Manufacturing Activities Research Articles

Developing the concept of roller conveyor systems using Industry 4.0 tools

In the increasingly globalized world, markets are no longer competed for by individual companies, but by groups of companies and networks. Due to the challenges of globalization and sustainability, the management of the material flow has become a critical issue for organizations engaged in manufacturing activities, as the implementation of changed products due to new regulations into the existing material flow service network is a major challenge. Today, Industry 4.0 tools help solve challenges. The tools of Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0 offer many opportunities to professionals today, which are driven by several key basic technologies, such as simulation technologies, digital copies, Big Data technology. These technologies have a positive impact on the sustainability performance of material flow activities. Simulation models play an important role in the evaluation and planning of material flow strategies. The purpose of this study is to apply the methods used in Industry 4.0 and Logistics 4.0 in the design of material flow on a roller conveyor.

MANAGING THE ASSORTMENT OF THE MANUFACTURER`S CONSUMER GOODS

The article is devoted to certain aspects of the activities of product manufacturers in modern conditions - the development of recommendations for improving the management of the assortment of consumer goods. The stages of formation of a model for managing the assortment of a consumer goods manufacturer are defined, starting with the formation of an information base for management of the distribution policy, until the selection of the final strategy for managing the assortment of the enterprise. A study of the distribution channels of Kharkiv Meat Factory LLC and Kharkiv Dairy Factory PJSC shows that the main volume of products is sold through several intermediaries. At the same time, the increase in the final sale price is the result of the promotion of consumer goods through several intermediaries. It is proposed to reduce the chain of goods movement due to the creation of a joint distribution center by the manufacturer and the trade network. The process of modeling the company's assortment is very complex, which requires the use of a comprehensive approach. A comprehensive approach to the development of an assortment model consists in taking into account the elements of the company's assortment policy based on the application of heuristic methods of forecasting the sales volume of consumer goods, which predict the influence of external factors. Therefore, the article developed methodological recommendations for the construction of a management model for the process of forming the assortment of a consumer goods manufacturer as a system of theoretical and methodological views on understanding and defining the essence, content, goals, tasks, principles of forecasting sales volumes and distribution management methods, as well as organizational practical approaches to the formation of the mechanism of their implementation in the specific conditions of the operation of the enterprise. The proposed approach based on a flexible, competitive assortment model will allow to increase the competitiveness of domestic manufacturing enterprises and retail enterprises, which is absolutely necessary in the conditions of Ukraine's accession to the WTO.

Ecological response to industrialisation drivers in Africa

More than ever, ecological conditions are fast deteriorating due to rising greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions are significantly propelled into the atmosphere by growth in specific human activities that also advance industrialisation. These activities will increase considerably in developing countries since industrial growth can lead to rapid economic modernisation. Consequently, this study examined the long-term ecological implications of these industrialisation drivers, including manufacturing activities, resource wealth, urban development, income growth, globalisation, and human capital development. This study conducted a panel analysis of 32 African countries between 1991 and 2019, and empirical inferences were derived through a battery of advance estimation techniques. They include second-generation panel unit root and cointegration tests, generalised estimating equation, generalised least squares mixed effect model, dynamic common correlated effect, Driscoll-Kraay, and the panel corrected standard error methods. The study demonstrated that an increase in manufacturing value-added, natural resources wealth, income growth, globalisation, and human capital diminishes ecological quality in Africa. However, urbanisation was environmentally-enhancing. The study proposed relevant policy measures to mitigate environmental pollution from industrialisation drivers.

Environmental impact assessment of the manufacturing of glass packaging solutions: Comparative scenarios in a developing country

The manufacturing of glass packaging is an energy and resource intensive process and the demand for glass packaging is increasing because of rising world population, especially in the developing countries. However, although a significant amount of glass packaging is produced in developing countries, there is limited research focused on the environmental impact assessment and analysis of the glass manufacturing activities. Thus, in order to fill this research gap, this paper reports a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) for the manufacturing of glass packaging in Pakistan. The LCA was conducted for three different types of glass (amber, flint and green) packaging solutions. The study was based on cradle-to-gate perspective, while considering 1-ton of glass produced as the functional unit. The primary data were collected from a well-known glass industry located in one of the dedicated industrial zones in Pakistan. SimaPro V 9.2. was used as the software tool and environmental impacts were quantified at midpoint and endpoint levels using ReCiPe 2016 method. The results indicated that extraction and processing of raw materials, and the plant-based glass production process cause worst impacts on the environment. More specifically, the consumption of natural gas for glass melting and the electricity from the national grid are the most contributing elements at the plant level. At midpoint level, comparatively green glass has the highest impact in various impact categories, such as global warming, fresh water ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, etc. At endpoint level, human health is mainly impacted among various areas of protection. Overall, green glass remains the dreadful option for human health in comparison with other glass types. Alternative scenarios were also generated for all three packaging solutions by changing the energy-mix, especially to see the difference in greenhouse gas emissions. The study also outlines various important implications. As this is the first such study, it may be used as a benchmark for further environmental impact assessment studies for glass packaging industry, especially in developing countries.

Advanced therapies and the Brexit process: emerging geographies of legal responsibilities and market opportunities

ABSTRACT This paper analyses how so-called Brexit, that is the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union (EU), has modified the regional geography of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs). The latter are therapies deriving from cell manipulation, gene editing, tissue engineering, or a combination of these techniques. Their development and delivery have been realised through research collaborations and commercial relations of international scope. In the EU, this has happened by means of a complex distribution of commercial activities and legal responsibilities. With Brexit, three main kinds of reconfigurations have occurred: the relocation of research and manufacturing activities; the reorganisation of quality control tests aimed to manage clinical risks; and the redistribution of legal responsibilities and representatives. This technical and legal reconfiguration is captured here by means of theoretical insights from the emerging domain of legal geography. Drawing on interviews conducted with both EU and UK professionals involved in ATMP development, this paper reveals the main challenges brought by Brexit to the current and future configuration of the ATMP landscape in the EU and the UK. Furthermore, it demonstrates how shifts in legal arrangements impact on science-intensive domains.

Resource management in fisheries under different types of externalities in a two-country general equilibrium model of international trade

Open access resource problems and harmful pollutants from manufacturing activities are common in resource management practices. Nevertheless, their implications have only been studied in different and separate frameworks that are not covered within the same structure. Previous studies suggest that resource management enforced by one country can increase welfare levels and rebuild resource conservation, compared to the case where no country imposes resource management policies. However, in real-life examples, the harvesting and manufacturing industries exert simultaneous pressure on fishery resource stocks, thereby changing the nature of the supply curve of renewable resources. This study investigates the effects of trade liberalization under unilateral resource management regimes in a two-country, two-sector model, in which both production sectors can detrimentally affect renewable natural resources by generating two interacting environmental burdens: excessive harvesting and industrial pollution. It is demonstrated that unilateral resource management applied by a country in which the resource-good sector is relatively less damaging to fishery stocks is welfare-reducing for both countries compared to the situation where neither manages its resource sector. This result is identified as “immiserizing resource management.” Notably, however, unilateral resource management by one country in which the resource-good sector has a more significant negative impact than the manufacturing industry can benefit both trading partners in welfare terms; this is referred to as “improving resource management.” Policymakers in international organizations should consider the relative dominance of externalities in the presence of weak property rights before requiring resource management as a condition for participating in international trade.

Architectural CO2 Footprint Tool: Designing Sustainable Computer Systems With an Architectural Carbon Modeling Tool

Given the performance and efficiency optimizations realized by the computer systems and architecture community over the last decades, the dominating source of computing’s carbon footprint is shifting from operational emissions to embodied emissions. These embodied emissions owe to hardware manufacturing and infrastructure-related activities. Despite the rising embodied emissions, there is a distinct lack of architectural modeling tools to quantify and optimize the end-to-end carbon footprint of computing. This work proposes ACT, an architectural carbon footprint modeling framework, to enable carbon characterization and sustainability-driven early design space exploration. Using ACT we demonstrate optimizing hardware for carbon yields distinct solutions compared to optimizing for performance and efficiency. We construct use cases, based on the three tenets of sustainable design—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—to highlight future methods that enable strong performance and efficiency scaling in an environmentally sustainable manner

How nearshoring reshapes global deindustrialization

Although recent decades were marked by within-country deindustrialization, this was not observed on the global level, as jobs moved from smaller, highly productive countries to large, less productive ones. We provide new empirical evidence that this trend reversed in the mid-2010s. We compiled annual employment data for 64 industries in 45 economies for 2010–2020 that are compatible with the multi-regional input–output tables provided by Eurostat in the FIGARO 2022 database. The data show that global employment generated by vertically integrated manufacturing activities has started to decline. The regionalization of global value chains was identified as the main driver that has reversed this trend, as the level of offshoring from most regions has declined.

Codifiability and geographical proximity of supply networks in automotive industry

This methodological paper proposes two codifiability indicators to examine trade and manufacturing statistics and the spatial distribution of value-added manufacturing activities. Codifiability is defined as the level of documentation about the manufacturing processes of a product required to allow tasks to be replicated by other suppliers. First, the codifiability indicators allow researchers to examine products that are grouped under the same sub-product class in conventional statistics, but the manufacture of such products could involve vastly different technologies and thus the level of value-added. A proprietary database was used to delineate the supply networks of automakers in passenger vehicles and their major tier-I suppliers between 2000 and 2015. Second, codifiability allowed the researchers to unpack the spatial distribution of value-addedness of each supplier in the production network, as illustrated by the top two parts suppliers to the automotive industry, Bosch and Denso. The importance of codified standardized commodity parts with lower value-added in the continental European home market illustrates the importance of geographical proximity for Bosch, while the dominance of non-standardized service parts with lower level of codification and higher value-added in its exports to North America is also consistent with the ‘follow the customers’ process in the overseas market reported in the automotive industry. The relative importance of service parts with lower level of codifiability in Denso’s home market illustrates the division of labour with other cross-holding suppliers (especially Aisin and JTEKT) and thus the effects of the interlocking cross-holding of Japanese automobile and parts suppliers, which reconfirms the importance of cultural proximity in Asia’s (Japanese) supply networks.

Digitisation of Marketing and Logistics Activities of Manufacturing and Trading Enterprises

Purpose: The study aims to explore the benefits of digitisation and provide insights into how companies can successfully implement digital strategies to improve their marketing and logistics functions. Theoretical framework: The study utilizes a comparative analysis of information systems used by manufacturing and trading enterprises to understand the digitalisation process. Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology involves defining the scope of digitalisation, assessing the current state, developing a digitalisation strategy, planning the implementation, executing the implementation, monitoring progress, optimizing the process, and continuously reviewing and improving. Findings: The proposed algorithm consists in defining the scope of digitalisation, assessing the current state, developing a digitalisation strategy, planning the implementation, executing the implementation, monitoring progress, optimising the process, and continuously reviewing and improving. The effectiveness of digitalisation is evaluated using objective mathematical models and Key Performance Indicators specific to the goals of the digitalisation process. Research, Practical & Social implications: The article provides an example of how the mathematical model for digitalisation can be implemented in a real-world scenario. The mathematical model is represented as an equation that maximises the value generated from the digitalisation of marketing and logistics activities subject to constraints such as budget, efficiency improvement, and customer satisfaction improvement. Originality/value: This article provides insights into the digitisation of marketing and logistics activities in manufacturing and trading enterprises. It offers a systematic approach and a mathematical model for evaluating and implementing digitalisation strategies, contributing to the existing knowledge on digital transformation in the business domain.

Triple bottom line-based sustainability assessment of Tamar Cocoa manufacturing and packaging activities by using comprehensive and integrated stochastic-fuzzy method

Triple bottom line-based sustainability assessment of Tamar Cocoa manufacturing and packaging activities by using comprehensive and integrated stochastic-fuzzy method

Microbiological Air Quality and Antibiotic Resistance in Isolated Bioaerosols from Various Activities in Zanjan, Iran

Introduction: The aim of this study is the isolation and primary identification of isolated bioaerosols sampled from different locations, as well as determining their antibiotic resistance profile for the selected bacteria.
 Materials and Methods: The air samples were collected from 35 stations in 17 buildings (bank, public, healthcare and industrial). An air-sampling pump (Flite3-SKC) with a flow rate of 14.1 l/min was used for five minutes at the respiratory height. The total bacterial count and primary identification were carried out, then the antibiotic susceptibility tests for ten selected antibiotics were conducted by the disk diffusion method. 
 Results: The bacterial population varied at a range of 128-5503 CFU/m3, and the fruit and vegetable bazaar of Zanjan showed the highest population of bioaerosols. The bioaerosols population among industrial samples was high. Most isolates were determined as gram-positive Cocci (> 70%) and Bacillus spp, respectively. The most antibiotic-resistant bacteria were related to manufacturing activities, showing resistance to Chloramphenicol and Trimethoprim/ Sulfamethoxazole (72%).
 Conclusion: The type of activity affects the bacterial population and antibiotic resistance in industrial uses. The increase of multi-drug resistant bacteria, especially in medical settings, is known as a community health challenge and needs more attention.

The Nexus of Climate Change and Land-use in Kenya

Land as a resource remains a useful in alleviating human risks through provision of food, water, energy and environmental goods/services. There appears to be intertwined relationship between land and climate change, where climate change is perceived as a threat to land, while land and land use remains a major factor in climate change. There are however, few studies that have explored these intricate interrelationships between climate change and land as a nexus approach especially at the local levels. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to bring to light the interconnectedness between land and climate change and land, as well as assesses land impacts on climate change, in Kenya, and further suggests strategies needed to address these issues from a multidimensional perspective in the policy-making process. Scoping review was used to gather data from academic journal articles, book chapters, global databases, national database and conference papers. The objective of scoping reviews is to provide a broad overview of the literature on a specific topic and identify patterns, trends, knowledge clusters, and gaps. The study also obtained secondary data from various sources in the study. The study established that land-use influence climate change through agricultural expansion, urbanization, activities in catchment areas, large scale settlements, deforestation, manufacturing and industrial activities. Climate change then impact the land through reduction in agricultural activities and production, negatives on the forest ecosystems, reducing water resources, as well as detriment to quality of human, animal and plants life. The study concludes that land use change is a major driver of climate change and climate change drives land use activities in a nexus. To further this research, the study recommends ways of exploring land-sensitive approaches to climate change and land use management in a nexus a approach. The nexus approach that allows for the inter-linkages, trade-offs, and synergies existing between climate and land resources need to be developed.

Short-term economic dynamism as a policy tool to address supply shortages during crises

Abstract This paper investigates the role of short-term economic dynamism in responding to crisis induced supply shortages. We focus on the domestic manufacturing ramp-up of surgical masks, respirators, and their intermediary products in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We develop a novel method for timely identification and validation of the evolving state of domestic manufacturing. To unpack the activities of domestic manufacturers and related institutions, we triangulate across 56 qualitative interviews, certifications, Thomasnet.com®, industry associations, and other public data. We find that while large manufacturers could rapidly scale up, onshore, or diversify production to enter into domestic production of critical medical supplies, these large manufacturers alone were insufficient to meet the spike in demand. In face of this shortage, small and medium enterprises (SME), who entered into mask and respirator production as de novo firms, spin-offs, and by diversifying, were important in increasing overall domestic capacity and serving markets unmet by large hospital distributors. These firms often had fewer competencies and resources compared to larger firms, and received less effective government support. Despite these disadvantages, a number of SMEs succeeded in entering into domestic production, and our interviews suggest this capacity could have been better integrated into the national response. We propose new theory for how and when federal and state governments should support short-term economic dynamism (firm entry into target products and/or markets) during crises to address supply shortages, and the types of market and network failures federal or state governments may be most effective at addressing.

TINJAUAN LITERATUR: BIOAKUMULASI LOGAM BERAT PADA IKAN DI PERAIRAN INDONESIA

Heavy metals are frequently employed in a variety of industries, including industry, agriculture, food processing, and domestic appliances. Heavy metal concentrations will be extremely high in locations with residential, mining, and manufacturing activity. The concentration of heavy metals in fish reflects the state of heavy metal pollution in the ecosystem. Heavy metal accumulation in aquatic creatures' organs can occasionally exceed the level of heavy metals in their environment. The purpose of this literature review is to give information on the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fish in Indonesian seas. 38 fish species were recorded, and literacy parameters in the form of sample locations and levels, units and types of heavy metals discovered were summarized. Pb > Cd > Hg > Cu > As > Zn > Cr > Mn > Fe is the order of metal abundance discovered. It is advised that heavy metal contamination studies be carried out in the future as part of the government's strategy for tracking down this problem.

Turn‐key research in food processing and manufacturing for reducing the impact of climate change

SummaryThis study addresses the critical need to report original and current findings on the global food system's ability to meet the growing natural resource demands of an estimated 9 billion global population. The objective is to provide guidance for researchers in developing strategies to reduce climate change risks in the food and beverage supply. To achieve this, we propose integrating innovative industry insights and digital applications into existing food system models as industrial demonstrators. Our research encompasses six impactful themes, demonstrating effective delivery methodologies. We highlight that human‐centred activities and practices, often overlooked in sustainability assessments, hinder improved security and sustainability in the food system. Through our work, we showcase how smarter food production processes, along with active citizen engagement, can achieve desired outcomes outlined in frameworks, such as the Sustainable Development Goals. A crucial aspect is the development of Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, integrating workforce practices into manufacturing activities, and driving the necessary cultural changes for a sustainable food system. This study illuminates challenges faced by the global food system and provides actionable insights and methodologies to guide researchers and industry stakeholders in creating a more sustainable and secure future for food production and consumption.

Upgrading through global, regional or national value chains? Firm-level evidence from the East African textiles & apparel sector

This paper introduces the concept of value chain directionality to investigate how orientation to different value chains has implications for productive learning and industrial outcomes. We develop and test this concept building on a purposefully designed firm-level survey focused on the textile and apparel value chain in East Africa. Tanzanian and Kenyan textiles and apparel firms lie on a spectrum in terms of their engagement with national, regional and global value chains (NVCs, RVCs and GVCs), with outcomes varying with value chain directionality. GVC firms focus on a narrow range of lower-value functions (mostly garment assembly) while RVC and NVC firms perform a wider range of functions including vertical integration to textile manufacture and higher-value activities such as design and branding, but cases of functional upgrading were rare in all groups. GVC firms were closer to the technological frontier, but RVC and NVC firms were similarly engaged in process upgrading. GVC firms tended to have more complex products than RVC and NVC firms, and only GVC firms had recently engaged in product upgrading. Crucially, results in the area of end market upgrading confirmed the hypothesis that RVCs have the potential to serve as ‘learning grounds’, or ‘stepping stones’ to more demanding but potentially lucrative global markets. In other outcomes, GVCs appear to offer greater prospects for rapid employment generation but RVCs and NVCs tend to favour backward integration by incorporating more locally sourced inputs.

Developing Vaccines to Improve Preparedness for Filovirus Outbreaks: The Perspective of the USA Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).

Outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by filoviruses have become more prevalent in recent years, with outbreaks of Ebola virus (EBOV), Sudan virus (SUDV), and Marburg virus (MARV) all occurring in 2022 and 2023. While licensed vaccines are now available for EBOV, vaccine candidates for SUDV and MARV are all in preclinical or early clinical development phases. During the recent outbreak of SUDV virus disease, the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), as part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, implemented key actions with our existing partners to advance preparedness and enable rapid response to the outbreak, while also aligning with global partners involved in the implementation of clinical trials in an outbreak setting. Beyond pre-existing plans prior to the outbreak, BARDA worked with product sponsors to expedite manufacturing of vaccine doses that could be utilized in clinical trials. While the SUDV outbreak has since ended, a new outbreak of MARV disease has emerged. It remains critical that we continue to advance a portfolio of vaccines against SUDV and MARV while also expediting manufacturing activities ahead of, or in parallel if needed, outbreaks.

Nano-Chitosan/Eucalyptus Oil/Cellulose Acetate Nanofibers: Manufacturing, Antibacterial and Wound Healing Activities

Accelerated wound healing in infected skin is still one of the areas where current therapeutic tactics fall short, which highlights the critical necessity for the exploration of new therapeutic approaches. The present study aimed to encapsulate Eucalyptus oil in a nano-drug carrier to enhance its antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, in vitro, and in vivo wound healing studies of the novel nano-chitosan/Eucalyptus oil/cellulose acetate electrospun nanofibers were investigated. Eucalyptus oil showed a potent antimicrobial activity against the tested pathogens and the highest inhibition zone diameter, MIC, and MBC (15.3 mm, 16.0 μg/mL, and 256 μg/mL, respectively) were recorded against Staphylococcus aureus. Data indicated a three-fold increase in the antimicrobial activity of Eucalyptus oil encapsulated chitosan nanoparticle (43 mm inhibition zone diameter against S. aureus). The biosynthesized nanoparticles had a 48.26 nm particle size, 19.0 mV zeta potential, and 0.45 PDI. Electrospinning of nano-chitosan/Eucalyptus oil/cellulose acetate nanofibers was conducted, and the physico-chemical and biological properties revealed that the synthesized nanofibers were homogenous, with a thin diameter (98.0 nm) and a significantly high antimicrobial activity. The in vitro cytotoxic effect in a human normal melanocyte cell line (HFB4) proved an 80% cell viability using 1.5 mg/mL of nano-chitosan/Eucalyptus oil/cellulose acetate nanofibers. In vitro and in vivo wound healing studies revealed that nano-chitosan/Eucalyptus oil/cellulose acetate nanofibers were safe and efficiently enhanced the wound-healing process through enhancing TGF-β, type I and type III collagen production. As a conclusion, the manufactured nano-chitosan/Eucalyptus oil/cellulose acetate nanofiber showed effective potentiality for its use as a wound healing dressing.

Development of Independence as an Effort to Improve Welfare for Convicts in Correctional Technical Implementation Units in Indonesia


 The Directorate General of Corrections has the task of guiding and fostering convicts. Prisons and detention centers carry out this task. Self-reliance development is grouped into agribusiness, manufacturing, and service activities. Prisoners who participate in independent development activities are expected to have the provision after being released to find a job or be self-employed. By working, the welfare level of prisoners increases. The method used is qualitative. The research question posed is how is the implementation of fostering independence to increase the welfare of convicts and the obstacles encountered in independent activities and when free convicts want to get a job? This study aims to find out the implementation of self-reliance coaching to increase the welfare of convicts and the obstacles faced by independent activities. The problems convict face when looking for work or entrepreneurship. The results showed that several obstacles were found, such as inadequate infrastructure, non-specific activity budgets, low employee ability for E-commerce, low motivation of prisoners to participate in activities, and when free from prisoners, it is also difficult to get a job. The complexity of the problems faced must be overcome immediately, and it requires the involvement of all parties. One solution to help prisoners who need funds to become self-employed is through productive Zakat.