Implementation of lean manufacturing and lean audit system in an auto parts manufacturing industry – an industrial case study

Lean manufacturing is one of the innovative manufacturing concepts being applied in many industries to avoid the wastages of resources and improving the quality of products and help the company to become more effective and productive. It also focuses on continuous improvements with the total involvement of all employees with optimum utilization of man power and machine by reducing idle time and reducing lead time with help of lean tools like value stream mapping and kaizen. This paper presents a case study carried out in a foundry division of an auto parts manufacturing industry, where lean tools are implemented for the defect reduction and productivity improvement. In this paper, a conceptualized implementation of total productive maintenance practices of lean tools: Kaizen or continuous improvement and value stream map in an auto parts industry are presented. The result shows improved performance in terms of average core rejections, sand leakage and air lock problem

Direct correlation between the circadian sleep-wakefulness rhythm and time estimation in humans under social and temporal isolation

Several bodily functions in humans vary on a 24 h pattern and most of these variations persist with a circadian period of ca 25 h when subjects are studied under conditions of social and temporal isolation. We report in this paper that the estimates of short time intervals (TE) of 2 h are strongly coupled to the circadian rhythm in sleepwakefulness. There is a linear correlation between the number of hours humans stay awake (α) and their estimation of 2 h intervals. The coupling of TE to α appears to obtain only under conditions of physical well-being

IN VITRO ANTIPLASMODIAL ACTIVITY OF NATIVE INDIAN SEAWEED SARGASSUM SP.

ABSTRACTObjectives: To investigate the antiplasmodial activity of three different solvent extracts of Sargassum tenerrimum against Plasmodium falciparum.Methods: The seaweed species of S. tenerrimum were collected from Rameshwaram, Southeast coast of India. The collected samples were dried andextracted with three different polaritic (hexane, acetone, and ethylacetate) solvents and tested against P. falciparum parasite strain.Results: Acetone extract exhibited better activity than the other two extracts. The inhibitory concentration values of acetone S. tenerrimum werefound to be 27.82 and 18.14 µg/ml at 24-48 hrs, respectively. S. tenerrimum crude extracts were subjected for the phytochemical analysis, and itshowed the presence of steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, amino acids, and phenol compounds. The gas chromatography-massspectroscopy result reveals that the presence of 10 major and minor compounds in the S. tenerrimum extract. In that, cyclotrisiloxane hexamethylcompounds might be responsible for the effective parasite suppression.50Conclusion: It can be concluded from the present study that the acetone extract of S. tenerrimum has strong antiplasmodial activity. Furthermore, thestudy has been extended to the isolation of the possible active compounds that is responsible for the antiplasmodial properties.Keywords: Antiplasmodial assay, Different polaritic solvents, Plasmodium falciparum, Sargassum tenerrimum

Design of Neural Based PID Controller For Nonlinear Process

AbstractIn this paper, a neural network (NN) based internal model control (IMC) -PID controller is proposed for a non–linear process. The controller structure has been outlined and its performance is demonstrated on a conical tank process. The control of liquid level in a conical tank is nonlinear due to the variation in the area of cross section of the tank system with its change in shape. The model of the process is identified using standard step response based system identification technique and it is approximated to be first order plus dead time (FOPDT) model. From the results it is observed that fuzzy controller shows much better integral absolute error (IAE) and integral squared error (ISE) performance criteria than the conventional controller

Survival and growth of juvenile silver pompano Trachinotus blochii (Lacepède, 1801) at different salinities in tropical conditions

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the tolerance of juvenile silver pompano to different salinity conditions in order to determine the minimum salinity required for survival and also to study the effect of different salinities on survival and growth. Wild caught juveniles of the silver pompano Trachinotus blochii (average initial length: 4.38±0.44 cm, average initial weight: 1.6±0.09 g) were used in the experiments. The experiments were conducted in triplicate with 15 fish per tank. Control groups were maintained at 34±1 ppt. Juvenile silver pompano reared at ambient salinity (34±1ppt) were transferred directly to lower salinities (25, 15, 10, 5, 4, 3 and 1 ppt) and monitored for survival. Results indicated that the minimum salinity required for the survival of juvenile T. blochii is 4 ppt and 100% mortality was observed within 7-8 h in 1 ppt salinity. In another experiment, three salinity reduction protocols were followed and the three treatment groups were exposed to 25, 15 and 5 ppt salinity for a period of 56 days and the growth and survival were monitored. Survival and growth in terms of weight was not significantly different in the treatments from the control group except in the case of 5 ppt, which showed comparatively lower survival and specific growth rate (SGR). The results indicate that the culture of juvenile pompano might be feasible in salinities up to 15 ppt in tropical conditions

Reproductive biology and diet of the grey sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon oligolinx Springer, 1964 (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhinidae) from the north-eastern Arabian Sea

Information on reproductive biology is presented for the grey sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon oligolinx Springer, 1964 (Chondrichthyes: Carcharhiniformes), collected off the north-west coast of India in the Arabian Sea. A total of 711 individuals, of 27.0 to 93.0 cm total length (TL), 180 to 2600 g total weight (TW) were used for the study. The length-weight relationships were significantly different between the sexes. The size-at-maturity (Lm50) for females and males was estimated to be 62.3 and 59.5 cm TL respectively. Number of embryos ranged from 1 to 7 and the size at birth was estimated between 25 to 30 cm TL. Overall sex ratio favoured the females slightly at the rate of 1.27:1. There was significant positive correlation between maternal TL and number of embryos (p<0.001). Dietary analysis of stomach contents (%IRI) revealed that R. oligolinx feeds primarily on teleosts (95.5%), cephalopods (3.2%) and crustaceans (1.2%). This study presents the first detailed biological observation on size, sex composition, size-at-maturity (Lm50) and length-weight relationship of R. oligolinx from the northern Arabian Sea

Broodstock development through regulation of photoperiod and controlled breeding of silver pompano, Trachinotus blochii (Lacepede, 1801) in India

The silver pompano, Trachinotus blochii is recognised as a promising species for mariculture. In India, broodstock development, controlled breeding and seed production of silver pompano was achieved for the first time at Mandapam Regional Centre of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. Sub-adult fishes collected from the wild were grown in circular sea cages of 6 m diameter and 3.5 m depth. Twelve fishes were selected from a sea cage and acclimatized to laboratory conditions. Among these, four fishes (1 female and 3 males) were pre-conditioned to sexual maturity in a 10 t FRP tank with photoperiod control facility (2000 lux; 14 L: 10 D). In about 2 months, the gonads reached right stage for spawning. The brooders were administered human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) intramuscularly, at a dosage of 350 IU kg body weight-1. A total of 5 experiments were conducted and successful spawnings were obtained resulting in the production of fertilized eggs. The time taken for spawning ranged from 30-36 h. The total number of eggs spawned ranged from 0.08 to 0.184 million. The fertilization percentage varied from 75 to 95. Freshly spawned eggs measured above 900 μ. The success obtained in all the consecutive five experiments indicated that predictable spawnings of pompano could be achieved by employing the techniques developed

सिंधुदुर्ग जिल्यातील स्थानिक अधिकारी आणि सागरी किनर पट्टीलगतच्या भागातील रहिवाशांसाठी मार्गदर्शक पुस्तिका भारतीय समुद्रात अढळणाप्या सागरी सस्तन प्राण्यांच्या प्रजाती आणि त्यांजी ओळख (Training Manual GOI-UNDP-GEF Sponsored Training Programme Species Identification of Marine Mammals of India) Marathi

Marine mammals – such as whales, dolphins, porpoises and sea cows have long been considered to be some of the most spectacular and majestic mega fauna on earth. For generations, they have captured the attention and imagination of people and cultures all over the world. Despite their beauty and the awe they inspire, virtually every species of marine mammal is listed as threatened or endangered, largely due to the direct and indirect impacts of human activities. Hundreds of years of aggressive hunting, combined with habitat destruction, marine noise, chemical pollution and increased shipping traffic have reduced populations to just a fraction of their original numbers. Several species are facing imminent extinction. In recent years, there is increasing awareness of the integral importance of marine mammals to healthy aquatic ecosystems, and of the growing threats that a variety of human activities pose to these animals and their environments

Surge in number of the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) washed up on Juhu and Girgaum beaches, Mumbai, Maharashtra

After the onset of South-west monsoon along the west coast of India, swarming of blue bottle jelly fish the Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) is observed at Juhu and Girgaum beaches, Mumbai almost every year. Portuguese man-of-war, though often mistaken as a jellyfish, is a marine Cnidarian of the family Physalidae. Its venomous tentacles can deliver painful sting. In July, 2013 sudden strong winds and high tide had brought in several bluebottle jelly fish (Fig 1). For several people, a walk by the seaside at Juhu and Girgaum beaches during first week of July, 2013 ended in redness of skin, swelling, irritation, itching, blisters and severe body ache. The daily news papers carried news items on the marine venomous creature, Portuguese man-of-war and their venomous sting threat to public