This work presents the adaptation of the Quality by Design (QbD) approach for application in the quality assurance of a biomedical measuring system under development. First attempts in applying QbD to biomedical technologies indicated a significantly higher number of parameters than its traditional application in the pharmaceutical industry. These preliminary studies did not fulfill the QbD stage of Design Space (DS) configuration for biomedical devices, an essential step to identifying the proper operating ranges of parameters and guaranteeing quality features. Therefore, it persisted the challenge of configuring DS for health devices, overcoming dependences in the interaction of multiple process parameters and critical attributes. The present work develops a hybrid QbD-Fuzzy approach for multiparametric DS configuration. The proposed method was applied in the development phase of a low-cost and high-sensitive magnetic measuring system for locating metallic foreign bodies in patients, employing sensors based on the Giant Magnetoimpedance effect. The results provided the acceptable operating ranges of the multiple process parameters to ensure the biomedical equipment's suitability. The proposed strategy contributes to the QbD implementation in biomedical technologies and, therefore, promotes the reliability of diagnostic and therapeutic results in the clinical environment.

Additive manufacturing (AM) technology has attracted the interest of industrial professionals and researchers in the last years. This interest lies primarily in understanding the trends, benefits, and implications of AM technology on supply chain (SC) and logistics, as it requires reconfiguring the supply chain based on a distributed manufacturing strategy, closer to the consumer market, with shorter lead times and less raw materials. It still is an emerging field, and needs further study. Therefore, a better understanding of main trends will contribute to the dissemination of knowledge about AM technology and its consolidation. This article seeks to investigate the implications of AM, as an advanced manufacturing model, on SC and logistics. A four-step research method was used to develop a systematic literature review and a bibliometric analysis on the AM implications in SC and logistics. The main implications of AM on SC and logistics were classified in seven key issues gathered as result of the literature review. Additionally, bibliometric study allowed understanding researches major trends in this field. The key aspects highlighted and characterized as major implications of AM on SC and logistic are: supply chain complexity reduction; more flexible logistics and inventory management; better spreading and popularization of mass customization; decentralization of manufacturing; greater design freedom and rapid prototyping; increasing of resource efficiency and sustainability, and the need to have clearly defined legal and safety aspects.

The purpose of this paper is to identify and evaluate which managerial style prevails in the operational area of five IT companies and their relationship with the job satisfaction of their employees. For data collection, a questionnaire was applied to 120 participants, validating 110 responses. Questions regarding the three factors of EAEG were integrated in order to identify the focus in which the leadership predominantly operates in these companies, and the five dimensions of EST were used to measure the level of employees satisfaction regarding each dimension evaluated. Descriptive statistical processing allowed to observe that the managerial style focused on the Task prevails, with an overall average score of vt = 4.11. As dispersion measures, the sample standard deviation (St = 0.39) and sample amplitude (At = 0.91) corresponding to this factor (Task) were calculated, respectively, showing that the values are very close to the average score. It indicates that there is uniformity between the scores for each item of the factor Task. It was found that 65 % of participants confirm the role of the leadership focused on the Task. The Satisfaction with the nature of work dimension reached an average score of vd = 5.09, showing employee satisfaction. The dimension Satisfaction with colleagues reached an average score of  vd = 4.34 indicating indifference on the level of satisfaction, whereas the dimensions Satisfaction with salary, promotions and leadership, reached averages of  vd = 3.87, vd = 3.70 and vd = 3.46, respectively, indicating levels of dissatisfaction. Finally, were highlighted some criteria as motivators for avoid turnover in organizations that contribute to the job satisfaction of these employees.

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The vehicle-routing problem (VRP) combined with freight-loading problem is a complex and relatively recent issue studied by the scientific literature. This paper presents the formulation of a mathematical model and a procedure to solve this problem in a Cuban tobacco company aiming to determine the quantity of merchandise to be loaded on vehicles and the best route to be taken. For this purpose, a decomposition’s heuristic method was used and it was integrated with multiobjective programming by-goals and mixed binary quadratic programming. This approach allowed simplifying the problem and offering a satisfactory solution based on the demand fulfillment, the vehicles’ rational use and for searching the local optimums of the traffic load indicator. The model was tested in a case study and its feasibility evaluated based on a real operational situation in a tobacco company. Although the results of the application of the developed model does not imply reaching the optimal solution to the problem studied, it represents an opportunity for company’s performance improvement and it could be adapted and applied to other institutions dedicated to the same activities.