Relation of project managers' personality and project performance: an approach based on value stream mapping

Purpose: This work investigates the influence of project managers’ personality on the success of a project in a Multinational Corporation. The methodology proposed for analyzing the project managers’ personality is based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Design/methodology/approach: Forty projects carried out in 2012 by multinational corporation, concerning new product development (NPD), have been analyzed, comparing the profile of project managers with results obtained in terms of traditional performance indexes (time delay and over-budget of projects) and performance indexes usually used in “Lean Production” sector (waste time and type of “wastes”). A detailed analysis of the most important “wastes” during the project development is carried out using the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) technique. Findings and Originality/value: Relying on the Myers–Briggs personality instrument, results show that extroverted managers (as opposed to introverted managers) carry out projects that show lower delay and lower waste time. Introverted managers often make “Over-processing” and “Defect” types of waste. Moreover, lower delay and over-budget have been shown by perceiving managers. Research limitations: Regarding the limitations of this work it is necessary to highlight that we collected data from project managers in a retrospective way. While we believe that several aspects of our data collection effort helped enhance the accuracy of the results, future research could conduct real-time case study research to get more detailed insights into the proposed relationships and avoid retrospective bias. Moreover we focused on a single respondent, the project manager. This helped us ensure that their interpretations played an important role in product development. But, we cannot examined the opinion of team members that could be different from project managers opinion regarding some questions. Originality/value: This research provides insight useful to develop proactive approaches to prevent project failures, including the creation of more effective messages and methods to help companies to make the best choices during managers´ hiring. Moreover this research would allow organizations to better match the short-term organizational needs with appropriate personality types.Peer Reviewe

Myyntisihteerien perehdytyssuunnitelma Case: Huoneistokeskus Oy

Tämän toiminnallisen opinnäytetyön aiheena oli perehdytyssuunnitelman kehittäminen Huoneistokeskus Oy:n myyntisihteereille. Opinnäytetyön toimeksiantaja oli Huoneistokeskus Oy, joka on kiinteistönvälitys- ja arviointipalveluita tarjoava suomalainen yritys. Perehdytyssuunnitelman kohderyhmä oli Huoneistokeskus Oy:n uudet myyntisihteerit ja sen käyttäjät olivat heitä perehdyttävät myyntisihteerit. Myyntisihteerien perehdytykselle ei aikaisemmin ollut suunnitelmaa, mistä johtuen perehdytys oli puutteellista, sen lopputulos vaihteli ja sisältö jäi kokonaan perehdyttäjän vastuulle. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli toteuttaa sekä käyttäjiä että kohderyhmää palveleva perehdyttämissuunnitelma ja selvittää millainen sen tulisi olla. Työn tavoitteena oli yhtenäistää myyntisihteereiden perehdyttämistä ja saamaan sen laatu samanlaiseksi jokaisen uuden myyntisihteerin perehdytysprosessissa. Opinnäytetyön teoreettinen viitekehys koostui monipuolisesti perehdyttämiseen liittyvästä kirjallisuudesta, jossa pääpaino oli kuitenkin Työturvallisuuskeskuksen julkaisuilla. Teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä keskitytään aluksi perehdyttämiseen yleisesti, minkä jälkeen siirrytään perehdyttämistä koskevaan lainsäädäntöön, jonka huomioiminen on välttämätöntä onnistuneen perehdytyssuunnitelman kannalta. Tämän jälkeen perustellaan perehdyttämisen merkitys, ja lopuksi keskitytään perehdyttämisen suunnitteluun, johon koko perehdytyssuunnitelma pohjautui. Seuraavaksi kuvattiin perehdytysprosessi, koska perehdytyssuunnitelma rakentui sen mukaan. Lisäksi tutkimusmenetelmiin ja niiden analysointiin liittyvä teoria esiteltiin erikseen niitä koskevissa luvuissa. Tutkimusmenetelminä käytettiin teemahaastattelua ja benchmarkingia. Teemahaastatteluissa haastateltiin kahta perehdytyssuunnitelman käyttäjää sekä kahta sen kohderyhmän edustajaa. Haastattelujen tarkoituksena oli selvittää millainen perehdytyssuunnitelma palvelisi käyttäjiä ja kohderyhmää parhaiten sekä kartoittaa nykyisen perehdytysprosessin kulku benchmarkingia varten. Lisäksi benchmarkingia varten toteutettiin ryhmähaastattelu kahdelle Huoneistokeskus Oy:n myyntineuvottelijalle. Benchmarkingin tarkoituksena oli hyödyntää yrityksestä valmiiksi löytyvää myyntineuvottelijoiden perehdytyssuunnitelmaa. Tutkimusmenetelmien sekä teoreettisen viitekehyksen avulla kehitettiin perehdytyssuunnitelma, jonka kuka tahansa Huoneistokeskus Oy:n perehdyttävistä myyntisihteereistä tai myyntijohtajista saa käyttöönsä yrityksen Intranetistä. Perehdytyssuunnitelmaa tullaan hyödyntämään jokaisen uuden myyntisihteerin perehdyttämisessä ja sitä tullaan päivittämään tarpeen mukaan.The objective of this thesis was to develop an induction program for the sales secretaries of Huoneistokeskus Oy. This study was commissioned by Huoneistokeskus Oy that provides real estate and home assessment services. The target group was the sales secretaries of the company. The lack of an induction program for the target group caused defective orientation with varying results. In addition, the responsibility of the induction was entirely delegated to the experienced sales secretaries. The purpose of this study was to create an induction program that serves both the users and target group. The other purpose was to standardize the induction process and to ensure standard quality in the induction process of every new sales secretary. The theoretical section of the thesis was based on a variety of induction-related literature. The focus of the literature was on the publications of the Centre of Occupational Safety. Firstly, the theoretical section focuses generally in induction. Secondly, the focus shifts to legislation. The legislation of the subject has to be observed for the purpose of creating a functional induction program. Next, the theoretical section argues the need of induction. Arguments are followed by a section of planning that is the base for the induction program. Finally, the progress of the induction process has been described, since the whole induction program bases on it. The empirical section includes theory about the research methods that were theme interview and benchmarking. Two users of the induction program and two spokesmen representing the target group were theme interviewed. One objective of the interviews was to discover what type of induction program would serve its users and the target group best. The other objective was to clarify the current induction process of the sales secretaries for benchmarking. In addition, one theme interview was conducted as a group interview with two sales negotiators, for the purpose of benchmarking. The objective of the benchmarking was the utilization of the current induction program of the sales negotiators of Huoneistokeskus Oy. By exploiting the theoretical section and research methods, an executable induction program was drawn up as a result. This program is found and regularly updated on the company intranet. It will be used by all inductive sales secretaries and sales directors in the induction of new sales secretaries of Huoneistokeskus Oy

Way for reducing drug supply chain cost for a hospital district: a case study

Purpose: This work aims at providing insights to optimise healthcare logistic of the drug management, in order to deal with the healthcare expenditure cut. In this paper the effects of different drug supply chain configurations, on the resulting average stock, service level and Bullwhip effect, of the studied supply chain, is quantitatively assessed. Design/methodology/approach: A case study of an Italian district has been studied, taking into account three echelons: suppliers, central stock, and hospitals. A model of the various supply chain configurations has been created with the use of the simulation. Specifically, 24 supply chain configurations have been examined, stemming from the combination of several supply chain design parameters, namely: transshipment policies (Emergency Lateral Transshipment or Total Inventory Equalization); re-order and inventory management policies (Economic Order Quantity or Economic Order Interval); required service levels (90% or 95%); the number of available vans (one or two). For each configuration, hospital average stock, service level and a “Bullwhip effect” analysis are computed. To know which input variables are statistically significant, a DoE (Design of Experiments) analysis has been executed. Findings: The output of this paper provides useful insights and suggestions to optimize the healthcare logistic and drug supply chain. According to the developed DoE analysis, it can be stated that the introduction of transshipment policies provides important improvement in terms of service and stock levels. To reduce the Bullwhip effect, which results in a service level decreasing, and in a managing stock costs increasing, it is worth to adopt an EOQ re-order policy. Practical implications: This research gives practical recommendations to the studied system, in order to reduce costs and maintain a very satisfactory service level. Originality/value: This paper fulfils an identified need to study which combination of transshipment policies, re-order/inventory management policies and required service levels, can be the best one to reduce costs and maintain a very satisfactory service level, in the specific logistic system.Peer Reviewe

Digital twin reference model development to prevent operators' risk in process plants

In the literature, many applications of Digital Twin methodologies in the manufacturing, construction and oil and gas sectors have been proposed, but there is still no reference model specifically developed for risk control and prevention. In this context, this work develops a Digital Twin reference model in order to define conceptual guidelines to support the implementation of Digital Twin for risk prediction and prevention. The reference model proposed in this paper is made up of four main layers (Process industry physical space, Communication system, Digital Twin and User space), while the implementation steps of the reference model have been divided into five phases (Development of the risk assessment plan, Development of the communication and control system, Development of Digital Twin tools, Tools integration in a Digital Twin perspective and models and Platform validation). During the design and implementation phases of a Digital Twin, different criticalities must be taken into consideration concerning the need for deterministic transactions, a large number of pervasive devices, and standardization issues. Practical implications of the proposed reference model regard the possibility to detect, identify and develop corrective actions that can affect the safety of operators, the reduction of maintenance and operating costs, and more general improvements of the company business by intervening both in strictly technological and organizational terms

Fuzzy Cognitive Maps tools for Industrial Engineering

La tesi "Fuzzy Cognitive Maps tools for Industrial Engineering", riguarda la valutazione dell'applicazione di uno strumento quale la Mappa Cognitiva Fuzzy nell'ambito industriale. Ciò risiede nel fatto che, il suddetto strumento, nato nel settore delle scienze sociale, considera rilevante l'aspetto sociale ed umano associato ad un particolare problema. In tutti i problemi di ottimizzazione di un processo, o di risoluzione di un particolare problema, è possibile scegliere macchine che lavorino di più e meglio, oppure compiere azioni di correzione svariate, ma è necessario considerare che, chi lavora con tali macchine o esegue tali azioni è un individuo, soggetto a paure, insicurezze e stati d'animo differenti. Tutti aspetti che ne possono modificare le azioni comportamentali e di conseguenza anche la produttività. Con le Mappe Cognitive Fuzzy, si vuole quindi far interagire i diversi operatori nel processo decisionale di un'azienda. Punto focale di tale metodo è il lavoro in gruppi di esperti per l'identificazione e risoluzione di un dato quesito. Gruppo di esperti che deve, necessariamente, coprire tutte le aree di competenza associate al problema in questione. Ogni individuo ha modalità di approccio ad un problema in relazioni alle sue mansioni nello stesso. È proprio questa la potenza di tale strumento. La diversa astrazione mentale di un problema, condivisa con il gruppo, permette di evidenziare connessioni causali tra fenomeni, finora sconosciuti o conosciuti da pochi. Nell'elaborato presentato, tale strumento è stato impiegato per la gestione di quattro problemi differenti: Gestione del farmaco, Selezione dei fornitori, Analisi degli infortuni e Analisi criticità. In tutte e quattro le situazioni analizzate, gli esperti hanno individuato alcuni aspetti positivi della tipologia di approccio. Il coinvolgimento di tutti i livelli di operatività nel processo di decision making ha infatti prodotto una maggiore attenzione da parte degli operatori alla vita delle aziende prese in considerazione

A revised FMEA application to the quality control management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a cost-effective, time-saving and easy-to-use failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) system applied on the quality control of supplied products. The traditional FMEA has been modified and adapted to fit the quality control features and requirements. The paper introduces a new and revised FMEA approach, where the “failure concept” has been modified with “defect concept.” Design/methodology/approach – The typical FMEA parameters have been modified, and a non-linear scale has been introduced to better evaluate the FMEA parameters. In addition, two weight functions have been introduced in the risk priority number (RPN) calculus in order to consider different critical situations previously ignored and the RPN is assigned to several similar products in order to reduce the problem of complexity. Findings – A complete procedure is provided in order to assist managers in deciding on the critical suppliers, the creation of homogeneous families overcome the complexity of single product code approach, in RPN definition the relative importance of factors is evaluated. Originality/value – This different approach facilitates the quality control managers acting as a structured and “friendly” decision support system: the quality control manager can easily evaluate the critical situations and simulate different scenarios of corrective actions in order to choose the best one. This FMEA technique is a dynamic tool and the performed process is an iterative one. The method has been applied in a small medium enterprise producing hydro massage bathtub, shower, spas and that commercializes bathroom furniture. The firm application has been carried out involving a cross-functional and multidisciplinary team