Post-design Stage Research Articles

Mass customization: the role of consumer preference measurement, manufacturing flexibility and customer participation

PurposeExisting empirical studies emphasize the role of customer preference measurement accuracy (CPMA) on customized product quality while neglecting the role of manufacturing flexibility. However, the rise of web-based technology has highlighted consumer-manufacturer interaction in mass customization (MC). This paper explores the relationships between CPMA, manufacturing flexibility, customer participation and customized product quality, inspired by module decomposition and integration theory.Design/methodology/approachThe study carried out a questionnaire survey of 241 directors who are specifically responsible for MC in the apparel industry in China and tested hypotheses with structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsCPMA has a direct positive influence on customized product quality and an indirect positive effect through manufacturing flexibility. Also, customer participation after placing an order (CPAPO) has a negative moderating effect on the linkage between CPMA and manufacturing flexibility.Research limitations/implicationsA more dynamic relationship between CPMA and MF can be explored in the future, and the findings can be tested in other industries with more abundant data.Practical implicationsManufacturing flexibility should be improved along with CPMA in MC. Also, disruptions caused by customer participation in the post-design stage should be noticed. In this context, better consumer service in the early design stage may be one possible solution.Originality/valueFirst, the essential but unexplored mediating role of manufacturing flexibility is identified, adding knowledge to the consumer–manufacturer interaction literature in MC production. Second, module decomposition and integration are applied to unify consumers and manufacturers into one empirical model, enriched theoretical research on modular theory. Third, this study opens new discussions on the moderating role of customer participation.

Towards Integrated Design and Operation of Complex Engineering Systems With Predictive Modeling: State-of-the-Art and Challenges

Abstract Growing trends towards increased complexity and prolonged useful lives of engineering systems present challenges for system designers in accounting for the impacts of post-design activities (e.g., manufacturing, condition monitoring, remaining life prediction, maintenance, service logistics, end-of-life options, etc.) on system performance (e.g., costs, reliability, customer satisfaction, environmental impacts, etc.). It is very difficult to develop accredited lifecycle system performance models because these activities only occur after the system is built and operated. Thus, system design and post-design decision-making have traditionally been addressed separately, leading to suboptimal performance over the systems lifecycle. With significant advances in computational modeling, simulation, sensing & condition monitoring, and machine learning & artificial intelligence, the capability of predictive modeling has grown prominently over the past decade, leading to demonstrated benefits such as improved system availability and reduced operation and maintenance costs. Predictive modeling can bridge system design and post-design stages and provide an optimal pathway for system designers to effectively account for future system operations at the design stage. In order to achieve optimal performance over the system’s lifecycle, post-design decisions and system operating performance can be incorporated into the initial design with the aid of state-of-the-art predictive modeling approaches. Therefore, optimized design and operation decisions can be explored jointly in an enlarged system design space. This article conducted a literature review for the integrated design and operation of engineering systems with predictive modeling, where not only the predictive modeling approaches but also the strategies of integrating predictive models into the system design processes are categorized. Although predictive modeling has been handled from data-driven, statistical, analytical, and empirical aspects, and recent design problems have started to evaluate the lifecycle performance, there are still challenges in the field that require active investigation and exploration. So, in the end, this article provides a summary of the future directions that encourages research collaborations among the various communities interested in the optimal system lifecycle design.

Framing and Evaluating the Best Practices of IFC-Based Automated Rule Checking: A Case Study

This research reviews recent advances in the domain of Automated Rule Checking (ARC) and argues that current systems are predominantly designed to validate models in post-design stages, useful for applications such as e-permitting. However, such a design-check-separated paradigm imposes a burden on designers as they need to iteratively fix the fail-to-pass issues. Accordingly, the study reviews the best-practices of IFC-based ARC systems and proposes a framework for ARC system development, aiming to achieve proactive bottom-up solutions building upon the requirements and resources of end-users. To present and evaluate its capabilities, the framework is implemented in a real-life case study. The case study presents all the necessary steps that should be taken for the development of an ARC solution from rule selection and analysis, to implementation and feedback. It is explained how a rule checking problem can be broken down into separate modules implemented in an iterative approach. Results show that the proposed framework is feasible for successful implementation of ARC systems and highlight that a stable data standard and modeling guideline is needed to achieve proactive ARC solutions. The study also discusses that there are some critical limitations in using IFC which need to be addressed in future studies.

Efektifitas Latihan Basic Life Support (BLS) Pada Masyarakat Awam (Forum Anak Provinsi Jambi) Untuk Penanganan Korban Kecelakaan Lalulintas Di Kota Jambi

This study aims to determine the increase in knowledge and skills of children forum participants in receiving Basic Life Support (BLS) training as evidenced in simulations outside the hospital. Researchers used a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental method. This study uses pre and post design stages in assessing the effectiveness of training for emergency handling of traffic accidents. From the results of the Basic Life Support (BLS) study showed a significant increase as seen from the increase in the average pre-test (41.82) and post-test (73.45) scores. the difference was significant in the group of participants (p value <0.05). The material in the Basic Life Support (BLS) training that was delivered was the handling of emergency conditions for traffic accident victims, socialization of legal rules and procedures regarding the evacuation and transportation of patients from the crime scene to health facilities.

Reliability based design of shaft for gearbox

In this article, the author presents research on the reliability-based design methods of mechanical systems, includes 3 stages: the first, the fault tree analysis (FTA) method is utilized for reliability analysis of single and double reducer into the logic diagram; the second that apply the probabilistic design methods, including moment matching method (MMM), first-order reliability method (FORM), and Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) for reliability-based design and to analyze the components of the mechanical transmission systems, and the last sensitivity analysis is performed in the post-design stage after a design solution is identified. The study also aims to set up RADME (Reliability-based analysis and design of the mechanical systems) computer programs applying the aforementioned methods. The reliability design problem was surveyed as reliability-based design optimization with one design variable.

English teacher’s difficulties in designing lesson plan based on Indonesian 2013 curriculum

The aim of this research was to gain deeper understanding concerning English teacher's difficulties in designing lesson plan based on the 2013 Curriculum. This qualitative case study employed observation, interview and document analysis. The instruments of collecting data consisted of observation checklists, an interview guide and field notes. The subject was one English teacher at SMP Negeri X Singkawang who has implemented the 2013 Curriculum. This research revealed that English teacher encountered difficulties in designing lesson plan based on 2013 curriculum on three stages. In pre design stage, the teacher found the difficulties in term of inability to formulate and design lesson plan due to limited time constraints. In whilst design stage, the English teacher experienced difficulties in assessment with many variables. In post-design stage, the English teacher coped with students’ reluctance in the teaching learning proces since the learning process was not appropriate with the lesson plan and lacked of facilities at school. It is recommended that the teacher should put more efforts to improve professional competencies by participating in activities such as training and workshop and accelerate knowledge improvement, creativity and technology to be able to apply the 2013 curriculum effectively.

Crosstalk noise mitigation using a transmission gate with varied gate bias

Due to scaling effects, integrated circuits are becoming increasingly more sensitive to noise and delay effects caused by interconnect coupling. Crosstalk noise has now become a critical design and verification issue in deep submicron designs. Driver sizing is a practical and a feasible technique for controlling the crosstalk noise in the post route design stage. Although an increased victim driver size can easily mitigate the coupled noise, it may create additional crosstalk issues with neighboring wires. In addition, sizing up a gate results in an increased circuit area and affects the timing of paths through the gate. This work proposes a new crosstalk noise mitigation methodology based on our novel transmission gate design. This approach results in smaller area overhead compared to driver sizing taken alone and requires minimum change in circuit layout.

A Review of E-mass Customization as a Branding Strategy

E-mass customization has received much attention as it aims to increase brand performance and preserve customer loyalty towards a brand by means of customer co-design and mass production, so that individual customer needs are met by affordable prices within the online shopping experience. However, little is known about e-mass customization strategy. This paper identifies two typologies of e-mass customization based on the degrees of customer co-design in the process: collaboration-based customization which involves customers in the early stage and promises major revisions in the product, and adoption-based customization which brings customers into the post-design stage and offers segmented revisions in the product. This paper also proposes plausible implementation of e-mass customization involving the design of a web interface, modularity-based manufacturing, and enabling technologies. Subsequently, theoretical and managerial implications of this study are discussed at length. Finally, future research directions are outlined.

Determination of Accuracy Level for Energy Modelling Tools in Office Buildings in Jos, Nigeria

The research undertook a comparative analysis of results obtained from both Real-time energy consumption measurements and computerized energy use simulations. The purpose was to find the level of accuracy/reliability of data obtainable (Test-Out-Theory) thus leading to a greater efficiency of energy planning decision support tools in the context of their utilization in the sub Saharan regions. eQUEST 3-65 software was used for the purpose of simulation of energy consumption. A 72% cumulative accuracy level was obtained for randomly selected buildings under study. The research therefore recommends that energy performance simulation tools are veritable and viable devices for estimation of potential energy consumption of building at pre and post design stages. Keywords: Sustainability, Energy Performance, Energy Planning, Energy Modelling, Computerized Energy Simulation, eQUEST 3-65 software. DOI : 10.7176/CER/11-1-07

Design of ANFIS for Hydrophobicity Classification of Polymeric Insulators with Two-Stage Feature Reduction Technique and Its Field Deployment

Hydrophobicity of polymeric insulator plays a vital role in determining the insulation quality in outdoor overhead electrical transmission and distribution lines. Loss of hydrophobicity increases the leakage current and leads to flashover. Monitoring hydrophobicity becomes a fundamental requirement to ensure continuity of power line operations. Hydrophobicity of polymeric insulator is classified according to STRI (Swedish Transmission Research Institute) guidelines. This paper proposes an intelligent ANFIS (Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System) based classifier to determine the hydrophobicity quality using the digital image of the insulator. Ten statistical features are extracted from the digital images. Two stages of feature reduction are employed to reduce the number of features. Pre-design stage uses PCA (Principal Component Analysis) and reduces the number of features to six from ten and the post-design stage analyzes the accumulation effect to reduce the number of features to four. Various ANFIS classifiers are trained using these reduced features extracted from the image. The performance of these ANFIS classifiers is evaluated in both field and laboratory specimens. Results indicate classification accuracy of 96.4% and 93.3% during the training and testing phase when triangular membership function with linear output function is employed in ANFIS. A GUI (Graphical User Interface) has also been designed to facilitate the use of the proposed system by field operators.

Simulation of HCCI combustion in air-cooled off-road engines fuelled with diesel and biodiesel

The present work describes the elaboration of a predictive tool consisting on a phenomenological multi-zone model, applicable to the simulation of HCCI combustion of both diesel and biodiesel fuels. The mentioned predictive tool is created with the aim to be applied in the future to perform engine characterization during both pre-design and post-design stages. The methodology applied to obtain the proposed predictive model is based on the generation of an analytical mechanism that, given a set of regression variables representing the engine operative conditions, provides the user with the optimal figures for the scaling coefficients needed to particularize both the ignition delay and the heat release rate functional laws, which rule the combustion development in the proposed multi-zone model for HCCI engines. The validation of the proposed predictive multi-zone model consists on the comparison between chamber pressure curve derived from the simulations and experimental data based on a DEUTZ FL1 906 unit modified in order to allow HCCI combustion operation mode using diesel EN590 and rapeseed biodiesel. Finally, evidences of the capabilities of the proposed model to be used as a predictive tool applicable to the analysis of off-road engines under HCCI conditions are provided, consisting in the characterization and optimization of the operational maps related to both Brake Specific Fuel Consumption and NOx emissions.

An Overview Of Optimising Passive Fire Protection Using A Limiting Temperature By Structural Assessment

The British Standards and the Eurocodes both cover the design of steel structures in fire. These provide designers with the opportunity to exploit the properties of structural steel to its maximum capacity in the fire limit state, termed Structural Fire Engineering. This allows fire protection measures to be integrated into structural design as part of the passive fire protection specification. If used effectively in the specification process it can bring significant benefits to the project, including robust and safe designs, quantified structural performance and cost savings.The suitability of a member in a structural design is generally governed by serviceability limitations such as deflection. Generally this approach provides a conservative working stress for the steel sections of approximately 50% of their overall capacity. Within the UK, this simplified approach led to the development of prescribed limiting steel temperatures of 550°C for columns and 620°C for beams.Best-practice industry guidance published in the UK encourages designers to specify a limiting steel temperature together with the fire resistance period as part of the overall steelwork specification. Passive fire protection is generally specified post design-stage at a contractor or applicator level and sometimes very little is known about the limiting steel temperature.This paper provides an overview of the fire protection specification and provides advice on structural fire engineering to determine a limiting steel temperature and the benefits that can be gained from doing so. The paper highlights how supplier expertise in fire engineering approaches and product performance knowledge can bring value to a design and play an important role in providing safe, cost effective and compliant solutions.

An Effective SPFD-based Rewiring Scheme for FPGA Performance Improvement

In this work, we implement a new rewiring based flow for FPGA performance improvement in post layout design stage. The rewiring engine is based on SPFD techniques, which is demonstrated to be suitable to work on LUT-based FPGA circuit. The rewiring engine is coupled with the routing stage of VPR, which is currently the most powerful academic CAD tool for FPGA design. While comparing with the already high quality timing results provided by VPR, our new flow can further reduce the delay of the critical path by 11.72% averagely without affecting the original placement or increasing the circuit area. We also compared the results of SPFD-based rewiring with ATPG-based rewiring, which is another most commonly used rewiring technique for FPGA delay optimization. Experiments demonstrate that on LUT-based FPGAs, the SPFD-based is more powerful than the ATPG-based rewiring scheme in finding useful alternative wires to replace target wires for delay improvement, under comparable CPU time.

CPM2: A Core Model for Product Data

The initial core product model (CPM), developed at NIST for the support of in-house research projects, has been extended to create CPM2, intended to support a broad range of information relevant to product lifecycle management. CPM2 is a generic, abstract model with generic semantics. CPM2 gives equal status to three aspects of a product or artifact: its function, its form, and its behavior. Thus, CPM2 can support functional reasoning about a product in the conceptual stages of design, the recording and the modeling of its behavior in the postdesign stages as well as the “traditional” design phases. Three levels of CPM2 models, de-noted as the conceptual, intermediate, and implementation models, are described. Extensions of the initial CPM are briefly pre-sented. The facilities in CPM2 for building experimental intermediate systems are demonstrated and a short illustrative example is given. The full practical evaluation of CPM2 will require the development and use of implementation models.

Special Issue on “Engineering Informatics”

Special Issue on “Engineering Informatics”

Relative Entropy Based Method for Probabilistic Sensitivity Analysis in Engineering Design

Abstract In this paper, a new Probabilistic Sensitivity Analysis (PSA) approach based on the concept of relative entropy is proposed for design under uncertainty. The relative entropy based method evaluates the impact of a random variable on a design performance by measuring the divergence between two probability density functions of the performance response, obtained before and after the variation reduction of the random variable. The method can be applied both over the whole distribution of a performance response [called global response probabilistic sensitivity analysis (GRPSA)] and in any interested partial range of a response distribution [called regional response probabilistic sensitivity analysis (RRPSA)]. Such flexibility of our approach facilitates its use under various scenarios of design under uncertainty, for instance in robust design, reliability-based design, and utility optimization. The proposed method is applicable to both the prior-design stage for variable screening when a design solution is yet identified and the post-design stage for uncertainty reduction after an optimal design has been determined. The saddlepoint approximation approach is introduced for improving the computational efficiency of applying our proposed method. The proposed method is illustrated and verified by numerical examples and industrial design cases.

Postroute Gate Sizing for Crosstalk Noise Reduction

Gate sizing is a practical and a feasible crosstalk noise correction technique in the post route design stage, especially for block level sea-of-gates designs. The difficulty in gate sizing for noise reduction is that, by increasing a driver size, noise at the driver output is reduced, but noise injected by that driver on other nets is increased. This can create cyclical dependencies between nets in the circuit with noise violations. In this paper, we propose a fast and effective heuristic postroute gate-sizing algorithm that uses a graph representation of the noise dependencies between nodes. Our method utilizes gate sizing in both directions and works in linear time as a function of the number of gates. The effectiveness of the algorithm is shown on several industrial high-performance designs.

The conceptual modelling of construction management information

The conceptual modelling of construction management information models the information for the activities performed at the post design stage. In this paper, such activities have been identified by a steering group of industrialists and representatives of the major professional institutions in the UK who are assisting the research team in the development of conceptual models for construction management information. The resulting conceptual models form the basis for developing construction management databases which can monitor the time, cost and quality aspects of a construction project. Proper information modelling is a key factor in realising these aspects. However, unless a sound methodology is used to structure the information required by the various disciplines involved at the construction stage, the critical factors of time, cost and quality may not be achievable. This paper reports on a methodology used by the ICON project being developed at the University of Salford which is attempting to provide a framework of information into which the modelling of construction management information fits. This methodology is based on the coupling of two powerful information modelling and analysis techniques namely Information Engineering and Object Oriented Analysis and Design with the assistance of an object oriented CASE (Computer Aided Software/Systems Engineering) tool which automates the production of information models. The Information Engineering method was used for the strategic planning of information using activity decomposition/activity hierarchy whilst the Object Oriented Analysis and Design approach was performed at the analysis, design and implementation stages due to the incorporation of the notion of information perspectives. An Object Oriented CASE tool (Ptech) is being used to assist in producing the various information models required by the construction management disciplines and to generate executable computer code from these models.