101 research outputs found
Additive manufacturing as a strategic tool for industrial competition
No full textAdditive Manufacturing (AM), often misleadingly referred to as 3D Printing (3DP), comprises of a group of technologies whose initial inception occurred over thirty years ago within the product design and development applications for the rapid prototyping of concepts, primarily using polymeric materials. Over the past few years AM development has increased exponentially and 3D Printing has expanded to include new areas of research such as 4D Printing, Nano AM, Contour Crafting and so on. However, a proper understanding of the technology's actual and potential benefits to industrial manufacturing has not been approached by practitioners and researchers in detail and industrial end-users risk missing the opportunity to make competitive choices due to the lack of an impartial and realistic overview. Real and tangible industrial benefits are often misunderstood due to the dissemination of information delivered with a mindset grown on a maker-side market, which misses to scope for AM in industrial applications. The aim of the paper is presenting a detailed overview of AM applications in the industrial world, focusing on the likely impacts on organizations and, moreover, to highlight and discuss the potential employments of the technology within the industrial value chain
Effects of lean distributed manufacturing on factory’s resilience: the current practice in UK food manufacturing sector
No full textPurpose – Lean distributed manufacturing (LDM) is being considered as an enabler of achieving sustainability and resilience in manufacturing and supply chain operations. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the understanding of how LDM characteristics affect the resilience of manufacturing companies by
drawing upon the experience of food manufacturing companies operating in the UK.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a conceptual model to analyse the impact of LDM on the operational resilience of food manufacturing companies. A triangulation research methodology (secondary data analysis, field observations and structured interviews) is used in this study. In a first step,
LDM enablers and resilience elements are identified from literature. In a second step, empirical evidence is collected from six food sub-sectors aimed at identifying LDM enablers being practised in companies.
Findings – The analysis reveals that LDM enablers can improve the resilience capabilities of manufacturing companies at different stages of resilience action cycle, whereas the application status of different LDM enablers varies in food manufacturing companies. The findings include the development of a conceptual model (based on literature) and a relationship matrix between LDM enablers and resilience elements.
Practical implications – The developed relationship matrix is helpful for food manufacturing companies to assess their resilience capability in terms of LDM characteristics and then formulate action plans to incorporate relevant LDM enablers to enhance operational resilience.
Originality/value – Based on the literature review, no studies exist that investigate the effects of LDM on factory’s resilience, despite many research studies suggesting distributed manufacturing as an enabler of sustainability and resilience
Low-cost crime scene mapping: reviewing emerging freeware, low-cost methods of 3D mapping and applying them to crime scene investigation and forensic evidence
No full textWithin the realm of 3D mapping, three technologies dominate; Laser, which excels at long range measurements with relatively high accuracy; Structured light systems, which excel at short range measurements at very high accuracy; and Photogrammetry, which uses only photographs, and can vary heavily with accuracy. Forensic science often utilises laser technology in a surveying role, however the other two are more specialised and used far less often. A barrier to greater use of 3D scanning and recreation is the generally large cost of the devices, some costing more than $100,000.
Microsoft Kinect brought an infrared camera to the market as part of a gaming console, the Xbox. This camera functions as a mid-range structured light camera, and modified to map and measure a 3D environment. Kinect sensors are low-cost alternatives, and because of their higher accessibility, development of this technology is faster. Additionally, the development of more sophisticated software, and computational power has meant that photogrammetry has also become far more accessible, requiring only a moderate to high quality digital camera, and the accompanying program. These low-cost alternatives may prove to be invaluable for Police departments to attain greater evidence recovery in times of world-wide budget restrictions
A framework and decision support tool for improving value chain resilience to critical materials in manufacturing
No full textCertain non-energy materials have been identified as being critical to the manufacturing sector and wider economy due to having a high risk of supply disruption combined with high economic importance. The criticality of specific raw materials is becoming increasingly acute as the escalating use of resources is driven by an increasing global population. Critical materials are vital elements in the value chain yet their supply risk may often be ineffectively addressed by traditional supply chain management strategies. Most research to date has been focused at a national or industrial policy level thus many manufacturers are unaware if their operations are at risk from critical materials at a product level. This paper presents a framework that takes a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and mitigating risk associated with critical materials bilaterally along the value chain to facilitate manufacturers in the identification, assessment and mitigation of critical material supply risk. This paper also describes how the framework can be facilitated for application in industry through preliminary design specifications towards a development of a decision support tool
The imperative of embedding sustainability in business: a model for transformational sustainable development
No full text Sustainable development is the current strategic trajectory with transformative intent for complex global challenges including eradication of poverty, full social inclusion and prevention of ecological collapse. However, discourses related to the private sector emphasise economic and social development over the environmental components of sustainable development. Embedding sustainability is the related management imperative for business, supported by numerous frameworks, yet there is confusion about implementation in both literature and practice. This research addresses these issues with a mixed methods study combining a scoping literature review with a qualitative e-Delphi study. The main findings are that the economic system constrains the embedding of sustainability in business; and that a paradigm shift towards ecocentric business models lacks support. The results are used to develop a novel model to aid transformational sustainable development that acknowledges the influences of the economic system in business whilst respecting social and ecological embeddedness. </p
A Framework for the Resilient use of Critical Materials in Sustainable Manufacturing Systems
No full textAbstractA number of materials have been identified by the EU as being critical to their member's economies and manufacturing industries. A material has been defined by the EU as being critical if it is of “high economic importance combined with a high risk of supply shortage”. This criticality will become increasingly acute as the escalating use of finite resources continues, driven by growing populations and consumer demand. One group of materials that is listed top on the majority of these „critical‟ lists are rare earths, which include the elements neodymium and dysprosium. These are often used in high value, high technology products used in renewable energy, military and aerospace sectors. Whilst most manufactures would be aware of the direct use of rare earth elements in their products, many may not be aware of their indirect use such as in manufacturing equipment and bought-in components, or further down the value chain in inter-reliant products or consumables. This paper presents a framework for the resilient use of critical materials in sustainable manufacturing systems. The first phase of this three phase framework identifies where, in the value chain of this business, critical material are used. Once identified, the second phase assesses the level of risk to the business based upon the likelihood, frequency and severity of a supply disruption occurring for the critical material identified. The third phase supports the identification and development of suitable mitigation strategies to reduce this risk, including the consideration of factors specific to the business as well as more general ones associated with the type of rare earth and its application. The paper concludes with a case study, based on simulated data, that demonstrates the application of phase one of this framework in a typical manufacturing operation
A Framework for Material Flow Assessment in Manufacturing
No full textAbstract Improving material efficiency is widely accepted as one of the key challenges facing manufactures in the future. The increasing consumption of materials, in addition to depleting finite resources, is having detrimental impacts on the environment associated with their extraction, processing and disposal. It is clear that radical improvements in material efficiency are required to avoid further environmental damage and maintain a healthy manufacturing sector. Current material flow analysis and resource management methodologies are used to improve the efficiency of material consumption in economic terms, and environmental assessment methodologies are used to determine environmental impacts, a methodology to effectively assess material efficiency according to both criteria is currently not available. This paper highlights the benefits of considering a broader range of parameters in material flow modelling to support advances in increased material efficiency and proposes a 'material flow assessment' framework that allows greater flexibility in the exploration of material efficiency improvements within manufacturing systems
A framework for supporting the sustainable adoption of biopolymers in packaging applications
No full textThis thesis reports on the research undertaken to investigate the reduction of the environmental impacts of plastic packaging through the effective selection and application of biopolymers during the pack design process. The principle objective of this research is to develop an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of biopolymers as a packaging material and to develop a framework which enables biopolymers to be considered at each stage of the pack design process to enable their effective and appropriate selection and use
Gay Rights, Term Limits, and Coporate Personhood: A Roadmap for Social Movements Seeking to Change the Constitution
No full textA transformational change framework for developing ecologically embedded manufacturing
No full textAbstract
Unless strategies are adopted to ensure materials remain in circulation within the economy, the manufacturing sector may be unable to support increasing demand from a growing global population. The purpose of this research is to present a framework for manufacturers to aid in the formulation of ecologically embedded strategy. The framework proposes five steps which integrate corporate, business, operations and sustainability strategy in a holistic manner with operations strategy informing business strategy. Qualitative comparative analysis is implemented to identify the causal characteristics of ecologically embedded products which are then used to select two cases for the application of process tracing (PT). Product case studies indicate a failure to communicate provenance, quality and lifecycle information to consumers, and hence, the slowing or closing of loops as part of a circular economy is not being effectively realised. PT confirms the feasibility of the framework for ecocentric strategy formulation in manufacturing. Manufacturers, policymakers and investors may use this framework to leverage the benefits of ecological embeddedness to enable continued growth and future-proofing
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