Synchronized Factories

The objective of this report is to examine the extent to which countries in Latin America and the Caribbean participate in global value chains and what are the drivers of such participation. Production processes have been increasingly fragmented worldwide. For example, the production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner involves 43 suppliers located in 135 locations around the globe. There are many examples like the Dreamliner, from the 451 parts that go into the iPod to the less technologically intensive but still widespread multi-country production of a Barbie doll. All this reflects significant changes in the way world production is being reorganized across national borders. That is, for many goods, production has become a multi-country process in which different stages are carried out in specialized plants in different parts of the world. Countries which specialize in different stages of the production process are thus linked by these global value chains. For developing countries, a clear opportunity from the continuous international fragmentation of production arises in the form of participating in activities that were virtually not opened to them in the past. Therefore, the international fragmentation of production provides opportunities for trade diversification, an issue that can be of particular importance for Latin America and the Caribbean as the region’s export base is in general highly concentrated in a few industries and particularly biased towards natural-resource intensive sectors. The aim is to identify whether there is policy space for implementing strategies that allow countries to improve their position in regional and global value chains.

Beyond JIT - Lean Improvement for Supplier Companies! ESP is a production management and manufacturing improvement system targeted for supplier companies or any companies that deal with a variety of products as well as multiple customers. ESP enables suppliers to meet the requirements of their buyers' Just-In-Time (JIT) ordering systems through wide-variety, small-lot production, while also making their own production activities as efficient as possible. ESP complements each company's own production management functions, particularly the production scheduling and purchasing functions, in the way that best suits each individual business. By adopting ESP, your company will be able to meet its customers' needs Just-in-Time while growing into a powerful new organization operating according to its own production system. Features of Equalized and Synchronized Production include: Coverage of the complete production scheduling and management system for supplier organizations Case studies featuring ESP implementation by a variety of manufacturers Guidance on when and where the ESP system is more effective than JIT Comprehensive and practical "how-to" instruction on ESP implementation

Now in its first English edition, this text focuses on the Japanese concept of "kaizen," or "continuous improvement," to demonstrate how smaller, easily adopted improvements can increase performance and reduce production costs.

The topic of dynamic models tends to be splintered across various disciplines, making it difficult to uniformly study the subject. Moreover, the models have a variety of representations, from traditional mathematical notations to diagrammatic and immersive depictions. Collecting all of these expressions of dynamic models, the Handbook of Dynamic System Modeling explores a panoply of different types of modeling methods available for dynamical systems. Featuring an interdisciplinary, balanced approach, the handbook focuses on both generalized dynamic knowledge and specific models. It first introduces the general concepts, representations, and philosophy of dynamic models, followed by a section on modeling methodologies that explains how to portray designed models on a computer. After addressing scale, heterogeneity, and composition issues, the book covers specific model types that are often characterized by specific visual- or text-based grammars. It concludes with case studies that employ two well-known commercial packages to construct, simulate, and analyze dynamic models. A complete guide to the fundamentals, types, and applications of dynamic models, this handbook shows how systems function and are represented over time and space and illustrates how to select a particular model based on a specific area of interest.

This contributed volume presents state-of-the-art advances in logistics theory in various fields as well as case studies. The book reports on a number of recently conducted studies in the Dinalog and the EffizienzCluster LogistikRuhr, thus bridging the gap between different perspectives of theoretical and applied research. A selection of theoretical topics, practical examples, case studies and project reports is presented in this volume. The editors carefully selected contributions from a wide variety of projects, which were carried out in both the Dinalog cluster and the Effizienzcluster LogistikRuhr. The contributions are grouped in five main sections, each representing key domains in the evolution of logistics and supply chain management: sustainability, urban logistics, value chain management, IT-based innovation, knowledge management. This book is intended for both researchers and practitioners in the field of logistics and supply chain management, to serve as an important source of information for further research as well as to stimulate further innovation.

Plant Factory Using Artificial Light: Adapting to Environmental Disruption and Clues to Agricultural Innovation features interdisciplinary scientific advances as well as cutting-edge technologies applicable to plant growth in plant factories using artificial light. The book details the implementation of photocatalytic methods that ensure the safe and sustainable production of vegetables at low cost and on a commercial scale, regardless of adverse natural or manmade influences such as global warming, climate change, pollution, or other potentially damaging circumstances. Plant Factory Using Artificial Light is an essential resource for academic and industry researchers in chemistry, chemical/mechanical/materials engineering, chemistry, agriculture, and life/environmental/food sciences concerned with plant factories. Presents an interdisciplinary approach to advanced plant growth technologies Features methods for reducing electric energy costs in plant factories and increasing LED efficiency Considers commercial scale operation