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With the rapid transformation of the automotive industry towards electric vehicles, how to achieve efficient mixed-line production of electric vehicles and fuel vehicles has become a key challenge for modern assembly systems. This study investigated the balancing problem of a mixed-model multi-manned assembly line, considering workstation sharing (MMuALBP-WS), and developed a deterministic multi-objective model that integrates the heterogeneity of tasks and the coordination of shared workstations. An improved genetic algorithm was proposed, whose decoding mechanism enables different types of electric vehicle and fuel vehicle tasks to achieve dynamic collaboration within the shared workstations. A real case study from the chassis assembly line of Company W demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method, achieving a 25% reduction in the number of workstations, a 27% decrease in the total number of workers, and a 23.56% increase in average workstation utilization. The results confirmed that the workstation sharing mechanism significantly improved production balance, labor utilization, and flexibility, providing a practical and scalable optimization framework for the mixed-model assembly system in the era of the transition from electric vehicles to fuel vehicles. In addition to its practical significance, this study enhances the understanding of mixed-model multi-manned line balancing by incorporating workstation-sharing logic into both the mathematical modeling and optimization process, offering a theoretical basis for future extensions to more complex production environments.

In the context of the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, how to achieve the mixed production of fuel vehicles and electric vehicles has become an important issue for the transformation and flexible manufacturing of automotive production lines. This paper addresses the balance problem of the mixed assembly line for electric vehicles and fuel vehicles and proposes a mathematical modeling method based on the product structure differences and workstation sharing. An improved genetic algorithm is designed for optimization. The established optimization model includes mathematical models of process priority relationships, cycle time constraints, synchronization constraints, and exclusive process co-placement constraints, with the optimization goals of minimizing workstation quantity and balancing workstation load. To solve such models, the decoding process of the genetic algorithm is redesigned in the algorithm design. The improved genetic algorithm can be well used to solve the workstation-sharing model. A case study of the chassis assembly line of an automotive manufacturing enterprise is used for verification. The results show that the method considering workstation sharing can effectively reduce the number of workstations, improve the distribution of workstation loads, and increase the utilization rate of the production line, while ensuring the cycle time constraints. The conclusions of this study expand the theoretical framework of the balance problem of mixed assembly lines and provide practical references for the transformation of fuel vehicle production lines into new energy vehicles.

PurposeParallel two-sided assembly lines are usually designed to produce large-sized products such as trucks and buses. In parallel two-sided assembly lines, both left and right sides of the line are used for manufacturing one or more products on two or more assembly lines located parallel to each other. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new mathematical model for the parallel two-sided assembly line balancing problem that helps to evaluate and validate the balancing operations of the machines such as removal of tools and fixtures and reallocating the operators.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed approach is explained with the help of an example problem. In all, 22 test problems are formed using the benchmark problems P9, P12, P16 and P24. The results obtained are compared among approaches of the task(s) shared, tool(s) shared and both tool(s) and task(s) shared for effect on efficiency as the performance measure. The solution presented here follows the exact solution procedure that is solved by Lingo 16 solver.FindingsBased on the experiments, line efficiency decreases when only tools are shared and increases when only tasks are shared. Results indicate that by sharing tasks and tools together, better line efficiency is obtained with less cost of tools and fixtures.Practical implicationsAccording to the industrial aspect, the result of the study can be beneficial for assembly of the products, where tools and tasks are shared between parallel workstations of two or more parallel lines.Originality/valueAccording to the author’s best knowledge, this paper is the first to address the tools and tasks sharing between any pair of parallel workstations.

Privacy-preserving computation (PPC) enables encrypted computation of private data. While advantageous in theory, the complex technology has steep barriers to entry in practice. Here, we derive design goals and principles for a middleware that encapsulates the demanding cryptography server side and provides a simple-to-use interface to client-side application developers. The resulting architecture, “Federated Secure Computing”, offloads computing-intensive tasks to the server and separates concerns of cryptography and business logic. It provides microservices through an Open API 3.0 definition and hosts multiple protocols through self-discovered plugins. It requires only minimal DevSecOps capabilities and is straightforward and secure. Finally, it is small enough to work in the internet of things (IoT) and in propaedeutic settings on consumer hardware. We provide benchmarks for calculations with a secure multiparty computation (SMPC) protocol, both for vertically and horizontally partitioned data. Runtimes are in the range of seconds on both dedicated workstations and IoT devices such as Raspberry Pi or smartphones. A reference implementation is available as free and open source software under the MIT license.

This paper adresses the issue of properly designing a digital mock-up (DMU) to be used in an experiment comparing simulated assembly tasks in both real and virtual environments. Motivations and specifications relative to the experiment are reported, and the design process of the DMU is described and illustrated. Recommendations are proposed with a particular focus on specificities relative to the use of a DMU as a support for both manufacturing and virtual reality—3D visualisation and interaction. A subjective evaluation of Real (RE), Virtual (VE), and Virtual with Force Feedback (VEF) environments is provided. Results indicate a real sensory and difficulty gap between RE and VEF, whereas a smaller difference was observed between RE and VE. In further improvements of scale-1 (where the objects in VE have the same size as in the real environment), co-localized simulation using haptic devices are warranted to fill in this gap. Results also highlight the impact of cognition and sensory feedback on user’s feeling and presence sensation. Applications of such numerical designs are presented in the last section, especially focusing on collaborative design sessions. Virtual Reality based evaluation of newly designed workstations will be a way in the future to improve design and user learning processes.

This paper proposes the retrofitting of equipment and processes available in a manufacturing didactic plant, composed of workstations embedded in its automated systems, formed by actuators and sensors connected to the AS-i network and at the PLC of each station, which are connected in PROFIBUS industrial network, concepts of Industry 3.0. The objective is to update it to work applying the concepts of Industry 4.0, emphasizing the integration of information through networks of Industrial Automation and Internet. To achieve this objective integration of Automation Technology (TA) with Information Technology (IT) is necessary. Allowing the integrated educational exercise of the technologies found in the Automated Industrial Manufacturing Systems, such as communication networks, process control and production management, control and supervision of complete automated assembly processes that takes place on the platform is possible through a remote connection via internet (remote laboratory). Thus, teaching and research groups in multiple locations can share information quickly and develop such simultaneously groups in multiple locations can share information quickly and develop such simultaneously.

Purpose This paper aims to trace the relational and material ways in which workplace teams come together (or fail to) in the provision of patient care. Design/methodology/approach Six interprofessional scholars brought their unique theoretical and disciplinary lenses to understand the contextualized experiences of the patient and the team. Adopting a critical narrative inquiry (CNR) approach, the experiences of 19 participants were documented as they interacted in the care of an elderly patient over a three-week period. Actor network theory constructs enabled the analysis of multiple artefacts implicated in the interactions to learn of their contribution to the enactment of her care. Findings The study gives empirical insights about ways in which knowledge circulates amongst the workplace and how systemic structures may impede effective and quality patient care. Various types of knowledge are held by different team members, and both individuals and materials (e.g. technologies) can influence the way those knowledges are shared (or not). Research limitations/implications Focusing on a rich data set surrounding one patient documented as theatre serves pedagogical purposes and serves as a shared “boundary-breaking” object to interrogate from multiple stakeholder perspectives. CNR provides for recursive, dynamic learning as readers critically consider experiences within their own contexts. Practical implications Despite research that documents competing political, systemic and economic goals, sedimented policies and practices persist in ways that undermine care goals. Social implications Tackling the urgent issue of an aging population will require expanding collaboration (for planning, research and so on) to include a broader set of stakeholders, including operational, administrative and post-discharge organizations. Attention to social infrastructure as a means to assemble knowledges and improve relationships in the care process is critical. Originality/value Building a boundary-breaking shared object to represent the data offers a unique opportunity for multiple stakeholder groups to enter into dialogue around barriers to workplace interaction and collaboration progress, linking problems to critical perspectives.

The authors have designed and implemented an open, market-based computational system called Spawn. The Spawn system utilizes idle computational resources in a distributed network of heterogeneous computer workstations. It supports both coarse-grain concurrent applications and the remote execution of many independent tasks. Using concurrent Monte Carlo simulations as prototypical applications, the authors explore issues of fairness in resource distribution, currency as a form of priority, price equilibria, the dynamics of transients, and scaling to large systems. In addition to serving the practical goal of harnessing idle processor time in a computer network, Spawn has proven to be a valuable experimental workbench for studying computational markets and their dynamics.< >

This paper investigates the staying and moving characteristics of office workers in a non-territorial office using an ultra wide band (UWB) impulse radio sensor network. The differences between office workers’ staying and moving are clarified according to the individual workstation type that they select. The study determines the characteristics of each type of workstation. By clarifying office workers’ preference for staying and moving with regard to individual workstation types and office worker post, the reasons why office workers in different posts tended to select different types of workstations were revealed. Specifically, leaders tended to select workstations at the “inner meeting corner side” most frequently, as they had a greater need to stay in other areas. In contrast, ordinary staff needed to visit office workers in other areas less often, and as such, they tended to select individual workstations at the “middle meeting corner side.” Barring this, they tended to select individual workstations at the “middle corridor side” or “outer-meeting corner side.” Temporary staff members had little need to visit or stay at other places so they tended to select individual workstations at the “window side,” which is seldom visited or stayed at by other office workers and they could be disturbed less often from their solo work.

A number of earlier researches have emphasized the on-the-job scheduling problems that occur with a single flexible machine. Two solutions to the problem have generally been considered; namely minimization of tool switches and minimization of tool switching instances. Methods used to solve the problems have included KTNS heuristic, dual-based relaxation heuristic, and non-LP-based branch-and-bound methods. However, scant literature has considered the case of job scheduling on multiple parallel machines which invokes another problem involving machine assignment. This paper addresses the problem of job scheduling and machine assignment on a flexible machining workstation (FMW) equipped with multiple parallel machines in a tool-sharing environment. Under these circumstances, the authors have attempted to model the problem with the objective of simultaneously minimizing both the number of tool switches and the number of tool switching instances. Furthermore, a set of realistic constraints has been included in the investigation. A novel genetic algorithm (GA) heuristic has been developed to solve the problem, and performance results show that GA is an appropriate solution. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]