A novel development of a Strategic Sourcing Supplier Selection for Capital Equipment (S4 – CapEq) decision-making framework: a case study of a government-linked company in Malaysia

Malaysian Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) is increasingly using strategic sourcing as a means to control costs and risks. Consequently, supplier selection has become a major strategic decision for buyers. Supplier selection is a multi-criteria decision-making problem which includes both qualitative and quantitative factors. A reliable supplier selection method should be able to handle this need in order to support modern procurement requirement of having a systematic and transparent decision-making approach. This mandate, as well as the need for an increasingly strategic focus of corporate supply chain management departments, provides the basis for the current research. This study examines the appropriate strategic sourcing supplier selection metrics for procurement of capital equipment in the ESI in Malaysia. It identifies metrics contributing to the successful procurement of capital equipment which is seen as one of the many management practices that contribute to corporate success. A mixed methods approach comprising qualitative and quantitative survey was used. A case study of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the key player in the Malaysian ESI formed the basis of the study with questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. The study intended to identify and define the metrics that key stakeholders at TNB believed should be used for supplier selection. From the mixed methods approach, the metrics and their underlying definitional dimensions for selecting suppliers for capital equipment products was formulated. The outcomes foresee the possible initiatives to bring procurement in TNB to a strategic level. Firstly, although TNB seems to be formally implemented a governing procurement policy and procedures, the status of organizational supplier selection judgment is generally average. There was an identified need for improving organizational supplier selection effectiveness through an urgent introduction of a standard set of supplier selection metrics and corresponding definitional dimensions. Secondly, results suggested executives in TNB view supplier selection metrics from two different perspectives: supplier competitiveness and supplier attractiveness. Thirdly, the metrics ranked according to their importance level for strategic sourcing supplier selection in the ESI were product quality, delivery, price, support services, safety awareness, performance history and customer focus. Consequently, this study developed S4 – CapEq decision-making framework for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers in the ESI which incorporates elements of rational decision-making and corporate governance. Finally, future developments for this framework were posited

Assessing the Prefabricated Building Factory’s Quality by Pointing out its Strengths and Weaknesses in Terms of Vision, Plan, and Evaluation

Purpose: This study aims at the strengths and weaknesses in the application of the ISO 9001: 2015 quality management system and its impact on the competitive performance of the company, and to find out the reasons why the company did not obtain the ISO 9001: 2015 international specifications certificate, which it strives to obtain, which has a relationship with the competitive performance of the company (prefabricated building factory / Iraqi Ministry of Construction and Housing).   Theoretical framework: The lack of literature on the study at the Iraqi Ministry of Construction and Housing and Prefabricated Building Factory aimed to identify the strengths and weaknesses to determine the effects of applying the international standard. A related study on Asian port performance was analyzed and listed in the study based on a thematic approach.   Design/methodology/approach: The researchers in the company (prefabricated building factory) relied on interviews with top management, engineers in production lines, and technicians (Annex 1) by presenting questions to them (Annex 2) using the interview tool.   Findings: The most significant findings identified by researchers can be presented after discussing the requirements of the standard (ISO 9001:2015), vision, plan, and evaluation, and they attempt to make proposals to address cases of non-conformity diagnosed under the checklists and propose a set of recommendations related to the subject of the study.   Research, Practical & Social Implications: Research and Practical and Social Implications: This research provides the contributor with user inputs to find out the root causes of the aforementioned problem and aims to apply the remaining clauses of the International Standard Certification (ISO 9001:2015).   Originality/Value: To obtain the organization's international standards certificate (ISO 9001: 2015) in terms of its vision, plan, and evaluation item and to impose its application on other items of international standards, this study helps to identify the organization's strengths and weaknesses so that weaknesses can be avoided and strengths can be strengthened

Loss of Life Estimation using Life Safety Model for Dam Breach Flood Disaster in Malaysia

The need for an emergency disaster management related to dam has risen up in recent years. This is due to uncertainties in global weather predictions which also affect local Malaysian area. With unpredictable prolonged rainy weather, concerns on events that could lead to flooding has triggered the authority to review the evacuation strategies in critical locations. This paper describes an investigation on the effect of early warning system and people response delay to the rate of fatality in the event of flooding due to dam breach. The Life Safety Model is utilized as a tool for the simulation of people vehicle and building response to 2D hydraulic flow of the river originated from the dam. The study area is based on Kenyir Dam and its surrounding vicinity. A number of scenarios are simulated namely cases with and without early warning system. For the case with early warning system, different triggering time is also investigated. On top of that, the effect of people response delay to the warning system is simulated. It was found that early warning system plays a critical role in reducing the number of fatalities due to flooding. Equally important is the time taken for the community to start evacuating when triggered by the early warning system. From the result LSM, optimum evacuation parameters could be identified and used for the purpose of design, planning and implementation of local emergency evacuation plan in the event of dam-related flooding.

THE AVAILABILITY OF THE DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN THE ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFICATE IN PREFABRICATED BUILDING FACTORY- IRAQ: A CASE STUDY

The study aims to shed light on the item (documentation requirement) within one of the components of the general requirements of the international standard (ISO 9001:2015) in the prefabricated building factory in Kirkuk/ Iraq. The purpose of the study was to find out the reality of the availability and application of these requirements to obtain the certificate of international standards by indicating the levels of achievement of the documentation item, as well as an attempt to open horizons for the application of other necessary items for the factory to obtain the mentioned certificate. To achieve this goal, checklists were relied upon, which contributed to obtaining the necessary data to achieve the study objective. The study found statistical results showing that there is a large gap (70%) between the actual reality of the documentation requirement and the theoretical academic reality, and the organization must address this gap to improve its performance in obtaining the mentioned certificate. The study included proposals and recommendations, the most prominent of which was the need to establish a computerized database to collect data on the factory's operations and activities to benefit from it in future analysis and documentation processes

Enhancing Power Plants Safety by Accurately Predicting CO and NOx Leakages from Gas Turbines Using FFNN and LSTM Neural Networks

Gas power plants are fast-establishing power plants capable of producing reliable energy in high watts volumes. One of its significant features is its dependency on natural air as raw material to run the gas turbine. Air passes through several stages that involve heating the air to increase its pressure before being used in electric power generation. Leakage in gas power stations is considered a vital indication of irregular processes of those stages. Any fault existing in the meanwhile operations can result in lousy production performance. Considering the human and economic losses of gas leakage, it has become a challenge to prevent the same. One of the essential approaches to managing gas leakage reduction is an accurate prediction. This paper proposes an automatic prevention approach relying on deep learning technology for predicting gas leakage status. Furthermore, a novel dataset was supplied by a natural gas power plant to predict CO and NOx emissions. The dataset is used to train the deep learning models using Long-short Term Memory and Feed-Forward Neural Networks. The optimum accuracy obtained is over 92% for CO and over 58% for NOx while using the LSTM model as a predictor

INCEPTION OF 3Es IN PROMOTING DISASTER RESILIENT COMMUNITIES LIVING NEAR HYDROPOWER DAMS OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Excessive rain pattern has been the major cause contributing to flooding of low land due to excess water release from affected dams. This deliberate measure has to be taken to prevent the catastrophic effect of a dam break scenario. Therefore, this kind of disaster is considered as a local phenomenon. The local communities are the vulnerable population to face the immediate impact of such disaster. Needless to mention that they are also first emergency responders which is crucial for saving lives. It is therefore imperative for the involved stakeholders to improve local communities’ resilience to dam related disasters. This resonates well with the Hyogo Framework for Action, which identify local communities as integral cornerstone for saving lives and livelihoods. In the case of communities living near main hydropower dams owned by Tenaga Nasional Berhad, an initiative known as Integrated Community Based Disaster Management (ICBDM) has been launched in May 2015. This initiative adopts the concept of 3Es; embrace, educate and empower. The priority is to ensure the vulnerable communities embrace the reality, being educated to face any upcoming situation as well as being empowered to take charge of immediate live saving efforts in the future. The initiative involves five key scopes encompassing technical and non-technical areas and promotes the strategic partnerships between dam owner, authority and the community. It is anticipated that this initiative will build the resilience of communities to dam related disaster

DEVELOPMENT OF HUMANITARIAN SUPPLY CHAIN PERFORMANCE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK IN CREATING RESILIENT LOGISTICS NETWORK

Humanitarian logistics which is precisely known as humanitarian supply chain (HSC) plays a major role in reducing the impact of disaster on human life and livelihood by providing humanitarian aid in the forms of food, water, medicine, shelter and other supplies. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidences indicated that relief chain tends to be unstable, unpredictable and unresponsive to the needs of disaster victims. The 2004 Asian tsunami highlighted the lack of coordination between the relief chain linkages that hampered effective supply of aid. This phenomenon was further evident in our own context during the 2014 flood devastation in Peninsular Malaysia. Floodwaters and subsequent landslides blocked major roads, limiting access to evacuation centres and impeding the delivery of emergency relief supplies. Hence, an effective humanitarian supply chain management (HSCM) should be able to be deployed rapidly enabling provision of aid to beneficiaries. Notwithstanding the frequency and impact of disasters, humanitarian organizations today are under continuous pressure of improving their logistics performance. Departing from this need, this study aims to examine the criteria that influence the humanitarian aid actors in their decision making while increasing transparency and accountability of relief operations. Therefore, it is imperative for humanitarian sector to quantify the efficiency and effectiveness of a particular relief operation using set of performance metrics. A mixed methods approach comprising qualitative and quantitative survey will be used. The study intended to identify and define the metrics that would determine successful operational performance of disaster relief. This research will contribute mainly in the development of a HSCM performance model that (i) informs decision makers at the strategic, tactical and operational level in tracking progress, (ii) facilitate a more open and transparent communication and cooperation between humanitarian actors, and (iii) improve the logistics of disaster management both at the government and at non-governmental level

A novel development of a Strategic Sourcing Supplier Selection for Capital Equipment (S4 – CapEq) decision-making framework: a case study of a government-linked company in Malaysia

Malaysian Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) is increasingly using strategic sourcing as a means to control costs and risks. Consequently, supplier selection has become a major strategic decision for buyers. Supplier selection is a multi-criteria decision-making problem which includes both qualitative and quantitative factors. A reliable supplier selection method should be able to handle this need in order to support modern procurement requirement of having a systematic and transparent decision-making approach. This mandate, as well as the need for an increasingly strategic focus of corporate supply chain management departments, provides the basis for the current research. This study examines the appropriate strategic sourcing supplier selection metrics for procurement of capital equipment in the ESI in Malaysia. It identifies metrics contributing to the successful procurement of capital equipment which is seen as one of the many management practices that contribute to corporate success. A mixed methods approach comprising qualitative and quantitative survey was used. A case study of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), the key player in the Malaysian ESI formed the basis of the study with questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. The study intended to identify and define the metrics that key stakeholders at TNB believed should be used for supplier selection. From the mixed methods approach, the metrics and their underlying definitional dimensions for selecting suppliers for capital equipment products was formulated. The outcomes foresee the possible initiatives to bring procurement in TNB to a strategic level. Firstly, although TNB seems to be formally implemented a governing procurement policy and procedures, the status of organizational supplier selection judgment is generally average. There was an identified need for improving organizational supplier selection effectiveness through an urgent introduction of a standard set of supplier selection metrics and corresponding definitional dimensions. Secondly, results suggested executives in TNB view supplier selection metrics from two different perspectives: supplier competitiveness and supplier attractiveness. Thirdly, the metrics ranked according to their importance level for strategic sourcing supplier selection in the ESI were product quality, delivery, price, support services, safety awareness, performance history and customer focus. Consequently, this study developed S4 – CapEq decision-making framework for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers in the ESI which incorporates elements of rational decision-making and corporate governance. Finally, future developments for this framework were posited

Factors affecting the Client's Performance in the Public Construction Projects: Case Study of Oman

Despite the vast research on construction projects management issues in the Middle-East, little is known about client involvement in public projects. This article presents a study on identifying significant factors affecting client participation performance in public construction projects in the Sultanate of Oman. The study was conducted in quantitative approach where the data was collected through questionnaire survey. The collected data was analysed statistically to determine the ranking of the identified factors based on the degree of involvement in the project. The study found that the handover phase had the highest client’s participation, while the operations and maintenance phase had the lowest client’s participation among all the five construction phases. The low client participation in any project has an undesirable influence on the projects’ overall outcomes. Consequently, this condition has harmed the time of completion of construction projects in the Sultanate of Oman. This condition is also the main reason for the quality problems in construction projects in Oman