Kanban Based Scheduling in a Multistage and Multiproduct System

In the highly competitive manufacturing environment, many companies around the world are searching for ways to improve manufacturing performance. This is in response to changes in the manufacturing environment reflected by shortened product life cycles, diverse customer needs and the rapid progress of manufacturing technology. A JIT tool otherwise referred to as kanban based scheduling is then considered as a suitable management concept for Juhel Pharmaceutical Nigeria Ltd to address the challenges by minimising all the components, particularly on the shop floor. The JIT system is not just related to Kanban implementation but it comprises an all-inclusive approach for improving batch size reduction, setup time reduction, quality, production planning, and human resources management. Mechanisms and operating procedures are required to provide detailed step-by-step instructions for the implementation of a pull system. Basically, the Drug Process Plant operations are mainly characterised by single flow line production processes, periodical and multi-items orders. Based on the evaluation of the implementation of the new system, there are some factors that must be considered for further improvement including inventory reduction, improving visibility, batch size reduction and matching with other systems

A Review of the Implementation of JIT Algorithms and Models in Production Systems

Intense competition in today’s economy, the shrinking life cycles of products, and the heightening expectations of customers have forced business enterprises to focus their attention on correctly arranging and controlling their production and supply chain systems. Thus, manufacturing firms/industries adopt JIT techniques to enjoy competitive advantage. In this paper, a literature review is presented to show the important applications of JIT Algorithms and Models in Production Systems. The purpose of this step is to review the results obtained from the implementation and to provide the practical recommendations for further improvement. This will help reveal practical issues encountered in the implementation. All these issues should become main concerns if the manufacturing Plant wants to get maximum benefits from the JIT implementation. This study bridged a research gap by identifying a framework for re-design of manufacturing systems into practical optimum Just-In-Time systems. The conventional JIT approach is mostly applicable to static production systems and the dynamic production systems require a more practical integrated JIT approach

Imagining an Imperial Modernity: Universities and the West African Roots of Colonial Development

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupThis article takes the formation and work of the ‘Elliot’ Commission on Higher Education in West Africa (1943–45) to reconsider the roots of British colonial development. Late colonial universities were major development projects, although they have rarely been considered as such. Focusing particularly on the Nigerian experience and the controversy over Yaba Higher College (founded 1934), the article contends that late colonial plans for universities were not produced in Britain and then exported to West African colonies. Rather, they were formed through interactions between agendas and ideas with roots in West Africa, Britain and elsewhere. These debates exhibited asymmetries of power but produced some consensus about university development. African and British actors conceptualised modern education by combining their local concerns with a variety of supra-local geographical frames for development, which included the British Empire and the individual colony. The British Empire did not in this case forestall development, but shaped the ways in which development was conceived

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Issues in Structuring the Knowledge-base of Expert Systems

Abstract: The major bottlenecks in expert system development lie within the processes of eliciting and representing knowledge. Knowledge representation schemes combine data structures, and interpretative procedures that enable the extraction of the knowledge embedded in the data structures. A broad spectrum of knowledge types need to be represented, but available representation techniques are not optimum systems since they vary in level of expressiveness and power. Knowledge demands more than the conventional representation structures used for databases and information. This is because information is derived from processing, refining and analysing raw data. The extra refinement, analysis and addition of heuristics to information converts it to knowledge. This paper discusses the major issues in the quest for an efficient knowledge representation technique and assesses the performance and level of usefulness of some of the most successful approaches in knowledge representation

Design and Simulation of Microcontroller Based Electronic Calendar Using Multisim Circuit Design Software

Abstract-This paper presents the design and simulation of Microcontroller based Electronic Calendar using Circuit design suite-MULTISIM. Paper calendar has been in existence and is used manually to keep date of each week of the month every year. The emergence of electronic calendar has taken precedence over the paper type. Every electronic device is now integrated with the electronic calendar to enable the user to keep time and date anywhere at any time. This report would enable user to understand the foundational design of the electronic calendar through simulation. The system design was achieved by dividing it into five modules namely power supply, 8051 control system, select and set, day and date, digital clock display. Digit numbers that represent time, date, month, and year were written in assembly language and tested. The simulated system displays accurate time of the day, day of the week, its date, month and year. 8051 Microcontroller controls every unit and the result is shown to the user through seven segments display

Industrial design and simulation of a JIT material handling system

A Just-in-Time (JIT) Material Handling System attempts to manufacture products from start to finish by rearranging the factory floor layout away from batch production toward a product layout using flow lines. One of the most accepted JIT production methods used in this work is known as the Kanban system. Kanbans are used to operate a pull system of material control that links all supplying operations to a final assembly line. The ultimate goal of this system is the conversion of raw materials at the Juhel Oral Drug Process plant into finished products with lead time equal to processing time. The flows in the manufacturing model include: the flow of materials, the flow of information, and the flow of cost. These flows create the value streams. Components of the value stream can be value-add or waste, depending on the operating conditions. The simulation model developed in this research work is based on the single-card pull system developed at the Drug Process Plant. This model consists of three blocks (workstations) where there is a buffer located between two workstations. In this model, the material moves according to the Kanban rule. If Kanbans arrive and the material is available, the workstation starts processing the material. This research demonstrates that the design of the JIT system can significantly affect key manufacturing performance measures. JIT implementation cannot provide significant benefits if setup time and variability remain high as well as if the company is not able to optimise the production facilities by product mix. Based on the result from this work, JIT is not based upon rigid concepts. Therefore, successful implementation depends largely on the company’s ability to identify problems, creativity and efforts. The application of single-card pull system coupled with the use of the trigger point results in simpler mechanisms for operating the system

An algorithm for testing sufficient completeness of a simple class of conditional specifications'. Report CRIN 88-R-155, Centre de Recherche en Informatique de

Eliciting knowledge out of an expert is essentially the major focus of studies in knowledge engineering. Although the collection of documents, manuals, specification, procedures and research materials readily available in electronic libraries constitute knowledge, the real knowledge needed in organizations for crafting expert systems exists ‘between the ears ’ of workers, otherwise experts. Harvesting this knowledge poses the greatest challenge in the development of expert systems. Elicitation of knowledge and its transfer to a knowledge-based system is not only complex, but involves a range of diverse activities. This paper presents the important issues underlying the elicitation of explicit and tacit knowledge and also proffers solutions based on experiences acquired from research and development in the area of expert systems technology