Materials flow control in hybrid make-to-stock/make-to-order manufacturing

Today’s company competiveness is favoured by product customisation and fast delivery. A strategy to meet this challenge is to manufacture standard items to stock for product customisation. This configures a hybrid environment of make-to-stock and make-to-order. To explore the advantages of this requires good understanding of production control. Thus, we study production under hybrid MTS-MTO, organising the system in two stages. The 1 st manufactures items to inventory, which are then customised in the 2 nd . We analyse how the percentage of tardy orders is affected by the inventory of items required to achieve a given fill rate. The impact of two mechanisms for releasing orders to both stages is also analysed. Results of a simulation study indicate that most of the reduction on the percentage of tardy orders is achieved by a moderate increase in the stock level of semi-finished products. Moreover the percentage of tardy orders decreases if suitable controlled release of orders is exerted.This study had the financial support of FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia of Portugal under the project PEst2015-2020: UID/CEC/ 00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Synergizing Lean and Green for Continuous Improvement

Part 1: Knowledge-Based SustainabilityInternational audienceFor many years small-medium enterprises (SMEs) have attempted to improve their manufacturing and environmental operation performance in a view to achieving competitiveness and operational excellence. This paper looks at the literature in order to investigate the relationship between lean and green management and their relationship to one another while keeping in mind their simultaneous implementation at a foundry SME. Separate literature streams have arisen to address issues in green and lean using systems engineering tools but research has largely neglected the intersection of the two. The presented research synthesizes the literature addressing the intersections of green and lean and suggests a research agenda to address gaps. Suggestions for implementing environmental management systems for sustaining continuous improvement activities have also been provided

Combined PET/MRI:from Status Quo to Status Go. Summary Report of the Fifth International Workshop on PET/MR Imaging; February 15–19, 2016; Tübingen, Germany

Contains fulltext : 172154.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)This article provides a collaborative perspective of the discussions and conclusions from the fifth international workshop of combined positron emission tomorgraphy (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that was held in Tubingen, Germany, from February 15 to 19, 2016. Specifically, we summarise the second part of the workshop made up of invited presentations from active researchers in the field of PET/MRI and associated fields augmented by round table discussions and dialogue boards with specific topics. This year, this included practical advice as to possible approaches to moving PET/MRI into clinical routine, the use of PET/MRI in brain receptor imaging, in assessing cardiovascular diseases, cancer, infection, and inflammatory diseases. To address perceived challenges still remaining to innovatively integrate PET and MRI system technologies, a dedicated round table session brought together key representatives from industry and academia who were engaged with either the conceptualisation or early adoption of hybrid PET/MRI systems. Discussions during the workshop highlighted that emerging unique applications of PET/MRI such as the ability to provide multi-parametric quantitative and visual information which will enable not only overall disease detection but also disease characterisation would eventually be regarded as compelling arguments for the adoption of PET/MR. However, as indicated by previous workshops, evidence in favour of this observation is only growing slowly, mainly due to the ongoing inability to pool data cohorts from independent trials as well as different systems and sites. The participants emphasised that moving from status quo to status go entails the need to adopt standardised imaging procedures and the readiness to act together prospectively across multiple PET/MRI sites and vendors

Effect of Health-Related Quality-Of-Life Instrument and Quality-Adjusted Life Year Calculation Method on the Number of Life Years Gained in the Critical Care Setting

AbstractObjectivesHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) gained are basic elements in the cost-utility evaluations of health care. Different HRQoL instruments produce different scores for the same patient, and thus also a different number of QALYs. We examined the effect of these factors on the number of QALYs gained and the cost per QALY in the critical care setting.MethodsIn 937 patients having been treated in the critical care setting in the Helsinki University Central Hospital the HRQoL scores were measured by the EQ-5D and 15D 6 and 12 months after start of treatment, and QALYs were calculated using four different sets of assumptions regarding recovery from disease.ResultsThe mean number of QALYs gained during the first year after treatment ranged from 0.178 ± 0.206 to 0.550 ± 0.508 and the consequent cost per QALY from €38,405 to €118,668 depending on HRQoL instrument and assumptions used in the calculations regarding recovery from disease.ConclusionsThe HRQoL instrument and the assumptions employed regarding recovery from disease have a great influence on the results of cost-utility analyses and should, therefore, be explicitly described in studies reporting QALYs. Furthermore, a common consensus on which calculation method should be used within critical care would be urgently needed

Achieving Responsiveness in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises through Assemble To Order Strategy

Part 1: Knowledge-Based Performance ImprovementInternational audienceWith an aggressive economic competition on a global scale, more educated and demanding customers, and a rapid pace of change in process technology, responsiveness in manufacturing is becoming a key competitive advantage. The present paper examines how responsiveness can be achieved in SMEs operating according to an Assemble to Order strategy. The framework – proposed starting from literature analysis and tested through a first case study – will be used in future works to drive a systematic analysis of responsiveness in SMEs