A Systematic Review of Lean Implementation Frameworks and Roadmaps: Lessons Learned the Way Forward

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to carry out a comprehensive systematic review of Lean implementation frameworks and roadmaps developed over the past decade and report the key findings along with the limitations and the way forward. Methodology: A systematic review methodology proposed by Tranfield (2003) was followed to identify the relevant works on the research topic. Articles were searched using a set of inclusion criteria in various databases including Google Scholar, Web of Science and Science Direct over a period of thirty years. Findings: The high failure rate of Lean system implementation, reaching a range between 70-90% in almost all industries, is a matter of concern. This failure rate is still high even though numerous frameworks and roadmap models exist to streamline Lean implementation. There is no standard framework or roadmap identified in the literature and many organisations are implementing lean in their unique ways. However it would be desirable to develop a practical and systematic roadmap on Lean looking into the cultural and leadership dimensions rather than focusing on a set of tools. Moreover, most frameworks and roadmaps lack the sustianance aspects of Lean implementation. Limitation: This research only identifies the fundamental gaps with the existing frameworks and roadmaps on lean implementation. The next phase of the research is to develop a roadmap and validate it with a number of organisations in different cultural contexts and leadership styles. Originality: The authors argue that this is one of the most comprehensive systematic review on lean frameworks and roadmaps ever produced in the literature to date

Mapping of periodically poled crystals via spontaneous parametric down-conversion

A new method for characterization of periodically poled crystals is developed based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion. The method is demonstrated on crystals of Y:LiNbO3, Mg:Y:LiNbO3 with non-uniform periodically poled structures, obtained directly under Czochralski growth procedure and designed for application of OPO in the mid infrared range. Infrared dispersion of refractive index, effective working periods and wavelengths of OPO were determined by special treatment of frequency-angular spectra of spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the visible range. Two-dimensional mapping via spontaneous parametric down-conversion is proposed for characterizing spatial distribution of bulk quasi-phase matching efficiency across the input window of a periodically poled sample.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure

Spatial access priority mapping (SAPM) with fishers : a quantitative GIS method for participatory planning

Spatial management tools, such as marine spatial planning and marine protected areas, are playing an increasingly important role in attempts to improve marine management and accommodate conflicting needs. Robust data are needed to inform decisions among different planning options, and early inclusion of stakeholder involvement is widely regarded as vital for success. One of the biggest stakeholder groups, and the most likely to be adversely impacted by spatial restrictions, is the fishing community. In order to take their priorities into account, planners need to understand spatial variation in their perceived value of the sea. Here a readily accessible, novel method for quantitatively mapping fishers’ spatial access priorities is presented. Spatial access priority mapping, or SAPM, uses only basic functions of standard spreadsheet and GIS software. Unlike the use of remote-sensing data, SAPM actively engages fishers in participatory mapping, documenting rather than inferring their priorities. By so doing, SAPM also facilitates the gathering of other useful data, such as local ecological knowledge. The method was tested and validated in Northern Ireland, where over 100 fishers participated in a semi-structured questionnaire and mapping exercise. The response rate was excellent, 97%, demonstrating fishers’ willingness to be involved. The resultant maps are easily accessible and instantly informative, providing a very clear visual indication of which areas are most important for the fishers. The maps also provide quantitative data, which can be used to analyse the relative impact of different management options on the fishing industry and can be incorporated into planning software, such as MARXAN, to ensure that conservation goals can be met at minimum negative impact to the industry. This research shows how spatial access priority mapping can facilitate the early engagement of fishers and the ready incorporation of their priorities into the decision-making process in a transparent, quantitative way

A prospective, multi-method, multi-disciplinary, multi-level, collaborative, social-organisational design for researching health sector accreditation [LP0560737]

BACKGROUND: Accreditation has become ubiquitous across the international health care landscape. Award of full accreditation status in health care is viewed, as it is in other sectors, as a valid indicator of high quality organisational performance. However, few studies have empirically demonstrated this assertion. The value of accreditation, therefore, remains uncertain, and this persists as a central legitimacy problem for accreditation providers, policymakers and researchers. The question arises as to how best to research the validity, impact and value of accreditation processes in health care. Most health care organisations participate in some sort of accreditation process and thus it is not possible to study its merits using a randomised controlled strategy. Further, tools and processes for accreditation and organisational performance are multifaceted. METHODS/DESIGN: To understand the relationship between them a multi-method research approach is required which incorporates both quantitative and qualitative data. The generic nature of accreditation standard development and inspection within different sectors enhances the extent to which the findings of in-depth study of accreditation process in one industry can be generalised to other industries. This paper presents a research design which comprises a prospective, multi-method, multi-level, multi-disciplinary approach to assess the validity, impact and value of accreditation. DISCUSSION: The accreditation program which assesses over 1,000 health services in Australia is used as an exemplar for testing this design. The paper proposes this design as a framework suitable for application to future international research into accreditation. Our aim is to stimulate debate on the role of accreditation and how to research it.Jeffrey Braithwaite, Johanna Westbrook, Marjorie Pawsey, David Greenfield, Justine Naylor, Rick Iedema, Bill Runciman, Sally Redman, Christine Jorm, Maureen Robinson, Sally Nathan and Robert Gibber

C. Niezrecki Structural Control Using Analog Phase-Locked Loops

A study of the application of the phase-locked loop (PLL

Practical implementation issues for active control of large flexible structures

Most active control strategies, whether designed in the discrete or continuous domain, will most likely be implemented using a digital control system. Therefore, it is important to study the effects of digital implementation on the desired control law. In this work, the effect of quantization due to the finite wordlength of microprocessors, analog-to-digital, and digital-to-analog I Introduction The next generation of spacecraft being investigated are much larger than current spacecraft. In consideration of the cost of transporting material into space, these spacecraft will most likely be lightweight, relatively flexible, and lightly damped. Spacecraft performance requirements, such as antenna shape control and pointing accuracy, demand that these flexible structures should not vibrate significantly due to external disturbances and pointing maneuvers. Although the passive damping found in these structures may be an important dissipative mechanism, the need to meet stringent spacecraft performance criteria may require the use of active vibration control Numerous control strategies for vibration control of Large Flexible Structures (LFS) have been proposed (Balas, 1982). These control strategies range from local rate-feedback control to more complicated controls, such as adaptive control (Auburn, 1978; Bar-Kana et al., 1983). Most active control strategies, whether designed in the discrete or continuous domain, will most likely be implemented using a digital control system. It is then important to study the effects of digital implementation on the desired control law. The most studied issue has been the effect of the sample period on the implementation of the control law. However, there are other practical issues that have not received much attention. These issues include the effects of microprocessor, analog-to-digital (A/D) converter and digital-to-analog (D/A) converter wordlength and the resulting quantization errors. The implementation of a control law often involves the differentiation and/or integration of sensor measurements. The accuracy of these calculations is influenced by both the sample period and wordlength of the digital controller. Historically, the sample frequency for active digital control has been relatively slow. For example, the hardware used by Finally, an active control experiment is reported on which utilizes the previously developed guidelines for control law implementation. The test structure is a cantilevered beam with a space-realizable force actuator attached at the tip II Digital Differentiation The explicit or implicit differentiation of sensor signals may be required to implement a given control law. For example, position signals may be differentiated to implement a rate feedback control law. This same control law could be implemented by integrating acceleration signals. One disadvantage of differentiation is the amplification of signal noise; an advantage is that differentiation avoids the DC bias problem typically encountered with integration. In this section, the effects of quantization, sampling period, and signal amplitude and frequency content on the results of digital differentiation are investigated. Real-time differentiation of a signal, f(t), can be approximated using a two-point backward difference approximation