Applied Mechanics and Materials Vols. 773-774

Abstract: The terminology of "Asset Management" (AM) has been widely used in many organizations. It has been generally accepted and defined as a cost effective approach for asset operation, maintenance, upgrade, and disposal. It covers many scopes and topics spanning from financial, IT, human resources, and also physical engineered assets. Engineering asset management (EAM) is the management of engineering assets and it provides guidelines on the effective usage of all the physical engineered assets within the organization. It is deemed essential to understand the concept of effective EAM and practices in an organization. This paper provides a review on the definition and concepts of AM and EAM with the aim of providing good insights and understanding on this topics.

Abstract: The current automotive supply chain is facing more risks than ever due to the heavy dependencies of local automotive component manufacturers with foreign and established global producers. In response, this paper is designed to explore the supply chain risk management (SCRM) practice of automotive industry in Malaysia. In-depth case studies were conducted at two automotive components manufacturers based on three constructs of SCRM framework including the SCRM process, tools used in SCRM and techniques to minimize risk. The case studies revealed that the automotive companies implemented failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA), 5 why analysis, impact-aspect study, and recovery planning to manage their supply chain risks. In addition, brainstorming techniques, experience and expert judgment were mainly used as risk identification and assessment techniques. Most of the risks encountered during operations were dealt by reactive strategies such as back-up suppliers and increasing buffer stocks. Overall, the automotive companies are heading towards more formal and sophisticated SCRM especially with the certification of TS16949 although there are still plenty of rooms for improvements in the risk identification and risk assessment techniques since very limited quantitative techniques were evidenced.

Abstract: The implementation of risk management (RM) increases the value of firms, reduces the cost of debts, increases profits and improves decision making. However, the debates on what determines RM adoption are still unresolved due to limited evidence of RM adoption in industrial settings. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a conceptual framework of the determinants that influence the adoption of RM. It has been found that two factors, the perception of risk management and risk perception, have often been neglected in prior research. Thus, this paper extends the existing literature by introducing these factors to the framework of RM adoption. It is suggested that future case studies can be conducted to examine the significance of these two factors.

Abstract: A project manager is responsible for the successful project delivery. The project manager needs to effectively manage his team and all resources, in order to ensure the project is completed within the constraint of cost, schedule and quality, and also meeting the client’s satisfaction. Looking at project complexity nowadays, the project manager and project team member are required to acquire new knowledge and develop new skill from time to time. Time is not a privilege as ones handle more than one project at one time. Hence, the objectives of the study are to investigate their perspective towards learning and their perception on organizational support on learning. The study was conducted at a Malaysia’s Government technical department located in Klang Valley. 340 questionnaires were distributed and the rate of responses was about 53%. It was a quantitative approach and the analysis is mainly descriptive. The study demonstrated that all respondents realize the importance of learning and they are motivated to learn. They also perceived that there is organizational support towards learning, thus create a learning culture in the organization. Future studies should be undertaken to address the issue of what is the appropriate learning approach to enhance project management learning.

Abstract: This paper presents a review of ergonomic garden tools and kitchen apparatus for the ageing population. The purpose of this review is to enable the ageing population to carry out daily activities in the garden and in the kitchen in a less strenuous manner. First, a general review was made on the ergonomic aspect of the garden tool known as Appel Spade. Another review on the ergonomic aspect of the kitchen apparatus was done on the Eggcurate Digital Kitchen Scale. With these reviews, both ergonomic advantages and disadvantages of the Appel Spade and Eggcurate Digital Kitchen Scale are highlighted and then tabulated. Based on the reviews, recommendations are proposed for future potential enhancements in terms of the ergonomic aspects to provide the ageing population a more comfortable experience using these tools and apparatus.

Abstract: The precast construction industry is associated with a lot of activities, vast effort, many parties and numerous processes. The parties involved in the precast supply chain including the planning, design, manufacturing, transportation, installation and construction should have efficient communication and access to precise and latest information contributing to the enhanced collaboration, sustainability and improving the integration. The aim of this study is to explore the collaboration tools with proposing the cloud system architecture for the precast supply chain management. The research findings are according to the comprehensive review of the literature on supply chain management, precast construction industry and cloud computing. Findings demonstrates the major problems within the precast supply chain phases comprised of poor planning, ineffective communications among designers and manufacturers, incompetent employees and damage to raw materials, large size and heavy precast components and the poor on-site coordination. These major problems within the precast supply chain phases could contribute to negative consequences on the efficiency, productivity and effectiveness of precast delivery. Therefore, to mitigate and overcome these major problems within the precast construction, the cloud computing implementation as the valuable alternative could be delivered to enhance the efficiencies and effectiveness of the collaboration systems. This research propose and establishes the concepts of valuable collaborative tools, for instance the Cloud Computing Information Systems (CCIS), for assisting the processes, activities, information and networks within the precast supply chain management through increasing the opportunities to attain higher competitive advantages. Initially, it is anticipated that this research will result to the enhanced collaboration in order to deliver more competitive advantages and increase the opportunities for the globalisation of the construction industry. Secondly, it proposes an effective technique to establish innovative visions, enhanced productivity, increased effectiveness, improve integration and sustainability leading to efficient collaboration within the construction industry.

Abstract: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is widely used to track and trace objects in supply chain management. However, massive uncertain data produced by RFID readers are not suitable for directly use in RFID applications. This is due to repetitive readings which are unnecessary because it contains only the same information. Thus, an approach to remove repetitive readings in supply chain is paramount to minimize massive data storage that could affect query performances. We propose a simplified approach, which is suitable for a wide range of application scenarios. Experimental evaluations show that our approach is effective and efficient in terms of the removing duplicate readings and compressing the massive data significantly.

Abstract: Most construction projects have been recognized as underperformance due to the increase numbers of delays, cost overruns and poor quality construction. The inability of contractors to meet clients’ expectation has been found as one of the main causes that contribute to the project failure. Alternatively, key players are encouraged to shift from the conventional method towards Industrialized Building System (IBS). Also known as prefabrication, previous researchers proved that IBS is able to minimize on-site works and increase the building quality in a controlled environment. However, the take up rate of IBS in Malaysian construction industry is still low as compared to developed countries basically due to incapability of contractors in mastering an advanced technology and their negative perceptions in IBS implementation. In addition, a limited subjective performance measurement, particularly to evaluate contractors' satisfaction level in implementing the IBS construction is still neglected. This is a review paper for an on-going research in examining contractor satisfaction levels on the IBS implementation and its attributes. The measurements are based on contractor perception instead of the typical approaches that solely concerned with objective measures (time, cost and quality). As a result, several attributes that integrate sustainability elements (economical, environmental, social, and institutional factors) are also determined. These attributes are then developed through systematic analysis to enhance the ability of IBS in improving contractors’ satisfaction. The developed framework is expected to help the project team in performing IBS projects more efficiently, ensuring the quality meet the standards and encouraging effective communication between participants. Moreover, the findings will be useful to assist contractors in enhancing competitiveness, increase company reputation and improve project deliveries to meet global challenges.

Abstract: Proper maintenance of buildings is to extend the life span of buildings. In order to maintain the buildings, apart from maintenance work, is the organization aspect, one of the important elements in building maintenance. The organization will have to be carefully structured and designed so that the staff can function efficiently. The staff will have to be given training from time to time so that they are acquainted with the current technology and to tackle the challenges. The objectives of this study are to examine the current maintenance organizational structure, to identify the main problems faced by the maintenance staff, to evaluate the level of job satisfaction and to identify the types of training to be provided to the maintenance staff. The study is carried through questionnaires and interviews. A total of fifty (50) questionnaires are distributed to the respondents consisting of engineers, technical assistants and technicians. The data is analyzed using average index. From the study, it was found that the type of organization structure of the maintenance department in UTHM is of line and staff.

Abstract: Malaysia is a fast developing country which thrives on the growth of its population and economy. Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia with an area of 243 km² has a population of 1.4 million [1]. From the statistics, the number of passengers using intercity train services in Malaysia in was 187,345,149 in the year 2012 [2]. Comfortability of a service is a major factor that influences the public. The research will be conducted at the City of Kuala Lumpur, PUTRA LRT (Kelana Jaya Line) and MONOREL Line is selected as the main focus of the research. The data collection will be conducted in the train coaches with two parameters. The noise and vibrations in the train coaches will be taken using the Sound Level Meter (NOR118) and Vibration Meter (Movipack 01dB-Steel) respectively. The noise data were obtained from the interior of the train coaches during operation, while the vibrations were obtained from the wall surface of the coach interior. The vibration aspect for this research is more focused on three parameters which are displacement (μm), vibration velocity (mm/s) and vibration frequency (Hz)[7]. Questionnaires were given out to the train passengers in order to obtain public opinions and satisfaction feedbacks relating their experiences on the train coaches. In this paper it also discusses on the outcomes of the field research work conducted and it was found that PUTRA LRT has a lower vibration value when compared to the MONOREL. The public opinion has also showed unanimous agreement to the field observations conducted by the researchers. However, MONOREL records lower noise levels compared to PUTRA LRT which means quieter journey experience to the commuters. It is hoped that this study will enable the operators to enhance their service weaknesses with the public playing a part in improving the urban rail transit in the City of Kuala Lumpur. Keywords: Comfortability, Noise, Vibration, LRT, MONOREL,