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One of the projects currently being undertaken by PT. XYZ is Dam “X”. Based on project management data obtained from PT. XYZ, the actual project construction process experienced a significant delay from the planned schedule, with a delay duration of approximately 30 days. The delay will have an impact on the duration of the final completion of the project, including the process of delivering project results to consumers. The purpose of this study is to determine the critical path in project implementation and identify activities that do not have slack time because it will affect the duration of the overall project completion. The method used in this study is the Critical Path Method (CPM), which is a network method consisting of a series of activity components with the longest total time and showing the fastest duration of project completion. The results showed that the Manufacturing Project has a total of 11 critical activities out of 37 activities (work packages), with a total critical time of 75 days. The total critical time from the calculation of the CPM method also shows the optimal total project duration which can be used as a reference for the project team for the completion of a fabrication project or a hydromechanical component installation project on Dam "X".

Semi-flexible transit (SFT) is commonly discussed as a cost-effective alternative to serving public transportation users in low-demand conditions. We hypothesize that joint optimization of service headway and slack time per trip for route deviation is essential for designing a schedule for the operation of an integrated SFT that can meet both fixed-route and paratransit demand. An integrated SFT has the potential to lower the cost of transportation for regular transit users (both operators and riders) while redirecting potential paratransit riders to less expensive transit modes; thus, reducing demand for overwhelmed paratransit services operating with limited resources. The optimization problem has three competing objectives: minimizing operator costs, minimizing user costs, and maximizing service benefits. Two state-of-the-art multi-objective evolutionary algorithms NSGA-II and SMPSO are compared to obtain the most representative deterministic Pareto optimal solution set. This study has three major contributions. First, quantile regression is used to suggest multiple slack time values for a given headway that transit planners can consider when generating a static schedule for SFT operation. Second, relationships derived to analyze cost trade-offs suggest that headway governs operator cost and is negatively correlated, user cost is positively and equally influenced by both variables, and slack time governs service benefit and is positively correlated. Third, sensitivity analysis for an integrated SFT operation reveals that low-capacity minivans and standard vans offer higher vehicle occupancy and cost efficiency, mostly economical for low to medium demand (5-20 pass/hr), low permissible deviation from the fixed route is desirable during peak hours to avoid delays for passengers on-board, and extreme weather conditions dramatically and negatively influence costs. Policy recommendations for integrated SFT implementation include a recommendation for fare structure design addressing service equity through surcharges/discounts, vehicle technology and service booking technology advancements for cost reduction, and fleet mix design through estimation of passenger loading profile. The application of the study methodology is demonstrated for a low-demand bus route in Regina, Canada.

urpose: This study analyzes the influence of the interactive and the diagnostic use of Management Control Systems (MCS) and slack time on process innovation in incubated companies. Originality/value: Organizational characteristics are associated with processes innovation in organizations with contemporary configuration. The study brings evidence to the contrasting findings of the MCS literature with slack time and process innovation. Design/methodology/approach: A survey was conducted with managers of companies listed on websites of incubators associated with the Associação Nacional de Entidades Promotoras de Empreendimentos Inovadores (National Association of Entities Promoting Innovative Enterprises), obtaining a sample of 106 valid responses. To analyze the data, the Structural Equation Modeling technique was applied to analyze the data. Findings: The results indicated that the interactive use of MCS promotes slack time at work, and the diagnostic use inhibits its creation. However, slack time was not significantly associated with processes innovation, which reveals a dysfunctional role of the slack. The interactive use of MCS had a significant influence on processes innovation. It is concluded that the interactive use prevails when the purpose is to promote processes innovation, as it favors contacts between different hierarchical levels and learning, while the diagnostic use highlights its relevance by inhibiting the creation of slack time, understood as a dysfunction for not leading to processes innovation. This denotes that the interactive and the diagnostic use of MCS are complementary in incubated companies. / Objetivo: Este estudo analisa a influência dos usos interativo e diagnóstico dos Sistemas de Controle Gerencial (SCG) e da folga de tempo na inovação de processos, em empresas incubadas. Originalidade/valor: Características organizacionais são associadas com a inovação de processos em organizações de configuração contemporânea. O estudo traz evidências aos achados contrastantes da literatura dos SCG com a folga de tempo e a inovação de processos. Design/metodologia/abordagem: Pesquisa de levantamento foi realizada com gestores das empresas listadas nos sites de incubadoras associadas à Associação Nacional de Entidades Promotoras de Empreendimentos Inovadores e obteve-se uma amostra de 106 respostas válidas. Para analisar os dados, aplicou-se a técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais. Resultados: Os resultados indicaram que o uso interativo dos SCG promove a folga de tempo no trabalho e o uso diagnóstico inibe sua criação. Porém, a folga de tempo não apresentou associação significativa com a inovação de processos, o que revela um papel disfuncional da folga. O uso interativo dos SCG apresentou influência significativa na inovação de processos. Conclui-se que o uso interativo prevalece quando a finalidade é promover a inovação de processos, pois favorece contatos entre diferentes níveis hierárquicos e aprendizagem, enquanto o uso diagnóstico evidencia sua relevância ao inibir a criação de folga de tempo, entendida como uma disfunção por não levar à inovação de processos. Isso denota complementaridade dos usos interativo e diagnóstico dos SCG nas empresas incubadas.

In control devices for the Internet of Things (IoT), energy is one of the critical restriction factors. Dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) has been proved to be an effective method for reducing the energy consumption of processors. This paper proposes an energy-efficient scheduling algorithm for IoT control devices with hard real-time control tasks (HRCTs) and soft real-time tasks (SRTs). The main contribution of this paper includes two parts. First, it builds the Hybrid tasks with multi-subtasks of different function Weight (HoW) task model for IoT control devices. HoW describes the structure of HRCTs and SRTs, and their properties, e.g., deadlines, execution time, preemption properties, and energy-saving goals, etc. Second, it presents the Hybrid Tasks’ Dynamic Voltage Scaling (HTDVS) algorithm. HTDVS first sets the slowdown factors of subtasks while meeting the different real-time requirements of HRCTs and SRTs, and then dynamically reclaims, reserves, and reuses the slack time of the subtasks to meet their ideal energy-saving goals. Experimental results show HTDVS can reduce energy consumption about 10%–80% while meeting the real-time requirements of HRCTs, HRCTs help to reduce the deadline miss ratio (DMR) of systems, and HTDVS has comparable performance with the greedy algorithm and is more favorable to keep the subtasks’ ideal speeds.