Investigating Implemented Process Design: A Case Study on the Impact of Process-aware Information Systems on Core Job Dimensions

Adequate process design particularly means that a process fulfills its stakeholders’ expectations. However, when designing process-aware information systems (PAIS), one stakeholder and his expectations are often neglected: the end user. Frequently, this results in end user fears, which, in turn, lead to emotional resistance and a lack of user support during process and information system design. In order to overcome this vicious circle it becomes necessary to better understand the impact of operationalized process design on the end users’ work profile. This paper presents the results of a case study at two Dutch companies.We investigate in which way employees perceive the impact of a newly introduced PAIS based on workflow management technology with respect to five job dimensions: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback from the job

Effective use of product quality information in meat processing

This paper presents a case study on use of advanced product quality information in meat processing. To serve segmented customer demand meat processors consider use of innovative sensor technology to sort meat products to customer orders. To assess the use of this sensor technology a discrete-event simulation model is built. Various scenarios were defined for processing strategy (buffered or non-buffered), the number of end product groups to sort to and the availability of product quality information. The performance of these scenarios is measured w.r.t. order compliance, labor consumption and throughput-time. Our results reveal that the current processing and product sorting strategy is in-effective for sorting to a large number of end product groups. Furthermore, the current availability of product quality information is insufficient to ensure high levels of order compliance for advanced product quality products

Composing the East: Depictions of the Yogyakarta Court in the 18th Century

The earliest depictions of the Yogyakarta court consist of drawings from the 18th century, between 1771-83, drawn by the Danish artist Johannes Rach and his assistant A. De Nelly. Although both drawings appear realistic and have been used as a reference of the history of the court, they cannot be assumed to have (tried) to document the site in a neutral manner. Rach and De Nelly worked on commission and composed elements in views or landscapes to fit into prescribed composition, where perspective, deep space and dramatic plays of light dictate results. Missing buildings and unidentified structures could therefore be explained as adaptations the artists made to adhere to a specific composition. Visual analysis of De Nelly’s and Rach’s drawings show that their work is quite consistent with the visual idiom of European drawn landscapes. In addition, missing buildings, unidentified structures as well as odd activities of courtiers can be explained as added elements. Their purpose was to arrange the composition in three equal layers (foreground, main motif, background) supported by shading, axes to guide the gazer’s view, a central axis and mirroring elements to create a balance, and use perspective and overlaps to create an illusion of a three dimensional space. Keywords: Yogyakarta, court, architecture, 18th centur

Process redesign for effective use of product quality information in meat chains

To fulfil segmented consumer demand and add value, meat processors seek to exploit quality differences in meat products. Availability of product quality information is of key importance for this. We present a case study where an innovative sensor technology that provides estimates of an important meat quality feature is considered. Process design scenarios that differ with respect to sorting complexity, available product quality information, and use of temporary buffers are assessed using a discrete event simulation model. Results indicate that increasing sorting complexity by use of advanced product quality information results in a reduction of processing efficiency. Use of production buffers was found to increase processing flexibility and mitigate negative effects of high sorting complexity. This research illustrates how the use of advanced product quality information in logistics’ decision-making affects sorting performance, processing efficiency, and the optimal processing design, an area that has so far received little attention in literature