Remanufacturing in China is still in its early stage and faces pressures from society, policy, technology and management. Considering the current state of remanufacturing in China, this paper researched several key management issues involving various aspects from the perspective of remanufacturing players. Based on a needs analysis on the trend of remanufacturing development in China, the following six key management problems were researched; risk management of remanufacturing players, remanufacturing production management, remanufacturing quality management, authentication mode of remanufacturing in China, subsidy policy of remanufacturing industry, and performance assessment of remanufacturing. The characteristics of issues were analyzed and the corresponding countermeasures were put forward.
Engineering projects can be subject to significant complexity, which may result in a number of issues and challenges that need to be addressed throughout the project life-cycle. Traditionally projects have been viewed according to the so called “iron triangle,” i. e., achievement of project milestones according to schedule, cost and quality targets. While these targets are fundamentally important to the performance of engineering projects, it is possible to view projects on a systemic level in order to allow an adequate focus on all the underpinning factors that have the potential to influence the performance of projects. Consequently, a management framework has been developed that is based on an integrated systems perspective of engineering projects, where the performance of projects is a function of six contributing sub-systems that are: process, technology, resources, knowledge, culture and impact.
To improve the management of the new generation of employees, the authors have discussed the relationship between the personal-organizational values fit and job involvement of the new generation of employees, and made perceived organizational support as a mediating variable. The empirical results found that the personal-organizational values fit had a significant positive effect on job involvement of the new generation of employees and the perceived organizational support became as the mediating variable.
With the development of economy, the issue of urban traffic is becoming highlighted, the pollution of the urban traffic has become one of the main factors to influence environment. It faces the broader problem of achieving sustainable development of urban transportation at present. The current situation of urban traffic is analyzed through studying the existing articles at home and abroad in this paper; the problems such as green innovation of urban traffic are elaborated. In addition, this paper puts forward the relevant measures to promote the development of green innovation of the urban traffic.
The demand for commissioning services for new-building construction projects is experiencing rapid growth. Commissioning (Cx) is touted as being a quality-focused process for ensuring the owner’s project requirements (OPR) are met by design, final construction, and the operations of a building. To an owner this is just what is needed to receive a perfect building at occupancy. However, as many owners have realized, the Cx process does not guarantee the completed building will be what was expected. It should be pointed out that this is typically not caused by the Cx process, but the Cx process should or could have identified, in the early phases of the project, many of the issues that made it through to the completed building. There are a number of reasons why the Cx services received may not be optimal. Often it is poor communication and the transfer of knowledge between project teams. Cx should and can facilitate both communication and the transfer of knowledge from phase to phase. An adaptation of the quality function deployment (QFD) four-phase model can accomplish this by filling the gaps among the major Cx activities and provide a standard approach to the process. The four-phase model effectively links each of the Cx activities to each other and back to the OPR, providing a method for improved communication and knowledge transfer. This paper investigates some potential reasons for inconsistent Cx services, presents an argument for the need of a Cx standard, and proposes a potential standard.
To address this challenge, lean product development has emerged to become the leading improvement methodology for companies toward the creation of a competitive advantage on innovation and technology leadership. While lean product development has its origin in the best practice studies of Japanese car manufacturers such as Toyota, it has been further elaborated in defence and aerospace organizations over the last two decades, and recently empirical evidence has become available for successful introductions in sectors different from the traditionally-studied environments. The primary purpose of this work is to untangle the fuzziness that still surrounds lean product development and to ground the key aspects of lean product development based on insights from six studies published in a special issue of the Engineering Management Journal on this topic. This demonstrates how better and faster product development can be achieved through the integration of lean principles with the best of more traditional new product development (NPD) practices, into a holistic system that can be characterised by value-focused and risk-based decision making, the socio-technical integration of people and process, improved project, pipeline and portfolio management, optimized knowledge management, and the creation of a learning organization. Unfortunately, while the increasing global competition offers the potential to improve the quality of life for many, the spirit of faster, better, and cheaper also threatens to endanger the future of our planet as a whole. As the majority of a product’s social and ecological impacts are committed in the design phase, it, therefore, seems imperative to investigate the integration of lean product development and eco-design principles. As a result, this work also explores the symbiosis of both approaches through the identification of tools and methods that can support the triple bottom-line goals for a sustainable future of life and business.
Young engineers are often promoted to leadership roles such as a team leader or a manager within 3 to 6 years of graduating from an undergraduate degree in a technical area. To be competent and successful in their leadership role engineers need to update their engineering management knowledge and learn new skills. The purpose of engineering management body of knowledge (EMBOK) is to delineate the knowledge, skills, and competency areas that are applicable to the engineering management discipline. It basically answers the question, “What does it take to be an effective engineering manager?” The EMBOK is based on a validated study and can be used for curriculum development, certification exams, and professional development programs. This paper describes the 11 domains that are included in the EMBOK and discuss the future publication of the EMBOK Guide. American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) offers two certification exams based on the EMBOK, Associate Engineering Manager (AEM) and Professional Engineering Manager (PEM).These certification exams can help an individual in the engineering management profession to show that they have kept up in the field and possess the necessary skills and competency to practice in the discipline. A detailed description of this certification program is included in this paper. The future of EMBOK and the certification program is also discussed.
Based on the origin of the innovation theory and the technological innovation models of Rothwell, this paper puts forward four-generations of evolutionary models using the firm innovation system: “Internal R&D-Oriented Innovation System”, “Internal and External Collaborative Innovation System”, “Highly Strategic-Oriented Innovation System” and “Ecological Innovation System”. This paper dwells on the characteristics and relationship between each innovation system, and the role in the enterprise innovation especially the State-owned Key Enterprises innovation, so as to provide a theoretical and practical basis for the design and improvement of the State-owned Key Enterprises innovation system.
The green (environmentally friendly) project of mining oil and gas in the Western Sichuan area is based on the green low-carbon development strategy of the China Petrochemical Corporation, and it commits to form a complete set of technological developments in oil and gas extraction processes. The project focuses on technology innovation in three aspects: reuse of fracturing flow back fluid, reuse of drilling fluid, and configuration of fracturing fluid and drilling fluid by formation water. A series of technology innovations not only realize the green low-carbon strategy of the enterprise, but also play an important role in lowering cost and improving efficiency. In addition, the technology achieves remarkable social and economic benefits and inspires the ideas for industry technology innovation.
The Fuling Marine Shale Deposit contains vast gas resources. Due to tectonic activities, complex surface and geological conditions, significant differences make it unlike that of North America. Thus, it is not suitable to completely copy the technology and the development model from North America. Therefore we need engineering technology and a business development model fit for Fuling Shale Gas Development (FSGD). Through difficulties and characteristics analysis of the shale gas development area, we determined geological engineering design methods and integrated workflow, established a series of the core technologies, including horizontal well drilling with long laterals, staged fracturing and completion technology, developed main fluids, tools and equipment, put forward “well factory” mode in mountain region and “full cycle learning and system optimization” management methods. Break through was made in China’s first large-scale shale gas fields commercial development. By the end of 2014, production capacity reached 25 × 108 m3/a, and cumulative gas production reached 12.24 × 108 m3, which made a solid foundation to build production capacity of 50 × 108 m3/a in 2015 and 100 × 108 m3/a in 2017. Not only has FSGD established a demonstration for the other shale gas fields’ development, but also will be taken as reference to other large and extra-large construction projects of the industry.
Peer review is central to the process of modern engineering. Open peer review gives the impression that decisions are arrived at in a fair and meritocratic manner with an objective, reliable, consistent process. It is responsible for identifying methodological flaws and for improving the quality. Assistance from somebody in the same discipline is valuable. Clients refer to reviewers as referees since they help to determine the fate of a design. The client sets up a hanging committee to carry out open peer review to decide whether a piece of work should be accepted, revised or rejected. Reviewers in similar specialties make up a professional group. In an open peer review refereeing a retaining and protection structure design of building foundation pit excavation, an outside expert as an assessor, might master the art of review to pay attention to guarantee consistency of processes and outcomes.
Coal gasification technology concerns the clean, efficient utilization of coal, providing a core solution to address its negative environmental image and impact. Presently, China is pursuing the development of coal gasification technology despite industry setbacks, limited progress and elusive solutions due to limited specialty materials, technological shortfalls and intellectual expertise. The most prominent challenges to overcome include unbalanced research and project scale development issues followed by an excessive emphasis on equipment manufacturing rather than responsible management practices. The ENN Group explored these industry shortcomings to develop a comprehensive management philosophy that is specifically tailored to overcome these fundamental hurdles. Such innovative solutions include the Centralized Innovation Camp, TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) training, Extensive Alliance Network and enhanced process management, focusing upon engineering, quality assurance and process efficiency with the overall objective of industrial scale application. As a result, ENN’s Clean Coal Technologies include: Coal Hydro-gasification, Supercritical Coal Gasification, Catalytic Coal Gasification and Underground Coal Gasification, having successfully completed all pilot plant testing requirements and the construction of demonstration commercial units.
Trade around the world has become globally interconnected. Engineers play an integral role in designing products, managing supply chains, providing services, and increasing the quality of life for people and promoting sustainable development around the globe. Engineering managers make decisions every day that will have profound impacts on international suppliers, customers, partners, consumers, and the environment.
Traditional education for engineering students focuses on the technical aspects and scientific principles. Education in some countries may focus exclusively on mathematics, science, and engineering topics. The North American model incorporates a general education component into the undergraduate program of study to give students a broad appreciation of ideas ranging from art to literature to the social sciences.
This paper will investigate how undergraduate engineering management programs educate their students to be able to work in international settings or in the global workplace. This initial study will concentrate on the engineering management programs that are accredited by ABET, an international organization that accredits technical programs in higher education. ABET has accredited over 3,400 programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology in 28 countries. This study will access publicly available information to determine the breadth and depth of education related to helping prepare engineering management students to work in a global marketplace. These data will be collected from the programs accredited by ABET using the “Engineering Management” program criteria, due to the public availability of this information. Initial findings will be presented, and may serve to identify opportunities for cooperation and further work.
