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- Optimization of the quality plan in Saint-Gobain Mondego, SA - a case studyPublication . Ávila, Paulo; Putnik, Goran; Sá, Catarina; Contente, JoãoThe quality plan is one of the most important documents into the quality management systems. It brings to the system how the quality control should be done in order to assure the product quality and the customer’s satisfaction. Nowadays the production systems have to continue to improve its performance in order to be more competitive and the quality plan has to follow this trend too. In this work we will present a case study developed in Saint-Gobain Mondego, SA, whose goal was to improve the quality plan in order to reduce the product non conformities and simultaneously the costs associated with the quality. The present work makes firstly a presentation of the enterprise production process and an overview of how the quality controls it is performed during the process. After that, we will characterize the problem that Saint-Gobain proposes to study; our propose to decrease the problem; the tests effectuated and the analysis of the results; and the final conclusions about this case. How we will see, there are strong signs that the proposal tested will bring quality improvement associated with a cost reduction and consequently better satisfaction for the customer.
- Agile Project Management: A Communicational Workflow ProposalPublication . Loiro, Carina; Castro, Helio; Ávila, Paulo; Cruz-Cunha, Maria Manuela; Putnik, Goran D.; Ferreira, LuísEmbracing agility brings change to companies and everyone involved, so people have a fundamental role in project development. It is essential that teams have a good communication, motivation and concern about quality and client satisfaction, Agile Manufacturing is using Agile Project Management to provide the right team to performance difficult tasks and achieve goals. This paper proposes a team that deals with Agile Project Management, named as AGILE team, composed by a product owner, a team leader and team members, and a communication workflow proposal concerning the conjunction of 3 momentums (requirements analyze, planning and design) along the Agile Project Management. The proposed model is being implemented in a lightening manufacturing company in a very early stage.
- The excellence in metrologyPublication . Sousa, Carlos; Ávila, PauloThe excellence in Quality is possible… but only if theirs supports are excellences also. A Portuguese legal definition of Quality (in Decreto-Lei 142/2007) is: «Quality is the set of attributes and characteristics of an entity or product that determine their suitability to meet reach needs and expectations of society». It is important to note that what we want, it is no more to please the client or the customer, but to please the entire society. But, if the society needs Quality, an important item for the society satisfaction, so the society needs good supports of Quality. These supports are: Qualification; Standardization; and Metrology. We believe that Metrology is the special one support! Why we say that? Because the Metrology is the support of Quality with the complete structure and better international organization! In this paper we make to note the importance of the traceability concept and postulate that without good traceability it is not possible excellence in Metrology. And, without excellence in Metrology, there we will never have excellence in Quality. By this path – Quality, Qualification, Standardization and Metrology – we, the society, could expect the excellence!
- Data Science for Industry 4.0 and Sustainability: A Survey and Analysis Based on Open DataPublication . Castro, Helio; Costa, Filipe; Ferreira, Tânia; Ávila, Paulo; Cruz-Cunha, Manuela; Ferreira, Luís; Putnik, Goran D.; Bastos, JoãoIn the last few years, the industrial, scientific, and technological fields have been subject to a revolutionary process of digitalization and automation called Industry 4.0. Its implementation has been successful mainly in the economic field of sustainability, while the environmental field has been gaining more attention from researchers recently. However, the social scope of Industry 4.0 is still somewhat neglected by researchers and organizations. This research aimed to study Industry 4.0 and sustainability themes using data science, by incorporating open data and open-source tools to achieve sustainable Industry 4.0. To that end, a quantitative analysis based on open data was developed using open-source software in order to study Industry 4.0 and sustainability trends. The main results show that manufacturing is a relevant value-added activity in the worldwide economy; that, foreseeing the importance of Industry 4.0, countries in America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania are incorporating technological principles of Industry 4.0 in their cities, creating so-called smart cities; and that the industries that invest most in technology are computers and electronics, pharmaceuticals, transport equipment, and IT (information technology) services. Furthermore, the G7 countries have a prevalent positive trend for the migration of technological and social skills toward sustainability, as it relates to the social pillar, and to Industry 4.0. Finally, on the global scale, a positive correlation between data openness and happiness was found.
- Adaptations of a resources system selection problem of Distributed/Agile/Virtual Enterprises for using genetic algorithmsPublication . Ávila, Paulo; Mota, Alzira; Putnik, Goran; Costa, LinoThe selection of resource systems is still a difficult matter to solve in distributed / Agile / Virtual enterprises ( D/A/V Es ) integration. Attempts to solve the resources selection problem, has originated several models and consequently different algorithms have been applied to obtain solutions. The exact algorithms have good performance (in terms of computational time) for low dimension problems. However, become ineffective as the complexity increases. Genetic algorithms are considered robust and versatile. These have been applied to complex problems in several application areas and gained popularity in innumerable research works. To improve the computational time in solving the resources selection problem, we pretend to apply a genetic algorithm. Due to the characteristics of the model, the application of this algorithm forced adjustments in the initial model. In this work, we present the adaptations performed in the study model in order to use genetic algorithms.
- A contribution for the development of new resources selection models for the agile/virtual enterprisesPublication . Ávila, Paulo; Putnik, Goran; Cunha, MariaThe process of resources systems selection, takes an important part in Agile / Virtual Enterprises (A/V E) integration because the efficient resources selection, or resources systems selection, running in useful time and cost and with efficient solution, is an important operation within the A/V E design phase and certainly will contribute for the flexibility of an A/V E within the phase of its reconfiguration. The resources systems selection is a difficult matter to solve in A/V E because: it can be of exponential complexity resolution; it can be a multi criteria problem; and because there are different types of A/V Es with different requirements that have originate the creation of a specific resources selection model for each one of them. This kind of selection approach models will be reviewed from literature and analyzed its limitations and the consequent necessities of development new ones. At the first time we identified necessities that never were thought before, like performance measures for the selection model, and the necessities of identifying the sponsor for the selection process. We will see too that the models fit uniquely the requirements of a unique A/V E are rigid and not flexible enough to satisfy the requirements of another A/V E. These limitations that we highlight in this work are important to be considered in the development of new models and were simultaneously considered in the development of our selection model for the project of the BM_Virtual Enterprise.
- Literature review of decision models for the sustainable implementation of Robotic Process AutomationPublication . Patrício, Leonel; Ávila, Paulo; Varela, Leonilde; Cruz-Cunha, Maria Manuela; Pinto Ferreira, Luís; Bastos, João; Castro, Helio; Silva, JoséRobotic Process Automation (RPA) is a rules-based system for automating business processes by software bots that mimic human interactions to relieve employees from tedious work. It was verified in the literature that there are few works related to RPA decision support models. This technology is in great growth and, therefore, it becomes important to study the evaluation of the implementation of RPA. The objective of this work is focused on a literature review for the identification and analysis of Robotic Process Automation implementation models. This work analyses some models or studies available in the literature and, in addition, analyses it from a perspective relating to the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) related to environmental, social and economic effects. Regarding the results obtained, it appears that there is still a lot of room to improve research in this field, for example, with regard to the development of an evaluation model for the implementation of the RPA, taking into account the TBL of the sustainability concept.
- An algorithm of a costing system for electroplatingPublication . Pires, António; Ferreira, Fábio; Ávila, Paulo; Mota, AlziraBusinesses are increasingly competitive and rigorous and it is essential the existence of a strong, effective and realistic costing system. Decisions taken on the basis of the costing are very important, they can make the difference between success and failure of the organization. This paper explains the construction of an initial algorithm that aims to calculate the costs associated with electroplating of metal articles, in a specific company. This work can act as a possible guide for the construction of the costing system algorithms in this type of industry.
- Design of a Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) process – case studyPublication . Ávila, Paulo; Lima, Daniela; Moreira, Dália; Pires, António; Bastos, JoãoNowadays, companies are facing a constant need to develop and increase coordination between operational functions to respond rapidly and accurately to customer requests. Linked with this need, an increasing number of practitioners are resorting to an established and integrated business management methodology, the Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP). The concept of S&OP has gained increased recognition over the years by several authors and companies. This project describes the S&OP implementation in Sogrape Vinhos (wines) S.A., a Portuguese wine producer and distributer. The company was confronted with low accuracy in the establishing the forecast demand plans, especially on a long-term horizon. In order to increase the demand plans accuracy, the company started a S&OP implementation program. This paper describes the company’s current planning process, explains the S&OP’s implementation model presenting the selected parameters adequate to the company’s context, and finally, evaluate the expected outcomes of this project. Preliminary results from the S&OP implementation project at Sogrape indicate significant savings at the operational level and greater effectiveness in developing the company’s demand plans.
- Contribuição da ISO 9001: 2000 na Criação e Implementação de Quantificadores de Desempenho para as Pequenas e Médias EmpresasPublication . Ávila, Paulo; Putnik, Goran; Lopes, Manuel; Afonso Fernandes, António; Cavaco, IsmaelA maioria das pequenas e médias empresas não têm ou não possuem adequadas medidas de desempenho para se auto-avaliarem. Com certeza que valores relacionados com alguns parâmetros contabilísticos normalmente são conhecidos, e.g., volume de faturação, resultado líquido, etc. Contudo, nos nossos dias não bastam apenas esses parâmetros e o empresário deve perceber que os desempenhos financeiros dependem de outras medidas de desempenho, i.e., os primeiros são consequência dos segundos. Com a implementação de sistemas de gestão da qualidade (SGQ), segundo a norma NP EN ISO 9001: 2000, nas pequenas e médias empresas, pensamos que é uma importante oportunidade para perceber, criar e implementar medidas de desempenho, de forma racional e com acréscimo de valor ou de importância para a empresa. Isto significa, a criação de medidas de desempenho que podem ser úteis e não para criar mais “papeis” que nunca serão utilizados no quotidiano da empresa, e que nalguns casos, apenas servem para impressionar os auditores da qualidade ou para decorar as paredes da empresa. A oportunidade criada com a implementação da norma ISO 9001: 2000 ocorre da necessidade de implementar o SGQ inserido no contexto duma estrutura de processos que interagem entre si (através de entradas e saídas de cada processo) e com o exterior (clientes e fornecedores) e que descrevem as principais atividades no seio da empresa que são importantes para assegurar a qualidade do sistema. Para cada um dos processos pertencentes ao SGQ é necessário, entre outros requisitos da norma, descrever os seus mecanismos de controlo, i.e., as suas medidas de desempenho. A descrição dessas medidas de desempenho, que ficam a cargo de cada empresa, são de crucial importância para a aplicação do círculo de Deming (plan do check act – PDCA), quer no seio de cada processo quer para o todo do SGQ implementado dentro da empresa. O propósito deste artigo passa primeiro por chamar a atenção das empresas para a oportunidade de definirem medidas de desempenho úteis aquando da implementação dum SGQ. Em segundo, mostraremos um conjunto de processos tipo para pequenas e médias empresas da indústria metalomecânica e para cada processo definiremos algumas das medidas de desempenho que poderão ser utilizadas pelas mesmas, para quantificarem o desempenho de cada processo e simultaneamente do todo da empresa.