Sorin Popescu

Roadmap for ERP Evaluation and Selection

Abstract The first steps for introducing an ERP solution to a small or medium sized company are essential for implementation success or failure. In this paper a structured approach to ERP evaluation and selection is proposed. The developed roadmap for ERP selection combines quality management specific approaches to the mains authors’ practical experience in the selection and implementation of business related software. This methodology is based on the “keep it simple” principle whilestill addressing multiple relevant dimensions and criteria in the selection process.It is mainly practice oriented focusing on the ease of adoption and use of SMEs, its main target beingcompany representativesresponsible for leading the selection process.Empirical evidence form a mid-sized distribution company is provided in order to illustrate how the proposed approach is applied in practice.

Agile approach with Kanban in information security risk management

In an ever changing business environment, in order to bring value, security risk management must keep engaged at pace with the company, by following the enterprise goals and using the same methodologies as core business units. This paper analyses how information security risk management can be automated and interlinked with the processes in a software development company, using an Agile approach with Kanban. The methodology used has been tested (Proof of Concept) applying relevant information security risks for an e-commerce business, the results showing an increase in efficiency of the risk management team, better business response and improvements of the defined risk management SLAs (Service Level Agreement).

A Literature Survey on Reconfigurable Industrial Robotic Work Cells

As the unpredictability of market needs and the mass customization trends increase, employing reconfigurable industrial robotic work cells becomes a viable solution for manufacturers. A reconfigurable manufacturing system is a system designed for a quick change in structure, both in hardware and software, in order to rapidly adjust production capacity and functionalities. However, the approach is quite general; a simple search within scientific literature, patent databases or the world-wide-web returns thousands of results, covering a time period from the 80s to date. Among the results, different approaches on reconfigurable industrial robotic work cell implementations can be easily noticed. This paper surveys the literature in reconfigurable industrial robotic work cells, aiming to identify, besides the most important approaches on this topic, also performance criteria associated to robotic workcell reconfigurability and means of measuring the reconfigurability degree of such cells. The survey also aims to identify command and control architectures used to achieve various levels of reconfigurability. The survey was conducted by using a specific search methodology, which is also presented in the paper.

With the Trio of Standards Now Complete, What Does the Future Hold for Integrated Management Systems?

The world of standardized management systems is traversing exciting changes with the publishing of the long-awaited ISO standard for occupational health and safety, ISO 45001. It comes to join ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 to form a trio of highly compatible best practice references of interest for many companies that want to become more competitive, especially from the manufacturing sector. For the past at least 20 years there have been many debates and studies on how to best go about using these standards together to set up an integrated management system. Of course, things seem easier now, but together with the benefits, there are also challenges to manage and some are quite significant. This paper discusses the implications of reaching this milestone and presents the results of a focus-group made among production oriented companies, that was aimed at probing the stakeholder community regarding its positioning in the new context. The focus is on the impact of the new regulations upon creating or upgrading an integrated management system, where relationships among components are the key to a successful implementation and to obtaining results.

Model for developing design of the electronic courses

This paper is proposing an original model for developing design of the electronic courses, which includes all cyclepsilas phases of the course: designing, accomplishing, delivering and evaluating.