Household Appliance Manufacturer Research Articles

A study of the Performance of Haier Smart under Digital Transformation

In recent years, the digital boom has continued to hit, and global scientific and technological innovation has been unprecedentedly intensive and active. On the cusp of this 5G trend, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud sharing, and big data are emerging in an endless stream, constantly impacting traditional technologies and the real economy. The fourth industrial revolution has quietly penetrated into every corner of society. Both people's lives and the economic environment have been unprecedentedly affected. As an important pillar industry in the national economic construction, how to meet the digital transformation, seize the opportunity of digital transformation, enhance product value, and create new quality productivity has become particularly important. This paper takes digital transformation as the starting point, explores the motivation and path of Haier's digital transformation in the past ten years, and evaluates its performance. The study found that Haier Smart Home's digital transformation has improved the long-term performance of enterprises; the first enlightenment is to accelerate the transformation and upgrading and improve the degree of digital attention ; second, adhere to innovation-driven, enhance digital R & D sales; third, create a digital platform to enhance the user's personalized experience. It is expected that the research in this paper can provide some reference for the digital transformation of other household appliance enterprises and bring some help to the digitization of China's household appliance manufacturing industry.

Real-Time Object Classification on an Enamel Paint Coating Conveyor Line Using Mask R-CNN

The rising demand to efficiently acquire live production data has added more significance to automated monitoring and reporting within the industrial manufacturing sector. Real-time parts screening requiring repetitive human intervention for data input may not be a feasible solution to meet the demands of modern industrial automation. The objective of this study is to automatically classify and report on manufactured metal sheet parts. The metal components are mechanically suspended on an enamel paint-coating conveyor line in a household appliance manufacturing plant. At any given instant, the parts may not be in the exact coordinates within the desired area of interest and the classes of objects vary based on changing production requirements. To mitigate these challenges, this study proposes the use of a trained Mask R-CNN model to detect the objects and their associated class. Images are acquired in real-time using a video camera located next to the enamel coating line which are subsequently processed using the object detection algorithm for automated entry into the plant management information system. The highest achieved average precision obtained from the model was 98.27% with an overall accuracy of 98.24% using the proposed framework. The results surpassed the acceptable standard for the average precision of 97.5% as set by the plant production quality engineers.

Development of a mobile-based intelligent module for identification and tracking of household appliances

Every year manufacturers of household appliances improve their devices, trying to make everyday life easier for users. New smart devices have many useful features, but not all users can easily cope with the complexity of the devices. One of the main tasks of household appliance manufacturers is to ensure the convenience of using appliances, taking into account the increasing complexity. Therefore, any manufacturer supplies equipment with a short but useful instruction manual. Practice shows that no printed user manual can compare with a demonstration of the device operation by a professional consultant. Instructions for home appliances using augmented reality technology will allow users to get the necessary detailed information about the device in a short period of time. As part of this work, the task of developing an artificial intelligence-based module is being solved. This module consists of developed classification, matching, and tracking submodules that can provide simple and fast visual instructions to users of household appliances in real time. The identification of household appliances is performed with more than 0.9 accuracy, and the tracking inside an unidentified object using the camera of a mobile device is processed with the success score of about 0.68 and frames per second (FPS) about 7. Mobile applications based on the proposed intelligent modules for Android and iOS were developed.

Research on the Motivation and Performance of Midea Group's Merger and Acquisition of KUKA

Merger and acquisition (M&A) is one of the most important investment methods for enterprises. In recent years, sales in the household appliance manufacturing industry have been slowing down gradually. Facing fierce market competition, many household appliance enterprises try to find a new profit growth point through M&A. This paper takes Midea Group's M&A of KUKA as an example to analyze the motivation of M&A through the dimensions of industry and enterprise. It also systematically evaluates the financial and non-financial performance of Midea Group before and after the M&A. It finds that this M&A effectively mitigated the impact of industry cyclicity on Midea Group's financial performance. However, overall, the performance indicators are not significantly improved after the M&A. Therefore, this paper suggests that Midea Group slow down the speed of M&A, pay attention to the existing resources integration, and strengthen the training of professional talents.

Financial Risk Assessment Analysis and Countermeasures of Household Appliance Manufacturing Enterprises

This paper aims to assess financial risks in household appliance manufacturing using Ecovacs as a case study and proposes corresponding solutions. Amidst global economic shifts and evolving market conditions, home appliance manufacturers encounter diverse financial challenges. Analyzing Ecovacs' financial status reveals key indicators such as asset-liability ratio, profit ratio, current ratio, and asset turnover. Additionally, this study uncovers market pressures, debt management issues, and innovation gaps at Ecovacs, potentially impacting its financial stability. To address these, improvement measures are suggested: enhancing innovation, optimizing debt, expanding market share, and boosting asset turnover. These steps enable appliance manufacturers to navigate challenges and attain sustainability. Results offer insights for financial management and risk assessment in similar enterprises.

Ascend's Starflam® selected by V-Zug for household oven components

Ascend Performance Materials, a fully integrated producer of durable high-performance materials, has announced that its Starflam® RX06082 polymer is used by V-Zug Group, a Swiss manufacturer of premium large household appliances, for molding a large oven part. Starflam RX06082 is a 20% glass-fiber reinforced, halogen-free flame retardant PA66/PA6. It is supplied to V-Zug through Ascend's European distributor Lenorplastics AG in a pre-colored black grade.

Understanding the Green Procurement Behavior of Household Appliance Manufacturing Industry: An Empirical Study of the Enablers.

Green procurement, as a crucial green supply chain practice, contributes to sustainability achievement and reduces carbon emissions by selecting sustainable suppliers or outsourcing partners. The green procurement of household appliance manufacturing can reduce carbon emissions from the source and increase the competitiveness of products. To help better understand the driving powers and influential mechanism of green purchasing behavior for household appliance manufacturers, the green procurement mechanism is investigated by presenting an empirical study considering both endogenous and exogenous factors. A survey-based questionnaire is designed, and a semistructured interview is conducted for data collection. Besides, the structural equation model (SEM) approach is employed to test the supposed hypotheses and proposed assumptions based on the collected 529 questionnaire responses. The empirical results show that exogenous driving powers are more inclined to encourage household appliance manufacturers to perform green procurement strategy compared with endogenous factors. Additionally, the business strategy, governmental regulations, and customer awareness show greater influence on green purchasing behavior, while the corporate culture, production system, and suppliers have little impact. Taxation policies, environmental awareness, and green strategies are the three main driving factors for promoting green procurement from the governmental, individual, and organizational dimensions. This empirical study assists to investigate potential factors affecting green purchasing behavior and helps to disclose the influential mechanisms from a systematic viewpoint. Results derived from the empirical analysis could assist to achieve sustainability by better understanding green purchasing behavior and better promoting green procurement strategies.

Optimization of the Forming Method on Torsion Defect in Cold-Roll Forming of Z Section Steel.

The knurling design is the basis of cold-roll forming, which is related to the subsequent roll design. It is also the basis to determine the roll pass. As a typical cross-section, Z-shaped steel is widely used in automobile, household appliance manufacturing, and building structure installation. However, torsion defects often occur in the cold-roll forming of Z-shaped steel, resulting in unqualified products that are unusable. The web deflection angle is a typical factor to affect the torsion defects in the cold-roll forming of Z-shaped steel. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the influence of web deflection on the torsion of the Z-shaped steel. The web deflection angle optimized is determined by the result. According to the theoretical calculation, the best antitorsion angle is 32°, and the conjecture is proved by experiments. Also, we obtain the forming method optimized with the least torsion. This study could provide some guidance for the design of the process flow of cold-formed Z-beam.

Scaling up Repair Workshops to Remanufacturing Facilities for Household Appliances as a Service

Original equipment manufacturers are increasingly investigating their possibilities to sell their products as a service. In order to achieve higher customer satisfaction and stronger relationship with their customers, the household appliance manufacturer Electrolux is planning to offer their products as a service. There are several ways to tackle this challenge, from having a janitor repair household appliances on-site to sending rotation units for remanufacturing. This paper aims to design a scalable concept for a repair workshop for household appliances that could, in an efficient manner, sell household appliances as a service for several residential areas.In order to fulfill the aim of this paper, empirical data was collected through interviews with people from industry and academia as well as observations from workshops. The research results present two different concept proposals, where one of the concepts treats how a repair workshop layout could look for the residential area of Rissne and the other concept how a scaled-up repair business for household appliances as a service might look. When upscaling of the repair business takes place, remanufacturing may be relevant for an additional sustainable business.

Pengaruh Garansi, Promosi dan Kualitas Produk Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Produk Moorlife di Kota Jambi

Most Indonesians bringing food or drink has become a habit. Bringing provisions is currently positive for the development of household appliance manufacturers made of plastic, this is because its practical use, not easily broken, its attractive design and color make the reason why plastic products are loved by the community, one of which is Moorlife products from year to year experiencing a significant increase in sales. This research aims to find out partially and simultaneously the influence of promotion, warranty, and product quality on moorlife product purchase decisions in Jambi City. The method used is quantitative method. The data used is primary data obtained from in-person interviews and using questionnaires. The results showed that the Promotion, Warranty and Quality of Products had a positive and significant effect on the decision of consumers to buy Moorlife Products in jambi City. And overall Promotion, Warranty and Product Quality contributed 46.4% to Moorlife Products in Jambi City.

Problems and Countermeasures of Working Capital Management in Company V

Working capital is the premise for the production and operation of an enterprise and the basis for all financial management. The management of working capital has gained more attention by enterprises. The purpose of emphasizing the importance of working capital management is to enable enterprises to make full and efficient use of capital. There is a serious shortage of working capital in China’s home appliance manufacturing industry, and with the rapid development of home appliance manufacturing industry, the problem is becoming increasingly prominent. Therefore, improving the management level of working capital, optimizing the structure of capital, and improving the efficiency of working capital should become the most important part in the process of daily production and operation. This article selects company V as the research subject as it has representative problems in working capital management. Drawing on the theoretical method of taking elements as the core, this article focuses on the analysis of each working capital project and the development status of the company as a whole, determines the problems in the aspects of current assets and information communication in regard to the working capital management of company V, as well as puts forward several suggestions in terms of current assets management. In order to improve the working capital management level of company V, we hope that the improvement suggestions derived from the combination of theory and practical analysis can provide some reference for other enterprises in the household appliance manufacturing industry.

Adaptive capacity configurations for the digital transformation: a fuzzy-set analysis of Chinese manufacturing firms

PurposeEmerging in recent years, digital transformation has become an effective approach for firms to remain competitive in the digital economy. Although this trend has received increasing interest in the business world, there remains a lack of empirical research on the organizational capacities that facilitate digital transformation. To fill this research gap, we investigate the relationship between adaptive capacity configuration and the performance of digital transformation.Design/methodology/approachWe use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify the impact of adaptive capacity on the digital transformation performance of 38 firms in the household appliance manufacturing, light manufacturing and clothing manufacturing industries (HAMI, LMI, CMI).FindingsOur analysis reveals a Technology-driven transformation configuration for the HAMI, a Market-driven transformation configuration for the LMI and a Market and Management-driven transformation configuration for the CMI, as well as identifies environment scanning capacity as a common basic adaptive capacity. The first configuration is rooted in the innovation mechanism, and the last two configurations are rooted in the integration mechanism.Practical implicationsEnterprises in different industries with unique technology levels require distinctive capacity configurations to implement digital transformation. Each dimension of adaptive capacity plays a particular role in each industry. Environmental scanning capacity requires firms to be agile in their interactions with the digital world and to collect information about the environment.Originality/valueThis study enriches and expands the dimensions of adaptive capacity, and we provide a perspective for researching the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises through adaptive capability configuration.

Paradoxes and Paradoxical Leader Behaviors: Evidence from the 35-Year Corporate Development of Haier

Organizations in the current highly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous era (VUCA, Bennett & Lemoine, 2014) face multiple paradoxes (Smith & Lewis, 2011). How to clearly identify and effectively manage these paradoxes is a challenge for leaders. This study identified three types of paradoxes (root, driving, and derived) and their corresponding paradoxical leader behaviors (explained below) based on data collected from multiple sources from the Haier Group, the largest global household appliance manufacturer, over its 35 years development. The three types of paradoxes evolve over time and systematically promote organizational development. We also discovered paradoxical leader behaviors can be both constructive and reconstructive. Based on one leader's response and changes in the tension intensity (from weak to polarizing), we divided paradoxical leader behaviors into four categories: constructive and polarizing, constructive and weakening, reconstructive and polarizing, reconstructive and weakening. Paradoxical leader behaviors are contradictory but situational, which can help leaders effectively respond to paradoxes. Based on our findings, we generate propositions for future empirical studies.

Data quality assessment in product failure prediction models

ABSTRACT A problem of product failure prediction within the warranty period is presented in a case of a household appliance manufacturer. Predicting product failure within a warranty period is necessary for optimal resources planning. When based on scarce information and intuition, companies reserve non-optimal amount of funds. To address this problem we developed a machine learning model to decrease the prediction error and make the process of warranty claims more transparent. Following the CRISP-DM process, in this paper, we are focusing on data preparation phases. Results show that among 33 attributes, we have identified seven that hold some prediction value, suggesting that the value of the collected data is small compared to its cost. In the future effort should be invested in collecting quality standardised data across markets.

A thorough Six Sigma DMAIC application for household appliance manufacturing systems

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyze door-panel alignment defects seen in built-in ovens manufactured in one household appliances company's plant. Alignment defects in oven door panel substantially affect aesthetics of the product which is an important aspect in driving customer preference and satisfaction. Therefore, this study aimed to increase the initial 3.1 sigma level of oven-manufacturing process to at least 4 sigma level by decreasing a particular door-panel alignment defect, which constituted 67.7 percent of the overall alignment defects.Design/methodology/approachThe goals were achieved through a structured Six Sigma implementation with lean element by utilizing various Six Sigma tools such as workflow, Pareto-analysis, measurement system analyses, control-charts, process capability analysis, cause-and effect-diagram and hypotheses tests. A non–value-added step was also eliminated through the lean approach.FindingsThrough Six Sigma implementation, the initial 3.1 sigma process performance level has been increased to 4.4 sigma level leading to substantial decrease in alignment defects.Originality/valueIn the quality management literature, not many papers directly deal with aesthetics and appearance problems of the products especially in the household appliances industry. Moreover, hypothesis testing is not frequently used in Six Sigma implementations in the literature. In addition to limited usage of hypothesis testing, very few studies conducted a thorough measurement system analysis. Considering these gaps in the Six Sigma literature, this study fills an important gap in research by implementing a detailed Six Sigma study, enhanced with hypothesis testing and a thorough measurement system analysis, on the aesthetics and appearance of the product.

A systematic approach to assess visual inspection tasks: an assembly line case

This study aims to introduce a systematic approach to assess the in-line inspection process to minimise quality related costs. Data related with assembly tasks and visual inspection are gathered by use of an eye-tracker to determine the duration for search time and number of non-conformities detected for a critical workstation. The steps of the approach are applied at an assembly line of a household appliance manufacturing facility. The line balancing study that is conducted by considering assembly and visual inspection durations prove that use of an eye tracker has a potential to improve the inspection process and minimise costs resulting from appraisal and internal failure. Results illustrate that there is a significant difference in total time for fixation and fixation count for the worker when considering visual inspection before and after the improvements.

A fuzzy decision-making methodology for third-party logistics selection in the existence of the company’s policy priorities: Case of household appliance manufacturer

A fuzzy decision-making methodology for third-party logistics selection in the existence of the company’s policy priorities: Case of household appliance manufacturer

A systematic approach to assess visual inspection tasks: an assembly line case

This study aims to introduce a systematic approach to assess the in-line inspection process to minimise quality related costs. Data related with assembly tasks and visual inspection are gathered by use of an eye-tracker to determine the duration for search time and number of non-conformities detected for a critical workstation. The steps of the approach are applied at an assembly line of a household appliance manufacturing facility. The line balancing study that is conducted by considering assembly and visual inspection durations prove that use of an eye tracker has a potential to improve the inspection process and minimise costs resulting from appraisal and internal failure. Results illustrate that there is a significant difference in total time for fixation and fixation count for the worker when considering visual inspection before and after the improvements.

Investigation of Discharge Flow and Force Coefficients in Hermetic Reciprocating Compressors

Low energy consuming products are eternal target of all household appliance manufacturers. To acquire desired energy index, high efficiency variable capacity compressors have started to be used widely on refrigerators. Reed valves and valve plate designs are the most critical issues in the development of reciprocating compressors in terms of coefficient of performance (COP). The stiffness of the reed valves and the port geometries play an important role on reducing the losses at various speeds and operating conditions. In the last decade, Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) method has started to be used in order to investigate valve dynamics. Because of the complexity and high computational cost of FSI method, system simulation tools are still preferred for faster and simpler solutions.In-house developed simulation tool uses flow and force coefficients to calculate valve dynamics and mass flow rate. Those are calculated with the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses with respect to the valve lift. In the present study, flow and force coefficients at different piston positions were investigated. Piston pin which is used to reduce dead volume was also considered as a parameter. CFD calculations were established for steady state conditions at different valve positions with Ansys Fluent. The calculated flow and force coefficients were implemented into the simulation tool and the effect of piston position was presented in terms of COP, cooling capacity and compared with the experimental results.

Evaluation of respiratory exposure to 4,4-methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) vapors in foam injection workers in a household appliance manufacturing company: An Occupational Carcinogen

Background: Appliance manufacturing boom is very high hand customers always have a great deal of attention to products that have low energy consumption, therefore the use of isocyanates MDI as a thermal insulation in the body of the refrigerator and is also widely used as a binder in the production of washing machines. MDI isocyanate study the effects on the respiratory capacity of formers injection was done foam material in a household appliance company
 Method: this case control study in 1395 and a household appliance manufacturing company in the province of Qazvin 20 personnel working injected foam material is exposed to isocyanates ,for example administrative personnel and 20 served as controls using medical records these values breathing capacity FVC , FEV1 , FEV1/FVC in both 1390 and 1394 extracted using SPSS software and paired T-TEST data were analyzed.
 Results: Measuring the concentration of isocyanate in 90 blocks in the cabin and tap lid above the limit, which was due to the failure of the ventilation system, in 94 years due to the good performance of the ventilation system in the isocyanate concentration was at the limit. According to their experiences foam material is injected every three indexes FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC had significant losses, FEV1 and FVC decline among which were a significant level. (p=0.036, p= 0.008) the control samples also non- significant decline in the indicators that this can be attributed to aging.
 Conclusion: It is known that exposure to isocyanate materials decreased respiratory capacity is personnel, to postpone it to the desired function ventilation system. it would be desirable to postpone the operation of the ventilation system and non-isocyanate leak on the ground, work, be a lot of attention. even with the improvement of the job must be conservative’s injection foam material is exposed to isocyanates be included in the list of hard and hazardous jobs. 
 Keywords: MDI, respiratory exposure, respiratory capacity, workers inject foam material.