Orientador: Sandro Donnini Mancini / Coorientador: Bruno Fernando Gianelli / Banca: Diogo Aparecido Lopes Silva / Banca: Gerson Araújo de Medeiros / Banca: Ricardo Gabbay de Souza / Banca: Michel Xocaira Paes / Resumo: Neste trabalho foi realizada a Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida (ACV) do processo de logística reversa da destinação de embalagens vazias de agrotóxicos empregado atualmente no Brasil. Esse procedimento apresenta um fluxo que se inicia na entrega das embalagens, após o uso, em postos de recebimento que encaminham a unidade maiores, denominadas centrais que, por sua vez, remetem os invólucros a incineradoras e recicladoras associadas ao órgão que administra o processo. Para avaliar esse procedimento, inicialmente, foi realizada uma ACV da fronteira final do sistema. Para tal foram utilizados dados de quantidade de embalagens destinadas, por tipo, e quantidade de viagens realizadas entre centrais e destinadoras, nos anos de 2014, 2015, 2016 e 2017 de quatro unidades de recebimento, localizadas nas cidades de: Capão do Leão/RS, Ituverava/SP, Piedade/SP e Piracicaba/SP. O método utilizado foi o Midpoint (H)/World ReCiPe H/H (2016). Nesse primeiro momento foram simulados o cenário atual e outros cenários com tratamentos diferentes dispensados às embalagens. Os resultados mostraram que as distâncias percorridas entre centrais e destinadoras prejudicam substancialmente o objetivo inicial do processo de redução de impactos ambientais. Um cenário em que são utilizadas recicladoras e incineradoras mais próximas às centrais foi capaz de reduzir os impactos ambientais em todas as categorias estudadas, para todos os anos e unidades de recebimento, atingindo, por exemplo, na central de Capão do ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In this thesis it was carried out the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the reverse logistics processes for the destination of empty agrochemical containers currently employed in Brazil. This procedure was created to reduce environmental damager and the process flow starts from the delivery of packages, after use, at the receiving stations that send them to larger units, called plants. In turn, they send the casings to the incinerators and recyclers associated to the body that administers the process. In order to evaluate this procedure, initially a LCA of the final frontier of the system was performed. For this purpose, we used data on the number of packages destined, by type and number of trips made between central and destination, in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 of four reception units located in the cities of: Capão do Leão / RS, Ituverava / SP, Piedade / SP and Piracicaba / SP. The method used was Midpoint (H) / World ReCiPe H / H (2016). In this first moment the current scenario and other scenarios with different treatments to the packages were simulated. The results showed that the distances traveled between centrals and destinantions substantially undermine the initial objective of the process of reducing environmental impacts. A scenario with recyclers and incinerators closer to the plants, was able to reduce environmental impacts in all categories studied, considering all the years and receiving units, reaching, for example, the Capão do Leão plant - the farthest one amon... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Industry is facing the challenge of increasing product complexity while at the same time reducing cost and time in a highly competitive global market. Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Systems Engineering have the potential to help companies avoid costly product development and launching, as well as failure during use; these two concepts not only share many common characteristics, but also complement each other. PLM provides an information management system that can seamlessly integrate enterprise data, business processes, business systems and, ultimately, people throughout all phases of the product lifecycle. Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary approach to designing, implementing, evaluating, and managing the complex human-made systems over their life cycle. The same underlying methods that improve management of products and services can be used to organize the framework in which PLM systems are implemented, integrated, and evolved. Though several studies have indicated that adopting Systems Engineering with PLM brings many benefits for industries, implementation of PLM based Systems Engineering with PLM has rarely been conducted. Pattern-Based Systems Engineering (PBSE), a form of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) based on the use of Systematic Metamodel (S* Metamodel), represents a family of manufacturing system, and is used in the life cycle processes of ISO 15288, was implemented here using TEAMCENTER® PLM software as the platform. More specifically, we have implemented the key portion of the General Production Pattern based on S* Metamodel, and demonstrated the benefit through the manufacturing of oil filter case study. The above implementation have resulted in a powerful systems engineering model in PLM that leverages the capabilities of Teamcenter, to enable an enhanced systems engineering approach. Benefits brought to systems engineering practice include: the ability to capture and reflect stakeholders' requirements and changes in product design process promptly and accurately; the ability of systems engineers to create models quickly and prevent mistakes during modeling; the ability of systems engineers to do their job much easily by using reusable and reconfigurable models; the ability to re-use of previous designs in a new process.

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The worldwide technological explosion has dramatically changed the basis of international competition. The accelerated rate of change in product engineering and process technology has led to decreasing product life cycles and made equipment obsolescence a primary concern to U.S. manufacturers. Researchers in academia, industry, and the government have unanimously agreed on the primary role that the investment in advanced manufacturing technologies (AMT, eg., Flexible Manufacturing Systems) can play in meeting the challenges of the new global business environment. However, U.S. manufacturing technology is still lagging far behind U.S. innovation , and many U.S. firms are practically unable to justify the needed modernization. Many authors have written about the necessity to account for strategic, long-term benefits associated with acquiring new AMT’s in order for U.S. manufacturers to justify more easily, and more realistically, their investment decisions. However, most of these authors have overlooked the fact that the decision to acquire a new AMT is most likely to displace existing resources, and that unless manufacturers are offered a tool to evaluate the impact of abandoning obsolete or less-than-profitable products and/or processes and justify such a decision, the needed modernization process will continue to be hindered. The objective of this research is bifold. First, the product/process abandonment problem is reformulated from a new perspective which is congruent with the requirements of the new global business environment. And second, a global decision model (GDM) incorporating the product abandonment option into the company’s overall strategic planning and control system is developed which seeks to help U.S. manufacturers make world-class capital expenditure decisions. To this end, an extensive taxonomic analysis was first conducted to investigate the product abandonment analysis topic as treated in the literature of engineering economy, financial management, management accounting, marketing, strategic management, and corporate organizational and behavioral sciences. The product abandonment problem is then reformulated in view of both the strengths and shortcomings of traditional models and the requirements of the new business environment. Finally, the developed solution methodology is described, implemented as a computer program, and illustrated through an actual case-study. The GDM is governed by an abandonment algorithm and a multi-attribute decision module (MADM) which are interfaced in a highly interactive mode. The proposed abandonment algorithm uses a recursive dynamic programming search method to determine at each decision point in the project life cycle whether it is more profitable to abandon a product or to continue its operations for one more time period. The MADM translates various strategic objectives of the company, financial and non-financial, into quantifiable performance measures and ranks alternative improvement portfolios. Production simulation techniques and activity-based costing (ABC) are suggested to collect the needed input data for the model. Preference ordering theory is used to account for management’s attitude toward risk and make trade-offs between project profitability and riskiness. Once a course of action is selected, its performance must be continuously monitored and controlled in view of pre-specified strategic performance targets. The results obtained from the analysis of the case study confirmed the economic validity of the philosophy underlying the developed solution methodology as well as the ease of application of such a methodology to a wide range of real-life problems. They also demonstrated the benefits that a company can forgo by ignoring the abandonment option throughout the product life cycle. In conclusion, the developed model is believed to be a sophisticated, yet practical, tool which can help engineering managers reach more informed, and therefore more competitive, decisions about their firms’ portfolio of products. Furthermore, pertinent recommendations were made to direct future research regarding this subject matter. / Ph. D.

The military community has considerable experience in the areas of procuring and managing large systems. These systems are often expected to perform their intended function over a period of several years and as a result, they will require an extensive support structure consisting of personnel, equipment and spare assets. For this reason, Logistics Management has always been an important field within the military and is gaining recognition within private industry as well. The evolutionary process which starts with the identification of a need and continues through design, production and retirement is known as a product's life cycle. Studies have shown that the decisions which are made initially, during the design of the product, will determine 80% of the total system costs. Several efforts have been initiated to improve the product design process and emphasize the life cycle approach. These include; Concurrent Engineering, Logistics Support Analysis (LSA) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD). These efforts necessitate an overhaul of the decision-making methods used in the product design process. Consequently, within the military community and private industry, the time-honored sequential-hierarchical-decision approach to design is being replaced with concurrent decision-making. The sequential process of the hierarchical method can lead to suboptimal designs which significantly increase manufacturing and follow-on support costs. / Ph. D.

This research develops hypotheses to explain temporal changes in the effectiveness of marketing mix variables. Three potential explanations for these changes in market response are explored: (1) changes in market response associated with industry evolution, (2) trends in market response which may be related to changes in consumer knowledge and familiarity with products over time, and (3) changes in market response associated with changes in consumer incomes. In addition, this research investigates (4) changes in the relative effectiveness of marketing mix variables over time. The hypotheses are tested on time series data from five U.S. industries as well as aggregate U.S. consumption data. To estimate temporal changes in market price sensitivity, advertising effectiveness, and distribution effectiveness, a structural time series modeling methodology is used, and numerical optimization procedures are used to perform maximum likelihood estimation. The results show mixed support for the hypothesis that market response is related to the level of industry maturity. Problems with the indicators of industry maturity were identified which may be partly responsible for the mixed results. Consistent with expectations, this study shows that advertising effectiveness does appear to decline over time, while market price sensitivity and distribution effectiveness increase. Consequently, price reduCtions and increases in distribution coverage appear to become relatively more effective than increases in advertising expenditures over time. There appears to be no relationship between marketing mix effectiveness and consumer incomes. / Ph. D.

Successful competition in the computer systems industry depends on a firm's ability to bring profitable products to market. The success of a product is measured by its future worth to the company. Life-cycle complete design attempts to engineer products that provide maximum future worth. Many components contribute to the overall cost of developing a product. Designing merely to reduce the cost of the components that make up the system is insufficient. A product must be engineered in a manner that addresses all pertinent issues over its complete life cycle. This research examines the use of the VHSIC Hardware Description Language as a computer-aided engineering tool for life-cycle complete engineering. VHDL is traditionally used to model the functional behavior of digital systems. This thesis provides an overview of a life-cycle complete design process and describes the use of VHDL to support that process. A case study is presented to illustrate the use of VHDL for life-cycle complete modeling. / Master of Science

No / This paper argues that the technology life cycle literature is confused and incomplete. This literature is first reviewed with consideration of the related concepts of the life cycles for industries and products. By exploring the inter-relationships between these, an integrated view of the technology life cycle is produced. A new conceptualization of the technology life cycle is then proposed. This is represented as a model that incorporates three different levels for technology application, paradigm and generation. The model shows how separate paradigms emerge over time to achieve a given application. It traces the eras of ferment and incremental change and shows how technology generations evolve within these. It also depicts how the eras are separated by the emergence of a dominant design, and how paradigms are replaced at a technological discontinuity. By adopting this structure, the model can demarcate the evolution of technologies at varying levels of granularity from the specific products in which they may be manifest to the industries in which they are exploited. By taking technology as the unit of analysis the model departs from previous work, which has adopted a product-based perspective predominantly. The paper discusses the managerial and research implications associated with the technology life cycle, and indicates how these inform future research directions. As well as contributing to academic knowledge, the results of this research are of value to those who make decisions about the development, exploitation and use of technology including technology developers, engineers, technologists, R & D managers, and designers.

Yes / Toy industry in the US is product driven and full of challenges. This case presents an overview of the California-based Micro Games of America (MGA) Entertainment, which is a consumer entertainment products company, engaged in innovative lines of proprietary and licensed products including toys and games, dolls, consumer electronics, home decor, stationery and sporting goods. It had more than 200 licences. In 2001, MGA launched a fashion doll called ‘Bratz’, and it sold 150 million Bratz dolls all over the world. Bratz line surpassed the legendary brand ‘Barbie’—Mattel, Inc.’s flagship brand—in a short span of time through many innovative marketing strategies and different product placement, roll-outs, tie-ins and other promotional tactics, despite facing many challenges, such as, fast-changing demographics, shorter product life cycle (PLC) and negative perceptions about brand. This case can be used to address two issues: first, structural change drivers and trends that shaped the toy industry in developed economies and, second, how to develop effective marketing strategies for product with shorter PLC in highly product-driven market?

A prototype cost estimating tool was built using an iterative design approach to help training managers assess the impact of changes in the training environment on course life cycle costs. In the first of two evaluations, training managers evaluated the prototype tools during a demonstration for both functionality and face validity in their environment. They also evaluated the usefulness of different levels of graphics and detail in a guide designed to assist the user with the tool. Feedback from the first evaluation was used to revise the prototype tool, and the guide usefulness ratings were used to select the guide for use in the second evaluation. The impact of the guide on performance with the tool was analyzed in a second evaluation. The second evaluation analyzed the difference in performance of two groups. The first group only had the users manual to help them solve the problems. The second group had the users manual and a performance aid to help them. Subjects' performance was compared on the number of spreadsheets used, number of errors made, and the amount of time they took to complete the tasks. The two groups did not significantly differ on these measures. / Ph. D.