The Need for an Effective Collaborative Production-Maintenance Approach to Improve Productivity

Technological innovations, customer expectations in particular, and globalization in general have reinforced the nessecity to increase productivity. There is constant market changes with decreased life cycle of products, rapid technological developments and more demanding customers. In order to improve productivity, industrial enterprises turn to either ameliorate their production or the maintenance of their equipment, parallelly with the cost function in both cases. Nonetheless, these two methods are disadvantageous because they make their neighboring function to suffer, thereby creating the inverse effects of those initially expected. Moreover, seeking to increase performance in the current industrial systems leads the integration of various services in the global management of manufacturing firms. This paper, aims to demostrate that increasing productivity requires the interaction between the production and maintenance functions. However, this interaction must be well structured for a better efficiency. In fact, industrial productivity cannot be adequately improved if the collaborative approach, "production-maintenance", is not effective in an enterprise. Keywords: Productivity; Production; Maintenance; Integrated Production-Maintenance Management; Production-Maintenance Cooperation. DOI: 10.7176/IEL/10-3-04 Publication date: November 30th 202

Repair and Maintenance Cost Analysis of John Deere 5403 Tractor in the Gambia

The paper presents an approach for deriving a mathematical model that predict repair and maintenance (R&M) cost of farm tractors in The Gambia. As John Deere (JD) tractors are widely used by Gambian farmers, a study was conducted to predict accumulated repair & maintenance costs (Y) of the two-wheel drive (2WD) JD-5403 tractor based on accumulated working hours (X). In order to determine the mathematical model for the studied tractor, regression analysis using knowledge based analytical software (SPSS STATISTICS 21 and Excel 2016 version) was performed on the calculated data generating five regression models: linear, logarithmic, polynomial, power and exponential. The statistical results showed that the polynomial model gave better cost prediction with higher confidence and less variation than other models. Finally, it was established that repair and maintenance cost increased with an increase in working hours of JD-5403 tractor

Experimental determination of the level of damage suffered by rigid PVC pipes under quasi-static impact load

This paper presents a approach to determining the level of damage on rigid PVC pipes (polyvinyl chloride),destined for the supply of drinking water, and previously subjected to quasi-static impact. The originality ofthe work has been to experimentally characterize the level of damage via readily measurable physicalquantities obtained under operating conditions. For this purpose, a wide range of experiments wereperformed. Firstly, trials involving impact with a hemispherical--end hammer weighing 16kg, dropped from aheight of between 0 -- 2m on portions of rigid PVC pipe. Thereafter, the dimensions of the affected area onthe portions of the pipe are measured using a Tridimensional Measuring Machine (TMM). Finally, tensiletests on flat test pieces from around the impacted area of the pipe section were used to determine the postimpactresidual mechanical strength. This investigation on post-impact properties allows the definition of thelevel of damage reached via the unified theory model of Bui Quoc. By analogy to the latter, the damage isexpressed as a function of the area of the impacted section

Characterization of Tensile Properties of <i>Cola lepidota</i> Fibers

Plant fibers are being increasingly explored for their use in engineering polymers and composites, and many works have described their properties, especially for flax and hemp fibers. Nevertheless, the availability of plant fibers varies according to the geographical location on the planet. This study presents the first work on the mechanical properties of a tropical fiber extracted from the bast of Cola lepidota (CL) plant. After a debarking step, CL fibers were extracted manually by wet-retting. The tensile properties are first identified experimentally at the fibers scale, and the analysis of the results shows the great influence of the cross-section parameters (diameter, intrinsic porosities) on these properties. Tensile properties of CL fibers are also predicted by the impregnated fiber bundle test (IFBT). At this scale of bundles, a hackling step, which reduces shives and contributes to the parallelization of the fibers within bundles, improves tensile properties predicted by IFBT. The comparison with the properties of plant fibers given in the literature shows that CL fibers have tensile properties in the same range as kenaf, flax or hemp fibers

Manufacture and Characterization of Cola Lépidota Reinforcements for Composite Applications

This study represents the first works on the manufacture of reinforcements for composite applications such as yarns and fabrics using a tropical fiber extracted from the bast of the Cola Lepidota (CL) plant. Different types of products were produced, including twisted and untwisted yarns and woven and quasi-unidirectional fabrics to manufacture composite samples. At each scale, experimental characterizations of textile and mechanical properties were carried out; these properties are compared to those given in the literature concerning natural fiber materials. The results show that the tenacity of twisted and untwisted CL yarns is higher than that of similar products based on flax fibers, which is an important result for the weaveability of these rovings. At the fabric scale, the quasi-unidirectional architecture reduces waviness and shows promising tensile properties compared to woven fabrics. On the scale of composites, these developments made it possible to achieve properties in tensile comparable, particularly in stiffness, to those achieved by composites based on natural fibers. The objectives of this paper are to highlight the advantages and drawbacks of different types of reinforcements, and to present the first characterization of the properties of products based on CL fibers

Characterization of Tensile Properties of Cola lepidota Fibers

Plant fibers are being increasingly explored for their use in engineering polymers and composites, and many works have described their properties, especially for flax and hemp fibers. Nevertheless, the availability of plant fibers varies according to the geographical location on the planet. This study presents the first work on the mechanical properties of a tropical fiber extracted from the bast of Cola lepidota (CL) plant. After a debarking step, CL fibers were extracted manually by wet-retting. The tensile properties are first identified experimentally at the fibers scale, and the analysis of the results shows the great influence of the cross-section parameters (diameter, intrinsic porosities) on these properties. Tensile properties of CL fibers are also predicted by the impregnated fiber bundle test (IFBT). At this scale of bundles, a hackling step, which reduces shives and contributes to the parallelization of the fibers within bundles, improves tensile properties predicted by IFBT. The comparison with the properties of plant fibers given in the literature shows that CL fibers have tensile properties in the same range as kenaf, flax or hemp fibers

Manufacture and Characterization of Cola L&eacute;pidota Reinforcements for Composite Applications

This study represents the first works on the manufacture of reinforcements for composite applications such as yarns and fabrics using a tropical fiber extracted from the bast of the Cola Lepidota (CL) plant. Different types of products were produced, including twisted and untwisted yarns and woven and quasi-unidirectional fabrics to manufacture composite samples. At each scale, experimental characterizations of textile and mechanical properties were carried out; these properties are compared to those given in the literature concerning natural fiber materials. The results show that the tenacity of twisted and untwisted CL yarns is higher than that of similar products based on flax fibers, which is an important result for the weaveability of these rovings. At the fabric scale, the quasi-unidirectional architecture reduces waviness and shows promising tensile properties compared to woven fabrics. On the scale of composites, these developments made it possible to achieve properties in tensile comparable, particularly in stiffness, to those achieved by composites based on natural fibers. The objectives of this paper are to highlight the advantages and drawbacks of different types of reinforcements, and to present the first characterization of the properties of products based on CL fibers

Influence of the Extraction Location on the Physical and Mechanical Properties of the Pseudo-Trunk Banana Fibers

The specific properties and availability of banana pseudo-trunk fibers make them a promising alternative for the development of green composites. However, the wide dispersion of their properties can hinder their use. In this study, the influence of the sampling area of the banana pseudo-trunk on the physical and mechanical properties of the fibers was evaluated. Prior to retting, the trunk was sampled longitudinally (bottom, middle and top) and transversely (periphery, intermediate and heart). Gravimetric tests were carried out and revealed variations in water absorption (347.1–517.4%), density (0.92–1.45 g.cm−3) and linear mass (25 -34tex). Tensile tests were also performed and showed a significant effect of fiber location on Young’s modulus (6.60–34.6GPa), tensile strength (91-350MPa) and elongation at the break (0.9–2.6%). Due to diameter scatter, variations of 42% were found for fibers in the same area. In a region, the physical properties increase from the periphery to the core, and the mechanical properties decrease in the same direction, except for elongation. The results of this study showed good agreement with those of other natural fiber types. However, we recommend the peripheral areas of the pseudo-trunk to extract reinforcing fibers from composites because of their low density (0.9 g.cm−3) and their high stiffness (34GPa)