Ibrahim Al Kattan

Simulation of Inventory Control System in a Supply Chain Using RFID

This paper employs a simulation model in a Supply Chain Management (SCM) system. This study is one of the first to present simulation model of inventory control system in supply chain management using barcode and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The main objective of this model is to compare two inventory systems in a supply chain, one using RFID, versus the barcode. The model will help company to consider moving from a barcode system to the RFID application. A quantitative analysis based on a simulation model is developed. The model runs for both systems using ARENA simulation software with a comparison between the two systems. Furthermore, the simulation model is tested by applying three different types of demand for both scenarios. The results have shown that regardless of demand distribution pattern and customer order rate, the outcomes of the model are consistent and provide promising RFID technology adoption to improve inventory control of the entire supply chain system. The installation and unit cost of RFID implementation were estimated and considered to be the main barrier. Such model can offer the policymakers insight into how RFID might improve SCM system performance. Additional test has been conducted for demand with normal and triangular distributions using real data provided by ABC-Dubai Company. The results obtained from running the two models for these distributions are consistent with the original results.

Workload balance of cells in designing of multiple cellular manufacturing systems

Purpose – This paper presents a new method of resource optimization through workload balance in designing of multiple cellular manufacturing (MCM) systems for flow‐shop environments. The application of a step‐by‐step structured approach to design MCM cells more efficiently and generate smooth flow shop type with better resource utilization.Design/methodology/approach – An industrial application case with 31 products carried on 12 workstations is presented to explore the step‐by‐step of designing and analyzing the results of alternative cellular manufacturing and balancing the workload.Findings – MCM designs have become an important approach for batch production in the last decade, and their layout provides a dominant flow structure for the production scheduling. The flow shop nature of MCM adds a simplifying structure to the complexity of planning and scheduling. This method will generate many alternative designs and configurations of MCM in the form of highly flexible manufacturing systems. These alterna...

A Stochastic Model for Improving Information Security in Supply Chain Systems

This article presents a probabilistic security model for supply chain management systems (SCM) in which the basic goals of security (including confidentiality, integrity, availability and accountability, CIAA) are modeled and analyzed. Consequently, the weak points in system security are identified. A stochastic model using measurable values to describe the information system security of a SCM is introduced. Information security is a crucial and integral part of the network of supply chains. Each chain or driver requires a different security level according to the services it contributes to the overall SCM system. Different probabilistic weights are assigned to the four goals CIAA of security depending on the SCM driver’s mission. A Semi-Markov chain model is used to describe the probabilistic nature of different security levels for each driver in the system. A comparison of the steady-state security for a multi-driver model with different levels of attack is performed, and the results analyzed. Enhanced supply chain security could be achieved by identifying the effects of attacks on the security goals of an organization. The use of this model helps to identify weak points in supply chain system security, and offers hints on how to strengthen them. The model is tested by considering intrusion scenarios representing different levels of attack on the SCM system. An analysis of the results is performed using an interactive application.

Comparison of diesel emission experiments in view of the environment: A case study at Dubai

Abstract Because of the nature of the diesel engine combustion process, such engines produce more toxic emissions, more visible smoke and odour than gasoline engines. This has led to an increasing concern about the possible effects of diesel emissions on the environment and human health. This study examines emissions form two experimental diesel powered vehicles pilot schemes at a Dubai municipality; an inspection and maintenance experiment and a diesel particulate filter experiment. Comparing the two experiments with a baseline vehicle, the results indicate that after the inspection and maintenance experiment, a significant reduction in emissions was achieved in carbon monoxide (300%), nitrogen oxides (500%) and hydrocarbons (88%). The implementation of a diesel particulate filter lead to even better emission reductions but at a higher cost, with hydrocarbon emissions decreasing by 150%, carbon monoxide by 500% and nitrogen oxides by 700%. The results are promising for both experiments for future investigation.

A case study on improving the effectiveness of preventive maintenance

Abstract This paper employs a mathematical model to improve the effectiveness of preventive maintenance. The study focuses on using real data of a feed pump (FP) in a petroleum refinery plant to test the effectiveness of the PM model and its impact on both reliability and maintainability. The model is tested for different scenarios by changing one of the main variables each time. These scenarios are developed using different values of failure rate to determine the steady state probability at normal operation. This will allow obtaining the best scheduling time for PM and improving the reliability of the feed pump. The timing of the preventive maintenance is essential to reduce system failure and corrective maintenance. The model helps to find good and decisive time, when the preventive maintenance work is superior rather than having a corrective action to repair the feed pump. This model supports the plant for sustainability and cost effectiveness with good timing and effective PM. Therefore, at high failure rate the probability of the Feed Pump failure will increase. In this case the availability of the Feed Pump will decrease, indicating that there is a need to perform PM works on the system. The results show that the life span of the system is extended with proposed PM model. Accordingly, increasing the reliability will increase the operational life cycle by reducing failures during operations, hence reducing the total costs by improving the availability.

The financial impact of using RFID in healthcare

This paper is emphases on the financial impact of RFID system on the healthcare. The main obstacle of RFID implementation is the high costs hence the area of application must be very selective. We decide on the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department (OGD), where the patient has many visits during three different periods: Pregnancy, Delivery and after Childbirth. This research conducted over two years to collect real data for two different scenarios, traditional versus RFID systems. The reductions in waiting times for each period are valued into money. The RFID technology can significantly improve the processing times associated with medical record retrieval, dispensing medication, personnel management and billing. This analysis is planned for a period of 5 years with discount rate of 4%. Finally, the net present value concept is applied in order to compare the financial benefit of two systems and to obtain the payback period.

Improvement of greenhouse by reducing gas emissions using replacement policy

This study aims to build a vehicle replacement model for air quality improvement by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. The model based on linear programming with the objective to reduce the total cost considering different depreciation methods. The decision variables are; the mileage of the vehicles, age of the vehicles, the annual operating and maintenance costs, and the estimated cost of emissions hazard. The application of the proposed model is based upon the fleet replacement model for mid-sized vehicles in the transportation department of Dubai municipality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Retaining the current fleet policy without implementing a new replacement model will continue to increase the rate of CO2 emissions. The proposed replacement model has been tested using three different depreciation approaches. The results show that the proposed replacement model has reduced the gas emissions and improved air quality. This application could be used as a benchmark for many other transportation departments in the UAE. The model shows promising results for improvement of the fleet performance including the reduction of greenhouse emission.