Browsing by Author "Barreiras, Alcinda"
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- Definition of a decision support model for calculating the economic production lot sizePublication . Pereira, M. Teresa; Magalhães, Hugo; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Barreiras, AlcindaThis paper proposes a Decision Support System (DSS) for Calculating the Economic Production Lot Size. The focus is on the analysis of improvement of manufacturing productivity in the packaging industry, specifically in a metal packaging company. Through combining different SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) in the same production order, as opposed to the current single SKU orders production paradigm of, it is possible to increase the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). This study identified the most critical OEE products within the company portfolio. One critical OEE was selected from within company’s strategic fitting process for the assessment of all relevant parameters set for the manufacturing process so that no product variant was disregarded. Evaluation of the improvement achieved by the new production paradigm was possible through a DSS tool developed to combine different SKUs in due production order, taking into account real data from customers’ orders. Following the tool development, it was possible to proceed with simulations for various review periods. As this study is an iterative process, the results obtained within each simulation enabled an improved definition for subsequent analysis focusing on the goal set - improving the OEE without increasing stock value. Finally, results were evaluated and the operational and economic benefits of combining different SKUs within the same production order were unequivocal, representing an OEE increase of 20% and a maximum decrease of 367,215€ in stock value.
- Improvement in external logistics of an automotive component manufacturing company towards costs reductionPublication . Machado, Ana Beatriz; Silva, Francisco J. G.; Sá, José Carlos; Barreiras, Alcinda; Pinto Ferreira, Luís; Pereira, Maria Teresa; Santos, GilbertoThis work was developed in a company that produces components, such as, Bowden cables and comfort systems for the automobile industry. The company's external logistics department was the place where the work was carried out. The constant need of urgent shippings in the company in order to comply with the delivery scheduled with its customers, leads the organization to have an unnecessary cost. This case study is no exception, and this type of costs represents about 33% of total transport costs, revealing a major negative economic impact for the company. For the analysis of urgent transport some quality tools were used to determine the root causes of the identified problem (high cost with urgent transport). The use of these quality tools, namely brainstorming, Ishikawa's diagram and Five Whys, allowed for greater involvement by employees from different areas. Thus, it was possible to share knowledge and, consequently, a more reliable analysis and identification of possible root-causes of the problem, as well as, the implementation of actions to eliminate them. With the implementation of the improvement actions, the urgent shipping costs were reduced by about 68%.
- Time windows vehicle routing problem to on-time transportation of biological products on healthcare centresPublication . Pereira, Maria Teresa; Oliveira, Marisa; Ferreira, Fernanda A.; Barreiras, Alcinda; Carneiro, LilianaThis paper addresses a Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) applied to the field of healthcare. Biological products are collected from patients at the local healthcare centers and transported to hospital laboratories for further processing and analysis. This paper analyses and determines a set of vehicle routes to perform on-time transportation of biological products from local healthcare centers to the main hospital, considering all technical issues. We sought to develop a solution to the Vehicle Routing Problem with Pickups and Deliveries (VRPPD) to effectively collect biological products, and parallelly deliver medical supplies to local healthcare units - gloves, masks, sanitation accessories, and disposable tools. We also aimed to implement a solution suitable for a larger cluster of healthcare centers. The mathematical model allowed for an efficient route design, considering distances, service times, travel times, total route time, and vehicle availability for other tasks. The mathematical model (VRPPDW) presents a feasible improvement to the solution currently used by the healthcare units. It allows for pickup and delivery of other items as required, and can be adapted if other collection points are to be added, providing a strong route and service times optimization. We were able to achieve a 95-min reduction, thus saving €2,222.64 per year. This solution required no further investment thus avoiding any reallocation available resources.