Article
Economics
Dongyang Zhang, Jinli Wang, Yizhi Wang
Summary: This paper examines the impact of China's environmental monitoring centralization on firms' greenwashing practices. The study finds that environmental centralization can effectively reduce greenwashing, especially when there is a high level of decentralization. Privately-owned firms with high pollution and technology intensity are particularly motivated to reduce greenwashing as environmental decentralization levels increase. The centralization of environmental monitoring policy shock can effectively curb greenwashing practices by strengthening environmental regulation levels.
Article
Environmental Studies
Lida Han, Xi Wu, Peng Tang
Summary: This paper analyzes the impact of environmental decentralization on the scale of urban construction land supply by local governments in China, and provides policy suggestions.
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Ufuk Bahceci, Temel Oncan
Summary: In this study, customized Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) formulations were developed for the Order Batching Problem (OBP) for the first time, considering various routing policies. A novel picker routing policy named mixed policy was introduced. Extensive computational experiments were conducted to analyze the impact of different routing and storage policies under various operating conditions, leading to several managerial insights.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Management
Qinan Wang, Guangyu Wan
Summary: This study investigates a centralized two-level distribution system with a fixed-interval order-up-to policy. The warehouse adopts myopic optimal allocation and a non-stationary base stock policy to minimize system cost. Numerical results show that myopic optimal allocation reduces system cost significantly compared to virtual allocation.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Weibing Li, Yongwen Yang
Summary: This study finds that environmental centralization, exemplified by the establishment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection in China, effectively reduces pollution in provinces with higher degrees of environmental decentralization. Centralization restrains free-riding behavior of local governments, reduces emissions, and boosts local governments' incentives for environmental governance, thus contributing to environmental well-being.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2021)
Article
Management
Shan Zhu, Xiangpei Hu, Kai Huang, Yufei Yuan
Summary: In an online supermarket, multi-item customer orders may need to be split to different shipments, resulting in higher shipping costs. This paper proposes an algorithm to optimize product category allocation among multiple warehouses to reduce the total number of order splits. Results show that the algorithm effectively reduces order splitting in a large Chinese online supermarket.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Economics
Alireza Ermagun
Summary: This study provides theoretical explanations and empirical examinations of transit access and urban form in the 45 most populated American cities. It finds that transit access declines with network distance from the CBD in all cities, leading to a shift in urban structure from decentralization to centralization and back to decentralization. The strength of the relationship between network distance and transit access follows the law of diminishing returns, indicating a peak CBD centricity and potential for decentralization in the long term.
JOURNAL OF TRANSPORT GEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Ben A. A. Chaouch
Summary: The purpose of this paper is to expand the existing EOQ-type models by incorporating uncertain product returns. The study presents an inventory control problem with deterministic demand and Poisson process for product returns. A level-crossing approach is used to derive a closed-form expression for the expected ordering and inventory holding costs in terms of order size and other relevant parameters.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Geography
Timothy F. LeDoux, Igor Vojnovic
Summary: This paper examines the historical evolution of uneven neighborhood food environments in tri-County Detroit, Michigan from 1970 to 2010, highlighting how economic conditions, business decisions, and underlying inequities interacted to create restricted food access in Black neighborhoods and raise questions about relevant policies.
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
S. G. Ozden, A. E. Smith, K. R. Gue
Summary: This paper presents an open-source computational software system for designing warehouse layouts to minimize the average walking distance for pickers, by automatically generating and evaluating various design options to approach near-optimality.
COMPUTERS & OPERATIONS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Seungbeom Kim, Kwanghun Chung
Summary: This paper investigates how a global freight firm allocates its capacity to regional sales offices and explores different methods of capacity allocation. The study suggests that the decentralization method is not always superior to the centralization method.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Andre Torre, Ian Vazquez-Rowe, Eduardo Parodi, Ramzy Kahhat
Summary: The balance between centralization and decentralization in wastewater treatment management in urban environments has been a recurring topic of discussion. It is necessary to consider a wide range of parameters to determine the optimal management level and avoid falling into the trap of dichotomous thinking. Actions should be taken to upgrade wastewater treatment systems while taking into account economic, social, and environmental constraints.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Economics
Jose Castillo-Manzano, Mercedes Castro-Nuno, Lourdes Lopez-Valpuesta, Jesus Boby
Summary: This paper examines the debate between centralization and decentralization in road safety management, focusing on traffic law enforcement. Through a case study of Spain, it presents evidence that regions with centralized traffic policing have better safety records, highlighting the importance of coordinated road safety policies in traditionally decentralized countries. The findings emphasize the need for cautious analysis on a case-by-case basis.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Victor Ahlqvist, Par Holmberg, Thomas Tangeras
Summary: This paper surveys literature comparing centralized and decentralized wholesale electricity markets, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of each approach and proposing suggestions for improvement.
ENERGY STRATEGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Management
Maximilian Schiffer, Nils Boysen, Patrick S. Klein, Gilbert Laporte, Marco Pavone
Summary: This paper focuses on optimizing picker routing in e-commerce warehouses using a mixed-shelves concept and various picking policies. The study reveals that the right combination of drop-off points, dynamic batching, picking cart utilization, and picking zone layout can greatly improve picking performance, with efficiency increases of more than 30% compared to standard policies.
MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Martina Calzavara, Serena Finco, Daria Battini, Fabio Sgarbossa, Alessandro Persona
Summary: This paper proposes an innovative approach to solve the Joint Assembly Line Balancing and Feeding Problem, aiming to achieve integrated balancing and fully synchronized assembly-feeding system. By using the MILP model, it successfully reduces the number of assembly stations and inventory level, while avoiding workforce shortage issues in the feeding system.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Daria Battini, Nicola Berti, Serena Finco, Mattia Guidolin, Monica Reggiani, Luca Tagliapietra
Summary: This article introduces a new real-time full-body ergonomic platform, WEM-Platform, which provides ergonomic assessments in industrial and logistics settings based on motion capture using an inertial suit and an activity tracker, offering visual feedback to workers. The platform supports various devices including inertial suits, depth cameras, and activity trackers, and its architecture, design, and validation via laboratory testing are discussed.
COMPUTERS & INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Mohammed-Amine Abdous, Xavier Delorme, Daria Battini, Fabio Sgarbossa, Sandrine Berger-Douce
Summary: This article introduces a method for considering ergonomics in the design phase of assembly lines. Currently, assembly line workers face challenges related to musculoskeletal disorders and ergonomics problems, which deteriorate the economic condition of production systems. The authors propose a method based on integer linear programming to address the assembly line balancing problem with the consideration of fatigue recovery criteria.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Riccardo Aldrighetti, Daria Battini, Ajay Das, Marco Simonetto
Summary: This study investigates the facilitation of closed-loop supply chain initiatives through industry 4.0 technologies and finds that industry 4.0 technologies have a significant and beneficial moderator effect on the relationship between closed-loop supply chain practices and environmental and social performance, but not on financial performance.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Serena Finco, Daria Battini, Giuseppe Converso, Teresa Murino
Summary: The paper introduces a methodological framework called SPOZA based on Zero-Inflated Poisson regression to simplify the inventory-level evaluation procedure for items with irregular demand patterns. Through a real-case application, it is shown that SPOZA can reduce inventory costs and perform better, especially when items demand increases.
JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND PRODUCTION ENGINEERING
(2022)
Review
Engineering, Industrial
Marco Simonetto, Fabio Sgarbossa, Daria Battini, Kannan Govindan
Summary: Sustainability issues are driving industries to develop more complex closed loop supply chains (CLSCs) with many risks. The low levels of integration and digitalization in CLSCs limit their benefits for society. This study focuses on the analysis of the benefits of Industry 4.0 technologies in mitigating the operational risks in CLSCs and proposes a conceptual framework and matrix for future managerial initiatives in this domain.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION ECONOMICS
(2022)
Editorial Material
Engineering, Industrial
Hubert Missbauer, Daria Battini, Alexander Trautrims, Ming-Lang Tseng
Summary: Production Economics focuses on the interface between engineering and economics/management, aiming to improve industrial practice and decision making. It covers a wide range of topics including field fundamentals, inventory management, and production systems design, planning, and control. Managing supply chains, especially inter-firm relationships, adds complexity to the field. Current challenges in industry, such as sustainable development, energy conservation, emerging markets, and digital transformation, are also central to Production Economics research. The field has seen a broadening of research methods, with mathematical modeling, statistical analysis, and experimental and case study research gaining importance. The virtual special issue presents a summary of recent research and hopes to inspire future studies. The founders of the International Working Seminar on Production Economics, Robert Grubbstrom and Hans Hinterhuber, are greatly acknowledged for their contributions to the field.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION ECONOMICS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Francesco Zangaro, Stefan Minner, Daria Battini
Summary: This paper investigates the Joint Assembly Line Balancing and Feeding Problem (JALBFP) and proposes a heuristic approach and mathematical model to solve it for multi-manned assembly lines. Through numerical studies, the effectiveness of the heuristic approach is validated, and it is found that the JALBFP method can significantly reduce the overall cost compared to the sequential approach.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Daria Battini, Nicola Berti, Serena Finco, Ilenia Zennaro, Ajay Das
Summary: The new Industry 5.0 paradigm aims to facilitate a transition to sustainable and human-centric industry by driving research and innovation. This research adopts a human-centric perspective and proposes a multi-objective job rotation scheduling model to address the challenges brought by diverse workers in the manufacturing context.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION ECONOMICS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Mohammed-Amine Abdous, Xavier Delorme, Daria Battini, Sandrine Berger-Douce
Summary: Manufacturing systems are social-technical systems that involve interactions between humans and technologies in shared workspaces. Collaborative manufacturing systems combine the benefits of human workers and Industry 4.0 technologies and are useful in flexible and adaptable contexts. The key problems in designing these systems are line balancing and equipment selection. We propose a multi-objective approach that optimizes investment costs and ergonomics, and developed a solving algorithm based on epsilon-constraint to achieve a trade-off between these objectives.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Industrial
Niloofar Katiraee, Martina Calzavara, Serena Finco, Olga Battaia, Daria Battini
Summary: In manual assembly systems, the differences in workers' skills, expertise level, and physical effort perception greatly influence assembly line balancing and system performance. This study proposes a methodological framework and an easy-to-use Assembly Line Worker Assignment and Rebalancing Problem, which considers workers' performance variability, integration of worker-dependent physical exertion constraints, and the possibility of using trainers to assist inexperienced workers. A bi-objective linear programming model is introduced to minimize cycle time and the number of reassigned tasks while integrating new workers with different characteristics. The results obtained from three real cases demonstrate the successful application of the developed model in manufacturing companies to address workforce turnover and skills heterogeneity.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Management
Riccardo Aldrighetti, Daria Battini, Dmitry Ivanov
Summary: Supply chain resilience is crucial in coping with disruptions and can be achieved through network redundancy and process flexibility. This paper introduces a mathematical model for designing an efficient resilience portfolio in a multi-echelon supply chain, which allows for increased resilience at minimal costs. The findings contribute to transforming resilience from a costly expense to a value-creation asset.
OMEGA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Gjulio Ashta, Serena Finco, Daria Battini, Alessandro Persona
Summary: The human-centered workplace design philosophy and the operator 5.0 concepts are being increasingly applied in modern industries to personalize the operators' workplace for better well-being and capabilities. New assistive technologies, such as passive exoskeletons, are gaining interest in manufacturing and logistics systems. This literature review focuses on passive exoskeletons for manufacturing and logistics systems, categorizing their assessment in relation to the tasks they are applied to, providing insights into their performance, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness evaluation, and proposing a maturity heat map for tracking their maturity level.
Proceedings Paper
Automation & Control Systems
Nicola Berti, Serena Finco, Mattia Guidolin, Monica Reggiani, Daria Battini
Summary: This article presents and discusses the outcomes of recent laboratory testing activities aimed at developing real-time single and multi-person postural assessment and training. The research utilized the WEM-platform and showed promising results in both post-processing and real-time analysis in manufacturing and logistics environments. The laboratory tests measured the impact of visual feedback intervention on workers' behavior based on individual experience, as well as the effect of different anthropometric characteristics on ergonomic risk score. By combining two inertial Motion Capture systems with the WEM-platform, the ergonomic risk of operators in multi-manned assembly stations was quantified, and positive results were observed in both single and multi-manned configurations. The proposed platform's flexibility enables real-time ergonomic risk assessment for the workers involved, as well as the investigation of their mutual movements and collaborative tasks.
Proceedings Paper
Automation & Control Systems
L. Maretto, M. Faccio, D. Battini
Summary: The increasing international competition and the presence of Industry 4.0 national plans are driving companies to embark on digitalization projects for their industrial plants. However, there is a considerable lack of specific models for the selection of digital technologies in academic literature. Therefore, researchers have developed a multi-criteria decision-making model based on Fuzzy Logic and AHP, combined with an existing hierarchical classification of digital technologies, to test its practical validity.
