Showing papers by "Larisa Ivascu published in 2020"

Measuring the Implications of Sustainable Manufacturing in the Context of Industry 4.0

Abstract: Sustainability is increasingly being addressed globally. The manufacturing industry faces various constraints and opportunities related to sustainable development. Currently, there are few methodological frameworks for evaluating sustainable organizational development. Assessing and improving organizational capacity is important for producers and researchers in the field and local, national, and international authorities. This research proposes a hierarchical framework for sustainability assessment of manufacturing industry in Romania. The proposed framework integrates performance elements and measures to improve all the processes and activities from the triple perspective of sustainability. Sustainability assessment captures the entire supply chain of the organization, including stakeholder interests and end-of-life directions for products. To establish the elements to be integrated in the development of the proposed framework, market research (online questionnaire-for the characterization of Industry 4.0) and the Delphi method were used to identify the categories of performance indicators that must be measured to identify organizational capacity for sustainable development. The framework was tested by an automotive manufacturing organization. A number of improvements have been identified that relate to Industry 4.0 facilities and the application of the facilities related to recovering the value of the product at the end of its life cycle. This hierarchical framework can be customized in detail for the specific of each organization and can be adapted in other industries, including banking, retail, and other services. It can be observed that waste management and the interests of the stakeholders are major implications that must be measured and properly motivated.

A debate on issues regarding the new ISO 45001:2018 standard adoption

Abstract: The paper presents a debate on the implications of the ISO 45001 framework for management systems addressing occupational health and safety. The aim is to provide a comprehensive approach based on the ISO 45001 on safety culture and much more, for the nurture and development of the preventive one. First, the paper establishes a theoretical foundation for this initiative together with some practical considerations for implementation. Second, there will be presented an early feedback collected through a survey developed with managers from different companies located in the West Region of Romania about ISO 45001 implementation. The research conclusions underline that there is a lot of wisdom tucked away in the standard and that have been not yet understood and valorised; the results identify a new approach of what should be considered for the quality safety program and culture (as training and consultancy activities).

Occupational health and safety division of responsibility: A conceptual model for the implementation of the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has brought Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) to the forefront of governmental and organizational preoccupations Empirical research has pointed that OHS responsibility is diffused within organizations, and there is no apparent reference on whom it falls upon;even the OHSAS 18001:2007 (OHSAS 18001, 2007) standard framework generates the same confusion among organizational stakeholders OBJECTIVE: When constituting an internal chain of responsibility, which organizational stakeholder should be responsible for each item of the OHSAS 18001:2007? The article considers how OHS tasks can be addressed from the perspective of stakeholder management The objective is to consider the internal division of OHS responsibility between the hierarchical strata and to introduce an OHS Responsibility Multilevel Model for an organization's internal responsibility system for the implementation of the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard METHODS: The paper presents a qualitative assessment of the literature on the concepts of responsibility and accountability regarding OHS First method applied was the literature review on the concepts of responsibility and accountability regarding OHS, while briefly discussing their impacts on the voluntary implementation of OHSAS 18001:2007 standard Second, the OHS and the conditions of the COVID-19 period were synthesised to underline the research motivation and importance Further the conceptual framework for the internal division of OHS responsibility based on a Multilevel Model for OHS stakeholders was developed based on a creative designed approach considering recent conclusions on safety leadership (OHS being situated at the confluence of top-down and bottom-up approaches in organization) RESULTS: The research results underline the relative complexity of the items in the OHSAS 18001:2007 framework;from the 68 items that are comprised under the six themes, the authors have identified 304 distinct actions The application of the proposed OHS Responsibility Multilevel Model to the OHSAS 18001:2007 supports the interest that research literature has had for the role of top management in OHS CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the research results propose a novel approach for improving stakeholders' involvement (commitment) and responsibility regarding OHS practices in organization The research findings highlight that the OHSAS 18001:2007 standard proposes the organization as primary repository of OHS responsibility © 2020 - IOS Press and the authors All rights reserved

Ergonomic intervention combined with an occupational and organizational psychology and sociology perspectives in production systems

Abstract: The paper describes a propose interdisciplinary approach for improving working conditions in production systems. The proposed approach has been customized and apply in the case of a lean production system in order to demonstrate its efficiency and effectiveness. The research approach and its associated methodology consists of three stages: (1) a qualitative research using the Grounded Theory, which provide a theoretical model on the the employees behavior within the analyzed lean production system; (2) a quantitative research, survey based on a designed questionnaire, for the investigation of the motivation – satisfaction relation; (3) a quantitative research for the ergonomic risk assessment associated with repetitive upper limb movements (that are dominant in the case of the assembly line that has been studied) using the OCRA method for the improvement of the workers stress. The research results contribute to the knowledge development and to the the diminishing of the occupational hazards and generating workplace wellbeing.