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The purpose of this paper is to systematically demonstrate the use of an effective multiple criteria decision-making technique, i.e. fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) in ranking the decision criteria of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS).

A questionnaire is specially designed and served to the industry experts to collect their opinion on several FMS decision criteria. Subsequently, fuzzy TOPSIS is used to prioritize the decision criteria.

Fuzzy TOPSIS multiple criteria decision-making technique is explained and applied to determine relative importance of the several decision criteria of FMS. This will help management of organizations in taking decision for implementing FMS in their organizations. From this study, it is found that customer satisfaction is the top most criterion among several other criteria for the successful implementation of FMS.

In situation like the one considered in this research, there are dependencies and interactions among the criteria and, therefore, other techniques such as fuzzy analytic network process would have been a better choice. Nevertheless, fuzzy TOPSIS also provides good result as it incorporates vagueness associated with the decision maker’s opinion pertaining to the several FMS decision criteria.

This paper presents a fuzzy TOSIS model to help managers understand the relative importance of the several FMS decision criteria so that they can use this information for successful implementation of this advanced manufacturing technology in their organizations.

Recent years have witnessed a significant rise in Indian healthcare establishments (HCEs) which indicate that there is a constant need to improve the healthcare quality services through the adoption and implementation of TQM enablers. The purpose of this paper is to identify such enablers and then propose a ranking model for TQM implementation in Indian HCEs for improved performance.

The study identifies 20 TQM enablers through comprehensive literature survey and expert’s opinion, and classifies them into five main categories. The prominence of these enablers is established using a recently developed novel multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method, i.e. best-worst method (BWM). The importance of the various main category and sub-category enablers is decided on the basis of their weights which are determined by the BWM. In comparison to other MCDM methods, such as analytical hierarchy process, BWM requires relatively lesser comparison data and also provides consistent comparisons which results in both optimal and reliable weights of the enablers considered in this paper. Further, a sensitivity analysis is also carried out to ensure that the ranking (based on the optimal weights) of the various enablers is reliable and robust.

The results of this study reveal that out of five main category enablers, the “leadership-based enablers (E1)” and the “continuous improvement based enablers (E5)” are the most and the least important enablers, respectively. Similarly, among the 20 sub-category enablers, “quality leadership and role of physicians (E14)” and “performing regular survey of customer satisfaction and quality audit (E52)” are the most and the least dominating sub-category enablers, respectively.

This study does not explore the interrelationship between the various TQM enablers and also does not evaluate performance of the various HCEs based on the weights of the enablers.

The priority of the TQM enablers determined in this paper enables decision makers to understand their influence on successful implementation of the TQM principles and policies in HCEs leading to an overall improvement in the system’s performance.

This study identifies the various TQM enablers in HCEs and categorizes them into five main categories and ranks them using the BWM. The findings of this research are quite useful for management of the HCEs to properly understand the relative importance of these enablers so that managers can formulate an effective and efficient strategy for their easy and smooth implementation which is necessary for continuous improvement.

The purpose of this paper is to compile a comprehensive status report on pipes/piping networks across different industrial sectors, along with specifications of materials and sizes, and showcase welding avenues. It further extends to highlight the promising friction stir welding as a single solid-state pipe welding procedure. This paper will enable all piping, welding and friction stir welding stakeholders to identify scope for their engagement in a single window.

The paper is a review paper, and it is mainly structured around sections on materials, sizes and standards for pipes in different sectors and the current welding practice for joining pipe and pipe connections; on the process and principle of friction stir welding (FSW) for pipes; identification of main welding process parameters for the FSW of pipes; effects of process parameters; and a well-carved-out concluding summary.

A well-carved-out concluding summary of extracts from thoroughly studied research is presented in a structured way in which the avenues for the engagement of FSW are identified.

The implications of the research are far-reaching. The FSW is currently expanding very fast in the welding of flat surfaces and has evolved into a vast number of variants because of its advantages and versatility. The application of FSW is coming up late but catching up fast, and as a late starter, the outcomes of such a review paper may support stake holders to expand the application of this process from pipe welding to pipe manufacturing, cladding and other high-end applications. Because the process is inherently inclined towards automation, its throughput rate is high and it does not need any consumables, the ultimate benefit can be passed on to the industry in terms of financial gains.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only review exclusively for the friction stir welding of pipes with a well-organized piping specification detailed about industrial sectors. The current pipe welding practice in each sector has been presented, and the avenues for engaging FSW have been highlighted. The FSW pipe process parameters are characteristically distinguished from the conventional FSW, and the effects of the process parameters have been presented. The summary is concise yet comprehensive and organized in a structured manner.

In recent years, the use of high performing materials, and application of additive manufacturing technology for industrial production has witnessed a steady rise and its expanse is only to increase in the future. “Selective laser melting (SLM) technique” for an exotic nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA) is expected to a great facilitator to research in this area. The purpose of this paper is to put forth the research direction of NiTi shape memory alloy by selective laser melting.

This review also summaries and skims out the information on process equipment, adopted methodologies/strategies, effects of process parameters on important responses e.g. microstructure and comprehensive functional and mechanical properties of SLM-NiTi. In particular, the functional characteristics (i.e. shape memory effects and super-elasticity behavior), process analysis and application status are discussed.

Current progresses and challenges in fabricating NiTi-SMA of SLM technology are presented.

This review is a useful tool for professional and researchers with an interest in the field of SLM of NiTi-SMA.

This review provides a comprehensive review of the publications related to the SLM techniques of NiTi-SMA while highlighting current challenges and methods of solving them.

As the manufacturing activities in today's industries are getting more and more complex, it is required for the manufacturing firm to have a good shop floor production scheduling to plan and schedule their production orders. An accurate scheduling is essential to any manufacturing firm in order to be competitive in global market. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Two types of shop floors, job shop and cellular layout, were developed by using WITNESS simulation package. Consequently, the performance of forward scheduling and backward scheduling in both job shop and cellular layout was compared using simulation method, and the results were analyzed by using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Through analysis, the best scheduling approach and layout to be used by manufacturing firm in order to achieve the make-to-order (MTO) production and inventory strategy were reported.

The results from simulation show that backward scheduling in job shop layout has the lowest average throughput time, lowest lateness, and highest labour productivity than forward scheduling. While in cellular layout, forward scheduling has the lowest average throughput time, lowest lateness, and highest labour productivity than backward scheduling in all conditions. It shows that the performance of scheduling approach is different in each production layout.

Suitable scheduling approach is needed in manufacturing industry as to maximize production rate and optimize machine and process capability. This paper presents an empirical study about the assembly process of radio cassette player of one manufacturing industry in order to investigate the impact of variety of orders and different number of two workers on the performance of production scheduling approach. Forward scheduling and backward scheduling are used to schedule the production orders.