Fusion based learning approach for predicting concrete pouring productivity based on construction and supply parameters

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mojtaba Maghrebi ◽  
Ali Shamsoddini ◽  
S. Travis Waller

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to predict the concrete pouring production rate by considering both construction and supply parameters, and by using a more stable learning method. Design/methodology/approach Unlike similar approaches, this paper considers not only construction site parameters, but also supply chain parameters. Machine learner fusion-regression (MLF-R) is used to predict the production rate of concrete pouring tasks. Findings MLF-R is used on a field database including 2,600 deliveries to 507 different locations. The proposed data set and the results are compared with ANN-Gaussian, ANN-Sigmoid and Adaboost.R2 (ANN-Gaussian). The results show better performance of MLF-R obtaining the least root mean square error (RMSE) compared with other methods. Moreover, the RMSEs derived from the predictions by MLF-R in some trials had the least standard deviation, indicating the stability of this approach among similar used approaches. Practical implications The size of the database used in this study is much larger than the size of databases used in previous studies. It helps authors draw their conclusions more confidently and introduce more generalised models that can be used in the ready-mixed concrete industry. Originality/value Introducing a more stable learning method for predicting the concrete pouring production rate helps not only construction parameters, but also traffic and supply chain parameters.

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 33-35

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Building a regional rather than a global supply chain can help firms guard against the damaging impact of the bullwhip effect and increase the stability of their supply chain. The possibility of better communication, greater flexibility, and ability to respond more quickly are factors that can appease the bullwhip severity. The benefits of a regional supply chain increase further in times of economic certainty, when the risk to global supply chains intensifies. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


Author(s):  
Mohammed Alkahtani ◽  
Muhammad Omair ◽  
Qazi Salman Khalid ◽  
Ghulam Hussain ◽  
Imran Ahmad ◽  
...  

The management of a controllable production in the manufacturing system is essential to achieve viable advantages, particularly during emergency conditions. Disasters, either man-made or natural, affect production and supply chains negatively with perilous effects. On the other hand, flexibility and resilience to manage the perpetuated risks in a manufacturing system are vital for achieving a controllable production rate. Still, these performances are strongly dependent on the multi-criteria decision making in the working environment with the policies launched during the crisis. Undoubtedly, health stability in a society generates ripple effects in the supply chain due to high demand fluctuation, likewise due to the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Incorporation of dependent demand factors to manage the risk from uncertainty during this pandemic has been a challenge to achieve a viable profit for the supply chain partners. A non-linear supply chain management model is developed with a controllable production rate to provide an economic benefit to the manufacturing firm in terms of the optimized total cost of production and to deal with the different situations under variable demand. The costs in the model are set as fuzzy to cope up with the uncertain conditions created by lasting pandemic. A numerical experiment is performed by utilizing the data set of the multi-stage manufacturing firm. The optimal results provide support for the industrial managers based on the proactive plan by the optimal utilization of the resources and controllable production rate to cope with the emergencies in a pandemic.


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 573-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mojtaba Maghrebi ◽  
Claude Sammut ◽  
S. Travis Waller

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the implementation of machine learning (ML) techniques in order to automatically measure the feasibility of performing ready mixed concrete (RMC) dispatching jobs. Design/methodology/approach – Six ML techniques were selected and tested on data that was extracted from a developed simulation model and answered by a human expert. Findings – The results show that the performance of most of selected algorithms were the same and achieved an accuracy of around 80 per cent in terms of accuracy for the examined cases. Practical implications – This approach can be applied in practice to match experts’ decisions. Originality/value – In this paper the feasibility of handling complex concrete delivery problems by ML techniques is studied. Currently, most of the concrete mixing process is done by machines. However, RMC dispatching still relies on human resources to complete many tasks. In this paper the authors are addressing to reconstruct experts’ decisions as only practical solution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuan Luu

Purpose The interaction between opening and closing behaviors of ambidextrous leadership produces “change” force throughout the organization in proactive response to market forces. This research aims to assess the role of ambidextrous leadership in fostering entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and market responsiveness. The research also seeks an insight into how external supply chain integration moderates the positive effect of EO on market responsiveness. Design/methodology/approach Research data were collected from 327 meso-level managers and 517 subordinates from chemical manufacturing companies in the Vietnam business context. Findings Research findings shed light on the positive effect of ambidextrous leadership on EO, which in turn contributes to market responsiveness. The moderation role that external supply chain integration plays on the EO–market responsiveness linkage was also grounded on the data set. Originality/value Through the identification of the predictive roles of ambidextrous leadership and EO for market responsiveness, the current research indicates the convergence between leadership, EO and market responsiveness research streams.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-74
Author(s):  
Yufeng Ma ◽  
Long Xia ◽  
Wenqi Shen ◽  
Mi Zhou ◽  
Weiguo Fan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is automatic classification of TV series reviews based on generic categories. Design/methodology/approach What the authors mainly applied is using surrogate instead of specific roles or actors’ name in reviews to make reviews more generic. Besides, feature selection techniques and different kinds of classifiers are incorporated. Findings With roles’ and actors’ names replaced by generic tags, the experimental result showed that it can generalize well to agnostic TV series as compared with reviews keeping the original names. Research limitations/implications The model presented in this paper must be built on top of an already existed knowledge base like Baidu Encyclopedia. Such database takes lots of work. Practical implications Like in digital information supply chain, if reviews are part of the information to be transported or exchanged, then the model presented in this paper can help automatically identify individual review according to different requirements and help the information sharing. Originality/value One originality is that the authors proposed the surrogate-based approach to make reviews more generic. Besides, they also built a review data set of hot Chinese TV series, which includes eight generic category labels for each review.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-35

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper concentrates on the capacity of procurement digitalization to pump up supply chain effectiveness and competitive advantage levels. Data from the examination of the strategic actions of an environmental charity, an IT multinational, and an Australian SME reveal that increasing procurement effectiveness translates into marked performance enhancements in terms of productivity gains and reduced costs. Wiping away boundaries between buyers and suppliers produced procurement processes with greater scalability, agility, and flexibility, all of which also enhanced the firms' capability to mitigate their risks. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings The increasing relevance of culture to supply chain management is indicated by the number and scope of studies that currently exist. However, significant shortcomings prevail that might be addressed by the development of an appropriate framework able to measure interaction between individual, organizational and network cultural levels. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 2414-2435
Author(s):  
Wenge Zhang ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Yiyuan Mai

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between industry association membership and firm innovation in Chinese private ventures. A secondary objective is to investigate potential moderating effects of firm learning practices and founder characteristics on the above relationship, and to draw out implications for policymakers and practitioners. Design/methodology/approach The paper utilizes data from a sample of 567 Chinese entrepreneurial firms operating in 9 designated emerging industries. Hierarchical regression models were employed to analyze the effect of industry association membership on firm innovation, and the potential moderating effects. A 2SLS procedure was adopted to control for potential endogeneity issue. Supplemental analyses were conducted to ensure the robustness of the findings. Findings The paper provides empirical insights about how industry association membership, along with firm learning practice and founder leadership, affect firm innovation in Chinese private ventures in emerging industries. It suggests that industry association membership positively affects firm innovation. Further, there is a three-way interaction effect of industry association membership, learning practice and founder power on innovation. Research limitations/implications Due to the design of the data set, there are some limitations. First, the study only considered whether a firm belongs to an industry association, but not the nature of such membership (length, firm status in the association, etc.). Second, the cross-sectional design may limit the power of the study to make casual implications about the tested relationships. Practical implications The paper provides important practical implications for policymakers and entrepreneurs in China. In general, the results suggest that private ventures pursuing innovation in emerging industries can benefit from industry associations, and entrepreneurs shall actively engage in firm-level and personal-level learning. For policymakers, the study suggests that to foster innovation in an emerging industry, special attention shall be paid to building necessary institutional support to develop and to strengthen the role of industry association in the industry. Originality/value This paper fulfills an important gap in the literature in that it is one of the first, which investigates the role of the industry association in firm innovation, especially in a non-western context. This paper provides new insights into the role of industry association and firm innovation in an under-researched developing economy context.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 573-590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Horak ◽  
Chris P. Long

PurposeBy challenging the typical antagonistic view of the informal institutions power and trust, this paper aims to explore the interrelatedness of the two through the Yin–Yang lens.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this research stem from extensive group and one-to-one interviews with Toyota and its domestic and international suppliers.FindingsContrary to the conventional antagonistic view of power and trust, the study finds a different relationship between power and trust in Japan, namely, a rather natural, mutually integrative and dependent one. The paper assumes that Taoist ideals, in particular the forces of Yin–Yang, explain this apparent contradiction.Practical implicationsGuided by the Yin–Yang perspective on power and trust balancing, the study proposes six management paradigms regarding how power and trust relationships can be developed and managed to increase collaboration performance.Originality/valueWhile this research contributes to the research stream considering power and trust as complements rather than substitutes, it introduces the Yin–Yang view of business collaboration into the field of supply chain management in the automotive industry. Furthermore, it proposes practical measurements for the management of collaborative business relationships in a supply chain by taking advantage of the Yin–Yang view of putative contradictions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-6
Author(s):  
Richard Calvi

Purpose According to Christopher (2000), in a lot of sectors, the competition is a question of supply chain against supply chain. The winner in term of competitive advantage should be the one, who is able to obtain more than the competitor from the available resources. In strategic literature, Dyer and Singh (1998) are the first who introduced the concept of “relational competency” to explain why some companies gain their competitive advantage not directly from their internal resources but mainly because they are able better to combine external resources. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a case study. Findings The author describes the different phases and strategic decisions in the building of a real supplier eco-system. Research limitations/implications It is a sole case study. Practical implications This study is a description of a success story. Originality/value This study is a description of an external resource management in action.


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