1,721,895 research outputs found
Integrating an AS/RS with Digital Twin in a Physical Internet network
No full textThe Physical Internet (PI) is an innovative approach to goods distribution, inspired by the principles of the Internet, with an emphasis on information sharing and collaboration. Within a PI network, logistics operators contribute by providing π-nodes that perform various functions such as receiving, transporting, storing, and redistributing π-containers, which are the unit loads used in PI. The Digital Twin (DT) technique involves the creation of a digital model that replicates the functioning of real-world systems. This paper seeks to demonstrate the potential benefits of implementing a DT of a π-node within an entire PI network. Specifically, it examines the case of a π-store, a unique type of node tasked with receiving goods, temporarily storing them, and subsequently releasing them. In this study, the successful development of an automated storage and retrieval system DT is presented, as well as the various PI interface models aimed at analyzing the types of information that could prove valuable when sent to or received from the network. Finally, the ways in which information received from the PI can improve the effectiveness of the node DT and, in turn, the efficiency of the warehouse system are examined. © 2023, AIDI - Italian Association of Industrial Operations Professors. All rights reserved
A maintenance policy selection method enhanced by industry 4.0 technologies
No full textOne of the objectives of the manufacturing system is to maximize the profit. Maintenance management is a key element to achieve this goal because it reduces the machines downtime, improving the overall equipment effectiveness of the production systems. The advances in information and communication technologies, which paved the way to “the fourth industrial revolution”, provide to the experts new tools for the monitoring and analysis of the items’ status of functioning. Nowadays, many companies still perform simply the corrective maintenance policies; this is due, mainly, to the difficulty to collect data and to process these data for scheduling the work orders and for assigning the best maintenance policy to each asset. The aim of this paper is to present a new maintenance framework that is able to automate the decision process leading to the choice of the more appropriate maintenance strategy among those belonging to the statistically and reliability based preventive maintenance and the newer opportunistic maintenance approach
Facing the challenges of the future through the synergetic adoption of Industry 4.0 and Lean manufacturing
No full textThe industrial world is undergoing a historical change, so profound as to be called the Fourth Industrial
Revolution. In this context, Industry 4.0 has emerged as one of the most discussed concepts that involves not only
the technological aspect, but also demands consistent and conscious organizational efforts. Indeed, the success of
Industry 4.0 requires to overcome several hindrances and challenges in order to make a factory smart by applying
advanced information and communication systems aiming to improve transparency through the digital linkage of
each element involved in the production. Additionally, lean manufacturing has been explored in the industrial setting,
considering the strict integration of humans in the manufacturing process, a continuous improvement and focus on
value-adding activities. However, the existing studies lacks a comprehensive and detailed conjunction of both
domains. This paper bridges the gap between the two paradigms and illustrates the synergy cross the consolidated
lean approach and Industry 4.0 technologies. The research, builds upon scientific literature review followed by
practical investigation, explores the challenges that a lean company will face in its upgrade process to fulfill the
requirements of Industry 4.0. The findings, made it possible to identify exactly which aspects of Industry 4.0
contribute towards respective dimensions of lean manufacturing and to introduce some considerations on how lean
manufacturing can instead help Industry 4.0 practices. In particular, this article is met the common traits between
these two realms in the emphasis on people involvement, distributed knowledge in the field, process orientation,
attention to data analysis as a basis for improvement and customer-centric vision
A model for the design of production lines with no wait constraints and sub-cycles
No full textThe scheduling optimization for no-wait production systems is still a significant theme in production management research, applied both to job-shops and flow-shops organizations. In this paper we present a general procedure used to determine the number of parallel stations to be introduced in a production line given specific work cycles with no wait constraint and given production levels to be achieved
A cluster analysis of companies implementing lean principles in Europe
No full textThis paper aims at analyzing barriers encountered by firms in implementing lean projects and at classifying them according to the degree of difficulties experienced. In accordance with a literary review, lean barriers can be bundled into five categories, depending on the organizational perspective they deal with. An online survey was developed considering the groups of lean difficulties and it was then distributed to 5000 European organizations, in order to get information and perceptions about the success of lean journeys and the degree of difficulties experienced. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and cluster analysis, in particular using a combination of Hierarchical and K-Means methods. Results showed that respondent organizations can be clustered into two groups and, through the analysis of contingency tables, comparisons and further information about clusters composition were extracted: clusters resulted well defined in terms of degree of difficulties experienced and success of lean projects. Moreover, the existence of a relationship between firms' dimensions and success in lean implementation was verified in all clusters
Proposal of a new methodological approach based on Human Reliability Analysis for improvement safety in the workplace
No full textThe importance of safety and ergonomics has grown in these last few years. The newest technology offers the possibility to improve safety and ergonomic levels of products and workplace. At the same time, new risks appear and their control becomes more complicated. Usually, the tradition of ergonomics and safety is to identify problems and to propose redesign of man-machine systems, but this solution has not often been available. Therefore, it is necessary to consider all system variables, particularly referring to the ―human factor‖, in order to make the working scenario clear. In fact, human error is the most important factor influencing safety and its effect, it often exceeds the random deviation. Numerous facts have shown that failures may be caused by the gross error due to human error. Indeed, designing work systems to reduce risks makes safety a major challenge for many organizations. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to propose an application of a systematic procedure based on CREAM (Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method) to analyze human reliability in order to improve safety and ergonomics in the workplace
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