This study aims to extend the theory around SC resilience by empirically building a taxonomy of SC resilience capabilities. This study uses a survey approach with a sample of 196 manufacturing companies. Data analysis follows the latent class analysis approach and Welch ANOVA. Findings reveal that firms can be categorised into three clusters - the three Ps - primitive, precautious, and progressive - based on their level of adoption of SC resilience capabilities. Furthermore, the transition of firms from the primitive to the precautious stage is more challenging than moving up to the third stage. The 3Ps of SC resilience will aid business managers in determining their firms' current resilience stage and eventually build an improvement agenda. Future researchers may combine 'vulnerabilities' to enhance this taxonomy.

The sustainability of supply chains is now one of the major global issues due to the vision of the United Nations (UN). By 2030, it is the primary focus of the UN to attain all the seventeen sustainable development goals (SDG). Hence, the primary goal of this study is to examine how practitioners think about sustainable supply chains. Five hypotheses are established to assess the perceptions of supply chain professionals. Forty-two (42) indicators are gathered from the existing literature to establish the survey instrument to collect the responses from supply chain practitioners. Finally, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to evaluate the mediation effects. It is found that social aspects are significantly impacted by the environmental aspects, as compared to the economic aspects. None of these indicators play any mediation effect, as all three are equally important for the sustainable supply chains.

Maintenance, a fundamental of reliable operations, has gone through an evolution from reactive to proactive strategies. In this evolution, the technology layer has been added in terms of computerized maintenance management system (CMMS). This paper aims to explore the current status of CMMS in the process industries of a developing country. For this study, data were collected via questionnaire from 62 publicly listed companies along with an analysis of their annual reports. Moreover, six interviews of CMMS consultants were conducted. It was found that 56% of the sampled companies had a CMMS running, while 44% had no such solution. The key performance indicator (KPI) of ‘% replacement asset value’ (%RAV) was further determined, which was found to be 3.74% for companies with CMMS and 5.67% for companies with no CMMS; considering the global benchmark of 2.5%. The challenges to CMMS implementation included unawareness about function of CMMS, erroneous data and weak change management. Even in companies that had CMMS, its utilization was found to be elementary. CMMS end users and consultants can use the findings of this study in enhancing the success of CMMS implementation and utilization.

In this research, generic and specific risks related to the critical activities of the engineering projects are identified. The surveys and interviews from various project managers and engineers of the leading consultant firms conducting engineering projects in Pakistan are the core identifiers. Specific risks associated with the common engineering projects are qualitatively analyzed to prioritize the risks according to their impact on the schedule and cost of the project. Critical activities related to the specific risks are identified. Estimated man-hours without and with quantitative risk assessment have been determined to study the impact of including risk analysis on the schedule and cost of the engineering projects. The relationship between the critical activities and the total man-hours have also been developed to identify the most critical activity or activities influencing the man-hours and ultimately the cost of the project. The likelihood of occurrence of risks are also related to the man-hour completion, to analyze the effect of certainty of the man-hour’s determination, which is an important aspect of estimating schedule, EMV and finally cost. Using the analysis, it has been inferred that the 95% confidence level is not suitable all the time for the estimation of risk impact on the schedule and cost. It increases the man-hour estimation resulting in less competitive proposal to win the project.

This research assesses the current level of PMM in Pakistan, evaluates the gaps in the prevalent project management practices and formulates a framework to improve PMM level in Pakistan. 123 Pakistani organizations were assessed for their levels of PMM and project performance using standard project management maturity models. The average PMM level in Pakistan was found to be 2.32 (on the scale of 1 to 5) and only 24% of the projects carried out were found to be successful. This means that the prevalent project management practices are not yet fully institutionalized. Furthermore, project management training, use of project management software and establishment of PMO were also found to be positively influencing project performance and PMM level. The findings of this research can be useful to all stakeholders of projects being carried out in Pakistan especially under foreign direct investments. Global PMM level can be improved, if more similar studies are conducted with customized recommendations to improve the PMM level.

INTRODUCTION Rameez Khalid1* Zulfiquar Ali Shaikh1 Nasir Afghan1 The need for effective safety systems in preventing accidents has long been recognized as a necessary part of doing business. The positive relationship between safety programs and profits has already been accepted (Cox & Cox, 1996; Gunningham & Johnstone, 1999). The primary objective of any organization is to stay in business, and without having safety culture at workplace, it is strenuous for it to be competitive in the market (Clarke, Probst, Guldenmund, & Passmore, 2015; Kelloway, Nielsen, & Dimoff, 2017; Morrow, Koves, & Barnes, 2014; Öz, Özkan, & Lajunen, 2013; Reinhold & Tint, 2007). Ironically, according to International Labor Organization (ILO), approx. 2.34 million workers die at the workplace, and 317 million develop workplace injuries every year globally. However, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) emphasized that with proper OHS policy implementation, businesses can grow faster with satisfied employees (Ramos, Arezes & Afonso 2014). For managing the interface between system and people, an effective and efficient safety management system is essential (Casey, Griffin, Flatau Harrison, & Neal, 2017). Herbert. 01 July-December 2019 JISR-MSSE Number 2 Volume 17 10.31384/jisrmsse/2019.17.2.1

This study maps Pakistani project management (PM) teams on the Lewis model in different PM lifecycle phases and determines the traits of different subcultures within Pakistan in PM phases. Qualitative data was collected through 56 questionnaires and 15 interviews of Pakistani project managers. Findings suggest that, cumulatively, the team members show more linear-active traits as compared to the Lewis's classification of Pakistan. Also, at subcultural level, team behavior varied in different PM phases. Moreover, Pakistani project managers were found to prefer their teams to show linear-active traits in all PM phases except ‘initiating,' where reactive traits are preferred.

The need for effective safety systems, in preventing accidents on workplaces, has long been recognized as a necessary part of doing business. This study is aimed to investigate the occupational health and safety (OHS) status and emergency preparedness of textile industries in the Korangi Industrial Area (KIA) of Karachi, Pakistan. The study has used a self-designed and self-administered close-end quantitative questionnaire as a data collection instrument. The study has gathered primary data of a total of 51 responses from 17 textile and garment firms of KIA. Data was collected from three tiers of the organization, including top management, middle management, and lower management employees. The study has used descriptive statistics and specific inferential statistical techniques for data analysis. The findings showed that there were apparent differences between top management, middle management, and lower management viewpoints about their organization’s preparedness status against emergency situations and OHS parameters. Top management considered themselves satisfied with the current status, whereas middle and lower management staff found themselves at higher risks of occupational injuries and hazards. Therefore, it has been comprehensively concluded by the study that textile firms have to consider effective approaches and OHS policies to ensure appropriate implementation and improved status of emergency preparedness and OHS status.

This work is aimed to improve productivity of single-stage thermoforming process by implementing Six Sigma methodology. The process is performed at a refrigerator manufacturing company in a developing country. Six Sigma methodology – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC) and Design of Experiment (DOE) is used to identify the critical factors that affect a thermoforming process’s productivity and to determine their optimal configuration using Response Optimization. The critical factors identified are: sheet temperature; sheet thickness, and; vacuum time. Optimization of these factors resulted in increased productivity of 13%, while maintaining quality. Increased productivity helped the company in minimizing the buffer stocks and the associated costs. This work revealed that single-stage thermoforming process can be made more productive by installing a pre-heating stage before inserting sheet in the machine, as it will save the critical time. For further study, more thermoforming material can be included in DOE as compared to ABS plastic which is in scope of this study.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative envisages substantial infrastructure development in Pakistan.This study ascertains optimal transportation routes for the cement industry under the CPEC program using a mixed integer linear programming model and discrete-event simulation using Witness simulation software.The solution of the mathematical model presents the best combination of cement manufacturing clusters, road interchanges and ports to connect.Policy makers and practitioners can use the findings of this study to optimize logistics decisions under CPEC.

Measuring supply chain performance is an important business success factor in today's competitive environment and continuous improvement culture. Several models have been developed for this purpose, however, such models lack standardized language and are not well known in the developing countries. Supply Chain Council (SCC) developed Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) model. This paper presents a case-based action-research for a step-by-step implementation of SCOR model. The case company belongs to oil and gas sector in a developing country. As-Is model was developed and analyzed for gaps. Reasons were identified using company documents and semi-structured interviews. To-Be model was then developed along with recommendations keeping into account the challenges faced by companies operating in emerging markets. The step-by-step SCOR implementation was found to be effective. It is further found that adapting the SCOR model for developing countries is a time-intensive effort and adapting the best practices can be a better option.

Reliable measurement systems are essential for the success of an organisation. Gauge repeatability and reproducibility (GRR) studies assess this measurement system's capability. This paper demonstrates the application of GRR study in a Quality Control Laboratory, where measurements from three precision measuring instruments were analysed using: AIAG for GRR X¯/R and analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods. It then delineates the major observations in a medium of analysis (MS Excel and Minitab). Previous similar studies were extensively referred to draw conclusions. Findings revealed that part variation correction factor becomes crucial for instruments with high repeatability error. Reliability of X¯/R method was also assessed. Moreover, it was found that the % GRR study variation and number of distinct categories (ndc) are not coherent for X¯/R but are coherent for ANOVA.

Quality management (QM) techniques have emerged as effective tools for organisations to satisfy their customers and achieve competitiveness. Cost of quality (COQ) is regarded as an important QM technique which measures the cost incurred in achieving better and improved product or service quality. This paper intends to contribute in the area of empirical study on quality costing by providing analysis of understanding and performance of the Pakistani industry (manufacturing and service sectors) in the context of practicing the basic principles of quality, QM and especially the effective implementation of COQ programme awareness. Findings of the study manifest that majority of the respondent firms have well implemented QM practices. Evidence also suggests that implementation of COQ programme helps enhance overall competitive position of the firm. However, due to lack of necessary understanding and relevant training on COQ, majority of the firms do not formally report COQ.

Assembly line balancing (ALB) is the optimal segmentation of assembly tasks with respect to a decided objective. Assembly line balancing problem (ALBP) is usually a multi-objective problem which includes minimization of number of stations, resources, cycle time, cost and the maximization of efficiency and profit. Although a number of assembly line balancing algorithms are available but the solution to multi-objective balancing problem of the real world are still needed. Many researchers have contributed to fill the gap between the real world problems by proposing suitable optimization models. A number of others have proposed a classification scheme for the ALB. In this paper we classify an assembly line of an automotive manufacturing industry, which is the very first effort in this area in Pakistan. The line is then balanced with an objective function of interest.

Six Sigma is one of the major developments of the later decades of the 20th century. This is a management philosophy as compared to what it is sometimes wrongly perceived as just a statistical or quantitative methodology. In Pakistan, this philosophy is making its own place at its own pace. Though very few have implemented define, measure, analyse, improve and control (DMAIC) approach, however numerous organisations have a desire to implement it. A prominent automotive company has taken an initiative to implement Six Sigma as a pilot project that is to improve the production line of crank cases. Result of this effort came with the reduction of defects from approximately 16% to 11%, which produced substantial savings for the company. This Six Sigma project brought new realisations for the company and built strong impressions of what is it like to implement Six Sigma in a developing country.

In modern era where lean manufacturing has reached considerable level of perfection rather started following law of diminishing returns, supply chain performance becomes one of the key business success factors. Due to this fact, lot of work has been done on the development of supply chain performance measurement models and their implementation to improve overall supply chain performance. These models are balanced combination of business process re-engineering and efficient usage of information technology. There are several practical examples around the globe where firms got significant benefits by implementing these models but such models are not yet common in developing countries, instead several considerations are important if they are to be implemented there. This paper discusses the implementation of SCOR in a manufacturing firm in Pakistan along with the challenges faced during its implementation. The objective is to keep SCOR’s efficiency as good as in the developed countries.

Outsourcing is a phenomenon that has changed the global business scenario. A practically applicable framework has been developed and tested in order to provide a tool for manufacturing industries for making decision regarding outsourcing. The main purpose of this paper is to target those countries where outsourcing manufacturing is still a new concept and provide them with an easy to follow framework. This framework will make the process of decision analysis easier and reliable for them. The proposed framework is a step by step model which by using core competency check, decision matrix, balance score card models and cost equations makes sure that the organization makes the right decision regarding whether a particular activity should be outsourced or not.

Dans les grands projets, il est souvent difficile de mesurer les progres accomplis en raison de la complexite, parce que la realisation est partagee entre des departements d'une entreprise voire entre des entreprises disseminees de par le monde. La litterature en gestion de projet et en recherche operationnelle est examinee pour inventorier les differentes techniques applicables. Les outils largement utilises pour le suivi et la prevision, comme la valeur acquise, graphiques de tendance, ingenierie concourante, peuvent etre employes. Cet article se base sur un probleme lie a l'industrie pharmaceutique ou l'efficacite d'un traitement medical est examinee sur des patients repartis dans un certain nombre de pays. Le nombre des variables impliquees augmente la complexite de ce probleme. L’objectif principal est d'etudier l'efficacite d'une solution pour differentes situations d’avancement dans le cadre du projet, de facon a reduire la duree du projet pour un cout acceptable. Nos resultats suggerent que la possibilite de reaffectation des patients entre pays produit de meilleurs resultats.

In large projects measuring progress is always difficult due to the complexities involved, because the realization is shared among departments of a firm or even between firms disseminated all over the world. Project management and operations research literature is reviewed for discovering various techniques applicable. Widely used tools for progress measurement and forecasting, such as Earned Value Analysis, Progress Plot, Milestone and Resource slip charts, concurrent engineering, can be employed. This thesis is based on a problem of pharmaceutical industry where the effectiveness of a certain medical treatment is examined on patients in a number of countries. The number of variables involved increase the complexity of this problem. The main objective is to analyze the effectiveness of a solution in different situations during the project such that a better project duration and a lower cost can be achieved. Our findings suggest that reallocation of patients among countries produces better results in terms of progress.