Modeling quality control data using mixture of parametrical distributions

In this paper, we present a Bayesian analysis of a data set selected from a Brazilian food company. This data set represents the times taken for different quality control analysts to test manufactured products arriving at the company’s quality control department. The samples selected from each batch contain mixtures of different products, which may be submitted to quality testing taking different times. From preliminary analysis of the data, it was observed that the histograms presented two clusters, indicating a mixture of distributions. A mixture of parametrical distributions was thus assumed in the presence of a covariate in order to analyze the data set and to establish standards to be used by the company for the times taken by the analysts. Inferences and predictions are obtained using a Bayesian approach with standard existing Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods

Identification and prioritization of performance for trade decisions indicators: an application of Value Focused Thinking and Analytic Network Process

Abstract The development of a Performance Measurement System (PMS) in an organization is essential in order to adequately monitor operations and enable correct and timely decision-making. However, many organizations implement PMSs and are not successful, mainly because they neglect the design phase, which informs what has to be measured. Designing a PMS is a complex decision problem that involves multiple stakeholders. The objective of this research is to identify and prioritize the commercial performance indicators most valued by the stakeholders in this area in a company in the metal-mechanical segment. The research was divided into two stages, the first being a PO Soft (constructivist) approach: Value Focused Thinking - VFT, to identify performance indicators; and, in the second stage, the application of the PO Hard (Rationalist) Multicriteria Decision Support Method: Analytic Network Process - ANP, for modeling and prioritizing these. As a result, 30 performance indicators were identified, the most important ones being: percentage of target achievement, sales to new customers and percentage of growth for each customer. The results found proved to be capable of assisting the definition of strategy and business management in addition to the identification of indicators not monitored by the organization

Revisão da literatura de aplicações do strategic options development and analysis (Soda) e mapa cognitivo no Brasil

The Strategic Options Development Analysis – SODA is a tool to structure complex problems that uses the cognitive mapping technique to support strategy formulation processes. The objective of this study was to identify, describe and analyze scientific articles which have used the SODA method and/or the cognitive mapping (CM) technique in Brazil. A bibliographic review was carried out on the  Google Scholar and Scielo bases, as well as in the database records of the following events: SIMPEP (Symposium of Production Engineering), CONBREPRO (Brazilian Congress of Production Engineering) and ENEGEP (National Meeting of Production Engineering). The results allowed us to verify an increase in the interest in the subject since 2015, as well as its large application in government and public services. The study also showed that SODA can be combined with other methods/tools and that only few studies have used software support to build cognitive maps. From these research results, it was possible to conclude that SODA and CM proved to be effective for structuring problems in several areas.O Strategic Options Development Analysis - SODA é um método utilizado para estruturação de problemas complexos que utiliza a técnica do mapeamento cognitivo para auxiliar o processo de formulação de estratégias. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar, descrever e analisar os artigos científicos que utilizaram o método SODA e/ou a técnica do mapa cognitivo (MC) no Brasil. Foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica nas bases do Google Scholar e Scielo, bem como nos demais anais dos congressos (Simpósio de Engenharia de produção - SIMPEP, Congresso Brasileiro de Engenharia de Produção - CONBREPRO, e Encontro Nacional de Engenharia de Produção – ENEGEP). Os resultados permitiram verificar um aumento de interesse pelo tema a partir de 2015, sua ampla aplicação a clientes relacionados ao governo e serviços públicos, que o SODA pode ser combinado com outros métodos, e que poucos estudos utilizaram software para como suporte à confecção dos mapas. Com a pesquisa foi possível concluir que o SODA e o MC se mostraram eficientes para a estruturação de problemas em diversas áreas

Responsabilidade Social Interna em uma Cooperativa

O objetivo deste artigo é identificar práticas de Responsabilidade Social Interna (RSI) em uma cooperativa, da ótica de seus funcionários. Para o desenvolvimento da investigação assumiu-se que os indicadores de Responsabilidade Social (RS) estão próximos dos princípios cooperativistas. Assim sendo, as cooperativas devem atuar de forma responsável em relação a todos os seus stakeholders, desenvolvendo, com seus públicos externo e interno, práticas de gestão que podem ser identificadas a partir de Indicadores de Responsabilidade Social do Instituto Ethos (IRSIE). Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva, quali-quantitativa, aplicada, desenvolvida por meio de pesquisa de campo na unidade sede de uma cooperativa de crédito, no interior do estado de São Paulo. Os resultados alcançados apontam para a presença de práticas de RSI e indicam que a maioria dos funcionários identifica a presença de RS nas ações da cooperativa. No entanto, algumas ações e procedimentos devem ser aperfeiçoados e divulgados pela cooperativa

Strategic formulation of industrial maintenance based on equipment reliability in a sugar and ethanol production plant

Maintenance and management have substantial importance in the search of the company’s competitive advantages. In this direction, a reliability analysis of  equipments is very important for the definition of the most suitable maintenance strategy. The main goal of this paper is to assess the reliability-centered maintenance of the industrial reliability curve of a sugar cane department of an industry located in São Paulo State, Brazil. The proposed research method was based on the application of existing statistical modeling for the times between failures (TBF) of all reported equipment failures or the interruption times in the production line. These times were modeled by standard lifetime probability distributions as log-normal and Weibull distributions. The results showed that the company's strategy for preventive maintenance during the off-season is not adequate and the statistical analysis also identified important factors that affect the company's maintenance strategy. These results could be of great interest for the company and for engineering applications in general