Recent international activity in cooperative vehicle-highway automation systems /

This report summarizes the current state of the art in cooperative vehicle-highway automation systems in Europe and Asia based on a series of meetings, demonstrations, and site visits, combined with the results of literature review. This review covers systems that provide drivers with a range of automation capabilities, from driver assistance to fully automated driving, with an emphasis on cooperative systems that involve active exchanges of information between the vehicles and the roadside and among separate vehicles. The trends in development and deployment of these systems are examined by country, and the similarities and differences relative to the U.S. situation are noted, leading toward recommendations for future U.S. action. The Literature Review on Recent International Activity in Cooperative Vehicle-Highway Automation Systems is published separately as FHWA-HRT-13-025.

Literature review on recent international activity in cooperative vehicle-highway automation systems /

This literature review supports the report, Recent International Activity in Cooperative Vehicle-Highway Automation Systems. It reviews the published literature in English dating from 2007 or later about non-U.S.-based work on cooperative vehicle-highway automation systems. This review covers work performed in Europe and Japan, with application to transit buses, heavy trucks, and passenger cars. In addition to fully automated driving of the vehicles (without human intervention), it also covers partial automation systems, which automate subsets of the total driving process. Recent International Activity in Cooperative Vehicle Highway Automation Systems is published separately as FHWA-HRT-12-033.

Automation and the workplace : selected labor, education, and training issues : a technical memorandum.

Mode of access: Internet.

Undergraduate performance in accounting and business-based information technology

The pervasiveness of information systems (IS) in organizations mandates the need for high levels of IS skills. In recognition, professional bodies impose IS course requirements for accreditation. For both students and employers, performance in IS courses has become important. The tertiary entrance overall performance score accounted for 19.7 per cent of the variance in students' passing grades. Thereafter, proficiency in office automation software and programming accounted for 1.5 and 0.8 per cent of the variance, respectively. Students living in a stable, family home-based environment performed better and it is likely that this environment underpinned other factors affecting performance.

Process orientation and information technology:customer engagement at Xerox (UK) Ltd

Xerox Customer Engagement activity is informed by the "Go To Market" strategy, and "Intelligent Coverage" sales philosophy. The realisation of this philosophy necessitates a sophisticated level of Market Understanding, and the effective integration of the direct channels of Customer Engagement. Sophisticated Market Understanding requires the mapping and coding of the entire UK market at the DMU (Decision Making Unit) level, which in turn enables the creation of tailored coverage prescriptions. Effective Channel Integration is made possible by the organisation of Customer Engagement work according to a single, process defined structure: the Selling Process. Organising by process facilitates the discipline of Task Substitution, which leads logically to creation of Hybrid Selling models. Productive Customer Engagement requires Selling Process specialisation by industry sector, customer segment and product group. The research shows that Xerox's Market Database (MDB) plays a central role in delivering the Go To Market strategic aims. It is a tool for knowledge based selling, enables productive SFA (Sales Force Automation) and, in sum, is critical to the efficient and effective deployment of Customer Engagement resources. Intelligent Coverage is not possible without the MDB. Analysis of the case evidence has resulted in the definition of 60 idiographic statements. These statements are about how Xerox organise and manage three direct channels of Customer Engagement: Face to Face, Telebusiness and Ebusiness. Xerox is shown to employ a process-oriented, IT-enabled, holistic approach to Customer Engagement productivity. The significance of the research is that it represents a detailed (perhaps unequalled) level of rich description of the interplay between IT and a holistic, process-oriented management philosophy.

Business implications of manufacturing innovation : the experience of increasing automation in smaller to medium sized companies.

Despite the considerable potential of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT) for improving the economic performance of many firms, a growing body of literature highlights many instances where realising this potential has proven to be a more difficult task than initially envisaged. Focussing upon the implementation of new manufacturing technologies in several smaller to medium sized enterprises (SME), the research examines the proposition that many of these problems can be attributed in part to inadequate consideration of the integrated nature of such technologies, where the effects of their implementation are not localised, but are felt throughout a business. The criteria for the economic evaluation of such technologies are seen as needing to reflect this, and the research develops an innovative methodology employing micro-computer based spreadsheets, to demonstrate how a series of financial models can be used to quantify the effects of new investments upon overall company performance. Case studies include: the development of a prototype machine based absorption costing system to assist in the evaluation of CNC machine tool purchases in a press making company; the economics and strategy of introducing a flexible manufacturing system for the production of ballscrews; and analysing the progressive introduction of computer based printing presses in a packaging and general print company. Complementary insights are also provided from discussion with the management of several other companies which have experienced technological change. The research was conducted as a collaborative CASE project in the Interdisciplinary Higher Degrees Scheme and was jointly funded by the SERC and Gaydon Technology Limited and later assisted by PE-Inbucon. The findings of the research shows that the introduction of new manufacturing technologies usually requires a fundamental rethink of the existing practices of a business. In particular, its implementation is seen as ideally needing to take place as part of a longer term business and manufacturing strategy, but that short term commercial pressures and limited resources often mean that firms experience difficulty in realising this. The use of a spreadsheet based methodology is shown to be of considerable assistance in evaluating new investments, and is seen as being the limit of sophistication that a smaller business is willing to employ. Several points for effective modelling practice are also given, together with an outline of the context in which a modelling approach is most applicable.

Automation, rationalisation and concentration : a case study in the British chemical industry

This thesis is based upon a case study of the adoption of digital, electronic, microprocessor-based control systems by Albright & Wilson Limited - a UK chemical producer. It offers an explanation of the company's changing technology policy between 1978 and 1981, by examining its past development, internal features and industrial environment. Part One of the thesis gives an industry-level analysis which relates the development of process control technology to changes in the economic requirements of production . The rapid diffusion of microcomputers and other microelectronic equipment in the chemical industry is found to be a response to general need to raise the efficiency of all processes, imposed by the economic recession following 1973. Part Two examines the impaot of these technical and eoonomic ohanges upon Albright & Wilson Limited. The company's slowness in adopting new control technology is explained by its long history in which trends are identified whlich produced theconservatism of the 1970s. By contrast, a study of Tenneco Incorporated, a much more successful adoptor of automating technology, is offered with an analysis of the new technology policy of adoption of such equipment which it imposed upon Albright & Wilson, following the latter's takeover by Tenneco in 1978. Some indications of the consequences by this new policy of widespread adoptions of microprocessor-based control equipment are derived from a study of the first Albright & Wilson plant to use such equipment. The thesis concludes that companies which fail to adopt rapidly the new control technology may not survive in the recessionary environment, the long- established British companies may lack the flexibility to make such necessary changes and that multi-national companies may have an important role jn the planned transfer and adoption of new production technology through their subsidiaries in the UK.

The Automation of Adaptive Processes in the System of Distance Education and Knowledge Control

The article reveals a new technological approach to the creation of adaptive systems of distance learning and knowledge control. The use of the given technology helps to automate the learning process with the help of adaptive system. Developed with the help of the quantum approach of knowledge setting, a programming module-controller guarantees the support of students’ attention and the adaptation of the object language, and this helps to provide the effective interaction between learners and the learning system and to reach good results in the intensification of learning process.

The Application of Graph Model for Automation of the User Interface Construction

The ability of automatic graphic user interface construction is described. It is based on the building of user interface as reflection of the data domain logical definition. The submitted approach to development of the information system user interface enables dynamic adaptation of the system during their operation. This approach is used for creation of information systems based on CASE-system METAS.

A three-level RFID-based automation approach to enhance network competitiveness

Today, the question of how to successfully reduce supply chain costs whilst increasing customer satisfaction continues to be the focus of many firms. It is noted in the literature that supply chain automation can increase flexibility whilst reducing inefficiencies. However, in the dynamic and process driven environment of distribution, there is the absence of a cohesive automation approach to guide companies in improving network competitiveness. This paper aims to address the gap in the literature by developing a three-level framework automation application approach with the assistance of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and returnable transport equipment (RTE). The first level considers the automation of data retrieval and highlights the benefits of RFID. The second level consists of automating distribution processes such as unloading and assembling orders. As the labour is reduced with the introduction of RFID enabled robots, the balance between automation and labour is discussed. Finally, the third level is an analysis of the decision-making process at network points and the application of cognitive automation to objects. A distribution network scenario is formed and used to illustrate network reconfiguration at each level. The research pinpoints that RFID enabled RTE offers a viable tool to assist supply chain automation. Further research is proposed in particular, the area of cognitive automation to aide with decision-making.

Market definition in industrial high-technology markets

This dissertation analyzes how marketers define markets in technology-based industries. One of the most important strategic decisions marketers face is determining the optimal market for their products. Market definition is critical in dynamic high technology markets characterized by high levels of market and technological uncertainty. Building on literature from marketing and related disciplines, this research is the first in-depth study of market definition in industrial markets. Using a national, probability sample stratified by firm size, 1,000 marketing executives in nine industries (automation, biotechnology, computers, medical equipment and instrumentation, pharmaceuticals, photonics, software, subassemblies and components, and telecommunications) were surveyed via a mail questionnaire. A 20.8% net response rate yielding 203 surveys was achieved. The market structure-conduct-performance (SCP) paradigm from industrial organization provided a conceptual basis for testing a causal market definition model via LISREL. A latent exogenous variable (competitive intensity) and four latent endogenous variables (marketing orientation, technological orientation, market definition criteria, and market definition success) were used to develop and test hypothesized relationships among constructs. Research questions relating to market redefinition, market definition characteristics, and internal (within the firm) and external (competitive) market definition were also investigated. Market definition success was found to be positively associated with a marketing orientation and the use of market definition criteria. Technological orientation was not significantly related to market definition success. Customer needs were the key market definition characteristic to high-tech firms (technology, competition, customer groups, and products were also important). Market redefinition based on changing customer needs was the most effective of seven strategies tested. A majority of firms regularly defined their market at the corporate and product-line level within the firm. From a competitive perspective, industry, industry sector, and product-market definitions were used most frequently.

The use of computing technology in highway construction contractor companies as a Total Jobsite Management Tool (TJMT)

The integration of automation (specifically Global Positioning Systems (GPS)) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) through the creation of a Total Jobsite Management Tool (TJMT) in construction contractor companies can revolutionize the way contractors do business. The key to this integration is the collection and processing of real-time GPS data that is produced on the jobsite for use in project management applications. This research study established the need for an effective planning and implementation framework to assist construction contractor companies in navigating the terrain of GPS and ICT use. An Implementation Framework was developed using the Action Research approach. The framework consists of three components, as follows: (i) ICT Infrastructure Model, (ii) Organizational Restructuring Model, and (iii) Cost/Benefit Analysis. The conceptual ICT infrastructure model was developed for the purpose of showing decision makers within highway construction companies how to collect, process, and use GPS data for project management applications. The organizational restructuring model was developed to assist companies in the analysis and redesign of business processes, data flows, core job responsibilities, and their organizational structure in order to obtain the maximum benefit at the least cost in implementing GPS as a TJMT. A cost-benefit analysis which identifies and quantifies the cost and benefits (both direct and indirect) was performed in the study to clearly demonstrate the advantages of using GPS as a TJMT. Finally, the study revealed that in order to successfully implement a program to utilize GPS data as a TJMT, it is important for construction companies to understand the various implementation and transitioning issues that arise when implementing this new technology and business strategy. In the study, Factors for Success were identified and ranked to allow a construction company to understand the factors that may contribute to or detract from the prospect for success during implementation. The Implementation Framework developed as a result of this study will serve to guide highway construction companies in the successful integration of GPS and ICT technologies for use as a TJMT.

Differential Impacts of Information Technology Services in the Korean Hotel Industry: A Study of Management Perceptions

Successful introduction of information technology applications in various operations of hotel management is vital to most service firms. In recent decades, technologies of information, automation, and communication are increasingly recognized as essential components of a hotel company’s strategic plan. In this study, 62 super-deluxe hotels (5 star), deluxe hotels (4 star), and tourist hotels (3 star) in Korea are examined for differences in the impact of information technology services on guest’ satisfaction, guest convenience, and operational efficiency. The findings generally suggest that the impacts of information technology-enhanced services vary according to the category of hotels in Korea. The results of the study are expected to assist managers in the selections and implementation of information technology systems in their hotel.

Investigating the Tradespace between Increased Automation and Optimal Manning on Aircraft Carrier Decks

With increasing prevalence and capabilities of autonomous systems as part of complex heterogeneous manned-unmanned environments (HMUEs), an important consideration is the impact of the introduction of automation on the optimal assignment of human personnel. The US Navy has implemented optimal staffing techniques before in the 1990's and 2000's with a "minimal staffing" approach. The results were poor, leading to the degradation of Naval preparedness. Clearly, another approach to determining optimal staffing is necessary. To this end, the goal of this research is to develop human performance models for use in determining optimal manning of HMUEs. The human performance models are developed using an agent-based simulation of the aircraft carrier flight deck, a representative safety-critical HMUE. The Personnel Multi-Agent Safety and Control Simulation (PMASCS) simulates and analyzes the effects of introducing generalized maintenance crew skill sets and accelerated failure repair times on the overall performance and safety of the carrier flight deck. A behavioral model of four operator types (ordnance officers, chocks and chains, fueling officers, plane captains, and maintenance operators) is presented here along with an aircraft failure model. The main focus of this work is on the maintenance operators and aircraft failure modeling, since they have a direct impact on total launch time, a primary metric for carrier deck performance. With PMASCS I explore the effects of two variables on total launch time of 22 aircraft: 1) skill level of maintenance operators and 2) aircraft failure repair times while on the catapult (referred to as Phase 4 repair times). It is found that neither introducing a generic skill set to maintenance crews nor introducing a technology to accelerate Phase 4 aircraft repair times improves the average total launch time of 22 aircraft. An optimal manning level of 3 maintenance crews is found under all conditions, the point at which any additional maintenance crews does not reduce the total launch time. An additional discussion is included about how these results change if the operations are relieved of the bottleneck of installing the holdback bar at launch time.