Infrastructure transitions toward sustainability: a complex adaptive systems perspective

To ensure infrastructure assets are procured and maintained by government on behalf of citizens, appropriate policy and institutional architecture is needed, particularly if a fundamental shift to more sustainable infrastructure is the goal. The shift in recent years from competitive and resource-intensive procurement to more collaborative and sustainable approaches to infrastructure governance is considered a major transition in infrastructure procurement systems. In order to better understand this transition in infrastructure procurement arrangements, the concept of emergence from Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory is offered as a key construct. Emergence holds that micro interactions can result in emergent macro order. Applying the concept of emergence to infrastructure procurement, this research examines how interaction of agents in individual projects can result in different industry structural characteristics. The paper concludes that CAS theory, and particularly the concept of ‘emergence’, provides a useful construct to understand infrastructure procurement dynamics and progress towards sustainability

Contextual impacts on industrial processes brought by the digital transformation of manufacturing: a systematic review

The digital transformation of manufacturing (a phenomenon also known as "Industry 4.0" or "Smart Manufacturing") is finding a growing interest both at practitioner and academic levels, but is still in its infancy and needs deeper investigation. Even though current and potential advantages of digital manufacturing are remarkable, in terms of improved efficiency, sustainability, customization, and flexibility, only a limited number of companies has already developed ad hoc strategies necessary to achieve a superior performance. Through a systematic review, this study aims at assessing the current state of the art of the academic literature regarding the paradigm shift occurring in the manufacturing settings, in order to provide definitions as well as point out recurring patterns and gaps to be addressed by future research. For the literature search, the most representative keywords, strict criteria, and classification schemes based on authoritative reference studies were used. The final sample of 156 primary publications was analyzed through a systematic coding process to identify theoretical and methodological approaches, together with other significant elements. This analysis allowed a mapping of the literature based on clusters of critical themes to synthesize the developments of different research streams and provide the most representative picture of its current state. Research areas, insights, and gaps resulting from this analysis contributed to create a schematic research agenda, which clearly indicates the space for future evolutions of the state of knowledge in this field

Towards self-organized service-oriented multi-agent systems

The demand for large-scale systems running in complex and even chaotic environments requires the consideration of new paradigms and technologies that provide flexibility, robustness, agility and responsiveness. Multiagents systems is pointed out as a suitable approach to address this challenge by offering an alternative way to design control systems, based on the decentralization of control functions over distributed autonomous and cooperative entities. However, in spite of their enormous potential, they usually lack some aspects related to interoperability, optimization in decentralized structures and truly self-adaptation. This paper discusses a new perspective to engineer adaptive complex systems considering a 3-layer framework integrating several complementary paradigms and technologies. In a first step, it suggests the integration of multi-agent systems with service-oriented architectures to overcome the limitations of interoperability and smooth migration, followed by the use of technology enablers, such as cloud computing and wireless sensor networks, to provide a ubiquitous and reconfigurable environment. Finally, the resulted service-oriented multi-agent system should be enhanced with biologically inspired techniques, namely self-organization, to reach a truly robust, agile and adaptive system

Special Session on Industry 4.0

No abstract available

Adaptability, Cooperation and Reconfiguration in Very Complex Multiregional Network Organizations

There seems to be a general trend that the development of technologies which interact with human beings also enhances the knowledge of human functions. For example, with the development of color television systems progress in the knowledge of human color vision was also recorded. In return this new knowledge then helped in the design of even more efficient color television system. A similar situation seems to reign in computer systems and computer networks. Managing different resources in computer systems by operational systems resembles somewhat the management of resources in an organization. The inference block in 5th generation computers may resemble human inference and is pursued by an artificial intelligence discipline. The study of cooperative features in computer systems and networks may bring us closer to understanding these processes in organizations or even in human societies at large. This happens because many causal relations are present in computer systems in clearer and sometimes more primitive forms, stripped of many of the accompanying but irrelevant (emotional) ingredients. This Collaborative Paper is the continuation of an activity that started when Dr. Cifersky joined the Management and Technology Area of IIASA in 1882 as a participant in the Young Scientists Summer Program, under the supervision of Dr. R. Lee. The paper scans those problems in organizations which are evoked by the environment. It attempts to describe some of those processes which are taking place in complex organizations as a response to external influences, and identifies some of the impacts this may have on the organization's performance objectives. The paper has not been edited and supplemented by a vocabulary, therefore it does not make easy reading. It uses terms common in organization research, computer systems (for example, communication protocol), or principles used in fail-safe computer systems (reconfiguration). The topic is interesting and stimulating and can contribute to further research at the Institute in this field

Design and Planning of Manufacturing Networks for Mass Customisation and Personalisation: Challenges and Outlook

AbstractManufacturers and service providers are called to design, plan and operate globalized manufacturing networks, addressing to challenges such as ever-decreasing lifecycles and increased product complexity. These factors, caused primarily by mass customisation and demand volatility, generate a number of issues related to the design and planning of manufacturing systems and networks, which are not holistically tackled in industrial and academic practices. The mapping of production performance requirements to process and production planning requires automated closed-loop control systems, which current systems fail to deliver. Technology-based business approaches are an enabler for increased enterprise performance. Towards that end, the issues discussed in this paper focus on challenges in the design and planning of manufacturing networks in a mass customization and personalization landscape. The development of methods and tools for supporting the dynamic configuration and optimal routing of manufacturing networks and facilities under cost, time, complexity and environmental constraints to support product-service personalization are promoted

LiSC Model: An innovative paradigm for Liquid Supply Chain

Abstract Supply chain is studied all over the world by a number of researchers who propose description models, analyze quantitatively its efficiency and, more recently, create its digital twins. In the last years, according to some unpredictable events which upset the global economy, supply chain showed the capacity to change itself according to the new constraints but, also, the new opportunities raised. Classical models developed to describe supply chain are not powerful enough to model what today I4.0 pillars allow if we use open innovation as an extraordinary amplifier. Thus, the supply chain changes shape and connections. In this perspective, the paper propose and describe a new construct of supply chain called: Liquid Supply Chain (LiSC). It takes into account also the extraordinary effects of pandemic diffusion of Covid-19 virus and its influence on the companies. A critical comparison with other existing models is proposed and discussed

Integrated methodological frameworks for modelling agent-based advanced supply chain planning systems: a systematic literature review

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review of recent developments in methodological frameworks for the modelling and simulation of agent-based advanced supply chain planning systems. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review is provided to identify, select and make an analysis and a critical summary of all suitable studies in the area. It is organized into two blocks: the first one covers agent-based supply chain planning systems in general terms, while the second one specializes the previous search to identify those works explicitly containing methodological aspects. Findings: Among sixty suitable manuscripts identified in the primary literature search, only seven explicitly considered the methodological aspects. In addition, we noted that, in general, the notion of advanced supply chain planning is not considered unambiguously, that the social and individual aspects of the agent society are not taken into account in a clear manner in several studies and that a significant part of the works are of a theoretical nature, with few real-scale industrial applications. An integrated framework covering all phases of the modelling and simulation process is still lacking in the literature visited. Research limitations/implications: The main research limitations are related to the period covered (last four years), the selected scientific databases, the selected language (i.e. English) and the use of only one assessment framework for the descriptive evaluation part. Practical implications: The identification of recent works in the domain and discussion concerning their limitations can help pave the way for new and innovative researches towards a complete methodological framework for agent-based advanced supply chain planning systems. Originality/value: As there are no recent state-of-the-art reviews in the domain of methodological frameworks for agent-based supply chain planning, this paper contributes to systematizing and consolidating what has been done in recent years and uncovers interesting research gaps for future studies in this emerging fieldPeer Reviewe

Co-evolution path model : how enterprises as complex systems survive on the edge of chaos

In this theoretical paper, we introduce and describe a model, and demonstrate its origins from the disciplines of Enterprise Architecture, cybernetics and systems theory. We use cybernetic thinking to develop a &lsquo;Co-evolution Path Model&rsquo; that describes how enterprises as complex systems co-evolve with their complex environments. The model re-interprets Stafford Beer&rsquo;s Viable System Model, and also uses the theorem of the &lsquo;good regulator&rsquo; of Conant and Ashby, exemplifying how various complexity management theories could be synthesised into a cybernetic theory of Enterprise Architecture, using concepts from the generalisation of EA frameworks.<br /