Mechanical Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemImpact of Industry 4.0 adoption on workload demands in contact centers(WILEY, 2022-09)Abstract This paper examines the impact of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies on employees workload in contact centers. For that, we adopted the NASA task load index questionnaire to assess the workload of 100 employees from different contact centers in India that have been adopting I4.0 technologies. The collected data is analyzed through multivariate techniques. This study is grounded on concepts from the multiple resource theory. Our findings indicate positive and negative effects of I4.0 on employees workload, conditioned on the adopted technologies (i.e., Internet‐of‐Things, cloud computing, big data, machine learning/artificial intelligence, remote monitoring, and wireless sensors) and workload dimensions considered (i.e., mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, overall performance, effort, and frustration level). Identifying I4.0's impacts on employees workload allows planning of managerial efforts to mitigate potential issues while setting clear expectations related to the digital transformation of contact centers' processes and services.
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ItemLean and Green Product Development in SMEs: A Comparative Study between Small- and Medium-Sized Brazilian and Japanese Enterprises(Elsevier BV, 2022-09-01)Facing the new challenges in production processes, companies should adopt lean and green practices in product development. In SMEs, the application of these practices is more complex. This work explores the maturity of lean–green methodologies in the product development process in Brazilian and Japanese SMEs. The methodology used is multicriteria, combining the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and TOPSIS 2-tuple method, applied to four Japanese SMEs and four Brazilian SMEs in the metalworking sector. The criteria for evaluating SMEs are company flexibility, difficulties with NPD, innovation, limited resources, and personnel authority high. The TOPSIS method alternatives refer to 18 lean–green enablers. In the AHP method, the prioritisation of criteria between Japanese and Brazilian specialists presented divergences. In the Japanese context, the incidence of innovation is predominant, while in the Brazilian context, the most important is the limited resources. In the TOPSIS 2-tuple method, the results showed a higher level of maturity in lean–green methodologies in Japanese companies than in Brazilian ones. Lean practices are more evolved compared to sustainable practices in both countries. The study also addressed how open innovation adoption may contribute to innovation and NPD practices. Policymakers need to understand the heterogeneity of innovators within SMEs and how they differently innovate, developing distinct internal and external activities.
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ItemEffects of Lean Interventions Supported by Digital Technologies on Healthcare Services: A Systematic Review(MDPI, 2022-08)Despite the increasing utilization of lean practices and digital technologies (DTs) related to Industry 4.0, the impact of such dual interventions on healthcare services remains unclear. This study aims to assess the effects of those interventions and provide a comprehensive understanding of their dynamics in healthcare settings. The methodology comprised a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines, searching for lean interventions supported by DTs. Previous studies reporting outcomes related to patient health, patient flow, quality of care, and efficiency were included. Results show that most of the improvement interventions relied on lean methodology followed by lean combined with Six Sigma. The main supporting technologies were simulation and automation, while emergency departments and laboratories were the main settings. Most interventions focus on patient flow outcomes, reporting positive effects on outcomes related to access to service and utilization of services, including reductions in turnaround time, length of stay, waiting time, and turnover time. Notably, we found scarce outcomes regarding patient health, staff wellbeing, resource use, and savings. This paper, the first to investigate the dual intervention of DTs with lean or lean-Six Sigma in healthcare, summarizes the technical and organizational challenges associated with similar interventions, encourages further research, and promotes practical applications.
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ItemUser-centered requirement elicitation for the procurement of medical equipment used by different services and types of end-users(WILEY, 2022-03)Abstract We propose a method to collect data on user requirements of medical equipment shared by different users and services, relate those requirements with the equipment's technical features, and rank the most important features to be considered when procuring the equipment, leading to more effective procurement decision making. Our method is structured in three phases: (i) elicit the device's technical characteristics, (ii) determine user requirements, and (iii) relate technical characteristics to user requirements. The method is applied to rank the most relevant features of a hospital recliner used by seven services and three types of users. Our results indicate the 10 most relevant factors (requirements) for an “ideal” hospital recliner with potential impact on outputs (importance scores). A final list of 32 items was useful for comparing user requirements and identifying key features that address the most relevant requirements. User‐centered approaches to requirements elicitation in medical equipment procurement promote healthcare benefits, safety, and end‐user satisfaction. Potential use of our approach goes beyond our application case study into many other categories of procurement decisions and into other industry and business applications, wherever multiple stakeholders' requirements should be considered in decisions with multiple value dimensions of value.
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ItemImplementing a material planning and control method for special nutrition in a Brazilian public hospital(WILEY, 2022-01)This study aims to (i) propose a demand forecast model for special nutrition materials in the context of health services, and (ii) comparatively evaluate three inventory management and control systems (periodic review, continuous review and mixed) for special nutrition materials. For that, we carried out a case study in a Brazilian public teaching hospital where data and information collection were conducted over a span of 22 months (from January 2018 and were consolidated until October 2019). A six-step approach was followed to propose the demand forecasting models and, later, evaluate the inventory control systems for special nutrition materials. Results indicate that if the organization implements the proposed inventory management method, there could be savings of up to 33% in the stock values managed by the healthcare organization. This research shows the planning and control of special nutrition materials in an integrated manner. Demand forecasting methods have been combined with inventory management to promote systemic improvements to healthcare organization.