Paul Folan

A review of performance measurement: Towards performance management

Describes the evolution of performance measurement (PM) in four sections: recommendations, frameworks, systems and inter-organisational performance measurement. Measurement begins with a recommendation, which is a piece of advice related to the measures or structure of performance measurement; frameworks can be dichotomised into a structural and procedural typology that suggests structural framework development has outstripped procedural framework development. The basic requirements for a successful PM system are two frameworks--one structural and one procedural as well as a number of other performance management tools. Inter-organisational performance measurement may be divided into supply chain and extended enterprise performance measurement: the former relying solely on traditional logistics measures, while the latter incorporates the structural aspects of the supply chain system and adds non-logistics perspectives to its measurement arena. Finally, the encroachment of the performance measurement literature into the processes related to performance management is examined, and areas for future research are suggested.

Development of an extended enterprise performance measurement system

This paper discusses the development of a performance measurement system specifically designed for the requirements of the extended enterprise, via two performance measurement frameworks: the structural extended enterprise balanced scorecard and the procedural framework for the selection and implementation of measures. The extended enterprise balanced scorecard offers a four-perspective framework, implemented at each node, that provides a generic structure for the management of performance measures in the extended enterprise; while the procedural framework operates at both the local and holistic levels, to provide a step-by-step generic process towards performance measure selection and implementation. When combined, the two frameworks produce the basic extended enterprise performance measurement (EEPM) system, which was subsequently tested at a first-tier supplier in the European automotive industry. The characteristics of the extended enterprise are taken as a given starting point, and the paper concludes by pointing out the need for extended enterprise performance management to balance the developments outlined here.

RFID in product lifecycle management: a case in the automotive industry

The circumstances of globalization and ever-stricter environmental legislation over the past decade have led enterprises to work together to transform products into extended products, and to manage these throughout their lifecycle. Innovative radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can be introduced as an enabler of product lifecycle management (PLM) business, by enhancing the traceability of the product throughout its value chain via automatic identification, enabling the collection of product usage information during its middle-of-life (MOL) phase, and facilitating the integration of product lifecycle information and knowledge across the value chain, thus closing the products information loop from beginning-of-life (BOL), through MOL, to end-of-life (EOL) and back again. This paper will introduce a framework for product lifecycle information management with the support of RFID technology. A case study of how the framework supports the decision-making involved in the different lifecycle phases of the automotive industry will be described using UML models.

Performance: Its meaning and content for today's business research

Performance, as a concept, is a subject open to wide variability as it is a somewhat imprecise word when it functions as a placeholder in research. By using definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary and other research disciplines, this paper provides a wide-ranging discussion of the meaning and content of the term performance in the business performance research. The paper reviews numerous characteristics of performance, such as its being a subjective entity that is non-random in character; while it is governed by its relevance to a particular environment, and operates from a particular objective, by virtue of a set of chosen characteristics. It contains elements that are both static and dynamic; and it is possible to characterise via three states: unformed or random, formalised or systematic, and deformed or over-bureaucratic. Also, an encapsulating model of performance, whereby performance acts as a frame around performance management, performance assessment and performance measurement is proposed. Studies of performance as a concept in itself are practically non-existent in the business research; the value of this paper, therefore, lies in its attempt to explicate previously undocumented models of performance.

Product life cycle: the evolution of a paradigm and literature review from 1950–2009

Recently, product lifecycle management (PLM) has become a popular topic in academic literature. However, although it shares the same title, contemporary PLM is quite different from the early twentieth centurys PLM culture, which was established upon the basis of the classical life cycle body of theory, which continued to be refined, right up to the end of 1960s. A comprehensive understanding of the creation and deployment of different strands of PLM strategy requires a knowledge of the basis of such paradigms – that is, the variety of product life cycle theories available to the researcher, and how these have come about. This article reviews relevant product life cycle models presented historically in the literature and divides them into two categories – the long-established marketing product life cycle model, and the emergent engineering product life cycle model. An explanation of the former model leads to an understanding of its perceived shortcomings, and the reason for the take-up of later models. A correct knowledge of this is important, as contemporary PLM has been inundated with a variety of PLM methodologies and techniques, largely from the periodical literature and across the internet, often with no clear explication of the underlining product life cycle model used to derive the methodology. There is a need for analysis upon this issue; not just to clarify the mutable term ‘product life cycle’, but for the provision of a correct understanding of the models that are informing the current debate, often outside academic circles.

A communications framework for extended enterprise performance measurement

Inter-organizational performance measurement communication is a neglected facet of the performance measurement literature. Performance measurement (PM) is undergoing a transformation in todays business environment, consistent with the development of inter-organizational paradigms, such as the virtual enterprise, extended enterprise (EE), and supply chain management. In this paper the communications issue is discussed using an EE mindset, and the concepts behind a communications framework are presented. This utilizes the concept of an EE host – the member of the EE with responsibilities for formulating, detailing and distributing information concerning the EE performance measurement system to other EE nodes. The framework design is based upon standardized intranets located at each partner in the EE. This provides the necessary elements to enable different organizations in the EE to maintain PM databases locally, while ensuring the existence of a centrally located database maintained by the EE host. A case study is presented that focuses upon the implementation of the EE performance measurement system at the EE host.

Knowledge-enriched shop floor control in end-of-life business

Ever-stricter environmental legislation over the past decade has led to the emergence of the end-of-life (EOL) industrial sector, e.g. remanufacturing of products, recycling of material and the recovery of energy. Due to uncertainties over returned product quantities, product quality and product diversity, production planning and control in EOL activities is quite different from those in the forward supply chain. In fact, those uncertainties can be diminished by enhancing the exploitation of the related information generated throughout the product lifecycle. Product lifecycle management provides an opportunity to access and share the distributed information generally available in the product lifecycle, while agent-based systems have been found to be effective tools in such large, uncertain environments. In this article, a product lifecycle information system that deploys agents is introduced into a typical EOL shop floor control system to provide lifecycle information for the returned product for decision-making. Supported by radio frequency identification technology, the product itself controls processes aggressively and autonomously in a system designed to minimise uncertainty. A case study of how the system supports shop floor planning and control in a plastics recycling plant is described at the end of the article.

RFID-based Information Management in the Automotive Plastic Recycling Industry

While metallic fractions in the automotive industry have been the subject of significant and successful research, the recycling of plastics in vehicles is less well understood and is now vital to the success of effective automotive recycling, according to legislative requirements. Moreover, it is a critical challenge given the difficulty of plastic identification, the low technical level of logistics processes, and the lack of availability of historical information on plastics. This paper introduces RFID system, which helps to automatically identify, record, transmit and search product information throughout the product lifecycle. This research produces a feasible solution for decision support in a case study of automotive plastic recycling, using an RFID-based information management framework in the product lifecycle.

TRANSFORMATION OF PRODUCT FIELD DATA INTO KNOWLEDGE

Abstract This paper focuses upon the research issues of the PROMISE project involved with the transformation of product field data mainly gathered at the middle of life phase, into various types of knowledge that can be used for a variety of purposes in different product life cycle phases. We describe the main steps through which the data should transit in order to generate the required knowledge. We also describe the approach followed to gather and analyze the requirements regarding the transformation of product field data into knowledge of the different application scenarios involved in PROMISE.

Fuzzy performance model construction & formalization: its use/reuse in the Economic View

The economic view analyzes the enterprise from the performance point of view, which is a significant component of the existing CIM architecture. Based on former conceptual frameworks of the economic view research, this paper points to performance modeling and knowledge representation, learning and management. Firstly, a fuzzy performance modeling method is proposed, aligned with a process model; and a related fuzzy performance measurement method is then presented. Secondly, to represent performance knowledge, the formalization of the fuzzy performance model is discussed, which will facilitate performance knowledge management. Thirdly, the fuzzy performance knowledge repository is suggested to be established with a learning mechanism and methods to retrieve and reuse fuzzy performance models being proposed.