Metodologia multicritério para avaliação e selecção de sistemas informáticos ao nível industrial

Tese de Doutoramento (Área do Especialização Investigação Operacional)Nesta tese apresenta-se um sistema de apoio à decisão para suporte dos processos de avaliação e selecção de SI/TI em empresas e/ou organizações, nomeadamente na área industrial. A informação é vista como um recurso vital para apoio organizacional/empresarial e a sua gestão correcta afigura-se fundamental, tanto a nível estratégico, táctico e operacional. A escolha ou o desenvolvimento dos sistemas de informação (SI), sistemas informáticos e tecnologias de informação (SI/TI), pode mesmo ser um factor crítico de sucesso no desempenho da empresa no contexto empresarial, tecnológico e concorrencial. Assim, tornasse de elevada importância a existência de uma ferramenta para suportar a tomada de decisão em relação à escolha dos SI/TI nesse mesmo contexto. As entidades que pretendem avaliar e seleccionar um SI/TI deparam-se com uma situação muito complexa e de natureza multidimensional: i) necessidade de conhecer e ter presente as necessidades da empresa em termos da estratégia do seu Sistema de Informação e estratégia global da empresa; ii) necessidade de implementar um processo que permita uma avaliação sistemática e consistente de um número mais ou menos alargado de alternativas, alternativas essas, que possuem um elevado número de características e atributos relevantes para o processo de avaliação; iii) gerir um conjunto mais ou menos alargado de objectivos conflituosos. Adicionalmente, este processo envolve sistematicamente diversos decisores (gestores, informáticos, consultores, etc) com pontos de vista e interesses muitas vezes divergentes. Este processo de selecção é usualmente baseado em regras mais ou menos simples, algumas vezes usando procedimentos de atribuição directa de pesos a critérios mal definidos e onde pressões de vária ordem (marketing agressivo, interesses políticos, etc) deixam pouco espaço para a objectividade. Neste trabalho desenvolveu-se uma metodologia de apoio à decisão, baseada num modelo decisão multicritério, que visa proporcionar uma abordagem sistemática ao processo de decisão, capaz de produzir recomendações sustentadas relativamente à solução a adoptar. Pretende-se também que a abordagem proposta seja de fácil compreensão e utilização para que os decisores a possam usar com alguma autonomia, não estando dependentes do apoio de um analista. Adicionalmente pretende-se que ela tenha um âmbito de aplicação alargado, isto é, que a sua aplicação não se restrinja a um tipo de SI/TI, ou área industrial (incluindo, também, instituições públicas sujeitas a concursos públicos para aquisição de SI/TI) e que permita suportar a decisão em grupo (DG). O modelo desenvolvido foi implementado numa ferramenta informática, desenvolvida para o efeito – MMASSI/TI– Metodologia Multicritério para Apoio à Selecção de SI/TI. A metodologia proposta foi desenvolvida com base na literatura revista, em alguma pesquisa empírica em empresas da região e na experiência profissional da autora. Com efeito, este último aspecto foi decisivo na identificação das lacunas das abordagens existentes, motivando a autora para este trabalho. A avaliação e teste da metodologia proposta foram realizadas em duas empresas de média/grande dimensão que se disponibilizaram para implementar a metodologia desenvolvida, permitindo que a avaliação da metodologia fosse levada a cabo em duas realidades empresariais distintas. A fase de teste e avaliação da metodologia foram determinantes para confirmar as suas potencialidades e identificar quais os aspectos do modelo em que há necessidade de introduzir modificações e melhorias, bem como pistas para novas áreas de estudo.In this thesis, a Decision Support System (DSS) is presented to support the assessment and selection of Information Systems and Technologies, IS/IT in companies and/or organizations, particularly in the industrial area. Today information has become a matter of serious concern for management due to the spectacular growth of IS/IT and its potential for improving the performance of organizations. In this context, a particularly relevant issue is the decision making process concerning the selection of a new IT products or information technology. This project investigates the major difficulties and problems associated with this process. Although numerous methods, techniques and tools have been developed to support decision making processes, in this area, in practise, they have not been applied. In order to overcome this difficulty, a methodology was developed, based on a multicriteria method and was incorporated in a computer based tool. The main objective of the proposed methodology is to provide decision makers with a systematic approach to analyse and compare different alternatives. It is also intended that such methodology is flexible (independent of organization type or IS/IT system) as well as, easy to follow and apply. For the development of the proposed approach, a detailed literature review was undertaken both in the Information Systems area and decision theory area. The methodology was applied to two practical cases in industrial companies which enabled its validation. This phase was critical to assess model behaviour, its contribution to the decision making process and to identify its limitations. The main findings indicate that the DSS proposed can play an important role on organizations process of selecting IS/IT .PRODE

ESEIG Global

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Production Process Analysis and Improvement of Corrugated Cardboard Industry

This work was developed into a corrugated cardboard industrial company. In this sector are produced plans resulting from the union between corrugated cardboard produced and the sheets printed in the previous sector. The PDCA cycle was the main methodology used in this work. Firstly, the initial state of the production was analyzed by data collection in both existent lines and it was concluded that a great variability of the parameters was being used in the process for similar works. The main problems in the process were identified and it was concluded that warp and detached plans were the main reasons for concern. It was implemented a set of measures to reduce these incidences. Control charts were implemented to the starch glue and through the analysis of these charts and cause-effect diagrams several changes to the starch glue circuit and to its own recipe were implemented. The steam pressure of the boiler was reduced from 12 bar to 8 bar and a table with temperatures regarding each paper weight was implemented. The results obtained show that the percentage of waste in the sector was reduced from values ranging between 9 and 12% to values around 4%. Regarding starch glue consumption, it dropped from 11 g/m2 to 8 g/m2. The energy consumption, namely gas, showed a saving of 9%. Thus, this work represents an important contribute to the sector, allowing energy savings and quality and competitiveness improvements.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Knowledge Analysis on Logistics Cost Trade-Offs: a Study With Portuguese Food Sector’ Professionals

Logistics is an important area in the economic-financial performance of companies, which makes it necessary to analyse their costs, as well as the trade-offs between them. Thus, the present study, with the objective of analysing the Portuguese food sector logistic professionals’ knowledge regarding to logistics costs trade-offs and their impact on the economic-financial performance of the organizations, showed that there are gaps concerning this subject. Throughout the structured interview and by using the SPSS software, the study shows the existence of flaws in the practical application of the trade-offs’ theory, such as the pressure from the managers for individual cuts in costs; and points out trade-offs of logistical costs relevant to the food sector. These results contribute to the expansion of studies on the subject, besides providing a perspective of the compensatory exchanges that can contribute to the decision making in relation to the costs concerning logistics activities.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Using a continuous improvement tool to improve workers' well-being and productivity - A case study in a piglet cutting workstation

Nowadays there is an increasing concern for well- being. However, workers continue to suffer from musculoskeletal disorders, which are one of the most widely recognized types of occupational disease. Meat cutters face higher risks of injury and musculoskeletal problems than most other occupational groups due to repetition, force, static posture, work organization, and lack of recovery time. The aim of this paper is to use a continuous improvement audit tool to analyze the current situation of a piglet cutting workstation and then identify measures to improve it, considering productivity and workers’ well-being.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Improving the Machining Process of the Metalworking Industry Using the Lean Tool SMED

The project here presented was developed in a metalworking company, where several areas requiring improvement were identified. The study addresses the elimination of waste and increase of productivity in the machining sector of the company. To this purpose key processes were identified and mapped using flowcharts and VSM (Value Stream Mapping). Achieved improvements involved decreasing setup times by resorting to the lean tool SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die). Setup times were reduced in 40% on the vertical milling machine of the company, and in 57% on the horizontal milling machine.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Using an Artificial Neural Network Approach to Predict Machining Time

One of the most critical factors in producing plastic injection molds is the cost estimation of machining services, which significantly affects the final mold price. These services’ costs are determined according to the machining time, which is usually a long and expensive operation. If it is considered that the injection mold parts are all different, it can be understood that the correct and quick estimation of machining times is of great importance for a company’s success. This article presents a proposal to apply artificial neural networks in machining time estimation for standard injection mold parts. For this purpose, a large set of parts was considered to shape the artificial intelligence model, and machining times were calculated to collect enough data for training the neural networks. The influences of the network architecture, input data, and the variables used in the network’s training were studied to find the neural network with greatest prediction accuracy. The application of neural networks in this work proved to be a quick and efficient way to predict cutting times with a percent error of 2.52% in the best case. The present work can strongly contribute to the research in this and similar sectors, as recent research does not usually focus on the direct prediction of machining times relating to overall production cost. This tool can be used in a quick and efficient manner to obtain information on the total machining cost of mold parts, with the possibility of being applied to other industry sectorsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Importance of Subcontracting and Its Relationship With Lean Philosophy in Automotive Industry

The automotive industry represents one of the largest economic sectors in the world and most companies in this industry involve subcontracting in their strategy. However, subcontracting is one of the possible processes that can lead to inefficiencies for companies. Since lean arises as a response to the most varied problems of companies, the main goal of this work is to understand the importance of subcontracting in the automotive sector and to understand how lean and subcontracting are related. For this, an empirical study of papers and books related to these topics was performed, concluding that subcontracting is frequently used in the automotive sector, to obtain strategic advantages, and that it supports the foundations of the lean concept, as well as the lean can help manage subcontracting. The trade-off of the transfer of activities enables organizations to be flexible, lean and agile; they can then focus on their core activities, which generate more value, while the option to subcontract generates a significant reduction in costs by transferring non-core activities. In short, these two concepts are related to each other in the context of the automotive industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Comparison of the Application of the SMED Methodology in Two Different Cutting Lines

Purpose: This study was carried out in a cork company and its purpose was to observe and analyze the practices and methods used during the tools/series change moments and to propose improvements and alternatives to these same procedures so that the time needed to carry out the setup is reduced by 15% in both lines. Methodology/Approach:The methodology included the following phases: 1st - historical data collection and setup video recording, 2nd - footage analysis and conduction of informal interviews with employees, 3rd - flow, Gantt, and spaghetti charts creation and making of an action plan based on the waste and improvement opportunities identified in video analysis, 4th - validation with the line workers of the new operating mode created with the Single Minute Exchange of Dies (SMED) tool and communication to the Maintenance department about their role in this project, 5th - making and placement of plasticized cards on the cutting lines to ensure that new operating mode is followed and carrying out the actions identified in the action plan. Findings: Throughout this project using observations, video recording and its subsequent analysis, as well as interviews to the workers operating in the line, it was found the existence of several actions carried out by them during the setups which did not add value to the product, lack of adequate tools for the work to be performed and lack of work tools in general Research Limitation/implication: The study was limited by the lines and products under study and by the duration of the curricular internship, which was about five months. Originality/Value of paper: The article demonstrates the added value in terms of product quality and production output rate that SMED methodology can bring to companies that adopt the lean philosophy and in particular this continuous improvement tool.The author Alexandre Silva would like to thank Amorim Revestimentos for the opportunity to carry out the project in its facilities, thank Filipe Ferreira and César Daniel for the moments of companionship and for the shared knowledge, thank Mr. Pedrosa and the entire Maintenance Department for their collaboration in this project, to thank the employees of the cut lines for their availability to clarify doubts, to listen and follow my ideas and to thank, namely, Professor José Carlos Sá for his guidance and availability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio