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La presència de la dona en el món de la tecnologia no està normalitzat: hi ha menys dones que l’estudien i que hi treballen. El perquè d'aquest biaix és parcialment desconegut, ja que hi ha un debat mil·lenari sobre el paper i els drets de la dona en la nostra societat. En el següent treball s’analitza quins aspectes de la nostra biologia i societat són els que causen aquest biaix. Per començar, s’ha investigat sobre la naturalesa del nostre cervell, i quina relació té amb el gènere. La recerca ha continuat amb la investigació d’estudis i entrevistant a experts, enginyers i enginyeres per poder visualitzar com afecten els rols de gènere als aspectes quotidians de la nostra vida, i com aquests mateixos rols condicionen el nostre paper en la societat, com la tria d’estudis. Un cop contextualitzada la importància del gènere en el nostre sistema social, s’han redactat propostes que a llarg termini poden reduir el biaix de gènere en les enginyeries, i minimitzar l'impacte del sexisme en la societat. Les propostes estan pensades per a ús educatiu i escolar, per als municipis, i organitzacions nacionals i són les següents: a) Quotes, com una opció temporal: permet igualar biaixos grans fins que es redueixin de manera natural. b) Celebrar noves dates importants o la promoció d’algunes ja existents, com el dia d’Ada Lovelace, la Setmana de la Ciència, i el Dia Internacional de la Dona i la Ciència. c) Fer habitual l’ús d’eines d’anàlisi, com el Principi de la Barrufeta, el Test de Finkbeiner, o el Test de Bechdel, aquestes eines permeten que qualsevol persona sigui capaç de detectar un rerefons masclista. Cal treballar per tenir propostes realistes que puguin dur a terme l’empoderament de joves i reduir el pes del gènere en la nostra societat

Purpose: Remanufactured products, in addition to being environment friendly, are popular with consumers because they can offer the latest technology with lower prices in comparison to brand new products. However, some consumers are hesitant to buy remanufactured products because they are skeptical about the quality of the remanufactured product and thus are unsure of the extent to which the product will render services when compared to a new product. A strategy that remanufacturers may employ to entice customers is to offer warranties on remanufactured products. To that end, this paper studies and scrutinizes the impact of offering renewing warranties on remanufactured products. Specifically, the paper suggests a methodology which simultaneously minimizes the cost incurred by the remanufacturers and maximizes the confidence of the consumers towards buying remanufacturing products. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses discrete-event simulation to optimize the implementation of a two-dimensional renewing warranty policy for remanufactured products. The implementation is illustrated using a specific product recovery system called the Advanced Remanufacturing-To-Order (ARTO) system. The experiments used in the study were designed using Taguchi’s Orthogonal Arrays to represent the entire domain of the recovery system so as to observe the system behavior under various experimental conditions. In order to determine the optimum strategy offered by the remanufacturer, various warranty and preventive maintenance scenarios were analyzed using pairwise t-tests along with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey pairwise comparisons tests for every scenario. Findings: The proposed methodology is able to simultaneously minimize the cost incurred by the remanufacturer, optimize the warranty price and period, and optimize the preventive maintenance strategy resulting in increased consumer confidence. Originality/value: This is the first study that evaluates in a quantitative and comprehensive manner the potential benefits of offering warranties with preventive maintenance on remanufactured products.

Purpose: Increase of costs and complexities in organizations beside the increase of uncertainty and risks have led the managers to use the risk management in order to decrease risk taking and deviation from goals. SCRM has a close relationship with supply chain performance. During the years different methods have been used by researchers in order to manage supply chain risk but most of them are either qualitative or quantitative. Supply chain operation reference (SCOR) is a standard model for SCP evaluation which have uncertainty in its metrics. In This paper by combining qualitative and quantitative metrics of SCOR, supply chain performance will be measured by Bayesian Networks. Design/methodology/approach: First qualitative assessment will be done by recognizing uncertain metrics of SCOR model and then by quantifying them, supply chain performance will be measured by Bayesian Networks (BNs) and supply chain operations reference (SCOR) in which making decision on uncertain variables will be done by predictive and diagnostic capabilities. Findings: After applying the proposed method in one of the biggest automotive companies in Iran, we identified key factors of supply chain performance based on SCOR model through predictive and diagnostic capability of Bayesian Networks. After sensitivity analysis, we find out that ‘Total cost’ and its criteria that include costs of labors, warranty, transportation and inventory have the widest range and most effect on supply chain performance. So, managers should take their importance into account for decision making. We can make decisions simply by running model in different situations. Research limitations/implications: A more precise model consisted of numerous factors but it is difficult and sometimes impossible to solve big models, if we insert all of them in a Bayesian model. We have adopted real world characteristics with our software and method abilities. On the other hand, fewer data exist for some of the performance metrics. Practical implications: Mangers often use simple qualitative metrics for SCRM. However, combining qualitative and quantitative metrics will be more useful. Industries can recognize the important uncertain metrics by predicting supply chain performance and diagnosing possible happenings. Originality/value: This paper proposed a Bayesian method based on SCOR metrics which has the ability to manage supply chain risks and improve supply chain performance. This is the only presented case study for measuring supply chain performance by SCOR metrics.

Purpose: Network design of the supply chain is an important and strategic aspect of logistics management. In this paper, we address the network design problem specific to packaged gases (cylinder) supply chain. We propose an integrated framework that allows for the determination of the optimal facility locations, the filling plant production capacities, the inventory at plants and hubs, and the number of packages to be routed in primary and secondary transportation. Design/methodology/approach: We formulate the problem as a mixed integer program and then develop a decomposition approach to solve it. We illustrate the proposed framework with numerical examples from real-life packaged gases supply chain. The results show that the decomposition approach is effective in solving a broad range of problem sizes. Findings: The main finding of this paper is that decomposing the network design problem into two sub-problems is very effective to tackle the real-life large scale network design problems occurring in cylinder gas distribution by optimizing strategic and tactical decisions and approximating the operational decisions. We also benchmark the results from the decomposition approach by solving the complete packaged gases network design model for smaller test cases. Originality/value: The main contribution of our work is that it integrates supply chain network design decisions without fixing the fillings plant locations with inventory and resource allocation decisions required at the plants. We also consider the transportation costs for the entire supply chain including the transhipment costs among different facilities by deciding the replenishment frequency.

Purpose: This paper is an attempt to establish the mathematical programming model of the vendor selection for the joint procurement from a total cost of ownership perspective. Design/methodology/approach: Fuzzy genetic algorithm is employed to solve the model, and the data set of the ball bearings purchasing problem is illustrated as a numerical analysis. Findings: According to the results, it can be seen that the performance of the optimization model is pretty good and can reduce the total costs of the procurement. Originality/value: The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, a literature review and classification of the published vendor selection models is shown in this paper. Second, a mathematical programming model of the vendor selection for the joint procurement from a total cost of ownership perspective is established. Third, an empirical study is displayed to illustrate the application of the proposed model to evaluate and identify the best vendors for ball bearing procurement, and the results show that it could reduce the total costs as much as twenty percent after the optimization.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to deal with the supply chain management (SCM) with quantity discount policy under the complex fuzzy environment, which is characterized as the bi-fuzzy variables. By taking into account the strategy and the process of decision making, a bi-fuzzy nonlinear multiple objective decision making (MODM) model is presented to solve the proposed problem.Design/methodology/approach: The bi-fuzzy variables in the MODM model are transformed into the trapezoidal fuzzy variables by the DMs's degree of optimism ?1 and ?2, which are de-fuzzified by the expected value index subsequently. For solving the complex nonlinear model, a multi-objective adaptive particle swarm optimization algorithm (MO-APSO) is designed as the solution method.Findings: The proposed model and algorithm are applied to a typical example of SCM problem to illustrate the effectiveness. Based on the sensitivity analysis of the results, the bi-fuzzy nonlinear MODM SCM model is proved to be sensitive to the possibility level ?1.Practical implications: The study focuses on the SCM under complex fuzzy environment in SCM, which has a great practical significance. Therefore, the bi-fuzzy MODM model and MO-APSO can be further applied in SCM problem with quantity discount policy.Originality/value: The bi-fuzzy variable is employed in the nonlinear MODM model of SCM to characterize the hybrid uncertain environment, and this work is original. In addition, the hybrid crisp approach is proposed to transferred to model to an equivalent crisp one by the DMs's degree of optimism and the expected value index. Since the MODM model consider the bi-fuzzy environment and quantity discount policy, so this paper has a great practical significance.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a mathematical model for the prediction of railway freight volume, and therefore provide railway freight resource allocation with an accurate direction. With an accurate railway freight volume prediction, railway freight enterprises can integrate the limited resources and organize transport more reasonably. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, a PSO-GRNN model is proposed to predict the railway freight volume. In this model, GRNN is applied to carry out the nonlinear regression analysis and output the prediction value, PSO algorithm is applied to optimize the GRNN model by searching the best smoothing parameter. In order to improve the performance of PSO algorithm, time linear decreasing inertia weight algorithm and time varying acceleration coefficient algorithm are applied in the paper. Originality/value: A railway freight volume prediction index system containing seventeen indexes from five aspects is established in this paper. And PSO-GRNN model constructed in this paper are applied to predict the railway freight volume from 2007 to 2011. Finally, an empirical study is given to verify the feasibility and accuracy of the PSO-GRNN model by comparing with RBFNN model and BPNN model. The result shows that PSO-GRNN model has a good performance in reducing the prediction error, and can be applied in actual production easily.

Purpose: The new energy has been an important driving force in region sustainable development. It is a critical issue to evaluate the role of new energy in region sustainable development.Design/methodology/approach: To deal with this issue, this paper proposes a new score function, in which, both mean and variance are considered. Then it introduces the basic operators, such as hesitant fuzzy weighted averaging operator and hesitant fuzzy weighted geometric operator to get the comprehensive assessment provided by the decision maker on each attribute.Findings: Due to the drawbacks of existing methods with hesitant fuzzy information, this paper puts forward a method and the procedure to solve the MADM (multiple attribute decision making) problem. And an illustrative example is demonstrated to verify the reliability of the proposed method.Research limitations/implications: The method can be used to evaluate the new energy in regional sustainable development, but it cannot solve the problems with many experts.Practical implications: Based on the new framework, a case study is carried out to verify its applicability and validity. The research can fill the gaps for the assessment framework of new energy in regional sustainable development. This paper is of practical value in real life, which is the application of some techniques.Originality/value: This paper describes in detail in evaluating the role of new energy in region sustainable development. And a new score function is proposed with hesitant fuzzy information, that is, the idea of variance is introduced to form a new score function to measure the deviation of hesitant fuzzy elements. Meanwhile, the basic operator, such as hesitant fuzzy weighted averaging operator and hesitant fuzzy weighted geometric operator are introduced to integrate the hesitant fuzzy information.

Purpose: The Selection of logistics service providers is an important issue in supply chain management. But different evaluation methods may lead to different results, which could cause inconsistent conclusions. This paper makes use of a new perspective to combine with a variety of methods to eliminate the deviation of different single evaluation methods. Design/methodology/approach: This paper expounds the application of the combined evaluation method based on correlation. Entropy method, factor analysis, grey colligation evaluation and AHP have been used for research. Findings: According to the evaluate result, the ranking of suppliers obtained by each method have obvious differences. The result shows that combined evaluation method can eliminate the deviation of different single evaluation methods. Originality/value: The combined evaluation method makes up for the defects of single evaluation methods and obtains a result that is more stable and creditable with smaller deviation. This study can provide the enterprise leaders with more scientific method to select their cooperative companies.

Purpose: Integration of various logistical components in supply chain, such as transportation, inventory control and facility location are becoming common practice to avoid suboptimization in nowadays' competitive environment. The integration of transportation and inventory decisions is known as inventory routing problem (IRP) in the literature. The problem aims to determine the delivery quantity for each customer and the network routes to be used in each period, so that the total inventory and transportation costs are to be minimized. On the contrary of conventional IRP that each retailer can only provide its demand from the supplier, in this paper, a new multi-period, multi-item IRP model with considering lateral trans-shipment and financial decisions is proposed as a business model in a distinct organization. The main concern of this paper is to propose a new decision making approach usable for an organization to decide economically whether establish a new agent. Design/methodology/approach: The problem is formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model. A new hybrid genetic algorithm (GA)-particle swarm optimization (PSO) metaheuristic algorithm is proposed which showed to be applicable and reliable comparing its numerical results with GAMS. Finally, a decision procedure with three phases is proposed to help an organization to find whether establishing a new agent has economic justification or not. Findings: Numerical results of new proposed algorithm comparing with GAMS are showed that the proposed algorithm produce good answers and the unique chromosome represented for the proposed solving methodology is adaptive with the essence of IRP. Originality/value: Motivated by real world and analyzing gap in literature, a new MILP model for multi-period, multi-item IRP with considering lateral trans-shipment and financial decisions is proposed and then the model is solved with a new hybrid GA-PSO meta-heuristic algorithm. The chromosome represented for the proposed solving methodology is unique and is another contribution of this paper which showed to be adaptive with the essence of IRP problem.

[EN] Purpose: This paper reviews current literature and contributes a set of findings that capture the current state-of-the-art of the topic of lot streaming in a flow-shop. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review to capture, classify and summarize the main body of knowledge on lot streaming in a flow-shop with makespan criteria and, translate this into a form that is readily accessible to researchers and practitioners in the more mainstream production scheduling community. Findings: The existing knowledge base is somewhat fragmented. This is a relatively unexplored topic within mainstream operations management research and one which could provide rich opportunities for further exploration. Originality/value: This paper sets out to review current literature, from an advanced production scheduling perspective, and contributes a set of findings that capture the current state-of-the-art of this topic., This work has been carried out as part of the project “Programación de la Producción con Partición Ajustable de Lotes en entornos de Planificación mixta Pedido/Stock (PP-PAL-PPS)”, ref. GVA/2013/034 funded by Consellería de Educación, Cultura y Deportes de la Generalitat Valenciana.

Purpose: The majority of a company’s improvement comes when the right workers with the right skills, behaviors and capacities are deployed appropriately throughout a company. This paper considers a workforce scheduling model including human aspects such as skills, training, workers’ personalities, workers’ breaks and workers’ fatigue and recovery levels. This model helps to minimize the hiring, firing, training and overtime costs, minimize the number of fired workers with high performance, minimize the break time and minimize the average worker’s fatigue level.Design/methodology/approach: To achieve this objective, a multi objective mixed integer programming model is developed to determine the amount of hiring, firing, training and overtime for each worker type.Findings: The results indicate that the worker differences should be considered in workforce scheduling to generate realistic plans with minimum costs. This paper also investigates the effects of human fatigue and recovery on the performance of the production systems.Research limitations/implications: In this research, there are some assumptions that might affect the accuracy of the model such as the assumption of certainty of the demand in each period, and the linearity function of Fatigue accumulation and recovery curves. These assumptions can be relaxed in future work.Originality/value: In this research, a new model for integrating workers’ differences with workforce scheduling is proposed. To the authors' knowledge, it is the first time to study the effects of different important human factors such as human personality, skills and fatigue and recovery in the workforce scheduling process. This research shows that considering both technical and human factors together can reduce the costs in manufacturing systems and ensure the safety of the workers.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss through the main aspects and principles of successful platform-based product family development and management. For example car industry and car manufacturers take advantage of platform-based product families while solving the conflict of balancing between wide product variety and operational efficiency. This is a common dilemma also in some other manufacturing companies operating on versatile markets; how to serve individual customer needs with minimum development, manufacturing and service efforts? Product families are in this paper seen as an answer. Thus, the aim of this paper is to promote the adoption of often complex and risky product family development especially in technology and manufacturing focused companies. To be able to minimize risks and maximize the advantages companies need to understand the dynamics of the product family thinking presented in this paper.Design/methodology/approach: After a literature survey the main aspects and principles of the product family thinking are illustrated through a case example from a company designing and manufacturing hydraulic piling equipment.Findings: The case study shows that as universal practices are missing the “best practice” in product family development is always dependent on the nature of the company and its products. It is also evident that gaining long-term competitive advantage through product family thinking will not happen without continuous learning and investments in both time and resources.Originality/value: This paper presents the main aspects and principles of the platform-based product family thinking in a systematic and hierarchical manner by connecting together platforming, architecture design, strategic aspects and management perspectives.

Purpose: The loss of raw materials in wood cutting industries has reached high proportions (30 to 36% of volume yield, Ngolle Ngolle, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to solve the problem of optimising the production on the basis of the commercial value of the cuts.Design/methodology/approach: In order to tackle this problem, we started with the generalities on the exploitation and the primary conversion of wood in Cameroon. After that, we studied the various methods of cutting and the different products obtained. We then proceeded with the formulation of the log cutting optimisation problem based on a real shape model of the logs, objective of research works presented in (Danwé, Bindzi, Meva’a & Nola, 2011). We finally completed our work with the design and the presentation of a software package called cutting optimiser.Findings: We start by having some knowledge on the geometry of the logs, cutting strategies and classification of cuts. This classification enables us to determine the quality and quantity of the production, and to estimate the commercial value of the log. The solution to this problem then led to the design of a software package.Research limitations/implications: In this paper, the optimisation problem concerns problems where the objective function is non-explicit, the variables discreet, and the constraints non-explicit.Practical implications: The solution to this problem then led to the design of a software package to be used as a cutting optimiser. The automation of the cutting operation leads to an accelerated work and an increase in the volume of the cuts produced daily.Originality/value: This research is among the few to solve discrete optimization problems with constraints. Some constraints concerning the mechanical characteristics of the logs are taken into account. The constraints can equally be non-explicit. Moreover the market standards impose technological constraints which render the problem of optimisation even more complex.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to develop an assessment model to identify phase of industrial cluster life cycle which comprises definition of the cycle phases, identification of assessment components, and characterization of each phase of cluster life cycle. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses the Delphi method to develop the conceptual model i.e. define phases of cluster life cycle and identify assessment components, and design typology of cluster life cycle. Findings: The proposed indicators used to assess industrial cluster phases are (i) concentration of industry, (ii) market accessibility, (iii) completeness of actors, and (iv) collaboration of stakeholders. Research limitations/implications: This study developed a conceptual model based on expert opinion in Indonesia. Given the limitations of experts in this field in Indonesia, it is necessary to develop advanced research involving more experts and if possible, to involve experts outside Indonesia. Practical implications: This paper provides an assessment conceptual model to identify phase of industrial cluster life cycle. The objective of assessing industrial cluster phases is to evaluate and improve the condition of industrial clusters and as basis for formulation policy interventions in accordance with each phase of cluster life cycle. The final results of this study are the position of each cluster on their life cycle, which reflects the condition of each industrial cluster. On a practical level, the assessment result could be used to improve the competitiveness of industrial sectors and help local and central government to formulate appropriate policy interventions. Originality/value: The paper provides an assessment conceptual model to identify phases of industrial cluster life cycle, which include definition phases, assessment components and typology of each phase of cluster life cycle based on assessment criteria. Research in this field was rarely done by the other researchers.

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review of recent developments in methodological frameworks for the modelling and simulation of agent-based advanced supply chain planning systems. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review is provided to identify, select and make an analysis and a critical summary of all suitable studies in the area. It is organized into two blocks: the first one covers agent-based supply chain planning systems in general terms, while the second one specializes the previous search to identify those works explicitly containing methodological aspects.Findings: Among sixty suitable manuscripts identified in the primary literature search, only seven explicitly considered the methodological aspects. In addition, we noted that, in general, the notion of advanced supply chain planning is not considered unambiguously, that the social and individual aspects of the agent society are not taken into account in a clear manner in several studies and that a significant part of the works are of a theoretical nature, with few real-scale industrial applications. An integrated framework covering all phases of the modelling and simulation process is still lacking in the literature visited.Research limitations/implications: The main research limitations are related to the period covered (last four years), the selected scientific databases, the selected language (i.e. English) and the use of only one assessment framework for the descriptive evaluation part. Practical implications: The identification of recent works in the domain and discussion concerning their limitations can help pave the way for new and innovative researches towards a complete methodological framework for agent-based advanced supply chain planning systems. Originality/value: As there are no recent state-of-the-art reviews in the domain of methodological frameworks for agent-based supply chain planning, this paper contributes to systematizing and consolidating what has been done in recent years and uncovers interesting research gaps for future studies in this emerging field.Purpose: The objective of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review of recent developments in methodological frameworks for the modelling and simulation of agent-based advanced supply chain planning systems. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review is provided to identify, select and make an analysis and a critical summary of all suitable studies in the area. It is organized into two blocks: the first one covers agent-based supply chain planning systems in general terms, while the second one specializes the previous search to identify those works explicitly containing methodological aspects. Findings: Among sixty suitable manuscripts identified in the primary literature search, only seven explicitly considered the methodological aspects. In addition, we noted that, in general, the notion of advanced supply chain planning is not considered unambiguously, that the social and individual aspects of the agent society are not taken into account in a clear manner in several studies and that a significant part of the works are of a theoretical nature, with few real-scale industrial applications. An integrated framework covering all phases of the modelling and simulation process is still lacking in the literature visited. Research limitations/implications: The main research limitations are related to the period covered (last four years), the selected scientific databases, the selected language (i.e. English) and the use of only one assessment framework for the descriptive evaluation part. Practical implications: The identification of recent works in the domain and discussion concerning their limitations can help pave the way for new and innovative researches towards a complete methodological framework for agent-based advanced supply chain planning systems. Originality/value: As there are no recent state-of-the-art reviews in the domain of methodological frameworks for agent-based supply chain planning, this paper contributes to systematizing and consolidating what has been done in recent years and uncovers interesting research gaps for future studies in this emerging field.

Due to different reasons cities are increasingly challenged to improve their competitiveness. Different strategic efforts are discussed in planning sciences, new approaches and instruments are elaborated and applied, steering the positioning of cities in a competitive urban world. As one specific consequence city rankings have experienced a remarkable boom. However, there is some evidence that public attention of city rankings is mainly concentrated simply on the ranks themselves totally neglecting its meaning as an instrument for strategic planning. In order to elaborate this potential meaning of rankings the paper gives an overview of different types and introduces an own approach called ‘Smart City ranking’. Based on this ranking approach and corresponding experiences of different cities reacting on its dissemination in the second part the paper shows how this approach can be used as an effective instrument detecting strengths and weaknesses and improving a city’s competitiveness through relevant strategic efforts. Per diferents motius, les ciutats es troben cada vegada en major mesura front el repte de millorar la seva competitivitat. Diferents esforços estratègics són discutits en les ciències del planejament, nous enfocaments i instruments són elaborats i posats en pràctica, guiant el posicionament de les ciutats en un competitiu món urbà. Una conseqüència específica d’això és que la categorització de ciutats ha experimentat un augment notable. No obstant, hi ha certs indicis de que l’atenció pública respecte de la categorització de ciutats es centra principalment en les últimes posicions, oblidant completament la seva significança com instrument de planificació estratègica. Amb la finalitat de desenvolupar aquesta potencial significança de les categoritzacions, l’article fa un repàs de diferents tipus i presenta una aproximació pròpia anomenada “Smart City Ranking”. Basat en aquest enfocament a la categorització i les corresponents experiències de la reacció de diferents ciutats respecte a la seva difusió, en una segona part l’article mostra com aquesta aproximació pot ser utilitzada com instrument eficaç, reconeixent fortaleses i debilitats i millorant la competitivitat de les ciutats a través d’esforços estratègics adequats. Por diferentes motivos, las ciudades se encuentran cada vez en mayor medida ante el reto de mejorar su competitividad. Distintos esfuerzos estratégicos son discutidos en las ciencias del planeamiento, nuevos enfoques e instrumentos son elaborados y puestos en práctica, guiando el posicionamiento de las ciudades en un mundo urbano competitivo. Una consecuencia específica de ello es que la categorización de ciudades ha experimentado un auge notable. Sin embargo, hay ciertos indicios de que la atención sobre la jerarquización de ciudades se centra principalmente en las últimas posiciones, olvidando completamente su significancia como instrumento de planificación estratégica. Con el fin de desarrollar esta potencial significancia este artículo hace un repaso de distintos tipos y presenta una aproximación propia llamada “Smart City Ranking”. Basado en este enfoque a la categorización y las correspondientes experiencias de la reacción de diferentes ciudades en cuanto a su difusión, en una segunda parte el artículo muestra como esta aproximación puede ser utilizada como un instrumento eficaz, reconociendo fortalezas y debilidades y mejorando la competitividad de las ciudades a través de esfuerzos estratégicos adecuados.

Estimating from the steady declining rate of engineering students in Malaysia, the country is predicted to be short of 236,000 engineers and technical personnel to achieve its 2020 Mission. Hence, it has built the first technical MARA Junior Science College that introduced engineering to lower secondary students. However, there is yet a study on whether or not it helps the students to increase their interests in engineering. Therefore, in this paper, a survey has been conducted to first and foremost investigate the technical students’ interests in engineering as well as finding out the reasoning from those who are not interested in engineering. After that, a half day engineering program is introduced with a measurement on the interest in engineering before and after the intervention is held. Finally, the survey studies which field of engineering the students are most interested in. The results show that, before the program is introduced, only 8.47% of the technical students have shown high interests in engineering field with only 7.5% female students are interested in engineering compared to 18.42% for male students. After the program is introduced, as high as 33.05% students rated their interest in engineering field as ‘most interested’, with 39.47% in male students and 30% in female students. It proves that an engineering event is crucial in increasing students’ interests in engineering. It also concludes that Electrical Engineering is the most favourite field of engineering with percentage score of 38.98%, while Electrical Power being the least

Purpose: In this paper, a combined Production Line Design (PLD) process which includes many design aspects is presented, developed and validated. Design/methodology/approach: The PLD process is based on the SADT (Structured Analysis and Design Technique) diagram and the Axiomatic Design (AD) method. Findings: The results of the validation indicated that the production line designed by this process is outperformed the initial line of the company. Practical implications: For a purpose of validation, this proposed process has been applied in a manufacturing company and it has been validated by simulation. Originality/value: Recently, the problems of production line design (PLD) have attracted the attention of many researchers. However, only a few studies have treated the PLD which includes all design aspects. In this work, a combined PLD porcess is presented. It should be noted that the proposed process is simple and effective.

This paper presents a blended-learning strategy for improving the teaching method applied in the laboratory subject Manufacturing Technologies. The teaching method has been changed from a predominantly teacher-centred to an active learning system with a student-centred focus and e-learning activities. In face-to-face classes, a game-based learning platform has been used. This methodology ensured engaging classes at the same time that provided a useful live feedback for students and teachers. The virtualization of the laboratory was achieved by two different e-learning activities, self-assessment tasks and video clips. These e-learning tools have been used not only to improve the students’ learning but also to enhance their motivation. The results from academic outputs show a significant improvement after the new blended learning method is applied. Moreover, a student satisfaction survey shows the positive impact of the methodology on the students’ engagement and motivation.

Adaptable, flexible and evolvable manufacturing systems and warehouses are so complex to manage that control systems have to be divided into several aspects. One of these is internal transportation, which has to do with all tasks involved in fulfilling a set of so-called transportation orders, i.e. commands to collect and deliver material from origin to destination spots. A common approach to design the controllers for these applications begins by modeling them as multi-agent systems and continues to final deployment through a cascade of transformations. To minimize development costs of internal transportation controllers, we have proposed a model of construction that includes components that synchronize the events from reality simulation and the ones from actual reality. By using these \textit{synchronizers}, further development is required only for those parts of the initial multi-agent controller models with real counterparts. In this paper, we review the model and the architecture of the proposed internal transportation system controllers and we illustrate the whole design process through the development of a controller for an automated laboratory. Indirectly, we prove the validity of the architecture and of its key component, the synchronizers.

Purpose: The article focuses on supply capability creation (SCC) within the new product development (NPD). The purpose is to establish an SCC process describing the main SCC activities and milestone criteria in preparing the supply process for new products Design/methodology/approach: The article analyses the earlier research, carries out current state analysis of six case companies regarding the SCC areas and proposes an SCC process. Findings: The developed SCC process aims at preparing the operational supply capability for a developed new product based on the preferred, qualified and contracted suppliers and materials along the NPD process, and ultimately at the product ramp-up. Originality/value: This paper introduces an SCC process that has not been presented earlier in the literature, highlighting the important role of the SCC for successful product ramp-ups.

This paper describes the development of the mobile post-editing application Kanjingo, and the developers’ intentions for the tool. There have, to date, been two rounds of usability testing of Kanjingo completed, with good responses from participants. Despite this, it remains difficult to make a commercial case for smartphone post-editing. Aquest article descriu el desenvolupament de Kanjingo, una aplicació mòbil per a la postedició, i les motivacions de la seva creació. L’aplicació ha estat sotmesa, fins ara, a dues rondes d’avaluació pel que fa a la facilitat d’ús, amb respostes positives dels participants. Amb tot, encara no s’ha pogut convertir en projecte comercial per a la postedició amb telèfons intel·ligents. Este artículo describe el desarrollo de Kanjingo, una aplicación móvil para la posedición, y las motivaciones de su creación. La aplicación ha sido sometida, hasta la fecha, a dos rondas de evaluación sobre su facilidad de uso, con respuestas positivas de los participantes. Sin embargo, todavía no se ha podido convertir en proyecto comercial para la posedición con teléfonos inteligentes.

Els incendis forestals tenen un impacte molt important en la biodiversitat, ja que hi ha una destrucció d'aquesta i porta conseqüències molt greus sobre la fauna, atmosfera i aigua, entre elements destacats. Alhora, també afecta directa o indirectament la societat dels entorns amb emergència, ja sigui pel perill físic d'estar prop d'una zona afectada, o bé perquè l'extinció d'incendis precisa de molts recursos econòmics per poder combatre'ls. Tot aquest conjunt de condicionants, fa que la gestió dels incendis sigui crítica, atès l'alt impacte en la recuperació de la biodiversitat de la zona, la quantitat de diners que s'hi inverteixen i desgraciadament el cost en vides humanes. Actualment, el paper de l'enginyeria del software en l'extinció és molt pobre, i no s'ha arribat a explotar el potencial que podria tenir integrar un sistema de suport per a la gestió dels medis aeris. Per tots aquests motius, es planteja aplicar l'enginyeria informàtica en aquesta problemàtica, per millorar el rendiment de tots els recursos que es destinen actualment en els incendis. Wildfires have an important impact on biodiversity, since there is a destruction of it, and brings serious consequences on wildlife, water and air between this elements. It also affects directly or indirectly to society environments with emergencies, either by the physical danger of being near an affected area or because the firefighting needs of many economic resources to combat them. All this set of conditions, makes fire management is critical, given the high impact on the recovery of the biodiversity of the area, the amount of money invested and unfortunately the cost in human lives. Currently, the role of software engineering in extinction is very poor, and has not come to exploit the potential that could have integrated support system for the management of air assets. For all these reasons, it is proposed to apply computer engineering in this problem, to improve the performance of all the resources currently allocated in fires. Los incendios forestales tienen un impacto muy importante en la biodiversidad, ya que hay una destrucción de la misma y trae consecuencias muy graves sobre la fauna, atmósfera y agua, entre elementos destacados. Asimismo, también afecta directa o indirectamente a la sociedad de los entornos con emergencias, ya sea por el peligro físico de estar cerca de una zona afectada, o bien porque la extinción de incendios precisa de muchos recursos económicos para poder combatirlos. Todo este conjunto de condicionantes hace que la gestión de los incendios sea crítica, dado el alto impacto en la recuperación de la biodiversidad de la zona, la cantidad de dinero que se invierte y desgraciadamente el coste en vidas humanas. Actualmente, el papel de la ingeniería del software en la extinción es muy pobre, y no se ha llegado a explotar el potencial que podría tener integrar un sistema de apoyo para la gestión de los medios aéreos. Por todos estos motivos, se plantea aplicar la ingeniería informática en esta problemática, para mejorar el rendimiento de todos los recursos que se destinan actualmente en los incendios.

[EN] Purpose: The exact estimation of the fill rate in the lost sales case is complex and time consuming. However, simple and suitable methods are needed for its estimation so that inventory managers could use them. Design/methodology/approach: Instead of trying to compute the fill rate in one step, this paper focuses first on estimating the probabilities of different on-hand stock levels so that the fill rate is computed later. Findings: As a result, the performance of a novel proposed method overcomes the other methods and is relatively simple to compute. Originality/value: Existing methods for estimating stock levels are examined, new procedures are proposed and their performance is assessed., This work was supported by the European Regional Development Fund and Spanish Government (MINECO/FEDER, UE) under the project with reference DPI2015-64133-R.

The CARMEN network was set up after preliminary discussions at the Leeds International Medieval Congress 2006. Participants agreed that there was a need for a European version of the Centers and Regional Associations committee (CARA) of the Medieval Academy of America. It was also agreed that such a project should be open and global, and modelled on an informal network as opposed to some formal academy or learned society. This paper assesses how successful CARMEN has been in achieving its stated or implicit goals from eight years ago, in particular: 1. generating research funding for medievalists, 2. learning from each other and sharing best practice, 3. creating a global platform for medieval centres and national associations, 4. becoming a sustainable network.

Purpose: This paper examines the behaviour of shared and dedicated Kanban allocation policies of Hybrid Kanban-CONWIP and Basestock-Kanban-CONWIP control strategies in multi-product systems; with considerations to robustness of optimal solutions to environmental and system variabilities. Design/methodology/approach: Discrete event simulation and evolutionary multi-objective optimisation approach were utilised to develop Pareto-frontier or sets of non-dominated optimal solutions and for selection of an appropriate decision set for the control parameters in the shared Kanban allocation policy (S-KAP) and dedicated Kanban allocation policy (D-KAP). Simulation experiments were carried out via ExtendSim simulation application software. The outcomes of PCS+KAP performances were compared via all pairwise comparison and Nelson’s screening and selection procedure for superior PCS+KAP under negligible environmental and system stability. To determine superior PCS+KAP under systems’ and environmental variability, the optimal solutions were tested for robustness using Latin hypercube sampling technique and stochastic dominance test. Findings: The outcome of this study shows that under uncontrollable environmental variability, dedicated Kanban allocation policy outperformed shared Kanban allocation policy in serial manufacturing system with negligible and in complex assembly line with setup times. Moreover, the BK-CONWIP is shown as superior strategy to HK-CONWIP. Research limitations/implications: Future research should be conducted to verify the level of flexibility of BK-CONWIP with respect to product mix and product demand volume variations in a complex multi-product system Practical implications: The outcomes of this work are applicable to multi-product manufacturing industries with significant setup times and systems with negligible setup times. The multi-objective optimisation provides decision support for selection of control-parameters such that operations personnel could easily change parameter settings to achieve a new service level without additional optimisations of the system parameters. Originality/value: The examination of the behaviour of the two Kanban allocation policies in HK-CONWIP and BK-CONWIP in a complex multi-product assembly line with setup-times and environmental variabilities, under erratic demand profiles.

Purpose: In recent years, numerous companies have moved their manufacturing plants to China to capitalize on lower cost and tax. Plant location has such an impact on cost, stocks, and logistics network but location selection in the company is usually based on subjective preference of high ranking managers. Such a decision-making process might result in selecting a location with a lower fixed cost but a higher operational cost. Therefore, this research adapts real data from an electronics company to develop a framework that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative factors for selecting new plant locations. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 high rank managers (7 of them are department manager, 2 of them are vice-president, 1 of them is senior engineer, and 2 of them are plant manager) in the departments of construction, finance, planning, production, and warehouse to determine the important factors. A questionnaire survey is then conducted for comparing factors which are analyzed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Findings: Results show that the best location chosen by the developed framework coincides well with the company’s primal production base. The results have been presented to the company’s high ranking managers for realizing the accuracy of the framework. Positive responses of the managers indicate usefulness of implementing the proposed model into reality, which adds to the value of this research. Practical implications: The proposed framework can save numerous time-consuming meetings called to compromise opinions and conflictions from different departments in location selection. Originality/value: This paper adapts the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to incorporate quantitative and qualitative factors which are obtained through in-depth interviews with high rank managers in a company into the location decision.

Purpose: Vehicle intelligent position systems based on Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are efficiently utilized. The vehicle's position accuracy is of great importance for transportation behaviors, such as dynamic vehicle routing problems and multiple pedestrian routing choice behaviors and so on. Therefore, a precise position and available optimization is necessary for total parameters of conventional RSSI model. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, we investigate the experimental performance of translating the power measurements to the corresponding distance between each pair of nodes. The priori knowledge about the environment interference could impact the accuracy of vehicles' position and the reliability of parameters greatly. Based on the real-world outdoor experiments, we compare different regression analysis of the RSSI model, in order to establish a calibration scheme on RSSI model. Findings: Empirical experimentation shows that the average errors of RSSI model are able to decrease throughout the rules of environmental factor n and shadowing factor n respectively. Moreover, the calculation complexity is reduced, as an innovative approach. Since variation tendency of environmental factor n, shadowing factor n with distance and signal strength could be simulated respectively, RSSI model fulfills the precision of the vehicle intelligent position system. Research limitations/implications: In this research, it is not evident to find the variation trend between the environmental factor n, shadowing factor n and the signal strength in view of our proposed approach. Originality/value: In our study, a methodology to calibrate the parameters of RSSI model is proposed with smaller errors. At the same time, three primary conventional model is evaluated based on the fitted regression.

This paper presents an integrated simulation and optimization modeling approach in order to provide the optimal configuration for large-scale water supply systems (LSWSS) in real time. Model predictive control (MPC) has been chosen to handle the complex set of objectives involved in the management of LSWSS. The computation of control strategies by MPC uses a simplified model of the network dynamics. The use of the combined approach of optimization and simulation contributes to making sure that the effect of more complex dynamics, better represented by the simulation model, may be taken into account. Coordination between simulator and optimizer works in a feedback scheme, from which both real-time interaction and extensive validation of the proposed solution have been realized using a case study based on the Catalunya regional water network., This research has been partially funded by by Project ECOCIS DPI2013-48243-C2-1-R of Spanish Ministry of Education and by EFFINET grant FP7- ICT-2012-318556 of the European Commission.

Purpose: This study investigates the industry competitiveness problem, which plays an important role in crediting rating industry safety. Based on a comprehensive literature review, we found that there is much room to improve regarding of competitiveness assessment in crediting rating industry. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, we propose the PCA (Principal Component Analysis) method to illustrate the problems. Findings: America and Canada’s companies (such as S&P and DBRS) take the leading place in credit rating industry, and Japan’ agencies have made great progress in industry competition (such as JCR), while China’ agencies are lagging behind (Such as CCXI). Research limitations/implications: It requires multi-year data for analysis, but the empirical analysis is carried out based on one-year data instead of multi-year data. Practical implications: The research can fill the gaps for credit rating industry safety research. And study findings and feasible suggestions are provided for academics and practitioners. Originality/value: This paper puts forward the competitive indicators of credit rating industry, and indicators of cause and outcome are considered.

Los lenguajes controlados pueden suponer una estrategia efectiva para mejorar los procesos de traducción, modificando el texto origen para que se adapte a una serie de reglas que mejoran su traducibilidad. El artículo analiza el concepto de lenguaje controlado y revisa las diferentes áreas de control y su tipología, para después realizar un breve repaso al origen y evolución de estos si stemas lingüísticos. A continuación explora qué papel representan los lenguajes controlados en el proceso de redacción y traducción de documentación técnica. Por último, se centra en la relación entre lenguajes controlados y traducción y, más en concreto, la traducción automática, haciendo especial hincapié en las reglas más efectivas para la mejora de la traducibilidad. Els llenguatges controlats poden suposar una estratègia efectiva per a millorar els processos de traducció, modificant el text origen perquè s'adapte a una sèrie de regles que milloren la seua traduïbilitat. L'article analitza el concepte de llenguatge controlat i revisa les diferents àrees de control i la seua tipologia, per a després realitzar un breu repàs a l'origen i evolució d'estos sistemes lingüístics. A continuació explora quin paper representen els llenguatges controlats en el procés de redacció i traducció de documentació tècnica. Finalment, es centra en la relació entre llenguatges controlats i traducció i, més concretament, traducció autom àtica, fent especial insistència en les regles més efectives per a la millora de la traduïbilitat. Controlled languages can be an effective strategy to improve translation processes, pre-editing the source text to conform to a set of rules to improve its translatability. This article analyses the concept of controlled language and reviews the different control areas and their typology. Further, it reviews the origin and evolution of these linguistic systems and explores the role controlled languages play in the process of writing and translating technical documentation. Finally, it focuses on the relationship between controlled language and translation and, more specifically, machine translation, with particular emphasis on the rules aimed at improving translatability.

Purpose: The train dispatching is a crucial issue in the train operation adjustment when passenger flow outbursts. During holidays, the train dispatching is to meet passenger demand to the greatest extent, and ensure safety, speediness and punctuality of the train operation. In this paper, a fuzzy passenger demand forecasting model is put up, then a train dispatching optimization model is established based on passenger demand so as to evacuate stranded passengers effectively during holidays. Design/methodology/approach: First, the complex features and regularity of passenger flow during holidays are analyzed, and then a fuzzy passenger demand forecasting model is put forward based on the fuzzy set theory and time series theory. Next, the bi-objective of the train dispatching optimization model is to minimize the total operation cost of the train dispatching and unserved passenger volume during holidays. Finally, the validity of this model is illustrated with a case concerned with the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway in China. Findings: The case study shows that the fuzzy passenger demand forecasting model can predict outcomes more precisely than ARIMA model. Thus train dispatching optimization plan proves that a small number of trains are able to serve unserved passengers reasonably and effectively. Originality/value: On the basis of the passenger demand predictive values, the train dispatching optimization model is established, which enables train dispatching to meet passenger demand in condition that passenger flow outbursts, so as to maximize passenger demand by offering the optimal operation plan.

The aim of the paper is to provide a decision making tool for solving a multi-criteria selection problem that can accommodate the qualitative details in relations with the task requirements and candidates’ competences. Our inquiry emphasizes the use of the 2-tuple linguistic representation model as the most suitable tool to overcome the uncertain and subjective assessments. It is adapted to aggregate linguistic assessments of acquired and required competence resources generated by a group of appraisers. The resulting aggregated objective evaluations are therefore used as inputs of an extended version of the TOPSIS method. After certain customization, a candidates’ ranking based on a similarity degree between required and acquired competence components levels is provided. The quality and efficiency of the proposed approach were confirmed through a real life application from a university context. It ensures a better management of the available candidates. Moreover, it allows facing the circumstances of absenteeism, identifying the need of training, and so on.

Las armaduras en rollo ofrecen grandes ventajas logísticas y medioambientales, por lo que tienden a fabricarse en diámetros medios y grandes. La fabricación introduce complejas historias de carga y temperatura produciendo tensiones residuales. En este artículo se presenta un estudio experimental y numérico sobre la incidencia en las propiedades mecánicas de las barras en rollo, principalmente en la ductilidad. La experimentación incluye fases de caracterización de las zonas del núcleo y corona de la barra, y la comparación entre barras rectas y barras enrolladas idénticas enderezadas en condiciones de laboratorio. El estudio numérico se basa en un modelo constitutivo de endurecimiento mixto y permite considerar la geometría real de la barra y las altas temperaturas involucradas. Se identifican los orígenes y distribuciones de las tensiones residuales y los principales efectos que se producen en las propiedades mecánicas. Finalmente, se recomiendan radios de rollos para controlar la pérdida de ductilidad. Reinforcing bars produced in coils offer important logistic and environmental advantages, for this reason there is a tendency to produce them in medium and larger diameters. Fabrication introduces complex load and temperature histories producing residual stresses. This paper presents an experimental and theoretical study of the incidence in the mechanical properties of reinforcing bars manufactured in coils, mainly in terms of ductility. Experimentation included phases of characterization of the core and crown regions of the bar, and comparison of straight bars and identical rolled bars straightened in laboratory conditions. Numerical study is based in a mixed-hardening constitutive model and allows considering the actual geometry of the bar as well as the high temperatures involved. The model identifies the origin and distribution of residual stresses and the main effects in the mechanical properties of the bars. Finally, recommendations are given regarding coil radius in order to control bar ductility.