Richard Farr | University of Hull (original) (raw)

Papers by Richard Farr

If a business operating Concurrent Engineering (CE) is to take advantage of the full range of mod... more If a business operating Concurrent Engineering (CE) is to take advantage of the full range of modern communications technologies, there is a need for information to be exchanged between people with a wide range of different backgrounds, using different systems. It is not only necessary to present clear information to the members of a distributed team in a timely manner, but also to identify relevant information at whatever point it arises during the lifecycle of the product in order to assist in activities such as documentation, project management, operator training and final disposal.

Remanufacturing could become a cornerstone of a future sustainable society, and considerable prog... more Remanufacturing could become a cornerstone of a future sustainable society, and considerable progress has been made towards finding technical solutions for the renovation of products or selected components. Not all the barriers to remanufacturing are purely technical, however; others are related to business drivers, or social factors. The problems anticipated for remanufacturing, as identified by Guide [1] include "stochastic product returns, imbalances in return and demand rates, and the unknown condition of returned products." In order to investigate the significance of these problems, a simulation model was constructed to explore the costs and benefits of a range of different end-of-life (EOL) strategies. It suggests that environmental harm can be reduced to an extent, when a company is set up to process returned goods, but that this benefit comes at the cost of considerable complications in scheduling and logistics.

Figure 3.1: The phases of an act of learning [Gagné, 1975] 3.2.1 Expectancy Naturally, the learni... more Figure 3.1: The phases of an act of learning [Gagné, 1975] 3.2.1 Expectancy Naturally, the learning process requires a motivated individual, so before actual teaching begins it is necessary to have incentives established. Thus, the learner is working towards an achievable goal which is held to be of some value. When motivation is absent in the learner, they must be brought to a point of expectancy, being given an appreciation of the reward which will result from successful learning. Activating motivation requires that the knowledge which will be gained leads towards some desirable objective. The reward which is established need not be tangible; there is a natural human tendency which urges mastery of new challenges. In motivating a person to learn, it will be necessary to relate to their current situation. Thus, motivation requires Chapter 3

Process Planning involves the specification of the manufacturing processes required to make a pro... more Process Planning involves the specification of the manufacturing processes required to make a product. It is a key activity in new product development as it determines both manufacturing resource utilisation and product costs. This topic is taught to both undergraduate and postgraduate students of Manufacturing Engineering and Management at the University of Salford. The traditional approach to teaching process planning involves lectures and supervised practicals.

Global competition exerts increasing pressure on the manufacturers of electromechanical products ... more Global competition exerts increasing pressure on the manufacturers of electromechanical products to bring low cost, high quality products to market in a short space of time. Product miniaturisation and a requirement for new features make tight electromechanical integration vital, but conventional design software is largely inadequate, tending to focus on a single domain such as mechanical design or printed circuit board layout. The interactions between electromechanical components, when they are closely integrated, may be a source of many problems such as failures due to overheating or vibration. Unfortunately, designers with expertise from disparate engineering fields are rare. A co-operative design approach is needed to address these issues, which could affect the design performance.

This document presents a review of the practices and tools that are used in other (nonaerospace) ... more This document presents a review of the practices and tools that are used in other (nonaerospace) industries, for the purpose of identifying best practices that might also be employed in the rapid generation of a proposal for aero engine products and services. Addressing the customer's perception of value, and its delivery process, this has implications for much of the activity conducted within Work Package 2.1.

If a business operating Concurrent Engineering (CE) is to take advantage of the full range of mod... more If a business operating Concurrent Engineering (CE) is to take advantage of the full range of modern communications technologies, there is a need for information to be exchanged between people with a wide range of different backgrounds, using different systems. It is not only necessary to present clear information to the members of a distributed team in a timely manner, but also to identify relevant information at whatever point it arises during the lifecycle of the product in order to assist in activities such as documentation, project management, operator training and final disposal.

The business environment has never changed as fast and as radically as at present. Traditional ca... more The business environment has never changed as fast and as radically as at present. Traditional capacity planning has limitations in today's dynamic environments, particularly from a strategic perspective. Collaborative extended enterprises require strategic capacity planning (SCP), which focuses not only on economies of scale but also on coordination, flexibility and risk. This paper sets out to identify the unique characteristics of the aerospace industry and compare the traditional views of capacity planning and modern concepts in SCP. An integrated framework for SCP is outlined in the context of an extended aerospace enterprise.

Remanufacturing could become a cornerstone of a future sustainable society, and considerable prog... more Remanufacturing could become a cornerstone of a future sustainable society, and considerable progress has been made towards finding technical solutions for the renovation of products or selected components. Not all the barriers to remanufacturing are purely technical, however; others are related to business drivers, or social factors. The problems anticipated for remanufacturing, as identified by Guide [1] include "stochastic product returns, imbalances in return and demand rates, and the unknown condition of returned products." In order to investigate the significance of these problems, a simulation model was constructed to explore the costs and benefits of a range of different end-of-life (EOL) strategies. It suggests that environmental harm can be reduced to an extent, when a company is set up to process returned goods, but that this benefit comes at the cost of considerable complications in scheduling and logistics.

Figure 3.1: The phases of an act of learning [Gagné, 1975] 3.2.1 Expectancy Naturally, the learni... more Figure 3.1: The phases of an act of learning [Gagné, 1975] 3.2.1 Expectancy Naturally, the learning process requires a motivated individual, so before actual teaching begins it is necessary to have incentives established. Thus, the learner is working towards an achievable goal which is held to be of some value. When motivation is absent in the learner, they must be brought to a point of expectancy, being given an appreciation of the reward which will result from successful learning. Activating motivation requires that the knowledge which will be gained leads towards some desirable objective. The reward which is established need not be tangible; there is a natural human tendency which urges mastery of new challenges. In motivating a person to learn, it will be necessary to relate to their current situation. Thus, motivation requires Chapter 3

Despite difficult economic conditions in recent years, the cruise industry has continued to grow ... more Despite difficult economic conditions in recent years, the cruise industry has continued to grow strongly. Questions remain, however, as to the environmental impact of a cruise holiday. The noxious nature of the fuel employed, the sheer quantity required, and the effects of various discharges from vessels at sea are among the issues that impact upon the 'green' performance of the industry.

The report includes a literature review on business models, possible definition, their use, a des... more The report includes a literature review on business models, possible definition, their use, a description of descriptive and comparative methods and summary of some literature examples related to business model development. It also outlines future steps in the VIVACE WP 2.1 business model work and proposes a possible approach.

The virtual enterprise is an ideal solution to the pace of change in modern markets, where increa... more The virtual enterprise is an ideal solution to the pace of change in modern markets, where increasingly well-informed customers demand high performance, customised products, with continuing downward pressure on prices and lead times. In meeting customer requirements of this kind, the level of investment demanded of an individual manufacturer may be prohibitive, but success can be achieved through collaboration between businesses. Engineering across organisational boundaries poses many problems, but these have been the subject of study for some years, and are relatively well-supported by systems such as e-business portals, neutral file formats and shared data environments. If lead times are to be further reduced, it may be wise to target the virtual enterprise formation stage, rather than the operations that are to be conducted once the enterprise has formed. Within the VIVACE (Value Improvement through a Virtual Aeronautical Collaborative Enterprise) project, one task is to demonstr...

The business environment is changing fast and radically. Traditional capacity planning has limita... more The business environment is changing fast and radically. Traditional capacity planning has limitations in today's dynamic environments, particularly from a strategic perspective in the aerospace sector. This document sets out to identify the unique characteristics of the aerospace industry and compare the traditional views of capacity planning and modern concepts in SCP relevant to the sector. Key findings are summarised from an analysis of the literature on strategic capacity planning. The importance of considering demand uncertainty, technology uncertainty and supply uncertainty is highlighted. Two case studies in the aero- engine sector are presented. A collaborative virtual organisation requires Strategic Capacity Planning (SCP) that focuses not only on economies of scale but also on coordination, flexibility and responsiveness. An integrated framework for addressing SCP in the aerospace industry is presented. Public

Agent-based modelling is gaining popularity for understanding the behaviour of complex systems in... more Agent-based modelling is gaining popularity for understanding the behaviour of complex systems involving interactions of many players or agents. In this paper an agent-based simulation modelling technique is applied to understand the long term implications of strategy decisions for an aerospace value chain. The industry has unique elements including new business models, high levels of collaboration, long product lifecycles and long periods before positive paybacks are realised. Forecasting market conditions over this long term lifespan is inherently problematic and adds further complexity when devising a strategy. The model described includes all the major players and entities in the value chain and their interactions. Illustrative results are presented to demonstrate how the approach can be used to evaluate strategy and policy decisions and their operational implications over the long term. 1. INTRODUCTION This paper describes the application of a simulation developed using the pri...

If a business operating Concurrent Engineering (CE) is to take advantage of the full range of mod... more If a business operating Concurrent Engineering (CE) is to take advantage of the full range of modern communications technologies, there is a need for information to be exchanged between people with a wide range of different backgrounds, using different systems. It is not only necessary to present clear information to the members of a distributed team in a timely manner, but also to identify relevant information at whatever point it arises during the lifecycle of the product in order to assist in activities such as documentation, project management, operator training and final disposal.

Remanufacturing could become a cornerstone of a future sustainable society, and considerable prog... more Remanufacturing could become a cornerstone of a future sustainable society, and considerable progress has been made towards finding technical solutions for the renovation of products or selected components. Not all the barriers to remanufacturing are purely technical, however; others are related to business drivers, or social factors. The problems anticipated for remanufacturing, as identified by Guide [1] include "stochastic product returns, imbalances in return and demand rates, and the unknown condition of returned products." In order to investigate the significance of these problems, a simulation model was constructed to explore the costs and benefits of a range of different end-of-life (EOL) strategies. It suggests that environmental harm can be reduced to an extent, when a company is set up to process returned goods, but that this benefit comes at the cost of considerable complications in scheduling and logistics.

Figure 3.1: The phases of an act of learning [Gagné, 1975] 3.2.1 Expectancy Naturally, the learni... more Figure 3.1: The phases of an act of learning [Gagné, 1975] 3.2.1 Expectancy Naturally, the learning process requires a motivated individual, so before actual teaching begins it is necessary to have incentives established. Thus, the learner is working towards an achievable goal which is held to be of some value. When motivation is absent in the learner, they must be brought to a point of expectancy, being given an appreciation of the reward which will result from successful learning. Activating motivation requires that the knowledge which will be gained leads towards some desirable objective. The reward which is established need not be tangible; there is a natural human tendency which urges mastery of new challenges. In motivating a person to learn, it will be necessary to relate to their current situation. Thus, motivation requires Chapter 3

Process Planning involves the specification of the manufacturing processes required to make a pro... more Process Planning involves the specification of the manufacturing processes required to make a product. It is a key activity in new product development as it determines both manufacturing resource utilisation and product costs. This topic is taught to both undergraduate and postgraduate students of Manufacturing Engineering and Management at the University of Salford. The traditional approach to teaching process planning involves lectures and supervised practicals.

Global competition exerts increasing pressure on the manufacturers of electromechanical products ... more Global competition exerts increasing pressure on the manufacturers of electromechanical products to bring low cost, high quality products to market in a short space of time. Product miniaturisation and a requirement for new features make tight electromechanical integration vital, but conventional design software is largely inadequate, tending to focus on a single domain such as mechanical design or printed circuit board layout. The interactions between electromechanical components, when they are closely integrated, may be a source of many problems such as failures due to overheating or vibration. Unfortunately, designers with expertise from disparate engineering fields are rare. A co-operative design approach is needed to address these issues, which could affect the design performance.

This document presents a review of the practices and tools that are used in other (nonaerospace) ... more This document presents a review of the practices and tools that are used in other (nonaerospace) industries, for the purpose of identifying best practices that might also be employed in the rapid generation of a proposal for aero engine products and services. Addressing the customer's perception of value, and its delivery process, this has implications for much of the activity conducted within Work Package 2.1.

If a business operating Concurrent Engineering (CE) is to take advantage of the full range of mod... more If a business operating Concurrent Engineering (CE) is to take advantage of the full range of modern communications technologies, there is a need for information to be exchanged between people with a wide range of different backgrounds, using different systems. It is not only necessary to present clear information to the members of a distributed team in a timely manner, but also to identify relevant information at whatever point it arises during the lifecycle of the product in order to assist in activities such as documentation, project management, operator training and final disposal.

The business environment has never changed as fast and as radically as at present. Traditional ca... more The business environment has never changed as fast and as radically as at present. Traditional capacity planning has limitations in today's dynamic environments, particularly from a strategic perspective. Collaborative extended enterprises require strategic capacity planning (SCP), which focuses not only on economies of scale but also on coordination, flexibility and risk. This paper sets out to identify the unique characteristics of the aerospace industry and compare the traditional views of capacity planning and modern concepts in SCP. An integrated framework for SCP is outlined in the context of an extended aerospace enterprise.

Remanufacturing could become a cornerstone of a future sustainable society, and considerable prog... more Remanufacturing could become a cornerstone of a future sustainable society, and considerable progress has been made towards finding technical solutions for the renovation of products or selected components. Not all the barriers to remanufacturing are purely technical, however; others are related to business drivers, or social factors. The problems anticipated for remanufacturing, as identified by Guide [1] include "stochastic product returns, imbalances in return and demand rates, and the unknown condition of returned products." In order to investigate the significance of these problems, a simulation model was constructed to explore the costs and benefits of a range of different end-of-life (EOL) strategies. It suggests that environmental harm can be reduced to an extent, when a company is set up to process returned goods, but that this benefit comes at the cost of considerable complications in scheduling and logistics.

Figure 3.1: The phases of an act of learning [Gagné, 1975] 3.2.1 Expectancy Naturally, the learni... more Figure 3.1: The phases of an act of learning [Gagné, 1975] 3.2.1 Expectancy Naturally, the learning process requires a motivated individual, so before actual teaching begins it is necessary to have incentives established. Thus, the learner is working towards an achievable goal which is held to be of some value. When motivation is absent in the learner, they must be brought to a point of expectancy, being given an appreciation of the reward which will result from successful learning. Activating motivation requires that the knowledge which will be gained leads towards some desirable objective. The reward which is established need not be tangible; there is a natural human tendency which urges mastery of new challenges. In motivating a person to learn, it will be necessary to relate to their current situation. Thus, motivation requires Chapter 3

Despite difficult economic conditions in recent years, the cruise industry has continued to grow ... more Despite difficult economic conditions in recent years, the cruise industry has continued to grow strongly. Questions remain, however, as to the environmental impact of a cruise holiday. The noxious nature of the fuel employed, the sheer quantity required, and the effects of various discharges from vessels at sea are among the issues that impact upon the 'green' performance of the industry.

The report includes a literature review on business models, possible definition, their use, a des... more The report includes a literature review on business models, possible definition, their use, a description of descriptive and comparative methods and summary of some literature examples related to business model development. It also outlines future steps in the VIVACE WP 2.1 business model work and proposes a possible approach.

The virtual enterprise is an ideal solution to the pace of change in modern markets, where increa... more The virtual enterprise is an ideal solution to the pace of change in modern markets, where increasingly well-informed customers demand high performance, customised products, with continuing downward pressure on prices and lead times. In meeting customer requirements of this kind, the level of investment demanded of an individual manufacturer may be prohibitive, but success can be achieved through collaboration between businesses. Engineering across organisational boundaries poses many problems, but these have been the subject of study for some years, and are relatively well-supported by systems such as e-business portals, neutral file formats and shared data environments. If lead times are to be further reduced, it may be wise to target the virtual enterprise formation stage, rather than the operations that are to be conducted once the enterprise has formed. Within the VIVACE (Value Improvement through a Virtual Aeronautical Collaborative Enterprise) project, one task is to demonstr...

The business environment is changing fast and radically. Traditional capacity planning has limita... more The business environment is changing fast and radically. Traditional capacity planning has limitations in today's dynamic environments, particularly from a strategic perspective in the aerospace sector. This document sets out to identify the unique characteristics of the aerospace industry and compare the traditional views of capacity planning and modern concepts in SCP relevant to the sector. Key findings are summarised from an analysis of the literature on strategic capacity planning. The importance of considering demand uncertainty, technology uncertainty and supply uncertainty is highlighted. Two case studies in the aero- engine sector are presented. A collaborative virtual organisation requires Strategic Capacity Planning (SCP) that focuses not only on economies of scale but also on coordination, flexibility and responsiveness. An integrated framework for addressing SCP in the aerospace industry is presented. Public

Agent-based modelling is gaining popularity for understanding the behaviour of complex systems in... more Agent-based modelling is gaining popularity for understanding the behaviour of complex systems involving interactions of many players or agents. In this paper an agent-based simulation modelling technique is applied to understand the long term implications of strategy decisions for an aerospace value chain. The industry has unique elements including new business models, high levels of collaboration, long product lifecycles and long periods before positive paybacks are realised. Forecasting market conditions over this long term lifespan is inherently problematic and adds further complexity when devising a strategy. The model described includes all the major players and entities in the value chain and their interactions. Illustrative results are presented to demonstrate how the approach can be used to evaluate strategy and policy decisions and their operational implications over the long term. 1. INTRODUCTION This paper describes the application of a simulation developed using the pri...