Improved Decision-Making through a DEMATEL and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps-Based Framework

The decision-making process is highly demanding. There has been an increasing tendency to incorporate human thinking, individual experience about a problem, and pure mathematical approaches. Here, a novel integrated approach is investigated and proposed to develop an advanced hybrid decision-support system based on the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs). Indeed, knowledge acquisition and elicitation may present distortions and difficulties finding a consensus and an interpretation. Thus, the proposed combined approach aims to examine in depth the potential to improve FCMs' outcomes by integrating FCM with the DEMATEL approach. The combined methodology achieves at avoiding some of the drawbacks, such as the lack of a standardized FCM theoretical model. Thus, it provides advanced comparative analysis and results in better interpretation of the decision-making process. It is highlighted that the traditional FCM approach does not allow distinguishing the whole number of defined scenarios, in contrast to the hybrid one presented here, which increases the ability of users to make correct decisions. Combining the two approaches provides new capabilities to FCMs in grouping experts' knowledge, while the DEMATEL approach contributes to refining the strength of concepts' connections

Comparison among the environmental impact of solid state and fusion welding processes in joining an aluminium alloy

The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to evaluate the environmental impact of friction stir welding (FSW) of AA5754-H114 aluminium alloy sheets. FSW was performed under different values of rotational and welding speeds to analyse the influence of the process parameters on midpoint category impacts. Pin tool wear and mechanical properties of joints were also evaluated. The functional unit chosen was related to the weld efficiency; furthermore, the weld length was set equal to 170 mm. The pre- and post-processing stages were also considered. Raw materials, energy and all inputs associated with each stage of product life cycle were collected and evaluated to analyse the environmental impact index. The results showed that, irrespective of the rotational speed, the lowest welding speed investigated leads to the highest energy consumption and, consequently, to the highest values of the midpoint category impact. On the contrary, at the highest welding speed, the environmental impact assumes the lowest values. By concerning the rotational speed, its effect on the midpoint category impact is strongly reduced compared to the one given by the welding speed. A performance index, obtained by considering both the midpoint category impact and ultimate tensile strength of the joints, was also defined. Finally, the environmental sustainability of FSW was compared to the one of two different fusion welding technologies, namely gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) and laser beam welding (LBW). The results showed that FSW was characterized by midpoint category impacts much lower than those of the GTAW, whilst such discrepancies decreased with the LBW

Business Continuity Training: Educational Programme Proposal

The COVID-19 pandemic has had and is having devastating effects on the health of the population, but also on the economic health of companies and their supply chains The old paradigms of the commercial and industrial world have been inevitably disrupted: global supply chains have shifted from a system based on efficiency to one oriented towards resilience. Business continuity has become a key activity to be considered in all business processes. Nevertheless, specific studies to train highly qualified professionals in Business Continuity are rare. Therefore, this paper suggests the topics and subjects to be included in a university educational programme proposal to train business continuity managers. This proposal can contribute into building digital education readiness supporting the business continuity manager training, as one of the most important weapons of responsiveness, adaptability, and flexibility to provide companies resilience during next black swan events. Copyright (C) 2022 The Authors

Learning-by-Doing Safety and Maintenance Practices: A Pilot Course

This paper presents an educational approach for teaching Industry 4.0 concepts to maintenance and safety operators involved in industrial processes. A Learning-by-doing approach was introduced to assess the impact of learning by doing and knowledge sharing on designing maintenance and safety solutions based on Industry 4.0 concepts to build experience and improve decision-making skills. To this end, we proposed a pilot course to train industrial operators in the field of new technologies so that they could continue their work effectively. Specifically, the development of the course began with a needs assessment of the perspective participants, followed by an outline of the objectives and course structure. The course was adapted to the different educational and technical backgrounds of the participants (i.e., experienced operators who were digital immigrants and non-experienced operators who were digital natives). The results of the course were assessed through a survey, which allowed us to evaluate the operators' perception of the learning approach and the contribution to improving the operators' competencies and abilities. The results highlighted that the educational approach facilitated the teaching of maintenance and safety principles, promoting operators' attention and participation. The difference in the learning level that we observed between the younger and older operators was also highlighted by the survey results. A dichotomy was revealed between the younger operators, who showed a greater understanding of the explained technologies, and the older operators, who required longer learning times. In this way, both types of participant could benefit from mutual collaboration and teamwork to improve their respective weaknesses

Smart, Eco-Sustainable and Human-Centered Product Development Processes: 21st Century Manufacturing Industries

he development of new and valuable products, from conceptual design to production, is to date supported by advanced methodologies based on ICT tools allowing many controls and checks before proceeding to heavy spending investment decisions. The increasing use ICT allow highlighting product design process and solutions able to improve people’s quality of life. Key product development principles based on human-centered approaches and eco-sustainability concepts prove to be the main factors affecting both the products’ users as well as the product manufacturing staff. This paper outlines product’s development approaches state of the art, foreseeing at the same time possible research trajectories to define manufacturing industry future scenario based on more sustainable economical, environmental and social design choices