1,721,025 research outputs found
Optimization of the Use of Biomass Residues in the Poplar Plywood Sector
No full textThis work of research deals with the optimization of the use of biomass residues within an enterprise working in the poplar plywood sector. Productive process analysis showed that biomass residues deriving from production represent more than 54% of the raw material, sensibly influencing production costs. The management of these production residues needs the definition of optimal strategies in order to increase system efficiency. Every residue is characterized by specific features that distinguish it from other scraps: chemical composition, moisture content, calorific value and price. These characteristics determine the next use of each residue: some of them are burnt to produce thermal energy, others are reused into the productive process and others can be sold in the market. The main objective of this study is represented by the definition of the optimal quantities of the biomass residues for the different purposes in order to maximize the enterprise profit and the definition of the implementation tool in order to apply operatively the defined models. In particular, the proposed tool permits a reduction of the production costs (i.e energy saving) and a consequent increasing of the profit of 15% with respect to the current production policy
On the alignment of lot sizing decisions in a remanufacturing system in the presence of random yield risk
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Heating and cooling phase scheduling algorithm for automotive curve glass production
No full textThe need to increase the service level of the automotive supply chain, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, leads to an increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of the production systems. The use of scheduling techniques and their implementation in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)/ Manufacturing Execution System (MES) systems can be a lever towards this improvement, remarkably in particularly constrained production systems. The presented case study stems from an industrial context and focuses on the heating and cooling phases of curved glass used in the automotive sector. In particular, the glass is subjected to a gradual heating process at temperatures between 500 and 600 °C, after which it softens and adheres by force of gravity to a curved mold located on the bottom of the heated room. The cooling phase takes place very slowly, to allow the material to acquire a greater flexural strength than a normal flat glass. The objective of this study is to present a scheduling algorithm to optimize the production of the curve glasses with different technical characteristics and heating and cooling phases. The implementation of this algorithm in the industrial context permits the increase of the ovens’ saturation and the respect of the delivery date of the production orders
Q-Learning for Inventory Management: an application case
No full textThe recent applications of 4.0 technologies are gradually leading to the introduction and development of artificial intelligence in production systems. This study discusses the assessment of a Machine Learning model, based on Reinforcement Learning, that may allow the optimization of the inventory level at the machine level, thus improving the ordering system and inventory management. The model is applied to a real industrial case and the results, compared with those obtained by using the traditional optimization techniques, show an appreciable performance. It can be concluded that the model of Machine Learning developed can be successfully used for improving the order cycle of an enterprise
The effect on fulfillment time of the M-Division warehouse design approach
No full textIn last years, we are facing on the diffusion of on-line orders, a process further accelerated by the spread of the COVID-19 virus. A fundamental lever in the use of the e-Commerce is the continuous reduction of the fulfillment time. In order to obtain these improvements, the storage method has been revolutionized. In fact, we are talking about Online order fulfillment warehouses (F-Warehouses) which, unlike traditional warehouses, have a very large number of small bin locations, an explosive storage policy, where an incoming bulk is separated into small lots stocked in any bin throughout the warehouse, and commingled bin storage. The divided warehouse (M-Division) with explosive storage is a novel design, where the warehouse is divided in M-zones managed by specific pickers. In this paper we model the fulfillment process as an N server queuing model with uniform service times and compare the fulfillment time of the traditional warehouse with the M-Division warehouse. In particular, an analytical solution assigns items to the M-Division warehouse in order to minimize the fulfillment time. The results show that the M-Division approach permits a reduction of the fulfillment time compared with the traditional one
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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