Optimization and validation of a mobile application for the support of idea management

Arbeit an der Bibliothek noch nicht eingelangt - Daten nicht geprüftAbweichender Titel nach Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersDurch die Sammlung von Vorschlägen zur Optimierung innerhalb eines betrieblichen Umfelds entstehen Vorteile in Form von Kostenersparnissen und Effizienzsteigerungen. Viele Unternehmen sind allerdings nicht in der Lage das Innovationspotential ihrer Arbeitskräfte zur Gänze zu nutzen. Eine Grundvoraussetzung dafür ist ein funktionierendes Ideenmanagement. Aktuelle Ansätze im Ideenmanagement führen allerdings oftmals zu geringer Akzeptanz und Motivation der Mitarbeitenden. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Konzepte zur Gestaltung des digitalen Ideenmanagements erarbeitet und auf eine softwarebasierte Applikation zur Ideengenerierung angewandt, um deren Auswirkungen anhand eines praktischen Beispiels zu demonstrieren. Dabei wird darauf abgezielt, die Applikation hinsichtlich Benutzerfreundlichkeit sowie Akzeptanz bzw. Motivation von Mitarbeitenden zu optimieren und validieren. Aufbauend auf theoretischen Grundlagen des digitalen Ideenmanagements sowie dem aktuellen Stand der Technik industrieller Ideenmanagementsysteme wird die Applikation in Kooperation mit Industriepartnern einer Engpassanalyse unterzogen und eine Formulierung von Anforderungen an die Applikation angestellt. Die Anforderungen dienen als Grundlage für eine anschließende Optimierung sowie softwaretechnische Umsetzung. Es erfolgt eine Validierung der Applikation in Labor- sowie Industrieumgebung anhand von Fragebögen und Interviews. Diesbezüglich wird eine durchschnittliche Zufriedenheit von ca. 88% mit der Applikation mittels des Post Study System Usability Questionnaires gemessen, was auf hohe Benutzerfreundlichkeit schließen lässt. Dahingehend lässt sich feststellen, dass die optimierte Applikation Bedürfnisse von Mitarbeitenden im Ideenmanagement abdeckt. Anhand qualitativer Ergebnisse der Interviews wurde zudem ermittelt, welche Ausprägungen einer softwarebasierten Applikation im digitalen Ideenmanagement zu Motivations- bzw. Akzeptanzsteigerung von Mitarbeitenden führen. Maßgeblich sind eine universelle Ausführung der Applikation unabhängig von Betriebssystem sowie Endgerät, eine zentrale Speicherung von Vorschlägen sowie eine Feedbackerteilung hinsichtlich des Bearbeitungsstatus von eingereichten Vorschlägen.By gathering suggestions for optimization within an operational environment, benefits are created in form of cost savings and efficiency gains. However, many companies are not able to fully utilize the innovation potential of their workforce. The basic prerequisite for this is a functioning idea management. However, current approaches often lead to low acceptance and motivation of employees.In this thesis, concepts for the design of digital idea management are developed and applied to a software-based application for idea generation in order to demonstrate its effects by means of a practical example. The aim is to optimize and validate the application in terms of usability and employee acceptance and motivation. Based on theoretical principles of digital idea management as well as the current state of the art of industrial idea management systems, the application is subjected to a bottleneck analysis in cooperation with industry partners and a formulation of requirements for the application is made. The requirements serve as a basis for the optimization and software implementation.The application is validated in laboratory and industrial environments by means of questionnaires and interviews. An average satisfaction of approximately 88% with the application is measured by means of the Post Study System Usability Questionnaire, which indicates high usability. In this respect, it can be determined that the optimized application meets the needs of employees in idea management. Qualitative results from the interviews were also used to determine which features of a software-based application in digital idea management lead to increased motivation and acceptance among employees. The key factors are universal execution of the application independent of the operating system and the used device, central storage of ideas, and feedback regarding the processing status of submitted ideas.12

Knowledge-graph based approach for automated selection of spare parts suitable for additive manufacturing: a railway use-case

Spare part inventory management (SPIM) in the railway sector highly demands reliability and transparency for decentralized inventory control. Optimal SPIM should ensure the availability of needed spare parts for a service request, considering the frequency of use and criticality criterion for effective maintenance. Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies enable costeffective production of small batch sizes often required for spare parts. However, critical component-specific information is often unstructured within engineering drawings (ED), making digital processing, and linking to existing data from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and maintenance management systems difficult. To ensure effective maintenance logistics, this paper introduces a knowledge graph (KG) that can facilitate i) interlinking multiple sources through data integration and ii) establishing a semantic data hub, thus serving as a backbone for automated assessment of component's suitability for AM. The proposed KG-based approach merges relevant (existing) ontologies, multi-structured data from ED, ERP system information, and external data sources. The approach is developed and evaluated in real-world use-cases in cooperation with the Austrian railway and public transit industry.The authors would like to thank and acknowledge Austrian Research Funding Agency (FFG) for supporting this research through AM4Rail project.12th International Conference on Through-life Engineering Services – TESConf202

Octreotide LAR and Prednisone as Neoadjuvant Treatment in Patients with Primary or Locally Recurrent Unresectable Thymic Tumors: A Phase II Study.

Therapeutic options to cure advanced, recurrent, and unresectable thymomas are limited. The most important factor for long-term survival of thymoma patients is complete resection (R0) of the tumor. We therefore evaluated the response to and the induction of resectability of primarily or locally recurrent unresectable thymomas and thymic carcinomas by octreotide Long-Acting Release (LAR) plus prednisone therapy in patients with positive octreotide scans. In this open label, single-arm phase II study, 17 patients with thymomas considered unresectable or locally recurrent thymoma (n = 15) and thymic carcinoma (n = 2) at Masaoka stage III were enrolled. Octreotide LAR (30 mg once every 2 weeks) was administered in combination with prednisone (0.6 mg/kg per day) for a maximum of 24 weeks (study design according to Fleming´s one sample multiple testing procedure for phase II clinical trials). Tumor size was evaluated by volumetric CT measurements, and a decrease in tumor volume of at least 20% at week 12 compared to baseline was considered as a response. We found that octreotide LAR plus prednisone elicited response in 15 of 17 patients (88%). Median reduction of tumor volume after 12 weeks of treatment was 51% (range 20%-86%). Subsequently, complete surgical resection was achieved in five (29%) and four patients (23%) after 12 and 24 weeks, respectively. Octreotide LAR plus prednisone treatment was discontinued in two patients before week 12 due to unsatisfactory therapeutic effects or adverse events. The most frequent adverse events were gastrointestinal (71%), infectious (65%), and hematological (41%) complications. In conclusion, octreotide LAR plus prednisone is efficacious in patients with primary or recurrent unresectable thymoma with respect to tumor regression. Octreotide LAR plus prednisone was well tolerated and adverse events were in line with the known safety profile of both agents