Lean Manufacturing. Step by step


Book Description

This is a practical, entertaining and didactic book for those who are starting out in Lean culture. The language used in the techniques and tools allows Lean Six Sigma management system to be understood easily and, in addition, establishes a methodology adaptable to any improvement process. From the detailed knowledge of the processes, Lean Manufacturing encourages innovation, discipline and the continuous search for excellence, through tools that improve the effectiveness of teams, delivery times and, on the whole, the capacity and competitiveness of companies. Step by step, this book enables you to discover and apply material control and production techniques that increase quality, improve communication and access to information and provide significant energy reductions. The Lean Manufacturing system offers a methodology for manufacturing and the management of organizations focused on continuous improvement, in line with the needs for efficiency and optimization of companies' resources.




Lean Logistics


Book Description

Are your warehouses full while production is stopped by shortages? Do your customers complain that your lead times are too long and deliveries too late? Lean Logistics: The Nuts and Bolts of Delivering Materials and Goods by Michel Baudin helps you determine whether you have the right supply to meet your customers’ demands, as well as the ability to organize and deliver that supply. In this cutting edge work, Baudin addresses the physical infrastructure of lean logistics and the flow of information that composes its nervous system. He demonstrates the methods that will allow you to avoid shortages while maintaining low inventories, while showing you how to take advantage of the increased capacity and flexibility generated through lean manufacturing. This book picks up where the Baudin’s previous book, Lean Assembly, left off.




Phosphorus in Environmental Technology


Book Description

Phosphorus in Environmental Technology: Principles and Applications, provides a definitive and detailed presentation of state-of-the-art knowledge on the environmental behaviour of phosphorus and its applications to the treatment of waters and soils. Special attention is given to phosphorus removal for recovery technologies, a concept that has emerged over the past 5-6 years. The book features an all-encompassing approach: the fundamental science of phosphorus (chemistry, geochemistry, mineralogy, biology), key aspects of its environmental behaviour and mobility, industrial applications (treatment, removal, recovery) and the principles behind such applications, novel biotechnologies and, importantly, it also addresses socio-economic issues which often influence implementation and the ultimate success of any new technology. A detailed subject index helps the reader to find their way through the different scientific and technological aspects covered, making it an invaluable reference work for students, professionals and consultants dealing with phosphorus-related environmental technologies. State-of-the-art knowledge on the behaviour of phosphorus and its applications to environmental science and technology. Covers all aspects of phosphorus in the environment, engineered and biological systems; an interdisciplinary text.




The Performance of Seaport Clusters


Book Description

This PhD thesis deals with the performance of clusters. Even though cluster studies are numerous, a coherent framework to analyze cluster performance is lacking. In this thesis, such a framework is developed, drawing from different schools that deal with clusters. Central in the framework is a distinction to variables of cluster performance related to the structure of a cluster and variables related to the governance of a cluster. Four structure variables - agglomeration ands disagglomeration forces, internal competition, heterogeneity of the cluster and the level of entry and exit barriers - and four governance related variables - the presence of trust, the presence of intermediaries, the presence of leader firms and the quality of collective action regimes - are identified and discussed. The validity of these variables is confirmed in the three case studies, of the port clusters of Rotterdam, Durban, and the lower Mississippi. The strengths and weaknesses of the three port clusters, the importance of the variables discussed above and opportunities for policy and management to improve the performance of clusters are discussed.The results of this study are relevant for cluster scholars and for scholars specializing in port studies. The thesis is also relevant for (port) cluster managers and for managers of firms in (port) clusters, since implications of this study for policy and management in (port) clusters are discussed.




Does It Matter?


Book Description

Over the last decade, and even since the bursting of the technology bubble, pundits, consultants, and thought leaders have argued that information technology provides the edge necessary for business success. IT expert Nicholas G. Carr offers a radically different view in this eloquent and explosive book. As IT's power and presence have grown, he argues, its strategic relevance has actually decreased. IT has been transformed from a source of advantage into a commoditized "cost of doing business"--with huge implications for business management. Expanding on Carr's seminal Harvard Business Review article that generated a storm of controversy, Does IT Matter? provides a truly compelling--and unsettling--account of IT's changing business role and its leveling influence on competition. Through astute analysis of historical and contemporary examples, Carr shows that the evolution of IT closely parallels that of earlier technologies such as railroads and electric power. He goes on to lay out a new agenda for IT management, stressing cost control and risk management over innovation and investment. And he examines the broader implications for business strategy and organization as well as for the technology industry. A frame-changing statement on one of the most important business phenomena of our time, Does IT Matter? marks a crucial milepost in the debate about IT's future. An acclaimed business writer and thinker, Nicholas G. Carr is a former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review.




Measurement, Design, and Analysis


Book Description

In textbooks and courses in statistics, substantive and measurement issues are rarely, if at all, considered. Similarly, textbooks and courses in measurement virtually ignore design and analytic questions, and research design textbooks and courses pay little attention to analytic and measurement issues. This fragmentary approach fosters a lack of appreciation of the interrelations and interdependencies among the various aspects of the research endeavor. Pedhazur and Schmelkin's goal is to help readers become proficient in these aspects of research and their interrelationships, and to use that information in a more integrated manner. The authors offer extensive commentaries on inputs and outputs of computer programs in the context of the topics presented. Both the organization of the book and the style of presentation allow for much flexibility in choice, sequence, and degree of sophistication with which topics are dealt.




Contemporary Logistics in China


Book Description

This book is the sixth volume in a series entitled “Contemporary Logistics in China,” authored by researchers at the Logistics Center, Nankai University. In the spirit of the five preceding volumes, published annually in previous years, this book carries on the ideal of providing a systematic exposition on the development of logistics in China to the English-speaking community. Specifically, this volume captures China’s logistics development at a crucial turning point. On the one hand, it echoes the new horizon advocated by the Government’s One-Belt-One-Road Initiative for global cooperation; on the other, it resonates with the new blueprint of implementing the main contents of the 13th Five-year Plan on logistics development. Subjects covered include the macro-factors pertaining to logistics development, region-specific plans, industry-wide transformation, globally oriented moves, and current hot topics. Expositions and analyses on these subjects are based on the latest available sources and statistical data. As with the previous volumes, the ultimate aim of this book is to present a timely portrait of the rapid growth of China’s logistics market and the status of its logistics industry’s evolution. In so doing, this book offers an in-depth analysis of the critical issues and dilemmas amid the ongoing, dynamic and multi-faceted development, and presents a valuable reference source for interested readers in the academic and professional fields.




Freight Forwarder's Intermediary Role in Multimodal Transport Chains


Book Description

In this book, the business of international freight forwarding is examined from both a theoretical and empirical point of view with a special emphasis on multimodal transport chains, including sea or air transport operations. In such contexts, the freight forwarder is always considered "The Architect of Transport", but this intermediary role seems to be largely neglected in research to date. Therefore, relevant concepts from economic theory and economic sociology are employed to produce both an intermediary and a network perspective of freight forwarding in order to provide a better understanding of this kind of transportation business. Furthermore, its intermediary role in such inherent network structures is explored by mapping relationship patterns in a stylized model framework applied to a questionnaire-based sample collected among freight forwarders engaged in such multimodal transport chains in Germany (especially from Hamburg, Bremen and Bremerhaven) as well as in Austria in 2003.




Cultural Tourism


Book Description

Examine cultural tourism issues from both sides of the industry! Unique in concept and content, Cultural Tourism: The Partnership Between Tourism and Cultural Heritage Management examines the relationship between the sectors that represent opposite sides of the cultural tourism coin. While tourism professionals assess cultural assets for their profit potential, cultural heritage professionals judge the same assets for their intrinsic value. Sustainable cultural tourism can only occur when the two sides form a true partnership based on understanding and appreciation of each other's merits. The authors--one, a tourism specialist, the other, a cultural heritage management expert--present a model for a working partnership with mutual benefits, integrating management theory and practice from both disciplines. Cultural Tourism is the first book to combine the different perspectives of tourism management and cultural heritage management. It examines the role of tangible (physical evidence of culture) and intangible (continuing cultural practices, knowledge, and living experiences) heritage, describes the differences between cultural tourism products and cultural heritage assets, and develops a number of conceptual models, including a classification system for cultural tourists, indicators of tourism potential at cultural and heritage assets, and assessment criteria for cultural and heritage assets with tourism potential. Cultural Tourism examines the five main constituent elements involved in cultural tourism: cultural and heritage assets in tourism sites such as the Royal Palace in Bangkok, the Cook Islands, and Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco. tourism--what it is, how it works, and what makes it a success five different types of cultural tourists consumption of products, value adding, and commodification integrating the first four elements to satisfy the tourist, meet the needs of the tourism industry, and conserve the intrinsic value of the asset Though tourism and cultural heritage management professionals have mutual interests in the management, conservation, and presentation of cultural and heritage assets, the two sectors operate on parallel planes, maintaining an uneasy partnership with surprisingly little dialogue. Cultural Tourism provides professionals and students in each field with a better understanding of their own roles in the partnership, bridging the gap via sound planning, management, and marketing to produce top-quality, long-lasting cultural tourism products. Now translated into simplified Chinese.