In early February, Dr. Maher Maalouf, Dr. Andrei Sleptchenko, and Dr. Andreas Henschel of Khalifa University’s Digital Supply Chain and Operations Management (DSO) Center visited the Hellenic Institute of Transport (HIT) in Greece. The HIT is part of the Center for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH), a non-profit organization and one of the leading research centers in Greece. CERTH reports directly to the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Greek Ministry of Development and Investments and is also listed among the top 20 EU research institutions that have the highest participation in competitive research grants.

The KU delegation was welcomed by HIT Director Dr. Evangelos Bekiaris and HIT Deputy Director and Research Director for Infrastructure, Networks, Mobility, and Logistics Dr. Georgia Aifadopoulou. They also met with Aristos Halatsis (Project Manager), Josep Maria Salanova Grau (Researcher), Elpida Xenou (Logistics Expert/ Project Manager), Ioanis Malidis (Researcher), and Pavlos Spanidis (Software Engineer).

HIT’s key research areas focus on clean vehicle technologies, road safety, and employability of transport sector professionals. During the visit, the KU delegation toured the facilities and discussed potential collaborations between KU and HIT such as joint project proposals, research visits, and exchange of data and technologies. The collaborations are expected to be mutually beneficial and will strengthen DSOs breadth and depth of expertise.

Ara Cruz
News Writer
2 April 2020

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Faculty from KU’s Research Center on Digital Supply Chain and Operations Management (DSO) have returned from a visit to the Netherlands where they met with experts from industry and academia to learn about the country’s logistics industry.

From 28 – 30 October, Assistant Professors of Industrial and Systems Engineering Dr. Andrei Sleptchenko and Dr. Heungjo An met with representatives from TKI-Dinalog (Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics), a Dutch-based logistics and supply chain company; faculty and students from Erasmus University Rotterdam; and professionals from Fokker Services, an independent aerospace service provider.

The visit centered around potential collaboration opportunities with the DSO Center, which has set a major focus on digitalizing and optimizing areas like maritime logistics and production lines.

The Netherlands’ Port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, is a pioneer in port digitalization and a perfect case study for researchers in the DSO Center. The organizations and research centers the KU faculty visited throughout their trip are heavily involved in the Port’s ongoing transition into the world’s smartest port.

At TKI-Dinalog’s headquarters, Dr. Sleptchenko and Dr. An met with Prof. Henk Zijm, former Research Director of DINALOG, and active collaborator of the DSO Center; Dr. Nils Knofius, postdoc at the University of Twente; Bas van Bree, Program Manager at TKI Dinalog; and Jasper de Graaf, Program Developer at TKI Dinalog.

TKI-Dinalog mediates collaborations between Dutch logistical companies, national research funds, and Dutch universities. Dr. Sleptchenko and Dr. An were keen to learn more about how TKI-Dinalog is organized, and how they could bring that experience back to KU.

During their visit to Erasmus University, the KU faculty met with Dr. Rob Zuidwijk, Professor of Global Supply Chains and Ports at the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) and a DSO center steering committee member, and Dr. Rommert Dekker, Professor of Operations Research, Quantitative Logistics, and IT at the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), along with some PhD students. Discussions were centered around the DSO’s planned research activities and potential collaboration projects, the ESE’s maritime logistics research, and the activities and developments at the SmartPort research center at RSM. SmartPort is a center of excellence offering port-related education and research designed to address the Port of Rotterdam’s need for solid knowledge.

The trip concluded with a visit to Fokker Services, where the KU team met with Kaveh Alizadeh, Proposition Manager Aircraft Programs, Charlotte Zohlandt, Team lead Product Management, and postdoc Dr. Nils Knofius. They discussed potential collaboration opportunities on the research projects related to additive manufacturing (or 3D printing) of service parts, directly related to Research Theme 1 of the DSO Center, which addresses the need for optimizing spare parts management for aerospace and defense industries.

Erica Solomon
Senior Editor
8 December 2019

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KU’s Dr. Khaled Salah, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dr. Raja Jayaraman, Associate Professor of Industrial Systems and Engineering, have returned from a visit to the Arizona State University’s Blockchain Research Lab, where they met with faculty, students, and business executives to discuss potential areas for Blockchain-related research collaboration between Khalifa University’s Digital Supply Chain and Operation Management (DSO) Research Center and ASU’s Blockchain Research Lab.

Dr. Salah and Dr. Jayaraman toured the ASU Blockchain Research Lab and learned about the Lab’s ongoing research projects in Blockchain-enabled supply chain management, Blockchain-based energy trading, and BAAS (Blockchain as a Service) IoT solutions.

They introduced the faculty of the ASU Supply Chain Management Department and researchers of the ASU Blockchain Research Lab to Khalifa University and the research projects being carried out at the DSO Research Center, which was launched in July 2019 to conduct research in supply chain analytics, digital operations management and the future of work in digital enterprises.

The KU professors met with Dr. Dragan Bosocovic, Research Professor and Director of the Blockchain Research Lab, and Dr. Todd Taylor, Professor of Practice in the ASU Supply Chain Management Department and founder of the Blockchain Research Lab, who is also a member of the DSO Research Center’s steering committee.

The productive meeting included discussions with ASU industry partners Dash and ChainRider, who are affiliated with the University’s incubator program, called Skysong Innovations, which brings together industry, faculty, and research students to support the commercialization of Blockchain-related research being carried out at ASU. SkySong offers opportunities for companies whose business objectives would benefit from a strong connection with ASU’s entrepreneurial and research-based initiatives. Dr. Salah found the business model particularly inspiring, noting that it created mutually beneficial partnerships and robust university innovation ecosystem.

Dash and ChainRider developed Blockchain platforms with numerous potential applications, including digitalizing land records and automating the registration of title deeds. Dr. Salah and Dr. Jayaraman received training on the ChainRider platform, and discussed ways for the DSO Research Center to implement the platform in their research.

Developing opportunities for further collaboration between the two research centers was a top priority during the professors’ visit. They invited a PhD student from ASU to visit KU for one week to lay the foundation for the development of various blockchain-based solutions. While Dr. Salah was invited to participate in the 2020 Hyperledger Global Forum, taking place in Phoenix, Arizona, in March 2020. The professors also discussed different projects for collaboration, including Blockchain solutions in healthcare, energy trading, M2M economy, and IoT management.

Forging strong collaborations with leading academic institutions and industries is key to achieving impactful research, and the members of the DSO Research Center are eager to leverage these critical connections and bring more skills, talent, and experience to their center. Arizona State University has been ranked as the #1 in the U.S. for Innovation, according to US News and World Report for the past five years in a row. It, therefore, has much to offer the DSO Research Center in its mission to become an internationally recognized center in the digital transformation of supply chains and analytics-driven management.

Erica Solomon
Senior Editor
24 November 2019

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Research Projects Part of Initiatives by the Center for Digital Supply Chain and Operations Management

Two undergraduate student teams from the Industrial Systems Engineering (ISYE) department at Khalifa University have successfully completed process improvement projects at two organizations in Abu Dhabi.

The Khalifa University students undertook these initiatives at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD) and Capital Health Screening Center (CHSC) as part of their senior design projects (SDP). Students Mariam AlShamsi, Ameera Ali Bawazir (MATH), Mohammad Ballaith, and Mohammad Alalami worked at CHSC, while Alanod Alajami, Fatima Alseiari, Khadija Jumaa, and Mariam Al Abboodi worked at the CCAD warehouse. The two organizations welcomed the students and offered them an opportunity to understand their extensive operations.

Undergraduate students Mariam AlShamsi, Ameera Ali Bawazir, Mohammad Ballaith, and Mohammad Alalami completed a process improvement project at Capital Health Screening Center.

Undergraduate students Alanod Alajami, Fatima Alseiari, Khadija Jumaa, and Mariam Al Abboodi completed a process improvement project at the CCAD warehouse.

The projects were part of the initiatives by the Center for Digital Supply Chain and Operations Management (DSOM) affiliated faculty, focusing on high-quality, impactful research and education in digital supply chain and efficient engineering operations.

Dr Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “Khalifa University’s contribution to facilitating process improvements at two organizations in Abu Dhabi strongly reflects not only the faculty expertise at the university but also our students’ commitment to apply the knowledge acquired in real-world circumstances. Digital supply chain remains a key component of Industry 4.0, and only a smart, better-connected, and highly efficient supply chain ecosystem will drive future economic growth. We believe the DSO’s process improvement projects by our students signify the right initiative in further expanding digitization across all areas, benefitting business operations locally and regionally.”

Following the students’ project, the CHSC was able to reduce (reduced) the average waiting times from 13.9 minutes to just 4.7 minutes during the hours of 7am to 9am. From 9am until 12 noon, the waiting time was reduced 12 minutes from the previous 26.7 minutes. Similarly, the CCAD has agreed to incorporate measures that will help the warehouse run smoother, following the students’ project.

Process improvement is vital for industrial engineers, and students are asked to take a systems approach for the SDP project. The students use optimization and simulation tools based on the data they collect before proposing suitable solutions to the challenge.

The Acting CEO of CHSC, Haitham Al Subaihi, awarded certificates to the ISYE SDP team while Abdalla Al Mulla, representing the process improvement office of CCAD acknowledged the ISYE SDP team.

The DSO is aligned with UAE’s Vision 2021 National Priorities and Agenda, which call for transforming the UAE’s oil-based economy into a knowledge-based economy. The DSO’s focus areas will include digital supply chain’s associated analytics and knowledge generation and management, in addition to creating a new stream of research in the field of robust, digital operations management.

Clarence Michael
News Writer
28 July 2019

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