Diffusion of business improvement processes in manufacturing companies in India

Manufacturing organisations spend more on Business Process Improvement initiatives to make them more competitive in growing global market. This paper presents a Rapid Improvement Workshop (RIW) framework which companies can used to identify the critical factors regulating the diffusion of business process improvement in their company. The framework can then be used address how process improvement can be efficiently implemented. We use the results from case studies at Caterpillar India. The paper identifies the critical factors that contribute to the successful implementation of process improvement programs in manufacturing organisations. We further identify certain technological and cultural barriers to the implementation of process improvement programs and how Indian manufacturing companies can overcome these barriers to attain competitive advantage in the global markets.

Full circle : the future of sustainable fashion manufacturing in New Zealand

Many fashion businesses in New Zealand have followed a global trend towards inexpensive off shore manufacturing. The transfer of the production of garments to overseas workers has had consequences for the wellbeing of local businesses, fashion designers and garment makers. The gradual decline of fashion manufacturing also appears to have resulted in a local fashion scene where many garments look the same in style, colour, fabric, cut and fit. The excitement of the past, where the majority of fashion designers established their own individuality through the cut and shape of the garments that they produced, may have been inadvertently lost in an effort to take advantage of cost savings achieved through mass production and manufacturing methods which are now largely unavailable in New Zealand. Consequently, a sustainable local fashion and manufacturing industry, with design integrity, seems further out of reach. This paper is focussed upon the thesis that the design and manufacture of a fashion garment, bearing in mind certain economic and practical restrictions at its inception, can contribute to a more sustainable fashion manufacturing industry in New Zealand.

The impact of gender diversity on performance in services and manufacturing organizations

We present three competing predictions of the organizational gender diversity-performance relationship: a positive linear prediction, a negative linear prediction, and an inverted U-shaped curvilinear prediction. The paper also proposes a moderating effect of industry type (services vs. manufacturing). The predictions were tested using archival quantitative data with a longitudinal design. The results show partial support for the positive linear and inverted U-shaped curvilinear predictions as well as for the proposed moderating effect of industry type. The results help reconcile the inconsistent findings of past research. The findings also show that industry context can strengthen or weaken gender diversity effects.

Validation and automation of the DYNJAWS component module of the BEAMnrc Monte Carlo code

The purpose of this work is to validate and automate the use of DYNJAWS; a new component module (CM) in the BEAMnrc Monte Carlo (MC) user code. The DYNJAWS CM simulates dynamic wedges and can be used in three modes; dynamic, step-and-shoot and static. The step-and-shoot and dynamic modes require an additional input file defining the positions of the jaw that constitutes the dynamic wedge, at regular intervals during its motion. A method for automating the generation of the input file is presented which will allow for the more efficient use of the DYNJAWS CM. Wedged profiles have been measured and simulated for 6 and 10 MV photons at three field sizes (5 cm x 5 cm , 10 cm x10 cm and 20 cm x 20 cm), four wedge angles (15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees), at dmax and at 10 cm depth. Results of this study show agreement between the measured and the MC profiles to within 3% of absolute dose or 3 mm distance to agreement for all wedge angles at both energies and depths. The gamma analysis suggests that dynamic mode is more accurate than the step-and-shoot mode. The DYNJAWS CM is an important addition to the BEAMnrc code and will enable the MC verification of patient treatments involving dynamic wedges.

Service enhanced manufacturing in the building and construction product system

This report examines the involvement of manufacturers in value-adding through service-enhancement of product offerings. This focus has been prompted by:  emphasis in the knowledge-economy literature on the increasing role played by services in economic growth; and  recent analysis which suggests that the most dynamic sector of many economies is an integrated manufacturing-services sector (see Part One of this report). The report initially describes the emergence of an integrated manufacturing-services sector in the context of increasingly knowledge-based economic systems. Part Two reports on the results of a survey of manufacturers in the building and construction product system, investigating their involvement in service provision. Parts Three and Four present two case studies of exemplary manufacturers involved in adding value to their manufacturing operations through services offered on building and construction projects. The report examines manufacturers of materials, products, equipment and machinery used on building and construction projects. The two case study sections of the report, in part, focus on a major project undertaken by each of the manufacturers. This project element of activity is focussed on (as opposed to wholesale or retail supply), because this area of activity involves a broader array of service-enhancement mechanisms and more complex bundling of products and services.

The gender diversity-performance relationship in services and manufacturing organizations

Empirical findings on the link between gender diversity and performance have been inconsistent. This paper presents three competing predictions of the organizational gender diversity-performance relationship: a positive linear prediction derived from the resource-based view of the firm, a negative linear prediction derived from self-categorization and social identity theories, and an inverted U-shaped curvilinear prediction derived from the integration of the resource-based view of the firm with self-categorization and social identity theories. This paper also proposes a moderating effect of industry type (services vs. manufacturing) on the gender diversity-performance relationship. The predictions were tested in publicly listed Australian organizations using archival quantitative data with a longitudinal research design. The results show partial support for the positive linear and inverted U-shaped curvilinear predictions as well as for the proposed moderating effect of industry type. The curvilinear relationship indicates that different proportions of organizational gender diversity have different effects on organizational performance, which may be attributed to different dynamics as suggested by the resource-based view and self-categorization and social identity theories. The results help reconcile the inconsistent findings of past research that focused on the linear gender diversity-performance relationship. The findings also show that industry context can strengthen or weaken the effects of organizational gender diversity on performance.

Do programs to improve business performance in small and medium manufacturing enterprise improve opportunity recognition?

Increasing awareness of the benefits of stimulating entrepreneurial behaviour in small and medium enterprises has fostered strong interest in innovation programs. Recently many western countries have invested in design innovation for better firm performance. This research presents some early findings from a study of companies which participated in an holistic approach to design innovation, where the outcomes include better business performance and better market positioning in global markets. Preliminary findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews indicate the importance of firm openness to new ways of working and developing new processes of strategic entrepreneurship. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Scaling acoustic data analysis through collaboration and automation

Monitoring and assessing environmental health is becoming increasingly important as human activity and climate change place greater pressure on global biodiversity. Acoustic sensors provide the ability to collect data passively, objectively and continuously across large areas for extended periods of time. While these factors make acoustic sensors attractive as autonomous data collectors, there are significant issues associated with large-scale data manipulation and analysis. We present our current research into techniques for analysing large volumes of acoustic data effectively and efficiently. We provide an overview of a novel online acoustic environmental workbench and discuss a number of approaches to scaling analysis of acoustic data; collaboration, manual, automatic and human-in-the loop analysis.

Design and development of automatic visual inspection system for PCB manufacturing

Inspection of solder joints has been a critical process in the electronic manufacturing industry to reduce manufacturing cost, improve yield, and ensure product quality and reliability. This paper proposes two inspection modules for an automatic solder joint classification system. The “front-end” inspection system includes illumination normalisation, localisation and segmentation. The “back-end” inspection involves the classification of solder joints using the Log Gabor filter and classifier fusion. Five different levels of solder quality with respect to the amount of solder paste have been defined. The Log Gabor filter has been demonstrated to achieve high recognition rates and is resistant to misalignment. This proposed system does not need any special illumination system, and the images are acquired by an ordinary digital camera. This system could contribute to the development of automated non-contact, non-destructive and low cost solder joint quality inspection systems.

A systematic approach to evaluate the process improvement in lean manufacturing organizations

Numerous tools and techniques have been developed to eliminate or reduce waste and carry out Lean concepts in the manufacturing environment. However, in practice, manufacturers encounter difficulties to clearly identify the weaknesses of the existing processes in order to address them by implementing Lean tools. Moreover, selection and implementation of appropriate Lean strategies to address the problems identified is a challenging task. According best of authors‟ knowledge, there is no method available to quantitatively evaluate the cost and benefits of implementing a Lean strategy to address the weaknesses in the manufacturing process. Therefore, benefits of Lean approaches cannot be clearly established. The authors developed a methodology to quantitatively measure the performances of a manufacturing system in detecting the causes of inefficiencies and to select appropriate Lean strategies to address the problems identified. The proposed methodology demonstrates that the Lean strategies should be implemented based on the contexts of the organization and identified problem in order to achieve maximum cost benefits. Finally, a case study has been presented to demonstrate how the procedure developed works in practical situation.

Manufacturing practices and performances: A Malaysian study

The purpose of this study is to identify the most common manufacturing practices adopted by the Malaysian manufacturers, company performance factors and relationship between practices and performances. To fulfil the study objectives, 400 manufacturers were surveyed by a standard 400 questionnaire. Three research methodologies such as descriptive analysis, ANOVA and regression analysis have been employed in this study. The analysis revealed that Malaysian manufacturers focus on optimizing three critical performance factors: product development, less customer return rate and on time delivery (OTD). The most important competitive factor was found to be company reputation and design and manufacturing capacity is the least important factor. The findings also proved that manufacturing practices significantly influence company performances