The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering

Note from the Editor

2024-08-30T11:47:33+00:00

“Recognition is not a scarce resource. You can't use it up or run out of it.” - Susan M Heathfield

The Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering (SAIIE) Annual Awards ceremony was held on 14 August in Stellenbosch. Two journal-specific awards were presented at this function:

1. The SAIIE Award for the Best Industrial Engineering Paper published in the South Africa Journal of Industrial Engineering (SAJIE). This year, the best article was awarded to “The Development of an Action Priority Matrix and Technology Roadmap for the Implementation of Data Driven and Machine-Learning-Based Predictive Maintenance in the South African Railway Industry.”, authored by Lindelani Nethamba and Schalk Grobberlaar, from the Department of Engineering and Technology Management, University of Pretoria. (https://doi.org/10.7166/34-3-2958).

2. The SAJIE Editor’s Award, which was presented to Prof Tinus Pretorius (Emeritus Professor at the University of Pretoria), for his support to the journal over many years as sponsor and reviewer.

Our next edition will be the special edition, where the best submissions from related conferences in South Africa are published. The review process and selection for the SAIIE conference is already completed, and we are looking forward to showcase the research and new thinking from those conferences.

This edition has a total of 12 articles, with nine articles from authors with South African connections and the balance from international authors.

If you have suggestions on how we can take this journal forward, please let me know.

Corne Schutte

Editor

IMPROVING PRODUCTIVITY IN AN SME IN THE METALWORKING SECTOR THROUGH LEAN MANUFACTURING AND TPM TOOLS

2024-07-03T13:19:58+00:00

The objective of this study is to increase the efficiency and productivity of a business that offers sandblasting and painting services. An integrated model incorporating lean manufacturing tools, including preventative and autonomous maintenance, 5S, and SMED, is presented in this article. The model consists of four distinct phases. The initial stage consists of diagnosing the company’s beginning state. The second stage entails the execution of the 5S methodology to arrange workstations. Following this, a maintenance programme was implemented, which ultimately resulted in the reduction of setup times for the painting machine configuration. Furthermore, an assessment was conducted on the realised enhancements, and metrics were compared both before and after deployment. Statistical validation was performed via a pilot study that occupied an extended period. The findings validated a productivity improvement of 10% and an efficiency increase of 23.8%. In addition, a 32.04% reduction in setup time was observed.

EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS OF TRANSACTIONAL DATA TO AID IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN NETWORK DESIGN OF A FOOD BANKING NETWORK

2024-04-19T17:31:02+00:00

This article applies a network lens to transactional data in order to improve a food banking network's supply chain design and planning. This study draws on data from FoodForward South Africa. This food bank has compiled a rich dataset of connections between supply chain partners (e.g., donors), the flow of stock (volume of food), and their beneficiary organisations. Our analysis showed an increase in the system's 'moving parts' (increased handling of donations), resulting in a significant imbalance between supply and demand. Additionally, in 2022, the organisation's warehouses received a larger number of smaller-volume donations from a wider variety of suppliers, placing an extra burden on the network.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PMO SUPPORT FUNCTIONS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY LEVELS

2024-03-20T05:16:09+00:00

This paper identifies the essential support functions of project management offices (PMO) for various organisational project management maturity (OPMM) levels. A case study of a South African petrochemical company compares a PMO within the company with a small projects department that is not supported by a PMO. OPMM development drivers and essential PMO support functions are identified for both structures. It is proposed that the requirements of essential PMO support functions depend on the OPMM level, but are also affected by business needs. The highest OPMM level is not required for every organisation, as the optimum OPMM level depends on the specific business’ requirements.

APPLICATION OF LEAN MANUFACTURING TO IMPROVE PROCESSES AND INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY IN THE TEXTILE INDUSTRY OF PERU

2024-05-25T06:35:47+00:00

This study aims to improve the fabric-cutting process of cotton garment-exporting micro and small businesses by identifying and eliminating waste, defined as the processes that do not add value in cutting area of a textile company. In addition, the lean manufacturing approach is applied by employing tools such as value stream mapping (VSM), single-minute exchange of dies (SMED), and work standardisation. The proposed philosophy is based on data analysis, economic validation, and simulation using the historical data from the company under study. Consequently, a decline in default rework and delayed processes along with an increase in the productivity index is expected.

A MACHINE LEARNING FRAMEWORK FOR DATA-DRIVEN DEFECT DETECTION IN MULTISTAGE MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

2024-04-11T09:39:36+00:00

Economic transformation and escalating market competitiveness have prompted manufacturers to adopt zero-defect manufacturing principles to lower production costs and maximise product quality. The key enabler of zero-defect manufacturing is the adoption of data-driven techniques that harness the wealth of information offered by digitalised manufacturing systems in order to predict errors. Multi-stage manufacturing systems, however, introduce additional complexity owing to the cascade effects associated with stage interactions. A generic modular framework is proposed for facilitating the tasks associated with preparing data emanating from multi-stage manufacturing systems, building predictive models, and interpreting these models’ results. In particular, cascade quality prediction methods are employed to harness the benefit of invoking a stage-wise modelling approach. The working of the framework is demonstrated in a practical case study involving data from a multistage semiconductor production process.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT MATURITY AND ITS IMPACT ON PERCEIVED PROJECT SUCCESS

2023-09-21T07:58:35+00:00

A notion exists that organisations with higher levels of project management maturity execute projects more effectively and efficiently and so have a higher probability of achieving project success. This paper reports on a single case study that measured the project management maturity of four project management knowledge areas, and also investigated the impact of project management maturity on perceived project success in a mining operation. The study found that project management maturity plays a pivotal role in achieving project management deliverables. However, project management maturity alone is not sufficient to guarantee project success.

A BI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMISATION HARVEST AND PACK PLANNING DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR TABLE GRAPE PRODUCER-EXPORTERS

2024-07-02T12:31:17+00:00

This paper presents a decision-support system developed to plan the harvest and packing of table grapes. Variability in harvest readiness and volume can significantly impact producer-exporters’ ability to meet market demands. The decision-support system incorporates planning aspects specific to table grape production, such as limiting transportation of unpacked stock, pack-to-order, and distinguishing between specific product requirements (i.e., packaging type and cultivar). This decision-support system uses several operational data sources. It assists decision-makers in minimising deviation from the demand plan and the distances harvest is transported between the orchards and processing sites. The conceptual architecture and software implementation tools to realise the decision-support system and a real-world case study are presented. The decision-support system accounts for multiple dynamic supply and processing network restrictions.

THE EFFECT OF SERVICE DELIVERY AUTOMATION (SDA) ON THE SOUTH AFRICAN BANKING INDUSTRY

2024-04-09T07:14:22+00:00

Adoption of automation has become the norm in the South African banking industry, owing to competition. Conventional banking institutions are uncertain of the possible adverse effects of integrating automation into banking processes to serve more customers with fewer resources. This study sought to investigate and model the extent to which the integration of automation could be the exogenous factor of the nine endogenous factors identified in this study. The five most prominent banking institutions in South Africa, were used as a case study. The study used a quantitative approach, and 223 bank employees were selected to contribute to the questionnaire survey, and the primary data were analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to test the proposed hypotheses. The secondary information was extracted from the banks’ annual integrated reports and fact sheets to generate additional insights into the primary data findings. The findings revealed that service delivery automation is a significant and direct predictor of productivity, efficiency, flexibility, operations costs, and the generation of new job opportunities (positive effects). Similarly, the adoption of bank automation was found to be significantly related to the generation of job losses, the changing nature of work, unbalanced demand for required skills, and inequality in wages of employees, which are described as adverse effects.

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY TO IDENTIFY CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR SUSTAINABLE CONTRACT MANUFACTURING IN THE CONSUMER PRODUCTS SUPPLY CHAIN IN SOUTH AFRICA

2024-08-01T09:50:32+00:00

Outsourcing manufacturing to a contract manufacturer is a growing practice that has gained global prominence since the turn of the century. This business practice is common in pharmaceutical and electronics industries, and has now also become common practice in consumer product supply chains. This practice has many challenges; in most cases it does not achieve its intended objectives, with a number of contract manufacturing companies (CMCs) in South Africa going out of business. Research and the literature on contract manufacturing is predominantly focused on the aspects of contract manufacturing and its role and impact in the supply chain. However, there are very few, if any, scholarly articles on the factors that make CMCs in the consumer products supply chain in South Africa succeed and become sustainable businesses and strategic partners to their brand owner customers. This study aimed to fill this gap by identifying, through empirical research of experts in contract manufacturing, the factors that are critical for contract manufacturers to succeed and to be sustainable businesses that can contribute to the success of their clients. Several critical success factors were identified using a Delphi survey of experts who had experience working with CMCs.

A CONCEPTUAL AND CASE STUDY REVIEW OF THE QUADRUPLE HELIX MODEL OF INNOVATION

2023-10-17T12:16:06+00:00

Despite its many pitfalls, the process of innovation should be made as attractive and practical as possible. Innovation model formation is an important yet complex process. This paper reviews the hypothetically improved quadruple helix (QH) model of innovation with respect to model concepts, innovation concepts, and current practical case studies. The updated model constitutes four innovation forces (constructs), namely (1) upscaling agility, (2) triple helix ecosystems, (3) triple management theory (TMT) and triple technology theory (TTT), and (4) epochal society. The model also shows a comprehensive interplay between these constructs within the modern digital, biological, legal and physical worlds. The authors reviewed the model through a conceptual explorative research design with narrative data. The evaluation implied the consideration of combining, adding, or omitting model constructs. Besides learner management and the need to provide a guide for how to use the model, the findings ultimately confirmed its value and usefulness.

THE INTERNET OF THINGS AS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE ENERGY SECTOR: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

2024-04-08T10:57:05+00:00

The Internet of Things is an important element of Industry 4.0, which has brought innovative technological contributions to the energy sector; Industry 4.0 allows organisations to transition to intelligent companies through the use of the Internet of Things and technologies that favour manufacturing and production processes to be more efficient. The aim of this paper is to identify how the application of the Internet of Things has had benefits in the energy sector. This paper presents a literature review in a traditional way, to identify the importance of the Internet of Things and its application in the energy sector in the field of wind, solar, hydroelectric, and fossil energy. The analysis of the literature shows that there are studies that indicate the benefit of the internet of Things in the energy sector, with 48 documents being recognised, of which 25 publications belong to the year 2022.

A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING METHODS IN THE FABRICATION OF SELF-LUBRICATING COMPONENTS

2024-07-09T09:12:53+00:00

This paper presents a methodological approach to conducting a literature review on additive manufacturing (AM), which is a groundbreaking manufacturing technique that involves the successive layering of materials to create components. The use of AM not only reduces manufacturing waste but also saves time and simplifies assembly processes. The current research focused on exploring the advances of AM in fabricating self-lubricating components. By using specific keywords, relevant data sources were extracted from databases. The literature review highlights the extensive exploration of AM in tribological research, demonstrating its successful application in creating self-lubricating components that have yielded positive results.