Papers

Strengthening Collaboration: CERERE Consortium Meets in Istanbul to Shape the Road Ahead

One year into the CERERE project, our consortium gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, for two very productive days, organized by the Field Crops Central Research Institute (TARM). It was an opportunity not only to discuss the next steps but also to strengthen collaboration through open, fruitful conversations.
Three insightful workshops were hosted, featuring experts in the cereal supply chain:
• Mr. Selami Yazar-Member of the Board of Directors, Türkiye Seed Growers Association (TÜRKTOB), & Chair of the Board of Directors, Union of Plant Breeders (BİSAB)
• Mr. Tugay Aydoğdu-Secretary General, Polatlı Commodity Exchange
• Dr. Gül Erginbaş Orakçı-Researcher, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
Also, members of the CERERE external advisory board joined, sharing valuable suggestions on new research directions.

New Paper! What network and performance indicators can tell us about supply chain and sourcing resilience (and what they cannot)

Supply chain (SC) resilience takes network connectivity and performance persistence perspectives, which supplement each other. The extant literature has developed a large body of knowledge about SC resilience’s network and performance indicators. However, we are unaware of any published research combining these two perspectives in resilience assessment. Therefore, this study aims to advance our understanding of how network and performance indicators can mutually enhance each other when analysing SC resilience as both a system property (quality) and an outcome (quantity). The unique contribution of our study is a combined use of network science and discrete-event simulation allowing for mixed-method grounded integration of static and dynamic views of supply chain resilience. Using node degrees as network indicators and on-time delivery, fulfilment rate, and time-to-recovery as performance indicators, we examine reactions of these indicators to a disruption to the sourcing strategies of three different flexibility degrees. We observe that network science methods can be used to identify disruption existence while simulation methods allow quantifying performance impact. We show how and when the combined application of network and performance indicators can inform decision-makers about SC resilience, and propose a generalised guideline for a practical implementation of the developed approach. Our main conclusion is that SC resilience-assessment models can be mutually enhanced by including network characteristics and process dynamics through a combination of network analysis and simulation.

Read the full article here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1478409225000238

New Paper! Ethical technology design for production systems: a human-centered approach at the LEONARDO learning factory

The transition from Industry 4.0 towards Industry 5.0 marks a paradigm shift, emphasising human-centricity in industrial settings. Industry 5.0 focuses on improving the future role of people in addition to merely technological progress. While “human centricity” gains recognition, ambiguity surrounds its definition and application. The literature lacks clear consensus on the concept and its industrial implications. This paper provides clarity on human-centricity by analysing viewpoints and public opinions based on posts published on LinkedIn in the last five years regarding human-centricity. The analysis involved text mining techniques, including semantic clustering to discover distinct clusters of discussions related to human-centricity and keywords extraction to tag the different clusters. The findings reveal that public opinion predominantly centres on the skills required by future workers, encompassing both hard and soft skills, as well as social themes such as gender equity and workplace comfort. This research underscores the critical relevance of these components in the transition towards Industry 5.0, offering valuable insights for industrial practitioners and researchers alike.

New Paper! Towards resilient and viable supply chains: a multidimensional model and empirical analysis

The increasing frequency and severity of disruptions in supply chains (SCs), driven by climate change, geopolitical tensions, and evolving structural dynamics, have heightened the importance of supply chain resilience (SCR) and viability (SCV). This study introduces a comprehensive, three-dimensional framework for SCR and SCV covering product, process, technology, and human-centric perspectives. The framework is empirically validated using structural equation modelling (SEM) based on data from 65 SC experts. We demonstrate how key SC variables align with their latent constructs, operationalising the theoretical concepts of resilience and viability in their integrity. The analysis confirms that network and product resilience and viability are pivotal in driving SC performance, while technology and workforce resilience and viability have a lower direct impact. Using a case study of the cereal SC in the Mediterranean region, we show how to implement our framework providing actionable recommendations for supply chain actors, decision-makers, and policymakers, while offering generalized, practical insights for improving the resilience and viability of agri-food systems. This paper contributes both methodological and practical insights to advancing SCR and SCV theory and practical applications.

Read the full article here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00207543.2025.2470350

New Paper! Comparative analysis of product and network supply chain resilience

Supply chain resilience has been extensively investigated at the network and firm levels. More granular studies at the level of product supply chain resilience are scarce. In this paper, we examine relationships between product supply chain resilience, firm resilience, and network resilience. We simulate supply chains with two products in different settings of structural and process diversity, connectivity, and flexibility. The methodology is based on discrete-event simulation. The focus of the analysis is on managerial insights. Our main insights show that the resilience of product supply chains depends on the firm and network resilience, and higher firm and network resilience do not always automatically translate into higher resilience at the product level. Managerial implications are discussed and generalized. The outcomes of our study can be used by supply chain and operations managers to improve the resilience of supply chain with consideration of both product and network levels. We contribute to the literature by offering novel insights on the interrelations between firm and network resilience practices and product supply chain resilience.

New Paper! Towards sustainable cognitive digital twins: a portfolio management tool for waste mitigation

In the endeavor to advance industrial engineering and management (IEM) education, this research underscores the imperative of supporting a dynamic and responsive adaptation of a competency-based curriculum (CBC) to meet the demands of an ever-evolving industrial landscape and job market. Our study contributes to competency-based education (CBE) by demonstrating how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can inform the definition of a CBC in the IEM field, thus initiating the pioneering steps towards a collaborative human-AI approach in CBC design. Through a stepwise methodology based on semantic analysis, text mining, natural language processing (NLP) models, informetrics approaches, and clustering algorithms, we provide data-driven insights to inform the curriculum development process. This approach enabled us to identify educational gap, particularly in domains such as digital twin engineering and human-centric IEM. Moreover, this study advocates for higher education institutions (HEIs) to embrace a more structured and collaborative approach to continuously developing competency-based curricula. In this perspective, AI (including generative AI) emerges as a valuable ally in curriculum design. This approach proves instrumental in crafting competitive and appealing curricula, especially at peripheral universities. This study culminates in an updated WING model showing how to build Industry 5.0 related curricula and a series of recommendations for engineering educators.

New Paper! Empowering Operator 5.0: human-centric design of an augmented reality tool for a learning factory

This article explores the transformative potential of learning factories in mechatronic systems development. Learning factories offer a dynamic, collaborative environment that bridges the gap between academia and industry, creating a mutu- ally beneficial ecosystem. The LEONARDO project aims to develop innovative teaching methods, materials and tools for human-centric industrial engineering and management education leveraging on an industry 5.0 replica of a brewing system. Brewing as a process can be considered as highly complex, while brewing as a procedure serves as a ‘sexy vehicle’ for appealing student’s interest in industry5.0 applications and human-centric production. The brewing process is and will increasingly be more automated and highly supervised. For the latter, modern implementations of sensors such as electronic nose, electronic tongue, and infrared spectroscopy are required to be installed on the brewing equipment. To efficiently use the sensor outputs, the produced signals need to be merged locally and processed adequately, researched and investigated deeply by the authors up-front with the results to be summarized. Furthermore, to enable the physical bridging of various involved institutions across Europe, connecting the relevant sites virtually presents another technological challenge. Adequate IoT equipment needs to be selected and included in the whole setup as well. Furthermore, an emphasis needs to be made on the human-centric approach, as well as data visualization. Each of the aforementioned pieces of technology need a thorough investigation along with a decent focus in integrating the puzzle pieces into the big picture which is the brewing plant. In this paper we describe the interaction along with the system integration strategies of the listed fields to enable a future proof industry 5.0 ready brewing plant, focusing on the human-centric approach demanded in the industry5.0 feature description.

New Paper! Development and case study of an Industry 5.0 ready human-centric related brewing plant

This article explores the transformative potential of learning factories in mechatronic systems development. Learning factories offer a dynamic, collaborative environment that bridges the gap between academia and industry, creating a mutu- ally beneficial ecosystem. The LEONARDO project aims to develop innovative teaching methods, materials and tools for human-centric industrial engineering and management education leveraging on an industry 5.0 replica of a brewing system. Brewing as a process can be considered as highly complex, while brewing as a procedure serves as a ‘sexy vehicle’ for appealing student’s interest in industry5.0 applications and human-centric production. The brewing process is and will increasingly be more automated and highly supervised. For the latter, modern implementations of sensors such as electronic nose, electronic tongue, and infrared spectroscopy are required to be installed on the brewing equipment. To efficiently use the sensor outputs, the produced signals need to be merged locally and processed adequately, researched and investigated deeply by the authors up-front with the results to be summarized. Furthermore, to enable the physical bridging of various involved institutions across Europe, connecting the relevant sites virtually presents another technological challenge. Adequate IoT equipment needs to be selected and included in the whole setup as well. Furthermore, an emphasis needs to be made on the human-centric approach, as well as data visualization. Each of the aforementioned pieces of technology need a thorough investigation along with a decent focus in integrating the puzzle pieces into the big picture which is the brewing plant. In this paper we describe the interaction along with the system integration strategies of the listed fields to enable a future proof industry 5.0 ready brewing plant, focusing on the human-centric approach demanded in the industry5.0 feature description.

New Paper! Towards human-AI collaboration in the competency-based curriculum development process: The case of industrial engineering and management education

In the endeavor to advance industrial engineering and management (IEM) education, this research underscores the imperative of supporting a dynamic and responsive adaptation of a competency-based curriculum (CBC) to meet the demands of an ever-evolving industrial landscape and job market. Our study contributes to competency-based education (CBE) by demonstrating how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can inform the definition of a CBC in the IEM field, thus initiating the pioneering steps towards a collaborative human-AI approach in CBC design. Through a stepwise methodology based on semantic analysis, text mining, natural language processing (NLP) models, informetrics approaches, and clustering algorithms, we provide data-driven insights to inform the curriculum development process. This approach enabled us to identify educational gap, particularly in domains such as digital twin engineering and human-centric IEM. Moreover, this study advocates for higher education institutions (HEIs) to embrace a more structured and collaborative approach to continuously developing competency-based curricula. In this perspective, AI (including generative AI) emerges as a valuable ally in curriculum design. This approach proves instrumental in crafting competitive and appealing curricula, especially at peripheral universities. This study culminates in an updated WING model showing how to build Industry 5.0 related curricula and a series of recommendations for engineering educators.

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