Browsing by Author "Flores, Myrna"

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    An analysis of methods to achieve robustness towards a lean product development process
    (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2012-06-18) Cabello, Alan; Flores, Karina; Flores, Myrna; Khan, Muhammad; Al-Ashaab, Ahmed
    Since Taguchi’s introduction to robustness much has been researched about it, particularly into the field of new product development. Despite the attention given to the subject by academia, recent research has found that industry has yet to fully grasp its benefits. Among the main attributed factors, lie the complexity of the proposed statistical tools and a general misconception of the concept and its implementation. Based on Toyota’s Product Development System, the term Conceptual Robustness is broadly defined based on three forms of variation: physical, design and market. Parting from the this definition and as part of the LeanPPD Project, the objective of this paper’s contribution is threefold: 1), to present the state of the art on research in the area of robustness, 2) propose a taxonomy in order to understand the different scopes of available resources and 3) finally identifying the possibilities to achieve conceptual robustness (that of Sobek et al., 1999) with the available resources presented to the industry by academic research.
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    A balanced scorecard for measuring the impact of industry–university collaboration
    (Taylor and Francis, 2011-07) Al-Ashaab, Ahmed; Flores, Myrna; Doultsinou, Athanasia; Magyar, Andrea
    The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) can be considered as a strategic measurement tool. Many companies have applied it to measure four key aspects of their organisations’ performance: financial, customer, internal business process and learning and growth. Although it is widely used in the business arena, this original BSC was not developed to assess the impact of collaborative research projects under an open innovation strategy, where the outputs of research and development developed by collaborative projects undertaken by industry and universities should be measured in a different way. Therefore, this article will propose a scorecard to measure the outcomes of collaborative research and present two case studies of how companies are using this tool to measure the outcomes. It is important to recall that this scorecard has been developed during a collaborative research project by CEMEX Research Group AG (Switzerland) and Cranfield University (UK). During such project, a survey was developed to carry out interviews in a sample of 10 companies in UK, where it was confirmed that a collaborative BSC is a very useful tool to measure, track and improve the impact of conducting collaborative projects with universities. This article is an extended version of the one presented at the PRO-VE’09 conference (Flores et al. 2009. A balanced scorecard for measuring the impact of industry-university collaboration. In: Leveraging knowledge for innovation in collaborative networks, 10th IFIP WG 5.5 working conference on virtual enterprises, PRO-VE 2009, 7–9 October 2009, Thessaloniki, Greece, 23–32).
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    The Conceptual LeanPPD Model
    (2012-06-30) Al-Ashaab, Ahmed; Shehab, Essam; Alam, Rahman; Sopelanad, Amaia; Sorli, Mikel; Flores, Myrna; Taisch, Marco; Stokic, Dragan; James-Moore, Mike; Jerzy, Pokojski; Shuichi, Fukada; Jozef, Salwinski
    This paper is presenting the conceptual Lean Product and Process Development (LeanPPD) model which is a project funded by the EU-PF7. The project is addressing the needs of European manufacturing companies of a new model that goes beyond lean manufacturing, to ensure the transformation of the enterprise into lean environment. This is a respond to the market demand of value creation, incorporating sustainability and customisation as well as ensuring business growth through the development of high quality products in a cost effective manner at the shortest time. The authors believe that significant change in enterprise performance can be achieved through the adoption of lean thinking throughout the product life cycle. The paper presents the LeanPPD enablers which represent the building block of the model.
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    A framework of industrial sustainability good practices
    (Cranfield University Press, 2013-09-19) Al-Ashaab, Ahmed; Flores, Myrna; Hernando Anta, Pablo; Varro, Brigitta
    Global environmental problems, energy and raw material prices as well as their availability, increasingly demanding legislation and environmental taxes are some of the reasons that drive the consideration of sustainability concepts and practices into company operations. This paper presents the research carried out in order to capture industrial sustainability good practices and represent them into a framework to help companies increase their awareness and adopt practices to embed them within their operational processes.