Repair Industry Research Articles

Developing an Artificial Intelligence Framework to Assess Shipbuilding and Repair Sub-Tier Supply Chains Risk

Abstract The defense shipbuilding and repair industry is a labor-intensive sector that can be characterized by low-product volumes and high investments in which a large number of shared resources, technology, suppliers, and processes asynchronously converge into large construction projects. It is mainly organized by the execution of a complex combination of sequential and overlapping stages. While entities engaged in this large-scale endeavor are often knowledgeable about their first-tier suppliers, they usually do not have insight into the lower tiers suppliers. A sizable part of any supply chain disruption is attributable to instabilities in sub-tier suppliers. This research note conceptually delineates a framework that considers the elicitation of the existing associations between suppliers and sub-tier suppliers. This framework, Shipbuilding Risk Supply Chain (Ship-RISC), offers a simulation framework to leverage real-time and data using an Industry 4.0 approach to generate descriptive and prescriptive analytics based on the execution of simulation models that support risk management assessment and decision-making.

Implementation Study of Activity Based Costing System to Define Indirect Costs on Ship Repair Industries

Good quality, the right turnaround time, and affordable service costs are three important points that must be paid attention to in repair shops offering their services. In determining the selling price of repair services, companies need accurate information about the cost of goods manufactured, which consists of direct costs and indirect costs. In general, the imposition of indirect costs to products uses a traditional cost accounting system so that costs distortions often occur. With the development of existing knowledge, companies must be able to increase their competitiveness and find alternative methods than traditional cost accounting systems. The activity based costing method developed and became a cost accounting method by assigning costs to activities based on the consumption / use of resources. First, activity identification is carried out based on existing business processes, both direct and supporting repair activities. Second, from the results of the identification of existing activities, identification of needs that trigger an activity that can be called an activity driver is carried out. After identifying the activity driver, the type of activity in the ship repair process is obtained which affects the high indirect cost expenditures. By using the activity based costing method, the indirect cost value on ship 1 is IDR 78,994,805, - and on ship 2 of IDR 57,890,169, -. These values are true values and can be traced to each activity through the use of resources. From these results it can be seen that the value of indirect costs when calculated by the activity based costing method produces a smaller value when compared to the existing method. On ship 1, using the activity based costing method, indirect costs decreased by 44% from the calculation of the existing conditions and on ship 2 decreased by 38% from the calculation of the existing conditions.

Methodology for Justification of the Location of Railcar Repair Complex Enterprises

Railway transport plays an important role in ensuring the functioning of the country. Without railways, it would be simply impossible to link a large-scale territory into a single economic space. In order to improve the quality of cargo servicing and safety on the railway network, JSC “Russian Railways” is tightening requirements for the technical condition of freight railcars, which is why special attention is paid to the tasks of improving the railcar repair complex efficiency. Despite of railcars number decrease the number of railcar detachments due to their technical non-compliance with regulatory requirements is constantly increasing. The analysis of the placement of production facilities allowed establishing that the railcar repair capacity is located very unevenly with localization in the central part of Russia. It was revealed that currently, there is a shortage of enterprises in the country that perform a full list of demanded repair services with freight railcars, so the formed topic of work has a significant relevance. In this paper methods of railcar repair industry objects placing were systematized and a grouping of factors that influence the decision on the attractiveness of the territory for the placement of a railcar repair company was performed. The paper presents the mechanism of practical application of the analytical hierarchy method when choosing locations for railcar repair companies; algorithms for evaluating factors that affect the placement of railcar repair companies are developed, which allow practical implementation of the developed analytical and mathematical model for choosing the location of a railcar repair company.

Implementation of lean manufacturing with the notion of quality improvement in electronics repair industry

Electronic equipment repair services are one of the fastest-growing businesses that can create millions of jobs. But sensing its untapped potential, investments are flowing in creating a roadmap to improve its capacity to deliver quality products into the market. As far as electronics repair industries are concerned, there are bottlenecks and defects in each process. Moreover, due to the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19 has resulted in losing customers. To overcome these challenges, companies have to work to achieve their objectives other than profit. Industries have to adopt a better quality management system that addresses all industry areas, emphasizes customer satisfaction, and uses continuous improvement methods and tools. Lean manufacturing helps any organization to improve its efficiency, eliminate wastes, and achieve continuous improvements. This paper highlights the implementation of lean and quality tools for continuous improvements in electronic repair industries with no automation. Two levels of the repair bay process were chosen to remove the bottlenecks affecting quality and productivity. The paper sums up that implementing Lean Manufacturing resulted in continuous improvement and facilitated human workers to enhance their repair process quality.

Mathematical modelling to industrial repair and maintenance policy system for its reliability

The present paper is an initiative taken by emerging reliability model to a automobile repair industries for its products by dividing repair policy into two categories as (a) regular/normal service and (b) strategy for accidental or additional failure. The concept of inspection process has been introduced for proper verification of failure and also to its repairing strategy with time and cost. The maintenance cost for regular services are fixed but for the case of additional failures the additional cost will be decided upon the level of damage. The stochastic analysis for system been numerically and graphically analyzed by calculating reliability variables like MTSF, availability, inspection and maintenance analysis of the system with the concept of geometric distribution, Markov process and regenerative technique. The results been proved beneficial for fulfilling the objective of calculating profit function that increases with increasing repair and decreasing failure rate.

Increasing repair of household appliances, mobile phones and clothing: Experiences from consumers and the repair industry

Increasing product lifespans is one of the most effective environmental strategies and therefore repair is a part of the circular economy approach that aims to keep products and materials longer in use. This article explores drivers and barriers for repair from consumers’ and commercial repair actors’ viewpoints, in order to understand how the repair rates of household appliances, mobile phones and clothing could be increased. The study is based on a consumer survey of 1196 respondents in Norway, and 15 qualitative interviews with actors in the commercial repair industry working with repairs of household consumer goods. A surprisingly high share of repairs was conducted by consumers themselves. The main barrier is the consistently low price of new products, and often of poor quality, which contributes to low profitability in repair work for businesses and low motivation from consumers. Furthermore, access to competent personnel is a major challenge for the repair industry, a need which is expected to increase in the coming years. Both the industry and consumers agree that better quality of products is a starting point for increased product lifespans, and this will also increase the motivation and the number of profitable repairs. These results have political implications on how to promote longer product lifespans through repair such as increased utilization and knowledge of consumers’ complaint and warranty rights.

A Study on the Modified Cement-Based Crack Injection Materials

Human constructed harbours are large infrastructure projects that use cement to reinforce embankments and build protective walls. However, like all concrete building projects maintenance is required. Cracks form and if left unattended will grow, eventually leading to a dangerous situation where a structure's integrity is compromised. As a result, the concrete repair industry, particularly in relation to marine infrastructure, is a large one and various mixtures of cement and other materials are designed to fill these cracks. Researchers at the National Taiwan Ocean University in Taiwan are now investigating the best ways to design injectable materials to repair cement cracking in a marine setting in order to develop new cement recipes that will work in marine environments and protect vital harbours from deterioration.

Development of a Polymer Composition for Banding of Gas and Oil Pipelines

A description of the development stages of a polymer composition designed to ensure the restoration of the operational characteristics of large-diameter pipelines (d = 1100–1400 mm) using metal split sleeves, as well as for filling and sealing mixtures in the repair and construction industry, is presented. It is shown that the developed epoxy–urethane composition of a low-temperature curing adhesive paste provides a stable and safe pipeline restoration without interrupting the product transportation cycle.

Setting-up the accounting of hydraulic engineering facilities of ship repair companies: Conceptual approaches

Subject. This article discusses the conceptual approaches to the development of accounting of hydraulic engineering installations of ship repair companies. Objectives. The article aims to highlight the conceptual basis for the development of a model to form an accounting system of hydraulic facilities of the ship repair industry. Methods. For the study, I used analysis and synthesis, generalization, systematization, abstraction, and the inductive and deductive methods. Results. The article defines certain approaches to the formulation and development of elements of the methodological chain of accounting of the industry facilities of ship repair enterprises. Based on the disclosed targeted accounting guidelines, the article proposes a model for the formation of an accounting system of such objects. Conclusions. The ship repair companies' hydraulic engineering installations can be regarded as a separate group of accounting facilities, namely, the fixed assets with an unestablished lifespan. The proposed model of building the accounting environment of hydraulic facilities of ship repair companies represents certain relationships between elements of external and internal communication of accounting departments with users of information.

Role of EU Grant Projects in Employment, Sectoral Employment and Innovation in Auto Repairing, Young Generations and New Horizons Project Case

European Union Council Regulation (1085/2006 dated), the Financial Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) as well as for Turkey and potential candidate countries constitute the basis. The main objective of IPA is to assist the participating countries in dealing with European integration problems and undertaking the necessary reforms to comply with the Copenhagen criteria, which are EU membership requirements. Operation for Supporting Youth Employment in Sectoral Investment Areas (PYE-II) financed under IPA is carried out for employment, which is the primary target of its program. PYE-II operation, Turkısh Employment Agency(İŞKUR) has been implemented in Turkey by and the overall goal is to promote youth employment, retain more people in employment and increase the employment rate of young people. In this framework, the aim of supporting Youth Employment in Sectoral Investment Areas is to increase the employability of young people while promoting their integration into the labor market. Within the scope of the Grant Program for Supporting Youth Employment in Sectoral Investment Areas (PYE II), innovations were realized in the Auto Repair, Young Generations and New Horizons project. In this study; Innovations in the professional activities of the Auto Repair, Young Generations and New Horizons project, their contribution to employment in the automotive repair industry and their effects were announced.

Pollution and Source Analysis of Heavy Metal in Surface Dust from Xi'an University Campuses

Surface dust samples were collected from university campuses in Xi'an, and X-ray fluorescent spectrometry was used to determine the contents of nine heavy metals (Mn, As, Pb, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, V, and Zn). Enrichment factors were subsequently used to determine the enrichment degree of each element and the preliminary determination of the pollution sources. The R programming language and SPSS were used for cluster analysis and principal components analysis to identify the pollution sources. The results showed that the average concentrations of all nine heavy metal elements were higher than their surface soil background values in Shaanxi Province; however, Mn, Co, As, V, and Ni exhibited relatively little enrichment and were less affected by human interference. Cr and Cu were moderately enriched, whereas Zn and Pb were significantly enriched, and human activities played a major role in the enrichment of these four elements. The main sources of Mn, Co, As, V, and Ni in surface dust samples from the university campuses were natural sources, whereas the accumulation of Zn, Cr, and Pb were mainly due to traffic sources, and Cu originated both from the auto repair industry and from paint coatings.

Biomonitoring for Occupational Exposure to Diisocyanates: A Systematic Review.

Diisocyanates are a group of chemicals that are widely used in occupational settings. They are known to induce various health effects, including skin- and respiratory tract sensitization resulting in allergic dermatitis and asthma. Exposure to diisocyanates has been studied in the past decades by using different types of biomonitoring markers and matrices. The aim of this review as part of the HBM4EU project was to assess: (i) which biomarkers and matrices have been used for biomonitoring diisocyanates and what are their strengths and limitations; (ii) what are (current) biomonitoring levels of the major diisocyanates (and metabolites) in workers; and (iii) to characterize potential research gaps. For this purpose we conducted a systematic literature search for the time period 2000–end 2018, thereby focussing on three types of diisocyanates which account for the vast majority of the total isocyanate market volume: hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI), and 4,4′-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). A total of 28 publications were identified which fulfilled the review inclusion criteria. The majority of these studies (93%) investigated the corresponding diamines in either urine or plasma, but adducts have also been investigated by several research groups. Studies on HDI were mostly in the motor vehicle repair industry [with urinary hexamethylene diamine result ranging from 0.03 to 146.5 µmol mol−1 creatinine]. For TDI, there is mostly data on foam production [results for urinary toluene diamine ranging from ~0.01 to 97 µmol mol−1 creatinine] whereas the available MDI data are mainly from the polyurethane industry (results for methylenediphenyl diamine range from 0.01 to 32.7 µmol mol−1 creatinine). About half of the studies published were prior to 2010 hence might not reflect current workplace exposure. There is large variability within and between studies and across sectors which could be potentially explained by several factors including worker or workplace variability, short half-lives of biomarkers, and differences in sampling strategies and analytical techniques. We identified several research gaps which could further be taken into account when studying diisocyanates biomonitoring levels: (i) the development of specific biomarkers is promising (e.g. to study oligomers of HDI which have been largely neglected to date) but needs more research before they can be widely applied, (ii) since analytical methods differ between studies a more uniform approach would make comparisons between studies easier, and (iii) dermal absorption seems a possible exposure route and needs to be further investigated. The use of MDI, TDI, and HDI has been recently proposed to be restricted in the European Union unless specific conditions for workers’ training and risk management measures apply. This review has highlighted the need for a harmonized approach to establishing a baseline against which the success of the restriction can be evaluated.

A Telespirometer for the Developing World

There are numerous examples in which the introduction of expensive medical equipment into the developing world fail for lack of a basic understanding of the device operation, lack of spare parts and poor maintenance. This paper describes the development of a Fleisch pneumotachograph and cellphone based telespirometer that can easily be built from “junk box” medical and electronic components available in the developing world. This approach should introduce a sense of local ownership to the project as well as encouraging participation by the local electronics repair industry. Experimental results confirm that the forced expiratory flow data are reliably modulated onto an audio signal and transmitted by cellphone to a base station for examination by a district nurse or doctor. Flow measurement and data transmission accuracies are sufficiently good for remote diagnoses of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Simulation of engine faults and their impact on emissions and vehicle performance for a liquefied petroleum gas taxi.

The deterioration of emissions control systems in a spark ignition engine is predominantly a gradual process of wear and tear occurring as vehicles accumulate mileage. As new innovations in engine and emissions technology have been progressively introduced to meet lower emissions targets, the impact of gradual deterioration of hardware has become more challenging to identify and quantify in the repair industry. When a pioneering emissions control programme utilising remote sensing to detect high emitting gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vehicles was to be introduced in Hong Kong, it became apparent the repair industry needed specialised training to assist with identifying the types of failures which would lead to high vehicle emissions. To identify the impact of hardware deterioration and failures, a Toyota Crown Comfort LPG taxi was used to demonstrate simulated failures of engine hardware systems to measure their impact on emissions, fuel consumption and drivability using a chassis dynamometer. This novel study simulated a broad range of deterioration and failures covering the intake, fuel supply, ignition, and exhaust systems. The results of the study showed significant THC and CO increases of up to 317% (0.604g/km) and 782% (5.351g/km) respectively for a simulated oxygen sensor high voltage fault and a sticky mixture control valve. The largest increase in NOx emissions was for restricted main fuel supply in the LPG vapouriser, producing an increase of 282% (1.41g/km). Fuel consumption varied with increases of up to 15.5%. Drivability was impacted with poor idle from a number of faults and especially by a worn throttlebody which produced rough acceleration characteristics as well. This study clearly highlights the importance of having properly maintained emissions and engine hardware systems to achieve optimal fuel economy and compliant emissions levels, which could be reproduced in other regions for prescribed emissions regulation.

ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ ДИАГРАММЫ ПАРЕТО ДЛЯ ОЦЕНКИ ВНУТРЕННИХ ПОТЕРЬ ПРИ РЕМОНТЕ ДВИГАТЕЛЕЙ

In the repair industry, when restoring the operability of machinery and equipment by eliminating failures and extending operational life, discrepancies may occur resulting in internal losses detected during the testing phase of repaired machinery, equipment and units. When assessing internal losses from defects in repair production, it is advisable to apply the Pareto chart, which allows clearly detecting the main troubles, and, based on this, identify the causes of discrepancies and develop measures to reduce the risk of their further occurrence. The authors recommend applying two types of the Pareto chart: by the number of defects and by the cost of discrepancy. When applied during testing of repaired KAMAZ 6522 engines to assess internal losses resulting from faults, the Pareto chart identifi ed the need to eliminate the cause of discrepancies in the oil supply mode to the valve rocker arm bearings, leaky nozzle seals in the cylinder heads and improper oil pressure in the lubrication system.

The Organizational and Management Model of a Comprehensive Assessment of Disease Incidence among Male Employees of the Shipbuilding Industry

Introduction. The article presents the results of a comprehensive assessment of disease incidence among male workers of shipbuilding and ship repair industries in the Astrakhan Region for creation of an organizational and management model of a comprehensive assessment of their disease incidence at workplaces in order to develop adequate preventive measures that exclude adverse health effects of occupational hazards in male shipbuilders. Materials and methods. Data for analysis were extracted from medical histories of inpatients and medical records of outpatients of the Russian Southern District Medical Center for the period 2015–2017. We applied methods of an opinion poll, expert examinations, correlation and regression analysis, mathematical modeling, as well as software products. Results. We built analytical models to assess health effects of determinants in shipbuilders. We also established the main occupational dangers, risks of occupational diseases, and the correlation between the number of patients and adverse industrial factors. We found that the risk of occupational diseases (0.8) was the highest in men over 45 (31.9 %) exposed to occupational hazards for more than 8.5 years. The lowest risk (0.2) was estimated for men aged 27–39 (68.1 %) with up to 6.6 years of occupational exposure. Conclusion. The organizational and management model was developed for the comprehensive assessment of causal relationships between the duration of exposure of shipbuilders to occupational hazards, the age of the employee, the risk of developing an occupational disease, and adequate preventive measures eliminating health risks and reducing effects of adverse industrial determinants.

THE ANALYSIS OF SPOT REPAIR JOB IN AUTOMOTIVE BODY REPAIR INDUSTRIES

The aim of this study are to formulate several facts in the automotive body repair industries regarding: (1) the competency profile of spot repair job and (2) the equipment and materials needed in each spot repair job profile. This research is a descriptive quantitative study with survey research methods. Data collection techniques in this study used a closed-open combination questionnaire. This study involved 56 respondents (mechanics, foremen, and service advisors) from the automotive body repair industries at Honda, Toyota and Nissan official workshops. The results showed that; (1) there are 16 points of competency profile of spot repair job needed in order to complete the work and supplemented by 3 additional points of competence suggested and, (2) there are 45 items of equipment and 19 items of materials that are overall needed in completing all stages of spot repair job on automotive body repairs.

Perceptions of Health and Safety among Workers in the Automotive Repair Industry in Dubai (United Arab Emirates): A Cross-sectional Exploratory Study

<strong>Background:</strong> Protection of workers against work-related injuries and illnesses is a growing public health concern. The increasing number of expatriate workers in Dubai has highlighted the need for greater emphasis on occupational health and safety, particularly since unintentional injuries were reported to be the second most common cause of death in the United Arab Emirates. <strong>Objectives:</strong> This cross-sectional study explores safety practices and health perceptions of workers in the automotive repair industry, in the light of the Health Belief Model. <strong>Materials and Methods:</strong> The study included 35 automotive repair industry workers, selected by convenience sampling from an automotive workshop in Dubai. Primary data was collected though a structured interview and walk-through survey. <strong>Results</strong>: Only 10% of the workers had received occupational health and safety training from employers. Though the highest perceived hazardous exposure was to carbon monoxide fumes (62.9%), but the majority did not consider the severity of this exposure high enough to be of concern. This discrepancy in perceived vulnerability despite perceived exposure reflects the lack of awareness on severity of exposure to physical and chemical hazards in the car repair shop. A significant relation was seen between cumulative perceptions to exposure to hazards and marital status of the workers, with married workers perceiving greater exposure to hazards at the workplace. Protective equipment was considered important by 83% of the participants but only 54.5% reported using them. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> There is a dire need for targeted occupational health awareness training and enforcement of safety regulations to ensure the safety of workers in the automotive repair industry.

Unsafety and Unions in Singapore’s state-led industrialization, 1965–1994

ABSTRACT Industrial hazards are a neglected part of the history of Singapore’s successful industrialization since independence in 1965. Our paper investigates risk in the competitive shipbuilding and repair industry across three decades and four serious accidents in the industry. The risk was determined by a group of factors: the political economy of the state-led industrialization program, the nature of work within the industry, the degree of supervision by safety officers and subcontractors; and the characteristics of the workforce, including the foreign workers. However, the key element was the Singapore state, which took a leading role in both the tripartite system of industrial relations and the industrial safety regime. The state and management shared the view that industrial development was crucial to Singapore’s survival. With the emphasis on productivity and the framing of industrial failure as a national calamity, unions and workers had little say in objecting to perilous work or proposing suitable remedies. While the government instituted numerous efforts to address occupational hazards, many failed to translate to the vessel and the factory floor.

Concrete conservation: outstanding challenges and potential ways forward

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present current challenges in concrete conservation and how the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) is responding to these challenges. The Concrete Conservation Project initiated by the GCI is aimed at advancing the practice of conserving historic concrete structures through the creation and dissemination of information.Design/methodology/approachThe scope of the project was defined through discussions in experts meetings, development of annotated bibliography and literature review. The project proposes to face the identified issues with the dissemination of information on case studies, development of guidance documents, training opportunities and scientific research.FindingsDespite the existing well-established repair industry for concrete structures generally, current data on concrete repair do not meet the needs of conservation professionals, there is little information on the efficacy and durability of existing repair solutions, shortage of training opportunities, and there is a lack of technical guidelines focused on concrete conservation.Originality/valueConserving concrete is a nascent area of preservation practice facing multiple challenges. Reinforced concrete is the most commonly used building material of the twentieth century. As the heritage of the twentieth century is increasingly recognized as worthy of conservation, conserving concrete has become a priority. The history of this material reveals a story of innovation, radical advancement in material and structural engineering, and correspondingly daring responses by architects, together creating a huge array of reinforced concrete structures from the ordinary to the extraordinary.