Exploration of Intelligent Manufacturing Methods for Complex Products Driven by Multisource Data

In order to improve the multisource data-driven fusion effect in the intelligent manufacturing process of complex products, based on the proposed adaptive fog computing architecture, this paper takes into account the efficient processing of complex product intelligent manufacturing services within the framework and the rational utilization of fog computing layer resources to establish a fog computing resource scheduling model. Moreover, this paper proposes a fog computing architecture for intelligent manufacturing services for complex products. The architecture adopts a three-layer fog computing framework, which can reasonably provide three types of services in the field of intelligent manufacturing. In addition, this study combines experimental research to verify the intelligent model of this article and counts the experimental results. From the analysis of experimental data, it can be seen that the complex product intelligent manufacturing system based on multisource data driven proposed in this paper meets the data fusion requirements of complex product intelligent manufacturing.

EXPRESS: Service Provision in Distribution Channels

Consumers may need help using an inherently complex product after purchase. This paper studies a manufacturer’s and a retailer’s incentives to provide pre-sales service and after-sales support in a distribution channel. The authors consider a model in which a manufacturer makes wholesale-price and channel-service decisions. Subsequently, a retailer makes retail-price and channel-service decisions. They find that, in the equilibrium, both channel members provide pre-sales service. If the fixed-cost investment needed to enhance the effectiveness of after-sales support is small, the manufacturer lets the retailer provide after-sales support. But when it is above a threshold and the retailer becomes unwilling to invest in providing after-sales support, the manufacturer steps in and invests in providing it. As expected, when the fixed cost is too large, the manufacturer also opts out of providing after-sales support. Interestingly, when the retailer provides after-sales support, the level of pre-sales service and the demand for after-sales support can simultaneously be the highest among all configurations. Finally, the authors demonstrate the robustness of their main results by studying alternative channel-service configurations.

Six Sigma in Semiconductor: Continuous Improvement in Production Floor Area

This study addresses the improvement of first pass yield on the production floor of ABC Semiconductor. ABC is a company running a multiple volume complex product in aligning with memory business in the operation. First pass yield refers to the proportion of fully built product that pass testing without the need for additional rework. The first pass yield (FPY) project showed steady progression for its first five years. But over the following one year, the primary yield metric which is first pass yield has stayed stagnant. The goal of the paper presented here is to analyze the reasons for the current performance and propose novel ways of improving the metric again using quality management tools. The most common is using 7QC tools method by categorizing failure pareto that will lead to targeted corrective action to reduce the recurrence of pre-identified failure modes. A DMAIC methodology is establish on how to define an efficient corrective action, along with a top three major defect on data acquired from ABC organization. From the exercise, the yield loss was able to be reduced from 17.4% to 3.52%.

Engineer-centered enterprise and context-based knowledge: the sources of Chinese competitiveness in grid equipment

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore the competitive source of Chinese firms in an industrial sector of complex product systems. It helps to reveal the organizational innovation developed by Chinese firms in coping with international competition and technological challenges. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a qualitative method of research. The evidences are mainly collected through interviews, field observation and document analysis. Findings A pattern of engineer-centered organization is the source of competitiveness of Nanrui (NR) Electric (NREC) in this study. The firm equips its front project teams, and now its overseas branches with developmental human resources and authorizes them the power of decision-making to leverage R&D projects. It is an emerging challenge to the traditional multi-national companies (MNC) pattern, and enables the Chinese firms to build their capabilities on context-based knowledge. Research limitations/implications As a single-case study paper, there are limitations about the external validity of its argument. Through the in-depth discussion of the NREC case, this paper aims to generate some clues for future study in the relevant academic community, which can be a useful step to formal theorizing and modeling. That is why the authors develop the paper on a single case. As future directions of research, comparative studies covering more cases not only within the power system control and protection industry but also among different complex technology products industrial sectors are really needed. Practical implications For innovative firms from developing countries like China, they need to develop institutional arrangements to incentivize engineers in the frontline, which may help them to build competence upon successful interaction with customers. During the era of globalization, such a pattern may generate special competitiveness over giant multi-nationals or global production networks (GPNs). Originality/value The research provides an instructive case on the Chinese rise in industrial sectors of complex product systems. Its findings can not only provide enlightenment for industrial catch-up in developing countries through organizational innovation but also help to initiate a reconsideration of the traditional theorizing of MNC and GPN.

The AAPF fault-tolerant method for small and complex product assembly

Fault-tolerant control should be considered during assembly to ensure stability and efficiency of the assembly process. The paper proposes a fault-tolerant method to improve stability and efficiency during the assembly of small and complex products. The fault-tolerant method model was initially constructed, then an adaptive artificial potential field control algorithm (AAPF) was introduced to control related assembly tasks based on changes in assembly information. Next, active and passive fault tolerance methods were integrated using a least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM). Finally, the assembly of a 2P circuit breaker controller assembly with leakage protection was used as an example to verify the proposed assembly method. The experimental results demonstrated that the AAPF fault-tolerant method showed promising fault-tolerance capabilities for the assembly of small and complex products. Not only could it coordinate the number of tasks for each assembly robot, but it also effectively reduced the number of tasks that accumulated due to faults. The method proposed in this paper could effectively guarantee assembly stability and efficiency during small and complex product assembly.

Waqf and Authority Dynamics: Reconfigurations of a Pious Institution in Colonial Malabar, South India

The formative years of Darul Uloom, Vazhakkad, a well-known Muslim waqf institution in northern Kerala in India established in the late nineteenth century for imparting religious education, is examined in this article. Darul Uloom is probably the first registered waqf in Kerala and by analysing the registered waqf deeds of this institution, we seek to understand the operation of authority and management in the initial years of this institution, especially in the background of contestations between emergent Islamic reformists and traditionalists. We trace the significant reformulation of the foundational intent evident in the subsequent deeds by later custodians and the intervention of various social groups, particularly the local community, in refashioning the trajectory of the waqf. A shift in authority—a complex product of theological, political and economic contestations emerged in the context of transformations brought by British Colonialism in Malabar—is evident in this process. Through our analysis, we suggest that waqf institutions and its legal foundations were highly dynamic and adaptive to their changing social contexts as against the portrayal of these Islamic institutions as stagnant and inflexible.

Вибір постачальників для виробництва високотехнологічної продукції з урахуванням довгих логістичних ланцюгів постачання вантажів

The scientific and applied problem of choosing suppliers of components, materials, and raw materials (CMRM) for the production of high-tech products (aircraft construction, shipbuilding, etc.) with a complex multi-level component architecture of the product is posed and solved. Much attention is paid to the study of long logistic supply chains for CMRM, considering the heterogeneous transport network (aviation transport, rail transport, road transport, etc.) with the transition of goods from one highway to another. The relevance of the topic of the publication is related to the study of the influence of the remoteness of suppliers and the heterogeneity of the transport network on the timing, costs, and risks of delivering CMRM to the production of high-tech products, considering the long supply chains that ensure the interaction between the supplier and the manufacturer. The research solves the problem of a rational choice of suppliers, considering the logistics of CMRM delivery in a heterogeneous transport environment. Due to the complexity of the problem being solved, it is complex and includes the following research stages: selection of suppliers, considering the component architecture of a complex product; formation of a logistics chain for the delivery of CMRM; a study of the effect of cargo transshipment in a heterogeneous transport environment. The solution of the second problem is associated with the choice of optimal logistics chains for the delivery of CMRM from the supplier to the manufacturers. The solution to the third problem is based on modeling the movement of goods, considering transshipment and possible risks. Mathematical methods used system analysis to represent the component architecture of a complex product; integer (boolean) programming to optimize the main logistic indicators; agent-based simulation modeling for the study of logistics chains for the delivery of goods with transshipment and possible risks (climatic, pandemic, terrorist, etc.).

Research on Importance Evaluation of Complex Product Parts Based on Multilayer Complex Network

The identification and evaluation of important parts play an important role in effective production arrangement and shortening the product development in the product design stage. In this paper, a complex product node importance evaluation method based on multilayer network is proposed to identify and evaluate importance parts faster. First, a complex product design expression network based on “function behavior structure (FBS)” multilayer complex network is established. Second, the evaluation index system of important design parts for complex products based on multilayer network is constructed. Third, a three-parameter grey relational model based on the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and the Gini coefficient method is proposed. Finally, this method is available and feasible through taking the large permanent magnet synchronous centrifugal unit as an example.

Simulation of the business processes of the developing enterprise to create complex products with multi-level component architecture

The problem of research of business processes related to the organization and management of projects to create the new complex technical products in aerospace, shipbuilding, and other fields of mechanical engineering is stated and solved. The relevance of the study is related to the planning of a set of business processes, taking into account the architectural representation of the complex product being created. The study aims to develop a new method of synthesis of the multilevel complex of business processes to manage the creation of new technology, taking into account the multi-component representation of the complex product architecture. Much attention is paid to the complex product architecture, which is presented as a set of interconnected components. The following component types are outlined: components that can be reused; components that can be adapted to the requirements of the new product; innovative components. The types of components are studied in terms of the building of the set of business processes on their creation, taking into account the main indicators (costs, execution time, risks). Using the positive experience of past developments in the form of ready-to-use business processes helps to minimize the risks, and the new business solutions in their turn ensure the competitiveness of the complex product. The information base of positive past business processes in the form of precedents base is being built. The precedents base is used to find the close analogs of ready-to-use business processes. The set of business processes related to the management of complex product creation is formed. It has a multilevel representation that fully corresponds to the tree-like component architecture of the complex product. The method to synthesize the complexity of business processes that are planned to perform the tasks on the management of projects on creation of complex products for the developing enterprise is constructed. It is based on the “from top to bottom” system design principle. The optimization model to find the minimum costs, time, and risks in the process of business processes creation that takes into account the multilevel structure of the business process is built. The simulation event-based model in the form of a related agent set is used to study the successful execution of planned business processes related to the creation of the complex product. The results of this study should be used in the practice of creating innovative technical products that have a complex multi-level component architecture for the organization and planning of business processes related to development management. Mathematical methods used: systems analysis, precedent theory, lexicographic ordering, component design, integer optimization, simulation modeling.