Matteo Mario Savino

Environmental and economic assessment of fresh fruit supply chain through value chain analysis. A case study in chestnuts industry

In recent years, both researches and practitioners have devoted attention to environmental sustainability of supply chain (SC), while firms have modified their marketing strategies highlighting green practices in productive and logistic processes among the features of their products. These behaviours move firms to require to their suppliers the adoption of green measures and practices to reduce environmental impacts within the entire SC. This paper presents the results on an exploratory case-based research on the SC of fresh chestnuts aimed to integrate environmental concepts in the value chain approach, with a concurrent evaluation of sustainability improvements and their economic impact. Within the value chain configuration, environmental KPIs are defined for the specific case study and a logistic environmental model is developed. Within the model, an evaluation of carbon footprint for this SC is proposed, along with its possible improvements. Results include the analysis of different improvement scenarios and their comparison.

Determinants of patient satisfaction: a systematic review

Aim: A large number of studies have addressed the detection of patient satisfaction determinants, and the results are still inconclusive. Furthermore, it is known that contradicting evidence exists across patient satisfaction studies. This article is the second part of a two-part series of research with a goal to review a current conceptual framework of patient satisfaction for further operationalisation procedures. The aim of this work was to systematically identify and review evidence regarding determinants of patient satisfaction between 1980 and 2014, and to seek the reasons for contradicting results in relationships between determinants and patient satisfaction in the literature to design a further robust measurement system for patient satisfaction. Method: This systematic review followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. The search was conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus in October 2014. Studies published in full in peer reviewed journals between January 1980 and August 2014 and in the English language were included. We included 109 articles for the synthesis. Results: We found several number of determinants of patient satisfaction investigated in a wide diversity of studies. However, study results were varied due to no globally accepted formulation of patient satisfaction and measurement system. Conclusions: Health care service quality indicators were the most influential determinants of patient satisfaction across the studies. Among them, health providers’ interpersonal care quality was the essential determinant of patient satisfaction. Sociodemographic characteristics were the most varied in the review. The strength and directions of associations with patient satisfaction were found inconsistent. Therefore, person-related characteristics should be considered to be the potential determinants and confounders simultaneously. The selected studies were not able to show all potential characteristics which may have had effects on satisfaction. There is a need for more studies on how cultural, behavioural, and socio-demographic differences affect patient satisfaction, using a standardised questionnaire.

Integrated system for maintenance and safety management through FMECA principles and fuzzy inference engine

Failure mode effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) is a widely used technique to improve products and processes safety and reliability in different contexts, such as automotive, aviation, computer science, etc. FMECA approach is based on a qualitative/quantitative analysis of a system (product or process) and its components in order to identify the most critical elements for system operability and safety through the evaluation of failure mode causes and effects. In the present work we propose a modified FMECA methodology in which the criticality evaluation is made considering both production performances and users/workers safety. The approach uses a fuzzy inference engine to define certain key indexes related both to production performance and safety level. It merges the classic FMECA criticality analysis approach with the risk evaluation into a unified procedure. The proposed method is applied to a real case concerning the production of braking systems for high speed trains. [Received 30 October 2009; Revised 22 March 2010; Accepted 22 March 2010]

B2B relationship management: a framework to explore the impact of collaboration

This article aims to propose an integrated framework, based on two levels, able to characterise collaborative relation between two or more partners in a supply chain, evaluating their related performances. In the first level, related to the context point of view, the most common parameters, identified from a literature review, characterising a relationship between two partners, have been used to build an integrated analysis framework. The second level is related to the performance side and has been achieved through two main attributes: the perceived satisfaction of the relation and its perceived effectiveness. The implementation of the approach has been achieved through a survey of different companies, so as to propose a first analysis on how the characteristics of a relation impact its performance. A new dashboard is considered as an operative tool of the proposed approach, which allows to follow all the attributes which best characterise each relation type, as well as the sensitivity of the perceived performance for each attribute.

Kanban-driven parts feeding within a semi-automated O-shaped assembly line: a case study in the automotive industry

Purpose – The aim of the present work is to provide a case study where lean production (LP) techniques are implemented in a semi-automated assembly line with O-shaped (closed-loop) layout configuration. The action research has been conducted within an assembly line for automotive components. The work aims to provide insights on the impact of loop layout features with respect to lean principles’ application; operative solutions related to some logistic limit of loop layout; and how kanban technique can be adapted to an O-shaped layout. Design/methodology/approach – The main research methodology is based on action research within an assembly line of oil pumps. The two research questions find answer through literature analysis and implementation of LP in the O-shaped layout. In the A3 step, we identify the main weak points of a loop layout also under the perspective of operators’ feeling. The analysis of the main constraints is conducted in this step, with respect to the most common layout used within LP ado...

Agent-based flow-shop modelling in dynamic environment

This article studies a multiple-objective flow-shop modelling and scheduling problem by multi-agent system (MAS) in a production context characterized by diversified, high-volume production mix. The analysed flow shop is characterised by multi-machine workstations, transfer batches, sequence-dependent setup times and possible re-entrant jobs. The agent-based model is structured from the current flow-shop configuration, defining the main entities and related events to realize the most possible flexible model. After a description of entities and their states, the agent framework with state diagrams is implemented through Jade platform. The system is provided with a simulation-based environment to test it in two main production scenarios including re-entrant jobs and failures. A coordination mechanism between agents and a dedicated scheduling algorithm managed by the MAS allowed to front this kind of events optimising concurrent objectives like work in process, Makespan and buffer queues.

Flow shop operator scheduling through constraint satisfaction and constraint optimisation techniques

Workers scheduling in not highly automated production lines is an important task, especially when in a production line the number of operators is less than the number of workstations. Finding an optimal distribution plan can increase the line throughput, managing the workforce and the workload in a better way. This work focuses on the operator-scheduling problem for an electromechanical assembly line. Workforce distribution on the workstations has been made with a centralised scheduling based on a mathematical model which, through constraint optimisation principles, is able to find the optimal distribution of workforce optimising fundamental parameters, such as man-hours, throughput, makespan and work in process.

Toward Environmental and Quality Sustainability: An Integrated Approach for Continuous Improvement

In the last decade, industrial research for sustainable development and environment has become more strategically oriented, due to increasing of environmental pressures coming from local laws, stakeholders, and final customers. The goal of this research is to create a methodical approach for integrating the development of environmental and quality audits by prioritizing corrective actions (CA). The work starts and develops within a firm that produces smartcards for mobile phones, where environmental audits have been integrated with quality audits by a fuzzy inference engine that addresses gravity determinations of environmental and quality nonconformities. The findings of this study provided some general principles to integrate environmental management system (EMS) in quality management system (QMS) development and suggested an implementation of Continuous Improvement, which addresses, analyzes, prioritizes, and measures activities within the Deming wheel.

Dynamic batch scheduling in a continuous cycle-constrained production system

In this work we address the problem of batch sizing and sequencing in a continuous metal sheets painting line with the aim to minimise set-up costs and maximise certain production parameters like work in process and throughput. In such production systems a set-up activity is needed when the painting colour has to be changed; colour requirements can be different for metal sheets produced in the same or in different batches, or when production line is discontinued for a certain time period due to over capacity, roster changing or maintenance activities. Starting from the Wagner?Whitin model, a new heuristic approach is presented with the objective to minimise the number of set-ups to be made for each lot. The heuristic approach has been validated through a discrete events simulation, in which the main production parameter is monitored to verify the effective improvements.

Product quality pointers for small lots production: a new driver for Quality Management Systems

Quality Management Systems (QMS) can be a strategic tool for improving a firms management because it allows the identification of a set of quality pointers able to monitor every process. Recent renewals of QMS have involved a redefinition of the pointers system through new processes and procedures to guarantee an effective process control and satisfaction of users requirements. This work aims to develop a QMS methodology able to define a set of finalised pointers to objectively measure production improvements, or to define the lacks of a certain production process, especially when product personalisation is emphasised. The methodology has been applied to the production process of an SME producing motor caravans and motor homes characterised by a high level of product personalisation. The improvements obtained have been mainly related to a decrease in Non-Conformities (NCs) in production and, with the new QMS, the production processes have given the same performance with the introduction of new products.