Financial performance, ISO 9000 standard and safe driving practices effects on accident rate in the U.S. motor carrier industry

The question this research address is if voluntary certification with ISO 9000 standards can reduce the number of accidents large trucks have. Certification might have a positive effect depending upon the actions a company takes as a result of being certified, for instance, a company may change driver training and maintenance and how it carries out corrective action. We identified 40 ISO 9002: 1994 certified U.S. trucking companies and compared their safety performance before and after ISO certification. We also compared them to a group of motor carriers that had similar characteristics but were not certified. The safety performance of the certified carriers was significantly better after certification than before, and it also was significantly better than that of non-certified carriers, findings that we believe can be useful to carriers, shippers and regulators who wish to better understand the value of certification.     

Risk Failure Deployment: A novel integrated tool to prioritize corrective actions in failure mode and effects analysis

In this paper, a novel integrated tool for failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), opportunely named Risk Failure Deployment (RFD), which is able to evaluate the most critical failure modes and provide analyst with a practical and step-by-step guidance by selecting the most effective corrective actions for removal/mitigation process of root causes, is presented. Thanks to the modification of the framework of the Manufacturing cost deployment (MCD) and to its well-structured use of matrices, the novel RFD is able both to handle the dependencies and interactions between different and numerous failures and to evaluate the most critical ones on the basis of the risk priority number (RPN). Thereafter, the logical relationship between root causes and failure modes is assessed. Successively, the prioritization of corrective actions that are the most suitable for root causes is executed using not only the RPN but also other criteria, such as the economic aspect and the ease of implementation, that are unavoidable to execute a rational and effective selection of improvement activities. The effectiveness and usefulness in practice of the original tool for the prioritization of corrective actions to mitigate the risks due to failure modes collected during FMEA are presented in a case study.     

Integrated analysis of the performance of TQM tools and techniques: a case study in the Taiwanese motor industry

Most studies of total quality management (TQM) have focused on the managerial aspects and associated success factors of TQM programmes, whereas relatively few studies have examined the appropriateness and performance of the large number of available tools and techniques that actually implement TQM practices. To assist in determining the best strategy for improving the performance of TQM tools and techniques, the present study integrates a modified importance–performance matrix with elements of failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) to provide a comprehensive methodology for assessing and improving the performance of TQM tools and techniques in the Taiwanese motor industry. The methodology presented here can be applied in a variety of industries, including the Taiwanese motor industry, to enable efficient utilisation of TQM tools and techniques and thus improve quality, reduce costs and shorten cycle times.     

A linguistic risk prioritization approach for failure mode and effects analysis: A case study of medical product development

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a widely used risk management technique for identifying the potential failures from a system, design, or process and determining the most serious ones for risk reduction. Nonetheless, the traditional FMEA method has been criticized for having many deficiencies. Further, in the real world, FMEA team members are usually bounded rationality, and thus, their psychological behaviors should be considered. In response, this study presents a novel risk priority model for FMEA by using interval two‐tuple linguistic variables and an integrated multicriteria decision‐making (MCDM) method. The interval two‐tuple linguistic variables are used to capture FMEA team members' diverse assessments on the risk of failure modes and the weights of risk factors. An integrated MCDM method based on regret theory and TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese for interactive MCDM) is developed to prioritize failure modes taking experts' psychological behaviors into account. Finally, an illustrative example regarding medical product development is included to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed FMEA. By comparing with other existing methods, the proposed linguistic FMEA approach is shown to be more advantageous in ranking failure modes under the uncertain and complex environment.     

A study of the quality management methods employed by U.K. automotive suppliers

This paper reports on the results of a postal questionnaire survey of quality management methods, awareness and attitudes of suppliers to three major companies in the U.K. automotive industry. The main issues discussed include the quality management systems operated by suppliers, the methods by which quality improvement is pursued, quality-related training, and suppliers' interaction with both their own customers and vendors. The findings to specific questions were disappointing and illustrate the poor state of quality management development in some suppliers; overall the survey evidence indicates that many suppliers have a traditional attitude towards quality management. For example: it is possible to inspect quality into a product; component quality can be graded at different levels according to individual customer requirements; if the customer does not return the product then quality must be satisfactory; the quality manager is responsible for the quality improvement programme. Quality management tools and techniques are often seen as an end in themselves rather than a means to an end, that of improvement. It is clear that a number of suppliers assume that introducing statistical process control is the same as developing a total approach to quality management. There also appears to be a dilution of the quality message as requirements are passed down the supply chain, and in general communication and feedback between customer and supplier is poor.     

Quality control in the U.K. chemical manufacturing industry—a study. Part I

This paper presents the results of a detailed study of the practice and management of quality control in the chemical manufacturing industry. A questionnaire survey formed the first part of the investigation, which reveals that this sector of industry makes surprisingly low use of statistical quality control techniques. Information on the organization and operation of QC suggests that the industry has well documented analysis procedures and collects large volumes of data. It is pointed out, however, that statistically valid interpretation and use of this material, particularly in process control, is not prevalent.     

Failure analysis of drillstring in petroleum industry: A review

Understanding the failure analysis of drillstring and its components i.e., drill collar and drilling bit is one of the essential issues in the oil and gas industry for the high cost of oil well drilling. Different ways such as air drilling, percussion drilling and downhole hydraulic ultra-high pressure (UHP) jet assisted drilling have been often used to improve the rate of penetration (ROP), minimize the cost of drilling per foot and diminish well deviation. Nevertheless, these drilling ways aggravate the working conditions of the downhole drilling tools materials and hence their properties cannot meet the demands of these conditions and consequently causing a risk drillstring failure. The unfavorable geological conditions and the repeated impact for breaking the rock may also cause severe bit bouncing and violent vibration. Tooth loss, tooth fracture, tooth wear and microcracks in addition to drill pipe fatigue from bending stress caused by buckling load are realistic examples of failure modes which occurred in the drilling tools. This study comprehensively describes the reasons causing these failure modes in order to manage risks and achieve high performance of wells and borehole sections. The role of working parameters i.e., bottom hole temperature and solid content on the drilling tools' life time, and the role of predrill predictions of pore pressure or wellbore stability on the drilling process are presented.     

The impact of diversifying and de novo firms on regional innovation performance in an emerging industry: a longitudinal study of the U.S. ethanol industry

There is growing interest among strategy scholars and policy makers regarding the influence of diversifying and de novo firms on regional innovation activities in emerging industries. This paper examines how the population, entry, and exit of diversifying and de novo firms in regions influence regional innovation output in an emerging industry. Using longitudinal data from the U.S. ethanol industry, we find that the local population and exit of diversifying and de novo firms have differing impacts on regional innovation output. Our findings contribute to the literature on firm heterogeneity, agglomeration, and regional innovation systems.     

Graduated driver license nighttime compliance in U.S. teen drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes

Background

Examination of teen driver compliance with graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws could be instrumental in identifying factors associated with persistently high motor vehicle mortality rates.

Methods

Fatality analysis reporting system (FARS) data from the years 2006 to 2009 were used in this nation-wide cross-sectional study of drivers covered by a state nighttime GDL law (n = 3492). A new definition of weekend, based on the school night in relation to the teenage social landscape, redefined Friday night as a weekend night and Sunday night as a weekday/school night and compared it to previous weekend definitions. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine independent effects of demographic, behavioral, environmental, contextual, and other factors on compliance with nighttime GDL laws. All analyses were performed in Stata version 11.

Results

Given coverage under nighttime GDL laws, drivers aged 15–17 years were non-compliant in 14.9% of the fatal MVCs in which they were involved, and nearly one-fifth (18.8%) of all fatalities aged 15–17 years were associated with non-compliance. Mortality risk was 10% higher using a revised social (school night) versus traditional (Sat–Sun) weekend definitions. In multivariable analysis, drivers non-compliant with nighttime GDL laws were more likely to be drinking (OR = 4.97, 3.85–6.40), unbelted (OR = 1.58, 1.25–1.99), driving on the weekend (OR = 1.82, 1.47–2.24), and killed (OR = 1.31, 1.04–1.65).

Conclusion

GDL non-compliance contributes to teen motor vehicle mortality. Legislative and enforcement efforts targeting non-school night driving, seatbelt nonuse and alcohol have potential to further reduce teen driving mortality.     

Failure mode and effects analysis based on D numbers and TOPSIS

Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a widely used technique for assessing the risk of potential failure modes in designs, products, processes, system, and services. One of the main problems with FMEA is the need to address a variety of assessments given by FMEA team members and the sequence of the failure modes according to the degree of risk factors. Many different methods have been proposed to improve the traditional FMEA, which is impractical when the risk assessments given by multiple experts to one failure mode are imprecise, incomplete, or inconsistent. However, the existing methods cannot adequately handle these types of uncertainties. In this paper, a new risk priority model based on D numbers and technique for the order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is proposed to evaluate the risk in FMEA. In the proposed model, the assessments given by the FMEA team members are represented by D numbers, where a new feasible and effective method can effectively represent the uncertain information. The TOPSIS method, a multicriteria decision‐making method is presented to rank the preference of failure modes with respect to risk factors. Finally, an application of the failure modes of the rotor blades of an aircraft turbine is provided to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method.     

Ambulance transport rates after motor vehicle collision for older vs. younger adults: A population-based study

Older adults are at greater risk than younger adults for life-threatening injury after motor vehicle collision (MVC). Among those with life-threatening injury, older adults are also at greater risk of not being transported by emergency medical services (EMS) to an emergency department. Despite the greater risk of serious injury and non-transportation among older adults, little is known about the relationship between patient age and EMS transportation rates for individuals experiencing MVC. We describe transport rates across the age-span for adults seen by EMS after experiencing MVC using data reported to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles between 2008 and 2011. Of all adults aged 18 years and older experiencing MVC and seen by EMS (n = 484,310), 36.3% (n = 175,768) were transported to an emergency department. Rates of transport for individuals seen by EMS after MVC increased only a small amount with increasing patient age. After adjusting for potential confounders of the relationship between patient age and the decision to transport (patient gender, patient race, air bag deployment, patient trapped or ejected, and injury severity), transport rates were: age 18–64 = 36.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 35.9–36.2%); age 65–74 = 36.6% (95% CI, 36.0–37.1%); age 75–84 = 37.3% (95% CI, 36.5–38.1%), and age 85–94 = 38.2% (95% CI, 36.7–39.8%). In North Carolina between 2008 and 2011, the transportation rate was only slightly higher for older adults than for younger adults, and most older adults experiencing MVC and seen by EMS were not transported to the emergency department. These findings have implications for efforts to improve the sensitivity of criteria used by EMS to determine the need for transport for older adults experiencing MVC.     

A scheduling system for the steelmaking-continuous casting process. A case study from the steel-making industry

This paper describes the models, algorithms and implementation results of a computerised scheduling system for the steelmaking-continuous casting process of a steel plant in Austria. The basis for the scheduling task is a preliminary production schedule for the continuous casters (sequence of charges that must be consecutively cast and their allocation to the continuous casters). The scheduling task can be structured as four sub-problems: (1) scheduling the continuous casters. (2) Allocation of the charges to the parallel facilities at the upstream stages (converter and refining facilities). (3) Sequencing the charges at the converters and refining facilities. (4) Exact timing of all operations. The heuristic algorithm consists of three planning levels: (1) scheduling the continuous casters, considering the capacity restrictions at the upstream stages and the limited availability of hot metal. (2) Scheduling of the converter and refining facilities according to priorities, performing allocation and sequencing. (3) Improving the schedule by means of an LP model. The system visualises the schedules as Gantt charts. Extensive numerical tests with real-life data and more than two years of experience with the implementation demonstrate that the system produces reasonable schedules and is accepted by the planners.     

Log classification in the hardwood timber industry: method and value analysis

Natural resources industries, such as the forest product industry, must deal with variable input material, which affects their efficiency and their ability to accurately predict output yields. In order to address this, the industry can use technologies that adapt to variable input, or plan its operations taking variability into account. In the Canadian softwood lumber industry, the first approach is used with the adoption of advanced technologies that adapt sawing patterns to logs’ and work-in-process characteristic using scanners technology. Another approach to deal with material variability is input material classification. Specific characteristics can be measured to classify input material and reduce variability within each class. However, whether the process involves logs, mining ores or recycled papers, material classification has both a value and a cost. This paper first proposes a method based on classification tree analysis to classify hardwood logs. Next, using agent-based simulation, it analyses the value of different classification strategies, from detailed, to no classification at all. Results show in the context of the Québec hardwood lumber industry that the benefit of detailed classification is offset by its cost, while a relatively simple classification strategy dramatically improves output yield at relatively low cost.     

Alcohol- or drug-use disorders and motor vehicle accident mortality: A retrospective cohort study

A large body of research has linked alcohol consumption and motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), but far fewer studies have estimated the risk of MVA fatality among drug users. Our study addresses this gap. We identified cohorts of individuals hospitalized in California from 1990 to 2005 with ICD-9 diagnoses of methamphetamine- (n = 74,170), alcohol- (n = 592,406), opioids- (n = 68,066), cannabis- (n = 47,048), cocaine- (n = 48,949), or polydrug-related disorders (n = 411,175), and these groups were followed for up to 16 years. Age-, sex-, and race-adjusted standardized mortality rates (SMRs) for deaths due to MVAs were generated in relation to the California general population. Standardized MVA mortality ratios were elevated across all drug cohorts: alcohol (4.5, 95% CI, 4.1–4.9), cocaine (3.8, 95% CI, 2.3–5.3), opioids (2.8, 95% CI, 2.1–3.5), methamphetamine (2.6, 95% CI, 2–3.1), cannabis (2.3, 95% CI, 1.5–3.2) and polydrug (2.6, 95% CI, 2.4–2.9). Males and females had similar MVA SMRs. Our large, population-based study found elevated risk of MVA mortality across all cohorts of individuals with alcohol- or drug-use disorders. Given that illicit drug users are often unaware of or misperceive the impacts of drug use on safe driving, it may be important for health-service or public-health interventions to address such biases and improve road safety.     

A Failure Mode Effect and Criticality Analysis of Conventional Milling Machine Using Fuzzy Logic: Case Study of RCM

The purpose of this paper is to select the appropriate maintenance strategies for each failure mode of functionally significant item of conventional milling machine. In order to describe the criticality analysis of conventional milling machine, this paper presents a study on reliability‐centered maintenance with fuzzy logic and its comparison with conventional method. On the basis of fuzzy logic, failure mode and effect analysis is introduced integrating with fuzzy linguistic scale method. After that, weighted Euclidean distance formula and centroid defuzzification is used for calculating risk priority number. The results indicate that based on risk priority number, value criticality ranking was decided, and appropriate maintenance strategies were suggested for each failure mode. It also reflects that a more accurate ranking can be performed by the application of fuzzy logic using linguistic rule to failure mode and effect analysis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An analysis of designing for quality in the automotive industry

The paper is based on the authors' experiences in devising and conducting continuing education courses on Designing for Quality for design, development and manufacturing engineers in a large automotive company. Participants in the courses brought forward a wide range of quality problems encountered in their day-to-day professional activities. Methods for classifying and defining these problems are developed as a prelude to examination of the product development process and its management to fulfil quality objectives. The technique of quality function deployment which has recently received wide publicity in automotive engineering is investigated in the context of established design theory. Conclusions are drawn relating to the practice of engineering design in industry and the need for the effective dissemination of the work of design researchers.     

Technological innovation and the U.S. banking industry: Innovation in the U.S. retail and wholesale banking sectors

In this paper, case studies of “best practice” retail and wholesale banks are used to explore the influence of technological change on the banking industry. The impact that specific technologies are having on the retail and whole-sale sectors is discussed. Briefly, the evidence shows that there is tremendous pressure on the banking industry to restructure at the current level of technology and competition. Retail banks are looking to client-server, open systems, groupware, workflow software, and imaging technology to restructure and consolidate their operations. Wholesale banks are using information technology to support specialized fee-income generating strategies. Nonetheless, in both the retail and wholesale banking sectors, nonbank financial service providers such as pension funds, insurance companies, money market funds and mutual funds are gaining market share. As these competitors expand their role, I find that the financial services competitor with the best strategy and technology is increasingly no longer a traditional bank.     

Study of supply-chain management in the automotive industry: a bibliometric analysis

The economic and social importance of the?automotive industry explains the need for researching improved ways of?organising and?managing the diverse processes involved in the production of?motor vehicles. Furthermore, the management of supply chains and inter-organisational?relations has acquired strategic significance in recent years and has become a?key area of research. At the interface?between these two fields, this paper adopts a bibliometric viewpoint to analyse the scholarly literature that has addressed?the study of?supply chains within the specific sphere of the automotive?industry. To do so, it has examined the 404 papers on this topic indexed?through to 2011 in the Business Source Complete database. This has allowed?identifying trends and opportunities related to the what, how and where of research into this matter.     

A case study on monitoring polynomial profiles in the automotive industry

In some statistical process control applications, the quality of a process or product can be characterized by a relationship between a response variable and one explanatory variable, which is referred to as profile. We give an example here of a profile that can be described using a polynomial model. This example comes from the automotive industry, where one of the most important quality characteristics of an automobile engine is the relationship between the torque produced by an engine and the engine speed in revolutions per minute. We find for this data set that a second‐order polynomial works well. In addition, we show that there is autocorrelation within each profile, thus an ordinary least‐square method that ignores the autocorrelation is inappropriate. We propose a linear mixed model method as an alternative approach. After the reduction of the data to a series of parameter estimates, we then conduct a step‐by‐step Phase I analysis of the polynomial profiles monitoring using a T²‐based procedure to check the stability of the process and whether or not there are outlying profiles. The remaining profiles are used to form the estimated mean vector and variance–covariance matrix to be used in Phase II studies. Finally, a brief discussion is presented to show how one can use these parameters in Phase II. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quality assurance education and training in the U.K.

This paper deals with the part that education and training plays in the achievement of quality. The initial section examines the role of the Government sponsored Directory of Quality Training and Education in the U.K. and the aims of the National Quality Campaign. It assesses how successful the courses outlined in the Directory might be in providing sufficient stimulus for a change in attitude towards quality within industry particulraly with regard to satisfying the identified aims of the campaign. The conclusions that are drawn as a result indicate that there are several problems that need to be resolved before progress can be assured. The final section details what progress has already been made in the pursuit of improved quality and looks at various alternative methods of education and training that have been proposed to aid the process of change.