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Since its discovery, the COVID-19 virus spread all over the world and caused millions of deaths, this paper focuses on studying the impact of the pandemic on the connected and non-connected automotive production lines. This study is developed on two production lines in an automotive manufacturing factory that assembles 700 cars per day and the study is elaborated following two main steps: firstly, studying the impact of the virus spreading on the OEE "Overall Equipment Effectiveness” of the production lines, which is a quantitative metric used for the evaluation of the line effectiveness based on availability, performance and quality, and secondly analyzing the relationship between these factors and the OEE using the Design of Experiments method © 2023, Suranaree Journal of Science and Technology.All Rights Reserved.
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In this article, Sara Dorman, Global Biopharma Market Manager at Roquette, discusses the benefits of single-use systems, including how they help accelerate a drug product's journey to market securely and more sustainably. Copyright © 2022, Frederick Furness Publishing. All rights reserved.
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Nowadays, an average of 2 kg of waste per person are generated in Spain. Furthermore, the household consumption is rising and, as a consequence, the waste production is also increasing. This trend presents a direct impact in the environment. Moreover, after two years of COVID-19 pandemic, it has been detected a stronger rise in consumption per person, while consumption through professional commercial channels for hospitality industry has been lower. This paper analizes the waste generation and product shrinkage in a potato bagging plant, which addresses its production to both final consumers and retailers. The raw materials washing line, as well as the production line, are taken into consideration in the analysis, while new uses to the produced waste are proposed, aiming at providing new useful life, such as the production of bioplastics or the production of biodiesel. As a consequence, the environment impact is minimized and new products are obtained. © 2022 The Authors.
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Introduction/ Background: In September 2020, a cluster of SARS-COV-2 infections was reported among workers at a factory in Uganda. The factory had already introduced COVID-19 risk reduction measures for all employees, including face mask use. We investigated the cluster to determine exposures associated with transmission and inform evidence-based control measures. Methods: We defined a case as positive RT-PCR test for SARSCOV- 2 in a Factory X worker during August- September 2020. We conducted a case-control study using a randomly selected subset of case patients. A control was a Factory X worker with a negative RTPCR test for COVID-19 during August-September 2020, selected randomly from Factory X departments with cases. Case-patients and controls were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire, asked about possible exposures. We analysed data using logistic regression to obtain an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with confidence interval (CI). We interviewed facility staff on preventive measures and conducted an observational assessment for ventilation and crowding. Results: Among 163 case-patients (factory attack rate=11%), none died. The index case-patient was a 27-year-old employee with infection confirmation on August 10. In the case-control study with 75 cases and 75 controls, lack of self-reported mask use (AOR=14, 95% CI 2.4-76), and working in the engineering (AOR=5.9, 95% CI 2.3-16) or old garments (AOR=2.4. 95% CI 1.1- 5.5) departments were associated with infection. Engineering and old garments departments lacked windows, while other departments all had open windows. We observed workers on production lines spaced closely together. Impact: Based on the findings, Integration of tracking mechanisms for local infections at workplaces and enhanced focus on preventive measures, including periodic worker monitoring to ensure adherence to preventive measures, may be warranted during higher-risk times to prevent such outbreaks in the future. Conclusion: This SARS-COV-2 cluster was associated with inadequate mask use and poor ventilation, likely exacerbated by congestion. We recommended enforcement of factory risk reduction measures including mask use, increased spacing on production lines and provision of adequate windows and doors in all departments.
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Like almost in every field, application and design of IoT is also important in mechanical enginering for construction of automated machines, production lines and process plants. Education of engineers has to follow this trend. A new course on this field was established and had to be organised online according to Covid pandemic restrictions. The challenge to enable online programming exercises on an embedded system, where students at home control some process hardware over the internet, had to be solved. In this work, a solution is presented. Three communication paths were used, one was an office communication platform for creating a virtual classroom. Furthermore a server providing command line interfaces for communication of the programmers with the target hardware was established. Finally, an external MQTT broker was used for data exchange of the controller hardware with an application running on the PC. A low-cost hardware was contructed to provide a realistic thermal process. About twenty students completed the course with good results. © 2022 IEEE.
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Manufacturers faced severe conditions due to frequent natural disasters and spread of the COVID-19 virus need to continue the production even in any emergency situations. We proposed a reconfigurable production line composed of resources that include line workers and multipurpose equipment. Skilled workers can handle complicated tasks quickly in unexpected situation but require high production cost after transition to steady situation. Equipment takes time temporarily to launch and adjust a task but can stabilize the quality regularly. This paper describes a production line design method for maximizing production efficiency in both steady and emergency situations by modeling the capabilities of resources. © 2021 The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers.
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This study uses the expansion augmented reality technology combined with the virtual integration networking platform to realize the maintenance and diagnosis of equipment guarantee for engineers in the factory production line, as well as the establishment of the basic process of equipment operation, regular inspection of equipment to maintain the normal operation of production line equipment major tasks. Equipment operators in factory production lines are subject to rigorous education and training, with varying quality differences among employees, and some require experienced operators to be effective in achieving operational efficiency. In addition, in response to the rapid changes in the global pneumonia epidemic (COVID-19) and the mature development of Internet of Things technology to change the operating mode of most industries in Taiwan, the problem of personnel diversion to work groups, the data adjustment of traditional production line equipment parameters depended on paper records, data experience is not easy to pass on. © 2021 IEEE.
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The coronavirus crisis had a critical impact on supply chains and production worldwide. In particular, closed borders often prevented companies from obtaining the components required for their production. Such disruptions are the results of globalization, with suppliers spreading all over the world. The circular economy is an opportunity to overcome this challenge since components from end-of-life items may substitute supplies from afar. However, many barriers exist in the implementation of circular processes, as manufacturers perceive it as a radical change to their procedures. Therefore, we propose not to use completely new lines for the circular economy, but to use already existing systems. This paper presents the definition of circular integrated production systems (CIPS) and suggests a research roadmap for such to investigate what challenges and potentials arise, and what future research will be needed. © 2021, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.