The role of high-performance people management practices in Industry 4.0: The case of medium-sized Spanish firms

Purpose: This paper wants to build the case for the key role of high-performance people management practices in the development of I4.0 in SMEs. The research upon which this paper is based wants to prove that the consolidation of those practices should be a priority for any company willing to embark in this journey. The paper deals specifically with medium-sized Spanish firms which, on top, are already having significant issues with digitization. Design/methodology: The paper starts by digging into the literature to see how past technologies have impacted productivity, followed by a review of the material available on digitization and Industry 4.0. It moves on to explore the relationship between people management practices, productivity and innovation. Finally, the focus is placed on Spanish medium-sized companies, understanding their current levels of consolidation of high-performance people management practices as well as digitization. With all this information, several propositions are posited for validation using the Delphi methodology. Findings: I4.0 is, at its core, about productivity improvements through business process and business model innovation. People management practices are found to be strongly correlated with both productivity and innovation. It has also been found that Spanish medium-sized firms already have a significant initial gap compared to those of other OECD countries not only in productivity, but also people management practices and digitization. The experts seem to agree on the key role of people management practices and that they should be a high priority for any firm seriously thinking about industry 4.0. This is not to say that strategy or leadership will not play a paramount role in any digital transformation, but to emphasize the fact that the normally-forgotten people management practices will be important enablers in this process. Originality/value: It is believed that this is a topic that has been mostly neglected in the I4.0 literature. In that sense, the findings of this paper could be relevant for small and medium-sized businesses embarking on the industry 4.0 journey. This will entail a significant investment of time and money and, if the key role of people management practices is not on the radar screen, it may have significant implications for the success of those ventures.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Subthreshold oscillations in a map-based neuron model

Self-sustained subthreshold oscillations in a discrete-time model of neuronal behavior are considered. We discuss bifurcation scenarios explaining the birth of these oscillations and their transformation into tonic spikes. Specific features of these transitions caused by the discrete-time dynamics of the model and the influence of external noise are discussed.Comment: To be published in Physics Letters

Negative Differential Resistance and Steep Switching in Chevron Graphene Nanoribbon Field Effect Transistors

Ballistic quantum transport calculations based on the non-equilbrium Green's function formalism show that field-effect transistor devices made from chevron-type graphene nanoribbons (CGNRs) could exhibit negative differential resistance with peak-to-valley ratios in excess of 4800 at room temperature as well as steep-slope switching with 6 mV/decade subtheshold swing over five orders of magnitude and ON-currents of 88$\mu$A/$\mu$m. This is enabled by the superlattice-like structure of these ribbons that have large periodic unit cells with regions of different effective bandgap, resulting in minibands and gaps in the density of states above the conduction band edge. The CGNR ribbon used in our proposed device has been previously fabricated with bottom-up chemical synthesis techniques and could be incorporated into an experimentally-realizable structure

La Objetividad como Logro Práctico

En las últimas décadas el concepto de objetividad se ha criticado por las "nuevas epistemologías". Estas críticas favorecen la consolidación de posiciones relativistas y subjetivas, que condicionan la objetividad del conocimiento científico a tal magnitud que parece ser una meta imposible lograr. Este riesgo ha provocado una reacción de propuestas que, admitiendo la importancia y validez de las observaciones hechas por epistemólogos talentosos como H. Polanyi, Popper, Khun, Feyerabend, entre otros, que intentan rescatar aspectos de objetividad que hace posible sostener su propósito

La consolidación de las prácticas de alto rendimiento de gestión de personas, una tarea prioritaria para el éxito de los sistemas de producción cíber-físicos en las medianas empresas españolas

Experts agree that cyber-physical production systems (CPPS), commonly known as lndustry 4.0 (14.0), have the potential to transform the business landscape through significant improvements in productivity. Those improvements come not only from process efficiency but, specially, from new business models. lmportant for this transformation potential is the fact that those improvements will be on top of the existing, significant, productivity differences between companies, which can make the gap between the leaders and followers potentially unbridgeable. This thesis shows that, in order to successfully cope with this digital disruption, medium-sized firms have to undertake, as a priority, the consolidation of high-performance people management practices. lt also brings evidence that, in the context of CPPS, time is a competitive variable more relevant than ever. Due to the special importance of accumulated learning in digitalization, there are not only very important advantages of being first but, companies that may consider 14.0 as a choice and not an imperative and, in consequence, may postpone its development, risk being left behind. Likewise, and to emphasize this sense of urgency, this thesis shows that the complexity associated with the implementation of 14.0 is high and that the process of doing so can properly be described as a "cultural transformation". Consequently, being a cultural transformation, a fact that inevitably requires time, and knowing that the process of consolidation of high-performance practices also requires time, it becomes an ever more important competitive variable. The urgency for medium-sized companies to start this journey cannot be over emphasized. From the perspective of the level of consolidation of those practices, Spanish medium-sized companies have, in general, a significant deficit, when compared to those of a good part of the OECD countries, usually their most direct competitors. In addition, they also have lower levels of digitization, making the challenge even bigger. This does not mean that there are not medium-sized companies with those high-performance practices consolidated or high levels of digitization but, in general, the average is low and dispersion high. The most relevant challenge of 14.0 does not come from the technological elements intrinsic to this digital disruption, but from the need to innovate in business processes. lt is not intended here to state that technology does not play an important role in lndustry 4.0, it does, but that technological complexity should not hide the fact that it is only a tool, a means toan end. This thesis is structured as follows: a) First, it is shown that there is an agreement in the fact that the expected impact of CPPS on productivity is not only very important, but transformative, disruptive. b) Second, by digging into what happened in other technological innovations that have had a transformative impact in the past, such as the alternate current motor and the information and communication technologies, it is shown that in both cases, there is agreement that their impact on productivity has materialized through innovation in processes and business models. c) Third, evidence is presented that for CPPS, the impact may be even bigger, because digitization seems to create a growing gap over time between winners and followers, generating a kind of virtuous cycle. d) Fourth, it is shown that there is consensus behind the cause of the wide dispersion of productivity and innovation levels: the dispersion in the level of implementation of high-performance people management practices. e) Fifth, evidence is presented that Spanish medium-sized firms are lagging behind in the level of implementation of high-performance people management practices as well as in digitization, when compared with those of the OECD countries. f) Finally, the proposals to be validated, the selected methodology, the results and conclusions are presented.Els experts coincideixen en que els sistemes de producció ciber-físics (CPPS), coneguts habitualment com a indústria 4.0 (14.0), tenen el potencial de transformar el panorama empresarial mitjançant millores substancials de la productivitat. Aquestes millores provenen no només de l'eficiència dels processos sinó de nous models de negoci. Quan es parla de potencial de transformació, s’està pensant en una verdadera disrupció, donat que aquestes millores s'afegiran a les ja existents i molt significatives diferencies de productivitat entre empreses, el que pot fer que la diferencia entre líders i seguidors sigui potencialment insalvable. Aquesta tesi mostra que, per fer front amb èxit a aquesta disrupció digital, les mitjanes empreses industrials han d'emprendre, com a prioritat, la consolidació de les practiques d'alt rendiment de gestió de persones. També presenta evidencies de que, en el context dels CPPS, el temps és una variable competitiva més rellevant que mai. Degut a l'especial importància de l'aprenentatge acumulat en la digitalització, no només hi ha avantatges molt importants de ser primer, sinó que les empreses que considerin la 14.0 com una elecció i no un imperatiu i ajornin el seu desenvolupament, poden quedar totalment despenjades en la carrera competitiva. Així mateix, i per emfatitzar aquesta sensació d’urgència, també es presenta que la complexitat associada a la implementació dels CPPS és elevada i que el procés per fer-ho es pot descriure adequadament com una "transformació cultural". En conseqüència, al ser una transformació cultural un fet que inevitablement implica temps, que el procés de consolidació de practiques d' alt rendiment es lent i, essent el temps una variable competitiva més important que mai, la urgència per començar aquest viatge no es pot recalcar prou. Des de la perspectiva del nivell de les pràctiques d'alt rendiment de gestió de persones, les mitjanes empreses espanyoles, en general, presenten un dèficit important, en comparació amb les de bona part dels països de IOCDE. A més, també tenen nivells de digitalització més baixos. El desafiament més rellevant de la 14.0 no prové dels elements tecnològics intrínsecs sinó de la necessitat d'innovar en processos de negoci. En cap cas es pretén afirmar que la tecnologia no té un paper molt important en els CPPS, sinó que la complexitat tecnològica no ha d'amagar el fet que només és un mitja per aconseguir un fi. Aquesta tesi s'estructura de la següent manera: a) En primer lloc, es comprova a partir d'un panell d'experts que hi ha un acord ampli en que !'impacte esperat dels CPPS sobre la productivitat no només és molt important, sinó transformador i disruptiu. b) En segon lloc, aprofundint en el que va passar en altres innovacions tecnològiques passades que també han tingut un impacte transformador, com ara el motor de corrent altern i les tecnologies de la informació i la comunicació, es comprova que, en ambdós casos, hi ha un acord que el seu impacte sobre la productivitat es materialitza a través de la innovació en processos i models de negoci. e) En tercer lloc, es presenta evidencia que, per a els CPPS, l'impacte pot ser encara més gran, perquè la digitalització crea diferencials creixents en el temps entre guanyadors i seguidors. d) En quart lloc, es comprova que hi ha consens darrere de la causa de l'amplia dispersió dels nivells de productivitat i innovació: la dispersió en el nivell d'implementació de pràctiques de gestió de persones d'alt rendiment. e) En cinquè lloc, es mostra que les empreses mitjanes espanyoles estan endarrerides en la implantació de les practiques d'alt rendiment com en digitalització. f) Finalment, s'introdueixen les propostes, es selecciona la metodologia de validació i es presenten els resultats i les conclusions

The best economic alternative for the port of Barranquilla. A business challenge

En la actualidad las compañías buscan la optimización de sus recursos para lograr ser más rentable y lograr la eficiencia en sus procesos. A la hora de lanzar un proyecto se debe tener en cuenta el micro y macro entorno de la ciudad y país. En el caso del puerto de barranquilla se debe aprovechar su posición geográfica ya que esto nos permite tener contacto con todas las regiones del país y el exterior; para esto se deben estudiar diferentes alternativas de acuerdo a la situación actual del puerto, para lograr que este sea más eficiente y competitivo frente a los puertos nacionales e internacionales. Precisamente con este estudio se busca plantear una solución para mejorar el puerto de Barranquilla, con el fin de lograr mayor competitividad frente a otras zonas portuarias y así poder generar mayores ingresos aprovechando su posición geográfica dada por río y mar. Dentro de esta investigación se tomó como objeto de estudio el Puerto de Barranquilla junto con los datos dado por un estudio de caso (obtenido de la Universidad de la Costa) referente al mismo y se hizo un análisis de datos probabilístico con índices de bondad financiera (VPN), generándose como decisión la alternativa de reducción de necesidades de dragado con obras hidráulicas ya que generan el menor costo para realizar la obra. La mayor parte del problema viene dado por la sedimentación que trae el río que no permite el flujo continuo de embarcaciones y para eso se busca realizar obras en boca de ceniza e isla 1972 para así poder generar solución a la desventaja y generar mayores ingresos y fuentes de empleo.Currently, companies are looking for the optimization of their resources to be more profitable and achieve efficiency in their processes. When a project is accepted, the micro and macro environment of the city and country must be taken into account. In the case of the port of Barranquilla, its geographical position must be used since this allows us to have contact with all regions of the country and other countries; for this we must study different alternatives according to the current situation of the port, to ensure that this would be more efficient and competitive against national and international ports. The idea with this study is to propose a solution to improve the port of Barranquilla, in order to be a more competitive compared to other port areas and thus be able to generate greater income taking advantage of its geographical position given by river and sea. In this investigation, the Port of Barranquilla was taken as an object of study along with the data given by the case study concerning it and a probabilistic data analysis with financial goodness indices was made (VPN). The decision was the alternative to reduce dredging needs with hydraulic works were taken as they generate the lowest cost to carry out the work. Most of the problem is due to the sedimentation that the river brings that does not allow the continuous flow of vessels and for that purpose it is sought to carry out works in the Bocas de Cenizas and island 1972 in order to generate a solution to the disadvantage and generate greater income and sources of employment

Smart and networking underwater robots in cooperation meshes : the swarms ECSEL : H2020 project

The work presented on this paper is aimed to explain the role that unmanned underwater vehicles (AUVs/ROVs) plays in the ECSEL-H2020 SWARMS project. The main goal of the project is to reduce the operational cost and increase the safety of tasks assigned to divers in these operations. This will be achieved enabling the AUVs/ROVs to work in a cooperative mesh. The challenge is to design and develop an integrated platform (a set of Software/Hardware components), incorporated into the current generation of underwater vehicles in order to improve autonomy, cooperation, robustness, cost-effectiveness, and reliability of the offshore operations. The first demonstration of the project will be performed at PLOCAN (Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands) where these technologies will be validated on its first stage.Peer Reviewe

Teoremas límites en procesos de Galton-Watson con varianza finita

En este artículo investigamos diferentes teoremas límites en un proceso crítico de Galton-Watson con un solo tipo de partículas y varianza finita. Los límites encontrados se basan en el supuesto de que el proceso comienza con una sola partícula y en las siguientes tres condiciones: Procesos bajo la condición "no extinción", procesos bajo la condición "extinción en el futuro cercano Procesos bajo la condición punto de tiempo exacto de extinción". Nuestro lema básico (lema 3.3) será clave para encontrar tales límites