APPLICABILITY OF FACILITY LAYOUT AND MATERIALS HANDLING MANAGEMENT FOR OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE OF MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY

This study examined the application of facility layout and materials handling management for operational performance as case study of a manufacturing company. Three specific objectives were established and data were collected from respondents using an open-ended question survey. The findings revealed that facility layout improves operational performance of production lines, decreases bottleneck rate, minimizes materials handling cost, reduces idle time, increases the efficiency and utilization of labour, equipment and space. Therefore, concluded that facility layout redesign and materials handling management resulted in significant reduction of the following indicators: amount of total workflow, material handling cost, total travel distance of goods, space used for assembly, number of workers, labor cost of workers and the number of stops. We recommended organizations should strictly adhere to management policy on facility layout and computerize their materials management system in line with the global changes for ease to track the movement of materials in the store

Warehouse stock counting prototype using Raspberry Pi and OpenCV

A precise and up-to-date warehouse inventory is important to increase efficiency of item tracking and to reduce errors and the time invested to complete these tasks by employees. This paper proposes a warehouse stock counting prototype to improve operation efficiency. The prototype is built on the Raspberry Pi 4 development board and the OpenCV library to identify the warehouse item based on its color. The prototype can identify two different items and shows the available stock as the items leave the warehouse. The prototype maintains an up-to-date inventory and shows the stock on a screen in real time.ITESO, A. C

Warehouses in the Inland Empire: Displacing Land and Life

The Inland Empire in Southern California embodies unique spatial and social configurations as a consequence of how settler colonialism has manifested locally in the region since the Spanish Mission Period. This work uses GIS software to estimate patterns of land conversion for residential, agricultural, and warehouse land from 2012 to 2022. Preliminary analysis suggests that thousands of people have been displaced by warehouse expansion over the ten-year period. In the twenty-first century, the Southern California logistics industry continues processes of land dispossession and racialized labor exploitation through displacing agricultural and residential land, exposing disproportionately low-income Black and Latine communities living near warehouses to air pollution, and denying living wages to warehouse workers, who are also predominantly poor people of color

Exploring the deployment of autonomous medical emergency vessels in island and coastal regions : An overview of the opportunities and challenges

Introduction: Applications of vessels in emergency medical systems: Method: Discussion: Conclusion: Emergency medical systems in island and coastal regions face challenges such as supply and staffing shortages and a dispersion of resources and people, which negatively affect the timely and efficient delivery of emergency medical services. This thesis explores the opportunities and challenges of using autonomous vessels in these systems to start a discussion, as current research in this area is very limited. Currently, emergency vessels are primarily used to transfer patients to hospitals, doctors to emergency sites as well as equipment between islands. Floating hospitals ships generally combine these functions by enable comprehensive consultation, diagnosis, and treatment at the emergency sites. Additionally, rescue and search operations can also be counted among the tasks of emergency medical systems if one considers an extended range of tasks for these systems. The location of hub facilities, where autonomous vessels are stationed when not in operation, is one of the first decisions to be made when integrating those vessels into current emergency systems. Therefore, the model for solving the maximal covering location problem is applied and adjusted to cover a wider range of application of vessels in emergency medical systems. Simulations are conducted to identify opportunities to improve system performance when setting hub facilities for autonomous vessels. Hub facilities for autonomous vessels can be located at a greater number of locations, leading to better population coverage in some cases. Furthermore, the complexity of response routes can be decreased by the ability of autonomous vessels to transform current applications of vessels in emergency medical systems. Despite several other opportunities to reduce response times and use resources more efficiently, there are also challenges associated with the use of autonomous vessels. Some main challenges are to successfully integrate the new vessels into the existing system and to ensure their use by the population. Additionally, the costs of autonomous vessels are likely to exceed those of conventional vessels requiring in-depth cost-benefit considerations. Autonomous vessels have a great potential to enhance the performance of emergency medical systems in island and coastal regions. Most of the challenges can be mitigated by carefully planning their operations and introduction of the vessels into the existing system. However, in the context of scarce funding, higher costs compared to conventional vessels are likely to be the most significant challenge for the introduction of autonomous vessels.nhhma

Case Studies of Automation in Services. A workplace analysis of logistics, cleaning and health sectors in Italy

A full understanding of the technological complexity underlying robotics and automation is still lacking, most of all when focusing on the impacts on work in services. By means of a qualitative analysis relying on the administration of more than 50 interviews to HR managers, IT technicians, workers and trade union delegates, this work provides evidence on the main changes occurring at shopfloor level in selected Italian companies having adopted technological artefacts potentially affecting labour tasks by automating processes. The analysis of interviews complemented with visits to the companies and desk research on business documents highlights that so far labour displacement due to the adoption of automation technologies is not yet in place, while tasks and organizational reconfiguration appear more widespread. Major heterogeneity applies across plants due to the final product/service produced, the techno-organizational capabilities of the firm and the type of strategic orientation versus technological adoption. These elements also affect drivers and barriers to technological adoption. Overall, the analysis confirms the complexity in automating presumably low-valueadded phases: human labour remains crucial in conducting activities that require flexibility, adaptability and reconfiguration of physical tasks. Further, human agency and worker representation, in particular the role of trade unions, are almost disregarded and not considered by the firms when deciding to introduce a new technology

Case studies of automation in services

A full understanding of the technological complexity underlying robotics and automation is still lacking, most of all when focusing on the impacts on work in services. By means of a qualitative analysis based on over 50 interviews to HR managers, IT technicians, workers and trade union delegates, this work provides evidence on the main changes occurring at shopfloor level in selected Italian companies having adopted technological artefacts potentially affecting labour tasks by automating processes. The analysis of interviews complemented with visits to the companies and desk research on business documents highlights that so far labour displacement due to the adoption of automation technologies is not yet in place, while tasks and organizational reconfiguration appear more widespread. Major heterogeneity applies across plants due to the final product/service produced, the techno-organizational capabilities of the firm and the type of strategic orientation versus technological adoption. These elements also affect drivers and barriers to technological adoption. Overall, the analysis confirms the complexity in automating presumably low-value-added phases: human labour remains crucial in conducting activities that require flexibility, adaptability and reconfiguration of physical tasks. Further, human agency and worker representation, in particular the role of trade unions, are almost disregarded and not considered by the firms when deciding to introduce a new technology

Selection process of auto-ID technology in warehouse management: A Delphi study

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of philosophy and awarded by Brunel UniversityIn a supply chain, a warehouse is a crucial component for linking all chain parties. Automatic identification and data capture (auto-ID) technology, e.g. RFID and barcodes are among the essential technologies in the 21st century knowledge-based economy. Selecting an auto-ID technology is a long term investment and it contributes to improving operational efficiency, achieving cost savings and creating opportunities for higher revenues. The interest in auto-ID research for warehouse management is rather stagnant and relatively small in comparison to other research domains such as transport, logistics and supply chain. However, although there are some previous studies that explored factors for the auto-ID selection decision in a warehouse environment, those factors (e.g., operational factors) have been examined separately and researchers have paid no attention to all key factors that may potentially affect this decision. In fact, yet there is no comprehensive framework in the literature that comprehensively investigates the critical factors influencing the auto-ID selection decision and how the factors should be combined to produce a successful auto-ID selection process in warehouse management. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to investigate empirically the auto-ID technology-selection process and to determine the key factors that influence decision makers when selecting auto-ID technology in the warehouse environment. This research is preceded by a comprehensive and systematic review of the relevant literature to identify the set of factors that may affect the technology selection decision. The Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework has been used as lens to categorise the identified factors (Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990). Data were collected by conducting first a modified (mixed-method) two-round Delphi study with a worldwide panel of experts (107) including academics, industry practitioners and consultants in auto-ID technologies. The results of the Delphi study were then verified via follow-up interviews, both face-to-face and telephone, carried out with 19 experts across the world. This research in nature is positivist, exploratory/descriptive, deductive/inductive and quantitative/qualitative. The quantitative data were analysed using the statistical package for social sciences, SPSS V.18, while the qualitative data of the Delphi study and the interviews were analysed manually using quantitative content analysis approach and thematic content analysis approach respectively. The findings of this research are reported on the motivations/reasons of warehouses in seeking to use auto-ID technologies, the challenges in making an auto-ID decision, the recommendations to address the challenges, the key steps that should be followed in making auto-ID selection decision, the key factors and their relative importance that influence auto-ID selection decision in a warehouse. The results of the Delphi study show that the six major factors affecting the auto-ID selection decision in warehouse management are: organisational, operational, structural, resources, external environmental and technological factors (in decreasing order of importance). In addition, 54 key sub-factors have been identified from the list of each of the major factors and ranked in decreasing order of the importance mean scores. However, the importance of these factors depends on the objectives and strategic motivations of warehouse; size of warehouse; type of business; nature of business environment; sectors; market types; products and countries. Based on the Delphi study and the interviews findings, a comprehensive multi-stage framework for auto-ID technology selection process has been developed. This research indicates that the selection process is complex and needs support and closer collaboration from all participants involved in the process such as the IT team, top management, warehouse manager, functional managers, experts, stockholders and vendors. Moreover, warehouse managers should have this process for collaboration before adopting the technology in order to reduce the high risks involved and achieve successful implementation. This research makes several contributions for both academic and practitioners with auto-ID selection in a warehouse environment. Academically, it provides a holistic multi-stage framework that explains the critical issues within the decision making process of auto-ID technology in warehouse management. Moreover, it contributes to the body of auto-ID and warehouse management literature by synthesising the literature on key dimensions of auto-ID (RFID/barcode) selection decision in the warehouse field. This research also provides a theoretical basis upon which future research on auto-ID selection and implementation can be built. Practically, the findings provide valuable insights for warehouse managers and executives associated with auto-ID selection and advance their understanding of the issues involved in the technology selection process that need to be considered.Damascus University, Syria and The British Council, Mancheste