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2223 Opermgmt Assignment
2223 Opermgmt Assignment
For the part of the course of L. Pintelon, the exam is substituted by a research paper assignment.
This assignment = 40 % of your final grade for the course
Assignment :
Write a paper on the impact of a new(er) technology on the operations management/logistics of an organization.
It is recommended to focus on a specific organizational environment, e.g. manufacturing, warehousing,
distribution, healthcare (hospital), …
Topics:
You can subscribe (on Toledo/Tolinto) for a topic from this list below.
(e.g. training, support)
(e.g. warehouse, machine, …)
❸ Cobots ❹ Robots
① factory automation
② hospital pharmacy
automation
(e.g. transportation between/intra, inspections)
(e.g. ergonomic support, satisfaction ?)
❼ “Last mile” technologies
(e.g; type of technologies, “sw & hw”)
Structure of the research paper expected (exact content will of course be different for each <topic>)
Introduction: short description of the <topic>: what is it about and why is it interesting to study it ? exact scope ?
Definition: a more detailed description of the <topic>, its history, its technical characteristics, its technical
strengths, weaknesses and challenges
Implications for OM of <topic>: what opportunities are created ? what problems are solved ? what changes to
the current way of working are needed ? what are the management challenges ?… For this part you will find
plenty of inspiration in the course. A thorough analysis is expected, not a shallow list with only entries like
“faster”, “better”, etc. You can make a link with current societal or technology trends.
Management control: what KPI can be used to measure the impact of the implementation of <topic> ? how can
you tell the implementation is successful (or not) ?
Illustrations: prove your point with some clear case illustration(s), you can discuss a few cases or go for one case
that you discuss into more detail – case is a real‐life implementation of <topic> ‐ for the previous points you will
probably also use illustrations
Conclusions: end your paper with a critical reflection on [past &] future for <topic> , this part should be more
than a summary
References: list of sources used; be consistent in the style of references
Example for topic “AS/RS”
Management control (KPI): productivity, accuracy, utilization, …
‐ maybe easier if you picture a concrete situation
Illustrations:
Conclusions: recommendations for yes/no, about future promising trends, …
References: complete, consistent style – also for tables and figures used
Sources of information are – besides the course text as starting point – academic papers (as typically found in
ScienceDirect e.g.), review papers are always a good start; white papers from renowned companies and
conference papers can also be useful.
For case illustrations company websites (suppliers and customers) often offer nice materials; you also find
cases in a professional journal such as Modern Material Handling. You can also check www.mhi.org.
Seen the topics is necessary to work with recent papers (preferably < 3 years old, no older than 5 years).
The paper is a team assignment, there are 14 teams; each team has 4 team members. You can choose the
team you want to work in and the topic you want to work on. All team members need to subscribe
(Tolinto/Toledo).
The final paper is about 4000‐5000 words (tables and references not included). 500 words is about 1 page.
The paper is to be written in English.
Intermediate feedback session
To be scheduled in the week of April 27 or May 1, on Monday, Tuesday (morning) or Wednesday
(afternoon) . All team members should be present. Please send an e‐mail with a proposed time
slot to liliane.pintelon@kuleuven.be.
If you would be “ready” for this feedback earlier on, feel free to send me an e‐mail
A draft document with your preparation is to be sent the day before to liliane.pintelon@kuleuven.be
This session is compulsory, missing this feedback session is not an option
Graded (20 % of your grade for this assignment) – preparation quality (draft table of contents,
sources, …) – content related questions are welcomed ‐ also contribution of all team members will be
discussed
• Digital twin ‐2
• AR/VR/MR – 1
• AR/VR:MR – 2
• Cobots – 1: production tasks in manufacturing
• Cobots – 2: AMR in hospital logistics
• Robots – 1: factory automation
• Robots – 2: hospital pharmacy automation
• Drones – 1
• Drones – 2
• Exoskeletons – 1
• Exoskeletons – 2
• Last mile – 1
• Last mile ‐ 2