O. Felix Offodile and William Acar
Selecting the best robot for various applications is furthercomplicated by the impracticality of physically modelling availablerobots in order to make an educated choice. Various…
Abstract
Selecting the best robot for various applications is further complicated by the impracticality of physically modelling available robots in order to make an educated choice. Various methods have been proposed in the literature for tackling the robot selection problem. Some of these methods have been evaluated for assembly applications, the most common being what we call the “evaluative hierarchy”. Introduces a robot selection tool based on comprehensive situation mapping (CSM), an advanced derivative of influence diagramming (ID). Proposes that CSM provides the most consistent results, is easy to use, and gives the decision maker better insights into how various process variables can be chosen to ensure that the best available robot for the money is acquired.
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Presents an assignment model formulation for the machine cellformation problem in cellular manufacturing based on an appropriatedefinition of dissimilarlity between any pair of…
Abstract
Presents an assignment model formulation for the machine cell formation problem in cellular manufacturing based on an appropriate definition of dissimilarlity between any pair of machines for the grouping problem. This dissimilarity measure considers the production volume or demand for the parts on the respective machines and forms the cost parameters for the assignment model which is to be minimized. Identification of the machine cells automatically yields the corresponding part groups which are then assigned to the cells. The model is fast‐converging, taking advantage of the well‐proven assignment algorithm. Also presents an algorithm for dealing with mild cases of exceptional elements and too many machine cells. Uses numerical examples to illustrate the model.
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Steven L. Johnson and O. Felix Offodile
The history, successes, failures and future needs that relate tothe allocation of functions to humans and/ or machines in manufacturingenvironments are presented. The various…
Abstract
The history, successes, failures and future needs that relate to the allocation of functions to humans and/ or machines in manufacturing environments are presented. The various methodologies that have been proposed for performing function allocation are discussed. The basic process involves matching the capabilities and limitations of the particular human or automated system with the requirements imposed by the manufacturing operation. This process can range from a global, systems approach down to the delineation of specific capabilities of humans and automated systems. Both recent advances and obstacles to the effective allocation of tasks to humans or machines based on the capabilities of each are presented. The current status and the areas where future research and development are needed are discussed.
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O. Felix Offodile and David Arrington
As more and more companies embark on the never‐ending journey ofcontinuous improvement and world‐class manufacturing, their success willdepend to a great extent on their ability…
Abstract
As more and more companies embark on the never‐ending journey of continuous improvement and world‐class manufacturing, their success will depend to a great extent on their ability to win the purchasing battle. It is common knowledge that it is purchasing′s charge to oversee the acquisition and delivery of inventoried materials in a company. In a Just‐in‐Time (JIT) environment this traditional role of purchasing is continually changing to support production and service. Purchasing now emphasizes on‐time delivery of the right amount of competitively priced, high quality products to the right place. Any variation in this doctrine is considered wasteful under JIT. Discusses the strategic roles of JIT purchasing by examining the responsibilities, functions, and methods currently used by purchasing in the areas of vendor sourcing, transport, and product development. Further identifies purchasing as one of the key elements to a company′s competitiveness.
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Alan D. Smith and O. Felix Offodile
The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners of management with a sense of how collaborative team integration processes were required in order to be reasonably successful…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners of management with a sense of how collaborative team integration processes were required in order to be reasonably successful in attaining the required manufacturability goals. It aims to accomplish this by investigating: the role of team collaborative efforts in high‐technology projects associated with comparing aggressiveness towards and actual achievement on meeting time targets and manufacturing costs; the moderating effects of project‐team autonomy and control issues; and management involvement and top management support activities.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the applied literature on collaborative team integration processes of manufacturers and direct suppliers of the smart card and automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)‐related industry in the USA was conducted. Only project managers and/or their designees were asked to complete the survey. The results of two mailings netted a total of 180 usable questionnaires out of an original sampling frame of 311 (response rate of appropriately 58 percent, with some missing data on a number of variables).
Findings
The paper finds that especially the variables of product acceleration, technological uncertainty, complexity, and product newness are traditionally outside the immediate control of the firm's project managers. The team integration variables, as measured by the factor scores of top management. manufacturing involvement, collaborative working environment, and supplier influence, offered the most explained variance in the present study.
Practical implications
By understanding the variety of team performance and integration constructs in high technology‐intensive and manufacturing environments, management may be able to take the steps to become more sensitive to the roles of not isolating team members and being able to relinquish control at the appropriate times in order to enhance manufacturability.
Originality/value
The rapid pace of internet products and web‐enabled services, especially in the high‐technology manufacturing industries, presents new strategic management issues to be addressed in project management. Understanding the many issues associated with project team management and integration within new‐product development/new‐product manufacturability processes may ultimately decrease the cost and promote timely introduction of beneficial commercial developments, if properly managed.
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Amber A. Smith, Alan D. Smith and O. Felix Offodile
The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners of management and interested research a sense of how the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament is affecting worker…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide practitioners of management and interested research a sense of how the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament is affecting worker productivity in the workplace. There are several positive and negative issues concerning how some employees are willing to spend work time following the NCAA tournament and related office gambling activities.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the applied literature on sports‐related gambling and bracketing that is quite widespread in the USA and other countries was provided. The sample consisted of relatively well‐paid professionals, who may routinely engage in office pools and most universally are involved in bracketing March Madness plays. This resulted in 145 useable questionnaires recording responses to 28 variables from an initial sampling frame of slightly over 200 potential respondents associated with a major Pittsburgh‐based financial service provider. Factor analysis and multivariate statistical analysis were used to test several hypotheses.
Findings
Management appears to be successfully delivering the message that office gambling activities harm productivity if management activity discourages office gambling, but there appears to be a trade‐off as labor productivity may be slightly reduced on the short term, and employee cohesiveness may increase on the long term. It was also found that the degree of personal involvement is important; the more an employee is involved, the more negative the impact that March Madness activities will have on his/her productivity.
Practical implications
March Madness is a time‐honored tradition that many employees take for granted and will engage in regardless of the extrinsic controls that management may care to implement, making the extrinsic controls too expensive for a questionable return in enhanced labor productivity during March Madness.
Originality/value
It is an interesting academic research question concerning the balance of productivity losses and gains in employee cohesiveness that warrants additional research in the intrinsic motivations of both management and their employees.
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O. Felix Offodile and John Grznar
Presents the similarity coefficient method for group technology to alleviate the part family formation problem in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). Part families are formed in…
Abstract
Presents the similarity coefficient method for group technology to alleviate the part family formation problem in flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). Part families are formed in FMS in order to take advantage of part similarities in design and manufacture. Parts coding and classification analysis (PCA) has constituted the bulk of part family formation techniques in practice. Using shape‐based features for grouping is very labour intensive at the coding and classification stages. As a means of alleviating the latter problem, presents an approach for converting the weighted codes of the PCA to similarity coefficient measures. Uses a clustering algorithm to identify the part families. Presents a numerical example that compares the single and average linkage clustering technologies. An experimental investigation of the two methods showed that the average linkage clustering (ALC) performs better than the single linkage clustering (SLC) technology in minimizing intercellular materials handling costs.
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Alan D. Smith and Felix Offodile
Automatic identification and data capture/collection (AIDC) systems are one of the most widely used and under‐recognized IT strategic assets in use in the global economy. Data…
Abstract
Automatic identification and data capture/collection (AIDC) systems are one of the most widely used and under‐recognized IT strategic assets in use in the global economy. Data collection and integration strategies are essential to enterprise resource management systems as well as warehouse management systems. The development of innovation through the development and marketing of products and services has been a key source of competitive advantage for many large and small manufacturing firms and is greatly aided by AIDC technologies. Management needs to control quality, cost, schedule, location of warehouses and plants, inventory levels, pricing, shipment, and a vast host of factors that are based almost entirely on the volume and quality of data and data collection. A discussion of types of bar coding technologies and their associated software/hardware requirements is included, with a mobile communications example.
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Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some…
Abstract
Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.
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Vennan Sibanda, Khumbulani Mpofu, John Trimble and Mufaro Kanganga
Reconfigurable machines tools (RMTs) are gaining momentum as the new solutions to customised products in the manufacturing world. The driving force, among others, behind these…
Abstract
Purpose
Reconfigurable machines tools (RMTs) are gaining momentum as the new solutions to customised products in the manufacturing world. The driving force, among others, behind these machines is the part envelope and the part family of products that they can produce. The purpose of this paper is to propose a new class of RMT known as a reconfigurable guillotine shear and bending press machine (RGS&BPM). A part family of products that this machine can produce is developed using hierarchical clustering methodologies. The development of these part families is guided by the relationship of the parts in the family in terms of complexity and geometry.
Design/methodology/approach
Part families cannot be developed in isolation, but that process has to incorporate the machine modules used in the reconfiguration process for producing the parts. Literature was reviewed, and group technology principles explored, to develop a concept that can be used to develop the part families. Matrices were manipulated to generate part families, and this resulted in the development of a dendrogram of six possible part families. A software with a graphic user interface for manipulation was also developed to help generate part families and machine modules. The developed concept will assist in the development of a machine by first developing the part family of products and machine modules required in the variable production process.
Findings
The developed concepts assist in the development of a machine by first developing the part family of products and machine modules required in the variable production process. The development of part families for the RGS&BPM is key to developing the machine work envelope and modules to carry out the work. This work has been presented to demonstrate the importance of machine development in conjunction with a part family of products that the machine will produce. The paper develops an approach to manufacturing where part families of products are developed prior to developing the machine. The families of products are then used to develop modules that enable the manufacture of the parts and subsequently the size of the machine.
Research limitations/implications
The research was limited to the development of part families for a new RGS&BPM, which is still under development.
Practical implications
The study reflects the development of reconfigurable machines as a solution to manufacturing challenges in terms of group technology approaches adopted in the design phase. It also highlights the significance of the concepts in the reconfigurable machine tool design. The part families define the machine work envelop and its reconfiguration capability.
Social implications
The success of the research will usher an alternative to smaller players in sheet metal work. It will contribute to the easy development of the machine that will bridge the high cost of machine tools.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the new approach in sheet metal manufacturing where dedicated machines may be substituted by a highly flexible reconfigurable machine that has a dual operation, making the investment for small to medium enterprises affordable. It also contributes to the body of knowledge in reconfigurable machine development and the framework for such activities, especially in developing countries.