This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.

Dr. Masood Fathi
Department of Production & Automation Engineering, School of Engineering Science, University of Skövde, P.O.Box 408, SE-541 28, Skövde, Sweden

Basic Info


Research Keywords & Expertise

0 Mathematical Modeling
0 Operations Management
0 Operations Research
0 Supply Chain Management
0 Industry 4.0

Honors and Awards

The user has no records in this section


Career Timeline

The user has no records in this section.


Short Biography

The user biography is not available.
Following
Followers
Co Authors
The list of users this user is following is empty.
Following: 0 users

Feed

Review
Published: 14 July 2021 in Sustainability
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Developing sustainable products and processes is essential for the survival of manufacturers in the current competitive market and the industry 4.0 era. The activities of manufacturers and their supply chain partners should be aligned with sustainable development goals. Manufacturers have faced many barriers and challenges in implementing sustainable practices along the entire supply chain due to globalisation, outsourcing, and offshoring. Blockchain technology has the potential to address the challenges of sustainability. This study aims to explain the applications of blockchain technology to sustainable manufacturing. We conducted a systematic literature review and explained the potential contributions of blockchain technology to the economic, environmental, and social performances of manufacturers and their supply chains. The findings of the study extend our understanding of the blockchain applications in sustainable manufacturing and sustainable supply chains. Furthermore, the study explains how blockchain can influence the sustainable performance of manufacturers by creating transparency, traceability, real-time information sharing, and security of the data capabilities.

ACS Style

Ahmad Khanfar; Mohammad Iranmanesh; Morteza Ghobakhloo; Madugoda Senali; Masood Fathi. Applications of Blockchain Technology in Sustainable Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Review. Sustainability 2021, 13, 7870 .

AMA Style

Ahmad Khanfar, Mohammad Iranmanesh, Morteza Ghobakhloo, Madugoda Senali, Masood Fathi. Applications of Blockchain Technology in Sustainable Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Review. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (14):7870.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ahmad Khanfar; Mohammad Iranmanesh; Morteza Ghobakhloo; Madugoda Senali; Masood Fathi. 2021. "Applications of Blockchain Technology in Sustainable Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management: A Systematic Review." Sustainability 13, no. 14: 7870.

Research article
Published: 10 May 2021 in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Facility layout design is becoming more challenging as manufacturing moves from traditionally emphasised mass production to mass customisation. The increasing demand for customised products and services is driving the need to increase flexibility and adaptability of both production processes and their material handling systems. A holistic approach for designing facility layouts with optimised flows considering production and logistics systems constraints seems to be missing in the literature. Several tools, including traditional methods, analytic hierarchy process, multiple-attribute decision making, simulation, and optimisation methods, can support such a process. Among these, simulation-based optimisation is the most promising. This paper aims to develop a facility layout design methodology supported by simulation-based optimisation while considering both production and logistics constraints. A literature review of facility layout design with simulation and optimisation and the theoretical and empirical challenges are presented. The integration of simulation-based optimisation in the proposed methodology serves to overcome the identified challenges, providing managers and stakeholders with a decision support system that handles the complex task of facility layout design.

ACS Style

Enrique Ruiz Zúñiga; Erik Flores García; Matías Urenda Moris; Masood Fathi; Anna Syberfeldt. Holistic simulation-based optimisation methodology for facility layout design with consideration to production and logistics constraints. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture 2021, 1 .

AMA Style

Enrique Ruiz Zúñiga, Erik Flores García, Matías Urenda Moris, Masood Fathi, Anna Syberfeldt. Holistic simulation-based optimisation methodology for facility layout design with consideration to production and logistics constraints. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 2021; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enrique Ruiz Zúñiga; Erik Flores García; Matías Urenda Moris; Masood Fathi; Anna Syberfeldt. 2021. "Holistic simulation-based optimisation methodology for facility layout design with consideration to production and logistics constraints." Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture , no. : 1.

Review
Published: 11 April 2021 in Journal of Cleaner Production
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The fourth industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0, and the underlying digital transformation, is a cutting-edge research topic across various disciplines. Industry 4.0 literature is growing exponentially, overexpanding the current understanding of the digital industrial revolution through thousands of academic publications. This unprecedented growth calls for a systematic review of the concept, scope, definition, and functionality of Industry 4.0. Such systematic review should address the existing ambiguities and deliver a clear, comprehensive, and up-to-date overview of this phenomenon, including the possible implications for sustainability. Consistently, the present study carried out a systematic literature review of related articles, published online within the Industry 4.0 discipline until November 2020. The systematic literature review identified 745 eligible articles and applied extensive qualitative and quantitative data analysis methodically. The study provides a descriptive assessment of eligible articles’ properties and offers a unified conceptualization of Industry 4.0 and the underlying building blocks. The study explains how the implications of Industry 4.0 for value creation expand beyond the manufacturing industry. The study further describes the sustainability value drivers of the fourth industrial revolution and identifies the conditions on which digital industrial transformation success lays. Overall, findings reveal that Industry 4.0 transformation could address pressing issues of sustainable development goals, particularly concerning the manufacturing-economic development. The study also draws on the findings and offers important theoretical and practical implications, highlights the existing gaps within the literature, and discusses the possible future research directions.

ACS Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi; Mohammad Iranmanesh; Parisa Maroufkhani; Manuel E. Morales. Industry 4.0 Ten Years On: A Bibliometric and Systematic Review of Concepts, Sustainability Value Drivers, and Success Determinants. Journal of Cleaner Production 2021, 302, 127052 .

AMA Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo, Masood Fathi, Mohammad Iranmanesh, Parisa Maroufkhani, Manuel E. Morales. Industry 4.0 Ten Years On: A Bibliometric and Systematic Review of Concepts, Sustainability Value Drivers, and Success Determinants. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021; 302 ():127052.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi; Mohammad Iranmanesh; Parisa Maroufkhani; Manuel E. Morales. 2021. "Industry 4.0 Ten Years On: A Bibliometric and Systematic Review of Concepts, Sustainability Value Drivers, and Success Determinants." Journal of Cleaner Production 302, no. : 127052.

Journal article
Published: 19 February 2021 in Journal of Cleaner Production
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Understanding the interactions of Industry 4.0 and sustainability is a cutting-edge research topic. The present study aims to contribute to this research topic by explaining how Industry 4.0 may contribute to energy sustainability. The present study performs a content-centric qualitative review of the extant digitalization literature to identify the primary energy sustainability functions of Industry 4.0. The interpretive structural modeling technique is further used for mapping the interrelationships among various energy sustainability functions identified. The interpretive model developed, and the Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée àun Classement analysis offered exciting insights into the Industry 4.0-energy sustainability interactions. Findings show that Industry 4.0 promotes energy sustainability via a very complex mechanism that involves ten interrelated functions. Contrary to the general opinion, production efficiency offered by the digitalization of the manufacturing industry is not the immediate and most essential energy efficiency outcome of the digital industrial transformation. Industry 4.0 primarily contributes to energy sustainability by enabling the energy industry to reshape its operating landscape and enjoy more advanced, intelligent, and complicated energy production and distribution equipment. The digitalization of the energy demand sector, digitalization of the manufacturing industry, and the introduction of smarter and more sustainable products are among the main opportunities of Industry 4.0 for energy sustainability. Overall, the study and the ISM model of energy sustainability developed explains how Industry 4.0 contributes to energy sustainability via different functions and how each function is placed within the structural model based on its driving and dependence powers.

ACS Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi. Industry 4.0 and opportunities for energy sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production 2021, 295, 126427 .

AMA Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo, Masood Fathi. Industry 4.0 and opportunities for energy sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021; 295 ():126427.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi. 2021. "Industry 4.0 and opportunities for energy sustainability." Journal of Cleaner Production 295, no. : 126427.

Journal article
Published: 04 September 2020 in IEEE Access
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Optimizing production systems is urgent and indispensable if companies are to cope with global competition and a move from mass production to mass customization. The urgency of this need is more obvious in old production plants with a history of modifications, expansions, and adaptations in their production facilities. It is common to find complex, intricate and inefficient systems of material and product flows as a result of poor production facility layout. Several approaches can be used to support the design of optimal facility layouts. However, there is a lack of a suitable generic methodology for designing such layouts. Additionally, there has been little focus on the data and resources required, or on how simulation and optimization can support the design of optimal facilities. To overcome these deficiencies, this paper studies the integration of simulation and optimization for the design and improvement of facility layouts taking into account production and logistics constraints. The paper includes a generic perspective and a detailed implementation. The proposed methodology is evaluated in two case studies and by drawing on the principles and tools of the functional resonance analysis method. This method analyzes the implementation order and variability of a group of processes that can lead to unwanted outcomes. The results can provide managers and other stakeholders with a methodology that adequately considers production and logistics constraints when seeking an optimized facility layout design.

ACS Style

Enrique Ruiz Zuniga; Matias Urenda Moris; Anna Syberfeldt; Masood Fathi; Juan Carlos Rubio-Romero. A Simulation-Based Optimization Methodology for Facility Layout Design in Manufacturing. IEEE Access 2020, 8, 163818 -163828.

AMA Style

Enrique Ruiz Zuniga, Matias Urenda Moris, Anna Syberfeldt, Masood Fathi, Juan Carlos Rubio-Romero. A Simulation-Based Optimization Methodology for Facility Layout Design in Manufacturing. IEEE Access. 2020; 8 (99):163818-163828.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Enrique Ruiz Zuniga; Matias Urenda Moris; Anna Syberfeldt; Masood Fathi; Juan Carlos Rubio-Romero. 2020. "A Simulation-Based Optimization Methodology for Facility Layout Design in Manufacturing." IEEE Access 8, no. 99: 163818-163828.

Journal article
Published: 18 August 2020 in Sustainability
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The fourth industrial revolution and the digital transformation of consumer markets require contemporary manufacturers to rethink and reshape their business models to deal with the ever-changing customer demands and market turbulence. Manufacturers nowadays are inclined toward product differentiation strategies and more customer-focused approaches to stay competitive in the Industry 4.0 environment, and mass customization and product diversification are among the most commonly implemented business models. Under such circumstances, an economical material supply to assembly lines has become a significant concern for manufacturers. Consequently, the present study deals with optimizing the material supply to mixed-model assembly lines that contribute to the overall production cost efficiency, mainly via the reduction of both the material transportation and material holding costs across production lines, while satisfying certain constraints. Given the complexity of the problem, a novel two-stage heuristic algorithm is developed in this study to enable a cost-efficient delivery. To assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed heuristic algorithm, a set of test problems are solved and compared against the best solution found by a commercial solver. The results of the comparison reveal that the suggested heuristic provides reasonable solutions, thus offering immense opportunities for production cost efficiency and manufacturing sustainability under the mass customization philosophy.

ACS Style

Masood Fathi; Morteza Ghobakhloo. Enabling Mass Customization and Manufacturing Sustainability in Industry 4.0 Context: A Novel Heuristic Algorithm for in-Plant Material Supply Optimization. Sustainability 2020, 12, 6669 .

AMA Style

Masood Fathi, Morteza Ghobakhloo. Enabling Mass Customization and Manufacturing Sustainability in Industry 4.0 Context: A Novel Heuristic Algorithm for in-Plant Material Supply Optimization. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (16):6669.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Masood Fathi; Morteza Ghobakhloo. 2020. "Enabling Mass Customization and Manufacturing Sustainability in Industry 4.0 Context: A Novel Heuristic Algorithm for in-Plant Material Supply Optimization." Sustainability 12, no. 16: 6669.

Journal article
Published: 09 June 2020 in Sustainability
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Manufacturers worldwide are nowadays in pursuit of sustainability. In the Industry 4.0 era, it is a common practice to implement decentralized logistics areas, known as supermarkets, to achieve production sustainability via Just-in-Time material delivery at assembly lines. In this environment, manufacturers are commonly struggling with the Supermarket Location Problem (SLP), striving to efficiently decide on the number and location of supermarkets to minimize the logistics cost. To address this prevalent issue, this paper proposed a Simulated Annealing (SA) algorithm for minimizing the supermarket cost, via optimally locating supermarkets in assembly lines. The efficiency of the SA algorithm was tested by solving a set of test problems. In doing so, a holistic performance index, namely the total cost of supermarkets, was developed that included both shipment cost and the installation cost across the assembly line. The effect of workload balancing on the supermarket cost was also investigated in this study. For this purpose, the SLP was solved both before and after balancing the workload. The results of the comparison revealed that workload balancing could significantly reduce the total supermarket cost and contribute to the overall production and economic sustainability. It was also observed that the optimization of material shipment cost across the assembly line is the most influencing factor in reducing the total supermarket cost.

ACS Style

Masood Fathi; Amir Nourmohammadi; Morteza Ghobakhloo; Milad Yousefi. Production Sustainability via Supermarket Location Optimization in Assembly Lines. Sustainability 2020, 12, 1 .

AMA Style

Masood Fathi, Amir Nourmohammadi, Morteza Ghobakhloo, Milad Yousefi. Production Sustainability via Supermarket Location Optimization in Assembly Lines. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (11):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Masood Fathi; Amir Nourmohammadi; Morteza Ghobakhloo; Milad Yousefi. 2020. "Production Sustainability via Supermarket Location Optimization in Assembly Lines." Sustainability 12, no. 11: 1.

Articles
Published: 17 December 2019 in International Journal of Production Research
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Decentralised in-house logistics areas, known as supermarkets, are widely used in the manufacturing industry for parts feeding to assembly lines. In contrary to the literature and inspired by observation in a real case, this study relaxes the assumption of using identical transport vehicles when deciding on the supermarkets’ location by considering the availability of different vehicles. In this regard, this study deals with the integrated supermarket location and transport vehicles selection problems (SLTVSP). A mixed-integer programming (MIP) model of the problem is developed. Due to the complexity of the problem, a hybrid genetic algorithm (GA) with variable neighborhood search (GA-VNS) is also proposed to address large-sized problems. The performance of GA-VNS is compared against the MIP, the basic GA, and simulated annealing (SA) algorithm. The computational results from the real case and a set of generated test problems show that GA-VNS provides a very good approximation of the MIP solutions at a much shorter computational time while outperforming the other compared algorithms. The analysis of the results reveals that it is beneficial to apply different transport vehicles rather than identical vehicles for SLTVSP.

ACS Style

Amir Nourmohammadi; Hamidreza Eskandari; Masood Fathi; Amos H.C. Ng. Integrated locating in-house logistics areas and transport vehicles selection problem in assembly lines. International Journal of Production Research 2019, 59, 598 -616.

AMA Style

Amir Nourmohammadi, Hamidreza Eskandari, Masood Fathi, Amos H.C. Ng. Integrated locating in-house logistics areas and transport vehicles selection problem in assembly lines. International Journal of Production Research. 2019; 59 (2):598-616.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amir Nourmohammadi; Hamidreza Eskandari; Masood Fathi; Amos H.C. Ng. 2019. "Integrated locating in-house logistics areas and transport vehicles selection problem in assembly lines." International Journal of Production Research 59, no. 2: 598-616.

Journal article
Published: 20 November 2019 in Economies
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The present study addresses the issue of mobile banking customer retention by developing and empirically testing a theoretical model that describes the way mobile banking success is achieved. The data collection process was conducted via a web-based questionnaire survey through which 402 usable responses from users of application-based mobile banking services were collected. The data collected were further analyzed via covariance-based structural equation modeling. Results indicate that application-based mobile banking success can be defined in terms of the favorable attitude toward and repeated use of mobile banking applications. Experienced advantage, user satisfaction, and post-use trust toward mobile banking applications are among the critical enablers of application-based mobile banking success. The findings of this research can enable academicians and practitioners, banks, and financial institutions, in particular, to devise the mechanism through which the success of application-based mobile banking services can be facilitated.

ACS Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi. Modeling the Success of Application-Based Mobile Banking. Economies 2019, 7, 114 .

AMA Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo, Masood Fathi. Modeling the Success of Application-Based Mobile Banking. Economies. 2019; 7 (4):114.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi. 2019. "Modeling the Success of Application-Based Mobile Banking." Economies 7, no. 4: 114.

Earlycite article
Published: 16 October 2019 in Kybernetes
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Purpose This study aims to investigate the factors affecting daily demand in an emergency department (ED) and to provide a forecasting tool in a public hospital for horizons of up to seven days. Design/methodology/approach In this study, first, the important factors to influence the demand in EDs were extracted from literature then the relevant factors to the study are selected. Then, a deep neural network is applied to constructing a reliable predictor. Findings Although many statistical approaches have been proposed for tackling this issue, better forecasts are viable by using the abilities of machine learning algorithms. Results indicate that the proposed approach outperforms statistical alternatives available in the literature such as multiple linear regression, autoregressive integrated moving average, support vector regression, generalized linear models, generalized estimating equations, seasonal ARIMA and combined ARIMA and linear regression. Research limitations/implications The authors applied this study in a single ED to forecast patient visits. Applying the same method in different EDs may give a better understanding of the performance of the model to the authors. The same approach can be applied in any other demand forecasting after some minor modifications. Originality/value To the best of the knowledge, this is the first study to propose the use of long short-term memory for constructing a predictor of the number of patient visits in EDs.

ACS Style

Milad Yousefi; Moslem Yousefi; Masood Fathi; Flavio S. Fogliatto. Patient visit forecasting in an emergency department using a deep neural network approach. Kybernetes 2019, 49, 2335 -2348.

AMA Style

Milad Yousefi, Moslem Yousefi, Masood Fathi, Flavio S. Fogliatto. Patient visit forecasting in an emergency department using a deep neural network approach. Kybernetes. 2019; 49 (9):2335-2348.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Milad Yousefi; Moslem Yousefi; Masood Fathi; Flavio S. Fogliatto. 2019. "Patient visit forecasting in an emergency department using a deep neural network approach." Kybernetes 49, no. 9: 2335-2348.

Journal article
Published: 05 September 2019 in IEEE Access
Reads 0
Downloads 0

The problem of assigning assembly tasks to the stations arranged along a material handling device is known as assembly line balancing. This paper aims to address the U-shaped assembly line balancing problem (UALBP) which arises when a U-shaped assembly line has to be configured. It is widely known that this problem is NP-hard. Accordingly, different meta-heuristics based on a single solution (such as Simulated Annealing) or a population of solutions (such as Genetic Algorithms) have been proposed in the literature. Meanwhile, it has been argued that either of these meta-heuristics with a fixed number of solutions cannot maintain efficient search progress and thus can lead to premature convergence. Thus, this study aims at adopting a novel meta-heuristic algorithm with dynamic population sizes, namely Water Flow-like Algorithm (WFA), inspired by the behaviour of water flows in nature, to address the UALBP. The line efficiency and variation of workload are considered as the primary and the secondary objective, to be optimized, respectively. To verify the efficiency and robustness of the proposed WFA, a real case study taken from an automobile manufacturer as well as a set of standard problems are solved and the results compared with the existing approaches in the literature. The computational results demonstrate the superiority of the WFA, particularly in addressing medium to large-sized problems.

ACS Style

Amir Nourmohammadi; Masood Fathi; Mostafa Zandieh; Morteza Ghobakhloo. A Water-Flow Like Algorithm for Solving U-Shaped Assembly Line Balancing Problems. IEEE Access 2019, 7, 129824 -129833.

AMA Style

Amir Nourmohammadi, Masood Fathi, Mostafa Zandieh, Morteza Ghobakhloo. A Water-Flow Like Algorithm for Solving U-Shaped Assembly Line Balancing Problems. IEEE Access. 2019; 7 (99):129824-129833.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amir Nourmohammadi; Masood Fathi; Mostafa Zandieh; Morteza Ghobakhloo. 2019. "A Water-Flow Like Algorithm for Solving U-Shaped Assembly Line Balancing Problems." IEEE Access 7, no. 99: 129824-129833.

Earlycite article
Published: 09 August 2019 in Engineering Computations
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Purpose This study aims to propose an efficient optimization algorithm to solve the assembly line balancing problem (ALBP). The ALBP arises in high-volume, lean production systems when decision-makers aim to design an efficient assembly line while satisfying a set of constraints. Design/methodology/approach An improved genetic algorithm (IGA) is proposed in this study to deal with ALBP to optimize the number of stations and the workload smoothness. Findings To evaluate the performance of the IGA, it is used to solve a set of well-known benchmark problems and a real-life problem faced by an automobile manufacturer. The solutions obtained are compared against two existing algorithms in the literature and the basic genetic algorithm. The comparisons show the high efficiency and effectiveness of the IGA in dealing with ALBPs. Originality/value The proposed IGA benefits from a novel generation transfer mechanism that improves the diversification capability of the algorithm by allowing population transfer between different generations. In addition, an effective variable neighborhood search is used in the IGA to enhance its local search capability.

ACS Style

Masood Fathi; Amir Nourmohammadi; Amos H.C. Ng; Anna Syberfeldt; Hamidreza Eskandari. An improved genetic algorithm with variable neighborhood search to solve the assembly line balancing problem. Engineering Computations 2019, 37, 501 -521.

AMA Style

Masood Fathi, Amir Nourmohammadi, Amos H.C. Ng, Anna Syberfeldt, Hamidreza Eskandari. An improved genetic algorithm with variable neighborhood search to solve the assembly line balancing problem. Engineering Computations. 2019; 37 (2):501-521.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Masood Fathi; Amir Nourmohammadi; Amos H.C. Ng; Anna Syberfeldt; Hamidreza Eskandari. 2019. "An improved genetic algorithm with variable neighborhood search to solve the assembly line balancing problem." Engineering Computations 37, no. 2: 501-521.

Journal article
Published: 25 July 2019 in Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how small manufacturing firms can leverage their Information Technology (IT) resources to develop the lean-digitized manufacturing system that offers sustained competitiveness in the Industry 4.0 era. Design/methodology/approach The study performs an in-depth five years case study of a manufacturing firm, and reports its journey from failure in the implementation of enterprise resource planning to its success in integrating IT-based technology trends of Industry 4.0 with the firm’s core capabilities and competencies while pursuing manufacturing digitization. Findings Industry 4.0 transition requires the organizational integration of many IT-based modern technologies and the digitization of entire value chains. However, Industry 4.0 transition for smaller manufacturers can begin with digitization of certain areas of operations in support of organizational core strategies. The development of lean-digitized manufacturing system is a viable business strategy for corporate survivability in the Industry 4.0 setting. Research limitations/implications Although the implementation of lean-digitized manufacturing system is costly and challenging, this manufacturing strategy offers superior corporate competitiveness in the long run. Since this finding is rather limited to the present case study, assessing the business value of lean-digitized manufacturing system in a larger scale research context would be an interesting avenue for future research. Practical implications Industry 4.0 transition for typical manufacturers should commensurate with their organizational, operational and technical particularities. Digitization of certain operations and processes, when aligned with the firm’s core strategies, capabilities and procedures, can offer superior competitiveness even in Industry 4.0 era, meaning that the strategic plan for successful Industry 4.0 transition is idiosyncratic to each particular manufacturer. Social implications Manufacturing digitization can have deep social implications as it alters inter- and intra-organizational relationships, causes unemployment among low-skilled workforce, and raises data security and privacy concerns. Manufacturers should take responsibility for their digitization process and steer it in a direction that simultaneously safeguards economic, social and environmental sustainability. Originality/value The strategic roadmap devised and employed by the case company for managing its digitization process can better reveal what manufacturing digitization, mandated by Industry 4.0, might require of typical manufacturers, and further enable them to better facilitate their digital transformation process.

ACS Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi. Corporate survival in Industry 4.0 era: the enabling role of lean-digitized manufacturing. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management 2019, 31, 1 -30.

AMA Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo, Masood Fathi. Corporate survival in Industry 4.0 era: the enabling role of lean-digitized manufacturing. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. 2019; 31 (1):1-30.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi. 2019. "Corporate survival in Industry 4.0 era: the enabling role of lean-digitized manufacturing." Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management 31, no. 1: 1-30.

Conference paper
Published: 02 July 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
Reads 0
Downloads 0

In general, profitability and efficiency have been the main interest for organization. However, the increasing concerns for the environment from government, regulators, customers and other stakeholders has forced companies to seek for alternatives to achieve green objectives. The difficulties faced by organizations are lack of awareness and guideline in implementing green practices in their daily operation. Under constrained resources, employers are reluctant to spend money on something unclear. During the last decade, lean manufacturing seems to be visible trend in most of the manufacturing industries in Malaysia. As lean tends to emphasize on waste reduction, it provides similarity between lean and green. Therefore, it is a better atmosphere to deploy green practices and tools under existing lean manufacturing. The purpose of this paper is to present a review on the synergies between green and lean and identifying the determinants that affecting both lean and green manufacturing for Malaysian manufacturers. The determinant obtained are financial benefit, incentive, legislation, stakeholder, management commitment, technology, environmental awareness and brand image or competitiveness. Besides, the authors identified and suggested future research directions on developing an integrated lean-green model for daily operation. This study aims to assist researchers to identify the opportunities and challenges on lean-green model and this review is useful for manufacturers and government in developing manufacturing policies and guideline.

ACS Style

Cheong Wen Chiet; Ng Tan Ching; Saw Lip Huat; Masood Fathi; Tan Jaw Tzuu. The Integration of Lean and Green Manufacturing for Malaysian Manufacturers: A Literature Review to Explore the Synergies between Lean and Green Model. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 268, 012066 .

AMA Style

Cheong Wen Chiet, Ng Tan Ching, Saw Lip Huat, Masood Fathi, Tan Jaw Tzuu. The Integration of Lean and Green Manufacturing for Malaysian Manufacturers: A Literature Review to Explore the Synergies between Lean and Green Model. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 268 (1):012066.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Cheong Wen Chiet; Ng Tan Ching; Saw Lip Huat; Masood Fathi; Tan Jaw Tzuu. 2019. "The Integration of Lean and Green Manufacturing for Malaysian Manufacturers: A Literature Review to Explore the Synergies between Lean and Green Model." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 268, no. 1: 012066.

Journal article
Published: 24 June 2019 in Procedia CIRP
Reads 0
Downloads 0

It is widely known that the assembly line balancing problem (ALBP) is an NP-hard optimization problem. Although different meta-heuristics have been proposed for solving this problem so far, there is no convincing support that what type of algorithms can perform more efficiently than the others. Thus, using some statistical measures, the landscape of the simple ALBP is studied for the first time in the literature. The results indicate a flat landscape for the problem where the local optima are uniformly scattered over the search space. Accordingly, the efficiency of population-based algorithms in addressing the considered problem is statistically validated.

ACS Style

Amir Nourmohammadi; Masood Fathi; Amos H.C. Ng. Choosing efficient meta-heuristics to solve the assembly line balancing problem: A landscape analysis approach. Procedia CIRP 2019, 81, 1248 -1253.

AMA Style

Amir Nourmohammadi, Masood Fathi, Amos H.C. Ng. Choosing efficient meta-heuristics to solve the assembly line balancing problem: A landscape analysis approach. Procedia CIRP. 2019; 81 ():1248-1253.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Amir Nourmohammadi; Masood Fathi; Amos H.C. Ng. 2019. "Choosing efficient meta-heuristics to solve the assembly line balancing problem: A landscape analysis approach." Procedia CIRP 81, no. : 1248-1253.

Journal article
Published: 08 March 2019 in IEEE Access
Reads 0
Downloads 0
ACS Style

Masood Fathi; Amir Nourmohammadi; Amos H. C. Ng; Anna Syberfeldt. An Optimization Model for Balancing Assembly Lines With Stochastic Task Times and Zoning Constraints. IEEE Access 2019, 7, 32537 -32550.

AMA Style

Masood Fathi, Amir Nourmohammadi, Amos H. C. Ng, Anna Syberfeldt. An Optimization Model for Balancing Assembly Lines With Stochastic Task Times and Zoning Constraints. IEEE Access. 2019; 7 ():32537-32550.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Masood Fathi; Amir Nourmohammadi; Amos H. C. Ng; Anna Syberfeldt. 2019. "An Optimization Model for Balancing Assembly Lines With Stochastic Task Times and Zoning Constraints." IEEE Access 7, no. : 32537-32550.

Journal article
Published: 16 January 2019 in Education Sciences
Reads 0
Downloads 0

In the past decade, the importance of teamwork training in higher education and employers’ enthusiasm for recruiting team players have been widely discussed in the literature. Yet, the process through which effective teamwork training is developed in a higher education setting has not yet been properly discussed. The present study aims to map the precedence relationships among the key determinants of teamwork training effectiveness and explain the process through which an effective teamwork training program can be developed. The study first conducted an extensive review of the literature to highlight the key determinants of effective teamwork training. Next, the study benefitted from an interpretive structural modeling technique and captured the opinions of a group of teamwork training experts to further map the interrelationships among the potential determinants that were identified. By listing the key determinants of effective teamwork training, mapping their interrelationships, and identifying their driving and dependence power, the present study is expected to help practitioners and academicians through providing a detailed understanding of the process through which an effective teamwork training program can be developed in a higher education context.

ACS Style

Masood Fathi; Morteza Ghobakhloo; Anna Syberfeldt. An Interpretive Structural Modeling of Teamwork Training in Higher Education. Education Sciences 2019, 9, 16 .

AMA Style

Masood Fathi, Morteza Ghobakhloo, Anna Syberfeldt. An Interpretive Structural Modeling of Teamwork Training in Higher Education. Education Sciences. 2019; 9 (1):16.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Masood Fathi; Morteza Ghobakhloo; Anna Syberfeldt. 2019. "An Interpretive Structural Modeling of Teamwork Training in Higher Education." Education Sciences 9, no. 1: 16.

Journal article
Published: 05 November 2018 in Journal of Modelling in Management
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Purpose The purpose of this study is to contribute to the existing knowledge about the process of achieving Lean Manufacturing (LM) success. Design/methodology/approach This study uses interpretive structural modeling and captures the opinions of a group of LM experts from a world-class Japanese automobile manufacturer, to map the interrelationships among potential determinants of LM success. This study further uses the data from a survey of 122 leading automobile part manufacturers by performing structural equation modeling to empirically test the research model proposed. Findings Management support and commitment, financial resources availability, information technology competence for LM, human resources management, production process simplicity, supportive culture and supply chain-wide integration are the key determinants that directly or indirectly determine the level of achievement of LM success. Research limitations/implications The determinants of LM success as experienced by Asian automobile manufacturers might be different from determinants of LM success as experienced by Western automobile manufacturers. An interesting direction for future research would be to capture the experts’ inputs from Western automobile manufacturers to complement the findings of this study. Practical implications The practical contribution of this study lays in the development of linkages among various LM success determinants. Utility of the proposed interpretive structural modeling and structural equation modeling methodologies imposing order, direction and significance of the relationships among elements of LM success assumes considerable value to the decision-makers and LM practitioners. Originality/value Building on opinions of a group of LM experts and a case study of leading auto part manufacturers, the present study strives to model the success of LM, a topic that has received little attention to date.

ACS Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi; Dalila Fontes; Ng Tan Ching. Modeling lean manufacturing success. Journal of Modelling in Management 2018, 13, 908 -931.

AMA Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo, Masood Fathi, Dalila Fontes, Ng Tan Ching. Modeling lean manufacturing success. Journal of Modelling in Management. 2018; 13 (4):908-931.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Masood Fathi; Dalila Fontes; Ng Tan Ching. 2018. "Modeling lean manufacturing success." Journal of Modelling in Management 13, no. 4: 908-931.

Journal article
Published: 14 May 2018 in Journal of Modelling in Management
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Purpose The purpose of this study is to first investigate the efficiency of the most commonly used performance measures for minimizing the number of workstations (NWs) in approaches addressing simple assembly line balancing problem (SALBP) for both straight and U-shaped line, and second to provide a comparative evaluation of 20 constructive heuristics to find solutions to the SALBP-1. Design/methodology/approach A total of 200 problems are solved by 20 different constructive heuristics for both straight and U-shaped assembly line. Moreover, several comparisons have been made to evaluate the performance of constructive heuristics. Findings Minimizing the smoothness index is not necessarily equivalent to minimizing the NWs; therefore, it should not be used as the fitness function in approaches addressing the SALBP-1. Line efficiency and the idle time are indeed reliable performance measures for minimizing the NWs. The most promising heuristics for straight and U-shaped line configurations for SALBP-1 are also ranked and introduced. Practical implications Results are expected to help scholars and industrial practitioners to better design effective solution methods for having the most balanced assembly line. This study will further help with choosing the most proper heuristic with regard to the problem specifications and line configuration. Originality/value There is limited research assessing the efficiency of the common objectives for SALBP-1. This study is among the first to prove that minimizing the workload smoothness is not equivalent to minimizing the NWs in SALBP-1 studies. This work is also one of the first attempts for evaluating the constructive heuristics for both straight and U-shaped line configurations.

ACS Style

Masood Fathi; Dalila Fontes; Matias Urenda Moris; Morteza Ghobakhloo. Assembly line balancing problem. Journal of Modelling in Management 2018, 13, 455 -474.

AMA Style

Masood Fathi, Dalila Fontes, Matias Urenda Moris, Morteza Ghobakhloo. Assembly line balancing problem. Journal of Modelling in Management. 2018; 13 (2):455-474.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Masood Fathi; Dalila Fontes; Matias Urenda Moris; Morteza Ghobakhloo. 2018. "Assembly line balancing problem." Journal of Modelling in Management 13, no. 2: 455-474.

Journal article
Published: 03 May 2018 in Kybernetes
Reads 0
Downloads 0

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the existing knowledge about the relationships between information technology (IT), lean manufacturing (LM), organizational environmental issues and business performance. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect data from 122 elite manufacturers, and the hypothesized relationships were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings IT competence in LM acts as a lower-order organizational capability, and its business value should be recognized through the intermediate roles of LM effectiveness and environmental management capability. Findings recommend that the net benefits of LM are mainly materialized through waste and pollution reduction and simplified implementation of proactive environmental practices. Research limitations/implications Among other limitations, relying on a rather small sample size and cross-sectional data of this research, and lack of generalizability of findings, tends to have certain limitations. An interesting direction for future research would be to extend this research by assessing interaction of other types of IT resources with LM and organizational environmental issues. Practical implications Both LM and proactive environmental management are information-intensive. Investment in both technological and human aspects of IT resource aimed at increasing the effectiveness of LM activities and proactive environmental practices is imperative for contemporary manufacturers. Originality/value This study introduces the IT capability of IT competence in LM and two organizational capabilities of LM effectiveness and environmental management capability. By doing so, the study highlights the significant role of organizational environmental issues in devising firms’ IT and advanced manufacturing technology investment strategies in LM context.

ACS Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Adel Azar; Masood Fathi. Lean-green manufacturing: the enabling role of information technology resource. Kybernetes 2018, 47, 1752 -1777.

AMA Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo, Adel Azar, Masood Fathi. Lean-green manufacturing: the enabling role of information technology resource. Kybernetes. 2018; 47 (9):1752-1777.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morteza Ghobakhloo; Adel Azar; Masood Fathi. 2018. "Lean-green manufacturing: the enabling role of information technology resource." Kybernetes 47, no. 9: 1752-1777.