Industrial Production Model Research Articles

Institutional Support of Internalization of Negative external Effects of Old Industrial Production Models

The article substantiates the conceptual provisions for the institutional support of the internalization of the negative externalities of old industrial production models. To internalize negative externalities, it is necessary to create institutional conditions under which all parts of the internalization process (waste producers, central regulators, local communities, recipients of negative impacts) will be interested in conscientious performance of their functions. It is suggested that a unique regulatory system should be established within each individual industry sector. It is determined that the threat of opportunistic behavior on the part of agents is a potential negative factor in the centralized collection of information and distribution of payments for public benefit. The effectiveness of formal institutions should be viewed through the prism of informal rules that have developed in society. Informal rules are the quintessence of natural motives for human behavior. Psychological features of motives of human behavior determine the expediency of appropriate adaptation of the institutional system. That is, the complex of institutions must be built in such a way that the individual has the opportunity to meet their needs through socially useful actions. It is substantiated that the recipients of institutional transformations should be authorized persons (or groups of persons) who will be responsible for collecting information and distributing internalization payments.

Influence of Virtual and Open Learning on Private Demand for Education: A Case of Kenyatta University, Kenya

Virtual and Open Education has recently become a recognized field of education across the globe as the mode of education which helps large number of students to access quality educational opportunities. The purpose of was study to establish the influence of virtual and open learning to private demand for education: The objectives of the project included the following; to determine the current status of enrollment of open and distance learning in Kenyatta University; extent to which Virtual and open learning influence enrollment; challenges facing Virtual and open learning in Kenyan universities. The study was guided by Industrial production model of Otto Peters (1994). The research utilized Descriptive survey method as the main study. The target subject under study consisted of 400 virtual and open students from Kenyatta University. Through random sampling technique and proportional two hundreds (200) open and distant learners from Kenyatta University were identified. The study used purposive sampling to choose three Digital School co-coordinators. The process of data collection involved administering questionnaires and scheduling interviews with the selected individuals. The study relied on both qualitative and quantitative data. When analyzing quantitative the research used descriptive statistics and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 17).Qualitative data was analyzed by establishing the categories and themes, relationships/patterns and conclusions in line with the study objectives. Results indicated that virtual and open learning influence enrollment at Kenya Universities, where about 6248 virtual and open students have enrolled to the program. Various challenges touching on inadequate funding, network problem, delayed feedback and low teaching staff levels were identified. The study also established that the institutions offering virtual and open learning in Kenya are governed by their own institutional policies .It is articulated that the findings of this study and the recommendations therefore suggested would aid the government and universities in Kenya to achieve their goal of providing quality virtual and open education at affordable cost. It would benefit in policy on guiding on financial provision for virtual and open learning programmes, creating national Open university as well as the articulation of nationwide policies for virtual and open education and efficient use of virtual and open learning resources in providing student support services.

Managing change to a zero-carbon economy in Europe

12 | International Union Rights | 26/4 FOCUS | CLIMATE CHANGE & TRADE UNIONS Managing change to a zero-carbon economy in Europe Both climate change mitigation and adaptation to a warming world are now primary policy objectives. For mitigation, the objective is to get to a net-zero carbon economy in the second half of this century at global level and by 2050 for developed economies. A carbon neutral European Union by 2050 is now the official target of the European Commission with the flagship initiative of the European Green Deal to implement it. To achieve these objectives a fundamental revision of our production and consumption model is necessary with far-reaching distributional effects and with a massive impact on the world of work. Managing this epochal transformation in a socially balanced way is key to its success. The concept of just transition, a longterm trade union demand has now become an integral part of a complex climate policy framework. It should not remain an abstract concept however, but a real practice in real societies and workplaces. This article focuses on the role of trade unions, their approaches and practices to put `just transition` into practice under real life circumstances. The historical capital-labour deal According to the critical environmentalist approach the historical basis for the social reconciliation between capital and labour emerged on the basis of a (partial) redistribution of the wealth established through ever increasing material flows and the depletion of natural resources1. Environmental movements have often criticised trade unions of defending jobs at any cost to nature2. Labour and capital were thus perceived as two sides of an (unsustainable) modern industrial capitalist production model. An emerging body of literature distinguishes between ‘business’ and ‘social’ unionism, where the latter goes beyond the workplace perspective and the membership focus and embraces wider issues3. Does this mean that trade unions are ‘locked into the traditional capital-labour deal’ and would struggle to develop new strategies for moving beyond the established production model? It is true that the constituency of trade unions (employees) as consumers is an integral part of the capitalist production-consumption model. At the same time, trade unions as longstanding opponents of capital are, precisely, in a position to address the exploitative logic of capital not just towards labour but also in context of natural resources. Indeed, viewed in historical perspective, trade unions have long realised that a consistent defence of their members’ interests demands a long-term struggle for a social and political context at national and international levels that is favourable to the wellbeing of people and society as a whole and took up broader ‘civil issues’ such as rights of women and vulnerable groups in society, environmental protection and sustainable development. Trade unions have also shown readiness to expand their scope and to recognise the limits of material and resource exploitation. Environmental issues have become a major topic for trade unions, and they often argued for a rebalancing of market- and capital-based approaches through consideration of social and environmental aspects. Managing change Another prejudice often applied to trade unions in the past was that they were predominantly interested in preserving the status quo. However, not least because of the structural pressures induced by globalisation and technological change in recent decades, trade unions (together with works councils) have become important agents in the management of change. In this role they learned to manage change in society or at the workplace, where change was driven by the profit motive of capital. In these cases (like downsizing, flexibilisation or relocations), they also rightly questioned the legitimacy of the change and at least one way of fending off its effects on employees was also to try to keep the change itself at bay. Decarbonisation is a commonly shared objective in the interest of humanity. At the same time meeting this objective poses a huge challenge on the world of work and workplace level employment transitions appear within the framework of the traditional capital-labour nexus. These transitions often result in similar patterns of reorganisation of work that had been the case in business restructuring cases, which trade unions were fighting against. There is thus an apparent contradiction between the main competence...

Managing change to a zero-carbon economy in Europe

12 | International Union Rights | 26/4 FOCUS | CLIMATE CHANGE & TRADE UNIONS Managing change to a zero-carbon economy in Europe Both climate change mitigation and adaptation to a warming world are now primary policy objectives. For mitigation, the objective is to get to a net-zero carbon economy in the second half of this century at global level and by 2050 for developed economies. A carbon neutral European Union by 2050 is now the official target of the European Commission with the flagship initiative of the European Green Deal to implement it. To achieve these objectives a fundamental revision of our production and consumption model is necessary with far-reaching distributional effects and with a massive impact on the world of work. Managing this epochal transformation in a socially balanced way is key to its success. The concept of just transition, a longterm trade union demand has now become an integral part of a complex climate policy framework. It should not remain an abstract concept however, but a real practice in real societies and workplaces. This article focuses on the role of trade unions, their approaches and practices to put `just transition` into practice under real life circumstances. The historical capital-labour deal According to the critical environmentalist approach the historical basis for the social reconciliation between capital and labour emerged on the basis of a (partial) redistribution of the wealth established through ever increasing material flows and the depletion of natural resources1. Environmental movements have often criticised trade unions of defending jobs at any cost to nature2. Labour and capital were thus perceived as two sides of an (unsustainable) modern industrial capitalist production model. An emerging body of literature distinguishes between ‘business’ and ‘social’ unionism, where the latter goes beyond the workplace perspective and the membership focus and embraces wider issues3. Does this mean that trade unions are ‘locked into the traditional capital-labour deal’ and would struggle to develop new strategies for moving beyond the established production model? It is true that the constituency of trade unions (employees) as consumers is an integral part of the capitalist production-consumption model. At the same time, trade unions as longstanding opponents of capital are, precisely, in a position to address the exploitative logic of capital not just towards labour but also in context of natural resources. Indeed, viewed in historical perspective, trade unions have long realised that a consistent defence of their members’ interests demands a long-term struggle for a social and political context at national and international levels that is favourable to the wellbeing of people and society as a whole and took up broader ‘civil issues’ such as rights of women and vulnerable groups in society, environmental protection and sustainable development. Trade unions have also shown readiness to expand their scope and to recognise the limits of material and resource exploitation. Environmental issues have become a major topic for trade unions, and they often argued for a rebalancing of market- and capital-based approaches through consideration of social and environmental aspects. Managing change Another prejudice often applied to trade unions in the past was that they were predominantly interested in preserving the status quo. However, not least because of the structural pressures induced by globalisation and technological change in recent decades, trade unions (together with works councils) have become important agents in the management of change. In this role they learned to manage change in society or at the workplace, where change was driven by the profit motive of capital. In these cases (like downsizing, flexibilisation or relocations), they also rightly questioned the legitimacy of the change and at least one way of fending off its effects on employees was also to try to keep the change itself at bay. Decarbonisation is a commonly shared objective in the interest of humanity. At the same time meeting this objective poses a huge challenge on the world of work and workplace level employment transitions appear within the framework of the traditional capital-labour nexus. These transitions often result in similar patterns of reorganisation of work that had been the case in business restructuring cases, which trade unions were fighting against. There is thus an apparent contradiction between the main competence...

A Systematic Approach on Modeling Refinement and Regression Testing of Real-Time Distributed Systems

Industry 4.0 aims at highly flexible and digitized model of industrial production. This requires vertical integration of different operations in the manufacturing process to promote reconfigurability and better collaboration between distributed components (Modularity & Integrability) and to handle growing complexity in manufacturing systems. On the other hand, the flexibility of reconfiguration leads to new challenges for the testing process (i.e Diagnosability). It has now become a priority to quality assurance team to ensure that reconfiguration did not introduce any new faults, often referred to as Regression Testing. In this paper, we present a testing framework for real-time distributed manufacturing systems to verify reconfiguration correctness and to generate tests for its implementation testing. We present a systematic modeling refinement approach where several refinements (reconfigurations) can be modelled separately from an abstract model and composed with it. We use the reconfiguration model derived by refinements to demonstrate distributed regression testing by partitioning it into a set of distributed communicating testers making model based testing for manufacturing automation systems scalable.

The Cycles of Defense Acquisition Reform and What Comes Next

The Cycles of Defense Acquisition Reform and What Comes Next

O modelo industrial de produção de alimentos sob a perspectiva da sociedade de risco e do princípio da precaução

Objetivo: Este artigo analisa as relações entre o modelo de produção industrial de alimentos e a existência, na atualidade, de um grande número de pessoas famintas. Metodologia: Foi usado o método dedutivo, amparado em revisão bibliográfica. Resultados: O modelo de agricultura consistente na utilização de enormes áreas de terra para a plantação de poucos produtos, em sua maioria direcionada ao mercado externo, traz consigo a lógica industrial; é agressivo à natureza e altamente dependente da técnica e da ciência. Este modelo não demonstrou melhorias no sentido de aplacar a fome mundial, uma vez que não produz alimentos, mas sim commodities, de modo que é impositivo verificar se é adequado à sociedade de risco e ao princípio da precaução. A sociedade de risco implica reconhecer a existência de uma série de riscos, que devem ser considerados nas decisões políticas e jurídicas, de modo que o Poder Público aja previamente à ocorrência dos possíveis perigos. Do mesmo modo atua o princípio da precaução, segundo o qual a dúvida sempre vem em benefício do meio ambiente. Conclusão: O uso da natureza não deve conduzir ao esgotamento dos recursos, a situações de risco à segurança alimentar ou à distribuição desigual de alimentos, mas sim à adoção de modelos de produção que coexistam com os ecossistemas e cuja finalidade seja, efetivamente, prover alimentos aos seres vivos.

Towards ‘multi-collar’ unionism: Cases of trespassing professionals in Norwegian industrial relations

This article discusses the changes in workers’ identity as blue-collar or salaried staff with respect to changing work content due to new models of industrial systems. Within these new industrial models, traditional blue-collar work is moving into areas of work previously held solely by salaried staff. This article argues that the merging of work content will cause a process of identity-mergers, a process calling for increased collaboration between blue-collar unions on the one hand, and salaried staff unions on the other. Reporting on four company cases, the authors argue that this process is caused both by labour unions’ efforts to increase workers’ motivation in work, as well as by market demands generating new models of industrial production. The authors conclude that the models of industrial relations must change so as to encompass cross-union collaboration and the diversity of professions.

Meta-Model Based on Artificial Neural Networks for Tooth Root Stress Analysis of Micro-Gears

Micro-transmissions, consisting of micro-gears with a module <200µm, are used in manifold industrial applications, e.g. the medical industry. Due to the technological limits of their manufacturing processes, micro-gears show large shape deviations compared to their size, which significantly influence their lifetime. Thus, for micro-gears a model has been developed to enable a prognosis of their lifetime based on areal measurements of the gear geometry, finite elements simulations as well as lifetime experiments. To significantly reduce the amount of experiments, existing prior knowledge is additionally used as input to the lifetime model by means of Bayesian statistics.To enable a time-efficient application of the model for industrial series production, in this article the application of a machine learning approach based on artificial neural networks is investigated.The uncertainty of the model is evaluated according to the principles of the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM).

Production of soapwort concentrate and soapwort powder and their use in Turkish delight and tahini halvah

AbstractSoapwort extract is a traditional additive, produced by extracting soapwort roots [Gypsophila bicolor (Freyn et Sint.) Grossh] in boiling water. It is used for color, volume, and texture improvements of several foods. In this study, the optimum extraction conditions and membrane concentration for soapwort extract were determined to produce enriched soapwort powder as a stable and efficient additive in place of the traditional extract. The optimum extraction conditions were determined by using response surface method as following: root to water 1:10, average particle size 4.5 mm, and temperature at 95 °C and extraction time for 3 hr. This extract has been enriched with saponin via reverse osmosis up to 20% concentration of soluble solids. Soapwort powder, includes 4% moisture, produced from the soapwort concentrate by using the spray dryer. Some physicochemical properties of the powder were determined as 46.3 g saponin/100 g (dm), 0.36 water activity, and 7.74 μm average particle size distribution. Additionally, bulk density, spray drying recovery yield (dm), and water solubility were determined as 469 kg/m3, 87%, and 94%, respectively. The diluted soapwort concentrate and reconstituted soapwort powder were tested in production of Turkish delight and halvah in comparison to commercial soapwort extract at the same soluble solid content. Results showed that there were no statistical differences on the color and the appearance scores of all Turkish delight samples. Additionally, halvah samples produced with the reconstituted soapwort powder were the most preferred samples in sensorial analysis and these samples were determined as the best considering the structural values.Practical applicationsSoapwort extract is used as an additive in the production of traditional foods such as delight and halvah. However, this extract is susceptible to microbial proliferation, and leading to negative taste and odor problems. In addition to these problems, use of traditional extracts also cause quality losses due to the lack of standardization. New soapwort extract powder enriched by saponin has been developed by using optimized extraction, enrichment, and drying processes. In practical point of view, this product is preferably used in many food formulations such as halvah and delight in the food industry. This product has potential to be used in the cosmetics and chemical industry as well for different products. The improved production method can be also a model for industrial production.

A Clean Kill: Tracking the Socio-technological Aspects of Slaughtering Animals in Iran

ABSTRACTThe slaughterhouse, whether it is seen as an institution, as an industry, or as a unique technological system, is arguably right at the heart of modernism. Human–animal relationships and more generally human–nature relationships bring about issues of rationalization, alienation, and commodity fetishism, while raising philosophical concerns of the human worldview. Current practices of animal slaughter in Iran challenge the core values of Islamic teachings. Slaughterhouses are hidden from the public, segregated into various sections, and follow the exact same models of industrial production as in other parts of the world. Since they must abide by Islamic ways of slaughter and therefore become Halal, these slaughterhouses are slightly modified accordingly. When meat, or what is recently referred to as protein, shows up in the market, it conceals any sign of its true origin—it is neatly packaged with layers of plastic and modern colorful labels showing animals happily grazing on open, green pasture. The findings of this research point to the subtle imbalance and alienation created between humans and animals in Iran.

Forecasting Capacity of ARIMA Models; A Study on Croatian Industrial Production and its Sub-sectors

Abstract As one of the most important indicator for monitoring the production in industry as well as for directing investment decisions, industrial production plays important role within growth perspectives. Not only does the composition and/or fluctuation of the goods produced indicate the course of economic activity but it also reflects the changes in cyclical development of the economy thereby providing opportunity to macro-manage with early signs of (short-term) turning-points and (long-term) trend variations. In this paper, we compare univariate autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models of the Croatian industrial production and its subsectors in order to evaluate their forecasting features within short and long-term data evolution. The aim of this study is not to forecast industrial production but to analyze the out-of-sample predictive performance of ARIMA models on aggregated and disaggregated level inside different forecasting horizons. Our results suggest that ARIMA models do perform very well over the whole rage of the prediction horizons. It is mainly because univariate models often improve the predictive ability of their single component over the short horizons. In that manner ARIMA modelling could be used at least as a benchmark for more complex forecasting methods in predicting the movements of industrial production in Croatia.

Distributed manufacturing resource selection strategy in cloud manufacturing

With the development of the information technology and logistics industry, industrial production models are more likely to be innovated than ever before. Therefore, there is a tendency for a large number of manufacturing enterprises to start outsourcing their manufacturing activities to more professional subcontractors so they could pay more attention to their core business. Cloud manufacturing (CMfg), as a supplement to cloud computing and big data, is also a new network manufacturing mode that is service-oriented. This mode makes it even more complex and impractical to organize and optimize manufacturing resources. Considering this problem, this paper proposes a manufacturing resource selection strategy based on an improved distributed genetic algorithm (DGA) for manufacturing resource combinatorial optimization (MRCO) in CMfg. We divided the DGA into several sections and distributed and optimized the process, which not only guaranteed algorithm speed but also expanded the search range and improved the accuracy. A case study, a performance comparison between a simple genetic algorithm (SGA) and a working procedure priority-based algorithm (WPPBA) is presented later in this paper. Experimental results showed that the proposed method is preferable and a more effective choice for searching for the optimal solution.

‘Just-in-Time’ Labour: The Case of Networks Providing Home Support Services in Quebec

This article aims to analyse how the obligation to be available to work when requested by one’s employer manifests itself in the context of network organizations and under a legal regulation of working hours which was forged on the basis of the industrial production model. We conducted two case studies examining the situation of workers in the private externalized segments of home support services networks in Quebec, a Canadian province. We will demonstrate that for these atypical workers, mostly women, the obligation to be available to work without any accompanying compensation in wages is implicit and manifests itself in two ways: through time that is considered to be personal but which is not because it is squeezed into the gaps in fragmented, variable and unpredictable working schedules and through the exclusion, from paid work time, of time spent carrying out work-related tasks. The impact of this obligation is significant in terms of wages and precariousness. Its manifestations derive from both the network-based organization of work – which allows for the imposition of a ‘justin- time’ model of labour management and a reinforcement of the sexual division of labour – and the inadequacy of the legal regulation of working hours with regard to this organizational model.

Agent-based manufacturing service discovery method for cloud manufacturing

The development of new generation information technology has brought opportunities for industrial production model innovation. Especially, the cloud computing, Internet of Things, and big data technology are widespread applied in industrial fields. Based on this tendency, a service-oriented networked manufacturing model called cloud manufacturing (CM) was proposed in 2010. In order to realize this manufacturing model, one of the key technologies is how to achieve the discovery of manufacturing service which has not found a suitable solution. In this paper, a manufacturing service discovery framework based on agent is provided. The architecture consists of two parts: one is that manufacturing task agent and manufacturing service agent based on the expansion of the object model, and the other one is task and service matching process knowledge base. Furthermore, a structural matching method is proposed to implement the static parameters matching of task agent and service agent, and a multi-agent system bid mechanism is built to accomplish the dynamic parameters matching of the two agents. A simulation environment based on JADE has been properly developed. The simulation shows that the discovery method can effectively achieve the manufacturing service discovery in CM environment, which provides technical support for the cloud manufacturing service platform development.

Globalization and the German industrial production model

Globalization is transforming the German manufacturing production model. German manufacturing MNCs are shifting from servicing global demand via exports to a strategy of “produce where you sell” FDI expansion in emerging global markets. This strategy is generating recursive dynamics that are transforming the demographic and role composition of German home country production locations. This, in turn, poses challenges for the German systems of industrial relations and for industrial policy that are only beginning to be addressed. Overall, the article’s take home conceptual message is that contemporary manufacturing globalization processes are recursive: i.e.: actions taken outside of Germany, on all levels, have consequences for—and involve change in—organizations and practices within Germany.

Techno-Economic Analysis of an Improved Process for Producing Saturated Branched-Chain Fatty Acids

Methyl-branched fatty acids produced by isomerization of oleic acid (‘isostearic’ acids (IA)) are industrially useful products with excellent thermostabilities and lubricities and reduced freezing points relative to stearic acid. They have potential utility as biodiesel or a biodiesel additive imparting improved low temperature fluidity. We present a techno-economic model for industrial scale production of isostearic acid by zeolite-catalyzed isomerization. A catalyst regeneration loop allowing 20 reaction cycles was included. Use of catalyst for 15 or more reaction cycles reduced process cost by 51% vs. a single use reaction format. However, with a best-case predicted production cost of $2.375/kg ($1.080/lb), further process cost reductions will be required before use of IA esters as high percentage blend components of biodiesel is economically feasible.

Application of Reverse Engineering based on Computer in Product Design

This paper described the application of reverse engineering in product design and development; effectively solved the design and subsequent engineering design, manufacturing link disjoint problems; put forward a kind of using computer software Pro/Designer, Pro/ Engineer and SolidWorks seamless connection method in the process of product design; industrial product modeling design and the engineering and manufacturing of coherence have opened up a new way; the design process will provide effective measures for the product design system, so as to shorten the product design and development cycle and realize the product design system.

The changing role of trade unions in the sustainable development agenda

Managing the large-scale restructuring away from the previously established resource-wasting industrial mass production and consumption model towards a socially balanced and resource-efficient economy requires an adaptation of interest reconciliation mechanisms, including also new strategic approaches by the main actors. As we are speaking of a transition towards a new model, the role of actors is essential, even if, in most of the climate-change literature, there is scant consideration or analysis of the actors, their interests, and their ideas. The basic question is not simply how ‘civil issues’ can be integrated into the established forms of social dialogue and how trade unions will need to adapt their agenda accordingly, but, more fundamentally, whether these structures are capable of giving a boost to a true paradigm shift in overcoming the unsustainable production model. In other words, are trade unions and social dialogue structures indeed ‘locked into’ this production model, and, if not, what is the way forward? We will examine in this article how dialogue structures and key actors develop new strategies and live up to new challenges in the context of sustainable development. After framing the main context of the climate-change debate in the first section, we present a critical view of the ‘capital–labour’ deal as it was established in the post-WW2 period. In the third section we put forward three main arguments as to how and why trade unions and social dialogue structures are actually in a position to take up broader issues, expand the dialogue, and move away from the resource-wasting consumer-industrial production model. We also show how the trade union movement – at its different organisational levels – takes up this narrative. This is a historical process entailing pitfalls and contradictions, in so far as the broader societal role of trade unions has no obvious roots in their origins and early history. Becoming involved in the great societal challenges of mankind, as in the exemplary case of the paradigm shift in production and consumer patterns of industrial society, may be liable to occasional tensions with their original membership-focused approach. The strategic considerations, on the other hand, of how the transformation to a low-carbon economy should be managed and how its unavoidable costs should be distributed (among employers, employees, the state and consumers) are issues more in line with their traditional role. Contradictions and differing visions necessarily appear also between different organisational levels of the trade union movement.

Study on Reverse Design Based on Industrial Product Model and Interactive Surface Design Extension

Model making is not only a required course of industrial design major but also a indispensable link to enterprises in developing new products. It represents design conception directly through the rich of materials and processes. To reconstruct shape design of model effectively, we have employed the ISDX module Pro/E software to reconstruct a cartoon crab toy, which explains the reconstruction process based on the model of industrial products and provides design reference for students and practitioners.