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Product variety is a growing trend of offering highly configurable products, but increases complexity costs throughout the entire product lifecycle. Modularization makes managing variety-induced complexity and ensuring profitable production possible. Unfortunately, the interfaces between modules represent joining domains and lack modularization and commonalization solutions. Meanwhile, joining element design finds increasingly more support from automation resulting in optimized solutions for individual product variants. Besides, continuous product development implies sequentially designed product variants that cause ambiguous and unnecessary design iterations for joining element design. This paper presents a five-step methodology to modularize joining elements in early product development, while balancing variety-induced complexity and production costs. It reduces complexity by commonalizing joining elements over product variants. The methodology unifies joining technologies, clusters joining locations and proposes an approach to increase modularity by balanced addition of joining elements.

Applied undergraduate colleges should cultivate talents who can solve practical problems in production. Engineering drawing ability is an important requirement for graduates of civil engineering-related enterprises. Pay attention to the integration of descriptive geometry and professional curriculum system, throughout the four years of university, in order to improve students' three-dimensional logical thinking ability and meet the requirements of enterprises for graduates in terms of drawing ability. According to the curriculum setting of the civil engineering talent training program, extract professional coursework modules, integrate manual drawing and Autocad into it, cultivate drawing ability and improve the efficiency of coursework, and innovate the way to complete the coursework. Transform professional coursework modules into engineering practice, and change learning from passive to active to improve the ability to understand pictures.

The theoretical design framework and implementation of the Entrepreneurship Microcredentialing and Modularization System at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, is described, one of the largest programs in the world with 75 different entrepreneurship courses, 10 on-campus incubators, several masters degrees, undergraduate degrees, majors, minors, and cocurricular levels of credentialing. Over 6,500 students per year receive an entrepreneurship course credit and over 2,000 of these accumulate microcredentials to achieve this course credit. To reduce the likelihood that students merely accumulate random modules and microcredentials, it is critical to use an integrating framework so that these modules build toward a greater integrated whole (i.e., a curriculum). This article describes how a Microcredentialing and Modularization System is currently used in six courses which build toward different credentials and program learning outcome measurements for accreditation purposes. University resources and integrating mechanisms are described as well as lessons learned during implementation. The primary theoretical contribution of this article is to extend the theoretical framework used for accredited program-level design for small cohorts of entrepreneurship students into a university-level ecosystem design. The primary practical contribution of this article is a detailed case study description of one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive university entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Construction is a major preoperational phase in the facility life cycle; this phase includes different activities that are conducted in a regulated manner to ensure the safe and secure operation of the facility. This chapter is devoted to presents topics related to the construction of cementitious structures in nuclear power plants. In this respect, cement-based materials and conventional and advanced technologies related to the cement mix design, reinforcement, concrete placement, and modularization will be presented. Lessons learned from the construction activities will be discussed to highlight considerations related to project management, quality assurance, foundation constructions, and lifting.

SMR has its easy receptivity of advanced design concepts and technology. Inherent safety features and passive safety systems realize drastic safety enhancement, and system simplification and modularization can maximize its economics. As they successfully completed the technology self-reliance program for the design and construction of pressurized water reactor (PWR) plant with American companies, Korea has pursued on technology development for SMR (small modular reactors) for the last two decades. This chapter introduces their various SMR R&D programs with their design characteristics and future prospect. Representatively, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has developed integral type PWR—i.e., SMART to acquire the standard design approval according to Korean regulatory frame, and is making efforts to improve safety further. Sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR) and very high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) designs are also being developed in KAERI. Besides KAERI’s research, several developments for the various types of SMR’s have also been made by the other Korean organizations such as KEPCO E&C, Seoul National University (SNU), KAIST, and UNIST, whose reactors are different in size, power, core, and application.

Based on experience of former teaching reformation and philosophy of "Emerging Engineering Education", an experimental teaching reformation program that includes restructured knowledge system, modularization of experimental teaching process and diversified evaluation system is proposed. It is found that students have deeper and comprehensive understanding on knowledge and more enthusiasm in experimental process. Finally students have definite self-cognition about their division of labor in teamwork. Through gathering statistics, the effectiveness of reformation program is verified and this program can enrich practical experience of experimental teaching reformation.

First-principles electronic structure calculations are now accessible to a very large community of users across many disciplines, thanks to many successful software packages, some of which are described in this special issue. The traditional coding paradigm for such packages is monolithic, i.e., regardless of how modular its internal structure may be, the code is built independently from others, essentially from the compiler up, possibly with the exception of linear-algebra and message-passing libraries. This model has endured and been quite successful for decades. The successful evolution of the electronic structure methodology itself, however, has resulted in an increasing complexity and an ever longer list of features expected within all software packages, which implies a growing amount of replication between different packages, not only in the initial coding but, more importantly, every time a code needs to be re-engineered to adapt to the evolution of computer hardware architecture. The Electronic Structure Library (ESL) was initiated by CECAM (the European Centre for Atomic and Molecular Calculations) to catalyze a paradigm shift away from the monolithic model and promote modularization, with the ambition to extract common tasks from electronic structure codes and redesign them as open-source libraries available to everybody. Such libraries include "heavy-duty" ones that have the potential for a high degree of parallelization and adaptation to novel hardware within them, thereby separating the sophisticated computer science aspects of performance optimization and re-engineering from the computational science done by, e.g., physicists and chemists when implementing new ideas. We envisage that this modular paradigm will improve overall coding efficiency and enable specialists (whether they be computer scientists or computational scientists) to use their skills more effectively and will lead to a more dynamic evolution of software in the community as well as lower barriers to entry for new developers. The model comes with new challenges, though. The building and compilation of a code based on many interdependent libraries (and their versions) is a much more complex task than that of a code delivered in a single self-contained package. Here, we describe the state of the ESL, the different libraries it now contains, the short- and mid-term plans for further libraries, and the way the new challenges are faced. The ESL is a community initiative into which several pre-existing codes and their developers have contributed with their software and efforts, from which several codes are already benefiting, and which remains open to the community., The authors would also like to thank the Psi-k network for having partially funded several of the ESL workshops. A.O., E.A., D.L.-D., S.G., E.K., A.A.M., and M.C.P. received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 676531 (Centre of Excellence project E-CAM). The same project has partly funded the extended software development workshops in which most of the ESL coding effort has happened. A.G., S.M., and E.A. acknowledge support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 824143 (Centre of Excellence project MaX). M.A.L.M. acknowledges partial support from the DFG through Project No. MA-6786/1. D.G.A.S. was supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) (Grant No. ACI1547580). M.C.P. acknowledges support from the EPSRC under Grant No. EP/P034616/1. A.A.M. acknowledges support from the Thomas Young Centre under Grant No. TYC-101, the Wannier Developers Group, and all of the authors and contributors of the wannier90 code (see Ref. 115 for a complete list). A.M.E. acknowledges support from CoSeC, the Computational Science Centre for Research Communities, through CCP5: The Computer Simulation of Condensed Phases (EPSRC Grant Nos. EP/M022617/1 and EP/P022308/1). A.G. and J.M.S. acknowledge Spain’s Ministry of Science (Grant No. PGC2018-096955-B-C42). E.A., A.G., and J.M.S. acknowledge Spain’s Ministry of Science (Grant No. FIS2015-64886- C5). Y.P., D.L.-D., and E.A. acknowledge support from the Spanish MINECO and EU Structural Investment Funds (Grant No. RTC2016-5681-7). M.L. acknowledges support from the EPRSC under Grant No. EP/M022668/1. M.L., M.J.T.O., and Y.P. acknowledge support from the EU COST action (Grant No. MP1306). J.M. was supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), project CEDAMNF (Reg. No. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/15-003/0000358). V.W.-Z.Y., W.P.H., Y.L., and V.B. acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation under Award No. ACI-1450280 (the ELSI project). V.W.-Z.Y. also acknowledges a MolSSI fellowship (NSF Award No. ACI-1547580). Simune Atomistics S.L. is thanked for allowing A.H.L. and Y.P. to contribute to the ESL, as is Synopsys, Inc., for the partial availability of F.C.

Modular plant design is an approach for making chemical production more flexible and more efficient. Different approaches for modular plant design have been developed, for example in the CoPIRIDE or F3 factory project. They have in common, that lead time reductions for modular equipment are expected e.g. by utilizing design repetition or parallelization of preassembly of modules. To support the decision for or against a modular concept, besides cost effects possible lead time changes compared to conventional concepts should be anticipated in early economic evaluations already. In this article, a lead time estimation method will be presented that correlates project costs and project durations and can be applied to modular and non-modular plants enabling comparative studies. An example from a previous paper was used to investigate the impact of modularization on lead time. It includes modular production lines and a non-modular backbone facility that provides energy and utility supply. A range of investment sizes (FCI of 3–95 mio. €) was investigated and compared with a conventional reference plant. Total lead time reduction was in the range from 2.6 to 5.5 month depending on investment size. For a more significant impact on the lead time the modularization approach needs to be modified by also applying modular design to the backbone facility. In this case depending on investment size total lead time reduction would be between 3.9 and 18.7 months representing a very significant reduction of 23%–60% compared to the lead time of the conventionally designed reference plant. This is considered as the maximum expectable lead time reduction that can be achieved through modular plant design. This reduction would represent a major potential for speeding up construction of chemical plants.

In order to solve the motion collision between the cutter and clamping points, a multi-point fixture system is proposed, which is designed for the aircraft beams frame parts. This system is developed in modularization and the control is independent of the CNC system for practical universality in different situations. A simple, real-time and accurate detection method of cutter position is proposed by three laser sensors and special detection planes. The potential clamping modules that may collide with the cutter are found out fast by the virtual grid net method. Then the clamping modules are judged and controlled by the proposed collision model and BPNN methods. The validity of the proposed control method and fixture system is verified by the machining experiments, and the machining efficiency is improved by about 38.8% compared to the manual fixture.

Modular construction gained considerable momentum over the last decade due to its positive impact on project cost, schedule, quality, and safety. Current literature in this field focused on cranes selection and scheduling methods, without due consideration for optimum module configuration. This paper introduces a novel modular suitability indicator which utilizes five indices; 1) connections index (CI) to evaluate module connections using the matrix clustering technique, 2) transportation dimensions index (TDI) to evaluate module dimensions' effects on transportation, 3) transportation shipping distance index (TSDI) to evaluate the distance between manufacturing facility and the construction site, 4) crane cost penalty index (CCPI) to evaluate the crane cost relevant to the module placing rate, and 5) concrete volume index (CVI) to evaluate the project's foundation concrete quantities. Calculating the modular suitability index (MSI) provides a unified indicator to accomplish a near optimum selection of module configuration for efficient delivery in residential construction.

When properly implemented, modular construction offers considerable opportunity to improve project performance. However, the construction industry continues to struggle to achieve higher levels of ...

This paper proposes a modularized global architecture using multi-winding transformers for battery cell balancing. The global balancing for a series-connected battery string is achieved based on forward conversion in each battery module and based on flyback conversion among modules. The demagnetization of the multiwinding transformers is also simultaneously achieved by the flyback conversion among modules without the need of additional demagnetizing circuits. Moreover, all MOSFET switches are driven by two complementary pulse width modulation signals without the requirement of cell voltage sensors, and energy can be automatically and simultaneously delivered from any high voltage cells to any low voltage cells. Compared with existing equalizers requiring additional balancing circuits for battery modules, the proposed modularized equalizer shares one circuit for the balancing among cells and modules. The balancing performance of the proposed equalizer is perfectly verified through experimental results, and the maximum balancing efficiency is up to 91.3%. In summary, the proposed modularized equalizer has the advantages of easier modularization, simpler control, higher efficiency, smaller size, and lower cost, ensuring the battery system higher reliability and easier implementation.

Purpose Robotic systems for laparoscopic minimally invasive surgery (MIS) always end up with highly sophisticated mechanisms and control schemes – making it a long and hard development process with a steep price. This paper aims to propose and realize a new, efficient and convenient strategy for building effective control systems for surgical and even other complex robotic systems. Design/methodology/approach A novel method that takes advantage of the modularization concept by integrating two middleware technologies (robot operating system and robotic technology middleware) into a common architecture based on the strengths of both was designed and developed. Findings Tests of the developed control system showed very low time-delay between the master and slave sides; good movement representation on the slave manipulator; and high positional and operational accuracy. Moreover, the new development strategy trial came with much higher efficiency and lower costs. Research limitations/implications This method results in a modularized and distributed control system that is amenable to collaboratively develop; convenient to modify and update; componentized and easy to extend; mutually independent among subsystems; and practicable to be running and communicating across multiple operating systems. However, experiments show that surgical training and updates of the robotic system are still required to achieve better proficiency for completing complex minimally invasive surgical operations with the proposed and developed system. Originality/value This research proposed and developed a novel modularization design method and a novel architecture for building a distributed teleoperation control system for laparoscopic MIS.

In chemical and pharmaceutical industry, a fast and efficient market launch is important in order to withstand global competition. Beside the innovation of new products, the development of the appropriate production line is time-consuming. Modularization can accelerate the design and commissioning of a production plant. In this article, representative for a pharmaceutical process, the production, precisely the solid-liquid-separation, of amino acids is considered. Therefore, the separation behavior of different amino acid systems and variations within the solid systems are examined. With this information, a production plant is designed and differences regarding the amino acid systems are identified.

Module-based plant design opens up the opportunity for the (bio-)chemical industry to reduce lead times, which is crucial for future competitiveness. Equipment modules are designed once such that they can cover a wide range of process applications and conditions. The time-consuming equipment design step is replaced by selecting the most suitable equipment module from an equipment module database so that engineering work is reused. Although of central importance in module-based plant design, an applicable equipment module database has not been developed, yet. Therefore, it is the aim of this work to develop a methodology for the generation of shell and tube heat exchanger modules for an equipment module database. Existing industrial heat transfer applications are grouped by a hierarchical clustering algorithm. For each cluster of applications a representative heat exchanger is selected. A set of possible representatives is generated in a Sobol sequence from which a heat exchanger is selected to be the representative that covers most of the applications inside the cluster considered. The representative heat exchangers are stored in the equipment module database. The resulting 17 heat exchanger modules can cover 59% of the considered industrial applications despite their considerable diversity regarding conservative operating constraints.

Modularization has recently attracted considerable interest among academics and practitioners. In the construction industry, several modular solutions have been introduced and examined; however, hardly any study comprehensively classifies the different modularization strategies according to their possibility to achieve various objectives of building investments. This research aims to develop a framework for identifying and classifying modularization strategies in construction according to their suitability to achieve the specific outcomes intended for a building or its subsystem. Using the literature on product modularity, product platforms and production strategies as a basis, this study has developed a theoretical framework that proposes connections between the main objectives of a building investment and the dimensions of modularization strategies. The framework is elaborated by testing the propositions, based on an empirical analysis of nine real-life case studies. The findings reveal that modularization can be a suitable approach to develop an innovative design solution; improve a project’s quality, cost and schedule performance; and enable flexibility in building use and maintenance. However, suggestions for achieving these objectives vary from project organization-driven to collaborative, integrated or supplier-driven modularization strategies. Developers, owners, contractors and module suppliers can use the framework when positioning and developing their roles in the construction supply chain.

A crescente participação dos serviços na economia alterou a forma como as empresas gerenciam e desenvolvem os seus serviços. Esta transformação direciona as empresas para o desenvolvimento e aplicação de metodologias e ferramentas que contribuam para uma redução dos efeitos operacionais de uma maior variedade de serviços oferecidos pelas empresas. Uma das estratégias mais referenciadas para esta finalidade é a modularidade aplicada a serviços. Nesse contexto, este trabalho propõe uma aplicação dos princípios de modularidade para o desenvolvimento de serviços em uma empresa do setor Telecomunicações. A construção da proposta foi realizada a partir de uma revisão da literatura sobre métodos para a promoção da modularidade, tanto no desenvolvimento de novos produtos quanto de serviços. A aplicação realizada busca atender uma lacuna na literatura relacionada à adaptação da modularidade às características do serviço a ser desenvolvido. Dentre os resultados, o trabalho apresenta um roteiro para a aplicação da modularidade no desenvolvimento de um serviço da empresa, ilustrando o potencial de sua aplicação na modularização de serviços.

While the Toyota Production System (TPS) and its derivations have been widely adopted by industrial or services organizations along the past 50 years, alternative production systems have shown relevant results. In recent decades, a Korean vehicle producer has attracted attention due to its significant raise of market-share in the automotive world industry. The Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) developed a production system characterized by: Modularization, Automation, Just-in-Sequence, Supply Chain Management, and Flexible Manufacturing Systems. Based on literature and documental review, this paper discusses critical incidents and key features that shaped the Hyundai Production System (HPS). The paper chronologically characterizes the critical incidents identified, and analyzes the attempts to introduce different features in this system, considering these events. As main result, the influence of contextual features and historical events on the decisions made by the HMC are analyzed, seeking to provide better understanding about the development of HPS.

While computational complexity is often not anymore an obstacle for the application of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC), there are still important challenges that prevent NMPC from already being an industrial reality. This paper deals with a critical challenge: the lack of tools that facilitate the sustainable development of robust NMPC solutions. This paper proposes a modularization of the NMPC implementations that facilitates the comparison of different solutions and the transition from simulation to online application. The proposed platform supports the multi-stage robust NMPC approach to deal with uncertainty. Its benefits are demonstrated by experimental results for a laboratory plant.

Preparedness scenarios project the need for significant healthcare surge capacity. Current planning draws heavily from the military model, leveraging deployable infrastructure to augment or replace extant capabilities. This approach would likely prove inadequate in a catastrophic disaster, as the military model relies on forewarning and an extended deployment cycle. Local equipping for surge capacity is prohibitively costly while movement of equipment can be subject to a single point of failure. Translational application of maritime logistical techniques and an ancient mode of transportation can provide a robust and customizable approach to disaster relief for greater than 90 percent of the American population.

Modular plant design is an approach for making chemical production more flexible and more efficient. Different approaches for modular plant design have been developed, for example in the CoPIRIDE or F³ factory project. They have in common that reductions in design and construction expenses for modular equipment and its assembly are expected e.g. by preassembly of modules in a workshop under controlled conditions resulting in less field work on the construction site for erection. However, the main disadvantage of the modular approach is the loss of economy of scale. Thus, the effective impact of the modular concept concerning the fixed capital investment has to be investigated. In this article, a new approach for estimating fixed capital investment of modular production plants will be presented and applied using a generic example. Based on the results we expect that positive effects through modularization on engineering and construction costs can nearly compensate the loss of economy of scale. In the investigated example investment costs of the modular plant are 12% higher than for the comparable conventionally built plant. Such increase could allow other effects that are attributed to the modular concept to be employed to advantage. That would be an economic improvement and a reduction of investment risk in view of the modular plant’s life cycle.

The process industry faces the challenges of intensified, global competition with increasing market dynamics. Modular, transformable production concepts promise a better adaption to these in the dimensions of throughput, product mix, and production location. In order to unfold the full potential, modularization and transformability have to be carried out not only on the plant and logistics level, but also on the apparatus level. Characteristics like setup and scaling concepts are discussed. Examples for modular apparatuses concerning the process engineering tasks of mixing, heat exchange, reaction and separation are presented and further research needs are derived.

The paper contains the description of electromechanical actuator (EMA) dynamic mathematical model developed by TsAGI in the frame of European-Russian collaborative project «RESEARCH» for the direct drive electromechanical actuator which was under CESA company development. The model was implemented within the MATLAB/Simulink software. The major focus of the model is the modularization and scalability of actuator components, as well as the focus on actuator mechanical non-linearities in the region of low input control signals as well as the possibility to use that model for flight mission cavity thermal analysis. The model has various switchable levels of components detail, which provides a balance between the accuracy and the value of the integration step in dealing with a variety of modeling tasks. Due to the possibility of taking into account a number of factors it can be used for tasks of two types. At first, it can be used for tasks requiring small integration step and high precision simulation of high-frequency processes (detailed analysis of the static and dynamic characteristics of EMA, the optimization of actuator heat dissipation, controller setting, etc.). Also it can be used for the tasks requiring rapid model calculation (analysis of the closed-loop stability «aircraft-flight control system-actuator», actuator characteristics evaluation, etc.).

Oil and gas production facility installations in the North Slope of Alaska require a high degree of modularization. This paper will present a modularization concept for a large gas treatment plant intended for installation on the North Slope. This paper discusses design trends and techniques used in the optimization and integration of the electrical design, and the use of 3-D modeling to expedite the design, coordination, and assembly at the fabrication yard and at site.

En la búsqueda de desarrollo de soluciones software .NET modulares, este trabajo describe e ilustra como producir soluciones .NET modulares mediante el uso del patrón de diseño de software orientado a objetos Decorator y la herramienta de Programación Orientada a Aspectos (POA) PostSharp para la modularización de incumbencias cruzadas de una aplicación. La aplicación es un ejemplo base y tradicional de incumbencias cruzadas (ejemplo de logging). Este trabajo presenta soluciones de logging con el uso de Decorator y PostSharp para modularizar asuntos cruzados asociados. También detalla las ventajas y desventajas de ambas soluciones. Así mismo, este trabajo puntualiza detalles de POA presentes en PostSharp junto con plantear el uso de PostSharp y Decorator para lograr soluciones con un mayor nivel de modularidad.

Today, remanufacturing is a key industrial discipline at the end of a product's life or use cycle. Due to high product and resulting process variety, static analytical approaches to assess and improve remanufacturing operations are not reliable. Whereas dynamic material flow simulation is a promising approach. Unfortunately, there is a lack of knowledge when it comes to simulation based improvement of remanufacturing operations. To close the lack of knowledge, this paper will show a modular simulation model to improve production systems of remanufacturing operations. The results will enable remanufacturing companies to assess and improve their production systems in an efficient way.

Mass customization has been well recognized as an effective means of providing product variety while keeping mass production efficiency. As a critical aspect of fulfilling mass customization, assembly system design is facing the challenge of handling high product and process variety. This paper presents a variety-driven clustering method for assembly system layout design. Key issues include variety modeling and modularization of assembly process flows. Based on the minimization process of total coordination cost, the cluster analysis is formulated using the design structure matrix (DSM). A case study of automobile connector assembly system design is reported to demonstrate the feasibility and potential of DSM clustering analysis for dealing with product and process variety.

The industrialization of assembled buildings with steel-structure is a major strategic demand in China nowadays in terms of the development of life cycle green buildings, the transformation and upgrading of housing industrialization, and the solution to steel industry overcapacity. Steel residential buildings have several advantages over traditional constructions: lightweight, good seismic performance, wind resistance, a high degree of prefabrication, rapid construction speed, and convenient construction; these are the factors promoting its rapid development in recent years. Based on the concept of house types modularization and parts standardization, the authors propose a series of standardized house types for assembled buildings with steel-structure, establish numerical evaluation method and optimization method of standardization rate based on Building Information Modelling(BIM). In this regard, we develop and rank performance criteria for assembled buildings by calculating the rate of prefabrication. Also, this study develops a complete set of technologies for the building envelope system, facility and pipeline system, and interior decoration system that matches with the structure system. Meanwhile, we apply the research results to engineering projects in practice and examine their applications. This research has proved useful for architects by providing a set of equations to evaluate the number of standardized parts.

Modern societies are paying more and more attention to energy consumption. Nations are implementing and systemizing policies on low carbon green growth to reduce greenhouse gas emission while various studies are being conducted on eco-friendly architectures and energy reducing technologies in relation to buildings. In Korea, since 39% of the total energy consumption is accounted for by buildings, the energy consumption issues of buildings have global implications that are linked to other areas such as the growing population, enlargement of buildings and technological developments. To address issues related to the energy consumption of buildings in the modern era, the importance of building skins has been emphasized since it has the potential to make a direct impact in terms of reducing energy, and due to the developments of IT which provides a wireless network environment, intelligent technologies such as the IOT are being widely expanded, and building skins that were once regarded as fixed exteriors are now adapting to the environment in the current era. Therefore, this study aims to examine building skins that have great potential as a high value added industry in the near future and present fundamental data on intelligent skin design and the optimized types that can be adopted to intelligent skin design by ascertaining the characteristics and planning factors of each category by studying a variety of cases from home and abroad.

This paper presents the technical approaches used and experimental results obtained by Team SNU Seoul National University at the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge DRC Finals. Team SNU is one of the newly qualified teams, unlike 12 teams who previously participated in the December 2013 DRC Trials. The hardware platform THORMANG, which we used, has been developed by ROBOTIS. THORMANG is one of the smallest robots at the DRC Finals. Based on this platform, we focused on developing software architecture and controllers in order to perform complex tasks in disaster response situations and modifying hardware modules to maximize manipulability. Ensuring stability and modularization are two main keywords in the technical approaches of the architecture. We designed our interface and controllers to achieve a higher robustness level against disaster situations. Moreover, we concentrated on developing our software architecture by integrating a number of modules to eliminate software system complexity and programming errors. With these efforts on the hardware and software, we successfully finished the competition without falling, and we ranked 12th out of 23 teams. This paper is concluded with a number of lessons learned by analyzing the 2015 DRC Finals.

This study presents a quality inspection technique for full-scale precast concrete elements using laser scanning and building information modeling (BIM). In today's construction industry, there is an increasing demand for modularization of prefabricated components and control of their dimensional quality during the fabrication and assembly stages. To meet these needs, this study develops a non-contact dimensional quality assurance (DQA) technique that automatically and precisely assesses the key quality criteria of full-scale precast concrete elements. First, a new coordinate transformation algorithm is developed taking into account the scales and complexities of real precast slabs so that the DQA technique can be fully automated. Second, a geometry matching method based on the Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which relates the as-built model constructed from the point cloud data to the corresponding as-designed BIM model, is utilized for precise dimension estimations of the actual precast slab. Third, an edge and corner extraction algorithm is advanced to tackle issues encountered in unexpected conditions, i.e. large incident angles and external steel bars being located near the edge of precast concrete elements. Lastly, a BIM-assisted storage and delivery approach for the obtained DQA data is proposed so that all relevant project stakeholders can share and update DQA data through the manufacture and assembly stages of the project. The applicability of the proposed DQA technique is validated through field tests on two full-scale precast slabs, and the associated implementation issues are discussed. Field test results reveal that the proposed DQA technique can achieve a measurement accuracy of around 3.0 mm for dimension and position estimations.

In the Anyue Gasfield, Sichuan Basin, the Lower Cambrian Longwangmiao Fm gas reservoir in Moxi Block has enormous natural gas reserves, and it is a typical three-high (high temperature, high pressure, and high flow rate) sour gas field. Its ground engineering project (with the designed gas processing capacity of 60 × 108 m3/a) is characterized by high processing rate of each unit, complex process control, large construction load, restricted construction site and tight schedule. Based on the traditional engineering construction mode, however, it is difficult to complete the project design and construction within 16 months. In view of this, the design concept of unit large-scale modularization was introduced to implement “normalized design, scale purchase, factory-like prefabrication and modularized construction” and develop the modularization technology of large-scale surface engineering construction. This modularization technology is performed as follows. First, the modularized units are laid out reasonably according to the technological process. Second, the layout of modularized units is usually superimposed in the multi-layer framework. Third, those equipments with the same or similar operational modes, medium properties, functional characteristics and installation requirements are concentrated in the pattern of a module. Fourth, escape passageway is specially set up. Fifth, room for installation, maintenance and repair of large equipments is reserved. And sixth, transportation and hoisting requirements of modules are taken into consideration sufficiently. This technology is contributive to the improvement of design quality, effective shortening of design period, reduction of field working load, decrease of safety management risk of on-site installation, increase of production efficiency, conservation of land occupation and diminishment of construction investment. It plays a reference role in the modularized construction of surface engineering of similar large projects.

For the prevention and control of newly emergent or sudden infectious diseases, we built an on-site, modularized prevention and control system and tested the equipment by using the clustering analysis method. On the basis of this system, we propose a modular equipment allocation method and 4 applications of this method for different types of infectious disease prevention and control. This will help to improve the efficiency and productivity of anti-epidemic emergency forces and will provide strong technical support for implementing more universal and serialized equipment in China. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:375–382)

Maintenance nowadays not only plays a crucial role in the usage phase, but is fast becoming the primary focus of the design stage—especially with general increased emphasis on product service. The modularization of maintenance has been explored rarely by previous researchers, despite its significant potential benefit. Existing modular design methods on life cycle do not sufficiently improve maintenance performance as a whole. In effort to remedy this, this article considers relevant maintenance issues at early stages of product development and presents a novel modular methodology based on the simultaneous consideration of maintenance and modularity characteristics. The proposed method first employs the design structure matrix to analyze the comprehensive correlation among components. Next, based on graph theory, initial modules with high cohesion and low coupling are generated. After that, a maintenance performance multi-objective model is established for further optimization to minimize maintenance costs, minimize differences in the maintenance cycle, and maximize system availability. To conclude, an improved strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm 2 is used for modular optimization. The complete methodology is demonstrated using a case study with a hydraulic press, where results reveal that the optimized modules can reduce maintenance cost under the premise of approximately constant modular performance.

Integration of primary and secondary devices are impelled by the development of smart grid. Based on the ideology of primary and secondary device integration, an all-in-one device and its concept, configuration and function are proposed. Then, an all-in-one device framework of distributed substation area protection is proposed. Point-to-point model and virtual local area network (VLAN) based network-to-network model are adopted in this framework. The dual redundancy on hardware and software level is realized by modularization and protection information mirroring storage/overwriting. Considering the fact that the sampling, logic judgment and information sharing processes of protection may fail in atrocious conditions, a distributed cooperative all-in-one device cluster based substation area joint defensive protection strategy is proposed. The adaptability of sectional component failure in secondary system is strengthened by reusing module function, setting value mirroring storage and dynamic load balancing computing ability to constitute strong intelligent outdoor secondary device integrated network. Finally, the simulation examples based on EPOCHS which consider various system failure conditions are presented to verify the validity and rationality of the proposed architecture and strategy.

Improvements to efficiency and productivity have attracted growing interest from companies, and modularity is considered a strategic alternative to achieve these goals. However, empirical evidence to support the expected benefits of modularity is scarce in the literature. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of modularity on the efficiency of, for example, an area or production system. The present work takes a case study approach to analyze the effects of the implementation of product modularity on the production process efficiency of a bus manufacturer. The effects of modularity are evaluated longitudinally using a combination of data envelopment analysis (DEA), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and causal impact assessment in time series (CausalImpact). The results show that the effects of modularity on efficiency are positive and significant. In addition, there are significant differences between modularized and non-modularized products. Finally, the research establishes causality between modularity and production process efficiency improvements in the examined company.

To respond to challenges created by an increase of product variants, multi-variant lines are used as today’s assembly systems. In these multi-variant lines different product variants with diverse lot sizes can be efficiently assembled. These assembly systems are characterized by modular structures that allow assembly system adaptation by reconfiguration.The variety of parameters to be considered from the product’s perspective and the correct allocation of different assembly modules increases the complexity when planning these systems. This complexity makes it difficult to successfully plan and implement production processes. Therefore, digital planning tools and models have to be used to schedule new product variants and to verify that the assembly is possible, given by the modules in the assembly line.Due to its ability to reconfigure, the actual assembly system is adaptable to different product variants. But these modifications are performed by the operator on the shop floor and are often neither properly documented nor communicated to the assembly planer. Thus, the configuration status in reality and the virtual model differ from each other. Using the outdated model for planning without taking into account the changes can result in an unrealizable assembly plan.To overcome this problem, the presented paper introduces a method and technical system to identify the actual assembly system configuration before the assembly planning is done. Due to the subsequent update of the virtual model depending on the actual configuration, the assembly planner is supported with the latest version of the assembly system configuration. Furthermore, the assembly planning process is improved, because possible failures are detected in advance in the virtual planning environment.

The use of prefabricated modules has the potential to increase the efficiency of onsite construction activities, as well as the adaptability of buildings. However, such modules currently require a degree of repetitiveness to which many clients object. To resolve this conflict, a graph-based methodology is proposed that decomposes the design into non-repetitive modules that can be preassembled offsite, without restricting the design in advance. Such modules contain components that have similar future replacement rates, and a limited number of connections to other components. A clustering algorithm is applied on data from BIM tools for an optimal definition of the modules and their interfaces. A computer program is developed to allow the automated application of the methodology in large and complex projects. The research demonstrates that graph-based models can be useful for representing and analyzing construction projects. A graph-based approach has the potential to be successfully applied in additional areas, in order to provide project management tools.

Based on open NC system architecture, embedded condition monitoring and diagnosis units were studied with the characteristics of modularization and reconfigurable. The intelligent measurement and control unit can be used to on-line monitoring, fault early warming, intelligent diagnosis and remote maintenance, it provied a solution for group integration monitoring system construction of high-grade NC machine. In this paper, the implementation and function of the intelligent measurement and control unit were introduced from 4 aspects including whole framework, hardware, software and XPE OS. An example of cutting force on-line monitoring were given, which operate well for alarming in unstable cutting condition.

As the industry looks for ways to lower costs and increase project efficiency, owners and operators have increasingly turned to an old standby in developing their projects. Modularization--the act of constructing facilities and equipment at offsite fabrication yards--affords companies the opportunity to bypass some of the hassles that may arise when doing primary construction work on-site, like the lack of skilled labor, or the physical constraints of an oil field. This feature examines the pluses and minuses of modularization, along with a look at how some companies are incorporating a modular approach into new technologies and facility designs.