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This paper shows the design and implementation of a survey that includes ergonomic principles to evaluate the workplace environment from the perspective of workers in centers where suspended particles are emitted and may pollute. The objective pursued in making this assessment is to promote employee participation in identifying areas of opportunity in four dimensions: Air Quality, Training, Health, and Safety and Well-being. In turn, may the survey serve as a complementary tool to the scope of the NOM-010-STPS-2014 which regulates health and safety conditions in workplaces where chemical substances are used. The methodology followed to achieve the objective of this paper included: 1) a detailed review of the Official Mexican Standard NOM-010-STPS-2014 and the International Standard UNE EN ISO 6385: 2004 "Ergonomic principles to design work systems", in order to understand its contents regarding its scope, limitations, and application of ergonomics; 2) The design of a measuring instrument (survey), which considered: the establishment of the dimensions, the formulation of statements and answer format, and implementation of the survey; 3) The calculations for obtaining results. The survey was conducted to workers from companies of different sectors within the scope of coverage of the NOM-010-STPS-2014; the results are presented through a graphical model that evaluates the Importance and Performance, from which the need for improvement, in working conditions and some administrative issues, may be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the simulation and optimization of a manufacturing system, the input parameters are sought to obtain the best performance of the system, considering in many cases a single objective or measure of performance. However, many decisions involve multiple criteria, usually in conflict. Currently, companies are required to improve their profitability as well as to reduce their impact on the environment and use energy rationally. In this paper, the wood products manufacturing process of a small company was studied to determine redesign alternatives, with simultaneous economic and environmental criteria. A simulation model of the system was built, which was validated and verified, and an optimization model for it in which two objectives were combined in a single function, incorporating in it the preferences of the decision makers with respect to each criterion. Results expose that combining both criteria it is possible to achieve substantial improvements in the benefit, at the same time that generating less emissions than if only the economic objective were pursued. It is concluded that simulation and optimization combining both criteria can improve economic-environmental performance in wood manufacturing systems, even in small companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective is to present the concept of university knowledge management local networks like the base of a Local Innovation System. The investigation is justified because the network is a form of achieving, in a local environment, successful economies and growing yields. The growing recognition of networks it is sustained in idea that, independently of quantity of coded knowledge that takes place, if there is no relationship between quantity of coding knowledge and competitions (tacit knowledge) embodied in individuals and organizations, locality won't capture productive impulse of knowledge, neither it will capture it in innovation following a path of stable development. Municipal University Centre function, in a local network, is to coordinate technological innovation as a pivot that connects knowledge taken place in University network with local necessities, to solve production and services troubles. As methodology was used the principles of Popular Education to introduce science that solves problems in Agricultural Companies. Innovation, promoted by students in their paper of "traveling teachers", achieves the introduction of scientific results that assure the solution of productive problems of Agricultural Units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an application of group decision making, aimed at developing a referential scheme to help define priorities in preventive maintenance activities. The method applied is called DRV Processes. It combines procedures of Multicriteria Support to Decision Making and of Statistics and Probability. Among the advantages of this method we can mention the possibility of reducing the noise that affects information in problems of group decision making and also of helping to arrive at a consensus decision. In general, this method improves the level of shared knowledge and contributes to avoiding conflicts in work groups. It is being applied in an important drug production plant. The results obtained so far show eighty percent of noise reduction compared to original values. This article also provides evidence of improvement in interpersonal relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metalwork SMES of Olavarría city contribute to economic development of the region but they are deficient in terms of productivity, competitiveness and management. According to this, it is necessary to intensify the study of its activities and resources to improve their current situation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper to explore tangible and intangible resource availability and the way in which they are managed. The study of the activities and the use of associated resources are connected to the value chain, completing the process with resource-based approach. Data were collected by applying a tool that explores the characteristics and use of resources related to primary and support activities. The tangible and intangible resources are independent research variables and the dependent variables are the primary and support activities. Then, the diagnosis is extended through a second instrument, which defines the level of maturity in terms of competitiveness. Results obtained indicated that primary activities have degree development values ranging from 49 to 72% and from 55 to 67% for support. Furthermore, all activities show an average maturity value associated with level 2 (out of four), because of the inefficient use of resources. In conclusion these companies have tangible and intangible resources, but these are not used efficiently to perform their activities in order to achieve a competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development an algorithm for computing workloads, supported in the analysis of similar studies and theory study methods and times. The algorithm is proposed as a support for the analysis of the level work assigned to a particular position or a group of workers in a given area, whether in the manufacturing industry or services, which allow to level the workload assigned by defining alternatives that promote increased productivity, promoting improvements in the working environment and working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the reliability of devices is one of the main tasks of engineering. In some experimental situations it is only possible to observe the full time of a drive failure. However, to check whether or not working just one point of time. Under some parametric models can develop statistical analyzes of these situations by finding the maximum likelihood estimators, their asymptotic distributions and confidence intervals. This paper aims to present a methodology for the calculation of the confidence interval of a device in the presence of double censorship. Parametric methodology under the exponential distribution is presented, showing in detail the calculation of the confidence interval for the mean time to failure. Later simulations to calculate the actual level and average length of the confidence interval are presented, it is that the levels reached in the case of double censorship are very similar to when full time was observed. The results are acceptable and recommended in situations where it is costly observing the sample overtime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper was to design a procedure for the scheduling and manufacturing control of a small shoe business located in the city of San Jose de Cucuta. The scheduling was done applying the theory of constraints, together with the operations research, specifically the linear programming technique. The system constraints were identified to develop a mathematical model that determined the optimal quantities of manufacturing, maximizing the throughput (profits, or selling price minus cost of materials)for a certain period. From the mathematical model a procedure for the scheduling and manufacturing control of a small shoe business was made, which was validated by hypothesis testing, comparing real manufacturing data during the period of study with the actual procedure and the planning data from the proposed procedure, obtaining as a result that the procedure designed can achieve a higher throughput, reducing inventory costs and delivery times, managing to meet the demand in full. This procedure could be implemented in small shoe businesses that have the same characteristics of the case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design of a Heuristic Method to Balance Assembly Lines with Ergonomic considerations, which is based on the combination of traditional balance lines theoriesand two methods of ergonomic evaluation, the "REBA" method and the Multitasking Rating of Physical Load, whereby a balance between the time variable and biomechanical is achieved in the same tool, which is an innovative method since at present these two aspects are evaluated separately. This is done through a multi-objective function that values parameters of production capacity, leisure and risk level of skeletal muscle in the solutions generated by the algorithm.With the design of the heuristic method a range of appropriate solutions is obtained that provide a balance between productivity and worker health, with this group of solutions, the most adequate to the requirements and needs is selected, according to the experience of the persons responsible for making decisions in the organization. The developed method, due to its generic structure can be implemented in any assembly line fitting the data for each specific case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manufactured products have several quality characteristics that are important for the customer. When the quality characteristics are not correlated, using several indices, such as Cp, Cpk and Cpm to assess the ability of the process to produce quality products. For the opposite case was found in the literature review, proposed capability indices to measure the ability of a process when the quality characteristics are correlated. Most proposals agree that should define a specification region that represents what the customer wants, and another region of process variation that shows performance having the process. Additionally, as a result of the review, it was observed that different authors differ on how to define both regions, an opportunity that is used to present a new proposal, in which these regions are defined in a reliable manner and are compared, resulting in a pair of multivariate capability indices CpM and CpkM, which are extensions of univariate indexes Cp and Cpk. Finally, data from a process, which can be modeled by means of a bivariate normal distribution are used to calculate the capability indices proposed in this paper, then compared with the value of other similar capability indices, proposed by others authors give a performance over other indices of the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]