Big Data and the Internet of Things

Advances in sensing and computing capabilities are making it possible to embed increasing computing power in small devices. This has enabled the sensing devices not just to passively capture data at very high resolution but also to take sophisticated actions in response. Combined with advances in communication, this is resulting in an ecosystem of highly interconnected devices referred to as the Internet of Things - IoT. In conjunction, the advances in machine learning have allowed building models on this ever increasing amounts of data. Consequently, devices all the way from heavy assets such as aircraft engines to wearables such as health monitors can all now not only generate massive amounts of data but can draw back on aggregate analytics to "improve" their performance over time. Big data analytics has been identified as a key enabler for the IoT. In this chapter, we discuss various avenues of the IoT where big data analytics either is already making a significant impact or is on the cusp of doing so. We also discuss social implications and areas of concern.Comment: 33 pages. draft of upcoming book chapter in Japkowicz and Stefanowski (eds.) Big Data Analysis: New algorithms for a new society, Springer Series on Studies in Big Data, to appea

Дослідження системи операційного менеджменту організації, на прикладі Apple Computer, Inc

The object of investigation is the process of managing of operating activities of Apple, Inc. The aim of the work is to formulate theoretical approaches and to develop practical recommendations on directions of improvement of operating management at the organization. Research methods cover methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, detailing, system approach. This master’s research paper analyzes the operational management of Apple, Inc. and provides recommendations for it’s improvement. In particular, the main directions of solving the problems of operational management of the company have been outlined, the proposals on improvement of expansion distribution network and organization of innovative activity of the Apple Inc. have been made.Об'єкт дослідження ‒ процес управління операційною діяльністю компанії Apple, Inc. Мета дослідження - формування теоретичних підходів та розробка практичних рекомендацій щодо напрямів вдосконалення системи операційного менеджменту компанії Apple, Inc. Методи дослідження: методи аналізу, синтезу, порівняння, деталізації, системний підхід. У роботі проведено аналіз операційного менеджменту Apple, Inc., а також викладені рекомендації щодо його вдосконалення. Зокрема, окреслено основні напрями вирішення проблем операційного менеджменту компанії, внесено пропозиції щодо розширення дистриб’юторської мережі, а також вдосконалення організації інноваційної діяльності Apple Inc.Introduction 6 CHAPTER 1 THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT 8 1.1 Meanings and definition of operational management 8 1.2 Principles and methods of operations management 12 1.3 Factors affecting the Operations activity of Apple Inc. company 21 CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS 31 2.1 Сompany introduction 31 2.2 SWOT - analysis of Apple Inc. Company 46 2.3 Analysis of operation management at Apple Inc 50 CHAPTER 3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVING OF OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT AT THE APPLE INC 63 3.1 The main directions of solving operational management problems of the company 63 3.2 Recommendations concerning improvements of Distribution in the organization 65 3.3 Recommendations concerning improvements of innovative activity at the organization 67 CHAPTER 4 SPECIAL PART 73 4.1 Current trends in the field 73 4.2 Company policy in the market 75 CHAPTER 5 RATIONALE FOR RECOMMENDATIONS 77 5.1 Statement for recommendations at Company 77 CHAPTER 6 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY AT THE ENTERPRISE 79 6.1 The aim of occupational health 79 6.2 Organization of occupational health and safety at the enterprise 86 CHAPTER 7 ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES 92 7.1 Environmental issues in the field 92 7.2 Еnvironmental factors 94 Conclusions 96 References 98 Appendices 10

Consumer preferences in adopting product-service systems with a subscription revenue model

Technological development has caused service business models to become the new norm in the market, replacing ownership-based consumption, e.g. in the fields of music and books. This thesis examines the pace of servitization development as it is reaching industries that have based on traditional ownership-based consumption models. As identified in multiple previous works, changing consumer preferences is one of the major factors affecting the appearance of new service business models. Therefore, this thesis aims to shed light into consumer preferences towards adopting new subscription services with an offering of a tangible product (i.e. product-service system (PSS) with a subscription revenue model). To study consumer preferences, five focus groups were formed and presented with hypothetical services in themes of mobility, living, home appliances and clothing. Discussions were moderated with the objective of observing the value and barriers participants perceived in subscribing to new subscription PSS concepts. Exploratory study with focus groups was chosen as a method, because of novelty of the subject at hand, and its possibilities for free form participant ideation of potential new service concepts. The theory base of the research combines literature about services, product-service systems and non-ownership consumption as well as consumer decision making and perceived value. Similar previous research on the subject has been conducted in the form of a few focus group studies. This study fulfills these previous findings by focusing on subscription PSS specifically and also updates the knowledge of consumer preferences in a different geographical area 10 years later, as some of these concepts have already appeared in the market. Main findings show that PSS has great potential in the eyes of consumers in lessening burdens of ownership and in fulfilling their needs proactively with a holistic service. Consumers grasp PSS potential for value creation via its ability to fulfill a need, its ability to decrease perceived costs and finally, its ability to create experiential value. Experiential aspects are of critical importance for making PSS a viable offering, as consumers are not willing to pay a monthly fee for simply accessing products. Many concerns are stated for subscription PSS, especially related to uncertainty and fear of creating hassle and emotional burden. These barriers for adoption are most apparent in categories where products are lower in costs and that are needed regularly. The thesis concludes by introducing findings in Paradoxes of Tech framework by Mick & Fournier (1998)

Identifying smart design attributes for Industry 4.0 customization using a clustering Genetic Algorithm

Industry 4.0 aims at achieving mass customization at a mass production cost. A key component to realizing this is accurate prediction of customer needs and wants, which is however a challenging issue due to the lack of smart analytics tools. This paper investigates this issue in depth and then develops a predictive analytic framework for integrating cloud computing, big data analysis, business informatics, communication technologies, and digital industrial production systems. Computational intelligence in the form of a cluster k-means approach is used to manage relevant big data for feeding potential customer needs and wants to smart designs for targeted productivity and customized mass production. The identification of patterns from big data is achieved with cluster k-means and with the selection of optimal attributes using genetic algorithms. A car customization case study shows how it may be applied and where to assign new clusters with growing knowledge of customer needs and wants. This approach offer a number of features suitable to smart design in realizing Industry 4.0

Modeling, Simulation and Analysis of Renewable Energy Production Systems: Application to Multi-Product Biorefineries

The primary purpose of this research is to investigate the design and modelling of fully integrated processes which utilize renewable feedstock as raw materials and evaluate the alternative technology and possible process integration options for biorefinery processes to select the optimal configuration based on the production yields and economical profit criteria. The case study considered in this work is a lignocellulosic biorefinery plant which has different technology choices for each section of the process and the ability to produce multi-products from lignocellulosic raw materials. We analyzed different scenarios by simulating the superstructures in Aspen Plus. To incorporate more non-linarites in the process and put more realism in simulations, complex kinetics of bio-reactions are modeled in Matlab based on the experimentally calculated kinetics from literature. To reduce the toxicity of hydrolysates generated from pretreatment, detoxification is necessary as the by-products can have negative impact on downstream process sections such as enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation. Two technology options are considered for detoxification process in our study. Additionally, two alternative solid separation routes are proposed and evaluated. Sustainable biorefinery requires a portfolio of products to produce different bio-fuels and bio-chemicals. In this work, one of the proposed scenarios considers succinic acid as a co-product of the plant. Final results show the optimal biorefinery process by evaluating the alternative process configurations based on the product yields and economic parameters. Succinic acid production makes a huge increase in the profitability of the plant. Ammonia conditioning is selected as detoxification technology, and separating solids after the first distillation column is the preferable technology

Make-or-buy configurational approaches in product-service ecosystems and performance

This research examines firm boundary configurations for manufacturers' product-service offerings. We argue that the building of a product-service ecosystem through collaboration with service providers in certain types of business services can increase performance as a result of the superior knowledge-based resources coming from specialized partners. By using fuzzy set qualitative analysis on a sample of 370 multinational manufacturing enterprises (MMNEs), the results reveal that effective servitization is heterogeneous across manufacturing industries and across business service offerings. The findings indicate that most industries achieve their highest performance through collaborations with value-added service providers in two out of three of the service continuum stages (Base and Intermediate services); while keeping the development of Advanced services in-house. The results help to contextualize the best practices for implementing service business models in MMNEs by detailing which service capabilities should be retained in-house and which should be outsourced to specialized partners in various industrial contexts.Peer ReviewedPreprin