International Journal of Collaborative Enterprise 

About: International Journal of Collaborative Enterprise is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): New product development & Supply chain management. It has an ISSN identifier of 1740-2093. Over the lifetime, 84 publications have been published receiving 394 citations.

Lean manufacturing practices in textile industries – a case study

Abstract: Lean manufacturing is a philosophy of eliminating waste through continuous improvement. This paper is an outcome of a case study conducted in a textile industry in south India. Though the concept of lean manufacturing has shown good results in continuous process industry, it has not been extensively used as compared to discrete manufacturing industries. Process industries, especially textile industries, have automatic machinery which are highly inflexible and have high volume/low variety products. This nature of the textile industry makes implementing lean manufacturing techniques a challenge; hence implementing lean techniques in a textile industry has been taken up as a challenge. We have chosen a combination of value stream mapping (VSM), 5S, kanban, kaizen, poka-yoke, and visual controls to improve the processes. The achievement potential scores before and after lean implementation has been highlighted using radar diagrams. The findings of this study reveal that a thorough analysis of the process, setup, and changeover time (CO), use of colour coding for identification of volume-mix, use of kaizen and quality circles which empower the workforce, are some of the various keys to a successful lean implementation in a textile industry.

Challenges to implementing additive manufacturing in globalised production environments

Abstract: This paper presents the current state of additive manufacturing (AM) implementation in complex supply chains, focusing especially on the globalised consumer electronics industry. A literature review sought to identify bottlenecks to technology transfer, while a qualitative study was carried out using interviews with case company personnel. Finally, an industry survey was used to quantitatively evaluate current production costs and delivery times for AM units. The results highlight the considerable barriers to transferring AM technology to engineering applications. However, there is an untapped potential for manufacturing applications in small-series and pre-series production at the product refinement stages. Furthermore, future projections of AM production throughput and cost reductions will disrupt organisational supply chains. This will lead organisations to create faster design, development and manufacturing cycles, unlocking novel applications and introducing new possibilities to change product architecture at any stage of the product development while compressing the supply chain and allowing for quick responses to changing customer demands.

Effect of build orientation in 3D printing production for material extrusion, material jetting, binder jetting, sheet object lamination, vat photopolymerisation, and powder bed fusion

Abstract: 3D printing is moving towards end-part production. However, the high-cost structures of 3D printing have a negative impact on technology transferability. Manufacturing time per part becomes a critical enabling factor for whether the technology can be implemented or not. The aim was to investigate the effect of build orientation and the number of parts relative to manufacturing time per part in the material extrusion, binder jetting, vat photopolymerisation, material jetting, powder bed fusion, and sheet lamination. The tested geometry was a Nokia Lumia 820 mobile phone cover. Manufacturing time per part depends heavily on the geometry, orientation, printing process, and amount of parts manufactured in a single build. Manufacturing time per part varies substantially between the tested technologies. The optimal processes in regards to the production speed were found to be powder bed fusion and binder jetting. In addition, material costs and costs related to process time per manufactured part were compared.

Fuzzy AHP and utility theory based patient sorting in emergency departments

Abstract: Triage, a classification system used to separate patients based on the acuity of their condition, is considered in this study. Triage process relies on the nurse's interaction with the patient (e.g., a conversation on symptoms, visual observation, and vital sign measurements), and the subsequent severity classification. However, potential miscommunication, and thus uncertainty could be present in this process. In order to account for this uncertainty, a triage algorithm that uses fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) along with the multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) to sort the patients is presented. FAHP is used to get an acuity score on the chief complaint, and MAUT integrates this score with age, gender, and pain level to provide a final prioritisation. In the paper, a clinical case study is provided for which we used an expert nurse's judgments to build the FAHP and the utility functions.

The Curse of the First-Mover: When Incremental Innovation Leads to Radical Change

Abstract: The literature establishes a strong link between radical innovation, first-mover advantage and market dominance. However, there are numerous examples where, despite being the first-mover and radically innovating, companies have failed to achieve a significant market share. In fact, incremental innovation sometimes can influence the industry in a more significant way than radical innovation. The aim of this article is to investigate the relation between radical innovation, incremental innovation and market dominance. It explains why radical innovation and first-mover advantage might fail to provide competitive advantage and weaken companies. In order to do so, the article examines the key determinants of why first-movers may face a disadvantage in comparison to followers. These theoretical results are supported by the case study of four products released by Apple, two of which correspond to radical innovations and to others to incremental innovation.