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Companies are leveraging existing resources and the internet to come up with new or modified business models to respond to the demands of e-business. Companies in the food processing industry are also waking to the reality that e-business technology can make a big difference to the bottom line. This paper presents the result of an action research project which applied a new approach labelled as the Delta Model developed by Hax and Wilde (2001) of Sloan School of Management to strategy development for brick-n-mortar companies launching e-business initiatives. The case company is called Whetstone Food Ingredients (WFI), located in UK. The company is firmly embedded in the agri-product industry and operates in the ‘egg by-product’ subsector. This paper is based upon action research supplemented by a programme of in-depth interviews with managers at WFI for various aspects of their supply chain and e-business initiatives. On the basis of these interviews and the companies also made a range of documents available throughout. These included internal memos, strategy plans, operational control documents and minutes of meetings. The Delta Model and Davenport's methodology of business process reengineering were adopted to structure this analysis. Used in conjunction, they helped to develop a vision, analyse the business processes, identify critical business processes, benchmark the critical processes, and then develop the information technology infrastructure. The infrastructure thus supported the critical business processes and leveraged the e-business supply chain to enable the company to gain competitive edge.

The design of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) is an essential but costly process. Although FMS design appears to be an excellent area for applying artificial intelligence (AI) and computer simulation techniques, to date there have been limited investigations on integrating AI with the modular simulation software available for FMS design. In this paper an integrated approach for the automatic design of FMS is reported, which uses simulation and multi-criteria decision-making techniques. The design process consists of the construction and testing of alternative designs using simulation methods. The selection of the most suitable design (based on the multi-criteria decision-making technique, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)) is employed to analyze the output from the FMS simulation models. Intelligent tools (such as expert systems, fuzzy systems and neural networks), are developed for supporting the FMS design process. Active X technique is used for the actual integration of the FMS automatic design process and the intelligent decision support process.

Digital control strategies for obtaining sinewave output for a current-source cycloconverter with fast dynamic response are presented. The proposed dual-multiprocessor control system ensures high-quality output. By means of a parameter estimator, it is possible to deduce the instantaneous voltage reference for the cycloconverter without resorting to a high-gain loop. With an appropriate forgetting factor chosen, the estimator is capable of fast tracking, and a reliable, stable voltage reference is thereby produced. Improvement using digital feedback control is achieved by adjusting the loop gain according to the instantaneous input reference level. The resulting current source shows excellent steady-state and transient performance in response to system disturbances, and it generally achieves good waveforms. It also works for induction motor loads under normal running conditions and should find wide application as an adjustable-frequency high-performance power convertor. >

This paper describes nineteen tests carried out to study the behaviour of longitudinal stiffeners on web plates subjected to predominant shear loading. By considering stiffeners of various dimensions, the behaviour of inadequate and adequate stiffeners is observed and optimum stiffener proportions are established. It is noted that current design rules are safe but over-conservative. An alternative, simple design method is proposed wherein the stiffener is first proportioned according to linear buckling theory and its ultimate load capacity is then checked. It is concluded that, taken in conjunction with complementary information provided previously by the authors, the information provided in this paper should allow current restrictions upon the use of tension field theory for design to be removed.

The paper describes nine tests on two large-scale, transversely stiffened plate girders. The objectives of the tests were to determine the ultimate load capacities, to study the modes of failure and, in particular, to investigate the behaviour of the transverse web stiffeners. The results obtained show that the tension field mechanism approach is capable of predicting the ultimate load capacities of girders with widely differing values of web panel aspect ratio, including girders with closely spaced stiffeners. The new design code for steel bridges, BS 5400, is shown to give slightly, but not unreasonably, conservative values of girder capacity. The tests have also shown that the methods currently proposed for the design of transverse web stiffeners are safe but conservative. The detailed observations of stiffener behaviour reported in the paper should facilitate future development of improved methods of stiffener design.