Search

Several industries deal with imperfect and perishable raw materials that need to be cut in order to assemble products. Managing the purchasing, cutting, and sequencing decisions is a challenging problem that spans both inventory control and production process management, where decisions are usually optimised separately. In this research we develop a dynamic programming model that determines these joint decisions. The inspiration comes from furniture companies where the raw material are sheets of plywood that may contain imperfections that need to be avoided when cutting pieces to build the assembled furniture. We evaluate decisions regarding the layout of pieces onto the plywood, dispatching policies of ordered furniture , and the quality of the raw material. The model is useful to perform cost analysis for different scenarios. Variations on the expected demand, purchasing, ordering, disposal, holding costs and initial inventory are considered. Experiments conclude that focusing in quality becomes more important than the age of the plywood sheet if the companies implement a production flow that cuts and sorts all pieces before assembling the furniture. Cost analysis confirms that a just-in-time policy in which little inventory is kept results in important savings when compared with the standard operation of the companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises play a significant role in global economic development. Therefore, it is vital that these family and founder-owned firms survive well into the future. This research presents an empirical approach to the issue of SME succession in three countries: the United States, the United Kingdom and France. It focuses on how founder-owners - mainly baby boomers looking to retire and sell their firms - transfer ownership of these firms based on the options available in those respective countries. This paper will analyse SME furniture manufacturing firms over the period from 2013 to 2019 which converted to employee ownership. This is definitely one way of preserving a firm's legacy, but offers no guarantee of success or even survival. Finally, my work is intended to go some way in supporting conversions to EO as a valid business model linked to more democratic ownership, continued legacy and firm survival for the benefit of all stakeholders, especially the employees and local communities. After all, employees are one of a firm's greatest assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, there are some problems in Chinese furniture production industry, such as low production efficiency, low accuracy, and lack of innovation for products. To resolve those problems, an AI management system is developed to improve the product quality and production efficiency in furniture enterprises in this paper. The AI management system is an organic body consisted of a data management system and an expert system. The model of information transmission and control for furniture manufacture by AI management is developed. It provides technical solutions for the AI application in furniture manufacture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Wood Industry / Drvna Industrija is the property of Drvna Industrija and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Highlights • We examine the power constellations of wood furniture actors under FLEGT. • FLEGT entrenches pre-existing inequalities and produces new modes of elite capture. • Legality verification drives new practices of renting out FLEGT licenses by larger producers. • Legality verification produces new opportunities for financial gain for larger firms. • Renting legality creates a new form of control over the market for large firms. Abstract Over the past few decades, transnational and supranational market-based forest governance systems have been developed to address the complex problems associated with deforestation, by improving the legality and sustainability of timber traded in global markets. This is catalysed by the increasing global production and consumption of timber products and increasing sensitivity of interest groups to how timber products are produced. A broad range of actors is involved in global production networks. This paper discusses how hierarchies and networks of power across the timber production network are encountered and negotiated. More specifically, it investigates the power constellations of wood furniture actors in Indonesia, nested within global production networks: who holds the power, how power is gained and maintained, and who wins and loses over time. Using the case of the timber legality assurance system in the context of the European Union Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) initiative, we demonstrate that legality verification in Indonesia is both entrenching pre-existing inequitable power relations while producing new modes of elite capture. Legality verification requires new knowledge and additional costs that are sometimes beyond the capacity of certain (particularly smaller) furniture manufacturers operators. This has driven a new practice of renting out FLEGT licenses by larger producers/manufacturers to smaller ones in the country. Although the practice implies potential risks (e.g. fines), large companies in Indonesia manage risk by drawing from pre-existing patronage relations. They also appear to find the risk worthwhile, as it produces financial gain but moreover, a new form of control over the market. Meanwhile, small operators and artisanal producers that still aspire to global markets face disproportionate challenges to engage in legality and are becoming more vulnerable as a result of new legality measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Wood Industry / Drvna Industrija is the property of Drvna Industrija and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the decision of the French Constitutional Council on November 14, 2014 to declare a law on the export of works of art. Topics discussed include the power of the council to review the constitutionality of legislation the re-enactment of the Law of 23rd June 1941 by the Vichy Government, and the refusal of the French Secretary of State to exercise the right and grant the authorisation to retain the furniture.

The article offers updates from the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Health Hazard Evaluation (HHE) Program in 2014. It mentions that investigators of HHE evaluates sanding department exposures and employees' rashes at a furniture manufacturing company in North Carolina. HHE received a request of re-evaluating an indoor firing range for noise and lead exposure during firearms qualifications.

Copyright of Wood Industry / Drvna Industrija is the property of Drvna Industrija and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Wood Industry / Drvna Industrija is the property of Drvna Industrija and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents some results of the environmental and organisational aspects that were obtained from a preliminary analysis of the process of manufacturing upholstered furniture at the furniture cluster in the State of Alagoas, Brazil. The method is based on the concepts of pollution prevention and cleaner production that are associated to the concept of product life cycle design. Data were collected through interviews with employees and from direct observation in the company selected for the study case. The results indicate the need for further studies to identify possible modifications in the product and/or in the processes of development of the upholstered furniture produced by the cluster. The partial conclusions suggest the need for the future application of life cycle assessment in one of the upholstered pieces of furniture to broaden the scope of analysis and improve the efficiency of production through cleaner environmental practices. The original character of the study is associated with the dissemination and incentive of the application of life cycle assessment in micro and small businesses in the Furniture Cluster in the town of Arapiraca in the State of Alagoas, in the Northeast of Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos de Geografia: Revista Colombiana de Geografía is the property of Universidad Nacional de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Teknoloji is the property of Engineering Science & Technology, an International Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the aging of wood fibres and its impact of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) panels. MDF refers to a bio-based composite materials used in furniture manufacturing and interior decorating. The main properties of MDF panels include the modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity and internal bond strength. Observations indicate that the urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin have better wettability on fresh fibres than on aged ones.