Industrial Workshops Research Articles

The factory and the welfare state: redundancy, benefits and workers’ organization at Alfa Romeo Arese, 1963-1986

ABSTRACTThe article tracks the relationship between the Italian welfare state and the social relations of production at a Fordist factory, showing how social policy influenced the pattern of workers’ contention on the industrial shop floor. Welfare state analysis has concentrated on the institutional aspect of social policy but neglected the role that state benefits played in industrial organization and workplace relations. The article ‘nests’ the analysis of social policy in a micro-history of the factory, using the case study of Arese – a plant owned by the carmaker Alfa Romeo – Milan, Italy. Tracking the history of Arese, the article shows how the Italian system of short-time work subsidies, the Cassa Integrazione Guadagni (CIG), served to quell industrial unrest and target unions’ organizational resources. From the late 1960s, the CIG was used by managers to suspend workers during strikes and acted as a deterrent against their mobilization. As redundancies increased during the 1980s, workers were put on short-time for prolonged periods and prevented from entering the factory. This degraded their professional identity and eroded their political ties with the workplace, curtailing the basis of unions’ organizational strength within the factory.

A Novel Two-Stage DEA Model in Fuzzy Environment: Application to Industrial Workshops Performance Measurement

One of the paramount mathematical methods to compute the general performance of organizations is data envelopment analysis (DEA).Nevertheless, in some cases, the decision-making units (DMUs) have middle values. Furthermore, the conventional DEA models have been originally formulated solely for crisp data and cannot handle the problems with uncertain information. To tackle the above issues, this paper presents a two-stage DEA model with fuzzy data. The recommended technique is based on the fuzzy arithmetic and has a simple construction. Furthermore, to illustrate the new model, we investigate the efficiency of some industrial workshops in Iran. The results show the effectiveness and robustness of the new model.

Framework enabling the design of Virtual Environments used for simulation of assembly operations

Virtual Reality has proven its potential in manufacturing field and is nowadays being used in industries in various ways, such as training, decision support, product design and review, simulation of industrial operations for design/redesign of shop floors and workflow. Despite the potential of this technology in manufacturing, trained personnel with expertise in the Virtual Reality field is needed to prepare the Virtual Environment and user interactions with it, a process which is time consuming, leading industries to drop the idea of investing in such technology. This work proposes a flexible framework that enables the design of Virtual Environments that replicate industrial shop floors, allowing the simulation of real-life assembly operations using immersive Virtual Reality. The developed framework provides the necessary tools and functionalities allowing non expert users to create 1:1 replicas of industrial shop floors in a non-time-consuming way. Moreover, it allows rapid modelling of tasks and actions involved in assembly operations, facilitating the work needed to be done for the preparation of Virtual Reality based assembly simulations. A case study is used to demonstrate the approach.

MQL machining of high strength steel: A case study on surface quality characteristic

The present paper highlights investigation on hard turning of high strength EN24 steel using multilayer coated carbide insert (TiN/TiCN/Al2O3/ZrCN) under minimum quantity lubrication environment for surface roughness. Measured surface values are found to be less than 1 µm which is much below the surface roughness criteria of 1.6 µm. It indicates that quality components can be obtained during MQL assisted machining of high strength EN 24 steel. This indicates proper cooling and lubrication of machining zone occurred due to application of pressurized oil mist. Developed regression model has been found to be significant because determination coefficient i.e. R2 close to unity (0.9) and p-value is less than 0.05 at 95% confidence level. Hence, environmental friendly minimum quantity lubrication machining can be effectively utilized for production of quality components in industrial shop floors for ecological and economical benefits.

Learning manual assembly through real-time motion capture for operator training with augmented reality

The current fourth industrial revolution significantly impacts on production processes. The personalized production paradigm which distinguishes Industry 4.0 enables customers to order unique products, defined by the specific features selected. The operators involved in the manual assembly of such workpieces have to process an enormous component variety adapting their tasks from product to product with limited learning opportunities. On the other hand, digital technologies significantly evolved in the last decade and their adoption in industrial shop floors in increasingly wider. In particular, camera-based marker-less motion capture achieved a large popularity since it represents a cheap, reliable and non-invasive solution to track, trace and digitalize human movements in different environments. Considering the presented framework, this research proposes an original hardware/software architecture to assist in real-time operators involved in manual assembly processes during the training phase to support their learning process, both in terms of rate and quality. A marker-less depth camera captures human motions in relation with the workstation environment whereas an augmented reality application based on visual feedback guides the operator through consecutive assembly tasks during the training phase. An experimental campaign is performed at the Learning factory of the Digital production university laboratory to validate the proposed architecture compared to traditional paper-based instructions provided for trainings. A real industrial case study is adopted to test and quantitatively evaluate the benefits of the developed technology compared to traditional approach in terms learning rate, which increases by 22% with a reduction in manual process duration up to -51% during the first assembly cycles.

Analysis of Futile Events in Small Industrial and Production Workshops of Isfahan Province by Mort Method

Introduction: One of the important and growing organizational considerations is the staff health and safety. Workplace events cause death and disability in a large number of employees annually. So, employers have seriously focused their attention and organizational resources on this important issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate causes of the fatal industrial-production activities using the Morte's technique and to provide management solutions to reduce the incidents caused by the workshop in Yazd province, Iran.
 Methods: Initially, a total of 57 fatal accidents were identified and investigated in Isfahan industrial enterprises. Among this number, 12 cases of work-related incidents were studied. In the second stage, events were analyzed by Morte tree. This descriptive, correlational, and applied research was a fieldwork conducted as a library study to collect the required data.
 Results: The results showed that most causes of defect accidents were among the management system factors and covered 40.4% of the total causes. This was followed by the human errors and defects in working processes (36.5%), defects in fences and barriers (19.2%) in rescue process, and other causes of accidents (3.9%).
 Conclusion: By adopting safety measures in compliance with the protective regulations, extent and severity of the accidents can be reduced to a large extent. Many good practices can also be prevented by appropriate management measures.

Experimental Results Of A Self-Learning Compensation System For High Precision Manufacturing

This paper presents the experimental results obtained by applying the results of some recently concluded European projects, whose objective was the development and validation of hardware and control systems for production, based on understanding, evaluating and controlling the performance of a machine tool. It is based on a self-learning controller capable of managing a large quantity of data acquired by sensor systems, as well as on-board artifacts and finished work piece measurements that, associated to operating conditions, permit the accumulation of knowledge regarding the behaviour of machines. Relying on this experience-based approach, the controller can predict the errors that a machining process will present under different conditions and can thus adapt compensation tables. The approach set out has been implemented in a demonstrator consisting of a 5-axis high-precision boring machine, fully functional in an industrial shop floor but used under controlled environmental conditions (thermostatic chamber and special machine foundations). Its software system supports measurement procedures and is able to integrate data acquisition from different sensor systems, to calculate the volumetric error with 3D representations, to provide models for calculation of error functions and to integrate communication processes with the CNC. It can therefore operate in actual production sites, introducing relevant improvements in the machine tools manufacturing field. This paper presents the experimental results obtained during the project validation, including a comparison between on field measurements and compensation tables calculated on the basis of the predictions of the self-learning system. The analysis of the data gathered highlights the system's capability to deal with both simple linear dependencies (e.g. between error and mass variation) and complex, non-linear but repeatable trends. Results discussion, relating to two different and independent axis, demonstrates the applicability of the system under real operating conditions.

Experimental and theoretical study of the collection efficiency of the two-stage electrostatic precipitator

Two-stage electrostatic precipitators are widely used in oil particle purification in industrial workshops, kitchens and ship cabins. As described in this paper, a two-stage electrostatic module was designed, and the effects of seven parameters on the efficiency of collecting oil mist particles with different particle sizes were studied experimentally. On the basis of these experimental results, a semi-empirical efficiency model was developed, and the measured efficiency and calculated efficiency of the present model and the Deutsch model were compared. The comparison results show that the proposed semi-empirical model can well predict the fractional efficiency of the two-stage ESP, whereas the Deutsch model is clearly not applicable in this case. In addition, the degree of influence of seven parameters on the two-stage ESP collection efficiency was studied by using the single-factor sensitivity analysis method with the experimental data. The results show that the degree of influence of various parameters on the particle collection efficiency of 0.31 μm, from high to low, is as follows: the voltage applied to the precharger, the heteropolar distance of the precharger, velocity, the heteropolar distance of the collector, the voltage applied to the collector, the length of the collector plate, and the length of the precharger grounding plate.

Improvement of dedusting efficiency of technological equipment for manufacturing of coloured calcium silicate bricks

The key factors for obtaining coloured calcium silicate bricks is the high degree of dispersion and precise dosage of the colouring matter, as well as its uniform distribution in the silicate mixture. Dust particles of a colour pigment pose the most harmful effect on the health of workers at the industrial shop. In the course of components mixing, a large amount of dust from sand, lime and pigment is released into the working zone air since the process of components mixing implies materials pouring while proportioning as well as vigorous mechanical mixing. For the purpose of the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the working zone air contamination in a components mixing shops, it is necessary to investigate the dust conditions at the shop, the particle size distribution of the mixture components, the concentration of hazardous substances in the working zone air, the aerodynamic properties of dust.

Experimental investigation of aerodynamic properties of colour pigment for calcium silicate bricks

At construction industry enterprises, in particular at plants manufacturing coloured calcium silicate bricks, aerosols and fine dusts of raw materials are formed in the course of various processes of grinding, transporting, mixing, pouring etc. They are characterized by a high degree of dispersion and high concentration in working zone air and exceed the Maximum Permissible Concentrations by several times. One of the most significant reasons for increased dust amount in the air of working zones of industrial shops is the presence of locations of dust wastes storage. For the purpose of complete evaluation of dust conditions inside an industrial shop for components mixing for coloured calcium silicate bricks, it is necessary to investigate the dispersion process and the aerodynamic properties of the finest dust – colour pigment. The authors have conducted experimental investigations of the aerodynamic properties of colour pigment for calcium silicate bricks and formulated the conclusions.

Experimental results regarding industrial filtration using ultrasonic filters

The paper presents general description of an ultrasonic air filter used in industrial air filtration system and the experimental results obtained. The method can be used in air purification system from the highly polluting processing technology of an industrial shop (paint shops, foundries, welding constructions, forging, etc.). The ultrasonic system construction and the advantages of using ultrasounds in the pollutant air filtration and purification process and an ultrasonic filter designed are here presented. In this case, the transducer which is the most important element consist in two asymmetrical passive elements (reflector and radiant element). For the ultrasonic system design there are presented the principal theoretical elements and in the final the finite element analyze of the whole ultrasonic system. To start a different filtering system some considerations like the following are important: the construction should be as simple and easy to install in the working zone, do not require dismantling to clean the filter element, cleaning periodically when the pressure drop reaches a limit value by commanding the operation of the ultrasonic transducer, allow restraint of the finest particles leading to the final consumer (in some technological processes) pure air, have a much longer operating life than conventional filters, in the sense that the ultrasonic activated filter elements have a higher reliability, to achieve a pressure drop in a range of restricted values, practically to be kept constant or with very small variations, creating stationary waves to allow not only very fine particle retention but also air drying, allow easy maintenance, the operating costs of which do not exceed the costs of the classic ones.

Marginal Hubs: On conviviality beyond the urban in Asia: Introduction

AbstractThis special issue explores the forms of coexistence that emerge in what we call ‘marginal hubs’: sites that appear geographically or politically marginal, but which emerge as areas of intense and often volatile sociability, including border posts, container markets, industrial workshops, and pilgrim encampments. Such sites, which often come into being suddenly and are remote from the great urban centres, do not fit easily either within the framework of the Asian urban nor of the continent's villages and small towns. By exploring the forms of sociability that are important to everyday life in such places, we seek to widen the spectrum of settings that are recognized by scholars across the humanities and social sciences as having the potential to offer productive insights into understanding how heterogeneity is handled in Asia and beyond. This Introduction sets out the theoretical stakes of such an approach, as well as introducing the articles in this special issue.

OPTICAL-ELECTRONIC DEVICE OF CALCULATION OF PARAMETERS OF VOLUME OBJECTS OF WORKING SCENE AT MULTIPLE SOURCES OF VIDEO DATA

The paper considers approaches to the construction of a geographically distributed optical-electronic device, providing an analysis of significant and long working scenes in the interests of automating the processes of control and management of robotic tools in industrial assembly shops and warehouses. The principal difference of the proposed solution is the possibility of obtaining images of the analyzed objects using optical-electronic sensors located in different parts of the workspace to realize the function of binocular vision on a much larger area of the working scene compared to analogues. A distinctive novelty of the developed theoretical approach is the approach to binocular technical vision, which consists in iteratively performing calibration procedures for selected pairs of opticalelectronic sensors and the subsequent calculation of the spatial coordinates of the objects being analyzed using calibrated pairs of optical-electronic sensors. The results of image analysis from each of the optoelectronic sensors are used to accompany moving objects and analyze their motion paths in the working scene space. To implement the developed theoretical approaches, a modular optoelectronic device has been developed, consisting of two types of modules. The first type of module is a standalone opto-electronic module, which includes an opto-electronic sensor and means for processing and extracting primary features immediately upon receiving images for their subsequent analysis. The second type is a computational module that provides processing of primary data from a set of modules of the first type. Data transfer between device modules is provided via radio over a WiFi network. A distinctive feature of the developed device is the primary processing of images immediately upon their receipt and transmission over the radio channel of a small amount of data about the selected objects to the computing module, which performs the final stages of data processing and generates a set of parameters describing the characteristics and spatial coordinates of the objects found on the working scene for their further of use. Experimental studies were conducted on the developed simulation model, which confirmed the correctness of the developed theoretical approach and the possibility of its application in practice.

Human values, teamwork design and knowledge management on the shop floor: a systematic literature review

The purpose of this paper is to identify the relationships between teamwork, knowledge management and human values, categorizing the studies focused in the interplay of these three variables, with a focus on their appliance to the industrial shop floor context. By doing so, this paper seeks to identify literature gaps to be explored in subsequent researches. The research method adopted was a systematic literature review from databases related to the teamwork, knowledge management and human values published in periodicals within the period comprehended between 2000 to 2015. Thirty-five open categories were initially identified in the interplay of the three variables, with the vast majority of them emphasizing the relationship between two of the three variables. Lately, these original categories converged to nine axial categories or different areas of research. As a main finding of the study, it was possible to identify one main gap in the literature, suggesting the development of new researches focused on investigating how team’ design and levels of autonomy impact the performance of team members’ knowledge management activities in different groups on which different values prevail.

Designing the ultrasonic system used in industrial air filtration based on the ultrasonic cavitation phenomenon

The paper presents the activity developed developed in the field of polluted air purification from industrial shop (paint shops, foundries, welding constructions, forging, etc.). The advantages of using ultrasounds in the pollutant air filtration and purification process and an ultrasonic filter designed are presented considering the ultrasonic cavitation phenomenon. The main computational and construction elements of the ultra-acoustic system used in the design of the air filter are presented in the paper. The work focuses in the design of the main part of the ultrasonic system represented by ultrasonic transducer. In this case, the transducer network that is used in ultrasonic cavitation method consists of ten ultrasonic transducers. Each one of them consists of asymmetrical passive elements (reflector and radiant element).The design steps and the use of FEM as working method will provide the theoretical basis of the operation of the ultrasonic system so that it allows air filtration based on the ultrasonic acoustic cavitation phenomenon.

Practical realisation and experimental results of ultrasonic filters used in air filtration

Article presents the researches performed in order to achieve an air filter based on the ultrasonic cavitation phenomenon. This filter can be used in purification of polluted air from the highly polluting processing technology of an industrial shop (paint shops, foundries, welding constructions, forging, etc.). Practical realization elements of ultrasonic filter based on cavitation phenomenon and experimental results are described and presented. Experimental researches have shown an increased efficiency of using this type of filter (retention of microparticles larger than 1.0 μm, smoke retention and increase of duration of filter operation more many years). Besides these, advantages of using ultrasounds in the pollutant air filtration and purification process and an ultrasonic filter designed are presented.

Collaborative Virtual Reality Decision Tool for Planning Industrial Shop Floor Layouts

This paper presents a methodology and the associated tool for enhancing decision making in shop floor layout using collaborative virtual reality, associated to real-time performance indicators in Industry 4.0. It first describes the collaborative architecture of the application. Subsequently, application features like: visualization at scale one (machines, industrial environment’s top view, product flow path), 3D model interaction (setting layout), physical process flow evaluation (spaghetti diagrams, Key Performance Indicators-KPI), testing multiple configurations (via save and load). Finally, paper illustrates possible usages and benefits of how VR tool helps improve ergonomics and safety; helps reduce deliberation time and bottlenecks through machine spatial footprint, visualization, scale one experience and referring KPIs.

THE SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL STRESS OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON AFFILIATION A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN TWO SAMPLES OF BOTH SEXES WORKING CHILDREN IN INDUSTRIAL WORKSHOPS IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS

The present study drives at identifying the impact of environment's social and physical stress on affiliation of children who are working, identifying as well the relationship between child laboring and affiliation. This study belongs to the descriptive type of studies, using the social survey approach that counts on questionnaire as the study basic tool for collecting data. The study sample consists of (200) items of working male/female children in industrial workshops in both rural and urban areas and age stage (9-17 yrs. Old). They are divided equally into (100) items from Manawat village representing the rural sample and (100) items from Al-Herfeyein (craftsmen) area representing the urban sample. The most important study results are that there are significant statistical differences between average score of the rural sample and the urban sample of working children at significance level (0.05) regarding the environment's social and physical stress and its impact on affiliation. The study recommends presenting social, health, and economic care for poor families; so, they would be capable of fulfilling their needs and rearing their children instead of driving them into the labor market at early stage. Also, the work place should be appropriate for a child and should be healthy and bearing no risks. The work hours should be limited and a rest time in between. Moreover, a child should be dealt with respect , taking into consideration his nature as a child, and he should be treated with dignity as a human being which makes him satisfied for his work and non-exposed to psychological-behavioral problems. This reinforces the feeling of affiliation towards home that should be deepened through family group-activities such as trips or journey that would increases a child's knowledge and sustain his affiliation towards his country.

Finite element modelling of the ultrasonic system used in ultrasonic gas filters

The paper presents the general scheme of the ultrasonic filter proposed and the finite element modeling of this system. The method can be used in air purification system from the highly polluting processing technology of an industrial shop (paint shops, foundries, welding constructions, forging, etc.). The advantages of using ultrasounds in the pollutant air filtration and purification process and an ultrasonic filter designed are presented. Paper insists in the design of the main part of the ultrasonic system represented by ultrasonic transducer. In this case, the transducer that is used consist in two asymmetrical passive elements (reflector and radiant element). For the ultrasonic system design there are presented the principal theoretical elements and in the final the finite element analyze of the whole ultrasonic system. The FEA provides the optimal frequency used in system during its operation time. The considered theoretical elements: the mechanical resonance condition; the electromechanical resonance condition; the acoustic power emitted by the resonance; acoustic power emitted at low frequencies; the acoustic power frequency characteristic; the electrical impedance of the transducer; electro-acoustical, acoustical-mechanic and electromechanical efficiency; the sensitivity of the low frequency transducer; the transducer sensitivity frequency characteristic and the resonance sensitivity of the transducer.

Taguchi Robust Design for Optimizing Surface Roughness of Turned AISI 1045 Steel Considering the Tool Nose Radius and Coolant as Noise Factors

AISI 1045 has been widely used in many industrial applications requiring good wear resistance and strength. Surface roughness of produced components is a vital quality measure. A suitable combination of machining process parameters must be selected to guarantee the required roughness values. The appropriate parameters are generally defined based on ideal lab conditions since most of the researchers conduct their experiments in closed labs and ideal conditions. However, when repeating these experiments in industrial workshops, different results are obtained. Imperfect conditions such as the absence of a turning tool with definite specifications as shown in know‐how “tool nose radius 0.4 mm” and its replacement with the closest existence tool “tool nose radius 0.8 mm” as well as the interruption of cutting fluid during work as a result of sudden failure in the coolant pump lead to the mentioned different lab‐industrial conditions. These complications are common among normal problems that happened during the metal cutting process in realistic conditions and are called noise factors. In this paper, Taguchi robust design is used to select the optimum combination of the cutting speed, depth of cut, and feed rate to enhance the surface roughness of turned AISI 1045 steel bars while minimizing the effects of the two noise factors. The optimum parameters predicted by the developed model showed good agreement with the experimental results.