Summary
Internet of Things (IoT) aims to bring every object (eg, smart cameras, wearable, environmental sensors, home appliances, and vehicles) online, hence generating massive volume of data that can overwhelm storage systems and data analytics applications. Cloud computing offers services at the infrastructure level that can scale to IoT storage and processing requirements. However, there are applications such as health monitoring and emergency response that require low latency, and delay that is caused by transferring data to the cloud and then back to the application can seriously impact their performances. To overcome this limitation, Fog computing paradigm has been proposed, where cloud services are extended to the edge of the network to decrease the latency and network congestion. To realize the full potential of Fog and IoT paradigms for real-time analytics, several challenges need to be addressed. The first and most critical problem is designing resource management techniques that determine which modules of analytics applications are pushed to each edge device to minimize the latency and maximize the throughput. To this end, we need an evaluation platform that enables the quantification of performance of resource management policies on an IoT or Fog computing infrastructure in a repeatable manner. In this paper we propose a simulator, called iFogSim, to model IoT and Fog environments and measure the impact of resource management techniques in latency, network congestion, energy consumption, and cost. We describe two case studies to demonstrate modeling of an IoT environment and comparison of resource management policies. Moreover, scalability of the simulation toolkit of RAM consumption and execution time is verified under different circumstances.

iFogSim: A toolkit for modeling and simulation of resource management techniques in the Internet of Things, Edge and Fog computing environments

From a Novel

Today, the manufacturing industry is aiming to improve competitiveness through the convergence with cutting-edge ICT technologies in order to secure a new growth engine. Smart Manufacturing, which is the fourth revolution in the manufacturing industry and is also considered as a new paradigm, is the collection of cutting-edge technologies that support effective and accurate engineering decision-making in real time through the introduction of various ICT technologies and the convergence with the existing manufacturing technologies. This paper surveyed and analyzed various articles related to Smart Manufacturing, identified the past and present levels, and predicted the future. For these purposes, 1) the major key technologies related to Smart Manufacturing were identified through the analysis of the policies and technology roadmaps of Germany, the U.S., and Korea that have government-driven leading movements for Smart Manufacturing, 2) the related articles on the overall Smart Manufacturing concept, the key system structure, or each key technology were investigated, and, finally, 3) the Smart Manufacturing-related trends were identified and the future was predicted by conducting various analyses on the application areas and technology development levels that have been addressed in each article.

Smart manufacturing: Past research, present findings, and future directions

Quantitative models for sustainable supply chain management: Developments and directions

A B S T R A C T This paper aims to provide a systematic overview of the state of the art in energy and resource efficiency increasing methods and techniques in the domain of discrete part manufacturing, with attention for the effectiveness of the available options. For this purpose a structured approach, distinguishing different system scale levels, is applied: starting from a unit process focus, respectively the multi-machine, factory, multi-facility and supply chain levels are covered. Determined by the research contributions reported in literature, the de facto focus of the paper is mainly on energy related aspects of manufacturing. Significant opportunities for systematic efficiency improving measures are identified and summarized in this area. 2012 CIRP.

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Towards Energy and Resource Efficient Manufacturing: A Processes and Systems Approach

Wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) is a specialised thermal machining process capable of accurately machining parts with varying hardness or complex shapes, which have sharp edges that are very difficult to be machined by the main stream machining processes. This practical technology of the WEDM process is based on the conventional EDM sparking phenomenon utilising the widely accepted non-contact technique of material removal. Since the introduction of the process, WEDM has evolved from a simple means of making tools and dies to the best alternative of producing micro-scale parts with the highest degree of dimensional accuracy and surface finish quality. Over the years, the WEDM process has remained as a competitive and economical machining option fulfilling the demanding machining requirements imposed by the short product development cycles and the growing cost pressures. However, the risk of wire breakage and bending has undermined the full potential of the process drastically reducing the efficiency and accuracy of the WEDM operation. A significant amount of research has explored the different methodologies of achieving the ultimate WEDM goals of optimising the numerous process parameters analytically with the total elimination of the wire breakages thereby also improving the overall machining reliability. This paper reviews the vast array of research work carried out from the spin-off from the EDM process to the development of the WEDM. It reports on the WEDM research involving the optimisation of the process parameters surveying the influence of the various factors affecting the machining performance and productivity. The paper also highlights the adaptive monitoring and control of the process investigating the feasibility of the different control strategies of obtaining the optimal machining conditions. A wide range of WEDM industrial applications are reported together with the development of the hybrid machining processes. The final part of the paper discusses these developments and outlines the possible trends for future WEDM research.

State of the art in wire electrical discharge machining (wedm)

Minimising Embodied Product Energy to support energy efficient manufacturing

Energy is an inextricable part of life in the 21st century, thus its availability and utilisation will become increasingly important with the concerns over climate change and the escalation in worldwide population. This highlights the need for manufacturing businesses to adopt the concept of ‘lean energy’ based on the use of the most energy efficient processes and activities within their production facilities. The energy consumption in manufacturing facilities can be reduced by either using more efficient technologies and equipment, and/or through improved monitoring and control of energy used in infrastructure and technical services. The research reported in this paper adopts a novel approach to modelling energy flows within a manufacturing system based on a ‘product’ viewpoint, and utilises the energy consumption data at ‘plant’ and ‘process’ levels to provide a breakdown of energy used during production.

A framework for modelling energy consumption within manufacturing systems

Purpose




Resilience in agri-food supply chains (AFSCs) is an area of significant importance due to growing supply chain volatility. While the majority of research exploring supply chain resilience has originated from a supply chain management perspective, many other disciplines (such as environmental systems science and the social sciences) have also explored the topic. As complex social, economic and environmental constructs, the priority of resilience in AFSCs goes far beyond the company specific focus of supply chain management works and would conceivably benefit from including more diverse academic disciplines. However, this is hindered by inconsistencies in terminology and the conceptual components of resilience across different disciplines. The purpose of this study is to use a systematic literature review to identify which multidisciplinary aspects of resilience are applicable to AFSCs and to generate a novel AFSC resilience framework.




Design/methodology/approach




This paper uses a structured and multidisciplinary review of 137 articles in the resilience literature followed by critical analysis and synthesis of findings to generate new knowledge in the form of a novel AFSC resilience framework.




Findings




Findings indicate that the complexity of AFSCs and subsequent exposure to almost constant external interference means that disruptions cannot be seen as a one-off event; thus, resilience must concern the ability to not only maintain core function but also adapt to changing conditions.




Practical implications




A number of resilience elements can be used to enhance resilience, but their selection and implementation must be carefully matched to relevant phases of disruption and assessed on their broader supply chain impacts. In particular, the focus must be on overall impact on the ability of the supply chain as a whole to provide food security rather than to boost individual company performance.




Originality/value




The research novelty lies in the utilisation of wider understandings of resilience from various research fields to propose a rigorous and food-specific resilience framework with end consumer food security as its main focus.

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Resilience in agri-food supply chains: a critical analysis of the literature and synthesis of a novel framework

The food sector is under tremendous pressure to make its supply chains more resource efficient. In this context, the focus is on the reduction of the three nexus components which are food waste, energy and water. One of the key challenges identified in improving resource efficiency is the low availability of real-time data to all the actors of the food supply chain (FSC) which inhibits better decision-making capability. Having such an ability would increase the productivity of the supply chain. The Internet of things (IoT) concept, which has been around for a few years now, provides the possibility of monitoring, bringing in transparency and efficiency to supply chain activities. This paper investigates the practicability of utilising IoT concepts to improve the resource efficiency of FSCs. An IoT-based framework and methodology are proposed to integrate suitable data into supply chain decision-making processes for the reduction of nexus components.

Shahin Rahimifard

Papers

State of the art in wire electrical discharge machining (wedm)

Minimising Embodied Product Energy to support energy efficient manufacturing

A framework for modelling energy consumption within manufacturing systems

Resilience in agri-food supply chains: a critical analysis of the literature and synthesis of a novel framework

Unlocking the potential of the internet of things to improve resource efficiency in food supply chains