scholarly journals The application of semi-automated gantry cranes in empty container depots

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Corinne Ankenbruck

<p>Purpose – The storage and supply of empty containers is a bottleneck in the global supply chain. In the wake of increasing containerisation and globalisation, improving efficiencies of processing within empty container depots can realise efficiencies. The overall objective of this research project is to propose an efficient and effective solution for reducing waste in an empty container depot using a crane. The issue of applying gantry cranes to empty container depots will cover both an operational and a strategic evaluation of the following research questions: 1) What are the potential solutions for a specific yard based on lean thinking, and which solution should be used within the constraints and contexts of this yard? 2) Who are the key stakeholders, and what are their stakes while implementing the solution in the yard to reduce waste?  Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature around empty container depots revealed that while lean operations have been applied to manufacturing, warehousing, and ports, it has not yet been applied to empty container depots. Whereas warehouses primarily deal with stock-holding and ports deal with quayside operations, empty container depots act as a conduit between consignors and consignees. In the vein of American Pragmatism, Design Science Research, and Strategy-as-Practice, this thesis shows that in the context of empty container depots a gantry crane is an artefact that can create efficiencies, reduce costs, as well as explore further effects on the organisation and its wider geo-political habitus.  Case Study – A New Zealand company that handles roughly half a million TEUs per annum cooperated with this study. The study was conducted by analysing data from four working depots (Auckland, Tauranga, Napier) selected to illustrate variations in container volumes, types of flows (imports, exports, seasonality), and depot layouts. The current operations of these depots were analysed using lean operations, value stream mapping, and operations interwork centre flow graphs. Of the four sites identified, one (the Auckland OCP site) was shown to achieve the greatest results from a gantry crane. The results of the analysis were then used to develop a potential solution in which waste was identified and eliminated, primarily around excess handling and land utilisation.  Findings – A key finding was that efficiency gains differ from site to site based on their unique demands and overall layouts. Furthermore, changes towards the current yard using gantry cranes need to be implemented incrementally based on continuous improvement. This is due to practical constraints around operations, culture change, cashflow management, the acquisition of capital, and broader market/stakeholder influences.  Originality/value – The practical applications of this research case are scalable on a vast level. The effects of this research are explored in how the introduction of an artefact affects the organisation, its vision of itself, its strategies, and the broader supply chain in which this organisation operates. The results are further re-contextualisted in order to offer a holistic view of an artefact in its situated environment.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Corinne Ankenbruck

<p>Purpose – The storage and supply of empty containers is a bottleneck in the global supply chain. In the wake of increasing containerisation and globalisation, improving efficiencies of processing within empty container depots can realise efficiencies. The overall objective of this research project is to propose an efficient and effective solution for reducing waste in an empty container depot using a crane. The issue of applying gantry cranes to empty container depots will cover both an operational and a strategic evaluation of the following research questions: 1) What are the potential solutions for a specific yard based on lean thinking, and which solution should be used within the constraints and contexts of this yard? 2) Who are the key stakeholders, and what are their stakes while implementing the solution in the yard to reduce waste?  Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature around empty container depots revealed that while lean operations have been applied to manufacturing, warehousing, and ports, it has not yet been applied to empty container depots. Whereas warehouses primarily deal with stock-holding and ports deal with quayside operations, empty container depots act as a conduit between consignors and consignees. In the vein of American Pragmatism, Design Science Research, and Strategy-as-Practice, this thesis shows that in the context of empty container depots a gantry crane is an artefact that can create efficiencies, reduce costs, as well as explore further effects on the organisation and its wider geo-political habitus.  Case Study – A New Zealand company that handles roughly half a million TEUs per annum cooperated with this study. The study was conducted by analysing data from four working depots (Auckland, Tauranga, Napier) selected to illustrate variations in container volumes, types of flows (imports, exports, seasonality), and depot layouts. The current operations of these depots were analysed using lean operations, value stream mapping, and operations interwork centre flow graphs. Of the four sites identified, one (the Auckland OCP site) was shown to achieve the greatest results from a gantry crane. The results of the analysis were then used to develop a potential solution in which waste was identified and eliminated, primarily around excess handling and land utilisation.  Findings – A key finding was that efficiency gains differ from site to site based on their unique demands and overall layouts. Furthermore, changes towards the current yard using gantry cranes need to be implemented incrementally based on continuous improvement. This is due to practical constraints around operations, culture change, cashflow management, the acquisition of capital, and broader market/stakeholder influences.  Originality/value – The practical applications of this research case are scalable on a vast level. The effects of this research are explored in how the introduction of an artefact affects the organisation, its vision of itself, its strategies, and the broader supply chain in which this organisation operates. The results are further re-contextualisted in order to offer a holistic view of an artefact in its situated environment.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-492
Author(s):  
Jovan Karamachoski ◽  
Ninoslav Marina ◽  
Pavel Taskov

Blockchain technology will bring a disruption in plenty of industries and businesses. Recently it proved the robustness, immutability, auditability, in many crucial practical applications. The blockchain structure offers traceability of actions, alterations, alerts, which is an important property of a system needed for development of sustainable technologies. A crucial part of the blockchain technology regarding the optimization of the processes is the smart contract. It is a self-executable computer code, open and transparent, encoding the terms of a regular contract. It is able to automate the processes, thus decreasing the human-factor mistakes or counterfeits. In this paper, we are presenting the feasibility of the blockchain technology in the certification processes, with an application developed for university diploma certification. The example is easily transferable in other areas and business models such as logistics, supply chain management, or other segments where certification is essential.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1520-1540 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.C. Lenny Koh ◽  
Angappa Gunasekaran ◽  
Jonathan Morris ◽  
Raymond Obayi ◽  
Seyed Mohammad Ebrahimi

Purpose In response to calls for conceptual frameworks and generic theory building toward the advancement of sustainability in supply chain resource utilization and management, the purpose of this paper is to advance a circular framework for supply chain resource sustainability (SCRS), and a decision-support methodology for assessing SCRS against the backdrop of five foundational premises (FPs) deduced from the literature on resource sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Taking a conceptual theory-building approach, the paper advances a set of SCRS decision-support criteria for each of the theoretical premises advanced, and applies the theory of constraints to illustrate the conceptual and practical applications of the framework in SCRS decision making. Findings This study uses recent conceptualizations of supply chains as “complex adaptive systems” to provide a robust and novel frame and a set of decision rules with which to assess the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, and social capital of supply chain resources from pre-production to post-production. Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to theory building in sustainability research, and the SCRS decision framework developed could be applied in tandem with existing quantitative hybrid life-cycle and input-output approaches to facilitate targeted resource sustainability assessments, with implications for research and practice. Originality/value The novel SCRS framework proposed serves as a template for evaluating SCRS and provides a decision-support methodology for assessing SCRS against the five theorized FPs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen S.Y. CHEN

This is a multidisciplinary study on operationalizing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in humanitarian operations through supply chain management methods. It is motivated by the belief that for SDGs to be pursued in humanitarian operations, they need to be contextualized in the idiosyncratic settings and approached systematically. Towards this end, this paper develops and operationalizes a strategic sustainable humanitarian supply chain framework using the design science approach. The study starts with analyzing the humanitarian operations characteristics and identifying the critical supply chain capabilities required for sustainable operations. It then re-conceptualizes sustainability in the humanitarian context and proposes a formula of sustainability performance in humanitarian operations. After that, the humanitarian supply chain structural components are delineated and decomposed into operational elements in order to identify the configurations that lead to optimal sustainability performance. The findings then converge into a framework to enable the identification of context-contingent sustainable supply chain strategies in humanitarian operations. This paper makes three contributions to SDG research: 1) it contextualizes sustainability in the humanitarian setting through postulating the concept and formula of net sustainability value as the single bottom line in humanitarian operations; 2) it increases operationality of SDGs in the humanitarian sector through the design of a strategic framework for sustainable humanitarian supply chains; and 3) it increases the interdisciplinarity of SDG research by using a generic supply chain framework that can be applied to integrate multilevel multidisciplinary sustainability studies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 422-428
Author(s):  
Patricia Girrbach

Corporate Responsibility focuses on economic performance, the protection of the natural foundations of life and social responsibility. In this context it is important to deal carefully with the limited resources available to take care of inter- and intragenerational justice by preserving the resource base. Due to the fact, that digitalization changes whole industry, a change in detail a more holistic view on responsibility is necessary. Corporate Responsibility must be enhanced to Corporate Digital Responsibility in terms of digital aspects. In this context this paper provides insights into Corporate Digital Responsibility from the perspective of blockchain usage in supply chain management.


2004 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanafy M Omar ◽  
Ali H Nayfeh

We have designed a controller based on gain-scheduling feedback to move a load from point to point within one oscillation cycle and without inducing large swings. The settling time of the system is taken to be equal to the period of oscillation of the load. This criterion enables us to calculate the controller feedback gains for varying load weight and cable length. First, we designed the controller for gantry cranes and then extended it to tower cranes by considering the coupling between the translational and rotational motions. Numerical simulations show that the controller is effective for reducing load oscillations and transferring the load in a reasonable time compared with that of optimal control. To experimentally validate the theory, we had to compensate for friction. To this end, we estimated the friction, then applied an opposite control action to cancel it. To estimate the friction force, we assumed a mathematical model, then we estimated the model coefficients using an off-line identification technique, the least-squares method. First, the process of identification was applied to a theoretical model of a dc motor with known friction coefficients. From this example, some guidelines and rules were deduced for the choice of the least-squares parameters. Then, the friction coefficients of the gantry crane model were estimated and validated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 311-320
Author(s):  
Tomy Perdana ◽  
Fernianda Rahayu Hermiatin ◽  
Ajeng Sesy Nur Pratiwi ◽  
Tetep Ginanjar

In the globalization economic development, most of industries have been developing strategies to improve efficiency in their production processes. Meanwhile, chili pepper supply chain is still not aware about efficiency and effectiveness in its management. Most actors in chili pepper supply chain face several obstacles, i.e. losses, waste products, and inefficiency in delivery time. This research is focused on the development of chili pepper supply chain performance using Value Stream Mapping (VSM) analysis and aims to create a new key system to develop efficiency and effectiveness. VSM is used as an instrument to enhance comparative advantage in wildly industries. VSM in chili pepper involves operation system such as 6S, Volkswagen production system, visual workplace, quick changeover system, and Hiejunka Kanban system. Those techniques are applied to reduce waste in chili pepper supply chain. The research result shows that chilli pepper supply chain should explore the implementation of VSM.


Author(s):  
Siva Kumar ◽  
Ramesh Anbanandam

The frequency of supply chain disruptions is growing. The recent supply chain disruptions and their costs emphasize the need for resilient supply chains. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate interactions between critical antecedents of supply chain resilience including risk management culture, supply chain connectivity, visibility, collaboration, agility, their impact on supply chain resilience, and finally on firm performance. Using the same antecedents and literature support, an empirical model has been proposed. The proposed model has been tested using rigorous statistical analysis such as reliability, convergent, and discriminant validity tests. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling has been used to validate the proposed model and the interdependencies between the critical antecedents. An important finding of this research is that organizations, using the proposed model, can develop and improve supply chain resilience capability by establishing the risk management culture through improving the risk awareness among employees and conducting periodic risk assessment exercises. In addition, the study suggests that organizations trying to achieve supply chain resilience must develop sufficient supply chain connectivity and visibility through adopting information and communications technologies and visibility tools for quick response and recovery from supply chain disruptions. Data collected from the Indian manufacturing sector are used to validate the model. The holistic view presented by the proposed model describes the inter-relationships between critical antecedents to achieve supply chain resilience. Concluding remarks and future research avenues have been presented.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 6053
Author(s):  
Vanessa Rodríguez Cornejo ◽  
Ángel Cervera Paz ◽  
Luis López Molina ◽  
Víctor Pérez-Fernández

This paper studies the relationship between Lean paradigms and the Physical Internet (PI). Lean thinking is a philosophy that allows one to obtain the right amount of the right items in the right place at the right time; it seeks to minimize waste and is flexible to change. In fact, applying Lean not only helps to reduce costs, but it also adds value and improves results across the supply chain. By using a value stream map, we can map the process from the supply chain to the customer, while trying not to add value activities. Such activities include excessive production, overstorage, waiting times poorly adjusted to needs, defects and rejects that require reprocessing, and, finally, unnecessary transport and movements. Storage, waiting times, and unnecessary transport and movements are at the core of the PI. A value stream map can also help to identify empty transport and unnecessary CO2 emissions. This study analyzes value stream mapping as a tool that can enable the objectives of the different Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration (ALICE) roadmaps for logistics innovation to be achieved, and can also allow PI principles to be reached on the established dates.


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