Workforce management in manual assembly lines of large products: a case study

Assembly lines are used for a large variety of products in different industrial sectors. In this paper the focus is placed on complex assembly systems and workstations used for the final assembly of large and bulk products, such as trucks, aircrafts, buses, tool machines. An high number of tasks to be performed at a single assembly station, several workers involved in parallel in the assembly process and long Takt times make such systems different from the models intensively studied in the literature (e.g. the traditional Simple Assembly Line Balancing Problem). This study firstly presents a new balancing model to address the problem of the total cost minimization when different operator skills are involved at the same time and then it applies the model to a real industrial case

preventing ergonomic risks with integrated planning on assembly line balancing and parts feeding

In this paper, we advise to perform assembly line balancing simultaneously with decision-making on parts feeding. Such integrated planning may open additional potential to reduce labour costs. Additional planning flexibility gained with the integrated planning may be used to mitigate ergonomic risks at workplaces. We formulate the integrated assembly line balancing and parts feeding planning problem, propose a mixed-integer model and compare integrated planning to a common hierarchical planning approach in a detailed case study on the assembly of a self-priming pump. Our case study illustrates that workplaces with high ergonomic risks may emerge even in productions that involve handling parts and workpieces of low weights and avoid static and awkward postures. We also show that the proposed integrated planning approach may eliminate excessive ergonomic risks and improve productivity indicators simultaneously

the response latency in global production and logistics a trade off between robotization and globalization of a chain

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Closed Loop Supply Chain (CLSC): economics, modelling, management and control

This article summarizes the papers published in the special issue entitled “Closed Loop Supply Chain (CLSC): Economics, Modelling, Management and Control” in the International Journal of Production Economics. A total of 24 papers, covering an extensive range of topics in the Closed Loop Supply Chain research area, have been included in this special issue. This special issue received a wide and diverse geographical contribution with authors from 16 countries located in 4 continents including America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Initially, the special issue received 71 research paper submissions and the final selection of 24 papers, which were recommended by at least two reviewers, provide a basis for new research directions in the domain of reverse logistics and Closed Loop Supply Chain management

Routing strategy in a distribution network when the driver learning effect is considered

This paper faces one critical short term decision: the construction of routes for daily goods\u2019 deliveries in a distribution network. It investigates the possibility of applying a fixed routing strategy instead of a daily routing optimisation strategy, analysing the benefits derived from the driver\u2019s familiarity with his/her surroundings, customers\u2019 habits and set-ups. The final aim is to provide an effective and flexible decision-making tool to identify the best routing strategy, considering the level of learning invested by each driver. It is assumed that learning effect impacts on the service time, i.e., on the time spent in service operations once arrived at the customer\u2019s site. Results demonstrate that fixed routes strategy can often be better than the daily optimised strategy and strongly depends on the parameters investigated in this work. Two case applications are provided to help the reader\u2019s comprehension and demonstrate the methodology\u2019s potential and its practical implications

Implicit learning deficit in children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Evidence for a cerebellar cognitive impairment?

This study aimed at comparing implicit sequence learning in individuals affected by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy without intellectual disability and age-matched typically developing children. A modified version of the Serial Reaction Time task was administered to 32 Duchenne children and 37 controls of comparable chronological age. The Duchenne group showed a reduced rate of implicit learning even if in the absence of global intellectual disability. This finding provides further evidence of the involvement of specific aspects of cognitive function in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and on its possible neurobiological substrate

Dynamic modeling of networks and logistic complex systems

Modern supply chains usually provide very complex inter- correlations between various actors: suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, customers, etc. Such inter-correlations are not only based on material flows but also on data and financial flows. Discussions about alternatives for traditional goods and services distribution in the company are becoming more frequent, as the constantly increasing demands and requirements of the market put pressure on suppliers and manufacturers logistics. Therefore, this need is emphasized by the growing of industrial systems complexity and its indirect and drown costs, increasing day by day. The terms Supply Network and Business Web are now interchangeable in the way they are used to summarise flow in supply chains (Tapscott, 2000). Distribution Webs and Supply Networks are urgently demanding new effective management strategies to preserve competitiveness, increase organization and control the complexity level increment. This dissertation touches upon the fundamental theories of Distribution Network Optimization and Supply Network Complexity Analysis, it proposes new techniques to characterize peculiar Supply Network aspects and underline the importance of adequate systemic approaches and software support in the development of this particular discipline. This work has four main goals: 1. Show how Goods Delivery Distribution Optimization is feasible and critical to creates efficient networks 2. Investigate how the issue of Distribution Network Design is crucial in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness 3. Assess the performance of new algorithms for industrial network complexity control and computation; 4. Develop new quantitative measurements of complexity for supply networks based on Network Analysis, which is often used to study natural ecosystems, focusing in particular on the concept of entropy of information (derived by Shannon, 1948). All these accomplishment are associated with appropriate software applications. The dissertation is divided in three Parts (1. Theoretical framework, 2. New network analysis methodologies development, 3. Three published papers collection). This work, conducted with a profitable interdisciplinary collaboration with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Michigan University (Ann Arbour), is devoted to investigate alternatives for goods distribution in Supply Networks and develop advances in both theories on Supply Network Design problem and on its application to industrial contexts. The new interdisciplinary approaches developed exploit new performances indexes to map the exchange of goods and information between different actors in a complex supply chain and show how Network Analysis and systemic approaches are relevant tools in providing a new perspective in defining supply network organization and complexity