2,208 research outputs found
A value-driven method for the design of performance-based services for manufacturing equipment
No full textIndustrial services are increasingly becoming more relational and customer-oriented, due to manufacturers' adoption of servitisation approaches and product service system offerings. Challenges remain regarding the effective design and delivery of these new offerings, and the understanding of their actual value for both providers and customers. This work focuses on one specific type of product service systems in the context of manufacturing equipment: result-oriented or performance-based services, which aim at delivering an outcome rather than selling the equipment to the customer. A proposal of a value-driven method for their design that engages the customer in the process is presented. This new method has been applied to a real industrial life setting through an application case, involving the service provider and its customer, and targeting manufacturing equipment within customers' plant. Results indicate the effectiveness of this prescriptive approach. Reported benefits from participants refer to its flexibility, adaptability and applicability for different types of equipment, as well as its potential to help providing a modular service portfolio adequate to equipment specific context and requirements
Improving environmental performance through maintenance: A proposed QFD-based methodology
No full textA framework for energy services within Product Service Systems classification
No full textIn recent years, the economic and financial crisis that has been slowing down the international markets‟ growth, the necessity to increase competitiveness and the growing awareness of environmental and energy problems, has forced Western manufacturing industries to rethink their approach to sustainability. This process has eventually led to the spread of Servitization strategies causing the transformation of several equipment/components manufacturers into service providers, as well as to the creation of the concept of Product-Service Systems (PSS).Furthermore, it has also ended up in a more focused attention to energy efficiency, with the dual objective of both containing costs and meeting international regulations. The intersection of these two development paths is the constant increase in the supply of energy services, which can be marketed together with devices, machines or energy vectors, creating a peculiar form of PSS. In the present work, a new framework is proposed to classify and map different types of energy services, based on existing classifications of PSS and enriching them with new parameters which are typical of energy services literature, such as the level of risks sharing. The main objective of this work is to highlight the tight connection between the provision of energy services and the concepts of PSS and sustainability, in order to provide a general classification for energy services, discussed separately and fragmentary so far in literature
Exploring the impacts and contributions of maintenance function for sustainable manufacturing
No full textThis investigation studies advanced practitioners of maintenance management and seeks to uncover the related impacts and contributions of best practice maintenance toward sustainable manufacturing operations. This exploratory research conducted a novel empirical analysis focused on maintenance functions in nine manufacturing companies from diverse sectors. The analysis uncovered insights related to the economic, environmental, and social benefits of a deeper involvement of maintenance function in plant operations and decision-making. We observed links of maintenance function with product competitiveness and with energy management activities that were unexpected. We confirmed benefits from keeping machinery in good working conditions and restoring promptly good working conditions when an issue happens. The depth of maintenance contribution on each area identified in this study will depend on the operational and business context of the manufacturing company; thus, companies need to reflect on these based on their specific processes, business needs and goals. Ultimately, this work can inspire managers in manufacturing companies to organise maintenance function strategically toward fostering long-term competitive, responsible and sustainable performance
New Thinking Paradigm for Maintenance Innovation Design
No full textMeanwhile the manufacturing paradigm changes towards predictive manufacturing, the role of maintenance function within manufacturing needs to be refined as a value creation function for achieving more sustainable operations. With the advent of internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, big data, PHM, and cyber-physical systems, e-maintenance necessitates new transformation. These changes are driving a new thinking paradigm for maintenance. This paper introduces new perspectives for maintenance innovation and proposes the value creation paths for maintenance transformation
A proposal for Energy Services' classification including a Product Service Systems perspective
No full textAbstractWestern manufacturing companies have lately started to rethink their approach to sustainability, mainly because of three different issues arising in the international context: the economic and financial crisis that has been slowing down the international marketsʼ growth, the necessity to increase competitiveness and the growing awareness of environmental and energy problems. This process has eventually led to the spread of servitization strategies causing the transformation of several equipment/components manufacturers into service providers, as well as to the creation of the concept of Product-Service Systems (PSS). Furthermore, a more focused attention to energy efficiency has arisen, with the dual objective of both containing costs and meeting international regulations. The intersection of these two development paths is the constant increase in the supply of energy services, which can be marketed together with devices, machines or energy vectors, creating a peculiar form of PSS. In the present work, a new classification is proposed to map different types of energy services, based on existing categorizations of PSS and enriching them with new parameters which are typical of energy services literature, such as the level of risks sharing. The main objective of this work is to highlight the tight connection between the provision of energy services and the concepts of PSS and sustainability, in order to provide a new general classification for energy services, discussed separately and fragmentary so far in literature
Correction: Mental Fatigue Might be Not So Bad for Exercise Performance After All: A Systematic Review and Bias-Sensitive Meta-Analysis
No full textThis article details a correction to: Holgado, D., Sanabria, D., Perales, J. C., & Vadillo, M. A. (2020). Mental Fatigue Might Be Not So Bad for Exercise Performance After All: A Systematic Review and Bias-Sensitive Meta-Analysis. Journal of Cognition, 3(1), 38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.12
Elaboration and "in vitro" characterization of 5-ASA beads.
No full textThe purpose of this research was to perform the design and in vitro evaluation of alginate beads containing 5-ASA in order to achieve an oral system that protects the drug until it reaches the colon. Alginate beads were prepared by the well-known ionic gelation reaction (Ca2+). The influence of the incorporation of several polymers (Eudragit FS 30D, Eudragit S100, and chitosan) in the initial formulation was studied. In all formulations, entrapment efficiencies of the drug higher than 70% were obtained. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study of beads showed homogeneous sizes and shapes in all cases. Finally, the release behavior of these polymeric beads were also studied and compared. The results indicated that Eudragit FS 30D (26%) showed the most favorable dissolution behavior in terms of achieving a controlled release of 5-ASA. To determine the mechanism of drug release from these beads, the Korsmeyer equation was applied. Qt/Qinfinity <0.9 can be described using a Higuchi model and Qt/Qinfinity=0.7 showed a zero-order release period. This formulation was assayed at other different pH values (pH=6; 6.8; 7.2) to assure that there is no release of 5-ASA until the system reaches the colon. No release was observed at pH 6.0. Release was very slow at pH 6.8; averages about 20% an hour at pH 7.2 and was complete within 4 hour at pH 7.4. So, these Eudragit FS beads exhibited interesting dissolution profiles for the therapy of colon pathologies
A systematic framework for defining environmental performance metrics for industrial services
No full textAn increasing attention of both academics and practitioners is outlined in the research for an efficient and reliable definition and measurement of environmental performance parameters related to processes and operations, as sustainability can enhance differentiation strategies to gain competitive advantage. Furthermore, the diffusion of servitization phenomenon led companies to propose more product-service solutions, which often combine higher resource efficiency with the reduction of environmental impacts. However, there is still a need for a systematic framework and standardization of the existing methodologies and tools, which could help industrial service providers to support the implementation of differentiation strategies in order to finally gain competitiveness. This paper proposes an analysis about measuring environmental performance in two service sectors: the first one regards the maintenance support service in the manufacturing sector and the latter focuses on logistics providers managing direct and reverse flows. After describing the main criticalities affecting the two service processes, a systematic framework for choosing the proper method to measure the environmental sustainability level has been proposed. The first obtained results could be the starting point for further research on the topic
Indicios de recuperación en un mercado laboral aún holgado: RML No. 06. Julio de 2018
No full textEn el primer trimestre de 2018 la tasa de desempleo mostró cierta estabilidad, acorde con una demanda laboral que ha dejado de caer en los primeros tres meses del año. A pesar de lo anterior, se observa un mercado laboral aún holgado, lo que se refleja en menores crecimientos de los salarios reales, en incrementos de los índices de subutilización laboral y en una brecha de desempleo aún positiva
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