregation. As we disaggregate we get more understanding of what might change in the future, but are less able to project trends forward. This can be seen if we consider the future amounts of coal movements. Theoretically there is clearly scope for better forecasting by allowing for past trends to be overturned by a movement towards gas powered electricity generation and more imports of coal direct to coastal power stations. However, making such a sectoral forecast is extremely difficult, and inaccuracy here may more than offset the theoretical gain referred to earlier. This is because it is usually easier to forecast to a given percentage accuracy an aggregate rather than its components. For example, the percentage error on sales forecasts of Hotpoint washing machines will be greater than that for the sales of all washing machines taken together. This occurs because different makes of washing machines are substitutes for each other, so forecasts for Hotpoint washing machines must take into account uncertainty over Hotpoint's market share as well as uncertainty over the future total sales of washing machines. Nevertheless, a disaggregate investigation of the market could spot trends which were `buried' in the aggregate figures. For example, rapidly declining sales for one manufacturer might indicate their leaving the market, which with less competition would then price up and so reduce the total future sales. We have assumed above that the use of the term disaggregate in the brief refers to disaggregation by industrial sector. An alternative usage of the word disaggregate in this context is when referring to modelling at the level of the individual decision making unit. Disaggregate freight modelling in this sense would involve analysing decisions in order to determine the utility weight attached to different attributes of available transport options. Because data on suitable decisions is not readily available in this country, due to commercial confidentiality, we have recently undertaken research in which we have presented decision makers with hypothetical choices, and obtained the necessary utility weights from their responses. Whilst initial scepticism is understandable, this method has produced results acceptable for use in major projects. ITS itself has provided algorithms (known as Leeds Adaptive Stated Preference) which have been used to derive utility weights for use by British Rail in forecasting cross-channel freight, by DTp in evaluating the reaction of commercial vehicles to toll roads, and by the Dutch Ministry of Transport in modelling freight in the Netherlands. In the light of the above, the following objectives were set for the feasibility study: (1)To determine if a forecasting approach disaggregated by industrial sectors, as under the first definition above, can be used to explain recent trends in freight transport; (2)To test the feasibility of the disaggregated approach for improving the understanding of likely future developments in freight markets, this being informed by current best understanding of the disaggregate decision-making process as under the second definition above

A Decision Support System for Intermodal Logistics under Considerations for Costs of Security

Global supply chains have been challenged by the increased awareness of security risks, including those of terrorism, theft, and damage, and the potential in these risks for significant damages. Additionally, the pressure security initiatives and regulations, particularly at sea and air ports, threaten to add to congestion at these hubs in the international flow of goods and materials. Improving the efficiency of the flow of goods and materials, and therefore the stability and competitiveness of their supply chains, is the focus of this research. A decision support to combine strategic objectives with operational transport decision making is built to incorporate security considerations

Under-utilisation of road freight vehicle capacity: A case for eco-efficiency through collaboration

The road haulage sector experiences a considerable amount of inefficiency, characterised by sub-optimal utilisation of an individual vehicle’s cubic load fill and weight hauling capacity. This study firstly aims to understand why – despite its evident economic and environmental cost – this phenomenon has existed over the years. Next, an overview of initiatives and opportunities for improving freight vehicle capacity utilisation will be given. This paper by no means attempts to suggest that part-loaded or empty trucking can be fully eliminated. What is argued however is that there is theoretical scope for reducing the socio-environmental externalities of these activities while sustaining – if not increasing – the benefits that road haulage offers to the economy. Alongside direct mitigation of energy efficiency (by vehicle technology and/or modal shifts), maximizing existing vehicle capacity utilization must also form an integral part of efforts to green modern road freight logistics.It is suggested that horizontal collaboration and multi-actor co-loading of freight vehicles holds the greatest potential for improving vehicle fill rates. This requires little capital investment and would mean that the same degree of utility is delivered with fewer individual vehicles on the road. However, it is also argued that a collaborative road freight model may come in conflict with modern customer demands and production patterns, which typically involve rapid just-in-time deliveries of ever smaller consignments. Subsequently the widespread outsourcing of road freight operations to external third-party operators has not resulted in pronounced gains in vehicle capacity utilisation. It appears that a transport operator has very limited ability to better consolidate goods within its vehicles, unless its contractors offer an operational environment where this is possible. This paper suggests that a platform be established that will enable transport purchasers (contractors) to identify synergies in their logistical flows. This should help to move away from one-vehicle-to-one-customer arrangements, and develop an approach where a single moving vehicle’s available capacity is viewed as a service that is available for the benefit of several actors at the same time