Intelligent shop scheduling for semiconductor manufacturing

Semiconductor market sales have expanded massively to more than 200 billion dollars annually accompanied by increased pressure on the manufacturers to provide higher quality products at lower cost to remain competitive. Scheduling of semiconductor manufacturing is one of the keys to increasing productivity, however the complexity of manufacturing high capacity semiconductor devices and the cost considerations mean that it is impossible to experiment within the facility. There is an immense need for effective decision support models, characterizing and analyzing the manufacturing process, allowing the effect of changes in the production environment to be predicted in order to increase utilization and enhance system performance. Although many simulation models have been developed within semiconductor manufacturing very little research on the simulation of the photolithography process has been reported even though semiconductor manufacturers have recognized that the scheduling of photolithography is one of the most important and challenging tasks due to complex nature of the process. Traditional scheduling techniques and existing approaches show some benefits for solving small and medium sized, straightforward scheduling problems. However, they have had limited success in solving complex scheduling problems with stochastic elements in an economic timeframe. This thesis presents a new methodology combining advanced solution approaches such as simulation, artificial intelligence, system modeling and Taguchi methods, to schedule a photolithography toolset. A new structured approach was developed to effectively support building the simulation models. A single tool and complete toolset model were developed using this approach and shown to have less than 4% deviation from actual production values. The use of an intelligent scheduling agent for the toolset model shows an average of 15% improvement in simulated throughput time and is currently in use for scheduling the photolithography toolset in a manufacturing plant

Seaport Management Aspects and Perspectives: an Overview

Ireland occupies the northern part of the western European coast which has a 70,000 Kilometres coasting along two oceans and four seas. These coasts are Europe’s lifeblood and represent the trade routes, climate regulator and source of food, energy and resources. Seaports and shipping are key maritime activities which allow European coast countries to benefit from the rapid growth of international trade. Therefore, port management became the centre of governments’ interest and the focal point of research to improve the efficiency. This research aims to summaries past publications of seaport systems to highlight challenges and reveal relevant research gaps. Having the objective to classify the literature, a comprehensive review of journal articles and the best practices in the field was conducted. A wide variety of management issues and opportunities to improve service delivery of port systems was discussed in a three main categories based on port authority objectives; strategic, economic and operational

Analysing Supply Chain Resilience: Integrating the Constructs in a Concept Mapping Framework Via a Systematic Literature Review

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the concept of supply chain resilience (SCRES) using a concept mapping framework to seek conceptual clarity, with an emphasis on SCRES definitions, essential capabilities, elements and managerial practices. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review was conducted of 103 peer-reviewed journal articles covering the period from 2000 to 2015, with the aim to identify supply chain resilience concept. Findings: Through analysis and synthesis of the literature, the study revealed three major constructs used to define resilience in supply chain: SCRES phases, strategies, and capabilities. The study has addressed five core resilience capabilities: the ability to anticipate, to adapt, to respond, to recover, and to learn. The study has also identified 13 essential elements and several managerial practices that support firms to acquire the five capabilities. The studied capabilities are then linked with supply chain resilient phases and strategies in order to establish an integrated view of the concept. Research limitations/implications: The explorative nature of this study and the role of the concept mapping framework, which does not empirically test the relationships in the model, are considered as limitations, to be addressed by the authors in future research. Originality/value: The originality of this paper lies in the classification of different features of SCRES through a comprehensive concept mapping framework that establishes relationships and interactions between them. This study, therefore, lays a foundation for testing these connections in future empirical studies. The article brings together fragmented literature from multiple studies to create a solid body of knowledge that addresses the need for conceptual clarity in SCRES literature

Applications of Optimisation in Serious Games Design: An Integrated Framework

It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the need to get out of the traditional learning methods especially in complex fields such as operations management (OM) and supply chain management (SCM). Simulation-based serious games have been identified as a promising learning tool to leverage the learning ability for the current generation known as virtual era generation. Literature lacks for formal guidelines to design and implement a simulation-based serious game to achieve learning, entertaining, keeping an active instructor role, and collecting real-time learning efficiency indicators. This study proposes a comprehensive framework and implementation for simulation-based serious game AUSUM (AUtomobile SUpply chain Management) which can be adopted in operations management and supply chain management courses to teach various business concepts such as capacity and production planning, inventory management, information sharing, and collaboration and negotiation between students. Simulation optimisation integration was adopted to achieve the target of the game of leveraging the learning ability for students. The results showed that students remarkably accepted AUSUM and it achieved an improvement in learning using the proposed framework

Serious Games Integrated Framework: Keep Them in the Flow

Serious games aim to improve the learner experience, allowing them to build knowledge and skills using untraditional learning tools. Supply chain management (SCM) and similar complex fields are promising areas for the adoption of such technology. Complex interrelated concepts and the difficulties faced by the student in understanding and managing the complete image of the field prompts teachers to search for alternative learning tools. This paper proposes an integrated simulation-based serious games framework and describes an implemented serious game called AuSuM (AUtomobile SUpply chain Management). The framework explains the required components and the relationships between them in order to improve engagement and motivation for students in the classroom. This framework was tested through the implemented game, and piloted in real classrooms where it demonstrated improvement in students’ engagement, motivation and knowledge development

Knowledge Management and Measurement: a Critical Review

Purpose - Knowledge is the currency of the current economy, a vital organisational asset and a key to creating a sustainable competitive advantage. The consequent interest in Knowledge Management (KM) has spurred an exponential increase in publications covering a broad spectrum of diverse and overlapping research areas. The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review and categorised analysis of the rapidly growing number of KM publications, and offer a comprehensive reference for new-comers embarking on research in the field with a particular focus on the area of Knowledge Measurement. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 350 articles published in peer-reviewed journals over the last decade are carefully reviewed, analysed and categorised according to their specific subject matter in the KM context. Findings - KM research tends to fall in one of five categories: (1) Ontology of Knowledge and KM, (2) Knowledge Management Systems, (3) Role of Information Technology, (4) Managerial & Social issues, and (5) Knowledge Measurement. Despite the accumulation of extensive publication efforts in some areas, a series of disagreements and a theory-practice gap are revealed as challenging issues that need to be addressed. Research limitations/implications - The scope of this study does not cover KM research in its entirety due to the vast nature of the research field. Originality/value - This paper presents a new birds-eye view of the KM landscape through a novel taxonomy of KM research providing researchers with new insights for future applied research, and offers a comprehensive critical review of major knowledge measurement frameworks

Modeling Behaviour of Nurses in Clinical Medical Unit in University Hospital: Burnout Implications

High demand of healthcare services due to changes in population demography, technological and medical advancements, budget limitations have direct effect on medical staff and medical organizations in particularly hospitals. One of the major issues confronting the healthcare system is staff behavior when they get close to \u27burnout\u27 level. This study identifies factors affecting nurses\u27 behavior and its impact on patients experience time using system dynamics. A particular focus is given to nurses in one of the medical clinical units in one of the largest hospitals in Ireland. Armed with a comprehensive system dynamic model that revolves around the staff stresses, an examination of Skill-Mix, Work Intensity, and Time Per Activity is conducted to examine performance issues due to nurses\u27 fatigue and burnout. Results demonstrate serious consequences on patients\u27 experience time and service quality measures as a proportional result of the increased pressures on nurses in this unit

The MinK Framework: Investigating Individual Knowledge Indicators

Purpose – Effective knowledge management (KM) entails knowledge assessment capability to enable identification of knowledge assets and proper governance of value creation dynamics. Although some studies have attempted to use different methods to measure knowledge at the organisational level, few have addressed the individual knowledge holder. The purpose of this paper is to present a state-of-the-art framework, referred to as MinK, that enables organisations to measure individual knowledge in the business context using a novel diversity of indicators. Design/methodology/approach – The model was developed based on a comprehensive conceptual framework. A pilot study composed of 20 semi- structured interviews elicited valuable feedback from practitioners and was followed by a validation phase in which an electronic questionnaire is used to survey a large sample of senior managers. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature by presenting an innovative integrated individual knowledge measurement framework, and proposing a theoretical framework for the pivotal role of individuals in the organisational knowledge environment. Practical implications – The model provides mangers with a valuable tool capable of identifying knowledge holders and supporting effective KM decision making to achieve optimal organisational performance. Results showed that the MinK framework was also well received by industry and accepted as a valid framework

Hybrid Modelling for Vineyard Harvesting Operations

Hiring workers under seasonal recruiting contracts causes significant variation of workers skills in the vineyards. This leads to inconsistent workers performance, reduction in harvesting efficiency, and increasing in grape losses rates. The objective of this research is to investigate how the variation in workers experience could impact vineyard harvesting productivity and operational cost. The complexity of the problem means that it is difficult to analyze the system parameters and their relationships using individual analytical model. Hence, a hybrid model integrating discrete event simulation (DES) and agent based modeling (ABM) is developed and applied on a vineyard to achieve research objective. DES models harvesting operation and simulates process performance, while ABM addresses the seasonal workers heterogeneous characteristics, particularly experience variations and disparity of working days in the vineyard. The model is used to evaluate two seasonal recruiting policies against vineyard productivity, grape losses quantities, and total operational cost

On the Selection of Simulation Software for Manufacturing Application

The growing complexity of manufacturing along with the need for higher efficiency, greater flexibility, better product quality and lower cost urged the use of simulation in manufacturing systems. The number and variety of simulation software packages on the market increased as well. Consequently, the varieties of these packages led to some bewilderment on the part of potential users when faced the selection process. The present article addresses an overview of material addressed in journals, conferences, and textbooks on the selection of appropriate simulation software. It also suggests a classification of main criteria to be considered in evaluating simulation software packages. Moreover, a checklist of simulation software features with five levels of indication will be included. A proposed methodology has been employed in interpreting the checklist. Finally, future trends towards the provision of more effective selection tools will be discussed