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Forschungsbericht 2023/24 THWS Business School
Get PDFDer vorliegende Forschungsbericht präsentiert die aktuellen Forschungstätigkeiten und Ergebnisse des Forschungsjahres 2023/2024 der THWS Business School und dient der Transparenz und dem Wissenstransfer.
Es werden die geleisteten Forschungsaktivitäten in den Gesamtkontext der Forschungslandschaft sowie den definierten Forschungsschwerpunkten der THWS Business School und den individuellen Forschungsinteressen gesetzt
A Systems Theory Approach to the Performance Analysis of Robotic Compact Storage and Retrieval Systems: An Autostore Case Study
No full textPurpose of this paper:
Robotic compact storage and retrieval systems (RCSRS) such as the AutoSto-reTM are very popular these days. A standardized yet flexible concept, plug-and-play control software and manageable investment and operating costs have made AutoStore systems a bestseller and inspired other companies to venture into developing their own RCSRS.
RCSRS in general and AutoStore in particular are highly encapsulated systems in which design, dimensioning and performance analysis during operation are based to a large extent on simulation studies. However, simulation-based per-formance analysis does not cover the actual workload of the system or the specifics of the logistics environment and does not take into account the sys-tem environment, such as the WMS, the middleware that connects the Au-toStore controller to the WMS, or the UnifyAnalytics data analytics tool now provided by AutoStore. In addition, simulation studies do not provide ware-house managers with guidance on tactical decisions such as whether dividing bin locations into compartments or operational decisions (e.g. opening or clos-ing picking ports) to improve overall system performance.
The purpose of this paper is to develop and test a systems theory approach to the performance of RCSRS, using an AutoStore as a case study.
Design/methodology/approach:
Following a systems theory approach, we define the AutoStore system as (a) the RCSRS with robots, storage bins, and picking ports (hardware), (b) the Au-toStore control software, middleware, WMS and UnifyAnalytics service (soft-ware), (c) the pickers and warehouse managers (people) and (d) the logistics and business environment. We then, in a case study, analyze an AutoStore installation in a German company in terms of its performance and correlate productivity losses with parameters of the system. We have purposefully se-lected the case company’s AutoStore for its potential to generalize findings.
Findings:
RCSRS such as the AutoStore are heavily dependent on a steep Pareto distri-bution for good performance. Our case study shows how dividing storage bins into compartments can jeopardize the performance of an RCSRS. If a compa-ny wants to use compartments to create more storage locations in the Au-toStore, it must change its unit of analysis from SKUs to bins in the simulation studies used in the design and dimensioning phase and deploy a middleware that is able to maintain an established ABC distribution of bins in the putaway process. Our case study also shows that warehouse managers have limited options to improve the performance of the system at runtime: they can only switch picking ports on or off. We propose a dashboard fed with live data from the AutoStore to help warehouse managers make this decision.
Value:
This paper is a contribution to the still relatively small literature on RCSRS. It goes beyond previous studies that mainly focused on algorithmic improvement of system details. In particular, it emphasizes the impact of tactical decisions made during the design of the system on the operational performance of the system. Furthermore, it demonstrates the limited operational levers available to warehouse managers and makes a strong case for adopting a systems the-ory approach to RCSRS design.
Research limitations/implications:
So far, our approach has only been tested on one installation of an AutoStore system. It should be tested more thoroughly when applied to other installations and other RCSRSs. Since RCSRS performance is highly dependent on the lo-gistical and business environment, future research should aim to first classify these environments and then perform detailed analysis within each class.
Practical implications:
Companies operating an AutoStore can use our approach as a guide for ana-lyzing the performance of the system. Adopting a systems theory perspective in the sales phase of an RCSRS can improve design decisions and help com-mission “better” systems, i.e., systems that better fit the target company's business and logistics environment and meet the performance suggested in pre-sales simulation studies. We also offer a solution for warehouse managers to understand, from a system performance perspective, when it is advisable to turn picking ports on or off and when not
Decolonizing Social Work
No full textOver the last three decades, “decolonization” has become an increasingly emergent framework in tracing and addressing the complex mechanisms of coloniality of knowledge and power (Mignolo, 2011; Quijano, 2000). Surprisingly enough, decolonial perspectives have hardly been considered in Social Work education, research and practice (e.g. Harms-Smith & Rasool, 2020; Kleibl et al., 2020; Gray et al., 2016; Tamburro, 2013; Lutz, Sachau, & Stauß, 2017). Even though, there is a growing body of literature that addresses the need for decolonization of Social Work with indigenous people (e.g. Tanemura et al., 2016; Ives & Thaweiakenrat Loft, 2016) or individuals and communities in and from the Global South (e.g. Noyoo, 2020; Kreitzer, 2016; Freire, 1970), many Social Workers in the Global North (both in academia and practice) argue that the need for decolonization does not apply to their work. This is particularly true in countries of the Global North that claim to have had little engagement with colonialism (e.g. Ranta-Tyrkkö, 2011). Historically, much of Social Work theory and practice was developed in the Global North and exported across the globe as a byproduct of colonization and – in the postcolonial era – in form of development aid (Schirilla, 2018). Within the hegemonic discourses, knowledges produced at the peripheries and in the context of social struggles has been delegitimized and rendered invisible. Therefore, Social Work remains dominated by Euro-American perspectives, which oftentimes reproduce epistemic violence (Spivak, 1988). This acknowledgment, then, calls for a critical analysis of Social Work education, research and practice as well. Recent emerging discussions on implementing decolonial approaches in Social Work (Harms-Smith & Rasool, 2020; Tamburro, 2013; Lutz, Kleibl & Neureither, 2021) have drawn the attention to the possibilities of “epistemic disobedience” (Mignolo, 2009: 8). They brought forward Afrocentric approaches to pedagogy (van Wyk 2014; Watson-Vandiver & Wiggan, 2021), pedagogies that centralize the oppressed (Freire, 1970; Kohan, 2021), non-extractivist research approaches and methods that focus on embodied knowledge and corporeal emancipation (de Sousa-Santos, 2018), as well as creating South-South links (Rivera, 2012)
Introduction to Decolonial Methodologies in Social Work: Transcending Eurocentrism and Foregrounding Pluriversalism
No full textSince the publication of Linda Tuhiwai Smith's book (1999), Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, researchers in various disciplines in social and health sciences have increasingly become aware of the importance of adopting decolonial research methodologies. However, the transnational project of decolonization might be challenging and complex to implement in research projects and teaching formats in Social Work. The chapter contributions in this co-edited volume give insight from a broader geopolitical perspective into how established Eurocentric concepts, perceptions, practices, and paradigms in Social Work have been continuously re-assessed and re-nuanced within the last two decades (Tamburro, 2013; Noyoo, 2020; Kleibl et al., 2020; Castro Varela and Mohamed, 2021; Gray et al., 2023; Harms-Smith and Rasool, 2020). Within the broader project of Western academia, one effect of decolonization is challenging the allegedly objective “scientific knowledge, in view of its rigor and instrumental potential, [as] radically different from other ways of knowing, be they lay, popular, practical, commonsensical, intuitive, or religious” (de Sousa Santos, 2018b: 5). Moreover, decolonial concepts such as “epistemic de-linking” (Mignolo, 2007: 450) and “epistemic disobedience” (Mignolo, 2009: 8) are indispensable in unpacking the colonial roots of epistemic violence and foregrounding ‘Epistemologies of the South’ (de Sousa Santos, 2014) in Social Work research in order to establish “a time of epistemological imagination aimed at refounding the political imagination (…) to strengthen the social struggles against domination” (de Sousa Santos, 2018a: 126-127). The continuous problematization of Eurocentric knowledge production (e.g., methodological nationalism, culturalization, westernization) is therefore important for establishing critical dialogues in Social Work. Most importantly, decolonizing university education (Rodríguez, 2018; Mbembe, 2016; Mignolo, 2013; de Sousa Santos, 2017) in general is the first step in order to disrupt the colonial continuity of knowledge production that “operates as an invisible power matrix that is shaping and sustaining asymmetrical power relations between the Global North and the Global South” (Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2014: 181). In moving beyond theoretical discussions and reflections, this co-edited volume addresses the essential questions regarding the implementation of decolonial approaches in research methodologies and teaching formats in Social Work. This co-edited volume is therefore an important contribution for critically minded Social Work educators and students who seek to understand the complex structures of the colonial past, the contemporary postcolonial moment as well as to decolonize their teaching, researching, and visions of decolonialized Social Work
Adapting to climate change through play? Didactically effective elements of a business simulation game
Get PDFIntroduction: The negative consequences of climate change are widespread and have a global impact. An industrialized region of Germany must adapt to the effects of climate change and comply with political regulations. Previous studies indicate that economic actors who are not directly affected by climate change approach climate change mitigation and adaptation primarily based on legal requirements and often feel discouraged by the absence of data-based reports. Addressing this challenge, game-based learning emerges as a promising pathway.
Methods: To examine game-based learning’s applicability and potential for climate adaptation, we developed a business simulation game, simultaneously identifying didactically effective elements for managers who would participate in it. Using expert interviews and focus groups, we conducted a qualitative study with three HR developers from larger companies and nine managers and founders of startups to develop a business simulation game on climate adaptation. Based on the Grounded Theory methodology, theoretical coding was used to analyze the qualitative data.
Results: The derived core categories indicate that personnel development in companies is evolving in response to economic changes. Individual resources such as motivation (especially for managers), personnel and time play a crucial role in establishing a business game as an educational offering. The identified game elements can also be used theoretically and practically in the development of other educational games.
Discussion: We discussed common human resource development measures in companies and compared them with more innovative approaches such as a simulation game. The study underscores the importance of innovative approaches, such as game-based learning, in fostering climate adaptation efforts among economic actors. By integrating theoretical insights with practical applications, our findings provide valuable guidance for the development of educational games aimed at addressing complex challenges like climate change. Further research and implementation of such approaches are essential for promoting proactive climate adaptation strategies within industrialized regions and beyond
