Q1: Purpose an application of ergonomics in complete or part of Supply chain.

Discuss how it improve the SC. Also write mechanism implementation and
improvement.

Applications of Ergonomics in of Supply chain:

The application of ergonomic principles aimed at minimizing the impact of labor and the
working environment has a positive impact on economic indicators. These directly affect
the reduction of the cost of sick leave and the litigation costs due to claims of employees
for accidents, reducing also the costs associated with recruiting, income, job training and
retraining of new employees and the production of scrap, damaged materials during
handling, while assuring increased efficiency and hence growth of productivity.
Space for the application of ergonomic principles Supply logistics:
 adjusting dimensional parameters of the workplace
 shortening reach distances
 establishing a suitable regime of work and rest
 providing appropriate microclimate conditions
 adequate introductory instructions and training of employees
 providing conditions for work with VDU
 providing appropriate PPE
 selecting suitable staff
 choosing appropriate tools
 choosing appropriate handling units and equipment
 minimizing prolonged, excessive unilateral load
 creating conditions for work in suitable working positions
 choosing the right job positions while
 minimizing static position and high frequency motions
 adaptation scoping reach distances in material handling
 minimizing handling above shoulder height
 avoiding material handling with arms outstretched in front of the torso, raising the
forearm while lowering elbows
 maintaining a neutral wrist position
 preventing deep flexion forward connected
 with the rotation of the torso
 involving mainly large muscle groups when
 handling objects manually
Improvement in the SC by Ergonomics:
Work took place in the sanding and polishing area of a meta-lurgical company, where
workers’ complaints due to the strength needed to perform manual tasks, as well as their
repetitive pattern, led to cases of shoulder pain and tendinitis.
The study aimed to evidence the benefits of using an integrated operations management
approach, following lean/agile/ergonomic concepts, to improve the performance and
ergonomic aspects of a production system.
Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) was the chosen method to evaluate the ergonomic
situation, due to the existence of strong arm and hand exertions. Anthropometric studies
were carried out in order to improve workers' workstations and a simulation model was
developed to support decisions regarding the “best” layout configuration. Through the
enlargement of tasks, the reduction of waste and the reconfiguration to a cellular layout it
was possible to increase the responsiveness and flexibility of the production system, to
improve key performance indicators such as Lead time and Work in Progress, and to
considerably improve the ergonomic conditions of the workers. The quantitative results
suggest reductions of 80% in transportation times, 30% in lead time, 50% in Work In
Process, and a decrease in the ergonomic risk from 5 to 4.
The results demonstrate that it is possible to reach an efficient production system, which
meets safety and ergonomics requirements, by using lean and agile principles and
companies should consider both ergonomic aspects and production performance during
continuous improvement implementations to increase productivity and worker well-being.
Q1: Purpose an application of cognitive in complete or part of Supply chain. Discuss
how it improve the SC. Also write mechanism implementation and improvement.

The idea of cognitive computing is new, yet it has gripped the world’s imagination. In
every business conference, thought leaders are referring to analytics’, process automation
and the Internet of Things, or IoT. It is only natural for us to wonder how this
transformation can be applied to specific business domains, especially one as nuanced as
supply chain management. From 2 decades of experience in supply chain industry, we
know that each process within the supply chain is influenced by a multitude of factors,
some of them with the ability to influence outcomes significantly.
Enter the cognitive supply chain. When experts talk about the supply chain 10 years from
now, the focal point of the discussion usually revolves around re-imagining, or wherever
possible, reinventing, the supply chain.
Machine learning depends on data. In other words, the more examples we provide to a
computer about what is and isn’t expected of it, the more it is able to refine its ‘thinking’
skills. By going digital with our supply chains, we now can not only provide this kind of
data, but also to leverage the learning from other enterprises who are also providing the
system with learning opportunities. What we’re aiming to develop is a supply chain
management system that is truly digital, not in terms of being integrated with a software
product, but in terms of being easily accessible and truly integrated across business units.
Retailers call this omni channel retail. While it is somewhat harder to imagine an ‘omni
channel supply chain’, here’s what it should probably look like:
The core of such a supply chain would be a central stock pool which then determines
aspects such as pricing, sales and fulfillment. The omnichannel supply chain feeds the
omnichannel retail supply chain. While the stock pool is digitally a single entity, multiple
physically warehouses could be fulfilling orders from different channels. An omnichannel
supply chain treats a customer as a single entity across channels, always striving to give
them what they want across any channel of their preference. Now, if we were to take this
one step further and teach a system to ‘learn’ when stock-outs happen, to predict peaks on
inventory demand, to dynamically adjust reorder levels and to adjust sales forecasts based
on past trends, we have a cognitive supply chain. Certainly, a concise summary of it
anyway. However, in getting from point A (using machines as super-calculators) to point
B (machines becoming thinkers) is where the challenge lies.
If we could indeed build such a system, and there is reason to believe we can, what
advantages can it provide?
 Complete omniscience in the supply chain. Every bit of the process can become
visible and transparent, from the supplier side to the buyer side. This means a
concrete look at where delays are happening, what can be done to resolve them and
methods to speed the process up even further.
 Routine processes and decisions will be managed by machines. Only when an
anomaly is spotted, such as a spike in sales that depletes the inventory faster than
expected, will the management be alerted. Decision-bias is a thing of the past.
 A cognitive system in general, and a cognitive supply chain specifically, will be
able to consider and assess more variables than human cognition. This is expected
to make decisions significantly more accurate.
 Over a period, an evolved cognitive supply chain means increased accuracy in
decisions – decisions that save money and recommend less manpower with little
scope for errors of judgment. Depending on the size of the enterprise, this could
mean monetary savings in billions. Since stock-outs are a non-entity, customer
satisfaction levels go up significantly without there being dead stock.
 Since stock-outs are a non-entity, customer satisfaction levels go up significantly
without there being dead stock.