Browsing by Author "Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F."

Now showing 1 - 10 of 10

Are ready-made technology transfer solutions suitable for developing the renewable energy sector in Sri Lanka
(2015) Withanaarachchi, A.S.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.; Pushpakumara, C.
Delphi as a methodology for eliciting expert opinion - important factors to be considered
(2015) Withanaarachchi, A.S.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.; Pushpakumara, C.
Factors influencing Enterprise Information Systems adoption of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): A case study on Sri Lankan manufacturing sector
(IEEE International Research Conference on Smart computing & Systems Engineering (SCSE) 2019, Department of Industrial Management, Faculty of Science, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Kaluarachchi, T.R.; Weerabahu, W.M.S.K.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) play a vital role in the Sri Lankan economy in terms of national output and employment as well as incubating innovative capabilities. In today’s highly competitive economy, small and mediumsized enterprises lack the resources and technologies to compete with large enterprises, although having a relatively high casualty rate. In order to survive in the competitive market and exploit opportunities, many small and medium-sized enterprises adopt Information Technology (IT) related applications. However, in the current context of IT Application usage, such as Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), the SME sector in Sri Lanka is lagging compared to other countries. Therefore, the need of adopting to EIS / other Information Systems related technologies is becoming a must or an urgent need in the context of establishing a competitive SME sector. Based on empirical evidence and review of literature this study captures significant factors that influence EIS adoption by SME in Sri Lankan context. The objective of this study is to recognize the real need of EIS based applications for the SME sector while identifying and defining the effectiveness of driving and hindering factors which affect the focus of SMEs adoption towards EIS based applications. Since cost based constraints was identified as a major barrier to adopting EIS based solutions, the increase of productivity and sales profitability are stated as main driving forces by the SME owners and industry experts. The results are expected to provide a practical contribution in the area of EIS adoption in the Sri Lankan Small and Medium manufacturing SMEs for better reinforcement strategies for successful implementation
Industry 4.0 Readiness Assessment Model for Sri Lankan Apparel Industry
(International Postgraduate Research Conference 2019, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Lakmali, G.D.E.; Vidanagamachchi, K.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.
Sri Lankan apparel industry is the most significant and driving contributor to the country’s economy by constituting a large portion of GDP. It has achieved rapid growth rates over the past four decades. In the highly competitive apparel world, manufacturers search solutions for future problems such as worker inadequacy and for minimizing the human impact at most of the stages of production to increase productivity. Therefore, there is a need for apparel manufacturers to align value chain processes with the latest technologies. After the first three industrial revolutions, the world is now experiencing the fourth industrial revolution that integrates emerging digital technologies; additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous robots, cyber-physical systems (CPS), horizontal and vertical system integration, Internet of Things (IoT), big data, simulation and augmented reality. Industry 4.0 enhances the process functions from new product development to logistics by providing real-time visibility of the production flow with predictive and prescriptive solutions to the outcomes. As an example, the factories that are enabled with machine learning are capable in monitoring critical factors such as machine life to predict the frequency of machine replacement to maintain a smooth flow of production with minimum disruptions. Before the transition to Industry 4.0, there is an urgent need for guiding companies to improve their capabilities in a purposeful, sustainable and standardized way. Current literature mentions applications of industry 4.0 in the apparel industry but has not assessed readiness to adapt it. This study proposes a readiness assessment model to assess the current readiness of the Sri Lankan apparel industry to adapt industry 4.0 technologies and practices. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to implement the readiness assessment model. A set of assessment criteria were recognized as compatible with the literature, and the strengths and weaknesses of each existing readiness model were evaluated systematically. The factors that determine the readiness for Industry 4.0 within an organizational context were identified and they were transformed into readiness dimensions under four categories; People, Process, Technology and Data. The proposed model consists of five readiness levels namely: Stranger, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Elite. The model enables to measure the readiness in adapting to Industry 4.0 along with selected apparel value chain processes by specifying the minimum requirements under each dimension and level. The outcome of this study will help industry practitioners in the apparel sector to assess the current readiness level and move up the technology ladder while maximizing operational performance. Further, it is suggested to validate this model through a case study approach in a real industrial scenario where the final result of the model will reveal the overall readiness of the Sri Lankan apparel industry.
Linking key success factors of rice supply chain and operational strategy: An analytical framework
(Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy, 2014) Weerabahu, W.M.K.S.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.
Meta Heuristic Approach to Optimize Airline Fleet Re-Assignment
(International Postgraduate Research Conference 2019, Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2019) Fernando, P.A.; Niwunhella, D. H. H.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.
Disruptive situations occur very often in airline environments where daily operational plans related to airline fleet deviate from the original schedules due to unanticipated circumstances, particularly as airlines operate in extremely uncertain and cost intensive environments. The frequency and cost associated with disruptions affect airline profitability to a great extent. In a disrupted state, it is needed by the airline to dynamically change fleet schedules; re-assign fleet to stabilize operational continuity. The research aims at developing a model based on meta-heuristics for the formal optimization of disruption recovery decisions. The mathematical model proposed, has the objective of recovering the disrupted flight(s) with minimum deviation from the original schedule, minimizing the total cost of disruption management. When deciding on the recovery action, the best suited option that implies the lowest cost must be chosen. In order to achieve this, flights can be swapped, delayed, cancelled or its passengers could be rerouted using a flight offered by the same airline or a different airline. The costs of different recovery strategies such as delaying, cancelling, swapping and passenger rerouting are therefore included in the objective function of the model. Costs related to passengers are incorporated to the cost calculations of each of the recovery strategies. The constraints involved in the model support consistent operations in a practical airline environment and are related to aircraft, airports, itineraries, turn-round times, configuration of aircrafts and maintenance. Variables in the model could be categorized as input data and cost coefficients, strategic decision variables and computed output variables and cost factors which will be reported from the optimization process. Variables and constraints in the proposed model were identified through a thorough survey of literature and interviews conducted with airline operations control personnel to gather and cross validate the industrial acceptability of the propositions and to identify possible revisions. Solving one disruption has a downstream impact on the entire airline operations plan and may require changes to be made in the overall operational schedule subsequent to the recovery of one disruption. This is solved using a metaheuristic algorithm based on tabu search, where the optimum way of adjusting the rest of the flight schedule is found. The study identifies and validates the heuristics involved in the current procedure followed in aircraft schedule recovery and the rational/logic behind the process practiced, that can support the optimization of disruption recovery decisions.
Mitigating climate change via non-conventional renewable energy: case of Sri Lanka
(2015) Withanaarachchi, A.S.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.; Pushpakumara, C.
A Review on City Logistics and Two Echelon Freight Modelling
(International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, 2020) Warnakulasuriya, M.M.; Niwunhella, D.H.H.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.; Wickramarachchi, Ruwan
When cities are growing in both size and complexity, the freight distribution and management make a significant challenge for transportation management. Freight transportation execution is one of the main sectors that is looked into when planning. The concept of city logistics explicitly tries to optimize the urban transport network and many optimization approaches have been introduced to optimize the vehicle routing methods considering several objectives. Since recent times, there is drawing attention for two-echelon freight consolidation modelling efforts with the emerging of megacities. This paper reviews the available literature under the city logistics modelling, and two-echelon freight consolidation for identifying the perspectives adhered. The study was conducted through a systematic review of literature using multiple studies published under the area of city logistic modeling and two-echelon-distribution modelling in thorough key word base search of city logistic modelling efforts, and performance parameters used for freight analysis within city networks from the findings. The review framework takes into account the diversity and complexity found in city logistics practices. It was evident that there is a lack of modelling efforts in two-echelon vehicle routing for city logistic combining with optimization models for dealing with multiple objective and modeling uncertainty.
Scenario based technology road mapping to transfer renewable energy technologies to Sri Lanka
(2015) Withanaarachchi, A.S.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.; Pushpakumara, C.
Strategy for achieving ecological sustainability while improving business performance: with special reference to the textile & clothing industry
(Research Symposium 2009 - Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2009) Gamage, T.C.; Nanayakkara, L.D.J.F.
Since the world‟s eyes are more focused on corporate environmental responsibility than ever, environmentally benign manufacturing will become one of the manufacturing industry‟s greatest strategic challenges in not-too distant future. Although some positive trends in the greening of textile industry can be identified, a quantum leap in improving environmental performance cannot be observed, due to the widespread confusion about the cost implications of the process us achieving such a goal. This research is an attempt to examine how corporations in the textile industry can leverage the strength of the ecologically sustainable business practices for improving business performance. A comprehensive literature review was carried out and the factors that need to be focused on for the study such as resource conservation, effluent management, sustainable landscaping, fair trading, ethical labour practices etc. were identified. Besides, detailed discussions and interviews were carried out with the experts in the industry covering a cross-sectional sample, to gather their views and opinions in order to identify and verify the factors. Moreover, an in-depth investigation was carried out in a selected textile & clothing plant which has been recognized as a global benchmark for greener operations & business performance. The research revealed that the ecologically sustainable business practice efforts should be included into the corporation‟s overall business strategies. This can be done in a cost effective way to address these green production concerns while maximizing growth and returns for the corporation.