Techniques for automated taxonomy building: towards ontologies for knowledge management

Ontologies have become widely accepted as the main method for representing knowledge in Knowledge Management (KM) applica-tions. Given the continuous and rapid change and dynamic nature of knowledge in all fields, automated methods for construct-ing ontologies are of great importance. All ontologies or taxonomies currently in use have been hand built and require consider-able manpower to keep up to date. Taxono-mies are less logically rigorous than ontolo-gies, and in this paper we consider the re-quirements for a system which automatically constructed taxonomies. There are a number of potentially useful methods for construct-ing hierarchically organised concepts from a collection of texts and there are a number of automatic methods which permit one to as-sociate one word with another. The impor-tant issue for the successful development of this research area is to identify techniques for labelling the relation between two candi-date terms, if one exists. We consider a number of possible approaches and argue that the majority are unsuitable for our re-quirements.

IT support for managing aircraft spares in a closed-loop supply chain

This paper reports on the development of elements of an e-supply chain management system for managing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) relationships in the aerospace industry. A standard systems development methodology has been followed to produce a process model (i.e. the AMSCR model); an information model (i.e. business rules) and a computerised information management capability (i.e. automated optimisation). The proof of concept for this web-based MRO supply chain system has been established through the collaboration with a sample of the different types of supply chain members. The proven benefit is a reduction in the stock-holding costs for the whole supply chain whilst also minimising non-flying time of the aircraft that the supply chain supports. This type of system is now vital in an industry that has continuously decreasing profit margins, which in turn means pressure to reduce servicing times and increase the interval between maintenance actions.

Designing a support system for aerospace maintenance supply chains

Purpose - To develop a systems strategy for supply chain management in aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Design/methodology/approach - A standard systems development methodology has been followed to produce a process model (i.e. the AMSCR model); an information model (i.e. business rules) and a computerised information management capability (i.e. automated optimisation). Findings - The proof of concept for this web-based MRO supply chain system has been established through collaboration with a sample of the different types of supply chain members. The proven benefits comprise new potential to minimise the stock holding costs of the whole supply chain whilst also minimising non-flying time of the aircraft that the supply chain supports. Research limitations/implications - The scale of change needed to successfully model and automate the supply chain is vast. This research is a limited-scale experiment intended to show the power of process analysis and automation, coupled with strategic use of management science techniques, to derive tangible business benefit. Practical implications - This type of system is now vital in an industry that has continuously decreasing profit margins; which in turn means pressure to reduce servicing times and increase the mean time between them. Originality/value - Original work has been conducted at several levels: process, information and automation. The proof-of-concept system has been applied to an aircraft MRO supply chain. This is an area of research that has been neglected, and as a result is not well served by current systems solutions. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.