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The objective of this study is to empirically examine the effect of materials management on a firm’s performance by exploring employee views and utilizing a firm’s financial statement data within the Ghanaian context, focusing on Fan Milk Limited, a listed manufacturing firm in Ghana. A cross-sectional research design was espoused for the study, utilizing questionnaires completed by 240 respondents selected via simple random sampling. SPSS version 25.0 was utilized for data analysis, which included descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, exploratory factor analysis with varimax rotation, reliability/validity analysis, and multivariate regression aided with relative importance analysis via dominance analysis. The study found significant positive relationships between all eight materials management practices and a firm’s performance. Dominance analysis further revealed that materials requirement planning and control was the most important predictor of a firm’s performance, while ergonomics was the least important predictor of performance. Managerial recommendations established should be viewed critically while managing manufacturing firms.

Certain engineering problems concerning safety of the technological operations of the horizontal transportation of nuclear fuel within the enterprises’ sites were considered. Taking into account current trends in the introduction of robotic systems to reduce the impact of hazardous nuclear materials on personnel, the issue of automated control of the movement of the wheeled robotic platform, which can be used for horizontal transportation of nuclear fuel was studied. The major attention was paid to minimizing the transportation loads on nuclear fuel by means of decreasing the accelerations under its horizontal movement on the robotic wheeled transportation platform, which is a separate issue of the comprehensive safety problem of nuclear materials management. The research of horizontal movement safety of nuclear fuel by means of the robotic wheeled platforms was limited to defining transportation accelerations and was performed by computer simulations using mathematical models of dynamics and electro-mechanics. The mathematical model of the robotic transport wheeled platform loaded with nuclear fuel with the on-board accelerometer ensuring the required measurements necessary for an automated safe movement control system was built in the form of the Lagrange equations of the second kind and the electro-mechanics equations of the direct current electric motors. The issue of ensuring smooth running during the displacement of a wheeled platform loaded with nuclear fuel was investigated, since especially in this mode the maximum accelerations are observed, which can lead to nuclear fuel damage. Computer simulation was performed using free Scilab software with open program code. It was demonstrated that due to the proper choice of the time algorithm of the voltage of electric motors, it is possible to ensure a small acceleration during the displacement of a robotic wheeled transport platform loaded with nuclear fuel. The obtained result substantiated the possibility of safe horizontal transportation of nuclear fuel on robotic wheeled platforms within the territories of enterprises, which will significantly reduce the harmful impact of hazardous nuclear materials on industrial personnel.

Projects in the oil and gas industry are typically accompanied by time extensions, cost overruns, and owners' disappointment. Material delay is one factor for project cost overrun, delays, poor pro...

Electron-beam melting (EBM) is a rapidly developing metal additive manufacturing (AM) method. It is more effective with complex and customized parts manufactured in low volumes. In contrast to traditional manufacturing it offers reduced lead time and efficient material management. However, this technology has difficulties with regard to the construction of overhang structures. Production of overhangs using EBM without support structures results in distorted objects, and the addition of a support structure increases the material consumption and necessitates post-processing. The objective of this study was to design support structures for metal AM that are easy to remove and consume lower support material without affecting the quality of the part. The design of experiment methodology was incorporated to evaluate the support parameters. The multi-objective optimization minimizing support volume, support removal time along with constrained deformation was performed using multi objective genetic algorithm (MOGA-II). The optimal solution was characterized by a large tooth height (4 mm), large tooth base interval (4 mm), large fragmented separation width (2.5 mm), high beam current (6 mm), and low beam scan speed (1200 mm/s).

The primary goal of material management is to arrange the use of materials reasonably, which is particularly important for the construction industry. Wireless communication can transmit a lot of information in time in production, which can promote the management and arrangement of building materials. In order to explore the management method of prefabricated materials, this paper compares the prefabricated building materials management based on BIM with the traditional method and the management method combining BIM and wireless communication through sampling survey and sand table simulation. This paper compares the material procurement, storage and quality in the construction stage and analyzes the material management differences of different technical methods in different stages. The results show that the average inventory turnover rate of BIM-based management method is 6 times, and that of conventional method is 4 times. However, in the construction stage, the gap between the two methods is narrowed. The combination of wireless communication and BIM leads the whole process in inventory turnover rate. The turnover times of prefabricated building materials management method based on BIM Technology is reduced to 3 times, and that of conventional method is reduced to 2 times. However, the turnover times of BIM combined with wireless communication is more than 4 times. Therefore, BIM-based prefabricated building materials management can reduce the use of funds and the occupation of warehouse, and control the quality of materials better than the traditional methods. However, the combination of BIM and wireless communication can achieve better results.

With the high intensity and density of aerospace launch in China, aerospace project materials management faces various challenges, such as multiple aerospace projects concurrent, high supply timeliness and high quality level. Although several enterprises have successfully explored a versatile material management regulation for multiple aerospace projects, the low inventory turnover problem still exist due to the difficulty in versatile material recognition and inventory distribution. This paper studies the dynamic inventory management problem of aerospace project materials. Firstly, a numerical concept space model is established to describe the data characteristics of aerospace project materials. Then, we propose the variable-scale clustering algorithm based on the numerical concept space, which is utilized to automatically recognize versatile materials. Also, the obtained satisfy scale feature supports managers making inventory-related decision. Finally, a dynamic adjustment algorithm of inventory classification based on the variable-scale clustering is proposed, in order to dynamically maintain the inventory management plan of aerospace project materials. Experiments select the inventory data of aerospace project metal materials during Jan 1, 2015 to Mar 31, 2018 from the logistics center in China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. And experiment results illustrate that our proposed variable-scale clustering algorithm has high efficiency and practical application value in solving dynamic inventory management problem of aerospace project materials.

High Technology Spiritual Communications is a communication system first introduced by a doctor who graduated from Harvard University, Indrawan Hatoguan Siregar, Ph.D., a permanent lecturer at Panca Budi Development University. One of his studies explains how we value other people by understanding their thinking patterns because basically, all humans have four types of thought patterns, and one of them is more dominant. Respect others' mindset, meaning that we also have empathy for them, and communication will also be established and information will be conveyed well and easily understood. In the teaching and learning process, this is very important during the face-to-face learning process and online learning. Students and lecturers do not face each other in online learning but use the internet and LMS (Learning Management System) as the communication media. Implementing HTSC (Hight Technology Spiritual Communications) and Learning Style into lecturer teaching materials packaged as attractive as possible can be a solution in conveying learning objectives to students. Students can understand teaching materials according to their character, mindset and learning style.

Variability of demand for goods, depending on their availability and cost is a frequently observed phenomenon in the sphere of production and consumption. This paper discusses the possibility of using the ABC analysis for the inventory management system. This type of analysis makes it possible to apply various methods of inventory management for increasing the income and reducing the costs of particular products for manufacturers. As is known, the management process approach emphasizes the systematic study of management by defining management functions in an organization and then examining each in detail. There is a general agreement on the planning, organizing, and controlling functions. Traditional inventory management systems, such as the Lean Order Quantity (EOQ) model, are based on the assumptions of constant demand rate, constant inventory cost, and instant order. The EOQ assumption of instant order receipt means that the entire order quantity, that is, all units of the purchased lot is immediately received from the supplier. The Economic Production Quantity (EPQ) model weakens this assumption by including incremental order receipt, i.e. debit. In recent years, major advances in the sphere of management include the following elements: process approach management science decision support approach, scientific approach to human resources development, and sustainable competitive advantage. These four approaches complement one another in current practice and provide a useful framework for project management. This paper presents a realistic model of the goods production and their inventory, since ABC analysis or ABC classification is an integral part of materials management. According to this approach, the inventory is divided into three categories depending on income generation. The ABC analysis helps entrepreneurs identify the main types of products in the warehouse, prioritize the goods management based on their cost, and analyze customer demand for a specific product.

Ipteks for the community on the CV.Agro Citra Abadi Batu with the aim of helping partners in order to have a reliable accounting information systems that can provide important information, accurate and timely, so that owners and parties concerned can analyze and take the right decision. Problems of the partners is not yet able to evaluate his performance for not having a system of accounting information to make financial statements. The purpose of this activity is to improve the understanding and knowledge of human resources. The lasting company has to information system of accounting and financial reporting. Besides helping partners in designing the accounting system in accordance with the conditions of the partners. Method to solving the problem: advising system of accounting information based SAK EMKM, discussing, accounting software design,and implementation of accounting software.The results of these activities shows that there is an increased understanding and ability of partners in the field of accounting. Partners can understand and apply the concept of entity references separation of business transactions with private transactions. Proven partners may draw up financial statements, can use the financial statements as the basis for evaluation of performance and can use for materials management decision-making

An Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is an organized system for the provision of care to critically ill patients that provides intensive and specialized medical and nursing care, an enhanced capacity for monitoring, and multiple modalities of physiologic organ support to sustain life during a period of life-threatening organ system insufficiency. While this availability of trained manpower and specialized equipment makes it possible to care for critically ill patients, it also presents singular challenges in the form of man and material management, design concerns, budgetary concerns, and protocolization of treatment. Consequently, the establishment of an ICU requires rigorous design and planning, a process that can take months to years. However, the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) epidemic has required the significant capacity building to accommodate the increased number of critically ill patients. At the peak of the pandemic, many countries were forced to resort to the building of temporary structures to house critically ill patients, to help tide over the crisis. This narrative review describes the challenges and lessons learned while establishing a 250 bedded ICU in a temporary structure and achieving functionality within a period of a fortnight.

The purposes are to solve inventory management problems in emergencies, optimize inventory management structure, and improve management efficiency. The medical material inventory management is taken as the research object. According to previous research, the existing material management model has problems such as management confusion, resource waste, and insufficient data analysis. Hence, the strengths of deep learning algorithms are utilized to address the above problems. A deep learning-based medical material inventory management model is constructed through the reasonable classification of material management methods. This model effectively utilizes the data by analyzing disaster data in different regions and establishes a corresponding inventory management model according to the classification standards. The numerical analysis of three examples further verifies the effectiveness of the proposed model. On this basis, the model is compared with the latest inventory management models to further determine its advantages. Results suggest that the medical supplies management model based on deep learning can interpret and analyze the data well and calculate the optimal inventory and management method of the model with limited funds based on the data. Compared with the latest inventory management models, the proposed model can provide a prediction accuracy as high as 92.45%. Under the same data, the analysis time of the medical material management method based on deep learning is only 35 minutes, which has undeniable advantages compared with other models. The proposed model can provide research ideas for material management in emergencies.

The paper focuses on study of existing materials management techniques, client identification, evaluation process by the ZIPNET (Zeiss India Platform for Nurturing Employee Talent) team of Carl Zeiss India using DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control) methodology. An effort has been made through this paper to analyse and improve these techniques using Lean Six Sigma methodology for better controlling mechanism. The outcome also focuses on increased efficiency level based on application of Lean Six Sigma methodology.

Purpose The study aims to establish an impact of supplier relationship and information and communication technology through purchasing practices on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach Review of relevant literature resulted in constructs, namely, supplier relationships, information and communication technology, purchasing practices and firm performance. A survey of 179 manufacturing companies through structured questionnaire was conducted. The responses were analysed through structural equation modelling using the partial least squares method. Findings It is observed that the firm performance is directly influenced by purchasing practices and indirectly by supplier relationships and information technology. The use of information technology in materials management affects supplier relationships and purchasing practices both. Practical implications The study provides a model for purchasing practitioners by highlighting the importance of supplier relationship management. Though the firms are running after improving technology, it can only affect firm performance through proper purchasing practices. Originality/value The study provides empirical evidence to the practical notions that exist in purchasing practitioners.

PurposeThis research empirically builds a manufacturing firm's power construct that can be used to assess the changes suppliers are willing to make in their operations decision areas, such as quality systems, product management, process management, material management systems and information systems. This approach has not been empirically explored in the operations and supply chain management literature. This research fills this gap with the new power definition method.Design/methodology/approachThis research conducted a two-stage scale development and validation process for a manufacturing firm's power over suppliers. A survey study collected 201 responses from the US manufacturing firms. The research used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to assess the validity and reliability of this construct.FindingsThe results confirmed the validity and reliability of a manufacturing firm's power over suppliers as a second-order variable, with five first-order constructs reflecting power in areas of quality, product, process, material and information systems.Practical implicationsManufacturing firms can use this instrument to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their power over suppliers in each decision area. From the results, companies can develop a power-competitiveness grid to guide their power enhancement efforts based on the competitive advantage being prioritized. Similarly, a resource-power grid can assist the manager in deciding whether to invest in a resource that benefits a particular power dimension.Originality/valueThis research contributes to supply chain power literature by taking a unique approach to defining a manufacturer's power regarding its suppliers' decision areas. This power structure opens the possibility to explore the relationship between a firm's resource, power and firm performance. As buyer–supplier power relationship building is increasingly important in the supply chain, knowing the parameters of the power relationship can help the manufacturing firm align its strategic focus to the areas that can be supported by the supply chain.

The fourth industrial revolution encourages manufacturing industry to pursue a new paradigm shift to meet customers' diverse demands by managing the production process efficiently. However, it is not easy to manage efficiently a variety of tasks of all the processes including materials management, production management, process control, sales management, and inventory management. Especially, to set up an efficient production schedule and maintain appropriate inventory is crucial for tailored response to customers' needs. This paper deals with the optimized inventory policy in a steel company that produces granule products under supply contracts of three targeted on-time delivery rates. For efficient inventory management, products are classified into three groups A, B and C, and three differentiated production cycles and safety factors are assumed for the targeted on-time delivery rates of the groups. To derive the optimized inventory policy, we experimented eight cases of combined safety stock and data analysis methods in terms of key performance metrics such as mean inventory level and sold-out rate. Through simulation experiments based on real data we find that the proposed optimized inventory policy reduces inventory level by about 9%, and increases surplus production capacity rate, which is usually used for the production of products in Group C, from 43.4% to 46.3%, compared with the existing inventory policy.

The essence of the problem in this research is still not optimal implementation of cooperative management by cooperatives located in Sumedang District, many cooperatives who do not report to the Department of Cooperatives, small business, medium enterprises, trade and industry Sumedang. The purpose of this research is to know the role of coaching management cooperative by the Department of Cooperatives, Small business, intermediate, trade and industry Sumedang district. The method used in this research is a qualitative method of research by examining the three cooperatives that were used as samples in this study, namely the Indonesian Employee Cooperative Cooperative Health Officer Sumedang, employee cooperative PT. PLN (Persero) Sumedang, and BMT Al Amanah Sumedang. The result of this research is that the Department of Cooperative Department of Cooperatives, small business, medium enterprises, trade, Sumedang District has a strategic role in improving the quality of cooperatives in Sumedang district through the implementation of a better cooperative management system so that cooperatives in the cooperative performance in the district can be said quality, but still there are various barriers, namely the low cooperative resource , and the unavailability of information containers to accelerate the reporting and development of cooperative material management. Recommendation of the results of this research is necessary to the role of local governments in the increase in the development budget management cooperative, provision of adequate facilities and infrastructures, improvement of the quality of human resources cooperative cooperatives through education programs and level training, and improvement of the supervision of cooperatives by the Department of Cooperatives, small business, medium enterprises, trade industry Sumedang District.

Regardless of unit production, mass production – an excellent production plan is always expected to combine the exact amount of materials at the right time with production cells and employees. An accurate production plan saves money by reducing production costs and time. It helps to achieve the goal and generate the best production plan. The article addresses the problems of material resource organization in industrial, mining and processing enterprises, affecting production efficiency. Particularly the problems of planning and preparation of unit, serial and mass production in relation to specific products. Depending on the nature of material consumption (basic or auxiliary materials), different planning methods and techniques are used.

In the following, we highlight why IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) proposals, which have long been established for the management of IT services [8], can add value to the management of services offered by the Internal Services division of authorities. The Internal Service divisions of authorities offer a wide range of services that may differ from one authority to another. However, as a rule, the following services are offered as core offers: Mail processing, messenger service, document creation and management, duplication and printing, e.g. business cards. Facility management including winter maintenance and cleaning of buildings, access control and security, vehicle availability. However, facility management is usually a major part of provided internal services. Procurement and internal materials management, more and more as the implementation of decentralized activities of the consolidated processes. Adapting methods and procedures from ITIL can help to provide an overview about all offered internal services and makes the point of contact transparent for each of them. Furthermore, implementing support systems following that idea generate necessary information for keeping track of individual service requests. Hereon, even online steering mechanisms become possible as it is standard for IT services as of today.

PurposeBuilding information modelling (BIM) and radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies have been extensively explored to improve supply chain visibility and coordination of material flow processes, particularly in the pursuit of Industry 4.0. It remains challenging, however, to effectively use these technologies to enable the precise and reliable coordination of material flow processes. This paper aims to propose a new workflow designed to include the use of detailed look-ahead plans when using BIM and RFID technologies, which can accurately track and match both the dynamic site needs and supply status of materials.Design/methodology/approachThe new workflow is designed according to lean theory and is modeled using business process modeling notation. To digitally support the workflow, an integrated BIM-RFID database system is constructed that links information on material demands with look-ahead plans. The new workflow is then used to manage material flows in the erection of an office building with prefabricated columns. The performance of the new workflow is compared with that of a traditional workflow, using discrete event simulations. The input for the simulations was derived from expert opinion in semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe new workflow enables contractors to better observe on-site status and differences between the actual and planned material requirements, as well as to alert suppliers if necessary. The simulation results indicate that the new workflow has the potential to reduce the duration of the material flow processes by 16.1% compared with the traditional workflow.Research limitations/implicationsThe new workflow is illustrated using a real-world-like situation with input data based on expert opinion. Although the workflow shows potential, it should be tested on a real-world site.Practical implicationsThe new workflow allows project participants to combine detailed near-term look-ahead plans with BIM and RFID technologies to better manage material flow processes. It is particularly useful for the management of engineer-to-order components considering the dynamic site progress.Originality/valueThe research improves on existing research focused on using BIM and RFID technologies to improve material flow processes by showing how the workflow can be adapted to use detailed look-ahead plans. It reinforces data-driven construction material management practices through improved visibility and reliability in planning and control of material flow processes.

Objectives This study was conducted to development of hazardous materials management standards for the decoction type of personalized herbal medicines (PHMs). Methods This study was conducted in two stages. We searched documents about criteria to use words such as 'Herb', 'Herbal medicine', and 'Botanical Drug' and summarized the results. We organized the committee consisted of seven experts, and held two meetings to reach an agreement on hazardous management standards of the decoction type of PHMs. Results The seven documents were presented in the literature review and six items related to hazardous management standards of decoction were identified. The second expert meeting brought that a total of six items, including heavy metal, pesticide residues, sulfur dioxide, benzopyrene, mycotoxin, and micro-organism limits, were selected for safety management of decoction type of PHMs. Also, the criteria and test methods for each standard were suggested for monitoring the decoction type of PHMs. Conclusion The study suggested hazardous material management standards and criteria for the decoction types of PHMs. In the future, it would be necessary to conduct a pilot test to ensure the validity and credibility of the safety management standard and criteria. Furthermore, the government level safety management system should be introduced to verify the safety of decoction medicines.

Material management is a critical component of the construction industry. The goal of materials management is to insure that construction materials are available at their point of use when needed. A proper implemented material management program can achieve the timely flow of materials and equipment to the jobsite, and thus facilitate improved work face planning, increased labour productivity, scheduling and minimize the cost. Material management is an important function in order to improve productivity in construction project. It is defind materials management function which take off, vendor evaluation and selection , purchasing, expenditure, shipping, material receiving, where housing and inventory, and material distribution. In this project we have prepare scheme of material management in the construction industry for building project also conducting survey of industry and determine the various format for construction material management. In conclusion the wastage of material, control cost of material and time should be analyzed by using inventory management system.

In the construction of structures, cost is one of the factors that support success. Cost is very important to meet all the needs of work ranging from material procurement to labor. For this reason, civil engineering analysis needs to be done to produce work cost planning as an initial guide in calculating building budget costs that include material, labor and unit price. In the civil engineering analysis of the the two-story building of Rumah Tahfiz, there were various kinds of structural works ranging from foundations to roofs, and also finishing in the form of floors to windows. Those work items make reading work design activities more complex. For this reason, the Tahfiz House Foundation requires the assistance of engineers in analyzing the drawing design, producing more reasonable material calculations and building costs using their own estimated price calculations. From the design analysis activities, Rumah Tahfiz Foundation can find out the details of building activities, materials used, and the cost requirements per section of structural work, aimed at measuring the cost needs until the structure was completed. The help of Civil engineering analysis on the building simplify Rumah Tahfiz foundation in understanding and implementing building process which have a sustainable impact on financial management for future operational learning activites

Background In 2016 the UK Department of Health and Social Care published the results of a comprehensive review of efficiency in hospitals, identifying “unwarranted variation” in procurement (or purchasing) practices for materials, supplies and devices. Addressing this variation in materials and supplies procurement practice has been identified as particularly important for creating efficiencies in health service delivery. However, little is known about the behaviour and experiences of front-line individuals who make these procurement decisions, which has implications for the development of strategies to improve efficiency. The objective of this study is to improve understanding of the factors influencing procurement behaviour and decisions among requisitioners who use an internal electronic procurement portal for medical supplies and equipment, and identify areas where efficiency could be improved. Methods Qualitative semi-structured individual interview study, following approximately 70 h of exploratory observations on site. The study context was a large London National Health Service (NHS) healthcare provider (the Trust), where we focussed primarily on purchases managed by a large hospital. Participants were drawn from requisitioners from multiple directorates across the Trust (n = 15; of these n = 2 clinical staff members, n = 13 non-clinical). Results Four factors stood out in our analysis as directly affecting procurement decisions: (1) a high level of variation in electronic purchasing and inventory management procedures throughout the Trust, (ii) an inaccurate and cumbersome search facility on the internal electronic procurement platform, exacerbated by poor IT skills training and support (iii) an inefficient purchase approvals system and (iv) multiple working sites and cluttered environments. We observed that these factors led requisitioners to employ a variety of strategies or so-called ‘workarounds’ to overcome the challenges they encountered, including stockpiling, relying on internal and supplier relationships, by-passing procedures to save time, purchasing outside existing agreements to save cost, and (re) delegating purchasing responsibilities among requisitioner staff - which both addressed and created difficulties. Conclusions Working with the assumption that staff ‘workarounds’ indicate where main issues lie, we offer four possible explanations to why they occur: (a) to maintain services and prepare for future care requirements, (b) to save on costs for the organisation, (c) to develop skills and development in purchasing and (d) to break silos and work collaboratively. These four explanations help provide initial starting points for improving efficiencies in health supplies’ procurement processes.

Nowadays, most enterprises around the world are in the process of transition to the concept of Industry 4.0. First of all, they should choose the way/ways (concept/concepts) out of six concepts of Industry 4.0. In this article two of them were discussed: PLM and SMART Factory, because they are connected with the notion of «digital twin» (set of computer models, which allows to design virtually, test and optimize parts, products and processes or entire production systems), which is the basis for considering the definition of a «digital production system». By using «digital twin» the inextricable connection is created between material and virtual (digital) objects, which means «digital dualism», the usage of «digital twin» is impossible without understanding of this connection. It is presented that «digital twin» is a way of optimization and material management of enterprise at the stage of manufacturing products. In this case, the basic software may be the production system MES. It has also been proved that in the transition to a new concept, the need to consider all the company’s business processes with their subsequent optimization becomes inevitable. The optimization process includes the following steps: planning, redesign, resource mobilization, testing, implementation, continuous improvement. As examples of the successful use of the digital twin, the implementation of PJSC Gazprom Neft and Alstom is given, which confirms the need to move to the Industry 4.0 concept to reduce repair costs, reduce information time, reduce the number of defects, etc.

PurposeThis paper contributes to the literature on supply chain process management by discussing how Industry 4.0 technologies can support process re-engineering in the context of the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachThe paper discusses the impact of Industry 4.0 technologies through an exploratory case study focused on the materials management process, using a coproduction of research approach where the main findings are obtained through the involvement of internal and external process actors.FindingsThe results show that the introduction of Industry 4.0 technologies could radically improve process performance, better supporting the execution of activities, increasing the effectiveness of communication between actors and favoring data collection and sharing. These technologies, characterized by the level of risk connected to their implementation, need to be introduced in combination with new organizational mechanisms, which may be beneficial for several supply chain actors.Originality/valueThrough the adoption of a research coproduction methodology, which is not common in the literature, this paper contributes to the ongoing discussion about how Industry 4.0 technologies contribute to process-centric supply chains, by discussing the benefits of these tools from the perspective of process actors.

In this paper, the effect of material management on productivity level of fast moving consumer products enterprises in Nigeria was assessed. The survey design was employed and questionnaire was the major instrument of data collection designed via two material management dimensions (raw materials and work-in- progress) and productivity dimensions (material efficiency and yield). Questionnaire were administered to three hundred and seven (307) respondents and data obtained were analyzed using Canonical correlation. Results of canonical correlation analysis revealed that the combination of material efficiency and yield (productivity proxies) had a statistically significant relationship on sets of material management being measured by raw material and work-in-progress. The study concludes that improvement in material management will increase the productivity of FMCG companies in Nigeria. Given the results of the study, improvements in material management is needed such that material requisition and conversion units should ensure that required materials for production of goods are those put into the production process in order to realize efficiency of production and superior yield of finished goods by fast moving consumer products organizations. In addition, fast moving products companies should ensure maintenance of optimum level of material resources in its store room and reduce unhealthy practice in material usage that are pivotal to reducing productivity.

Construction material represents a major component of the project cost. Therefore, it is essential to control material on construction job sites. Efficient material management system requires trade-offs and optimized balance among elements of material cost including purchase cost, storage cost, opportunity cost, ordering cost, and unavailability cost. Thus, there is a need to develop an automated method for optimizing the delivery and inventory of construction materials not only in the planning phase but also in the construction phase to account for introduced changes. In this research a novel genetic algorithm – multi-layer perceptron (GA-MLP) method is proposed to generate optimized material delivery schedule. Multi-layer perceptron (MLP) is utilized to improve genetic algorithm (GA) by generating memory to overcome local minima encountered in applying GA for optimization. This automated method supports contractors to buy construction materials with the least cost and without leading to material shortage or surplus. The proposed automated method has been validated through a numerical example. The obtained results demonstrate that GA-MLP outperform GA in optimizing construction material inventory.

This paper analyses the economics of material management in the 7up Bottling Company, Benin for the duration (2011 – 2015) with a view of designing a process inventory. The specific objectives were to determine the level of efficiency and product improvement in material management, investigate whether the material management practice permit high stock turnover validation and to proffer useful suggestions on how to effectively manage the company materials. The variance analysis and Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model were used to analyse the data collected. The results showed that the company spent a total of 118.8 million naira for production process and made a total sale of 395.84 million naira. This implies that the company optimises production by adopting the EOQ model into their production process and management. Based on these findings, the study recommends that optimal quantity and timing of material ordering in production process is a key to profit maximisation.

The intensity and rate of construction operations require logistics and transportation that can adapt to the changing nature of activities on a day-to-day basis of construction and that enable rapid decision-making. This paper aims to design an integrated RFID technology system for managing construction materials onsite. The integration includes managing materials during the front-end and the execution phases, managing the inventory, locating materials on site with Global Positioning System GPS, and developing Kanban systems for managing different stakeholders’ inputs onsite. The research also sheds the light into the effect of using RFID on leveraging valuable data. RFID systems can gather large amount of tag data via wireless connections.

Considering “Pipeline Industry’s Need of the Hour - Self Reliance and Emerging Technology Trends” as theme of pipeline conference, my submission of paper is on several use cases on technology and innovation for pipeline’s different life cycle phases. There are continual developments in pipeline industry and several of technologies were successfully implemented or under consideration phase for implementation for pipeline industry. In all phases of pipeline lifecycle of material management, project implementation as well in Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of pipeline. Several technological changes as well several of innovations in existing systems are of extensive use for enhancing pipeline safety, reliability, monitoring system as well ease of operations and maintenance. Many of systems been used for other purposes and are of great use for pipelines. This paper discusses on few of such technologies and their implementation for pipelines.

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas has been widely used in high and medium voltage electrical equipment due to its excellent insulation and arc extinguishing properties. SF6 gas is a strong greenhouse gas, and controlling the emission reduction of SF6 gas is an important way to deal with climate change and slow down global warming. However, at present, it is difficult to monitor accurate data on the consumption of SF6 gas, and realize intelligent decision-making and supervision based on the big data of the whole cycle of SF6 gas. Therefore, this paper proposes a design of a SF6 gas material management and control system based on radio frequency identification devices (RFID) tag. The system adopts blockchain technology to provide a full-length, chain-like path for RFID big data to realize data security management. The use of special labels for passive gas cylinders reduces production costs, prolongs use time of labels, and realizes full life cycle management of the equipment. The result shows that the equipment terminal receives and processes information from multiple tags at the same time. According to simulation, this electronic tag can be used for up to three years. The system can be widely used in the management of SF6 material management and control technology, which can effectively reduce the investment of manpower and material resources.

Material management plays an important role in enterprise management, which can be related to the profit and economic benefits of the enterprise, but it is often ignored in the enterprise. Through the establishment of a large-scale warehousing system material distributed model, the space utilization rate of the large-scale storage system is simulated Based on multi-Agent. The simulation results show that the distributed management of materials can effectively improve the space utilization rate of the storage system and meet the actual engineering needs, which is of instructive significance.

This paper examines the impacts of design, operational, and end-of-life (EOL) waste pathways’ parameters on material circularity in silicon solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. Dynamic material flow analysis (DMFA) quantifies time-series material flows through systems’ life cycle stages to identify hotspots of waste generation, estimate resource needs in the future, and guide sustainable material management. We introduce a DMFA framework based on U.S. electricity demand for the period 2000-2100 to assess stocks and flows of bulk PV materials (i.e., solar glass and aluminum frames). We apply the model to a range of scenarios to understand how material demands depend on selected PV-related parameters, different material circularity strategies, and recent module design trends (e.g., bifacials, large-format-high power modules). Our results enable advanced planning for future materials needs and provide insight into potential opportunities to minimize material waste.

In this chapter, we propose an example of handling expensive materials using RFID technological approach on an open platform environment and follow the standardization of EPCglobal Gen II. We discuss the integration case for the case of centralized deployment. We also discuss the general cases in the future. We hope to have a good reference site for your design. The high unit price and big volume materials have an urgent request to have a clear request on input/output information needed by operating units, which is not dependent on a specific mobile network and is interoperable with other ad hoc material operating systems, like some existing softwares. One can design an interface based on integrated database for existing material management systems. It can develop and

The European automotive sector undergoes a severe transformation that is driven by the increasing uptake of alternative drivetrains. In the year 2050 it is expected that 40-80% of new vehicles entering the vehicle stock will be electric (Hill and Bates, 2018). Even though the electrification of the vehicle stock may contribute positively to reaching the EU climate targets, the transformation will also create costs, not only monetary, but also in terms of efforts and losses of functionality. On the one hand substantial efforts will be needed to extract, concentrate and refine materials to produce components and vehicles with new drivetrain technology. On the other hand considerable efforts will be related to restoring functionality losses that result from the large-scale exchange of the vehicle fleet. To assess the effect of the vehicle stock transformation on resource use a dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) is employed and five possible future scenarios of the mobility transition are modelled for the EU until 2050. In a second step the results of the MFA are evaluated through the method of Statistical Entropy Analysis (SEA). The SEA results show that the changes in the vehicle stock, its renewal rate, as well as the adaptation of the reuse, remanufacturing-, and recycling- system, need to be aligned to the pace of the transition to minimize the loss of functionality and reduce the efforts involved. The study demonstrates how SEA can be used to evaluate future socio-technological transitions of larger systems like the European automotive system and identify the best combinations of resource management strategies. It is shown that SEA provides insights that allow to quantify hotspots of functionality loss and determine the most effective combinations of product stock and materials management interventions, contributing to more sustainable use of resources and existing stocks.

Enterprise Resource Planning is a software system that integrates data and information management of the entire functional company that includes finance, accounting, production, sales, purchasing, human resources and other functions. These functions are separated by software modules, but are connected to one integrated data center. Modules in the ERP system include financial accounting, control, investment management, enterprise controlling, treasury, logistics execution, sales distribution, materials management, production planning, plant maintenance, quality management, project systems. The benefits of ERP in the company can help business process automation, Single point of information, High efficiency, Sources of information sufficient to conduct analysis.

Background: The COVID-19 epidemic not only brings challenges to the health of people all over the world, but also impacts the global economy, and employment. Therefore, promoting industry and business to resume work safely has become an important step to be taken by all countries in overcoming the economic recession and restarting growth.Objective: This study aims to elaborate on epidemic prevention measures a Chinese company (Company C) took during work resumption.Methods: In this study, we used a case study design, with field research method applied to data collection and analysis.Results: It has been identified that Company C took a range of measures to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 inside the company, which involve work resumption preparation (information survey, health training, work resumption plan, epidemic prevention plan), facilities management, materials management, employee activity management, and so on.Conclusion: When the COVID-19 epidemic was initially controlled in February, the Chinese government allowed enterprises to resume work voluntarily, which did not bring about a rebound in the epidemic. One important reason is that Chinese enterprises have taken multiple measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Company C's practices could shed some light on how companies in Western countries resume their work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assessment of the presence of hazardous materials in buildings is essential for improving material recyclability, increasing working safety, and lowering the risk of unforeseen cost and delay in demolition. In light of these aspects, machine learning has been viewed as a promising approach to complement environmental investigations and quantify the risk of finding hazardous materials in buildings. In view of the increasing number of related studies, this article aims to review the research status of hazardous material management and identify the potential applications of machine learning. Our exploratory study consists of a two-fold approach: science mapping and critical literature review. By evaluating the references acquired from a literature search and complementary materials, we have been able to pinpoint and discuss the research gaps and opportunities. While pilot research has been conducted in the identification of hazardous materials, source separation and collection, extensive adoption of the available machine learning methods was not found in this field. Our findings show that (1) quantification of asbestos-cement roofing is possible from the combination of remote sensing and machine learning algorithms, (2) characterization of buildings with asbestos-containing materials is progressive by using statistical methods, and (3) separation and collection of asbestos-containing wastes can be addressed with a hybrid of image processing and machine learning algorithms. Analysis from this study demonstrates the method applicability and provides an orientation to the future implementation of the European Union Construction and Demolition Waste Management Protocol. Furthermore, establishing a comprehensive environmental inventory database is a key to facilitating a transition toward hazard-free circular construction.

PURPOSE: In this paper a design of the probabilistic model of reserves is discussed. The objective was an elaboration of the optimal strategy of materials reserves management in the series of manufacturing., DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The methodology of the Fundamental Power Index (FPI), the model of reserves has been verified as far as it was feasible using numerical data concerning various wood products including furniture of series production. The presented probabilistic model of reserves allows the formation of optimum strategy of the (R, Z) type of primary materials management with due consideration to profits coming from low-cost components in working and furniture industrial company., FINDINGS: The results of the study reflect that to ensure the production continuity, the reserves of different kinds of based material are generated and maintained. In the furniture industry, wide range and community of decisions, as well as, economic influence of wrong decisions concerning material reserves are of such importance, that they prove a need of overworking an optimal strategy of based material reserves management on the basis of the probabilistic model with an application of computer technique., PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The model has been verified at an attainable scale using the numerical data concerning different assortment of materials in the serial production of furniture. The proposed probabilistic model makes it possible to elaborate the optimal strategy of type R, Z in the management of reserves of based materials of the manufacturing company with large-lot production. The strategy is based on minimal expenses connected with a supply of materials., ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The constructed probabilistic model of wood reserves management has methodological value because it shows the method of working out an optimal strategy of basal reserves of based material management in the conditions of serial and poly-assortment production of furniture and other based products in special conditions of economical practice in the furniture industry., peer-reviewed

This chapter demonstrates the framework for maintenance strategy and practices for planning and execution at an organizational level, which is empirically tested through the research study conducted among operations-intensive organizations with the inputs from practicing asset/facility managers and engineers. The asset maintenance strategy processes are maintenance strategy formulation, maintenance strategy selection, and maintenance strategy implementation. These processes are interlinked and impact asset maintenance planning and execution in an organization. The enablers of asset maintenance strategy formulation are maintenance performance, planning and scheduling, materials management, human resources, Information Technology, employee empowerment, maintenance tactics, reliability analysis, maintenance policies/maintenance budget, and maintenance challenges.

In recent years, construction supply chain management has attracted much attention from scholars and has become a hot topic in the building sector. To fully demonstrate the hotspots of the construction supply chain and look forward to future research trends, this paper analyzes 229 foreign literatures and 1037 Chinese literatures from 2000 to 2018 by retrieving published journal articles and master’s thesis. Multivariate statistics are used to study the statistical regularity of interdependence among variables, social networks are used to analyze the visual relationship of high-frequency keywords. Through in-depth analysis and interpretation of the high-frequency cited literature, the article concludes that risk management, supply chain coordination, material management, procurement management, partner selection and performance evaluation are common research hotspots at home and abroad. Revenue incentives and system integration are the focus of research in China. In terms of information technology, foreign countries have more extensive research in the Agile Construction Supply Chain (ACSC) and Building Information Model (BIM) than in China. This paper provides the research hotspot issues of construction supply chain management, and hopes to provide reference for future related research.

The quick improvement of equipment and techniques of gathering and analyzing information by the usage of computers and information technologies engenders computers and information technologies to become the indispensable components in realization of material management. In the AEC sector, rational management of material is one of the factors to reduce the construction cost and construction duration. To provide the quality and efficiency improvement by achieving correct and on time information flow using the Information Technologies for material management is the main subject of this research. In this paper, it is objected to design an information system which will enable to reach needed information to manage material for construction realizations of the small construction firms and the subject of producing a software where it can be used to apply this designed system are considered. The design and realization of this model is developed within the architectural software using the programming language and in a modular structure. A SCF Project has chosen and application outputs are given at the test phase of the model.

Background: Materials management practices has gained extensive prominence over the last few decades and continue to play a significant role in production and operations management.Objectives: The objective of this scientific inquiry is to empirically examine the effect of materials management practices on firm performance by exploring employee views within the Ghanaian context, focusing on Fan Milk Limited, a consumer good listed manufacturing firm in Ghana.Methods: A cross-sectional approach [research design] was espoused for the study, exploring quantitative research techniques for its analysis. The study was based on self-answering structured questionnaires completed by 240 respondents selected via stratified sampling. SPSS version 25.0 was utilised for data analysis. Statistical analyses include descriptive statistics, principal component analyses, exploratory factor analyses with varimax rotation, reliability and validity analyses, and multivariate regression analyses.Results: The study found significant positive relationships between all eight materials management practices constructs and firm performance. Findings revealed further that Economic Order Quantity construct (β=0.901, p=0.000) contributed most to firm performance whilst Ergonomics (β=0.105, p=0.002) contributed least to firm performance.Conclusion: Managerial recommendations via research findings established, should be taken critical for management of manufacturing firms when dealing with decisions influencing materials management and performance assessment by examining the possible feasibility of the eight materials management techniques exploited in this study as a relevant tool for initiating continuous performance improvement in Fan Milk Limited in particular and Ghana’s manufacturing industry in general.

Economy-wide material flow analysis (EW-MFA) is of importance to monitor the material input and to understand the current national material situation. Among various indicators developed for EW-MFA, this study focuses on the direct material input (DMI) and the total material requirement (TMR). DMI is a well-established and simple attribute, which have been widely utilized in the globally well-known institute and national government. On the contrary, TMR is the most encompassing indicator, which involves the evaluation of hidden flows arising from non-economic activities as well as direct and indirect inputs arising from economic activities. Although numerous studies monitored the chronological transition of EW-DMI and EW-TMR, the mechanism and composition depends on each of unique national characteristics. In addition, domestic recycled resources have yet to be fully evaluated in EW-TMR. Furthermore, a top-down approach has been widely employed to obtain the value of TMR for each of categories, whereas calculating the TMR of each product in a bottom-up approach has scarcely been adopted because of its complexity and difficulty. As such, this study calculates the specific TMR of high level of disaggregation of material categories in the bottom-up approach and chronologically analyzes the material input in Japan on both DMI and TMR basis in 1990–2013. Then, considering the relationship between economic development and material utilization, EW-DMI and EW-TMR in 2020 and 2030 are projected by using the historical trend of material input in the course of economic growth. It is found that from 1990 to 2013 in Japan, DMI has constantly decreased by 25.0%, while TMR has increased by 18.4%. The reduction of fine aggregate, gravel, domestic limestone, and stone in the domestic resources primarily contributed to the decrease in DMI, whereas steam coal, iron ore, liquefied natural gas, and coking coal in the imported resources primarily contributed to the increase in TMR. In addition, the overall specific TMR in Japan has continuously increased by 57% from 4.0 Mton-TMR/Mton in 1990 to 6.3 Mton-TMR/Mton in 2013. Then, it is forecasted to constantly increase and, in 2030, reach in the range between 11.8 and 14.6 Mton-TMR/Mton. In particular, the recent study revealed that TMR is highly associated with environmental and ecological issues due to mining activities and the specific TMR represents the environmental and ecological impacts arising from mining activities. The forecasted acceleration of overall specific TMR alarmingly raises the environmental and ecological burdens arising from mining activities. The developed algorithm to conduct the material flow analysis by using the bottom-up approach for the calculation of TMR can be readily implemented in any country confronting the issue of sustainable material utilization. It may of use to policymakers in designing more well-grounded material management policy.

Part tracking is an important module of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. For a conventional (non-automated) micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) manufacturer, implementing part tracking is one of the vital components for improving product quality. This paper explains about the features and functionality of the developed software which integrates part tracking, remote 3D printing, and assembly assistance.