ABSTRACT
This study examines the mediating role of trust in government on the relationship between fear of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and compliance with social distancing. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 740 Jordanian citizens, and path analysis (SmartPLS 2.0) was conducted to analyze the data. Results show that fear of COVID-19 has a positive effect on both compliance with social distancing (t = 6.777, p =.000) and trust in government (t = 7.968, p =.000);trust in government has a positive effect on compliance with social distancing (t = 8.502, p =.000);and trust in government partially mediates the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and compliance with social distancing (Sobel test = 6.17, p =.000). The effect of fear of COVID-19 on compliance with social distancing, with trust in the government as a mediating variable, is greater than the direct effect without the mediating variable. Therefore, it is suggested that for social distancing measures imposed by the government on citizens to be effective, policymakers must work to enhance citizens' trust in the government and its measures aimed at curbing the outbreak of COVID-19. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research are discussed. © 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
ABSTRACT
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has enabled many new avenues for industrial engineers to perform their jobs. There used to be a need for an engineer to monitor, analyze, and improve a process manually. The inherent benefit of IIoT applications in industrial settings no longer requires in-person contact. Through the use of sensors, actuators, and data communication networks, businesses can now automate the data collection process to achieve KPIs. With this digital revolution comes the ability to access the data and improve the process from anywhere in the world. While IIoT brings many advantages that may improve a process improvement team's efficiency, it is not without some drawbacks such as security and cost. This paper will explore how IIoT enables remote improvements and how the COVID-19 pandemic has made remote work a fiscal possibility for many businesses. © IEOM Society International.
ABSTRACT
As we enter the new year, two companies’ COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized for emergency use in the United States. While they are only in the beginning stages of distribution, we have already seen many complications in the United States as each state has a unique policy on its distribution process. Within the state of California, the different counties are dealing with COVID-19 differently depending on the size of the population and geographical location. Depending on these factors, the counties throughout the state have their own ways of distributing the vaccine that is advised by the state. Even though each county has its own distribution method, California as a whole ranked 35th out of the 50 states for efficiency in vaccine distribution as of February 28, 2021. With the efficiency so low, and cases at an all-time high, states need to more effectively distribute the vaccine to those who need it most: at-risk individuals, frontline healthcare workers, and older adults. With the discovery of a new strain, counties within the state must properly contain the spread while administering vaccines in order for the country to rebound from extended lockdowns. Our paper addresses the distribution of the vaccine within California and provides insight on how the state can effectively and adequately do so. © IEOM Society International.
ABSTRACT
Despite the start of a new year, COVID-19, a disease caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, continues to impact people's lives on a global scale. The outbreak of the disease was first reported on December 31, 2019. At this time, governments all over the world are scrambling to vaccinate their citizens. As of January 2021, six vaccines have been approved by a handful of countries. Approving a new vaccine and then mass-distributing it to an entire nation is a pressing yet complicated process. This paper will focus on defining successful vaccine deployment and discussing how certain countries are currently handling the task. The global COVID-19 vaccine supply chain will be discussed for each of the six vaccines and touch on various topics such as the development process, manufacturing locations, storage requirements, proximity to approved countries, capacity, and how demand is being fulfilled. This information will be used to evaluate how well different governments are obtaining and distributing the vaccines and offer suggestions to improve this process moving forward. © IEOM Society International.
ABSTRACT
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on all supply chains and markets worldwide. However, most of the analysis has taken place from the brick and mortar or buyer's perspective. The purpose of this paper is to capture the effects of these closures and business limitations further upstream at the supplier level. Specifically, the metal casting business that supplies all sorts of industries, from medical implants to construction. Due to the cancellation of non-essential surgeries at hospitals, demand for medical implants has stagnated while the demand for construction has continued. By surveying stakeholders in California's metal casting industry, this research explores how this complex and diverse vocation fulfills these demands and how they have adapted to these changes. © IEOM Society International.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented changes in the trucking industry. 70% of all freight tonnage goes on trucks, including essential items such as food, medical supplies, and cleaning products. COVID-19 caused surges in demand for many of these products, impacting the trucking companies. Medical supplies, cleaning supplies, food, and even the COVID-19 vaccine itself rely on the trucking industry to be distributed across the nation, creating a new, increased demand for goods. The increase in demand caused a surge of trucks on the road, which is a good sign for the business, but at a cost to the drivers during these times. Closures due to the pandemic created problems for long-haul truckers who are on the road and need a place to rest, get gas, or buy food. Besides, truckers are now expected to work longer hours and make longer trips to meet the new demand. The limitations that the pandemic has created on the trucking industry have also affected the overall revenue. Trucking companies are reluctant to send trucks to highly impacted areas, even if those areas contribute most to the increased demand. This paper will explore the different ways that COVID-19 affected the trucking industry, how they responded, and how their response continues to affect the industry. © IEOM Society International.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has altered the market such that both supply and demand are less predictable than ever before. U.S. businesses have had to learn to adapt to the rapid influx of demand in unexpected areas while demand slows in others, especially in the food industry. One way to address this is to utilize sharing economy within the supply chain, more specifically in last-mile logistics. Adopting a sharing economy model allows for an intimate working relationship between the company and a worker that can resemble an employee without much of the continuous employment and associated overhead costs. A form of this is independent contractors, who can be brought in rapidly when both supply and demand are high and can cope with the low demand with a reduced consequence to the business. One such example is a third-party app-based service providing the last mile logistics for restaurants. This research investigates the overarching impacts on the restaurant industry of a shift from consumers traveling to sharing economy providing last-mile logistics. © IEOM Society International.
ABSTRACT
The goal of this research is to explore solutions to recent shortages in the computer chip supply chain. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed weakness in the supply chain for computer chips. With more industries needing computer chips for their products, particularly the automotive industry, a shortage caused by shutdowns in China after the pandemic led to a rise in prices of consumer goods. In this research, we focus on the technicalities of the computer chip supply chain to find methods of preventing shortages and improving the overall supply chain to avoid future shortages. This is particularly important with the increased dependence on computer chips in products. India has shown success with its government incentives to encourage reshoring of computer chip manufacturing, so there is less dependence on other countries to obtain chips. It is recommended that the US follow India’s lead and encourage reshoring of computer chip manufacturing to reduce the likelihood of shortages in the future. © IEOM Society International.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector. With the widespread closures of business and decrease in travels due to the pandemic, there have been significant falls in electricity, coal, gas, and nuclear power consumption. Disruptions in manufacturing facilities and pauses on construction projects bring uncertainty about energy growth in 2021. In the past, similar drops in emissions occurred such as the global financial crisis of 2008 but resulted in a rebound of global CO2 emissions when the market recovered. However, the pandemic brings forth unique risks and uncertainties for industries and governments in having to balance safety with progress. For this COVID-19 related recession, governments have the chance to pivot energy consumption by incentivizing renewable energy sectors like wind, solar, hydrogen, and energy storage that reduce the carbon footprint. Investing in renewables could stimulate economic recovery and aid in the transition to a more sustainable future. However, we see significant declines in such investments. We investigate how the energy industry was affected by and could recover from the challenges set forth by the pandemic and how this recovery could incentivize clean energy technologies. © IEOM Society International.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has had drastic effects on many industries around the globe. With shelter-in-place orders set to slow the spread of the virus, many high-risk facilities like gyms were forced to close until further notice. Individuals who rely on these facilities for access to exercise equipment had to find alternatives. For these reasons, individuals are now purchasing their own exercise equipment, creating "at-home gyms." This has overloaded the exercise equipment market, creating a substantial positive surge in production. This increase in demand and new manufacturing regulations have disrupted exercise equipment companies' supply chains. The goal of this paper is to identify all impacts of COVID-19 on this industry in the U.S. and analyze current methods of regulating production and delivery. We determine the effects the pandemic has had on the economy relating to the fitness equipment industry and investigate potential correlations between certain equipment types and delays. The paper discusses the performance of other kinds of at-home exercise programs offered by the fitness industry. Throughout the paper, we analyze, detail, and compare both solutions from equipment companies and consumers' responses. © 2021 IISE Annual Conference and Expo 2021. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the everyday lives of people and businesses around the world, and a field greatly affected has been the United States pharmaceutical supply chain. This global pandemic has made preexisting issues within the supply chain’s structure more glaring than before with people’s lives being at risk. Demand for drugs is at least equivalent and likely higher in this current health setting. If companies are not providing the appropriate medications to their customers, then it can be the difference between life and death for some. To investigate the challenges behind the supply chain, the analysis was focused on problems before COVID-19, such as the lack of transparency, burdensome regulations, and logistical issues due to improper distribution. An investigation on how COVID-19 has impacted each specific part of the pharmaceutical supply chain leads to a discussion on what recommendations could be implemented to fix the presented issues. The U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain is a complex, global system that has become increasingly more challenging to navigate because of COVID-19. Shortages need to be mitigated, and the inevitability of a future vaccine for the virus needs to follow a proper logistics and distribution model to ensure its success. © IEOM Society International.