The new method to chart the Hodges-Lehmann estimator control chart is proposed in this study. The evaluation of the three nonparametric control charts - the Sign test (ST), Mann-Whitney (MW), and the Hodges-Lehmann estimator (HL), for the known process distribution using normal and Weibull data represent the symmetric and asymmetric shapes of the process based on the original method through the 10000 run lengths simulation. The result illustrates that the average run length performance of the ST and MW correspond to their respective test statistics but for HL’s performance, the result indicates that the average run length is much greater than that derived from Wilcoxon signed rank statistics. The Hodges-Lehmann estimator control chart by the new approach for the known process distribution will be the alternative method for the process that needs to robust outliers’ properties from this statistics. In addition, the simulation demonstrates that the performances of the Sign test (ST) from mean and median processes are varied in the skewed distribution, and moreover, the Sign test (ST) from the median process represents more accurate performance. Meanwhile, for the control groups, MW generated within control limits or without restriction shows slightly different performance. The performance of dual scheme for the above-mentioned variable parameters control charts also produce the weighted average values that effect from the tight control scheme to the regular control scheme.

In this paper, a novel combination method is offered to integrate the results of two new relative closeness models, called relative closeness benevolent (RCB) and relative closeness aggressive (RCA) models, for ranking all DMUs. To prove the applicability of the proposed method, it is examined in three numerical examples, performance assessment problem, six nursing homes and fourteen international passenger airlines. Firstly, RCB and RCA models were formulated in order to generate the cross-efficiency intervals matrix (CEIM). After obtaining CEIM, the RC index was utilized to generate a combined cross-efficiency matrix (combined CEM). In combined CEM, target DMUs were viewed as criteria and DMUs were viewed as alternatives. After that, the weights of each criterion were generated using a new weighting method based on standard deviation technique (MSDT). Finally, all DMUs were evaluated and ranked. Comparison with existing cross-efficiency models indicates the more reliable results through the use of the proposed method.

This paper presents a methodology to improve the strength or the Modulus of Rupture (MOR) of fibre cement. The Six Sigma approach with the DMAIC steps was applied to a case study company. This research started from defining problem, setting the project objective and the project scope. Next, the measurement system was analyzed and the process map was set up. The potential factors of the problem was then determined. Due to there were many factors that affect the MOR, the Cause and Effect Matrix and the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis technique were then used to reduce the number of factors to be studied further. Next, three process factors, which were the pulp slurry freeness, the film-layer thickness, and the pressure step, were optimized using the results from the Box-Behnken experimental design. Other 13 remaining factors were improved by creating or revising the standard work instructions and training the operators. After that, the statistical process control and the control plan were set up to control the production processes. After improvement, the process capability index (Ppk) significantly increased from 0.26 to 1.35.

There is a high risk of R & D based innovation being commercialized, especially in the innovation transfer process which is a concern to many entrepreneurs and researchers. The purpose of this research is to develop the criteria of R & D commercialization capability and to propose a combined technique of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for R & D project evaluation. The research utilized a mixed-method approach. The first phase comprised a qualitative study on commercialization criteria development though the survey research of 272 successful entrepreneurs and researchers in all industrial sectors in Thailand. The data was collected with a structured questionnaire and analyzed by SEM. The second phase was involved with SEM-TOPSIS technique development and a case study of 45 R & D projects in research institutes and incubators for technique validation. The research results reveal that there were six criteria for R & D project commercialization capability, these are arranged according to the significance; marketing, technology, finance, non-financial impact, intellectual property, and human resource. The holistic criteria is presented in decreasing order on the ambiguous subjectivity of the fuzzy-expert system, to help with effectively funding R & D and to prevent a resource meltdown. This study applies SEM to the relative weighting of hierarchical criteria. The TOPSIS approach is employed to rank the alternative performance. An integrated SEM-TOPSIS is proposed for the first time and applied to present R & D projects shown to be effective and feasible in evaluating R & D commercialization capacity.

This paper provides a method of acoustic emission (AE) technique to detect a train bearing fault of tapered bearing unit (TBU). An approach is to utilize acoustic emission signals which were captured from piezoelectric transducer and processed using Fourier transform. The transformed signals may contain unique characteristic features relating to the various types of bearing faults. The experiments on different operating conditions were investigated and they corresponded to (a) a normal bearing and (b) outer race defect bearing. The result is promising for faulty bearing identification and discrimination between different bearing conditions.

This article aims to examine the influence of top management green commitment and green intellectual capital of Thailand’s thrift and credit cooperatives on sustainable business performance: the mediating role of collaboration. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 400 Thailand’s thrift and credit cooperatives. The measurement and structural models were analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The finding of the study demonstrated that top management green commitment and green intellectual capital have a positive influence on sustainable business performance and collaboration. Moreover, collaboration has a positive influence on sustainable business performance and mediates the relationship between top management green commitment on sustainable business performance, and also green intellectual capital on sustainable business performance. This empirical finding contributes to the body of knowledge in Resource Based View theory.

This article provides a method of acoustic emission (AE) technique to detect leakage in pipeline and locate the position of the leakage. The AE sensor is made of piezoelectric effect transducer to pick up the acoustic emission signal which is generated from the turbulent flow at the leak position. The signal conditioning unit is used to enhanced and eliminate the background noise from the leak location sources. The main acoustic emission processing unit is used to acquire and process the extracted AE characteristic parameters from preprocessing waveform. The leak pipeline is simulated by drilling the hole and plugged with M8 screw at different locations. The results show that the proposed AE method can detect and locate simultaneous leak condition in pipeline with promising results.

An innovative price plan monitoring and advisory system simulates subscriber usage consumption for offering suitable price plan. The aim of this paper is to develop the decision support system by using Statistical Process Control (SPC) to identify subscriber usage behavior and provide critical visibility into subscriber consumption to detect their inappropriate usage especially in exceeding usage. To explore subscriber usage behavior, a forecasting model and a regression is employed to identify related factors and predictive usage model. The innovative price plan monitoring and advisory system has been verified and validated with one of the largest telecommunication company in Thailand. Using decision support system with effective control chart and real subscriber behavior pattern help mobile network operator grow their revenues and profits by offering an appropriate price plan as well as improve subscriber experience with more flexible choice to meet their individual usage consumption needs.

An important problem in control chart implementation is the availability of resources to collect and analyze data for control charts implementation. This paper proposes a method to prioritize and select final product parameters to control. The prioritization is based on cost of quality and technical criticality of those parameters. The prioritization method is demonstrated by a case study of flexible printed circuit manufacturing.

An improper machine setting in a hard disk drive assembly process could reduce the read/write area of hard disk drives. This paper presents the methodology to increase the read/write area of hard disk drives by finding an optimal machine setting that minimizes the track zero. The Six Sigma improvement approach was applied. The design of experiment technique helped indicate the optimal levels of significant factors, which were the number of screw turn, the rotating pin height, and the cylinder force, that yield the minimum track zero. The results showed that the mean of track zero was decreased from 16,185 to 15,120 tracks and the standard deviation was decreased from 1,116 to 633 tracks resulting in the increase of the process capability index (Ppk) of the track zero performance from 0.54 to 1.52.