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Engine oil degradation impacts the operation and performance of an internal combustion engine. As a result, it is crucial to compare the degradation level of engine oils, with a particular emphasis on kinematic viscosity, oxidation, nitration, and critical oil testing characteristics. Suppose engine oil changes too soon without first calculating its remaining usable life. In that case, it wastes already scarce resources and has an unfavourable environmental influence. Engine performance may suffer if oil is changed too late and is of poor quality. In the current research, oil testing is performed on vehicles due to maintenance to find the best moment for changing engine oil. Oil samples were taken randomly from cars that came to an authorized service facility for maintenance, comprising a wide range from the first to the fifth servicing. Oil samples were initially evaluated in a laboratory using a viscometer and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy in conformity with industry standards. The samples were then evaluated using an integrated sensor system developed and built by the authors. The determination coefficient R 2 = 0.97 showed a significant positive association between major engine oil degradation characteristics such as kinematic viscosity, oxidation, and nitration at reasonable sensitivity. Approximately 8% of the total gathered samples were useable. The research identifies several oil degradation sensor systems that give low-cost, on-site convenient options for oil condition monitoring and predicting the remaining usable life of engine oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Anand K. Bewoor, Maruti S. Pawar This is one of the first papers trying to analyse the motives and benefits of QMS/ISO implementation in Indian SMEs. A survey work of 220 certified Indian SMEs is carried out and presented in the paper. The relationships between expected and perceived benefits were analysed through statistical analysis. This paper highlights the results of this survey, which concluded that QMS/ISO certified companies were more concerned by internal reasons like improving processes/productivity or products/services than by external reasons like pressure from customers or imitation of competitors. In addition, the paper pointed out that the QMS implementation process had generated more internal benefits than external ones. The findings of the research work also indicate that the SME firms will sustain their quality efforts as continuous improvement. This paper is structured as: first, we review the previous literature on motives and benefits of QMS/ISO implementation and identified research gaps. Next, paper present the research methodology followed by the survey analysis and results. After discussing the main findings of the empirical research, we finally conclude with useful recommendations for practitioners.

Byline: Anand K. Bewoor, Maruti S. Pawar Industries are continuously facing fierce competition and the challenge of meeting increasing demands for higher quality products at economic costs. The success of an organisation is directly related to how effective its implementation of continuous improvement (CI) is. For any industry, quality management system (QMS) and Six Sigma are important CI methodologies. Effective understanding of these methodologies and their relationship will provide an industry with a competitive advantage. Many industrial organisations today are using either QMS or Six Sigma or both as the core for their CI efforts. As such, the relationship between QMS and Six Sigma is worth further investigation. In this paper, QMS and Six Sigma are introduced followed by a thorough comparison. More particularly, this work analyses Six Sigma-DMAIC methodology steps w. r. to QMS [viz. ISO 9000:2000, TS 16949, QS 9000] requirements and identified macro/micro level critical links between them. Further, managerial and operational level frameworks for the integration of the Six Sigma-DMAIC steps as a part of company's existing QMS is proposed. Finally, this case study based research work concludes that, integrating 'QMS + Six Sigma' is an effective and novel approach which will provide an improved approach for CI.