A support-design framework for Cooperative Robots systems in labor-intensive manufacturing processes, 2021

A support-design framework for Cooperative Robots systems in labor-intensive manufacturing processes, 2021

Elsevier int.Journal, website

Authors: Michele Ronzoni (a), Riccardo Accorsi (a) (c) , Lucia Botti (b), Riccardo Manzini (a)

(a) Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy
(b) Interdepartmental Research Center on Security and Safety (CRIS), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy 

(c) Interdepartmental Center of Advanced Mechanics and Materials, University of Bologna, Italy

Abstract

Manufacturing processes and industrial systems gradually change their traditional layouts and configurations, preparing to introduce novel integrated human-robot technologies as collaborative robots and exoskeletons. Whether mass customization of lot size and the production mix discourages the adoption of capital-intensive automation, collaborative robots become affordable and effective and a hotspot of the debate on manufacturing systems. This paper provides a novel support-design framework for the cooperative robot system in labor-intensive manufacturing processes to aid layout and task scheduling design. Through an iterative closed- loop methodology, this framework explores the impact of a cooperative robot in a labour-intensive manufacturing system like the production facility of a food service company. The framework leads the designer through the re-layout of the end-of-line, the economic and technical feasibility analyses, using simu- lation to estimate payback and ergonomics benefits for workers. Within the proposed layout, we state that adopting a cooperative cobot for the end-of-line is affordable and ergonomically convenient without representing a safety threat for workers. The testbed confirms the framework as an enabling tool for human-robot technologies integration in current manufacturing systems under budget and workers-driven constraints.

Managing uncertain inventories, washing, and transportation of reusable containers in food retailer supply chains, 2022

Managing uncertain inventories, washing, and transportation of reusable containers in food retailer supply chains, 2022

Elsevier intern. Journal, website

Authors: Riccardo Accorsi (a),(c), Susan Cholette (b), Riccardo Manzini (a), Lorenzo Mucci (a)

(a) Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136, Bologna, Italy
(b) Department of Decision Sciences, Lam Family College of Business- San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, California 

(c) CIRI – AGRO, Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Research of the University of Bologna, Via Quinto Bucci 336, 47521, Cesena (FC), Italy

Abstract

The food industry being pressured to reduce its environmental footprint, and replacing single-use pack- ages with reusable containers would provide one such avenue for improving sustainability. The uncer- tainty of where and when containers are available for backhaul, insufficient washing service levels, and other barriers like intensive transportation have limited the widespread adoption of reusable containers. This paper models the tactical operations of a circular containers network with diverse actors, explor- ing the interdependence between uncertainty, service level, and transportation. A linear programming model is constructed where the packaging pooler’s costs are minimized while meeting the demands and service needs of the food suppliers and the retailers. This model is applied to a real-world case study of a reusable container network in Italy involving the fresh food supply chain. The model is then aug- mented with simulations to estimate uncertain parameters and is resolved via robust optimization. We find that improving the pooler’s current solution is possible, even with uncertainties of where and when containers are collected for backhaul. We quantify how improving washing service levels will change the network solution and raise costs. We likewise explore how reducing the distance suppliers must travel to collect containers impacts the pooler’s operations and costs, as well as the overall distances and sub- sequent emissions associated with the transport of containers. While there is great potential to improve the current solution, future work is needed both to build better decision support tools and to understand of how to determine where on the Pareto frontier the solution will lie and perhaps influence it for the greater good.

© 2022 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simulating product-packaging conditions under environmental stresses in a food supply chain cyber-physical twin, 2022

Simulating product-packaging conditions under environmental stresses in a food supply chain cyber-physical twin, 2022

Elsevier Journal, journal homepage

Authors: Riccardo Accorsi (a, b), Marco Bortolini (a), Mauro Gamberi (a), Beatrice Guidani (a), Riccardo Manzini (a), Michele Ronzoni (a)

a: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna, Alma Mater Studiorum, Viale Risorgimento, 2, 40136, Bologna, Italy

b: CIRI – AGRO, Interdepartmental Center for Industrial Food Research, Via Quinto Bucci 336, 47521, Cesena FC, Italy

Abstract

Food supply chains (FSCs) enable safe, effective, and sustainable food distribution, linking farm to table. They involve multiple sources and destinations, a broad set of actors and handling modes, variable and unpredictable environmental conditions, potentially decaying food and packaging, affecting quality and consumer satisfaction. New methodologies, approaches, and ready-to-practice solutions to improve the FSC capacity to maintain the food quality and the packaging properties at the final consumer are expected and missing. To address such as- pects simultaneously, this paper proposes a novel framework, using simulation, to study food product and packaging conditions under environmental stresses throughout the FSC. The framework includes five layers of study, i.e., the environmental layer, the FSC layer, the visibility layer, the simulation layer, and the functional layer, linking the field, i.e. the operative physical environment, to a simulation environment, based on a fully equipped and closed-loop controlled physical twin made of a climate-controlled chamber. The cyber-physical twin description is improved by reviewing a collection of case studies we used over the years to validate the framework and explore the functionalities of the physical twin. Case studies deal with different food products and packaging alternatives, demonstrating the flexibility of the proposed framework and physical twin to support the analysis and decision-making in FSC improvement.

A traceability-support system to control safety and sustainability indicators in food distribution – 2021

A traceability-support system to control safety and sustainability indicators in food distribution – 2021

Food Control 2021 Elsevier – journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodcont

A. Gallo, R. Accorsi, A. Goh , H. Hsiao , R. Manzini 

ABSTRACT

Whilst policymakers encourage companies to control food distribution and ensure products’ safety and compliance with regulations, the fragmentation of food supply chains, made of multiple stages and companies, affects synergies and the supervision of such operations. Nonetheless the level of maturity of traceability tech- nologies, several issues still prevent their adoption, diffusion, and integration. To address such a lack, this article illustrates a traceability-support tool that integrates and aligns data from heterogeneous sources and quantifies the impact of the operations on food products aiding data-driven decision-making. This tool builds upon a GIS infrastructure and manipulates heterogeneous traceability records gathered along the processes of the food supply chain to calculate a dashboard of multidisciplinary indicators related to three pillars of food systems: safety, cost, and environmental sustainability. A real-world distribution process regarding three batches of fresh fruits handled and shipped by a logistic provider located in North Italy is used as a testbed. The tool estimates the time fence where products experienced unsafe conservation temperatures (i.e. 8% of distribution time) together with the impact on the product’s shelf life decay and the carbon emissions from transportation. Therefore, this tool contributes to shedding light on the impacts that occur throughout food distribution and aids decision- making by logistic managers and quality managers, as well as improving consumers’ awareness products’ shelf life and footprint.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713521000049

A closed-loop packaging network design model to foster infinitely reusable and recyclable containers in food industry, 2020

A closed-loop packaging network design model to foster infinitely reusable and recyclable containers in food industry, 2020

A closed-loop packaging network design model to foster infinitely reusable and recyclable containers in food industry

International Journal – Sustainable Production and Consumption, 2020 Elsevier. Impact Factor 3.660 Free ACCESS to the paper till September 2020

Abstract

The current public and private policies pursuing environmental sustainability targets mandate incisive management of packaging waste, starting with those sectors that use virgin materials most. Food indus- tries and food supply chains adopt huge volumes of plastic crates, cardboard boxes, and wooden boxes as transport packaging, thereby representing a hotspot and an urgent call for scholars and practitioners to address. Whilst wooden and cardboard boxes are disposable solutions, plastic containers can be em- ployed as infinitely reusable and recyclable packages but require complex logistic systems to manage their life cycle. Optimization techniques can be exploited to aid the design and profitability of such complex packaging networks. This paper falls within the scarce literature on the design of pooling networks for reusable containers in the food industry. It proposes a strategic mixed-integer linear programming model to design a closed-loop system from the perspective of the packaging maker responsible for serving a food supply chain. The container’s lifespan, i.e. the number of cycles a package can be reused before recycling, represents a crucial aspect to consider when modeling such networks. Incorporating lifespan constraints within the proposed closed-loop network design model is the main novel contribution we provide to the literature. This model is applied to a real-world instance of an Italian package pooler op- erating with a consortium of large-scale retailers for the distribution of fruits, vegetables, bakery, and meat products. A multi-scenario what-if analysis showcases how the optimal network evolves according to potential variations in the packaging demand, as well as in the container lifespan, demonstrating how to lead packaging makers to the profitability and the long-term sustainability of the closed-loop network.

© 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new book on “Sustainable Food Supply Chain”

A new book on “Sustainable Food Supply Chain”

Sustainable Food Supply Chains

1st Edition, Edited by Riccardo Accorsi and Riccardo Manzini

Planning, Design, and Control through Interdisciplinary Methodologies


Description

Sustainable Food Supply Chains: Planning, Design, and Control through Interdisciplinary Methodologies provides integrated and practicable solutions that aid planners and entrepreneurs in the design and optimization of food production-distribution systems and operations and drives change toward sustainable food ecosystems. 

With synthesized coverage of the academic literature, this book integrates the quantitative models and tools that address each step of food supply chain operations to provide readers with easy access to support-decision quantitative and practicable methods. View more >

Key Features

  • Contains quantitative models and tools that address the interconnected areas of the food supply chain
  • Synthesizes academic literature related to sustainable food supply chains
  • Deals with interdisciplinary fields of research (Industrial Systems Engineering, Food Science, Packaging Science, Decision Science, Logistics and Facility Management, Supply Chain Management, Agriculture and Land-use Planning) that dominate food supply chain systems and operations
  • Includes case studies and applications

Readership

Researchers, practitioners and graduate students studying food ecosystems, food operations management and other related disciplines.

Table of Contents

1. Modelling Inclusive Food Supply Chains toward Sustainable Ecosystem Planning
2. Emerging Issues and Challenges in Agri-Food Supply Chain
3. The role of modelling and systems thinking in contemporary agriculture
4. Food Shelf-life Models
5. A Support-Design Procedure for Sustainable Food Product-Packaging Systems
6. Design Advanced Food Packaging Systems and Technologies through Modelling and Virtualization
7. Sustainable food processing: A production planning and scheduling perspective
8. Design-support Methodologies for Job-Shop Production System in the Food Industry
9. The Storage of Perishable Products: A Decision-support Tool to Manage Temperature-sensitive Products Warehouses
10. Mathematical Modelling of Food and Agriculture Distribution
11. Using Vehicle Routing Models to improve Sustainability of Temperature-controlled Food Chains
12. Cool chain and temperature-controlled transport: An overview of concepts, challenges and technologies
13. Food Transportation and Refrigeration Technologies – Design and optimization
14. Quality assessment of Temperature-sensitive High-value Food Products. An application to Italian fine chocolate distribution
15. Models and Technologies for the Enhancement of Transparency and Visibility in Food Supply Chains
16. Forecasting for food demand
17. Food Systems Sustainability: The complex challenge of food loss and waste
18. Handling Food Waste and Losses. Criticalities and Methodologies
19. Sustainable Urban Food Planning: Optimizing Land-use Allocation and Transportation in Urban-Rural Ecosystems
20. Sustainable Operations in Reusable Food Packaging Networks
21. A Model to Enhance the Penetration of the Renewables to Power Multi-Stage Food Supply Chains
22. Decision Support Models for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Supply Chain Management
23. Modelling By-products and Waste Management in the Meat Industry
24. Recipe-driven Methods for the Design and Management of Food Catering Production Systems

Details

No. of pages: 394 Language: EnglishCopyright:© Academic Press 2019 Published: 10th June 2019Imprint: Academic PresseBook ISBN: 9780128134122 Paperback ISBN: 9780128134115

About the Editor

Riccardo Accorsi

Riccardo Accorsi is assistant professor at the University of Bologna’s Department of Industrial Engineering where he teaches Industrial Logistics class. His research interests lie in operations management and in the development of decision-support models and tools for the design, planning and optimization of sustainable production and distribution systems with particular focus on food supply chains. Leading member of the Food & Wine Supply Chain Council (FWSCC), he has written numerous publications on the management of food supply chain operations. He has been involved in many funded research projects and consulting for industry.

Riccardo Manzini

Riccardo Manzini is a full professor of Logistics and Facility Planning at the department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, where he also acts as the director of the Food Supply Chain Center and the Warehousing Center. His research activity deals with the design, management, control and optimization of production system and supply chain, including laboratory research on monitoring and simulating the environmental effects of logistics and packaging decisions and solutions on perishable products. He is the founder, organizing and chair of the International Workshop on Food Supply Chain, “The Food Journey”, and has been the guest editor for the International Journal of Production Economics in a special issue on Sustainable Food Supply Chain.

A hierarchical data architecture for sustainable food supply chain management and planning

A hierarchical data architecture for sustainable food supply chain management and planning

Journal of Cleaner Production, dec.2018

Abstract

The agro-food industry is one of the largest parts of the European Union’s economy and faces economic and environmental stresses. While food traceability systems (FTSs) inform supply chain actors of product and logistical attributes, large scale implementations are scarce and are do not support active decision making. We present a framework developed for FUTUREMED project used to perform a data-driven analysis that considers both micro and macro aspects of a food supply chain (FSC). With its comprehensive multiple-depth data architecture incorporated within a tailored decision-support platform, this framework and the resulting decision-support tool is the first to move beyond simple traceability implementation to the sustainable planning of food logistics, bridging the gap between research techniques and real-world data availability. We define KPIs that measure a subset of economic and environmental factors to quantify the impact of logistical decisions. We validate the framework with the case study of an Italian fruit trader that is considering opening a new warehouse. We conclude by suggesting that this framework be applied to more complex case studies and be enhanced through including more dimensions of sustainability.

Plant design and control in food service industry. A multi-disciplinary decision-support system

Plant design and control in food service industry. A multi-disciplinary decision-support system

Authors: Alessandro Tufano, Riccardo Accorsi, Federica Garbellini, Riccardo Manzini 

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166361518303968

Abstract

Every day, thousands of pupils, students, employees, and hospital patients eat food outside their homes that is cooked far from the place of consumption. The food service industry is responsible for supplying this food to schools, hospitals, nurseries, as well as to company canteens. The design, control, and management of food service operations is challenging given the complexity of such multiple facility production networks and entails multidisciplinary perspectives and competences. Both production and logistics operations play crucial roles and significantly affect the service performance as long as food products are prepared within a facility, and as long as they are distributed to multiple consumption sites. Hence, there are many planning decisions (e.g. the definition of the production facility location, the allocation of task to resources and the scheduling of production jobs), that are handled at different stages by different actors, who often decide based on their own practical experience and barely adopt integrated decision-support systems.

A review of the literature shows that there is no integrated approach to support the design of food service production facilities, known as centralized kitchens (CEKIs). To facilitate such integration and assist food service managers to adopt quantitative and data-driven design approaches, this study proposes an original computer-based multidisciplinary decision-support tool for the design and configuration of a CEKI. The proposed tool aids decisions taken by multiple actors simultaneously through a set of interfaces driven by quantitative data that follow the logistical flow of materials throughout the CEKI (1), assesses performance indicators in a multidisciplinary dashboard (2), and implements what-if, multiple scenario analyses based on simulations (3). Graphical interfaces are designed to facilitate communication between the decision makers and the integration of data-driven analyses. The design of a new CEKI is used as a testbed for the decision-support tool. The real-world example highlights the interdependencies between issues and decisions and showcases how computer applications facilitate decision-making and improve communication between managers.

Warehouse management system customization and information availability in 3pl companies: A decision-support tool, 2018

Warehouse management system customization and information availability in 3pl companies: A decision-support tool, 2018

Warehouse management system customization and information availability in 3pl companies: A decision-support tool

Author(s):
Giulia Baruffaldi, (Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, Vicenza, Italy) (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy)
Riccardo Accorsi, (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy)
Riccardo Manzini, (Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy)
Abstract:

The tool behaves as a digital twin of a WMS. In addition, it incorporates a set of WMS’s features based both on heuristics and optimization techniques and uses simulation to perform what-if multi-scenario analyses of alternative management scenarios. In order to validate the effectiveness of the tool, its application to a real-world 3PL warehouse operating in the sector of biomedical products is illustrated.

The results of a simulation campaign along an observation horizon of ten months demonstrate how the tool supports the comparison of alternative scenarios with the as-is, thereby suggesting the most suitable WMS customization to adopt.

The tool supports 3PL managers in enhancing the efficiency of the operations and the fulfilling of the required service level, which is increasingly challenging given the large inventory mix and the variable clients portfolio that 3PLs have to manage. Particularly, the choice of the WMS customization that better perform with each business can be problematic, given the scarce information visibility of the provider on the client’s processes.

To the author’s knowledge, this paper is among the first to address a still uncovered gap of the warehousing literature by illustrating a DST that exploits optimization and simulation techniques to quantify the impacts of the information availability on the warehousing operations performance. As a second novel contribution, this tool enables to create a digital twin of a WMS and foresee the evolution of the warehouse’s performance over time.

Keywords:
3PL, WMS, Information availability, Decision-support system, Digital twin, Warehousing operations
Type:
Research paper
Publisher:
Emerald Publishing Limited
Received:
19 January 2018
Revised:
07 April 2018, 14 June 2018
Accepted:
01 July 2018
Acknowledgments:

The authors would like to heartily thank the company Due Torri S.p.a. involved in this study. Especially in the name of Eng. Nicola Borghi, for his valuable inputs, his support and his willingness to cooperate in this research project.

Copyright:© Emerald Publishing Limited 2018
Published by Emerald Publishing Limited
Licensed re-use rights only

Citation:
Giulia Baruffaldi, Riccardo Accorsi, Riccardo Manzini, (2018) “Warehouse management system customization and information availability in 3pl companies: A decision-support tool”, Industrial Management & Data Systems, https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-01-2018-0033
A bi-objective storage assignment policy for temperature-sensitive products, 2018

A bi-objective storage assignment policy for temperature-sensitive products, 2018

Abstract

The increasing attention of consumers to product quality and safety raises new challenges for logistics. Enhancing the operation efficiency and mutually ensuring the safety and quality of the handled products are key levers for logistics providers and other operators in temperature-sensitive supply chain. Handling the temperature conditions experienced by the inventory is valuable in warehouses and any other points along the supply chain where products pause for long periods. This paper proposes an original adaptive storage assignment policy for temperature-sensitive products, which enables to mutually manage both efficiency and stock safety goals. This policy is based on a bi-objective integer programming model and an original solving algorithm. We intend our policy for warehouses that handle temperature-sensitive products in presence of high demand and weather seasonality and strong inventory mix turn-over. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to integrate into a storage assignment policy the issue of stock quality conservation, the optimization of the picking activities, and the management of weather and demand seasonality at the warehouse. A multi-scenario what-if analysis was applied to a 3PL warehouse of biomedical products to validate the policy and explore its insight in a real-world application. This policy autonomously balances the management of the inventory between the efficiency and stock safety levers and records savings of 12% of the picking travel time and up to 20% of the inventory safety. In conclusion, this policy assesses how the warehouse infrastructure can respond to the demand and weather seasonality in accordance with the efficiency and safety requirements.

On the design of cooperative vendors’ networks in retail food supply chains: a logistics-driven approach, 2018

On the design of cooperative vendors’ networks in retail food supply chains: a logistics-driven approach, 2018

READ THE PAPER HERE

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the impact of the adoption of a cooperative approach on retail food supply chains, whose performances are strongly affected by the daily planning of deliveries from vendors. This approach requires a horizontal communication among vendors, and might result in minimising the overall transport costs. Nevertheless, the proper trade-off between costs and return is hard to be foreseen. Building on existing studies, this paper investigates the benefits and the opportunities deriving from the vendors’ collaboration on the delivery process. We provide a decision support tool using an integer linear programming model to explore in a what-if multi-scenario analysis the trade-off between competitive and cooperative delivery regimes. The distribution of order release and fleet availability couple with the geography of the network, allowing for the identification of thresholds of mutual convenience in shifting from a competitive to a cooperative regime. Our methodology, applied to a case study from a regional retailer supply chain, highlights evident benefits, which are sometimes up to 40% of the overall costs, for the retailer, the carriers, and the vendors. Furthermore, accounting for those costs, the tool identifies, for a given supply chain, who actually gains from the collaboration and what those gains are.

 

Picking efficiency and stock safety: A bi-objective storage assignment policy for temperature-sensitive products, 2017

Picking efficiency and stock safety: A bi-objective storage assignment policy for temperature-sensitive products, 2017

Read the paper (free access at this link)

Highlights

• Given the increasing attention of consumers to product quality and safetythis paper illustrates.
• An original adaptive storage assignment policy for temperature-sensitive products.
• An original bi-objective integer programming model addressing storage efficiency and safety.
• A policy for warehouses that handle temperature-sensitive products in presence of high demand and weather seasonality.
• A multi-scenario what-if analysis applied to a 3PL warehouse of biomedical products.

 

Abstract

The increasing attention of consumers to product quality and safety raises new challenges for logistics. Enhancing the operation efficiency and mutually ensuring the safety and quality of the handled products are key levers for logistics providers and other operators in temperature-sensitive supply chain. Handling the temperature conditions experienced by the inventory is valuable in warehouses and any other points along the supply chain where products pause for long periods. This paper proposes an original adaptive storage assignment policy for temperature-sensitive products, which enables to mutually manage both efficiency and stock safety goals. This policy is based on a bi-objective integer programming model and an original solving algorithm. We intend our policy for warehouses that handle temperature-sensitive products in presence of high demand and weather seasonality and strong inventory mix turn-over.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first attempt to integrate into a storage assignment policy the issue of stock quality conservation, the optimization of the picking activities, and the management of weather and demand seasonality at the warehouse. A multi-scenario what-if analysis was applied to a 3PL warehouse of biomedical products to validate the policy and explore its insight in a real-world application. This policy autonomously balances the management of the inventory between the efficiency and stock safety levers and records savings of 12% of the picking travel time and up to 20% of the inventory safety. In conclusion, this policy assesses how the warehouse infrastructure can respond to the demand and weather seasonality in accordance with the efficiency and safety requirements.

 

Keywords

  • Storage assignment
  • Perishable products
  • Warehouse
  • Temperature
  • Multi-objective programming
A climate driven decision-support model for the distribution of perishable products, 2017

A climate driven decision-support model for the distribution of perishable products, 2017

see the paper (free-access) till sept.2017

 

Highlights

• This paper addresses an open field of research in the supply chain of perishable products.
• This paper provides a MILP model for the planning of processing and distribution operations in cold chains.
• This paper incorporates the interactions of distribution constraints and climate conditions.
• This paper illustrates a case study to demonstrate the influence of climate on the cold chain costs.
• This paper leads to the reduction of the energy consumption for cold chain operations.

Abstract

The cold chains prevent perishable products from decay, but are highly energy-intensive. As much as 15% of total worldwide energy already fuels cold chains infrastructures and since 40% of food deliveries would need refrigeration, the growth of global food demand and of the widening of the global supply chains will enormously increase the energy request and the associated carbon emissions. The environmental temperature has indeed a clear effect on the performance of the cold chain, and the interaction between climate and the distribution of perishable products cannot be ignored. In this paper a mixed-integer linear programming model for the planning of the production, storage and distribution operations of perishable products which incorporates the interactions with the weather conditions is formulated. This addresses an open field of research, which is still uncovered. The proposed model has been applied to an illustrative case study of a cold chain for cherries, that demonstrates the influence of the weather conditions on the energy costs for the products refrigeration on vehicles during transportation and at the warehouse during storage. Successful control of the distribution operations according to the weather conditions can result in significant reduction of energy consumption and costs, which increase indeed with the raise of environmental temperatures and stresses. Based on the results obtained in this study, these costs are not handled by the extant operations planning models, and their minimization can lead to significant economic and environmental savings for the cold chain.

Keywords

  • Cold chain;
  • Perishable;
  • Transport;
  • Optimization;
  • Climate;
  • Energy
On Reconciling Sustainable Plants and Networks Design for By-Products Management in the Meat Industry, 2017

On Reconciling Sustainable Plants and Networks Design for By-Products Management in the Meat Industry, 2017

The following study on Meat Supply Chain has been recently presented during the last conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing by Riccardo Accorsi.

Accorsi R., Manzini R., Baruffaldi G., Bortolini M. (2017) On Reconciling Sustainable Plants and Networks Design for By-Products Management in the Meat Industry. In: Campana G., Howlett R., Setchi R., Cimatti B. (eds) Sustainable Design and Manufacturing 2017. SDM 2017. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, vol 68. Springer, Cham
link to the conference web page

Abstract

Population growth and rising per capita consumption of meat is growing and is ex

pected to further accelerate in future. The production of beef is undoubtedly an high environmental stressor due to land-use change, water and energy consumption and by-products production. This paper focuses on the distribution and transportation processes of the beef slaughtering’s by-products throughout their proper valorization chains. A methodology, inspired to the LCA, and encompassing data collection, simulation, and multi-scenario analysis is proposed and illustrated. This is applied to a real-world case study from the meat industry to showcase the importance of reconciling plant and network design to address both economic and environmental sustainability.

Keywords

By-products Waste Reverse logistics Closed-loop Meat industry 

Accelerated life testing for packaging decisions in the edible oils distribution, 2017

Accelerated life testing for packaging decisions in the edible oils distribution, 2017

free download till June 17, 2017 (use this link)

more info at the following link

Highlights

• In long-ray shipments thermal stress can compromise the performance of packaging.
• Reliability of a packaging is the ability to respond to stresses throughout the logistic process.
• Three applications of ALT analysis to food packaging for edible oils are illustrated.
• Well-known approach of ALTA in the novel application of food packaging prototyping and design.
• The proposed approach is effective to aid decision-making in the design of robust packaging.

Abstract

Food packaging is subjected to environmental stresses during its life cycle. Thermal stresses, which are highly recurrent in long-ray shipments, influence and compromise the expected performance of the package, as well as the quality of the product. This paper illustrates three significant applications of accelerated life testing analysis (ALTA) to food packaging for edible oils, demonstrating the effectiveness of such an approach to aid decision-making in the design of robust packaging solutions. The first and second case studies adopt constant-stress loading and Arrhenius prediction modeling, while the third adopts cyclical stresses and cumulated-damage prediction modeling rarely discussed in the literature. The conducted predictive and comparative analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of ALTA in the novel application of food packaging prototyping and provide guidelines for packaging improvements in response to the experienced transport conditions.

Call for papers on “Food Supply Chain & Food Industry”, Special Issue on SUSTAINABILITY – int.Journal ISI-SCOPUS

Call for papers on “Food Supply Chain & Food Industry”, Special Issue on SUSTAINABILITY – int.Journal ISI-SCOPUS

Sustainability in Food Supply Chain and Food Industry Sustainability in Food Supply Chain and Food Industry (link to the flyer), sustainability Journal (Impact Factor, 1.343 – 2015)

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2017

This is a call for papers for contributions on food supply chain and food industry in a very important international journal:

Sustainability in Food Supply Chain and Food Industry

Special Issue web-site

SIMULATING INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS OF VEGETABLE OILS, 2017

SIMULATING INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS OF VEGETABLE OILS, 2017

Z. Ayyad, E. Valli, A. Bendini, R. Accorsi, R. Manzini, M. Bortolini, M. Gamberi, T. Gallina Toschi

Abstract

This investigation evaluated the quality changes of commercial vegetable oils after different simulated shipments. In particular, the oils were placed in containers with or without thermal insulation and subjected to two simulated shipments, from Italy to Los

Angeles and to Quebec. The temperature profiles were monitored to simulate the real shipments conditions in laboratory through properly developed climate chambers.
Different quality parameters were evaluated before and after the simulations, showing a high degree of oxidation for samples shipped to Los Angeles in standard containers. In this study, the thermal insulation container was effective in protecting samples from potential oxidative damage during simulated shipping.

Keywords

edible vegetable oils; food quality; oxidation; simulated shipment; thermal insulation.
2016, Food Supply Chain, Dairy products

2016, Food Supply Chain, Dairy products

A Closed-Loop Traceability System to Improve Logistics Decisions in Food Supply Chains: A Case Study on Dairy Products

R. Accorsi, E. Ferrari, M. Gamberi, R. Manzini and A. Regattieri

in

Advances in Food Traceability Techniques and Technologies

1st Edition

Improving Quality Throughout the Food Chain

Editors: Montserrat Espiñeira Francisco Santaclara

Hardcover ISBN: 9780081003107
eBook ISBN: 9780081003213
Imprint: Woodhead Publishing
Published Date: 21st June 2016
Page Count: 402

Description

Advances in Food Traceability Techniques and Technologies: Improving Quality Throughout the Food Chain covers in detail a topic of great importance to both the food industry which is obliged to provide clear and accurate labeling of their products and the government and other organizations which are tasked with verification of claims of food quality and safety.

The traceability of food products is becoming ever more important as globalization continues to increase the complexity of food chains. Coverage in the book includes the wide range of technologies and techniques which have been utilized in the tracing of food products. In addition, the ways in which the misuse of food traceability will affect the quality of food is also covered throughout.

2016, The land-network problem: ecosystem carbon balance in planning sustainable agro-food supply chains

2016, The land-network problem: ecosystem carbon balance in planning sustainable agro-food supply chains

The land-network problem: ecosystem carbon balance in planning sustainable agro-food supply chains

 

Cleaner production
R Accorsi, S Cholette, R Manzini, C Pini, S Penazzi
Journal of Cleaner Production 112, 158-171

Highlights

• An inclusive definition of the agro-food ecosystem is given with respect to the goal of achieving climate stability.
• An original framework to design sustainable agro-food ecosystems from farm-to-fork is illustrated.
• A planning problem, named land-network (LN) problem, is illustrated and solved via linear programming.
• Quantifying both economic and environmental metrics, the framework leads the planning of sustainable food supply chains.
• The framework supports agro-food firms in complying with environmental policy tools as carbon taxes and carbon trading.

Abstract

Global food demand will double by 2050 and strain agro-food supply chains. The increasing relevance of non-agrarian activities within the food supply chain mandates a systemic perspective for addressing sustainability. We consider the food supply chain as an ecosystem and define more inclusive boundaries. We present a design framework that supports strategic decision-making on agriculture and food distribution issues while addressing climate stability. We describe the methodology used to construct the framework, which entails a multi-disciplinary approach. An original land-network problem merges localized and large-scaled decisions as land-use allocation and location-allocation problems in an agro-food network. A linear programming model optimizes infrastructure, agriculture, and logistics costs and also balances carbon emissions within the agro-food ecosystem. A regional potato supply chain illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed model. Findings show the interdependency between infrastructure, production, distribution, and environmental resources. Results highlight the consequences of unbalanced planning focused solely on cost efficiency. In conclusion we identify enabling conditions, drivers and metrics for the design of cost effective and carbon balanced agro-food ecosystems.

Keywords

  • Food supply chain;
  • Sustainability;
  • Land-use;
  • Carbon footprint;
  • Linear programming;
  • Climate change
Maintenance for production systems

Maintenance for production systems

Maintenance for Industrial Systems

Authors: Manzini, R., Regattieri, A., Pham, H., Ferrari, E.

New, global and extended markets are forcing companies to process and manage increasingly different products with shorter life cycles, low volumes and reduced customer delivery times. In today’s global marketplace production systems need to deliver products on time, maintain market credibility, and introduce new products and services faster than competitors. As a result, a new production system paradigm has been developed and a supporting management decision-making approach, which simultaneously incorporates design, management, and control of the production system, is necessary in order for this challenge to be met effectively and efficiency.

Maintenance for Industrial Systems addresses this need by introducing an original and integrated idea of maintenance: maintenance for productivity. The volume starts with the introduction and discussion of a new conceptual framework based on productivity, quality, and safety supported by maintenance. Subsequent chapters illustrate the most relevant models and methods for planning, organising, implementing and controlling the whole maintenance process. Several examples of problems supported by solutions, and real applications to help and test the reader’s comprehension are included.

Maintenance for Industrial Systems is a valuable source of information for engineering students, doctoral and post-doctoral students, and also for maintenance practitioners and managers of industrial or service companies.

Springer Series in Reliability Engineering publishes high-quality books in important areas of current theoretical research and development in reliability, and in areas that bridge the gap between theory and application in areas of interest to practitioners in industry, laboratories, business, and government.