Manufacturing Economics (PDT 309/3)

5th Werner Kern Award for Productivity Research 2005Kanban control systems bear a great potential to significantly improve operations. A company may reap the full benefits of kanban control only after determining an optimal or near-optimal system configuration. To do that, methods are needed to evaluate the performance and operating costs of individual system configurations. We propose an innovative construction-kit approach that enables us to build stochastic analytical models of a large class of single- and multi-product kanban systems. The presented construction-kit approach may be extended and augmented in various directions. 

The authors of this book clearly explain the potential advantages of using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in a modern manufacturing and supply chain context. Areas of emphasis include integration of RFID data into legacy IT architectures, RFID-MES-ERP integration, and cost-benefit considerations. The presentation is not restricted to intra-company production planning, but also emphasizes the benefits of inter-company collaboration. Six case studies based on SAP’s ERP systems and MPDV’s MES solution show how to successfully implement cross-company supply chain integration using RFID technology.

Selecting the Right Manufacturing Improvement Tools offers an easy-to-read and comprehensive review of the most important current industrial improvement tools that every manufacturing or industrial executive, operational manager or engineer needs to know, including which tool to use for a particular type of manufacturing situation. But his book goes beyond a simple comparison of improvement tools to show how these tools can be implemented and supported. Instead, it offers a broader strategic explanation of how they relate to one another, and their relative strengths and weaknesses in the larger context of the entire enterprise. It demonstrates how to use these tools in an integrated way such that they are not just be viewed as another "program of the month" or management fad. Selecting the Right Manufacturing Improvement Tools guides the use of these individual management tools within the need for aligning the organization, developing leadership, and managing change, all for creating an environment where these tools will be more successfully applied. Provides an excellent review of the most popular improvement tools and strategies - Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, including 5S, Kanban, Quick Changeover, and Standardization, Total Productive Maintenance, Six Sigma, Supply Chain Management, Reliability Centered Maintenance, Predictive Maintenance (or Condition Monitoring), and Root Cause Analysis. Illustrates the use of each tool with case studies, using a fictitious company called "Beta International," which continues its journey to business excellence from author's previous book, Making Common Sense Common Practice Describes the foundational elements necessary for any tool to work - leadership, organizational alignment and discipline, teamwork, performance measurement, change management, and the role of innovation. Concludes with a recommended hierarchy for the use of the various tools, and provides enough information so that individual circumstances and issues can be related to these improvement tools, making better decisions and having greater business success.

Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design, development, and management of sustainable agricultural systems. Agroecological economics, a subsection of agricultural economics, evaluates the ecological consequences of agricultural methods on the economic scale. Agroecological economics considers green engineering as a means of measurement. As the environmental movement unfolds, the importance of biodiversity and long-term sustainability are indisputable. Progress depends on determining the economic viability of terrestrial agroecosystems. What is lacking is the analysis needed to bring biodiverse and sustainable systems to fruition. Agroecological Economics analyzes the current topics that must be addressed in order to provide sustainable agricultural systems. It explains the economics of land-use ecology with emphasis on changing over from a conventional model of agriculture to environmentally- and ecologically-friendly models and the financial incentives that are important to these practices. * Analyzes agricultural solutions with economic testing * Includes a complete analysis of recent biodiversity-based research with valuable new economic methodologies * Provides various applications to mitigate the problems which have economic and ecological effects on agroecosystems * Offers applications of ecologically-sound land-use practices in production and manufacturing

Most manufacturing systems are large, complex, and operate in an environment of uncertainty. It is common practice to manage such systems in a hierarchical fashion. This book articulates a new theory that shows that hierarchical decision making can in fact lead to a near optimization of system goals. The material in the book cuts across disciplines. It will appeal to graduate students and researchers in applied mathematics, operations management, operations research, and system and control theory.

In August 2005, a small but important conference took place at Chuo University in Tokyo, Japan. This international conference, the Chuo Meeting on Economics of Time and Space 2005 (Chuo METS 05), aimed to enrich the respective disciplines of the economics of time (dynamic economics) and the economics of space (spatial economics) and to expand their applicability in the real world. The chapters contained herein are based on the papers presented at that conference. Part I of the book deals with Keynesian macrodynamics, which allows for the existence of involuntary unemployment; Part II focuses on nonlinear dynamics, with an emphasis on the complexity that is generated as a result of the nonlinearity of the system; Part III consists of an empirical analysis of spatial economics through geographical relationships with economic activity; and Part IV analyzes the effects of spatial competition between economic organizations or agents on economic performance in a region.

The annual series Global Conferences on Sustainable Manufacturing (GCSM) sponsored by the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) is committed to excellence in the creation of sustainable products and processes that conserve energy and natural resources, have minimal negative impacts upon the natural environment and society, andadhere to the core principle of sustainability by considering the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. To promote this noble goal, there is a great need for increased awareness in education and training, including the dissemination of new findings on principles and practices of sustainability applied to manufacturing. The series Global Conferences on Sustainable Manufacturing offers international colleagues the opportunity to network, expand their knowledge, and improve practice globally.