Engineering data management: a tool for technical coordination

This paper studies the basic motivations behind Engineering Data Management (EDM) in a decade long Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project with at least another decades operational period at CERN. The main argument is that without strict managerial principles to control engineering work the exploitation of EDM becomes impossible. Structured and organized configuration management is the absolute prerequisite for an effective integration of design, manufacturing and installation work. EDM is seen to provide all collaborating parties of the project with a coherent and up-to-date view of the product specifications together with other relevant information, such as products change log, responsibilities and status indicators during the products whole life-cycle. It is argued that by combining simple and commonly accepted managerial principles with an advanced EDM system the outcome supports the main phases of products evolution, i.e. design, assembly, operation and maintenance. The paper outlines the main tasks of the configuration management and the fundamental requirements of EDM in order to meet LHC-projects complexity, stringent budget, high quality and tight schedule constraints set by the CERN Council. Keywords: configuration management, new product development, project management, concurrent engineering, engineering data managemen

Towards the Extended Enterprise in Project Business

This paper studies the evolution of engineering information systems towards full support of distributed operations in project business. The results reported are based on an industrial project called Connecting Distributed Competencies (CoDisCo). With multiple industrial collaborators the project brings together project management, Internet and the construction of complex products. The aim of the project is to outline the best practices, both managerial and tool-wise, on how to connect distributed partners and their competencies in such a way that the end-product is delivered in time, with right quality, reliable documentation and within the planned budget frame. From the cases ranging from complex scientific instrumentation to traditional industries such as shipbuilding it becomes evident that modern communication systems can improve efficiency and reduce mistakes, yet they do not make well-allocated face-to- face reviews with collaborating parties obsolete. It is also reported that despite the sophisticated network applications the routines performed with them are trivial and that higher-level system integration between parties requires information to be structured in a coherent way. Introduction of formal data structures is laborious, but when completed project efficiency is improved. It is concluded that in order to turn project-oriented businesses into extended enterprises the deployment of Internet and WWW play a decisive role. Keywords: configuration management, document management, project management, Internet, World Wide Web (WWW), distributed product development, networking, one-of-a-kind manufacturing, complex products, supply chain management

Document management guidelines for distributed project networks

This paper provides the project engineer with guidelines or a checklist on tasks that must be considered, defined and documented before the project can successfully implement a document management system in geographically distributed project environment. Topics ranging from configuration management, approval process, document types, user administration and document naming are covered. The underlying cases of the paper are that of CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics) and its latest accelerator project, together with the Nordisk Industrifond -funded Connecting Distributed Competencies (NI#: 98082) project, with a focus on distributed shipbuilding processes. Keywords: distributed project management, product data management, networking, document management, virtual workspace

PENGUJIAN SITOTOKSISITAS PADUAN Mg-1,6Gd SEBAGAI BAHAN IMPLAN TULANG DENGAN SEL OSTEOBLAST

Tingginya angka kecelakaan lalu lintas di Indonesia yang mengakibatkan banyak korban yang mengalami cedera patah tulang. Penanganan yang bisa dilakukan yaitu pemasangan implan tulang. Magnesium menjadi bahan yang menarik untuk bahan implan tulang biodegradable karena sifat fisiknya yang hampir mirip dengan tulang manusia, tetapi di dalam lingkungan tubuh manusia magnesium mengalami kecepatan kelarutan sebelum tumbuh jaringan baru sehingga perlu dipadukan dengan bahan gadolonium untuk dapat memperlambat kelarutan magnesium. Sebelum paduan Mg-Gd dijadikan sebagai bahan implan perlu dilakukan uji sitotoksisitas menggunakan sel osteoblast. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode MTT Assay untuk mendapatkan viabilitas sel setelah diberikan perlakuan. Sampel Mg-1,6Gd yang sudah dirol dengan reduksi 80% dan reduksi 95% pada variasi temperatur 400C, 450C, 500C, dan 550C dimasukan ke dalam plate berisi sel osteoblast. Setelah sampel diinkubasi selama 3, 7, dan 14 hari lalu dilarutkan cairan MTT ke dalam plate dan dibaca dengan Elisa Plate Reader. Berdasarkan penelitian didapatkan bahwa sampel yang dirol dengan reduksi 95% bersifat non toksik karena nilai viabilitasnya rata-rata diatas 70%. Sampel yang dirol dengan reduksi 80% dan 95% pada temperatur 400C mempunyai nilai viabilitas stabil diatas 70%

Results and recommendations from an intercomparison of six Hygroscopicity-TDMA systems

The performance of six custom-built Hygrocopicity-Tandem Differential Mobility Analyser (H-TDMA) systems was investigated in the frame of an international calibration and intercomparison workshop held in Leipzig, February 2006. The goal of the workshop was to harmonise H-TDMA measurements and develop recommendations for atmospheric measurements and their data evaluation. The H-TDMA systems were compared in terms of the sizing of dry particles, relative humidity (RH) uncertainty, and consistency in determination of number fractions of different hygroscopic particle groups. The experiments were performed in an air-conditioned laboratory using ammonium sulphate particles or an external mixture of ammonium sulphate and soot particles. The sizing of dry particles of the six H-TDMA systems was within 0.2 to 4.2% of the selected particle diameter depending on investigated size and individual system. Measurements of ammonium sulphate aerosol found deviations equivalent to 4.5% RH from the set point of 90% RH compared to results from previous experiments in the literature. Evaluation of the number fraction of particles within the clearly separated growth factor modes of a laboratory generated externally mixed aerosol was done. The data from the H-TDMAs was analysed with a single fitting routine to investigate differences caused by the different data evaluation procedures used for each H-TDMA. The differences between the H-TDMAs were reduced from +12/-13% to +8/-6% when the same analysis routine was applied. We conclude that a common data evaluation procedure to determine number fractions of externally mixed aerosols will improve the comparability of H-TDMA measurements. It is recommended to ensure proper calibration of all flow, temperature and RH sensors in the systems. It is most important to thermally insulate the aerosol humidification unit and the second DMA and to monitor these temperatures to an accuracy of 0.2 degrees C. For the correct determination of external mixtures, it is necessary to take into account size-dependent losses due to diffusion in the plumbing between the DMAs and in the aerosol humidification unit.Peer reviewe

Key performance indicators for PLM benefits evaluation: The Alcatel Alenia Space case study

From a theoretical point of view, people are used to think that the adoption of innovative business solutions, for optimizing the product lifecycle, should always guarantee a sufficient return on the investment (ROI), even if the concrete benefits that the investment has given to the company are sometimes difficult to evaluate. Looking at the technical literature it is possible to find a lot of ROI's estimation metrics for the evaluation of business strategies, even if after the analysis of the theoretical concepts no one faces with a real implementation of the methodology proposed. This paper proposes a solution, based on the key performance indicator (KPI) method, for evaluating the benefits introduced by the adoption of a Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tool in a one of a kind company. The methods have been validated with its implementation into an Aerospace and Defence company (Alcatel Alenia Space), highlighting the improvement created by the implementation of the PLM solution in the everyday activities and showing the system's contribution for some key-process as configuration, change and documentatio

The effect of local sources on aerosol particle number size distribution, concentrations and fluxes in Helsinki, Finland

Peer reviewe

Strategies and tactics of Chinese contract manufacturers and western OEMs (2001-2011)

As policy makers seek to draw lessons from the growth of Chinese manufacturing, we need to better understand the evolving strategies adopted by Chinese manufacturers since the economic reforms of the 1980s. Focusing on the apparel and electronics sectors, we look at how Chinese manufacturers sought to move to higher value-adding parts of the supply chain in different ways during the period 2001–2011 and how their western OEMs responded. As a first step towards understanding the co-evolving strategies and tactics of Chinese contract manufacturers and western OEMs, we use a simple game-theoretic framework of contract manufacturer and OEM strategies to look at the actual tactics many Chinese contract manufacturers adopted. Our findings are that Chinese contract manufacturers ended up co-operating, competing, or co-opetiting (i.e., cooperating and competing at the same time) with western OEMs. Also, western OEMs used their position in the supply chain to devise counter-measures, possibly ending with win–win solutions for both sides