This paper analyzes the interdependence between the firms’ technology choice and innovation. Previous literature argues that product flexibility and product innovation are complements, because flexible machines handle a large variety of product designs with low changeover times. In a model where technology is chosen before uncertain demand is realized, we show that long-run technology, by impos...

We are given a digraph G = (N, A), where each arc is colored with one among k given colors. We look for a spanning arborescence T of G rooted at a given node and having minimum changeover cost. We call this the Minimum Changeover Cost Arborescence problem. To the authors’ knowledge, it is a new problem. The concept of changeover costs is similar to the one, already considered in the literature,...

This paper analyzes the performance of a robotic system with two machines in which machines are configured in a circular layout and produce non-identical parts repetitively. The non-destructive testing (NDT) is performed by a stationary robotic arm located in the center of the circle, or a cluster tool. The robotic arm integrates multiple tasks, mainly the NDT of the part and its transition bet...

In this thesis, and complex real world problem, a sequence dependent scheduling of different product orders on a number of lines is addressed. Changeover costs occur between product orders belonging to different product groups. The operational research cycle is employed exploring different optimization techniques as mathematical modelling and heuristic approaches. The identification, implementa...

in today’s dynamic market, organizations must be adaptive to market fluctuations. in addition, studies show that material-handling cost makes up between 20 and 50 percent of the total operating cost. therefore, this paper considers the problem of arranging and rearranging, when there are changes in product mix and demand, manufacturing facilities such that the sum of material handling and rearr...

UNLABELLED Pharmacist participation in patient care team has been shown to reduce incidence of adverse drug events, and overall drug costs. However, impact of pharmacist participation in the multidisciplinary intensive care team on cost saving and cost avoidance has little been studied in Thailand. OBJECTIVE To describe the characteristics of the interventions and to determine pharmacist's in...

ion Construct None Abstract Supertype Abstract Class, Abstract Operation 4. INFORMATION MODEL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS This section describes the process for developing a “quality” information model. A “quality” information model (for the scope intended) is that the model is complete, sharable, stable, extensible, well-structured, precise, and unambiguous. In general, the contents of an information ...

Production costs in general, and workforce and inventory costs in particular, constitute a large fraction of the operating costs of many manufacturing plants. We introduce cooperative aggregate production planning as a way to decrease these costs. That is, when production planning of two or more facilities (plants) is integrated, they can interchange workforce and products inventory; thus, thei...

Decisions made by product designers strongly influence the social and environmental impacts that a consumer product will have over its lifetime. This study examines the Sustainable Apparel Index, a decision-support tool that aims to clarify environmental trade-offs and reduce overall product impacts within the apparel industry. As an example of the broad potential for shared industry standards,...

Short product lifecycles, fickle consumers and dispersed supply chains characterize today’s Retail, Apparel and Footwear environment. While companies have made advancements in improving execution and cost efficiencies, lack of synergy across functional areas has prevented them from maximizing the impact of their initiative to the company bottom line. This paper presents insights on supply chain...