Social tagging as a knowledge collecting strategy in the engineering design change process

This article focuses on analysing the feasibility of using social tagging as a tool for knowledge collection and retrieval in the context of the product development process (PDP). This process is a social activity that involves groups of individuals who share a common goal: to design a product . Traditional knowledge-based systems (KBS) are not very well suited to capture the tacit knowledge that is embedded in this process. Social tagging is proposed in this article as the mechanism to externalize the tacit knowledge about the best CAD modelling strategies between the design team members. This knowledge is especially relevant for the management of engineering change orders because this process is closely related to the modelling methodology used to create the three-dimensional (3D) CAD models that have to be adapted to accomplish a specific design modification. In order to analyse the feasibility of this approach, an experimental study was conducted to understand the tagging process in this context and the benefit of using this information in the modification procedure of 3D CAD models. Preliminary experimental results show that tagging represents a feasible approach to support knowledge collection on best CAD modelling practices.Alduchin-Quintero, G.; Contero, M. (2012). Social tagging as a knowledge collecting strategy in the engineering design change process. Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education. 10(2):147-162. doi:10.1386/adch.10.2.147_114716210

Application of LADM for disaster prone areas and communities

Disaster prevention, response and recovery require information about land tenure. Though, in many high-risk contexts, such records are non-existent or not up to date. As a result, vulnerable groups are often passed over by the government during risk management activities. At present there exists no dedicated tool for supporting land tenure recordation of all people-to-land relationships for the purposes of disaster risk management. More specifically, the required supportive data models and standards that could enable integration of concepts from the respective domains of land administration and disaster risk management are also lacking. Standardized data models could support software and service designs. This paper introduces a model linking the domains of land administration and disaster risk management – with the goal of supporting resilience against natural disasters and providing an approach for collecting data once, and using it multiple times. A design approach was used to develop the model – with adaption of the international Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) standard acting as a basis. Key features of the model include the support of interoperability through standardisation, the inclusion of all people-to-land relationships including those specific to disaster contexts, and the potential of the model to contribute to each of the disaster phases. The model is suggested to be highly applicable in natural disaster contexts where no land tenure information exists or the national mapping authority already uses a land administration system compatible with LADM. Overall, the model is considered as a step toward an implementable strategy for applying responsible land administration in the context of disaster risk management

Visualizing change – Collaboration tool for transition pathway creation

The main question inspiring this study can be phrased as such: ”How to support visualization and deliberation during a transition implementation arena, by utilizing game design process?” I answer to that question by explaining the process of the design of a pathway creation tool for transition management context. It was conducted as part of a transition arena (TA) during a research project, Smart Energy Transition. The project aims to find out, how could Finland benefit from disruptive energy models and innovations in the future. The transition arena held in Helsinki during 2017 was a so-called translation of the TA method for Finnish context. It introduced a redesign of the arena, which put a heavy focus on the formation of transition pathways by utilizing the co-designed Pathway Creation Tool. The problem that the design team faced when planning the upcoming arena, was that the preceding manuals that introduce the usage of the method, fail to present a concrete and plausible way to create and visualize transition pathways. This is why the transition arena planning team in Helsinki decided to design a context specific tool for the creation of pathways. The Pathway Creation Tool, that was born as a result, is a co-planning tool that draws its inspiration from design game studies and iterative critical game design method. The tool is based on the actions that have to be made during transition arena process in order to create transition pathways. In this study, my main research questions handle, how can the pathway creation tool with game structure support deliberative planning in a policy design context, and how does game structure, as a way of designing and implementing the tool, support the overall design process? As the result of the study, I suggest that a game structure in the center of the design process of the Pathway Creation Tool, held qualities that supported a successful implementation of pathway creation during the transition arena process in Helsinki during 2017. As further developments, I suggest a need for further studies of applying tools with game structure in co-design processes which aim at policy (re)design. I propose especially a need for more arenas, with use of the Pathway Creation Tool to be established, to evaluate whether this redesign of the original method is translatable and brings value in other contexts.Tutkimustani inspiroineen kysymyksen voi muotoilla seuraavasti: “Kuinka tukea muutospolkujen visualisointia ja deliberaatiota murrosareenan aikana hyödyntäen pelisuunnitteluprosessia?” Vastaan kysymykseen kuvailemalla polkutyökalun suunnitteluprosessin murros-tutkimuksen konteksissa. Suunnittelu tapahtui osana murrosareena -prosessia, Smart Energy Transition -tutkimusprojektissa. Tutkimusprojektin tarkoituksena on selvittää, kuinka Suomi voisi hyötyä disruptiivisista energiamalleista ja innovaatioista tulevaisuudessa. Helsingissä vuoden 2017 aikana järjestetty murrosareena oli Suomalaiseen kontekstiin luotu “käännös” alkuperäisestä murrosareena-metodista. Se esitteli areenan uudelleenmuotoilun, joka keskittyi vahvasti murrospolkujen luomiseen yhteissuunnitteluprosessin avulla tuotetun Muutospolkutyökalun avulla. Muotoilijoiden kohtaama ongelma areenaa suunnitellessa oli, etteivät metodia esittelevät edeltävät ohjeistot kyenneet esittelemään konkreettista ja uskottavaa tapaa muodostaa ja visualisoida muutospolkuja. Tämän vuoksi Helsingin murrosareenan suunnittelutiimi päätti suunnitella kontekstiin sopivan työkalun, jonka avulla polkuja voitaisiin muodostaa. Muutospolkutyökalu syntyi suunnittelun lopputuloksena. Se on yhteiskehittelytyökalu, jonka inspiraationa toimivat muotoilupelitutkimus ja iteratiivinen kriittinen pelisuunnittelu -metodi. Työkalu perustuu toimille, joita vaaditaan muutospolkujen luomiseksi murrosareenaprosessin aikana. Tutkimukseni keskeiset tutkimuskysymykset ovat, kuinka pelirakenteeseen perustuva muutospolkutyökalu voi tukea deliberatiivista suunnittelua politiikkasuunnittelun kontekstissa, ja kuinka pelirakenne suunnittelun ja työkalun jalkauttamisen perustana tukee designprosessia kokonaisuutena? Tutkimuksen tuloksena esitän, että pelirakenne Muutospolkutyökalun suunnittelun keskeisenä tekijänä sisälsi ominaisuuksia, jotka tukivat mutospolkutyöskentelyn menestyksekästä jalkautusta murrosareenan aikana Helsingissä 2017. Jatkoksi opinnäytteelleni ehdotan lisätutkimusta pelirakenteen omaavien työkalujen hyödyntämisestä yhteissuunnitteluprosesseissa, jotka tähtäävät politiikan (uudelleen)suunnitteluun. Näen erityisesti tarvetta järjestää uusia areenoita, joissa Muutospolkutyökalu on käytössä. Näin voitaisiin arvioida, onko esittämäni alkuperäisen metodin uudelleenmuotoilu käännettävissä muihin konteksteihin ja tuottaako se niissä lisäarvoa

Structured Data Storage for Data-Driven Process Optimisation in Bioprinting

Bioprinting is a method to fabricate 3D models that mimic tissue. Future fields of application might be in pharmaceutical or medical context. As the number of applicants might vary between only one patient to manufacturing tissue for high-throughput drug screening, designing a process will necessitate a high degree of flexibility, robustness, as well as comprehensive monitoring. To enable quality by design process optimisation for future application, establishing systematic data storage routines suitable for automated analytical tools is highly desirable as a first step. This manuscript introduces a workflow for process design, documentation within an electronic lab notebook and monitoring to supervise the product quality over time or at different locations. Lab notes, analytical data and corresponding metadata are stored in a systematic hierarchy within the research data infrastructure Kadi4Mat, which allows for continuous, flexible data structuring and access management. To support the experimental and analytical workflow, additional features were implemented to enhance and build upon the functionality provided by Kadi4Mat, including browser-based file previews and a Python tool for the combined filtering and extraction of data. The structured research data management with Kadi4Mat enables retrospective data grouping and usage by process analytical technology tools connecting individual analysis software to machine-readable data exchange formats

Diagnostic framework and health check tool for engineering and technology projects

Purpose: Development of a practitioner oriented diagnostic framework and health check tool to support the robust assessment of engineering and technology projects. Design/methodology/approach: The research is based on a literature review that draws together insights on project assessment and critical success factors to establish an integrated systems view of projects. This is extended to allow a comprehensive diagnostic framework to be developed along with a high-level health check tool that can be readily deployed on projects. The utility of the diagnostic framework and health check tool are explored through three illustrative case studies, with two from Canada and one from the United Kingdom. Findings and Originality/value: The performance of engineering and technology projects can be viewed through a systems perspective and being a function of six contributing subsystems that are: process, technology, resources, impact, knowledge and culture. The diagnostic framework that is developed through this research integrates these sub-systems to provide a robust assessment methodology for projects, which is linked to existing best practice for project reviews, performance management and maturity models. The case studies provide managerial insights that are related to the diagnostic framework but crucially also position the approach in the context of industrial applications for construction engineering and technology management.Research limitations/implications: The case study approach includes two case studies from the construction and facilities development sector with the third case study from the research and technology sector. Further work is required to investigate the use of the diagnostic framework and health check tool in other sectors. Practical implications: The health check tool will be of practical benefit to new projects managers that require access to a robust and convenient project review methodology for assessing the status and health of a given portfolio of projects. The tool can also be used periodically and throughout the project lifecycle in order to track the performance of projects. Originality/value: This paper provides a unique view and supporting management framework to help project managers assess the status and health of projects. Value can be associated with an extension to the literature on diagnostic tools for engineering project management as well as the insights provided in the three international case studies, which explore the scope and applicability of the health check tool to be used in support of projects that have encountered difficulties and which require implementation of project recovery strategies.Peer Reviewe

Updating the Master Management Plan for El Cachucho MPA (Cantabrian Sea) using a spatial planning approach

Located in the Cantabrian Sea (NE Atlantic), 30 nm off the Asturian coast, “El Cachucho” was the first off-shore Marine Protected Area (MPA) to be declared in Spain. The area includes Le Danois Bank and its intraslope basin. It joined the OSPAR Network of MPAs in 2009 and, thereafter, was included in the Natura 2000 Network in 2011. The main reason for its declaration as MPA was the presence of the 1170 Reefs habitat included in Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive. In 2018, the MPAs Master Management Plan was under revision and its design criteria were subjected to evaluation. We used Marxan decision support tool to evaluate the MPA's management design criteria. This tool selects the most important conservation features, while minimizing the socioeconomic cost. First, the 1170 Reefs habitat was defined as the main environmental value. Specifically, we took into account the six large sized target species that are more representative of this habitat in the area: the sponges Asconema setubalense, Geodia cf. barretti and Phakellia robusta, the anthipatarian Leiopathes glaberrima, and the gorgonians Placogorgia sp. and Callogorgia verticillata. A spatial distribution map was produced for each species using Generalized Additive Models (GAM). We also considered the presence of spawning stocks of fish species which are present in the area as an important conservation value. Their spatial distribution was modeled through Maxent software. Additionally, for the socioeconomic cost, fishing effort of the different fisheries operating in the area was estimated linking VMS/Logbook data before and after the MPA was declared. The first results obtained with the Marxan tool were presented in public consultation, in the context of the LIFE + INTEMARES Project, to help in decision making within the new Management Plan. Thus, to improve the management measures aimed at the conservation of the environmental values of the MPA, an enlargement of the protected area to the West was proposed, and a more reasonable use of the buffer area to fishermen than that defined in the former Management Plan was suggested. Involving all stakeholders in the development of the management plan for this MPA is a decisive step for the creation and consolidation of an important network of MPAs in Spain.En prensa2,08

Forming of supply chain models in strategic management

Представлено методологію системної динаміки як інструмент моделювання й аналізу, щоб вирішити стратегічні проблеми планування потужностей у харчовій галузі.Current trends in the practice of supply chain management are formed under the impact of many factors that motivate professionals to pay more attention to the development of appropriate tools of decision-making support in supply chain management, i.e. the coordination and regulation of its elements. Effect of different factors on the promotion effectiveness in the chain results in certain problems of contractors interactions. There is a change of building relationships between contractors resulting in displaced traditional management techniques. In modeling the supply chain functioning at any level of management processes as dynamic systems with feedback, the system dynamics is a useful tool which is based on the assumption that behavior is mainly determined by its info-logical structure. The design of system-dynamic model takes place in two phases: 1) a formalization of the research object and the construction of a causal diagram; 2) a transformation of formalized model in the mathematical analogue system of equations. A methodological approach based on system dynamics modeling and analysis of multi-echelon supply chains is presented in the paper. This methodology makes it possible to develop models of the supply chain by combining single-echelon models in accordance with a modular approach. The model can be used to identify effective strategies and optimal parameters for various problems of strategic decision-making. The methodology was tested for the transportation capacity planning of food supply chain. In addition, the model can be used to analyze different scenarios of supply chains functioning using the overall profitability of the supply chain as a performance criterion. The model may also be useful for top-managers who are responsible for decision-making in the context of strategic supply chain management issues

Online Lifetime Prediction for Lithium-Ion Batteries with Cycle-by-Cycle Updates, Variance Reduction, and Model Ensembling

This project was funded by an industry-academia grant EPSRC EP/R511687/1 awarded by EPSRC & University of Edinburgh program Impact Acceleration Account (IAA). R. Ibraheem is a Ph.D. student in EPSRC’s MAC-MIGS Centre for Doctoral Training. MAC-MIGS is supported by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (grant number EP/S023291/1). G. dos Reis acknowledges support from the Faraday Institution [grant number FIRG049]. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Lithium-ion batteries have found applications in many parts of our daily lives. Predicting their remaining useful life (RUL) is thus essential for management and prognostics. Most approaches look at early life prediction of RUL in the context of designing charging profiles or optimising cell design. While critical, said approaches are not directly applicable to the regular testing of cells used in applications. This article focuses on a class of models called ‘one-cycle’ models which are suitable for this task and characterized by versatility (in terms of online prediction frameworks and model combinations), prediction from limited input, and cells’ history independence. Our contribution is fourfold. First, we show the wider deployability of the so-called one-cycle model for a different type of battery data, thus confirming its wider scope of use. Second, reflecting on how prediction models can be leveraged within battery management cloud solutions, we propose a universal Exponential-smoothing (e-forgetting) mechanism that leverages cycle-to-cycle prediction updates to reduce prediction variance. Third, we use this new model as a second-life assessment tool by proposing a knee region classifier. Last, using model ensembling, we build a “model of models”. We show that it outperforms each underpinning model (from in-cycle variability, cycle-to-cycle variability, and empirical models). This ‘ensembling’ strategy allows coupling explainable and black-box methods, thus giving the user extra control over the final model.publishersversionpublishe

Experimental Performance of a Genetic Algorithm for Airborne Strategic Conflict Resolution

The Autonomous Operations Planner, a research prototype flight-deck decision support tool to enable airborne self-separation, uses a pattern-based genetic algorithm to resolve predicted conflicts between the ownship and traffic aircraft. Conflicts are resolved by modifying the active route within the ownship s flight management system according to a predefined set of maneuver pattern templates. The performance of this pattern-based genetic algorithm was evaluated in the context of batch-mode Monte Carlo simulations running over 3600 flight hours of autonomous aircraft in en-route airspace under conditions ranging from typical current traffic densities to several times that level. Encountering over 8900 conflicts during two simulation experiments, the genetic algorithm was able to resolve all but three conflicts, while maintaining a required time of arrival constraint for most aircraft. Actual elapsed running time for the algorithm was consistent with conflict resolution in real time. The paper presents details of the genetic algorithm s design, along with mathematical models of the algorithm s performance and observations regarding the effectiveness of using complimentary maneuver patterns when multiple resolutions by the same aircraft were required

New Applications for Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) in Higher Education: Understanding Student Satisfaction

Purpose - The constantly evolving higher education sector is creating a need for new business models and tools for evaluating performance. In this paper, an overview of the importanceperformance analysis (IPA) model and its applicability as a management tool for assessing student satisfaction in the HE sector is provided. The objective is to apply IPA in a new and novel manner, undertaking analysis at three levels; the individual student, for individual attributes and at a construct or factor level which combines individual attributes that are correlated. A practical application is illustrated, assessing the gap between the importance placed on specific student satisfaction attributes and corresponding levels of student-perceived performance realised. Design/methodology/approach - The “service product bundle” (Douglas et. al., 2006) is refined based on focus group evaluation. Survey responses from 823 students studying across four Malaysian private Universities are analysed using Factor Analysis and the IPA model utilised to identify importance-performance gaps and explore the implication of the iso-rating line as well as alternative cut off zones. Findings - Factor reduction of 33 original measurement items results in eight definable areas of service provision which provides a refined and extended management tool of statistically reliable and valid, constructs. Research limitations/implications - The research is undertaken in a business school context. Further research could focus on other faculties such as computing and engineering or explore other elements of education-based performance. Practical implications - The research method and study outcomes can support HE managers to allocate resources more effectively and develop strategies to improve quality and increase student satisfaction. Originality/value - Distinct from other IPA based-studies, analysis is undertaken at three levels; the individual participant, for individual items and at the factor level