Purpose: This research has been carried out to study the impact of critical success factors (CSFs) on successful project management of projects in the manufacturing sector. These success factors will pave the way for the successful completion of projects for the manufacturing sector. CSFs play a vital role in the timely conclusion of projects in any organization. For the projects to be successful certain essential factors must be taken into account. These essential factors are identified through this research.Design/methodology/approach: During this study an adaptive survey of the literature was conducted, after a detailed literature review certain success factors were identified for project management in the manufacturing sector. The number of success factors was reduced to 40 factors based on the level of incidence in the literature. The length of the questionnaire was also given due importance to make the survey more interesting and effective. After that Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) was employed to screen the most essential factors. In the end, the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (FAHP) was used to rank these factors in order of importance.Findings: Project Manager Leadership Skills, Economic Environment, Top Management Support, Project Planning, Clear and realistic Goals, and Financial Support have come out to be the most important CSFs for successful project management in the manufacturing sector.Originality/value: This is novel research to identify CSFs for project management in the manufacturing sector. Previously, most of the studies remained focused on construction and software projects.

The DIW approach offers numerous benefits, including expedited prototyping, cost-effectiveness, reduced waste in manufacturing, and enhanced design flexibility. It's currently a popular production method for building materials and has great potential for porous and electronic materials. In this study, porous cupric oxide (CuO) ceramics were fabricated using a direct ink writing (DIW) approach based on a copper particle–laden aqueous precursor. The ink formulation was optimized to achieve stable extrusion and crack-free green bodies, yielding a final composition of 68.0 wt% Cu, 31.3 wt% water, and 0.6 wt% CMC. Following oxidation and sintering in air, the printed structures exhibited a bulk density of 3.60 ± 0.20 g cm⁻³ and a corresponding theoretical porosity of 43.7 ± 0.9%. X-ray diffraction confirmed nearly phase-pure monoclinic CuO with no detectable Cu or Cu₂O residues. The printed components exhibited an interconnected, porous microstructure and a four-point-probe resistivity of 10.5 ± 0.3 Ω·m at 25 °C, reflecting the influence of high porosity on charge transport. The DIW route demonstrated here provides a controllable pathway for producing porous CuO architectures with tunable microstructure and moderate electrical conductivity. These characteristics suggest potential applicability in gas filtration, catalytic supports, and electrochemical sensing; however, device-level validation is still required to fully assess functional performance.

The rapid expansion of solar photovoltaics has intensified land-use competition between renewable energy and agriculture, particularly in regions where food security and clean-energy transitions must progress together. Semi-transparent photovoltaic technologies may provide a land-use-compatible pathway for potential agrivoltaic applications by allowing partial light transmission while generating electricity. This study evaluates Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) as a semi-transparent photovoltaic option and investigates the use of DSSC-generated electricity to power Direct Air Capture (DAC). The scope is limited to photovoltaic-system performance and economics and does not include Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) transmission, crop growth, crop yield, or microclimate analysis. A techno-economic assessment was performed using the System Advisor Model for two contrasting regions, Karachi, Pakistan, and Davis, USA. DSSC and monocrystalline silicon systems were compared over the same land area. Due to their lower installed capacity, the DSSC systems generated less annual electricity. However, their lower assumed capital expenditure resulted in a Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) that was 10% lower in Davis, at US Dollars (USD) 0.29/kWh, and 0.7% lower in Karachi, at USD 0.25/kWh. Based on literature-reported DAC energy requirements, the DSSC systems could support annual Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) removal of 331–9707 tonnes in Karachi and 334–9783 tonnes in Davis, depending on the selected DAC pathway. These results indicate that semi-transparent DSSCs may provide a lower-capital, land-use-compatible photovoltaic pathway combined with renewable-electricity-driven carbon removal. Their suitability for practical agrivoltaic deployment requires future PAR-transmission measurements and crop-specific experimental validation.