Inventory of social entrepreneurial methods/tools for succesful PC3 implementation

In this paper, authors carried out an extensive literature revision to identify what contributes to the success of social enterprises operating in Base of the Pyramid (BoP) markets, thus leading to enhanced understanding of how social enterprises can operate in these markets. This includes identifying methods, instruments, tools and/or practices used by successful social enterprises, which distinct them from enterprises that fail to successfully serve the BoP markets. As part of a larger research in the field of development through co-creation, the Product Co-created Centres (PC3), the focus is on business innovation through engaging with, and building enterprises with the people at the BoP. This builds on the cutting edge work in the field of BoP strategy by Erik Simanis and Stuart Hart from the Cornell University, thus their work focusses on MNCs operating in BoP markets, whereas this study focusses on engaging the people at the BoP with entrepreneurial activities

A geometrical model for managing surface productivity of U-Shaped assembly lines

U-Shaped Assembly Lines (U-SALs) are cellular manufacturing systems that, among other things, provide a remarkable feature for industrial cost efficiency: their effectiveness in space utilization. While the challenge of machine placement for labour productivity optimization is widely studied in the literature, surface productivity optimization has been scarcely explored. This paper proposes an industry-validated geometrical model for optimizing U-SAL surface productivity. The model links the drivers for market, product and process with the geometrical design. Managers and lean practitioners can use this approach to make decisions for layout design. The model is particularly useful in cases where the cost of floor space is substantially high.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Enabling Lean Design Through Computer Aided Synthesis: The Injection Moulding Cooling Case

This paper explores the application of Computer Aided Synthesis (CAS) to support the implementation of Set-Based Concurrent Engineering (SBCE) and Just In Time Decision Making (JIT-DM), which are considered as two of the cornerstones of the Lean Design method. Computer Aided Synthesis refers to a next generation computational tools that automates the process of generating candidate solutions to ill-defined design problems. The design of injection moulding is used to demonstrate the rationales of the approach. This is a well-known complex and time-consuming industrial design process that generally involves rework time as a consequence of the design iteration loops performed between mould design and part design. The paper presents a tool to automate the design of cooling systems and shows how it supports the application of SBCE and JIT-DM to enable an increase in design process efficiency and effectiveness. The paper finishes with a general discussion on the enabling role that CAS tools have on the implementation of lean design practices

A decade of teaching systems engineering to Bachelor students

The paper treats a setup for introducing systems engineering to undergraduate (Bachelor) students. The teaching module challenges students, and provides them with ample opportunity to employ the systems engineering process, tools and thinking. Through reflection, the students make the learning outcomes explicit. Based on the setup we recommend to teach a technically challenging subject adjacent to the systems engineering course. By having the students work in large groups on a challenging, open and vague problem statement, they learn to appreciate the systems engineering way of workin

Reducing design complexity of multidisciplinary domain integrated products: a case study

Multidisciplinary product development is well known for the complexity of its design process. It is commonly addressed by domain integration and a modular design approach. The former, often resulting in smaller products and integrated functions, is characterized by a complex non-linear design process. The latter, which may not result in such integrated functions, has a simpler —usually linear— design process, resulting in novel solutions. This paper presents a method for reducing design complexity of Multidisciplinary Domain Integrated Products by decomposing the problem into modular structures. Computational synthesis techniques are used to solve the resulting modules. Printed Circuit Board design is used as case study, as it is well known for its complexity and highly integrated product functionalities

Sustainability transitions in the developing world: Challenges of socio-technical transformations unfolding in contexts of poverty

The transitions to sustainability approach has proved to be useful for academics, policy makers and practitioners to understand and promote socio-technical transformations, often aiming at climate change alternatives in European countries. However, little attention has been paid to the limitations of using frameworks such as the Multi-level perspective and the Strategic Niche Management approach in the developing world. Here, countries exhibit a mixture of well- and ill-functioning institutions, in a context of market imperfection, clientelist and social exclusive communities, patriarchal households and patrimonial and/or marketised states. In order to explore such limitations, we have used an institutional framework documented in the development studies literature, which describes three types of institutional settings: ‘welfare’, ‘informal security’ and ‘insecurity’. This institutional analysis shows that (1) the context for innovation in developing countries is a loose scenario where the concepts of ‘pockets’ or ‘layers’ can be useful; (2) the characteristics of the institutional setting shape in several ways the quality of the niche structuration processes that create and unfold. Our rationale and illustrations call for bringing the poverty alleviation agenda into sustainability transitions studies in developing countries. We propose areas of further reflection attempting to inspire future research pathways

The RobustPlaNet Project: Towards Shock-Robust Design Of Plants And Their Supply Chain Networks

This paper provides an overview of the research goals and current research status of the EU-FP7 project RobustPlaNet. A description of the general concept and vision of the project is presented and the adopted definition of robustness at plant and supply chain levels are discussed. Moreover, the RobustPlaNet approach and its innovative technologies and methods are described, followed by a summary of the different industrial use cases. The architecture of the decision support cockpit that will emerge from the integration of these tools is presented. At last, the overall impact of the RobustPlaNet solution is discussed, supporting the European manufacturing industry in the transition towards shock-robust plants and supply chains © 201