Purpose -Continuous process flow is a prerequisite of lean systems as it helps to reduce throughput times, improve quality, minimize operational costs, and shorten delivery times. The purpose of this paper is to empirically demonstrate the application of a methodology that combines a time-based study, discrete-event simulation and the trial and error method to enable a leaner process through more efficient line balancing and more effective flow for a park homes production process. This method is replicable across other contexts and industry settings. Design/methodology/approach -The paper reviews the UK park homes production industry and, specifically, a major factory that builds these homes. It compares the factory method to traditional on-site construction methods. An empirical study of production times was carried out to collect data in order to analyse the current workload distribution and the process flow performance of the park homes production process. Finally, seven discrete-event simulation models were developed in order to test different scenarios and define the optimum line balance for every section of the production process. Findings -By combining time study, discrete-event simulation and trial and error methods, the workload distribution and process flow performance of the park homes production line were analysed and improved. A reduction of between 1.82 and 36.32 percent in balancing losses in some sections of the process was achieved. Practical implications -This paper supports current knowledge on process flow improvement and line balancing by exploring and analysing these issues in a real-life context. It can be used to guide production management practitioners in their selection of methods and demonstrates how they are exploited when seeking to improve process flow, efficiency and line balancing of production operations. Originality/value -The study uses a real industrial application to demonstrate how the methodological combination and deployment of process flow improvement strategies, such as time study, simulation, and trial and error, can help organisations achieve process flow improvements and, as a consequence, a leaner production process.
Previous research works tried to optimize the architectures of Back Propagation Neural Netwo rks (BPNN) in order to enhance their performance. However, the using of appropriate method to perform this task still needs expanding knowledge. The paper studies the effect and the benefit of using Taguchi method to optimize the architecture o f BPNN car body design system. The paper started with literatures review to define factors and level of BPNN parameters for number of hidden layer, nu mber of neurons, learn ing algorithm, and etc. Then the BPNN arch itecture is optimized by Taguchi method with Mean Square Error (MSE) indicator. The Signal to No ise (S/N) ratio, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analysis of means (ANOM) have been employed to identify the Taguchi results. The optimal BPNN training has been used successfully to tackle uncertain of h idden layer's parameters structure. It has faster iterations to reach the convergent condition and it has ten times better MSE achievement than NN machine expert. The paper still shows how to use the informat ion of car body shapes, car speed, vibration, noise, and fuel consumption of the car body database in BPNN training and validation.
Virtual Manufacturing (VM)
Many in vitro studies focus on effects of wall shear stress (WSS) and wall shear stress gradient (WSSG) on endothelial cells, which are linked to the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis in the arterial system. Limitation in available flow chambers with a constant WSSG in the testing region makes it difficult to quantify cellular responses to WSSG. The current study proposes and characterizes a type of converging parallel plate flow chamber (PPFC) featuring a constant gradient of WSS. A simple formula was derived for the curvature of side walls, which relates WSSG to flow rate (Q), height of the PPFC (h), length of the convergent section (L), its widths at the entrance (w0) and exit (w 1 ). CFD simulation of flow in the chamber is carried out. Constant WSSG is observed in most regions of the top and bottom plates except those in close proximity of side walls. A change in Q or h induces equally proportional changes in WSS and WSSG whereas an alteration in the ratio between w 0 and w 1 results in a more significant change in WSSG than that in WSS. The current design makes possible an easy quantification of WSSG on endothelial cells in the flow chamber.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.