Examines the implications for the economics of the firm of the development of total quality control and just‐in‐time management which are becoming increasingly important for intrafirm resource allocation. Shows the Alchian and Demsetz and transaction cost perspectives on the firm and work...

The control of remote sites is a time consuming and difficult task. Speedy and relevant data are required for control. It is possible to install systems which provide summarised comparative performance reports the day after. Less time is therefore spent on administrative tasks and more on...

Presents an in‐depth case study of the practical experience of applying interactive vehicle routeing and scheduling software at a major brewing company in the United Kingdom (UK). Illustrates the use of the software at all levels of transport planning and addresses strategic, tactical and...

Describes how an LP‐based one‐dimensional packing algorithm can be used to minimise costs in three different multiple‐vehicle shipment planning problems. The three applications considered are: (1) shipping industrial trucks by container when weight is the dominant constraint; (2) shipping...

Analyses the features, strategies and characteristics of health‐care reforms in the People’s Republic of China. Since the fourteenth Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party held in 1992, an emphasis has been placed on reform strategies such as cost recovery, profit making,...

A description of failure events during construction illustrates the urgent need to emphasize the management of quality in civil engineering projects. During the construction of a civil engineering project, cost control techniques are used to monitor cost trends and to detect cost deviations in...

Maintenance costs are increasing as industry is trying to use automation and take advantage of advances in technology. Management needs to plan and control maintenance costs. Adequate techniques for developing standards for maintenance costs are not available. This article outlines such a...

Studies two Northern Ireland manufacturing companies, Shirtco and Carpetco, to generate some quantitative data concerning possible attitudinal and behavioural outcomes of quality circle (QC) participation. Attention focused on three variables: (1) the attitudes of QC participants and those of...

The conventional wisdom of managers in the US dictates that improving product quality will increase the cost of making the product which will either increase the price or reduce the profits. Shows that improving the quality of a product or service will not necessarily increase its manufacturing...

Proposes a cost model for parameter design in quality engineering. In this model the total cost is minimized to obtain the best design. The total cost includes quality loss, cost for input characteristic, and cost for objective characteristic adjustment. Presents the best mean level of an input...