27 research outputs found
Improving CE with PDM
The concept of Concurrent Engineering (CE) centers around the management of information so that the right information will be at the right place at the right time and in the right format. Product Data Management (PDM) aims to support a CE way of working in product development processes. In specific situations, however, it is hard to estimate the contribution of a particular PDM package to CE. This paper presents a method to assess the contribution to CE of a PDM package in a specific situation. The method uses the concept of information quality to identify the gap with CE information quality requirements. The contribution of PDM to bridge this gap is estimated. Decisions on improvement actions are supported to improve readiness for PDM as well as to improve CE. The method has been tested in a real-life situation
Terrestrial and submarine evidence for the extent and timing of the Last Glacial Maximum and the onset of deglaciation on the maritime-Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands
This paper is the maritime and subâAntarctic contribution to the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) Past Antarctic Ice Sheet Dynamics (PAIS) community Antarctic Ice Sheet reconstruction. The overarching aim for all sectors of Antarctica was to reconstruct the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice sheet extent and thickness, and map the subsequent deglaciation in a series of 5000 year time slices. However, our review of the literature found surprisingly few high quality chronological constraints on changing glacier extents on these timescales in the maritime and subâAntarctic sector. Therefore, in this paper we focus on an assessment of the terrestrial and offshore evidence for the LGM ice extent, establishing minimum ages for the onset of deglaciation, and separating evidence of deglaciation from LGM limits from those associated with later Holocene glacier fluctuations. Evidence included geomorphological descriptions of glacial landscapes, radiocarbon dated basal peat and lake sediment deposits, cosmogenic isotope ages of glacial features and molecular biological data. We propose a classification of the glacial history of the maritime and subâAntarctic islands based on this assembled evidence. These include: (Type I) islands which accumulated little or no LGM ice; (Type II) islands with a limited LGM ice extent but evidence of extensive earlier continental shelf glaciations; (Type III) seamounts and volcanoes unlikely to have accumulated significant LGM ice cover; (Type IV) islands on shallow shelves with both terrestrial and submarine evidence of LGM (and/or earlier) ice expansion; (Type V) Islands north of the Antarctic Polar Front with terrestrial evidence of LGM ice expansion; and (Type VI) islands with no data. Finally, we review the climatological and geomorphological settings that separate the glaciological history of the islands within this classification scheme
A community-based geological reconstruction of Antarctic Ice Sheet deglaciation since the Last Glacial Maximum
A robust understanding of Antarctic Ice Sheet deglacial history since the Last Glacial Maximum is important in order to constrain ice sheet and glacial-isostatic adjustment models, and to explore the forcing mechanisms responsible for ice sheet retreat. Such understanding can be derived from a broad range of geological and glaciological datasets and recent decades have seen an upsurge in such data gathering around the continent and Sub-Antarctic islands. Here, we report a new synthesis of those datasets, based on an accompanying series of reviews of the geological data, organised by sector. We present a series of timeslice maps for 20 ka, 15 ka, 10 ka and 5 ka, including grounding line position and ice sheet thickness changes, along with a clear assessment of levels of confidence. The reconstruction shows that the Antarctic Ice sheet did not everywhere reach the continental shelf edge at its maximum, that initial retreat was asynchronous, and that the spatial pattern of deglaciation was highly variable, particularly on the inner shelf. The deglacial reconstruction is consistent with a moderate overall excess ice volume and with a relatively small Antarctic contribution to meltwater pulse 1a. We discuss key areas of uncertainty both around the continent and by time interval, and we highlight potential priorities for future work. The synthesis is intended to be a resource for the modelling and glacial geological community
Inter-organisational project management in context: managing differences
Although in many organisations projects are run according to a standard procedure many projects run out of time and budget, don't achieve the required quality standards, or don't even finish at all. This is especially the case for large and complex projects with large differences between the parties involved. Although there is much knowledge and experience on what the causes are of sub-optimal project performance, this knowledge is still rather experential and anecdotal. In this paper, we will present a systematic approach towards building knowledge on factors influencing multi-site project behaviour. For this purpose, we will consider projects as temporary organisations. We will identify three classes of problems, which may lead to project failure. The paper addresses part of the causes of problems, namely differences between project parties. Our research focuses on new product development projects performed at multiple sites. A model will be presented of essential classes of differences to take into account in managing a project. In addition, a learning approach towards supporting project management in identifying and managing differences will be presented. The approach is illustrated with examples from a longitudinal case study into Dutch-Mexican collaborative projects
Inter-organisational project management in context: managing differences
Although in many organisations projects are run according to a standard procedure many projects run out of time and budget, don't achieve the required quality standards, or don't even finish at all. This is especially the case for large and complex projects with large differences between the parties involved. Although there is much knowledge and experience on what the causes are of sub-optimal project performance, this knowledge is still rather experential and anecdotal. In this paper, we will present a systematic approach towards building knowledge on factors influencing multi-site project behaviour. For this purpose, we will consider projects as temporary organisations. We will identify three classes of problems, which may lead to project failure. The paper addresses part of the causes of problems, namely differences between project parties. Our research focuses on new product development projects performed at multiple sites. A model will be presented of essential classes of differences to take into account in managing a project. In addition, a learning approach towards supporting project management in identifying and managing differences will be presented. The approach is illustrated with examples from a longitudinal case study into Dutch-Mexican collaborative projects
Towards a Supply-Chain Instrument to Monitor an Information Technology Implementation
Based on improved information performance, agro-food companies and supply chains want to enhance their production processes. It creates the necessity to implement additional information technologies. The implementation of information technologies is, however, a complex task because of the interaction between technology, organization, and processes. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present the development of a prototype of an âImplementation-monitoring Instrumentâ for project managers to help monitoring and managing an information-technology implementation towards required information performance. A design approach has been used to build the Instrument. The Instrument development is based on a literature review of a variety of theories explaining the mutual interaction between organization and technology. Keeping in mind the goal of the Instrument, the âinformation-quality literatureâ and âcost-benefit literatureâ is consulted as well. We aim to deliver a useful management Instrument, which is a step plan that helps chain actors to find the bottleneck of an information-performance failure. The Instrument allows for in-depth analysis of organizational and technical elements within processes that could be responsible for the information-performance failure. It is expected, in first instance, to be useful for the Dutch organic pork supply chain and other meat supply chains implementing new information technologies. In the future, the usage of this instrument will be prospectively tested and evaluated in a Dutch organic pork meat supply chain and retrospectively in two other agro-food supply chain
"Actionable" critical success factors for supply chain information system implementations : Exploratory findings from four German pork supply chains
Implementing a supply chain information system (SCIS) incurs organizational and technical complexities. For managing these complexities, information system researchers have identified generic critical success factors. However, CSFs are abstract and, therefore, difficult to use in practice. To maximize the chances of successfully implementing a SCIS in the food industry, we aim to identify "actions" linked to CSFs. We, consequently, investigated four German pork supply chains that implemented a SCIS. Fourteen critical success factors were made "actionable"; most actions were identified for the CSFs "manage change and deliver training" and "select standards, vendor, and software package", indicating their relative importance