Research Articles (Industrial Engineering)

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3D-feature recogntion from measured data
(Department of Industrial Engineering, Stellenbosch University, 1999) Janssens, M.; Van Wijck, W.; Du Preez, N. D.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This paper presents a method to automatically extract analytical entities like planes, spheres and cylinders from a file containing a cloud of points. The method facilitates the manipulation and reduction of large data sets and the evaluation of it. It can be used as a design tool, a quality control tool, data-processing tool or a data reduction tool. From a database of points, the user can automatically extract a subset of points belonging to an analytical entity of interest, within a predefined but adjustable level of confidence. If necessary, the dimensional parameters of the entity can also be calculated. The method is based on the subtle statistical properties of the least-squares technique that makes it compliant with the strict regulations in the co-ordinate measuring arena. Its robustness guarantees the applicability to less accurate environments than precision engineering.
The absence of a creative focus in the conventional engineering design process : identifying research opportunities to address this
(SAIIE, 2016-05) Oosthuizen, Louzanne; Vlok, P. J.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This paper synthesizes an overview of various models of the engineering design process with an overview of the most relevant theories within the field of creativity studies to conclude that (i) creativity plays a role throughout the engineering design process, and it is possible to incorporate creativity into the engineering design process in a systematic manner; (ii) doing so, at the very least, holds significant potential for economic benefit; and (iii) due to the complex interplay between creativity and the wide range of factors that influence it, organisational climates and management practices cannot simply be assumed to support creativity effectively. It is proposed that organisations be managed proactively to support creativity in engineering design. For this study, a structured literature search protocol was implemented to determine whether there is any evidence in the literature that engineering organisations are being managed proactively with this in mind; none was found. Two opportunities for future research are suggested based on these findings: (i) the development of a framework to guide the proactive management of engineering organisations to support creativity; and (ii) the development of mechanisms for measuring creativity in engineering organisations and engineering design.
Adapting modern portfolio theory for prioritising asset care planning in industry
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2014-05) Van den Honert, Andrew Francis; Vlok, Pieter-Jan
Productivity improvement within any organisation can lead to increased turnover. This study focuses on developing a maintenance productivity improvement model that is based upon an established financial investment portfolio technique known as the Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT). The model can be used as a tool to minimise and diversify the long term risk associated with variances or fluctuations in the increase in productivity in multiple maintenance service centres. This is achieved by optimising the most efficient way of splitting resources, such as time and money, between these multiple service centres, resulting in increased productivity and a more constant maintenance work load. This model is verified through the use of an efficient frontier, resulting in a graphical method to determine the link between the expected increase in productivity and the standard deviation of the increase in productivity. Ultimately this model can be adapted for use in many sectors within an organisation, over and above the application in maintenance prioritisation. This study concludes that the model offers a simple tool to aid decision-making among various combinations of assets within a maintenance context; and this model, adapted from MPT, was successfully validated with the use of an efficient frontier.
Additive manufacturing for sustainable custom-designed implants
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2019) Booysen, G. J.; Van der Merwe, A. F.; De Beer, D. J.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Additive manufacturing (AM) has proven to be an attractive alternative manufacturing process compared with subtractive manufacturing (SM). Additive manufacturing has many advantages, such as mass customisation, less material wastage, and others listed in this article. However, the additive manufacturing of certified implants does not have the same degree of documentation and standardisation as the subtractive manufacturing process. As part of this research project, the problem statement is: “In offering additive manufacturing as an implant manufacturing solution, the complete process (design, manufacturing, and post-processing) had to be investigated in order to develop a certified manufacturing solution”.
Agility : a competitive weapon for South African manufacturers
(SAIIE, 1998) Fourie, Cornelius J.; Schoeman, Daniel
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Agility enables a manufacturing enterprise to manage change as part of its routine business. By aligning the whole company to a single strategic vision and goal, together with internal and external initiatives, and the application of technology, such an enterprise will be able to deliver on the key competitive priorities of cost, quality, dependability and flexibility.
Alignment of internal and external business and innovation domains
(SAIIE, 2016-05) Katz, Bernard R.; Du Preez, Niek D.; Louw, Louis
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: “Instead of being really good at doing some particular thing, companies must be really good at learning how to do new things”. This ability to do new things involves both the identification and the mastery of the next ‘new thing’ as well as the ability to align the rest of the company with this new direction. This paper focuses on the alignment of innovation activities with the overall business strategy and infrastructure. An innovation strategic alignment model is presented that supports alignment in a company by identifying the driver of change and its impact on other areas of the business.
An analysis of the extent to which industry 4.0 has been considered in sustainability or socio-technical transitions
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2019) Asiimwe, Martha Mukama; De Kock, Imke H.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A growing database of literature is geared towards the analysis and evaluation of Industry 4.0. One of the points of interest is the assessment of Industry 4.0 in the context of sustainability and sustainable development. However, there seems to be a gap in the literature focusing on transitions to more sustainable states that are evidently fostered by socio-technical [system] transitions, sometimes referred to as ‘sustainability transitions’. This presents the need to evaluate the interfacial layers of these disciplines, given the larger challenge of sustainability and Industry 4.0’s potential to support complex problem-solving. This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the literature that jointly considers the concepts of sustainability, sustainable development, and socio-technical systems, and the transitions thereof with Industry 4.0.
Analysis of the use of space and module-configured packaging to improve fruit export mass in a refrigerated container
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2019) Louw, L.; Nel, S.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African fruit export industry is a key contributor to thecountry’s economy, and must be managed efficiently to that ensure its vital role is maintained. Significant increases in reefer freight rates have placed substantial pressure on the fruit export industry to find new and innovative ways of improving the space / volume use of fruit in these reefer containers. Improvements must adhere to key constraints to ensure that fruit quality and shelf life are not compromised. This paper analyses the current potential for increasing the mass of stone and pome fruit that is exported in reefer containers. The study indicates that pome fruit has the greatest opportunity for improvement, whereas stone fruit has less room for improving the use of space / volume. Proposed improvement methods are: optimal packing arrangements of fruit; improved packaging and pallet dimensions (special pallet sizes); improved stacking arrangements of cartons on pallets and pallets in reefers; and lastly, the use of slip sheets instead of pallets.
The applicability of the centeno, chaudhary and lopez repair time standard methodology in a rail maintenance environment
(SAIIE, 2015) Rommelspacher, Karl Otto; Fourie, Neels; Mutibura, Abel
The establishment of labour standards within a production environment has become common practice, and is receiving growing recognition in the maintenance environment. However, the application of labour standards in a transit maintenance organisation has received limited attention. Centeno, Chaudhary and Lopez have developed a repair time standard methodology that has been applied in the transit bus maintenance facilities of three agencies in central Florida in the USA. An investigation into the applicability of this methodology in a rail maintenance environment in South Africa forms the basis for this study.
The application of business process mining to improving a physical asset management process : a case study
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2017) Greyling, Berno Theo; Jooste, Wyhan
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Business process planning and control is important for effectively managing and improving processes relating to the management of physical assets. This is especially true when processes affect the uptime and value creation by physical assets. This article presents a case study where an asset management process is analysed using a technique called ‘process mining’, with which it is possible to investigate the process as it is being performed in the real world. By applying process mining instead of a traditional mathematical approach, real-world issues can be identified and corrected to improve the effectiveness of the given process. A process model is first constructed to investigate process execution patterns, after which dotted charts are used to identify problem areas within the process and to propose possible areas for improvement.
The application of design criteria for locating a hub configured supply chain for a restaurant cluster in the Stellenbosch area
(AOSIS Publishing, 2013-06-25) Struwig, Claudia B.; Ruthven, George A.; Von Leipzig, Konrad
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Restaurants, in general, utilise numerous suppliers. Normally they deliver on different days in the week and at different times during the day, logistically not an optimum approach. Not only does the current practice cause frequent interruptions, but by segregating the food supply chain unnecessary traffic is generated. This article investigated the need for developing a third party supplier hub, the best positioning of that hub and the most economical routes to the customers. With the aim of providing non-franchised restaurants with the necessary leverage to become market leaders, the hub is planned to only service the restaurants within the vicinity of the Stellenbosch area. In such a hub-configured supply chain, the suppliers would be delivering to the proposed hub, from where once-off deliveries to all the restaurants may be made on days and/or times determined by them. In order to investigate the benefits of providing such a hub structure, a systematic implementation approach was used. The first step was to do market research in order to establish the need for such a hub. That is, the viability of the hub from a restaurant’s perspective was established. The next step entailed the investigation of the design criteria needed in determining a favourable hub location. Four possible hub locations were identified. The Clark and Wright’s savings algorithm was then used to determine the optimal hub location and the feasibility of the results was verified with the aid of a global positioning system (GPS) device. The last steps followed involved the determination of an effective hub floor plan that may be utilised, possible products that can be supplied to the restaurants and the necessary assets needed to provide the hub’s service. Finally, by incorporating all these facets, a cost analysis was done to determine the hub’s profitability.
Application of lean principles in the South African construction industry
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2019-11) Maradzano, Isabellah; Dondofema, Richmore Aron; Matope, Stephen
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa is a developing country that invests billions of rands annually in the construction industry. This industry consumes resources and, inevitably, waste is generated during the process. Although numerous approaches have been developed to improve quality, efficiency, and effectiveness in this industry, lean principles offer the ability to minimise and/or eliminate non-value adding work, thus increasing value for the client. This paper highlights the lean construction tools currently used worldwide, and the benefits of adopting lean construction. The study surveyed publications on the application of lean principles in the construction industry, and identified tools yet to be implemented in the South African construction industry with specific reference to electrical and mechanical engineering services. The study used a systematic review methodology to identify different lean construction concepts, and developed a lean implementation framework. The framework was then evaluated using a local case focusing on electrical and mechanical engineering services in the construction industry. The improved framework after evaluation consists of eight steps.
Application of lean tools in the supply chain of a maintenance environment
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2017) Fourie, Cornelius Jacobus; Umeh, Nicholas E.
Historically, Lean thinking has limited applications in the maintenance environment (that is, a non-manufacturing environment). This article reports on the Lean tools that can be implemented in the maintenance environment. To achieve this, a typical supply chain management of a rolling stock service organisation was used for analysis and validation. The approach was initially to map the current supply chain process through a standard method of value stream mapping so as to identify non-Lean activities. After mapping the current state, other suitable Lean tools for the current supply chain management were applied. Finally, performance Indicators were formulated for continuous review and assessment.
An application of mechatronics in manufacturing with object-oriented programming in a windows environment
(SAIIE, 1999) Jurgens, M. L. J.; Page, D. C.
This project is part of a program to establish mechatronics knowledge and skills in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Stellenbosch. A low-cost, but accurate mechatronic application was developed by automating a pipe-bending machine. Accelerating software development through object-oriented programming was also investigated. The object-oriented software was developed with a structure that increases the independence between the application object and the data acquisition system. A teach-pendant and large, multicolour displays with interactive buttons were developed to ensure a user-friendly machine. .The positioning of the headstock was controlled by a pulsing control algorithm, which achieved an accuracy of ±0.15 degrees and a repeatability of ±0.24 degrees. The design of the machine and software and experimental results are discussed in this paper.
Application of the aviation derived maintenance free operating period concept in the South African mining industry
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2013-11) Al Shaalane, Amir; Vlok P. J.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This paper analyses the use and possible application of the concept of the maintenance free operating period (MFOP), derived from the aviation sector, in the mining industry. The traditionally used reliability requirement, mean time between failure (MTBF), has been found to have several inherent problems with its application and definition. These problems are explained in this paper. It also provides a brief overview of the field of physical asset management (PAM), the overall domain of the research, and thereafter provides a characterisation of MTBF and its current use in the mining industry. MFOP is then introduced and contrasted with MTBF. A methodology for the analysis of MFOP performance is introduced and then applied to a case study conducted at an Anglo American platinum mine.
Application of the multi-objective cross-entropy method to the vehicle routing problem with soft time windows
(Operations Research Society of South Africa, 2014) Hauman, C.; Bekker, J. F.
The vehicle routing problem with time windows is a widely studied problem with many realworld applications. The problem considered here entails the construction of routes that a number of identical vehicles travel to service different nodes within a certain time window. New benchmark problems with multi-objective features were recently suggested in the literature and the multi-objective optimisation cross-entropy method is applied to these problems to investigate the feasibility of the method and to determine and propose reference solutions for the benchmark problems. The application of the cross-entropy method to the multiobjective vehicle routing problem with soft time windows is investigated. The objectives that are evaluated include the minimisation of the total distance travelled, the number of vehicles and/or routes, the total waiting time and delay time of the vehicles and the makespan of a route.
An approach to improving marketing campaign effectiveness and customer experience using geospatial analytics
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2017) Brink, Michael Philippus; Van Rensburg, Antonie
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This article discusses a case study in which a South African furniture and household goods retailer wishes to improve its marketing campaigns by employing location-based marketing insights, and also to prioritise customer satisfaction. This paper presents two methods used in an exploratory exercise with the aim of improving the retailer’s business in these ways. The methods of customer profiling and identifying geographical customer clusters summarise how the retailer’s strategic marketing strategies and customer experience can be improved. The methods presented in this article rely on the use of spatial data to solve the business problems.
Apron layout design and flight-to-gate assignment at Lanseria International Airport
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2013-05) Leonard, Trudie; Bekker, J.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Air traffic is continuously increasing and more efficient air transport systems are required to handle the air travel demand. The study investigates the expansion of Lanseria International Airport in Gauteng, South Africa. Expansion of Lanseria requires a study of the airport apron layout to ensure efficient passenger-aircraft flow as well as the efficient flow of aircraft to and from the airport. The candidate layout designs are based on the layout concept of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, USA. In the study, different airport apron layouts were compared, including the existing layout of Atlanta Airport, via a simulation model of each. Designs based mainly on passenger transfer distance between the terminal building and aircraft were evaluated. The cross-entropy method was used to develop a generic flight-to-gate assignment program that minimises passenger transfer distances.
Architecting the enterprise towards enhanced innovation capability
(Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2017-12-13) Louw, L.; Schutte, C. S. L.; Du Preez, N. D.; Essmann, H. E.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In today’s competitive environment, organisations cannot afford to focus only on effectiveness and efficiencies – they also need to innovate. This is evident from most literature sources on innovation. Innovation topics, such as the innovation process and the drivers, barriers, principles, and success factors for innovation, have received a lot of attention in the literature. What is still lacking, however, is a consolidated view of the core requirements for building an innovation capability within an organisation. This paper lays the foundation for an innovation capability reference architecture by identifying those innovation success factors or requirements described in the literature, and consolidating and structuring it within an easy-to-use enterprise architecture framework.
Bedryfs- en tegnologiese vereistes vir die winsgewende lewering van spoorgoederevervoer
(AOSIS, 2017-11-17) Pienaar, Wessel J.
In hierdie oorsigartikel word verslag gedoen oor die vernaamste bedryfs- en tegnologiese vereistes waaraan kommersieel lewensvatbare spoorvervoerstelsels in ’n ekonomies ongereguleerde goederevervoermark moet voldoen. Die volgende aspekte word bespreek: (1) Die marksegmente wat oor die algemeen winsgewend deur spoorvervoer in nywerheidslande bedien word; (2) vergelykende koste van spoorvervoer en die bedryfsmetodes wat gebruik word om spoorvervoer kostevoordeliger te maak; en (3) die vernaamste tegnologiese vereistes waaraan kommersieel lewensvatbare spoorvervoerstelsels moet voldoen. Wat tegnologiese vereistes betref, word in besonder gelet op die volgende: (1) die soorte treine en doelgeboude spoortrokke wat gepaste marksegmente ten beste bedien; (2) die eienskappe van spoorvervoereindpunte wat doeltreffende spoorvervoerbedryf onderskraag; en (3) die hanteringstoerusting wat benodig word om die spoorbedryf te laat vlot. Die doelgeboude trokmodelle en die soort treine waarin die trokke saamgestel word om ten beste aan spoorvervoeroperateurs se besondere bedryfsbehoeftes te voldoen, asook die belangrikste faktore wat spoortrokke se ontwerp onderlê, word bespreek. Voorts word die eienskappe van die vernaamste soorte eindpunte waar goedertreine aandoen, bespreek. Laastens word die hanteringstoerusting beskryf waarmee die spektrum van karweibare goedere vinnig, veilig en teen laagste eenheidskoste in en uit trokke gelaai, of na ander vervoermodusse oorgelaai word.

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