The study on the integration of Activity Based Costing (ABC) system and six-sigma principle

Manufacturing organizations are facing much more challenges as compared to the earlier years. The important and crucial decisions have to be taken by the management in continuous basis in order to ensure the survival and competitiveness of company throughout the journey to become a successful organization. In order to make these decisions fast and correct, they need more accurate information related to financial and non-financial aspects. The conventional cost management systems, which were developed decades ago are unable to provide all information required to make right decision, justify the cost reduction and process improvements (Chen, 1996). This is because they were based on labor-intensive production system while today’s production processes are more sophisticated and faces constant changes. An alternative costing system, Activity Based Costing (ABC) has emerged to the new solution to costing system. It provides financial and non-financial information not only for product costing but also for each activity of manufacturing process. It can list and measure the cost of each activity individually in production and in supporting activities to deliver of a product or service right to customers (Sohal & Chung, 1998). ABC focuses on the activities performed to produce the products throughout the manufacturing process (Gunasekaran et al., 1999). By assigning other costs, such as marketing and administrative to cost object, ABC able to provide more accurate product costs. It helps to improve the operational performance by allocating overhead costs correctly. It provides cost information based on the actual consumption of the resources by each particular activity. The goal of ABC is to reveal cost allocation information by tracing the production costs accurately to activities and product (Gunasekaran et al., 1999). The implementation of ABC has provided many benefits, such as more accurate product costing, providing of cost behavior information and tracing resources consumptions. Realizing many benefits gain from implementation of ABC, many companies have embarked in applying ABC system. However, there are many problems and barriers they encountered during the implementation, which made some has decided to abort this system and not be able to exploit its advantages. It is the objective of this study to help foster the growth of Malaysian companies by helping them to provide better understanding,knowledge and skills to take advantage of using ABC as a tool to improve their manufacturing process. The title of the project is The Study on Integration of Activity-based Costing and Six-sigma Principle. The specific objective of the study is to determine success factors for ABC implementation in manufacturing companies based on Six-sigma process improvement principle. The focus of the study is to identify and understand the critical success factors in implementation of ABC, to identify and specified the problems and barriers and to understand their relationship with the ABC success. In order to identify, understand and formulate the proposed solution, this study will use a survey approach to get required data for further analysis. The survey will be based on mailed questionnaires to selected manufacturing industries in Malaysia. In order to formulate a comprehensive and relevant set of questionnaires, a comprehensive review of literature will be studied, followed by validation and verification process,which involved expert opinions and a pilot study. The next phase is where data from the study will be analyzed to identify areas related to the level of acceptance of ABC,the critical success factors and also to determine the relationship between the organization’s factors and the success of implementation of ABC system. The tangible outcome of this project is to provide a set of proposed guidelines and support tools for manufacturing organizations in applying Activity-based Costing for process improvement efforts as suggested by Six-sigma improvement principle

Development of an in-sole plantar pressure measurement device

This paper describes the design and development of an In-sole Plantar Pressure Device (IPPD) to measure underfoot pressure. Knowledge on underfoot pressure is important for different purposes. It is essential for doctors and clinicians to have information about underfoot pressure to enable them to diagnose foot problems. Currently, underfoot pressure ranges have not been effectively established, and there is insufficient information about the minimum and maximum values of underfoot pressure. Likewise, constraints with regard to the implementation of insole systems still persist and are represented by the need to put a spacer on the sensor during measurements, and the problem of sensor parameters changing after the calibration. These challenges are addressed in this work and preliminary results or performance of the proposed device are then presented

Foot plantar pressure distribution modeling based on image processing

Several factors have been associated with the distribution of plantar foot pressure, including: (i) the body weight, (ii) age, (iii) foot structure and (iv) standing / walking strategy. It is predicted that the biomechanics of the foot is influenced by the structure of the foot. The objective of this study was to obtain the plantar pressure distribution model of the foot using custom image processing algorithms upon the images captured by a commercial plantar pressure measurement machine, the EMED-X. The study involved the participation and data collection from 79 human subjects, ranging from age 20–60 years old. This model can be analysed further to be used as a predictor for the formation of foot ulceration in certain subjects

Self‐perceived preparedness of undergraduate dental students in dental public universities in Malaysia: A national study

Aims: To evaluate the self-perceived preparedness of final-year dental undergraduate students in dental public universities in Malaysia. Methods: Final-year dental undergraduate students from six dental public universities in Malaysia were invited to participate in an online study using a validated Dental Undergraduates Preparedness Assessment Scale DU-PAS. Results: In total, about 245 students responded to the online questionnaire yielding a response rate of 83.05%. The age range of the respondents was 23-29 years with a mean age of 24.36 (SD 0.797). The total score obtained by the respondents was ranged from 48 to 100 with a mean score of 79.56 (SD 13.495). Weaknesses were reported in several clinical skills, cognitive and behavioural attributes. Conclusions: The preparedness of undergraduate students at six dental institutions in Malaysia was comparable to students from developed countries. The dental undergraduate preparedness assessment scale is a useful tool, and dental institutions may be used for self-assessment as well as to obtain feedback from the supervisors

Development and implementation of radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology for inventory management system : a case study

This paper describes a study to develop and implement Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for inventory management system in a supply store unit. Firstly, data was collected to identify the existing inventory management problems in the supply store management, and then followed by defining requirements of the system which suggested the use of RFID technology to fulfill these requirements. The development process included the utilization of specific hard-ware and self developed software programmed for usage in the supply store management. The system was tested in order to evaluate its efficiency, effectiveness, reliability, security and cost justification. It was found that the newly developed system had successfully managed to capture inventory data, track the borrower ID, keep the record updated and able to display the history of borrowed items, and also the fine imposed due to late return. The system also generated reports for inventory management and audit works in the supply store

Ketepatan Kaedah Pengekosan Berasaskan Aktiviti (Abc) Berbanding Kaedah Pengekosan Tradisional Dalam Pengekosan Produk: Pemangkin Kepada Program 6-Sigma

Para pengurus mungkin tidak menyedari bahawa teknik pengekosan yang digunakan untuk menyediakan laporan kewangan yang mematuhi peraturan percukaian adalah tidak sesuai digunakan bagi tujuan membuat keputusan strategik berkaitan harga jualan, kawalan dan program pengurangan kos. Kertas kerja ini bertujuan menerangkan dan membincangkan kepada pihak pengurusan kesan penggunaan teknik pengekosan tradisional dan seterusnya mencadangkan kaedah pengekosan alternatif iaitu pengekosan berasaskan aktiviti (ABC). Teknik ini menyediakan maklumat yang lebih tepat untuk membuat keputusan. Kajian kes dan analisis telah dilakukan bagi membuktikan bahawa teknik pengekosan tradisional yang diamalkan oleh kebanyakan syarikat menghasilkan keputusan yang kurang tepat berbanding dengan pengekosan ABC. Metodologi pengekosan ABC juga dilihat dapat diintegrasikan dengan metodologi 6-Sigma untuk peningkatan kualiti produk atau proses

A Plastic Injection Molding Process Characterisation Using Experimental Technique: A Case Study

This Paper Illustrates An Application Of Design Of Experimental (DOE) Approach In An Industrial Setting For Identifying The Critical Factors Affecting A Plastic Injection Molding Process Of A Certain Component For Aircond Assembly. A Critical To Quality (CTQ) Of Interest Is Reducing Process Defects, Namely Short-Shot. A Full Factorial Design Was Employed To Study Simultaneously The Effect Of Five Injection Molding Process Parameters. The Five Process Parameters Are Backpressure, Screw Rotation Speed, Spear Temperature, Manifold Temperature, And Holding Pressure Transfer. Finally, The Significant Process Parameters Influencing The Short-Shot Defect Have Been Found. Empirical Relationship Between CTQ And The Significant Process Parameters Were Formulated Using Regression Analysis

Demographic analysis of occupational accident occurrence in manufacturing industry

The objective of this paper is to analyze the demography aspect of occupational accident occurrence in Malaysia for manufacturing industry. High accident rate would give an adverse effect not only to the victims and their family but also to the organization as well. This study analyses various type of occupational accidents which limited to temporary disability with more than one day sick leave and cases recorded range between 2008 and 2013. The data is gathered from six different sectors within manufacturing industry by using local specific approach. Information related to each accident is obtained by checking past occupational accident record and interviewing site safety officer in charge, human resource representative, site supervisor and fellow workers. There are 342 cases in total have been gathered during data collection process before data analysis phase took place. This study provides a better perspective regarding to occupational accident occurrence to interested stakeholder such as enforcement body, occupational health and safety practitioner and company management itself. The findings from this study can be used to draft necessary preventive measures in order to provide safe working environment which can give significant impact through reduction of occupational accidents in the future

Development of direct to indirect cost ratio of occupational accident for manufacturing industry

Occupational injury would certainly give an impact not just to the victim but also to the organization and society at large. The impact would be in term of victim suffering, bad company reputation, low working moral among fellow workers and economic costs to the company. However, most of the aspects are difficult to quantify except for economics costs. The objective of this paper is to validate relationship accident direct cost model towards its observable cost components. Besides, this paper also proposes direct to indirect cost ratio based on accident cost range, accident scenario and impact of accident. Basically, accident cost can be categorized into two distinct categories which are direct and indirect cost. A total of 342 cases have been acquired for this study and recorded cases only cover temporary disability with more than one day of MC. Data is gathered from six types of sectors from manufacturing industry in Malaysia by using local specific method. The validity of direct cost model is tested by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) while indirect to indirect cost ratio is developed based on following aspects: (1) Accident cost range; (2) Accident scenario; and (3) Impact of accident. Proven direct cost model and direct to indirect cost ratio proposed would give a better insight to the relevant stakeholder in quantifying the occupational accident cost which may assist them in making necessary changes in order to avoid occurrence of similar accident in the future