Multi-Criteria Decision Making for Medical Device Development

International audienceThe development of a new product is a complicated multi-stakeholder process with a significant risk of failure. This is particularly true in the medical device sector, where there are strict therapeutic, psychological, and normative constraints. This article presents a multi-criteria decision making process called “Define, Prioritize, Measure, and Aggregate” (DPMA). DPMA is designed to help engineering managers in decision making during the development process of new medical devices. The model is based on two sets of criteria linked to business and customer satisfaction. These criteria are weighted using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and group decision making (GDM) process. The performance of a medical device is measured according to each criterion. Furthermore, the final score of GO/NO GO alternatives are calculated with the simple additive weighting (SAW) method. A case study for the development of a new kind of femoral implant is presented to demonstrate the implementation of the DPMA process. This study shows that the application of the DPMA process during the design of a 3D printed femoral prosthesis provided engineering managers the key elements and green light to go ahead with the development of this medical device

Phases amont de l'innovation : proposition d'une démarche d'analyse de besoin et d'évaluation de l'acceptabilité d'un produit

Nowadays, companies must offer new products continuously and take into consideration new available technologies in order to satisfy more and more exigent and diversified customers. Therefore, it is essential for a company to know what are the needs of the stakeholders interested in its product. The objective of this PhD work is to propose a new method to analyze the need in order to improve the new product definition process in a firm. This tool is a part of a methodology for innovative project management and it is useful before the elaboration of the specification of the new product. The proposed method has four phases: description of the stakeholders environment by the RARe technique (Resources-Activities- Results), determination of needs by the realization of four types of operations on the stakeholder's resources then evaluation and classification of needs according to the Kano model and finally comparison of several products concepts. To achieve this method, a bibliographical work on the notion of need was realized. This bibliographical research also allowed us to define the specifications of a new method for need analysis. Hence, the choice of the RARe method was justified because it is based on the observation of the stakeholders' activities. To classify their needs, we used the model of Kano, which distinguishes various existing needs: basic, one dimensional, attractive and neutral. We worked out a calculation of indicators by means of a matrix formulation allowing to classify needs and to compare concepts of products. This method thus constitutes a decision-making tool at the beginning of the conception processAujourd'hui les entreprises doivent pouvoir offrir de nouveaux produits en continu prenant en considération les nouvelles technologies disponibles afin de satisfaire des clients de plus en plus exigeants et diversifiés. Il est donc primordial pour une entreprise de savoir quels sont les besoins des acteurs intéressés par son produit. L'objectif de ce travail de doctorat est de proposer une nouvelle méthode pour analyser le besoin pour aider les entreprises à mieux définir leurs nouveaux produits. La démarche proposée se décline en quatre phases : description de l'environnement et du fonctionnement des acteurs par la technique du RARe (Ressources, Activités, Résultats), détermination des besoins par la réalisation de quatre types d'opérations sur les ressources de l'acteur puis évaluation et classification des besoins selon le modèle de Kano et enfin comparaison de plusieurs concepts de produits. Pour y arriver, un travail de bibliographie sur la notion de besoin a été réalisé. Cette recherche bibliographique nous a permis également de définir le cahier des charges d'une nouvelle méthode d'analyse de besoin. Ceci a justifié le choix de la méthode RARe, basée sur l'observation des activités de l'acteur, pour comprendre et identifier les besoins. Pour les classer, nous avons utilisé le modèle de Kano, qui distingue les différents besoins existants : basiques, de performance, attractifs et neutres. Nous avons mis au point un calcul d'indicateurs à l'aide d'une formulation matricielle permettant de classifier les besoins et de comparer des concepts de produits. Cette méthode constitue donc un outil d'aide à la décision au début du processus de conceptio

Front-End Phases of Innovation : proposition of need analysis method and acceptability assessment of product

Aujourd’hui les entreprises doivent pouvoir offrir de nouveaux produits en continu prenant en considération les nouvelles technologies disponibles afin de satisfaire des clients de plus en plus exigeants et diversifiés. Il est donc primordial pour une entreprise de savoir quels sont les besoins des acteurs intéressés par son produit. L’objectif de ce travail de doctorat est de proposer une nouvelle méthode pour analyser le besoin pour aider les entreprises à mieux définir leurs nouveaux produits. La démarche proposée se décline en quatre phases : description de l’environnement et du fonctionnement des acteurs par la technique du RARe (Ressources, Activités, Résultats), détermination des besoins par la réalisation de quatre types d’opérations sur les ressources de l’acteur puis évaluation et classification des besoins selon le modèle de Kano et enfin comparaison de plusieurs concepts de produits. Pour y arriver, un travail de bibliographie sur la notion de besoin a été réalisé. Cette recherche bibliographique nous a permis également de définir le cahier des charges d’une nouvelle méthode d’analyse de besoin. Ceci a justifié le choix de la méthode RARe, basée sur l’observation des activités de l’acteur, pour comprendre et identifier les besoins. Pour les classer, nous avons utilisé le modèle de Kano, qui distingue les différents besoins existants : basiques, de performance, attractifs et neutres. Nous avons mis au point un calcul d’indicateurs à l’aide d’une formulation matricielle permettant de classifier les besoins et de comparer des concepts de produits. Cette méthode constitue donc un outil d’aide à la décision au début du processus de conceptionNowadays, companies must offer new products continuously and take into consideration new available technologies in order to satisfy more and more exigent and diversified customers. Therefore, it is essential for a company to know what are the needs of the stakeholders interested in its product. The objective of this PhD work is to propose a new method to analyze the need in order to improve the new product definition process in a firm. This tool is a part of a methodology for innovative project management and it is useful before the elaboration of the specification of the new product. The proposed method has four phases: description of the stakeholders’ environment by the RARe technique (Resources-Activities- Results), determination of needs by the realization of four types of operations on the stakeholder’s resources then evaluation and classification of needs according to the Kano model and finally comparison of several products concepts. To achieve this method, a bibliographical work on the notion of need was realized. This bibliographical research also allowed us to define the specifications of a new method for need analysis. Hence, the choice of the RARe method was justified because it is based on the observation of the stakeholders’ activities. To classify their needs, we used the model of Kano, which distinguishes various existing needs: basic, one dimensional, attractive and neutral. We worked out a calculation of indicators by means of a matrix formulation allowing to classify needs and to compare concepts of products. This method thus constitutes a decision-making tool at the beginning of the conception proces

Development of educational contents on circular economy and critical raw materials challenges

International audienc

Perspectives on the evolution of a fabrication laboratory in an emerging country: a comparative lexicometric study of European FabLabs

International audiencePurpose The purpose of this paper is to help in the establishment of the first fabrication laboratory (FabLab) in Tunisia. The FabLab movement offers many interesting opportunities through value creation, innovation, training and access to digital manufacturing technologies. A newly created FabLab should be well-positioned in terms of business model, purpose and management. The aim of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of FabLabs in developed countries (mainly in France and Luxembourg) and to provide recommendations on the possible development of a FabLab in Tunisia (FabLabENIT). Design/methodology/approach Twelve FabLabs were visited and experts from the makers movement were interviewed. Data from the visits and interviews were analysed using lexicometric tools. This methodology is based on three main steps: first, the identification and selection of panel of studied FabLabs interviews; second transcribing and coding for IRaMuTeQ software; and third, correspondence analysis. Findings The correspondence analysis determined five main factors of analysis that were interpreted using the most correlated words. The analysis of the correlation of the FabLabs and these five factors showed that FabLabENIT was strongly correlated with the third factor (interpreted as the organisation and structure factor). Recommendations for the purpose, local impact and methods were derived using the position of FabLabENIT in relation to the other factors. Practical implications This study highlighted five main topics that characterise FabLabs in developing countries before and after their creation. A second practical contribution of this paper is that it provides a framework for FabLab managers and founders to anticipate possible trajectories of evolution for their organisations, especially in an emerging country. Another contribution, both practical and methodological, is the demonstration of the use of textual interview analysis tools (mainly correspondence analysis) to determine the main practices and characteristics of a creative organisation, such as a FabLab. Originality/value One original feature of this paper is the topic of the study, especially in the current context of the COVID-19 outbreak, in which the FabLab movement provided interesting solutions that were designed and manufactured using digital manufacturing technologies. A second originality resides in the use of lexicometric techniques to analyse the information that was discussed during the interviews

Evaluation environnementale des coproduits : cas d’études ACV

International audienc

Caractérisation de l'état de santé d'un système complexe en fin d'utilisation.

International audienceThe state of health (SoH) of an end-of-life product is one of the levers for optimizing the circular economy (CE) process in order to allow the product life-extension. Many approaches have been developed in the literature to estimate the SoH of a complex system (CS). In this study, we asked ourselves the following two questions: First, how to optimize the circular lifecycle scenarios of the components of a product at its end of life? And second, how to estimate the SoH of a product at the end of its life? To answer these questions, we proceeded as follows. First of all, the state of health of a product needs to be considered as an important parameter as well as performance or reliability. To estimate the SoH, it is necessary to identify the product parameters to be observed. The problem here is to choose the most relevant parameters among all those available for a CS. To do this, we have proposed a conditional-based maintenance approach (CBM) which consists in establishing the fault tree of a product. It consists of functionally breaking down a product into its various components and identifying the main failures for each of them. Then, these failures are used to identify the parameters to be monitored. Second, based on the most relevant parameters, the health indicators needed to estimate the SoH of the product are obtained. Then, the Prognostic and Health Management approach (PHM) is proposed in order to estimate the SoH. In the objective of providing a general solution that could be used for estimating the health status of any product, we have proposed a generic framework for the PHM approach. It serves as a guide in choosing the right approach according to the situation. Then, we proposed a decision-making strategy to optimize the process of orienting components in circular loops. This strategy is based only on the technical-functional indicator, which is the SoH of the components. Finally, we showed an example of the implementation of the proposed method for the case of the electrical scooter motor

Eco-innovation method in a Research and Technology Organisation: Need analysis and identification of the main functions of the method

International audienceResearch and Technology Organisations (RTOs) are developing and transfering new technologies to industry. Considering environnemental and social challenges in their activities is becoming more and more important. Integrating these challenges within an organization requires a global and coherent method, but also flexibility to adapt to the various activities of the organisation. Eco-innovation is an approach that can meet these goals. However, literature has already shown that the main obstacles for the integration of eco-innovation come from the lack of global approaches adapted to companies' practices. In this paper, the needs for an eco innovation approach for RTOs are specified. For this, a functional analysis was carried out to formalise the need and identify the main functions that this method must fulfil. It have been developped and assessed through exploratory interviews

Allocation des Impacts Environnementaux des Co-produits Agroalimentaires

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Impact of automation during innovative remanufacturing processes in circular economy: a state of the art

International audienceWith the increasing demand of raw materials nowadays, and the decrease in supplies, the industrial sector is suffering. The environment and the society are also indirectly affected. The goal to reach a sustainable development imposes several studies on the economic, environmental and community level. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the existing body of literature on automated remanufacturing, and its potential impacts on the three pillars of sustainability. A particular interest is given to the growing use of cobots promoted by the principle of industry 4.0. The investigation that covers each part of the remanufacturing process will help in formalizing an approach about the automation of such processes. It highlights the challenges found and aims to improve the remanufacturing sector towards a more sustainable industry