Industrial Engineering Projects Research Articles

A collaborative delivery model with multi-party contract for industrial engineering projects

A collaborative delivery model with multi-party contract for industrial engineering projects

The role of governmental stakeholder engagement in the sustainability of industrial engineering projects

PurposeThe aim of this research was to understand how governmental stakeholder engagement facilitates the sustainability of industrial engineering (IE) projects. A model for governmental stakeholder engagement activities is presented.Design/methodology/approachThe authors relied on a single-case study of a mining project in Northern Europe, where a novel collaboration and engagement approach with governmental stakeholders was piloted in the project's front-end phase. The analysis focused on the collaborative practices through which the IE project investor engaged governmental stakeholders during the project's front-end phase and how the engagement contributed to solving challenges in the early planning and permitting process and achieving project plans that balanced economic, social and environmental aspects.FindingsThe findings show how four collaborative engagement practices reduced uncertainty and equivocality related to the legal sustainability requirements, enabled the development of sustainable design solutions and overall accelerated the permitting process without compromising the quality of final project plans.Practical implicationsThe findings can be used to plan governmental stakeholder engagement and understand related challenges that need to be overcome. The study highlights the need to develop established practices and guidelines for governmental stakeholder engagement.Originality/valueThis study complements prior research on stakeholder engagement and project sustainability by developing an understanding of how governmental stakeholder engagement can be a key mechanism enabling the sustainability of IE project's end product. This research contributes to stakeholder theory by elaborating on a new stakeholder role, intermediary stakeholder.

Evaluation Framework for Tensile Measurements, based on Full-Field Deformation Measurements and Digital Twins

Structural Integrity Computations are sensitive to the predictive capabilities of its calculation methodology, and the quantity as well as the quality of information extracted from material tests. Currently, long-term research is underway, with the goal to establish an advanced methodology with increased predictive power for the Structural Integrity of Large-Scale Pressure Systems and bring it into industrial use. An advanced methodology may be used in industrial engineering projects, once its theoretical model has been developed and the necessary experiments have been carried out, as well as the methodology for evaluating the experiments derived from the theory has been validated. A theoretical framework for an advanced methodology has been prepared. Experiments can adequately support the advanced methodology, when they can provide information in the required quantity and quality. Tensile tests are among the basic material testing methods required to perform any Strength and Structural Integrity investigation. To increase the amount and quality of information to be obtained from tensile tests, a Material Test System has been equipped with an optical system to capture full-field geometric images of the specimen during measurement. By processing the images using an in-house developed software, the full deformation field of the test specimen is produced, which complements the ‘classical’ strain gauge-based elongation results. The measurements are evaluated using the Digital Twin of the specimen and the measurement process. The Measurement System and its Digital Twin have been integrated into a coherent system. First results of tests evaluated with the Digital Twin show that the new system’s capabilities can go far beyond the limits of standards-based evaluation methods.

On the Application of Agile Project Management Techniques, V-Model and Recent Software Tools in Postgraduate Theses Supervision

Due to the nature of most postgraduate theses in control engineering and their similarities to industrial and software engineering projects, invoking novel project control techniques could be effective. In recent decades, agile techniques have attracted popularity thanks to their attributes in delivering successful projects. Hence exploiting those methods in education and thesis supervision of engineering topics can facilitate the process. On the other hand, because of the limitations imposed by the CoVid19 pandemic, the integration of well-established online tools in collaborative education is noteworthy. This paper proposes an application of the agile project management method for the supervision of postgraduate students’ theses in the general field of engineering. The study extends a Scrum technique combined with approved systems engineering and team working tools such as Jira Software, Microsoft Teams, and Git version control (Github website). A custom designed V-model to nail an outstanding thesis is presented. The overall blended method is beneficial to provide feedback and self-assessment aid for the students and the supervisors. Employing this technique has shown promising progress in easing the supervision of students whilst helping them to manage their projects.

Challenges for implementing collaborative practices in industrial engineering projects

Collaborative project delivery models were introduced in North Sea oil and gas projects. Recently, they have been successfully applied in the context of construction and infrastructure projects but their application in industrial engineering project context has been limited. We analyze empirically which type of challenges there are in applying collaborative practices in two projects. The key challenges include the divergent objectives of the actors that hamper common goal setting; collaborative models and rewarding mechanisms which are perceived as inappropriate; the limited funding before investment decision when early involvement of key actors should be secured; the emphasis on collaboration capabilities with every actor which are not possible in tendering; and the collaboration with governmental authorities which needs a different approach from that with the other actors. Collaborative practices have a potential to improve project performance and identified challenges should be taken into account when implementing collaboration in industrial engineering projects.

Governance distance and the performance of cross-border private participation infrastructure projects

PurposeThe privatization of infrastructure promotes efficiency and service standards. While cross-border private participation infrastructure (PPI) projects hosted in emerging markets have become more prevalent in recent years, there have also been more failures. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how governance distance affects the survival of cross-border PPI projects.Design/methodology/approachThe authors provide theoretical justification and empirical evidence to verify our views. The authors test the hypotheses on a sample of 4,678 cross-border PPI project investments made in emerging market countries between 1990 and 2016. Estimation techniques consist of a binary logistic regression model and a rare events logistic model.FindingsThe findings suggest that increased governance distance can lead to project failure. The study results show that governance distance is negatively correlated with the probability of project survival. Greenfield investment intensifies the negative effect of governance distance while competitive contracts mitigate the negative effect of governance distance.Practical implicationsThe results reveal that transnational investment in infrastructure projects is susceptible to institutional differences between home and host countries. Therefore, both private enterprises and host government should pay attention to the impact of inter-country differences on negotiations and project operation. Competitive contracts mitigate this negative effect, but entering in the form of greenfield investment amplifies the negative effect of distance.Originality/valueTransnational industrial engineering projects are easily affected by the differences in governance levels between the two countries. This study introduces governance distance into the field of infrastructure projects, focusing on the impact of differences between home and host countries on transnational projects. The findings on infrastructure projects that are closely related to host government contribute to the literature by broadening the research of institution and distance.

Evaluating the complexity of engineered systems: A framework informed by a user case study

AbstractEvaluating the complexity of an engineered system is challenging for any organization, even more so when operating in a System‐of‐Systems (SoS) context. Here, we analyze one particular decision support tool as an illustratory case study. This tool has been used for several years by Thales Group to evaluate system complexity across a variety of industrial engineering projects. The case study is informed by analysis of semistructured interviews with systems engineering experts within the Thales Group. This analysis reveals a number of positive and negative aspects of (i) the tool itself and (ii) the way in which the tool is embedded operationally within the wider organization. While the first set of issues may be solved by making improvements to the tool itself, informed by further comparative analysis and growing literature on complexity evaluation, the second “embedding challenge” is distinct, seemingly receiving less attention in the literature. In this paper, we focus on addressing this embedding challenge, by introducing a complexity evaluation framework, designed according to a set of principles derived from the case study analysis; namely that any effective complexity evaluation activity should feature collaborative effort toward building an evaluation informed by a shared understanding of contextually relevant complexity factors, iterative (re‐)evaluation over the course of a project, and progressive refinement of the complexity evaluation tools and processes themselves through linking project evaluations to project outcomes via a wider organizational learning cycle. The paper concludes by considering next steps including the challenge of assuring that such a framework is being implemented effectively.

Inter-organizational collaboration challenges and preconditions in industrial engineering projects

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to achieve an understanding of the challenges and preconditions for inter-organizational collaborative project practices in industrial engineering projects. A framework for identifying the challenges and preconditions for inter-organizational collaboration is presented.Design/methodology/approachThe adopted research method is qualitative, and empirical data were collected from the industrial engineering project sector in Finland. The literature related to industrial engineering projects and inter-organizational collaborative project management practices is summarized, informing the qualitative design of the study.FindingsBy analyzing empirical data from industrial engineering projects, the challenges for inter-organizational collaboration are identified in each industrial engineering project stage. A framework of preconditions for inter-organizational collaboration is identified, in which investors are advised to pay attention when deciding on the use of collaborative project management methods.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study help practitioners deal effectively with mechanisms aimed at fostering and hindering inter-organizational collaborative practices. The identified preconditions for inter-organizational collaboration provide support for decision-making in every phase of an engineering project and can be used as guidelines throughout the process.Originality/valueInter-organizational collaborative project management practices have recently been attracting attention in the industrial engineering project setting. This research is an attempt to identify the underlying forces supporting and preventing inter-organizational collaboration in industrial engineering projects. This study offers a framework that can help academics and project management practitioners deal with the challenges affecting inter-organizational collaboration at each project stage and consider preconditions for inter-organizational collaboration in industrial engineering project settings.

An Analysis of Expectations in Industrial Value Engineering Projects

Addressing the need to identify specific upfront expectations into industrial value engineering projects, this mixed methods study was conducted on selected author’s projects. The analysis includes a total base population of 90 projects, which were conducted between 2010 and 2018 in 16 different industries. Out of this baseline, 63 projects had a narrower value engineering context. Those have been analysed with the support of a CAQDAS tool (Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software). Analytical results show that participants’ interpretation of the term ‘value engineering’ are expressed by their expectations and vary with regards to goals and procedural approach. Based on these findings the author recommends further consecutive research steps with the goal to close the gap between expectations and results and better anticipate participants’ requirements.

IDENTIFICATION OF EX-ANTE AND EX-POST TRANSACTION COSTS IN INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING PROJECTS

Construction costs comprise not only production but also transaction costs, which can be categorized as ex-ante (pre-contractual) and ex-post (post-contractual) costs. No evidence has been found in the literature of research about transaction costs in industrial construction engineering projects. The objective of this paper is to identify ex-ante and ex-post transaction costs in industrial engineering construction projects. To accomplish this, empirical research with 4 case studies was conducted with a large engineering firm in Brazil. This research not only identified transaction costs already found by others, dividing them into ex-ante and ex-post, but also identified that travel, RFP clarification, support to strategic decisions of the owner and knowledge transfer are transaction costs not previously identified in the researched literature but that are very relevant to the respective subject. Therefore, this research confirms that transaction costs should be considered ex-ante and ex-post by owners and contractors in industrial construction engineering projects and enlightens academics and practitioners on ways to achieve the reduction of such costs.

Design and Realization of Rotating Machinery Conditions Monitoring System Based on LabVIEW

Abstract: Nonlinear dynamic analysis of rotating machinery system has always been the hot spot of the rotational dynamics research. This article sets up a rotating machinery condition monitoring system to realize the measurement of system dynamic characteristic parameters based on NI(National Instruments) virtual instruments technology. The measurement of vibration signal of rotating machinery system is achieved by using NI company general data acquisition module of NI Company. Meanwhile, by analyzing and processing the acquired data using LabVIEW 2012, the dynamic characteristics, such as .the speed of the rotating machinery system, the axis trajectory, spectrum parameters, are attained. The measurement results show that the rotating machinery condition monitoring system based on LabVIEW is easy to operate, easy to realize the function extension and maintenance, and that it can be used in the industrial engineering projects with rotation characteristics. LabVIEW as the development tools used by virtual instrument function is very powerful data acquisition software products support is one of the features of it, so using LabVIEW programming and data acquisition is simple and convenient.

IN MEMORIAM: Maarten Dingemans

Maarten Dingemans passed away due to heart failure in the hospital on January 12, 2017. Maarten was born 15 Aug 1943 in Haarlem, the Netherlands, where he attended high-school at the Lorentz Lyceum. He started his studies at Delft University of Technology in 1962; initially in Mechanical Engineering, and later in the Faculty of Mathematics.
 
 After receiving his Ir degree in Mathematics from Delft University of Technology in September 1970, Maarten started working at Delft Hydraulics in 1970 as a Mathematical Engineer until his retirement in 2007. During his career at Delft Hydraulics, Maarten involved in numerous coastal research grants and industrial engineering projects. One of the well-known laboratory benchmark experiments have been nick-named as “Dingemans’ bar” experiment. 
 
 On November 21, 1994 Maarten received his PhD degree from Delft University of Technology. Prof. dr. ir. A.J. Hermans was his promoter. The World Scientific Publishing Co later published his doctoral thesis, entitled “Water wave propagation over uneven bottoms”, as a two-part book with the same title in 1997. Many students, researchers and engineers in the coastal engineering community have studied and referenced this book. 
 
 In 1985 he continued working at Delft Hydraulics at De Voorst and he moved his family to Emmeloord. On September 1st 2007, at age of 64, he officially retired from Delft Hydraulics. However, he kept himself busy attending conferences and workshops all over the world, and writing and reviewing various articles. At the time of his passing he was still working on an article together with Dr. ir. Gert Klopman.
 
 Throughout his entire life Maarten has faced continued health challenges. His courage to cope with ill health has always been inspiration to many of his friends and colleagues. Maarten enjoyed cycling, especially cross-country bicycle journeys during his healthy days. He once wrote: “Long-distance cycling to and from work stimulates the realization that things do not run as smoothly as one wishes they should.”
 
 Maarten’s biggest loss in life was the passing of his wife Marja (also a mathematician and a colleague at Delft Hydraulics) 21 years ago now. Maarten dedicated his book to the memory of his beloved wife Marja.

The Agile approach in industrial and software engineering project management

The paper presents the agile approach in industrial engineering and discusses similar ways of agile development in different disciplines. Societal changes and technological innovation brought significant changes in the market, leading to highly demanding users and frequent changes in product design. Agile is implemented in different disciplines as a response to current changes in the market. Industry 4.0 as part of 'High-Tech Strategy 2020 for Germany' involves agile principles and brings latest technological trends in production process. Agile framework was firstly used in manufacturing but along with that it started to develop as a lightweight framework in software development. Agile is interdisciplinary and brings flexibility to organization. For successful implementation of agile principles, experiences and recommendations from all the industries should be used.

A Knowledge-Enriched Problem Solving Methodology for the Design Phase of Manufacturing Equipment

During the design phase of large-scale industrial engineering projects, numerous problems usually arise, which are related to the project analysis and methods used in each phase. Such projects are undertaken by multi-disciplinary teams of expert designers and planning managers that often communicate these problems to the members of their team via emails and telephone calls. However, the alignment of efforts towards solving these problems cannot be achieved effectively though these inherently limited communication and collaboration means. In parallel, the operation of manufacturing systems is evolving towards structures that are similar to social networks. The trend is to automatically connect to web-based collaboration platforms in order to search for the appropriate experts to deal with the problem in question. Towards this end, the proposed research work focuses on the development of a knowledge-based method, which is developed into a mobile app, and focuses on providing a collaboration space for reporting, tracking, and solving project-related problems. The methodology adopts concepts from the Root Cause Analysis method, which is further enriched with knowledge reuse features. Already reported and potentially solved problems, as well as other historical data are retrieved from a knowledge repository through advanced indexing techniques in order to support the identification of solutions for newly experienced problems. Results from the interpretation of the natural language that is considered to be used in the problem reporting phase and the accuracy of retrieved solutions are further discussed. Finally, the methodology is validated through a real-life case study obtained from the die construction department of an automotive industry.

The study about determining the reliability of operations management, risk warning and opportunity of repair risk

In this paper, how to transform operations management and supply chain management, industrial engineering problems, project management, and other issues into a complex system reliability problem has been provided. It become possible that reliability of users demand is determined first and opportunity of choosing the repair the risk. This paper can provide a theoretical basis for research on related issues, which has a certain value.

MEASURING INFORMATION DEPENDENCY FOR CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING PROJECTS

Information dependency may be the most important key for managing information exchange to reduce project risks. Studies to date have not successfully discovered objective and quantitative surrogate to measure information dependency. This paper suggests an approach to measure information dependency with the productivity relationships among various disciplines for heavy industrial engineering projects. As part of a Construction Industry Institute (CII) study, the authors identified the information exchange pattern of engineering disciplines. Based on the patterns, the authors discovered the information dependency that various engineering disciplines had with their productivity relationships and conducted a survey afterwards for validation. Both results show significant and consistent evidence suggesting that: 1) information of equipment and piping disciplines is statistically dependent rather than the other paired disciplines; and 2) productivity relationship can be a legitimate surrogate to measure information dependency between equipment and piping disciplines. As such, this study enlightens a research trajectory for improvement of engineering productivity.

Implementation Mode of Industrial Engineering Projects Based on Project Management

Since the Industrial Engineering (IE) was introduced to China, people have already had much understanding of this cross discipline, and IE has been successfully popularized and applied in some enterprises. In such circumstances, a task we face is to systematically and comprehensively develop a theory and application system of IE from the subject development and practical application point of view, and the industrial engineering body of knowledge is established based on such a need. In this paper, on the basis of investigation and study on the domestic and foreign relevant studies, it establishes the industrial engineering body of knowledge, and proposes the implementation mode of IE projects based on project management, providing a certain reference role in the discipline development of IE and the implementation of IE in enterprises.

CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECTS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING AT CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

A new approach to conducting the capstone design project at the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Concordia University has yielded significantly enhanced student learning experiences. The design, manufacture and test phases of the mechanical engineering projects, and the design, implementation, and test phases for the industrial engineering projects, provided students the opportunity to ‘practice their engineering profession’ and to instil technical and personal confidence through ‘hands-on’ realization and achievement of their project goals. This paper describes the new approach and the benefits that resulted.

Development of an industrial engineering project

This paper presents a teaching strategy of the scheduling and developmental phase of an Industrial Engineering computer project. It is based on a real project which has been carried out by our department in collaboration with a local company. The classroom setting provides an environment where students can experience firsthand all phases of the development of an electronic product: design, development and implementation of a prototype board to the final commercial product.

A quality performance management system for industrial construction engineering projects

Engineering consulting firms involved in the design and construction of large‐scale industrial plants attempt to find flaws as early as possible in the design process to avoid more costly deviation corrections later on, particularly during and after construction. Deviation corrections can be reduced by pursuing more diligent quality prevention and appraisal efforts. Quality performance management system (QPMS) is a cost evaluation programme designed to measure the prevention and appraisal effort and its impact on deviation corrections. Examines this system and details the quality improvement results for a multi‐million dollar chemical plant project. Approximately 12 per cent of the total cost of design and construction was attributed to quality costs, a majority of which was categorized as various prevention and appraisal activities. Describes overall cost reductions and other benefits of QPMS.