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This paper uses the projects IN controlled environments (PRINCE2) methodology as a reference, to build a comprehensive framework for managing, executing, and improving the quality and profitability of industrial projects. The proposed framework will be universal to be applied in industrial projects no matter the shape, size, and type of project. PRINCE2 is a project management method that is widely adopted in a wide range of industries. Selected garment factories in Jordan will be considered as a case study. The common practices in industrial project management are evaluated to find possible improvements and to make them more relevant to the current development in the field. Results will be valuable to the industrial projects' management teams, and the industry practitioners in managing and executing their projects according to best practices. The authors propose a framework for improving industrial projects using the PRINCE2 approach.

Since its inception, e-shopping has grown rapidly around the world. People's attitudes about e-shopping have shifted with the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result of the quarantine imposed in countries. This paper explores the relationship between COVID-19 and the resurgence of e-commerce in Jordan. The data were statistically examined and based on the analytical hierarchy process. According to the findings, the most important factors prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were age and bad e-shopping experience. During the pandemic, however, bad experiences in e-shopping remained significant, and people's belief in virus transmission with orders and logistics variable was borderline significant. Furthermore, gender was the main significant factor contributing to the change in the consumer's shopping behaviour during the pandemic. Precisely, females were significantly different than males regarding the change in consumers' shopping behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, throughout the pandemic, consumers' preferences were mainly food and grocery products, with a focus on fast delivery. This was not the situation before the pandemic when their primary focus was on high-end products.

Lean manufacturing philosophy aims to enhance operation efficiency by eliminating wastes, which are considered non-value added activities that increase costs and reduce profits in the competitive marketplace. In this study, the lean manufacturing concepts were used using the value stream mapping, to highlight areas of improvement and eliminate wastes in a thyme manufacturing line in a food factory in Jordan. The data were collected using motion and time study concepts from the factory, and both the current and future state value stream maps were constructed. The results showed that when joining packing and labelling operations in the thyme manufacturing line, the lead time was successfully reduced by 13.57%.

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) presents an attractive option for cost-effective utilization as a transparent conductive oxide (TCO). Possessing favorable electrical and optical characteristics, AZO thin films hold potential, yet their dependability necessitates meticulous attention in both the manufacturing process and the practical deployment of flexible electronic devices. This article presents a comprehensive investigation into the influence of cyclic bending fatigue on AZO thin films deposited on polyimide Kapton substrates. The AZO thin films were meticulously prepared using radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, with precise attention to factors such as substrate cleanliness, target purity, and deposition parameters. The experimental setup involved cyclic bending fatigue experiments on carefully prepared specimens, with a focus on electrical resistance and optical transmittance measurements. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to ascertain the impact of various factors on the percentage change in electrical resistance (PCER). The results revealed that the number of cycles and bending diameter significantly affect the PCER. Notably, a detailed examination of the relationship between significant factors and PCER was facilitated through main effect plots. The study elucidates the interplay between factors such as bending cycles, bending diameter, bending frequency, and sample width, shedding light on the development of cracks due to fatigue. These findings contribute to the understanding of thin-film behavior under cyclic bending conditions, with implications for applications such as flexible electronic packaging and solar cell technology.

This study provides an overview of the influence of applying two human resource management (HRM) practices on workers’ occupational health and safety (OHS). These practices are selection and recruitment, and development and training. Furthermore, this study highlights the observed activities to define hazards, processes and OHS measures in the manufacturing industries. It also assesses the importance of workers’ knowledge and awareness of OHS programs. A structured questionnaire was administered to those working in the manufacturing sector in several countries. The responses were analyzed statistically. The results showed that the demographic variables had a significant impact on workers’ knowledge and awareness of OHS programs. In addition, HRM practices played a major role in OHS. Therefore, it is recommended to top management to highly consider OHS practices by integrating them into the workplace, starting from worker selection, all the way to production, operations and management, by establishing a strong HRM system.

Environmental awareness has recently increased dramatically worldwide. This results in adopting several environmental preservation methods, such as green supply chain management (GSCM) practices. This paper discusses the impacts of implementing GSCM practices on the environmental performance (EP) and operational performance (OP) considering a printing press industry in Jordan. Several GSCM practices were implemented at the printing press in Jordan. Collected data before and after implementing the GSCM practices were analysed statistically considering the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and the analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed that internal environmental management (IEM) has positively decreased waste generation and increased operational quality. However, IEM has negatively decreased the associated noise. This was quite the opposite of waste management and green procurement methods, which showed positive effects on decreasing noise. Waste management also participated in decreasing diesel consumption. In addition, green transportation has a negative effect on decreasing new order delays.

A driver’s field of view is an essential requirement for decreasing traffic crashes and increasing safety. This article improves driver safety by analyzing factors that affect the invisibility angles formed by a vehicle’s A and B pillars. An experiment was conducted with 117 participants. Two models were developed, each associated with one invisibility angle. In the A-pillar invisibility model, the age, weight, waist circumference, torso angle and distance between eyes and windshield were significant. For the B-pillar model, the age, gender, stature, waist depth, waist breadth, torso angle and distance between steering wheel and abdomen were significant. Some of these factors increase the invisibility angle(s), including age, stature, torso angle, distance between windshield and eyes, and distance between steering wheel and abdomen. Other factors decrease the invisibility angle(s), including weight, waist circumference, waist depth and waist breadth. In addition, gender significantly affects the invisibility angle.

A huge variation exists among countries in terms of freshwater availability. Water scarcity is considered a global problem that continues to grow with the fast increase in population and depleting sources of freshwater. Water desalination can be a professional solution for addressing such scarcity of water supply, but the selection of the suitable desalination method can be hard in some cases and depends on several criteria. Multi-criteria decision-making methods could be used to simplify the decision-making problem. In this paper, the preference selection index (PSI) will be used to rank seven desalination technologies; these include reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, multiflash desalination, multi-effect desalination, mechanical vapor compression, nanofiltration and ion exchange. Twelve criteria were used in evaluating the desalination methods, including the capital cost, operating cost, the energy required, recovery ratio, product water quality, adaptability, lifetime, environmental impact, simplicity, reliability, maturity and applicability. The results of the PSI model showed that the ion exchange technology is the optimal desalination technology, followed by nanofiltration technology.

This paper develops an insert-node heuristic for solving a case study involving the travelling salesman problem (TSP), a new infants' formula company that is entering the US market. The company established one head office in each state that has some medical representatives. One representative in the state of Kansas office who is in charge of visiting maternity hospitals or clinics in 48 cities in Kansas (USA) is selected. The objective of this research paper is to find the optimal route between the 48 cities for the representative, to minimise the travelling time and cost. The contribution of this paper to the literature is that the insert-node heuristic approach is applied to the medicine and infants' formula distribution in the state of Kansas.