Identifying Improvement Areas in Production Planning Meetings by Assessing Organisation and Information Systems at a Small Production Company

The increased mass-customisation of production requires operators to manage an increasing number of complex work tasks. From a social sustainability perspective, better sharing and dissemination of production information supports operators cognitively to manage and understand their work tasks, which in turn improves quality of work. So, the focus of this paper is to study how production planning meetings can be improved. Previous research suggests that the MEET model can be used as a framework for improving meetings and information sharing by studying 10 different areas within a company’s Organisation System (OS) and Information System (IS) whilst considering the time and place prerequisites and aims for these meetings. In this paper, the applicability of the MEET model and its 10 areas are tested at a small production company by applying two different approaches. First, a questionnaire was presented to and filled out by a manager, the results of the questionnaire identifies the improvement potential of each of the 10 areas. Second, a comprehensive current-state analysis based on observations on the shop-floor and interviews with operators were carried out with regards to the 10 areas. The results from these two approaches were compared and the comparison showed that both approaches point towards similar areas for potential improvements. This paper concludes that the MEET model can be used as a general framework to inspire change by suggesting areas with potential improvement in information sharing. While the selfassessment questionnaire can identify a direction, additional information and involvement of other stakeholders are recommended for actual implementations of change. For future research, the methods based on the MEET model will be further developed to improve accuracy and the suggestions provided to the case company in this paper will be tested as a validation of the model

Aumento de capital social por "conversão" de créditos sobre a sociedade, nomeadamente de créditos resultantes de prestações suplementares

Na presente dissertação abordaremos o mecanismo do aumento de capital realizado com recurso a créditos sobre a sociedade, nomeadamente, resultantes de prestações suplementares. Este tema afigura-se-nos de particular interesse e considerável relevância não só teoricamente, como face ao momento histórico que vivemos. De facto, o modelo comummente adoptado pelas sociedades comerciais passava pelo recurso a elevados níveis de endividamento, sendo utilizados capitais externos como modo preferencial de financiamento. Dadas as recentes e generalizadas dificuldades de tesouraria e acesso a crédito, as estruturas financeiras das sociedades tiveram de ser repensadas, sendo os mecanismos de autofinanciamento cada vez mais bem vistos. A questão ora em análise afigura-se ainda como merecedora do nosso interesse e análise pelo facto de cruzar vários institutos jurídicos, uns regulados pelo direito civil (extinção e transmissão de obrigações) e outros pelo direito societário (aumento de capital e prestações suplementares), e versar também sobre outras áreas do saber como a contabilidade empresarial. Cumprindo a função de autofinanciamento da sociedade temos os aumentos de capital e as prestações suplementares. Mediante o aumento de capital social realizado com créditos sobre a própria sociedade, sejam estes créditos de terceiros, sejam créditos de sócios decorrentes da realização de prestações suplementares, realiza-se um financiamento com recurso a capitais próprios da sociedade que, desonerando-a de uma dívida, contribui para a sanidade financeira da mesma. Este é, pois, um mecanismo jurídico de grande relevância prática com evidentes vantagens tanto para os sócios – na medida em que fortalece a possibilidade de realização do objecto social - como para os credores – pois confere maior certeza de satisfação dos seus direitos de crédito. Assim, ao longo deste estudo, procuraremos demonstrar as vantagens e benefícios deste mecanismo que justificam amplamente, em nosso entender, que lhe seja dado o devido tratamento legislativo. Iniciaremos o nosso percurso com uma breve análise do conceito estruturante de todo o nosso direito societário, o capital social. Sendo este nuclear ao pensamento jus-societário português e ao tema que ora nos propomos tratar, afigura-se-nos como imperativa a sua devida definição e caracterização para posterior discussão das questões parcelares e particulares que encerra. Feita a sua análise, estaremos em condições de gizar os principais traços de dois dos modos de financiamento das sociedades, abordando primeiramente o elemento central da nossa exposição, o aumento de capital. Não gozando as prestações suplementares do mesmo regime que o capital social e não o integrando ou modificando, pelas suas características intrínsecas, cumprem funções similares a este e são, consequentemente, afins do aumento de capital social. Daí a sua inserção sistemática na presente no âmbito das “vicissitudes da vida das sociedades – modos de financiamento”. A abordagem e tratamento pormenorizado das prestações suplementares tem aqui lugar por força não só da sua função de autofinanciamento das sociedades, paralela à dos aumentos de capital, mas também e essencialmente por força do facto de da sua realização resultarem créditos sobre a sua sociedade que poderão ser objecto de entradas em futuros aumentos de capital. . Sendo a particularidade do mecanismo em causa o tipo de entrada com que é realizado – os créditos – múltiplas questões se levantam e merecem análise e reflexão. Seguir-se-á, então, o estudo da obrigação central e fundacional da posição jurídica de sócio e, consequentemente, da vida das sociedades comerciais, a obrigação de entrada. Aqui, demonstraremos a admissibilidade da realização de aumentos de capital com entradas constituídas por créditos, o que despoleta a questão central da nossa problemática – como se extingue a obrigação de entrada nos aumentos de capital realizados com créditos quando a lei societária proíbe determinante e expressamente a sua extinção por compensação? Aqui chegados, far-se-á uma incursão pelos principais ordenamentos jurídicos europeus, num breve estudo de direito comparado que nos permita iluminar a questão, que entre nós tem sido negligenciada pela doutrina, jurisprudência e, principalmente, pelo legislador. De facto, são poucas as vozes que entre nós versam sobre a incongruência entre a praxis recorrente de realização de aumentos de capital mediante conversão de crédito em capital e a proibição do 27.º n.º 5 do Código das Sociedades Comerciais. Não sendo admitida a compensação, cumpre analisar as várias causas de extinção das obrigações previstas no Código Civil que, à partida, poderão operar a extinção da obrigação de entrada

Hur påverkas ensilagebalarnas kvalitet beroende på klämkraft och plasttjocklek?

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka klämkraftens betydelse för ensilagekvaliteten för rundbalar. Därför gjordes ett försök på Svalövs Naturbruksgymnasium i maj 2008. Vår studie var en del i ett större försök med fler olika led. Vårt försök bestod av 4 olika led: 25 μm plast med 100 bars klämtryck, 25 μm plast med 140 bars klämtryck, 19 μm plast med 100 bars klämtryck och 19 μm plast med 140 bars klämtryck. Klämgripen som användes var en Ålö Quadrogrip som kan användas till både fyrkant- och rundbalar. Det vi provade med detta försök var att mäta tätheten i balarna. Detta gjordes med hjälp av en pump och tryckmätare, där ett undertryck pumpades upp. Sedan mättes tiden som det tog för balen att minska undertrycket till ett visst värde, vilket blev ett mått på balens täthet. Det finns ett antal balgripar på marknaden. Vi har valt att undersöka 3 olika fabrikat: Ålö, Bala Agri och Lasema. Alla modeller är konstruerade för att göra så lite åverkan på balen som möjligt med avrundade hörn och gripen är formad efter balen. Konstruktionen är utformad efter kundens önskemål och efter en del försök. Olika typer av balklämmor som används har stark koppling till tradition och region. Resultatet visade att den tunnare plasten gav tätare balar, men alla balar var tillräckligt täta för att bli godkända. Klämkraftens påverkan hade ingen påverkan på balens täthet, oberoende av vilket plasttjocklek balen var inplastad med. Med tanke på att försöket gjordes på en förstaskörd, hade gräset en späd och mjuk karaktär. Hade man tagit en sen andraskörd med högre stråstyvhet hade gräset med all sannolikhet stuckit hål på plasten och man hade behövt fler varv plast för att motverka detta. För att kunna stapla balar på varandra i pyramidform måste en ts-halt på minst 30 % uppnås. Ska man stapla tre balar högt måste man ha en ts-halt på minst 40 %. Slutsatser med detta arbete är att man kan spara in plastkostnader genom att använda en tunnare plast, som dessutom gör att balen blev tätare i förhållande till 25 μm plasten. Klämkraftens påverkan hade ingen betydelse för balens täthet, så länge som balklämman inte gör hål på plasten

Prioritisation of root cause analysis in production disturbance management

Purpose: Manufacturing companies struggle to manage production disturbances. One step of such management deals with prioritising those disturbances which should undergo root cause analysis. The focus of this work is on two areas. First, investigating current challenges faced by manufacturing companies when prioritising root cause analysis of production disturbances. Second, identifying the stakeholders and factors impacted by production disturbances. Understanding the current challenges and identifying impacted stakeholders and factors allows the development of more efficient prioritisation strategies and, thus, contributes to the reduction of frequency and impact of disturbances. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the intended purpose of this research, a qualitative approach was chosen. A series of interviews was conducted with practitioners, to identify current challenges. A series of focus groups was also held, to identify the impacted stakeholders and factors by disturbances. Findings: Various challenges were identified. These are faced by manufacturing companies in their prioritisation of production disturbances and relate to the time needed, criteria used, centralisation of the process, perspective considered and data support. It was also found that a wide range of stakeholders is impacted by production disturbances, surpassing the limits of production and maintenance departments. Furthermore, the most critical factors impacted are quality, work environment, safety, time, company results, customer satisfaction, productivity, deliverability, resource utilisation, profit, process flow, plannability, machine health and reputation. Originality/value: The current situation regarding root cause analysis prioritisation has not been identified in previous works. Moreover, there has been no prior systematic identification of the various stakeholders and factors impacted by production disturbances

Validation of the complexity index method at three manufacturing companies

In order to manage increasing numbers of product variants, tools that can reduce or manage production complexity are vital. The paper describes CompleXity Index (CXI), an index-based method and tool that assess the complexity and difficulty of work at an industrial workstation. CXI was validated at three Swedish manufacturing companies studying the correctness of the calculation, usage as a prediction tool and the view of different roles. In all three cases, CXI was seen as a useful tool to evaluate the operator-perceived complexity of a workstation

Dealing with resistance to the use of Industry 4.0 technologies in production disturbance management

Purpose: Resistance is expected to emerge with the implementation and use of new technologies in production systems. This work focuses on identifying sources of resistance to the use of Industry 4.0 technologies when managing production disturbances and suitable managerial approaches to deal with them. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative approach was chosen in this research. The authors conducted a literature review and a series of interviews. Thirty-one papers from the literature review were analysed, and 16 people from five different companies were interviewed. Findings: The authors identified five different sources of resistance and three managerial approaches to dealing with them. The sources of resistance were based on (1) feelings of over-supervision, (2) unclear values, (3) feelings of inadequacy, (4) concerns about loss of power and jobs and (5) work overload. The three approaches to dealing with resistance are (1) communication, (2) participation and (3) training. Originality/value: This work identifies the sources and strategies to deal with resistance to the use of Industry 4.0 technologies in the management of production disturbances. The managerial literature in this area is limited, and to the authors\u27s knowledge, the specific sources for resistance and strategies to deal with that in this topic have not been systematically investigated before

A tool for holistic assessment of digitalization capabilities in manufacturing SMEs

In a constantly evolving global market, manufacturing companies need to be flexible and adaptive to survive. Digital twins of production systems have been proposed as one part of the solution, however this comes with multiple challenges. Manufacturing SMEs have limited resources and need to direct their efforts in this area wisely. This paper presents a tool for holistic assessment of an SME manufacturer\u27s level of digitalization, in order to visualize current gaps and guide digitalization efforts over a production system\u27s life cycle. The tool was empirically developed together with Manufacturing SMEs and has strengthened their digitalization awareness and capabilities

MEETINGS – THE INNOVATIVE GLUE BETWEEN THE ORGANISATION SYSTEM AND INFORMATION SYSTEM

The research presented aims for enhanced utilization of human skills, collaboration, and information sharing. This paper concerns the production context, and the needs and challenges of people striving for high-quality, innovative, and efficient work. The paper presents a model of the information system (IS) and organisations system (OS) and their integration. Main conclusions are that these systems overlap, and create an innovative working arena for the different working processes. People with knowledge gather into meetings held for different purposes supported by technical systems. These meetings provide a core element for efficient and innovative collaboration, requiring parallel development of IS and OS

Digital Tools and Information Needs Assessment for Efficient Deviation Handling in SMEs

A shift to digitalization implies a high emphasis on both management and creation of data. In a time of change, when high emphasis is put on the application of technology, there is a high risk that too little is said about the compliance of internal needs. Companies and practitioners risk to not prioritizing the assessment and questioning the adoption of digital ways of working. The present paper intends to discuss the impact that digital tools may have on deviation management in Small to Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) and under which circumstances digital tools will improve deviation management in SME context. The research study employs a qualitative approach using the case study methodology. The source of data comes from five different manufacturing companies categorized as SMEs, mainly doing business in the automotive and maritime industry. A multidisciplinary team performed semi-structured interviews and fieldwork at each site, along with regular online meetings with all the partners. The study employs five dimensions from the information quality perspective to assess information utilized to support deviation handling and then connects the information quality deficiencies to the digital tools impact. The empirical data indicate the need for the companies to perform a requirement analysis, as a prerequisite for them to assess their current state in terms of data and information, before the adoption of digital systems or digital tools. The research demonstrates the value for SMEs to understand their information needs and usage, in order to better determine their data needs and how to translate data into information. Lastly, this paper intends to provide a better foundation for SMEs prior to investments on automation and digitalization in the area of disturbance handling on the production shop floor

SMARTARE M 6TEN MEET-MODELLEN

Smartare m\uf6tenmed MEET-modellenMEET-modellen bidrar till ett mer strukturerat arbeteg\ue4llande organisations- och informationsstruktur n\ue4rolika former av m\uf6ten skall planeras.M\ue5let \ue4r effektivare m\uf6ten, b\ue4ttre v\ue4gval g\ue4llandeorganisatoriska och informatoriska fr\ue5gor, \uf6katinformations- och kunskapsspridande i organisationensamt att g\ue5 fr\ue5n individuellt till organisatoriskt l\ue4rande