Quality Control 4.0: a way to improve the quality performance and engage shop floor operators

PurposeOrganizations must focus on increasingly complex and customized products and production processes integrated into technological and digital evolution. Thus, shop floor operators have a more significant number of complex tasks with responsibility for their quality control, looking for high productivity levels. However, there are human limitations to deal with the increased amount of information/data resulting from the integration of new technologies. As such, the main research objective is to answer the following research question “How can the combination of recent smart technologies with the human factor contribute to employees' involvement at the shop floor level and thus improve quality control?”Design/methodology/approachThis study follows a qualitative research approach by developing a singular case study in CPMG PSA Group – Peugeot Citroën, where two innovative information technology (IT) projects were implemented following the continuous improvement methodology PDCA cycle (Deming, 1986).FindingsThis work contributed to highlighting the human-centered approach in the discussion of Quality 4.0 development. The main theoretical contribution of this research is the identification of a set of key elements that should be present in the integration of the information technologies in quality control, namely: Prioritizing the quality problems supported by the fundamentals knowledge and tools of traditional quality management (QM); building multidisciplinary teams at different organization levels; following approaches that promote continuous improvement; developing the human-centered and user-friendly perspective; implementing solutions as directly as possible in the workstation; finally, enabling an effective communication and motivation strategies.Research limitations/implicationsThe research addresses a singular case study and solely explores the vertical integration process of Quality 4.0.Practical implicationsThe projects presented may inspire other organizations to integrate information technologies solutions in quality control, following the implementation process and the essential elements described in these examples. Thus, this research stresses that one should customize these projects with the involvement of shop floor operators in a human-centered and user-friendly perspective, both at the preliminary and succeeding stages.Originality/valueThis research presents two original and customized projects, bridging the technological perspective with the human factor in the digital transformation era, supporting the worker, not replacing it.

Dynamics and Stability of Non-Smooth Dynamical Systems with Two Switches

One of the most common hypotheses on the theory of non-smooth dynamical systems is a regular surface as switching manifold, at which case there is at least well-defined and established Filippov dynamics. However, systems with singular switching manifolds still lack such well-established dynamics, although present in many relevant models of phenomena where multiple switches or multiple abrupt changes occur. At this work, we leverage a methodology that, through blow-ups and singular perturbation, allows the extension of Filippov dynamics to the singular case. Specifically, tridimensional systems whose switching manifold consists of an algebraic manifold with transversal self-intersection are considered. This configuration, known as double discontinuity, represents systems with two switches and whose singular part consists of a straight line, where ordinary Filippov dynamics is not directly applicable. For the general, non-linear case, beyond defining the so-called fundamental dynamics over the singular part, general theorems on its qualitative behavior are provided. For the affine case, however, theorems fully describing the fundamental dynamics are obtained. Finally, this fine-grained control over the dynamics is leveraged to derive Peixoto-like theorems characterizing semi-local structural stability.

An unusual case of genital filariasis of the testicular tunics in an Italian patient

At least 27 million men present with urogenital manifestations of genital filariasis (GF). Although there is a large burden of GF in residents in endemic regions, infection in short-term travellers and in non-endemic areas is rare. We report the case of a 75-year-old Italian man referred to our institution for a testicular discomfort. Clinical examination and ultrasound detected a mass of 40×18 mm in the scrotum without signs of varicocele, hydrocele and testicular or epididymal abnormalities. After ineffective medical treatment, the patient underwent surgical excision. Histology demonstrated filarial granuloma with thick cuticles pathognomonic of an adult worm in the testicular tunics. Surgery has a fundamental role in localized cases of GF to remove nematodes from the fibrotic nodules. The present manuscript describes a singular case of GF observed in Italy in a non-immigrant patient with evidence of remnants of an adult worm in the testicular tunics. SIMILAR CASES PUBLISHED: 11

Evaluating General versus Singular Causal Prevention

Most psychological studies focused on how people reason about generative causation, in which a cause produces an effect. We here study the prevention of effects both on the general and singular level. A general prevention query might ask how strongly a vaccine is expected to reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19, whereas a singular prevention query might ask whether the absence of COVID-19 in a specific vaccinated person actually resulted from this person’s vaccination. We propose a computational model answering how knowledge about the general strength of a preventive cause can be used to assess whether a preventive link is instantiated in a singular case. We also discuss how psychological models of causal strength learning relate to mathematical models of vaccination efficacy used in medical research. The results of an experimentsuggest that many, but not all people differentiate between preventive strength and singular prevention queries, in line with the formal model.

The death of Veronica L.: intellectual disability and statutory welfare in mid twentieth-century Ireland

Veronica L., a woman with an intellectual disability, died of starvation in 1961 while the recipient of a Disabled Person's Maintenance Allowance (D.P.M.A.) from the Dublin Health Authority. Her death occured after a prolonged period of deficient care, a neglect that was exacerbated by flaws in statutory welfare. During the preceding decade the state intervened in disability provision to an unprecedented degree through the expansion of institutional care and social welfare reform. Yet, these services remained characterised by a chronic pressure on resources and a reluctance to intervene in potentially neglectful family situations, which allowed cases of failing care to go unaddressed. Drawing on contemporary documents, in particular the depositions collected for the coroner's court inquest into Veronica's death, this article offers an insight into the exigencies underlying the later life of one woman with an intellectual disability. In doing so, it explores the way in which this singular case provides a distinctive avenue for better understanding the experiences of the intellectually disabled more broadly, including the nature of community care and the operation of statutory welfare during the mid twentieth century.

Application of a Large-Parameter Technique for Solving a Singular Case of a Rigid Body

In this paper, the motion of a rigid body in a singular case of the natural frequency ( ω = 1 / 3 ) is considered. This case of singularity appears in the previous works due to the existence of the term ω 2 − 1 / 9 in the denominator of the obtained solutions. For this reason, we solve the problem from the beginning. We assume that the body rotates about its fixed point in a Newtonian force field and construct the equations of the motion for this case when ω = 1 / 3 . We use a new procedure for solving this problem from the beginning using a large parameter ε that depends on a sufficiently small angular velocity component r o . Applying this procedure, we derive the periodic solutions of the problem and investigate the geometric interpretation of motion. The obtained analytical solutions graphically are presented using programmed data. Using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method, we find the numerical solutions for this case aimed at determining the errors between both obtained solutions.

Abdominal emergency - Acute promyelocytic leukaemia presenting as a corpus luteal cyst

Acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APML) is known to present with disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) but as a Corpus luteal cyst hemorrhage however, it is rarely seen at presentation. This case is the first to describe a patient with APML who presented with ruptured corpus luteum without ovarian tissue infiltration with blasts, leading to hemoperitoneum posing as life threatening acute abdominal emergency in a woman belonging to child bearing age. The case is a singular case where APL has presented in such a rare manner.