Management of WIP Inventory in JIT Environment Under Cellular Layout - A Case Study

256-263In order to enhance the productivity and quality of products and services under the stiff competition in the global market, organisations are compelled to change their manufacturing technologies and strategies. One such strategy is to change the traditional layout into a cellular one to retain flexibility of jobs hop and to bring in more related benefits. This paper discusses the effect of work-in-process (WIP) inventory on throughput rate in a cycle manufacturing company which switched over to a cellular manufacturing recently. A GPSS simulation model was developed to study the performance of the production system. For various models of the cycles, past data on demand, demand arrival time and process times were gathered from each cell. The distributions of these data were used and simulation was carried out for various combinations of WIP inventory with throughput rate as the performance measure. Finally WIP inventory levels for each cell were suggested for future production. Suggestions were also given for effective implementation of JIT strategies under cellular layout to improve the overall productivity. Indicators of a manufacturing system, where the technology was stable and the market structure was static and pre-defined, could be constructed upon the degree of production economy achieved. Normally, these are achieved through incremental innovations. Throughput, defined as the ratio of total satisfied demand to the total generated demand, and expressed as percent customer orders fulfilled, could be considered as an indicator of a stabilised manufacturing system. A related indicator that is somewhat dependent on the technology in operation was the ratio of WIP inventory levels at various cells/workstations to the throughput rate of the system, under throughput maximisation. The distribution of WIP along the cells and not the total WIP, was the most important proce<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:#484848;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">ss <span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:#191919;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">indicator under <span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height: 115%;font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:#0a0a0a;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">th<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:#313131;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">ro<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:#0a0a0a;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">u<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:#313131;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">ghp<span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:#0a0a0a;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">ut <span style="font-size:14.0pt;line-height:115%; font-family:" times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" color:#191919;mso-ansi-language:en-in;mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:="" hi"="" lang="EN-IN">maximisation.</span

Accelerated partial breast irradiation using external beam radiotherapy—A feasibility study based on dosimetric analysis

AimTo investigate the feasibility of using External Beam radiotherapy for accelerated partial breast irradiation by a comparative tumour and normal tissue dose volume analysis with that of high dose rate interstitial brachytherapy.BackgroundAccelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) is more clinically appealing because of the reduced treatment course duration and the irradiated area. Brachytherapy application is more dependent on the clinician's expertise when it is practised free hand without image guidance and a template. It happens to be an invasive procedure with the use of local anaesthesia which adds patient discomfort apart from its cost compared to External Beam Radiotherapy. But APBI with brachytherapy is more commonly practised procedure compared to EBRT owing to its previous reults. Hence in this research study, we intend to explore the use of EBRT with the radiobiological corrections for APBI in the place of brachytherapy. It is done as a dosimetric comparison of Brachytherapy treatment plans with that of EBRT plans.Materials and methodsThe computed tomography images of 15 patients undergoing ISBT planning were simulated with conformal photon fields. Various dose volume parameters of each structure were obtained from the DVH generated in the brachytherapy and the simulated external beam planning which can correlate well with the late toxicity. The plan quality indices such as conformity index and homogeneity index for the target volume were computed from the dosimetric factors. The statistical p values for CI, HI and normal tissue dosimetric parameters were calculated and the confidence levels achievable were analysed. The dose prescribed in brachytherapy was 3400cGy in ten fractions. The equivalent prescription dose for the external beam radiotherapy planning was 3000cGy in five fractions applied with radiobiological correction.ResultsAll the fifteen patients were with complete lung data and six were with left sided tumours having complete cardiac data. The lung dosimetry data and the cardiac dosimetry data of the patients were studied. Lower percentages of lung and cardiac V20 and V5 volumes were obtained with conformal planning. The conformity of radiation dose to the tumour volume was akin to the interstitial brachytherapy planning. Moreover the external beam planning resulted in more homogenous dose distribution. For the sampled population, the statistical analysis showed a confidence level of 95% for using EBRT as an alternate to multi catheter ISBT.ConclusionThe EBRT planning for Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation was found to be technically feasible in the institution where the interstitial brachytherapy happens to be the only available technique as evident from the dose volume parameters and the statistical analysis

Magnitude and Factors Influencing Diarrhea among Under-5 Children in Rural Areas of Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh

Introduction: Acutediarrheal diseases constitute one of the leading cause of morbidity & mortality in children below five years of age. Assessing the prevalence of diarrhea and associated factors among children of age under five will be helpful in determining the disease burden and in planning and implementation of prevention strategies at the community level. The study was conducted with the objectives to assess the prevalence and factors associated with diarrhea among under five childrenwith diarrhea Methodology: This is across sectional study with sample size of 429. Eight villages from V.Kota and Kuppam mandals, 25 houses from each village were selected randomly. Data regarding various sociodemographic factors, environmental and behavior factors were collected. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test and odds ratio was calculated for various factors. Results: the prevalence of diarrhea was estimated to be 47.6% (CI 42.4 – 51.7). Factors such as education of the mother, hand washing practices, use of soap during hand washing, source of drinking water, disposal of stools were significantly associated with prevalence of diarrhea Conclusion: Awareness of factors influencing diarrhea and simple interventions can reduce the burden of the diarrheal diseases