D.Ing. / The construction industry has changed dramatically over the past thirty odd years. The following factors played a significant role in this change: (1) The building boom around the 1970s pressurized the industry to work faster. This was followed by periods of variation in workload, which have over the last number of years manifested in a permanent low demand for construction in South Africa. (2) Projects became larger and more complex. (3) An over-regulated labour environment not only leads to the downsize of organizations, but is a main contributor towards the increased use of subcontracting. (4) The time value of money causes owners to specify compressed project schedules and lowest price is often the only selection factor in the award of contracts. The shift in work from predominantly public sector towards the private sector, which by nature is more time conscious, is another factor pressurizing the industry to work faster. The industry has introduced amongst others the following measures to cope with these demands: (1) Main contractors are subcontracting more and more of the work. (2) The traditional in-series concept came under pressure - the management approaches became formal procurement concepts and design-build re-appeared. (3) New construction techniques such as fast-tracking and the movement towards factory produced elements in certain areas, for example precast concrete elements, reduced project schedules and replaced previously time consuming activities and counteracted to a certain extent the shortage of skilled tradesmen. The author argues that in the process to combat these external pressures, the following problems, amongst others, manifested: (1) Ineffective project procurement. (2) Unethical and unsound practices between main contractors and subcontractors. (3) Lack of quality and reliability of a substantial share of end-products. Another problem burdening the industry is historical, namely cultural differences between designers and contractors.

After events like the global financial crisis and the advent of globalisation, companies have experienced increased competition and pressure to improve performance in the new environments in which business is conducted. This has impacted the world of manufacturing, among others, and has necessitated companies in this industry to adopt improvement methodologies to assist in growing the business. This study looks into the implementation of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as one of these procedures and highlights that most articles and studies on this process concentrate on the highvolume, low-mix manufacturing environment. On account of this, a gap is left in the application of these techniques in the low-volume, high-mix environment. The literature highlights the differences in the two disciplines that have now evolved into one toolkit that is applied as LSS and how that is achieved. The cases highlighted do not, however, cover the low-volume, high-variety manufacturers, and this paper seeks to use the expertise of LSS practitioners in this environment to get information and derive a framework for successful implementation of LSS in the capital equipment environment. The main contributor to the study is a company that manufactures capital equipment for the mines, with other respondents being practitioners in similar companies and customers in the mines. Respondents were sent a survey to get their opinion on the implementation of LSS in their environment. The survey attempted to gather information through five key questions on how LSS was being applied and its impact on the cost, cycle-time and on-time delivery of the organisation. A quantitative study design was adopted to develop a framework for the successful implementation of LSS in the capital equipment industry. A total of 38 respondents gave feedback, which was analysed, and this showed what - according to the professionals involved in this study - are the vital aspects of this implementation to ensure success. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / zkgibs2015 / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / Unrestricted

Orientador: Olívio Novaski / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-18T19:34:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Malagutti_Fernanda_M.pdf: 667595 bytes, checksum: 8626325df8ac319a8c310833091933cd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Resumo: O gerenciamento de projetos nas empresas tem se tornado um fator emergente nas empresas em tempos atuais. As empresas muitas vezes executam suas estratégias através de projetos, dessa forma adotar ferramentas e metodologias que melhorem o desempenho dos projetos agrega vantagens competitivas às empresas. O presente artigo tem o objetivo de analisar a relação de maturidade e qualidade em gerenciamento de projetos. Para isso foi realizada uma pesquisa e-survey em 10 empresas de diversos segmentos, onde foram aplicados dois questionários um sobre aspectos de gerenciamento de projeto e outro sobre maturidade de projetos (modelo P3M3). Os resultados dos estudos permitiram concluir que empresas que utilizam ferramentas da qualidade no gerenciamento de seus projetos possuem níveis de maturidade mais elevados / Abstract: Actually, the project management in enterprises has become a predominant factor. Often, companies execute their strategies through projects, and thus adopting tools and methodologies that improve the performance, enhancing competitive advantages. This article aims to examine the relationship of maturity and quality project management. For this, a survey was conducted in 10 companies of various segments, using two questionnaires: one, on project management aspects; another, about project maturity model (P3M3). The results of the studies have shown that companies that use quality tools in managing their projects have higher maturity levels / Mestrado / Materiais e Processos de Fabricação / Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

O presente trabalho foi motivado pelas condições de comercialização da sardinha verdadeira (Sardinella brasiliensis) fresca, descongelada e processada no município de São Paulo-SP, aparentemente não adequadas. Amostras de sardinhas foram analisadas usando como parâmetros os valores de substâncias que reagem com o ácido tiobarbitúrico (TBARS) e nitrogênio de bases voláteis totais (N-BVT). As amostras foram coletadas e analisadas em três momentos diferentes da cadeia produtiva: ao desembarque na CEAGESP (Companhia de Entrepostos e Armazens Gerais do Estado de São Paulo), durante a comercialização em feiras-livres antes da vigência do defeso da espécie e durante a comercialização em feiras-livres na vigência do defeso da espécie (dezembro a março). Para a sardinha desembarcada na CEAGESP, foram observados os seguintes valores médios ± desvio-padrão: TBARS= 0,18 ± 0,17 mg de aldeído malônico (AM)/ kg e N-BVT= 15,75 ± 2,39 mg/ 100 g. Para a sardinha comercializada em feira-livre antes do defeso, os valores registrados foram TBARS= 0,82 ±0,63 mg AM/ kg e N-BVT= 27,06 ± 2,18 mg/ 100g. Para a sardinha comercializada em feira-livre durante o defeso foram detectados TBARS= 7,14 ± 5,36 mg AM/ kg e N-BVT= 27,69 ± 2,80 mg/ 100 g . Os resultados mostraram haver, para os valores de TBARS, diferença estatisticamente significativa entre a sardinha desembarcada na CEAGESP e a comercializada em feira-livre antes do defeso, bem como entre estas e as comercializadas na vigência do defeso. Já para os valores de N-BVT foi notada diferença estatisticamente significativa entre a sardinha desembarcada na CEAGESP e as comercializadas em feira-livre, porém não houve diferença estatisticamente significativa entre as sardinhas comercializadas em feira-livre antes e durante a vigência do defeso. Na sardinha salmourada foram verificados valores médios de TBARS= 4,07 ± 1,22 mg AM/ kg e N-BVT= 44,32 ± 14,38 mg/ 100 g quando não-lavada; e TBARS= 1,25 ± 0,23 mg AM/ kg e N-BVT= 39,63 ± 4,00 mg/ 100 g quando lavada. Para a sardinha anchovada foram detectados os valores médios de TBARS= 3,71 ± 0,77 mg AM/ kg e N-BVT= 62,96 ± 9,33 mg/ 100 g. Foram ainda comparados valores de TBARS e lisina biodisponível, não se observando correlação significativa entre eles (R2= 0,1732). Apenas a sardinha fresca comercializada na CEAGESP apresentou condição aceitável de consumo. / This work was motivated by the observation of the apparently not adequate trade conditions of the fresh, defrosted and processed Brazilian sardine (Sardinella brasiliensis) in the city of São Paulo-SP. Sardine samples were analysed for thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) and total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N). The samples were collected and analysed at three different times in the production chain: on landing at CEAGESP (the Central Warehouse Company of the State of São Paulo), while on sale at the street markets before the species-catching prohibition and while on sale at the street markets during the species-catching prohibition period (December-March). The following results were observed for the sardine landed at CEAGESP (mean ± standard deviation): TBARS= 0.18 ± 0.17 mg malondialdehyde (MDA)/ kg and TVB-N= 15.75 ± 2.39 mg/ 100 g. For the sardines collected at the street markets before the prohibition period, the results were TBARS= 0.82 ± 0.63 mg MDA/ kg and TVB-N= 27.06 ± 2.18 mg/ 100 g. The values detected for the samples collected at the street markets during the prohibition period were TBARS= 7.14 ± 5.36 mg MDA/ kg and TVB-N= 27.69 ± 2.80 mg/ 100 g. The results show a statistically significant difference between the TBARS values for the samples collected at CEAGESP and the ones collected at the street markets before the prohibition period and between the latter and the ones collected at the street markets during the prohibition period. On the other hand, a statistically significant difference was noticed between the TVB-N values for the sardines collected at CEAGESP and the ones collected at the street markets, but there was not any statistically significant difference between the samples collected at the street markets before and during the prohibition period. In unwashed brined sardines the following values were recorded: TBARS= 4.07 ± 1.22 mg MDA/ kg and TVB-N= 44.32 ± 14.38 mg/ 100 g, while for the washed samples the results were TBARS= 1.25 ± 0.23 mg MDA/ kg and TVB-N= 39.63 ± 4.00 mg/ 100 g. For ripened sardine values of TBARS= 3.71 ± 0.77 mg MDA/ kg and TVB-N= 62.96 ± 9.33 mg/ 100 g were detected. TBARS values were also compared to available lysine and no significant correlation was found (R2= 0.1732). Only the fresh sardines landed at CEAGESP showed acceptable condition for consumption.

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This master thesis consider the proposal for quality improvement of an industrial process. There are recomended proposals and methods for improvement of current situation of processing on the production of provided information here.

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<p>The capability of continuously producing good quality products with high productivity and low cost is critical for manufacturers. Generally, products are made up of components, which enable the product to perform its purpose. A complex product may be assembled from many components through multiple assembly stages. Any quality defects in a component may build up in the product. A good understanding of how the quality of components impacts the quality of products in a complex manufacturing system is essential for keeping the competitiveness of a manufacturer. </p> <p>In this research, a series of quality management models are proposed based on studying the relationship between component quality and product quality. Optimal quality control leads to increased competitiveness of a manufacturer, since it helps reduce cost, increase production, and limit environmental impact. The research starts from studying the tolerance allocation problem, which is fundamental of managing the tradeoff between quality, productivity, cost, and waste. First, a tolerance allocation method that minimizes cost is proposed. This model jointly considers process variation and tolerance specifications. The relation between manufacturer, user, design, and processing are embedded in the cost model. To solve the tolerance allocation problem from the root cause, i.e., the variations in production processes, a second tolerance allocation model is then provided. This model considers both product design (tolerance selection) and operation planning (or production rate selection). Relations among production rate, production cost, processing precision, and waste are considered. Furthermore, a new process control model that extends traditional statistical process control techniques is proposed. Data acquired from a manufacturing system are usually in the forms of time series, and anomalies in the time series are generally related to quality defects. A new method that can detect anomalies in time series data with long length and high dimensionality is developed. This model is based on recurrent neural networks, and the parameters of the neural networks can be trained using data acquired during routine operation of a manufacturing system. This is very beneficial because often, there are few data labeled as anomalies, since anomalies are hopefully rare events in a well-managed system. Last, quality control of remanufacturing is studied. A component-oriented reassembly model is proposed to manage the varied quality of returned component and varied needs of customers. In this model, returned components are inspected and assigned scores according to their quality/function, and categorized in a reassembly inventory. Based on the reassembly inventory, components are paired under the control of a reassembly strategy. A reassembly-score iteration algorithm is developed to identify the optimal reassembly strategy. The proposed model can reassemble products to meet a larger variety of customer needs, while simultaneously producing better remanufactured products.</p> In summary, this dissertation presents a series of novel quality management models to keep manufacturers’ competitiveness. These models are based on studying factors that impact component and product quality at multiple stages of a product life cycle. It was found that analyzing the relationship between component and product quality is a very effective way of improving product quality, saving cost, and reducing environmental impact of manufacturing.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Engineering: Industrial Date: 11 October 2016 / This research investigates Transnet‟s Foundry Quality System, focusing on the quality issues in the Foundry. This includes determining the total cost of quality for the business, investigating the impact of the specific defects on the productivity of the business. Two products were analysed namely, the top centre casting and the brake shoe holders. Root cause analysis was done on each stage of the Foundry process to understand the causes of defects. Data was collected and analysed and most of the defects that occur were found to be the result of poor quality management which consequently causes low productivity and low profits. Also identified was a lack of skilled personnel in specific areas in the Foundry. Furthermore data collection as part of the quality system in the Foundry is not effectively executed and this implies that performance cannot be fully measured. Non Compliance reports from customers were analysed and the total cost of quality was calculated to be R1 214 690.73 based on the data that was available. The impact of defects on productivity was also analysed for the financial year 2014/2015 and it was calculated to be 47% for the brake shoe holders. The target for the Foundry for the financial year was R4 048 799.30 for the actual productivity in sales amounted to R 1 915 510.60. For the top centre the estimated target for the financial year 2014/2015 was R6 271 500.00 and the actual productivity amounted to R3 305 250.00. Statistical process control charts were drawn and it was discovered that some of the machines owned by the business are not capable of producing to specification. Qualifound was identified as a framework to improve the Transnet foundry quality system. It is recommended that top management be educated in the concept of cost of quality and its impact on business profitability and that skilled quality coordinators be appointed to facilitate continuous quality maintenance. / MT2017

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