Examensarbetet har utförts på företaget AP&T Presses AB i Tranemo. AP&T tillverkar hydrauliska pressar med en presskraft från 100 ton upp till 20000 ton. Kunderna finns främst inom bilindustrin men även vitvaru- och inomhusklimatbranscherna finns representerade. Syftet med arbetet har varit att utarbeta ett underlag för LCC-kalkyler avseende hydrauliska pressar. Därefter skall mallen tillämpas på en press av modell ZM-8000-30/22. Det finns inga generella regler eller krav för LCC beräkningar utan de får anpassas utifrån aktuell industri och produkt.För att bestämma livscykelkostnaden listas alla kostnader som uppkommer i samband med inköp och efterföljande drift. LCC-kalkylen utgår från 8 stycken kostnadsrubriker. Det framgick att inköpskostnaden låg på 51 % av totalkostnaden efter 10 år. Livscykelkostnaden över 10 år blev 38,6 miljoner SEK. Antalet möjliga detaljer att tillverka under tio år blev 2 500 000 st. Om totalkostnaden slås ut över hur många detaljer man tillverkat kommer priset att hamna på 15,80 kr/st då endast hänsyn till kostnaden för pressen tagits. Till detta kommer materialkostnader, verktygskostnader, m.m.LCC- modellen kan användas som försäljningsargument gentemot kund, men även i förbättringsarbetet hos AP&T för att se var det uppkommer stora kostnader under maskinernas livslängd för att på så sätt bygga ännu mer kostnadseffektiva pressar i framtiden. Vidare kan LCC- kalkylen användas internt hos konstruktionsavdelningen vid AP&T för att motivera dyrare mer kvalitativa komponentinköp. På så sätt kan maskinerna görs mer kostnadseffektiva under sin livstid / Uppsatsnivå: C

The last twenty years has seen a tremendous change in the way companies do business. Much of this change can be attributed to the so-called information revolution. The integrated interaction between Information Technology (IT) and business processes has changed from its initial function of automating clerical tasks (e.g. payroll, inventory) to providing pertinent information for operational, managerial and executive groups within the organisation. In more recent times, IT has enabled some organisations, including those in the construction industry, to transform or re-engineer their business processes in the face of the rapidly changing business environment. As international competition continues to intensify, significant numbers of construction organisations are investing large amounts of resources into IT as they seek to gain competitive advantage. IT is increasingly being implemented for strategic reasons, so as to enable improved efficiency, better control and enhanced productivity of internal processes. The failure of realising expected IT-induced benefits has led to a growing number of senior executives to question the value of IT investments. Thus, questions like the following are typical: Are we getting our money's worth from our IT investment? ; Are we spending too much or too little on IT? ; What IT projects make the best use of our resources? ; How can we improve the return on our IT investments? This Ph.D. research study was inspired by the perceived lack of a structured framework for the selection, implementation and performance evaluation of IT projects in construction. The development of such a generic framework that could capture the IT project lifecycle management process, and the associated guidelines and procedures for its effective implementation, is a young field of research, still struggling to define its place within the large family of academic disciplines. Being a young branch of science, it might be argued that IT in construction lacks a solid methodological foundation. An IT project lifecycle management process is an integrated approach that provides for the continuous identification, selection, implementation, monitoring and performance evaluation of IT projects. This structured process should provide a systematic method for construction organisations to minimise risks while maximising returns on IT investments. To effectively employ IT in construction, the IT project lifecycle management process should have elements of three essential phases: (1) IT project(s) selection; (2) strategic IT implementation and monitoring; and (3) IT performance evaluation. However, each phase should not be viewed as a separate step. Rather, each is conducted as part of a continuous, interdependent management effort. Information gained from one phase is used to support activities in each of the other two phases. With this in mind, this research study aimed to develop an appropriate framework and associated tools for each phase of the IT project lifecycle. The developed three frameworks are detailed individually in the following paragraphs. The developed IT project(s) selection framework utilised information economics theory to encompass the full spectrum of direct and indirect costs, tangible and intangible expected benefits and the intangible risks associated with IT project proposals, considered for funding by the organisation. To incorporate the uncertainty that normally surrounds quantifying costs, benefits and risks, the framework employed a simple but powerful fuzzy logic technique to integrate all the monetary and non-monetary factors into a form that enabled the ranking of proposals. A case study was undertaken with a large international project management and development organisation to demonstrate the framework's applicability. The case study illustrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach for ranking IT project proposals. Once a portfolio of IT projects is selected for funding by the organisation, it needs to be strategically implemented and monitored over its lifecycle. A strategic IT implementation and monitoring framework was developed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of this phase. The framework is premised on a hybrid analysis utilising the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and SWOT analysis. A case study was undertaken to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework in the strategic implementation and monitoring of a Project Management Information System (PMIS) by a large Australian construction-contracting organisation. The framework application proved to be successful in helping the organisation to develop appropriate strategies for the effective and efficient implementation of the PMIS. An IT performance evaluation framework and method was then developed for the final phase of the lifecycle. This framework was the primary focus of this Ph.D. research study and was structured using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) principles adapted to the specific requirements of the construction industry. The framework was structured using a hierarchy of IT performance perspectives, indicators and measures. Five definable perspectives were conceptually developed through analysis and synthesis of the 'IT business value' evaluation literature. These are: operational, benefits, technology/system, strategic competitiveness and user orientation. Indicators and measures were extracted from the mainstream IT literature and construction management literature, as well as the emerging literature on information economics. The preliminary list of indicators was initially screened through consultation with construction professionals and conceptual cause-and-effect mapping. The screened list of project-tier indicators was further refined through questionnaire dissemination. The questionnaire was sent to 322 construction project participants from large construction-contracting and project management organisations located within Australia. The five framework perspectives were statistically validated through the principal component factor analysis with varimax rotation. Each perspective and indicator's relative weight was numerically established using the questionnaire survey results as input to the recently developed Performance Measurement Process Framework (PMPF). The reason that the performance measures were not justified through a quantitative analysis was due to their dynamic nature. Most performance measures change, and will continue to change, with new technology. The developed perspectives, indicators and measures were all compiled into a generic 'Construct IT' BSC that can serve as a template for application at other decision-making tiers of a construction organisation. The problem of combining performance measures, with varying metrics, into commensurable units (utiles) was achieved by applying utility theory. Finally, the developed 'Construct IT' BSC was utilised for a project-tier survey to test the interrelationship between framework indicators and perspectives. Using information collected from 82 project professionals, from large construction-contracting and project management organisations, correlation and independent sample t-tests (one-tailed) provided support for the 'Construct IT' BSC. Specifically, findings suggest that the 'Construct IT' BSC can be used as a tool for monitoring the IT-induced value creation process. In addition, it appears that the proposed 'Construct IT' BSC framework and associated performance evaluation method is both flexible in design and can be modified to suit the needs of individual organisations. These characteristics make the framework continuously relevant to the dynamic nature of IT projects. In summary, the proposed IT project lifecycle management process, and its associated frameworks, provides a holistic view of IT implementation in construction and offers significant contributions to current body of knowledge on IT in construction.

To satisfy new market requirements, manufacturing industry has shifted from mass production that takes advantage of the scale of production, to quality management that optimizes the internal enterprise functions, to e-manufacturing era that leverage intellectual capital via collaborative innovation. In the same time, the product itself is becoming the most important asset for sustainable business success. Consequently, the effectiveness, efficiency and innovation for the development of the product across the whole product lifecycle are becoming key business factors for manufacturing enterprise to obtain competitive advantages for survival. To tackle such challenges, a new business model called collaborative product services in virtual enterprise is proposed in this paper. The architecture of this new model is developed based on the framework and the application of web service and process management for collaboration product service in virtual enterprise. Indeed, it is hoped that this architecture will lay the foundation for further research and development of effective product lifecycle management in virtually collaborative enterprise environment. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

No description available.

A new product progresses through a sequence of stages from its introduction in the market and its profitability, this sequence is known as the ¡§product life cycle (PLC).¡¨ However, before a product enter the market during the conceive phase, there are three major elements: product data conception, product data collaboration, and product data management. These elements allow a company to track product development through portfolio management and to maintain sales product configuration and market documentation through centralize database. The essence of product lifecycle management (PLM) helps a company increase product revenues through reduced design phase period and prototyping costs due to changes. Currently, the PLM uses a process-oriented model where its strategies are inefficient due to lack of comprehensive consideration and fast rate of change in market needs. As a result, resources are wasted and product competitiveness is affected when the entire process is altered. Thus, this research presents the architecture-oriented product lifecycle management model (AOPLMM) as a solution to deficiencies of the process-oriented model. The goal of AOPLMM is to establish product design development based on multi-needs of the market. Overall, AOPLMM is able to integrate design organization (such as requirement specification, intellectual property right, and green environmental design) and information system for product development knowledge in defining responsibilities of each division and collaboration among them. AOPLMM includes six fundamental diagrams: the ¡§architecture hierarchy diagram,¡¨ the ¡§framework diagram,¡¨ the ¡§component operation diagram,¡¨ the ¡§component connection diagram, the ¡§structure-behavior coalescence diagram,¡¨ and the ¡§interaction flow diagram.¡¨ To construct an efficient model through information management system has several advantages such as flexibility in product design, immediate response to market needs, simplification of product development, decline in enterprise cost, and increase in competitiveness. Therefore, an architecture-oriented model is the clear choice for product lifecycle management.

The genetic algorithm paradigm is a well-known heuristic for solving many problems in science and engineering in which candidate solutions, or “individuals”, are manipulated in ways analogous to biological evolution, to produce new solutions until one with the desired quality is found. As problem sizes increase, a natural question is how to exploit advances in distributed and parallel computing to speed up the execution of genetic algorithms. This thesis proposes a new distributed architecture for genetic algorithms, based on distributed storage of the individuals in a persistent pool. Processors extract individuals from the pool in order to perform the computations and then insert the resulting individuals back into the pool. Unlike previously proposed approaches, the new approach is tailored for distributed systems in which processors are loosely coupled, failure-prone and can run at different speeds. Proof-of-concept simulation results are presented for four benchmark functions and for a real-world Product Lifecycle Design problem. We have experimented with both the crash failure model and the Byzantine failure model. The results indicate that the approach can deliver improved performance due to the distribution and tolerates a large fraction of processor failures subject to both models.

Dicyemid mesozoans are endoparasites inhabited in benthic cephalopod molluscs. Previous studies of dicyemids were mostly concentrated on their taxonomy. The life cycle remains a mystery since Cavolini observed this animal in 1787. The purpose of this study is to investigate further on the dicyemid life cycle building on the limited knowledge from previous studies, and investigate the infection of dicyemid in octopuses in tropical waters, using the area in the southwestern Taiwan as a model. A total of 324 octopus hosts was collected¡Aincluding 3 genera and 13 species from DungGang Fish Market from 2001 to 2002. There were 9 host species detected with dicyemid mesozoans including 14 species within 2 genera. Moreover, there is no dicyemid species overlap among the octopus species indicating high host-specificity. There is large range of the dicyemid infection prevalence among octopod hosts. Cistopis indicus has the highest prevalence (91%) and Octopus luteus the lowest (20%) in this study. In C. indicus, the infected mechanism correlated with season. The infusoriform larvae of dicyemid mesozoan dispersal from the host to sea water in the autumn and winter, then entering host in the spring and summer. The change of dicyemid life cycle stage in the C. indicus kidney correlates with the sharp decrease of infection intensity. However, the dicyemid infection in Octopus marginatus correlates with body size, not with season. Besides, there is significant difference of dicyemid development between two kidneys of the same individual, both in the analysis of C. indicus and O. marginatus. It indicates the separated way of dicyemid infection into two sides of kidneys.

Comments and Discussions: Soemon TAKAKUWA (高桑 宗右ヱ門)

As the consumption trend has shifted to personal uniqueness, the traditional mass production of a single product has already been replaced by a small amount of various production to match consumption pattern. To meet challenge imposed by the market, manufacturers must change tactics and methods in their R&D activities. Consumers have already taken the high-quality products or services for granted, hoping to obtain the desired products or services that as soon as possible. The manufacturer expects to push new products or services to the market earlier than the competitors¡¦ move in order to gain extra profit margins. Higher price can be sold for a product pushed earlier to the market than a later product with the similar function. The products that lag behind in the market introduction will suffer lower prices or no profit. The manufacturer always wants to clear out the stock of existing products to control costs, and attempts to introduce new products or new services with more new functions before followers do. The purpose is to dominate the market and let followers not to enjoy profit margins. So, how to speed up the products¡¦ lifecycle should be the goal for enterprises to pursue. Recently, each enterprise emphasizes the core competencies, keep and strengthen the strong abilities of enterprises, and conducts outsourcing the less competitive products to those companies that are familiar with related manufacturing technologies. In the process a new product is developed or the modification for the product design has taken place. Questions arise as to : (1) how to transmit information to the person who must know as soon as possible? (2) how to guarantee the product information that the research personnel receive is the correct edition? Collaborative Product Commerce between the organizations will encounter more difficulties and challenges than the Collaborative Product Commerce within the organization. And this subject has already become serious challenges in the supply chain. The products function has grown more complicated, and a lot of unconfirmed factors exist in the development of new products. While the project developed carries on, customers¡¦ requirement, manufacturing technology and restriction of engineering ability, and the restriction of the supplier's engineering ability, may all influence the new product engineering. So while the new product development project carries on, because of these changes they will cause design modification or manufacturing operation modification, in order to enable development of the products to maintain integrally, and reach the goal of the project. So how to use PLM system to coordinate with among different functional organization department, and to coordinate inter-organization project team members, have become the main issues of this thesis. For Semiconductor Industry, Taiwan is the most important manufacture area of the world, from IC design, wafer fabrication, wafer probing, IC packing and final test, etc. Taiwan has a entire and strong supply chains. Count according to Dataquest, the global semiconductor assembly and testing industry subcontractor, Taiwan got the 43.7% market share in 2005, nearly have about 30% of leading disparity with No. two U.S.A. with scale of 6,641 million dollars, it is obvious Taiwan is the leading status of the industry in the whole world. This research takes case A Company as an example, and compares the new product development procedure before PLM implementation and after, including the project workflow, data access, information sharing, knowledge sharing, decision making and information security, in order to offer a reference model for the manufacturing industry especially semiconductor assembly and testing industry of Taiwan to implement PLM System.

Purpose & research questions: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roleand influence trend institutes have on the decision a designer makes in the designand development of a garment/product’s lifecycle. Theoretical approach: The theoretical framework is based on the theories ofsustainability and trends but also on previous studies and models concerning thefashion design process and the environmental aspects of a garment’s lifecycle. Research Approach: The research uses a qualitative method based on multiple casestudies as research design. Conclusion: This research reveals that trend institutes have little or no influence atall for small, independent and high-end fashion designers, especially in sustainablefashion design because trend institutes are not perceived as knowledgeable enough oradvocates, yet. However, it is important to bear in mind the need to maintain thepicture of the high-end fashion designer as the one and only fashion contributor.Furthermore, The research evidences that there is no such thing as sustainabilitycommunication at trend institutes.