Research Papers - Department of Mechanical Engineering

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://rda.sliit.lk/handle/123456789/604

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End date: 2019Subject: search.filters.subject.Sri Lanka

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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Readiness for" Social Learning Management System"(Social LMS) in Sri Lankan Universities: A case study research based on the students' perspectives.
    (International Journal of Advanced Studies in Computers, Science and Engineering, 2018-11-30) Gunawardhana, D. N. T; Perera, H. S. C
    Paper discusses the readiness for the Social Learning Management System in Sri Lankan Universities. The main objective of the study, was to identify the factors to be reconsidered in the existing Learning Management Systems. This is a multiple case study research based on two universities in Sri Lanka. Undergraduate students in the University of Colombo and the University of Moratuwa were included in the population and the sample method employed for the data collection in this research was Stratified Purposive Sampling. Learning Management System has become a support system of vital importance in higher education. Social Learning Management System is formed because of the Collaborative Learning methods in an online learning environment. The findings reveal that the willingness of undergraduate students to work in the social network environment for learning and grouping. The Social Learning Management System is a new concept and it has not yet been initiated in universities in Sri Lanka. The students’ responses have indirectly shown the importance of 'Social LMS'. That is, they have been explaining the features of 'Social LMS' in their responses. They have discussed the functionality of ‘Social LMS’ pointing out the lack of collaborative learning environment of existing LMS. The research has discovered that students already possess the mental and knowledge readiness towards the building of Social Learning Management System in Universities of Sri Lanka.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Factors affecting successful implementation of lean manufacturing tools and techniques in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka
    (SSRN, 2011-04-27) Silva, N; Perera, H. S. C; Samarasinghe, D
    Lean Manufacturing is a business strategy which was originated and developed in Toyota Motor Company, Japan. It is useful in identifying waste associated with processes. As a result companies can improve their productivity and quality and can achieve a competitive advantage over others. Lean Manufacturing was originated in automotive industry and then later on spread to many other industries in both developed and developing countries. In implementing this concept Toyota has introduced and developed many tools and techniques which can be used effectively. In Sri Lanka, apparel sector is the leader in implementing Lean Manufacturing. However a little research work is carried out in regarding its suitability. Therefore in order to fill this empirical gap, this research is an attempt to identify factors such as suitable methods of implementation, order of implementation, challenges, how to overcome those challenges and benefits of implementing Lean Manufacturing concepts in the apparel sector of Sri Lanka. The study first undertook literature review in the field of Lean Manufacturing. Then it developed broader research questions and administered them to fifteen apparel manufacturers in Sri Lanka using personal interviews and observations methods. The sample firms were selected judgmentally. In analyzing the data descriptive statistics and qualitative techniques were used. The result of the study revealed factors such as implementation strategies, order of implementation, challenges, how to overcome those challenges and benefits have influenced the successful implementation of Lean Manufacturing in mass production apparel industry. Since Lean is new to most of the Sri Lankan apparel manufacturers, the full benefit is not yet achieved. But current situation suggests that the industry can go forward with Lean.
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    PublicationEmbargo
    Viability of lean manufacturing tools and techniques in the apparel industry in Sri Lanka
    (Trans Tech Publications Ltd, 2012) Silva, S. K. P. N; Samarasinghe, G. D; Perera, H. S. C
    Lean Manufacturing can be considered as a business strategy which was originated and developed in Japan. It tries to identify waste and eliminate it. Thus it leads to improvement in productivity and quality and companies can achieve a competitive advantage over others. Sri Lankan industries, especially apparel sector have attempted to implement this, but a little research work is carried out in regarding its suitability. This research is an attempt to identify a suitable Lean model for the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. As the initial stage of this study, a literature review is carried out to study about the Lean Manufacturing. It starts by looking at how Lean Manufacturing first began. Then it seeks to identify the core principles, tools and techniques and how those tools and techniques are currently being used worldwide. After studying the global scenario the next step is to look at the Sri Lankan context using real world data. This was undertaken by means of structured surveys, observations, and on site interviews. Also the study will reveal period of Lean implementation, suitable implementation methods, order of implementation, tools which are avoided, sustainability of different tools, challenges faced, ways of overcoming challenges and benefits achieved after applying Lean Manufacturing concepts in the apparel sector of Sri Lanka. The findings state Lean Manufacturing can be applied to mass production apparel industries and has created a positive mindset on employees. As implementation of Lean concepts is still in developmental stage, the full benefit is not yet achieved. But current situation suggests that the industry can go forward with Lean and capitalize on its full potential. In this research the authors have proposed a model which can be used to implement Lean in a systematic manner and each manufacturer must develop their own Lean system through training, experiments, employee empowerment, right leadership and kaizen mindset. Originality of the research— The research builds up a Lean Model which is not yet developed for the apparel sector in Sri Lanka. It can be further modified to suit the global apparel industry and other industries as well.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Passive techniques for residential buildings in low altitudes of Sri Lanka
    (Institution of engineers: Colombo, 1999) Jayasinghe, M.T.R; Attalage, R. A
    The role of passive techniques, which utilises a certain number of passive elements to maintain the thermal comfort within the built environments of residential buildings at low atlitudes of Sri Lanka, has been highlighted. The possibility of defining a unique neutral temperature of 26°C for low altitutes of Sri Lanka has been utilised in a rational way in presenting simplified set of rules of thumb, that can be used by the designers at early stages. The effects of orientation, shading devices, window sizes, roofing materials, insulation, colour of the exterior and interior walls, use of courtyards to maximise natural ventilation, and arrangement of roof to minimise structural cooling are shown with suitable examples.
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    PublicationEmbargo
    Analysis of household cooking energy demand and its environmental impact in Sri Lanka
    (Pergamon, 2002-11-01) Attalage, R. A; Wijayatunga, Priyantha DC
    This paper presents the results and analysis of a study conducted with the objective of investigating the cooking energy requirements in the Sri Lanka domestic sector and the environmental emissions associated with it. The study was conducted out through a sample and showed that the main household energy supply sources were biomass, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), electricity and kerosene with electricity being used largely for water boiling in all subsectors. It was observed that the urban sector cooking is largely dominated by LPG (95% of urban households) while the rural sector cooking is confined mainly to biomass (95% of rural households). The suburban sector consists of a mixture of all the sources (LPG-70% and biomass-85% of suburban households). Similarly, LPG dominates in electrified households (76.4% of electrified households), while biomass dominates in all non-electrified households. It was found in the analysis that the highest level of gaseous emissions due to cooking activity occurs in the rural areas, mainly due to the relatively large use of biomass, while the lowest level of emissions is recorded in a typical suburban household. Also, the analysis shows that fuel switching in domestic cooking activities from biomass to LPG and kerosene can be used as a measure to reduce emissions due to higher stove efficiencies and lower emission factors associated with these fuels. Substitution of 50% of biomass usage by kerosene in the rural households will result in 39–50% reduction in emissions within the rural sector. Further, substitution of 50% of biomass usage in urban and suburban sectors by LPG results in 4–49% reduction in emissions within these sectors.