Manufacturing Engineering

In recent years, concerns about the sustainability and social responsibility (CSR) of businesses have become an increasingly high profile issue in many countries and industries, none more so than the mining industry. For mining, one outcome of the CSR agenda is the increasing need for individual companies to justify their existence and document their performance through the disclosure of social and environmental information. This paper explores recent trends in the reporting of such impacts and issues in the global mining industry. It offers a detailed review of the development of the media of social and environmental disclosure in the mining industry, and of the factors that drive the development of such disclosure. A temporal analysis of the recent trends in disclosure using a case study of the world's 10 largest mining companies is presented. Whilst there is evidence of increasing sophistication in the development of social and environmental disclosure, there is considerable variation in the maturity of reporting content and styles of these companies. The paper offers a simple classification of reporting companies, from 'leaders' to 'laggards'. Stronger leadership and co-operation from the top reporting companies is necessary to support the laggards of the industry.

Sustainability strategies create many synergistic effects for SMEs working collaboratively, as well as systemic benefits for the commons. After setting forth the business case for sustainable SMEs, and considering SME sustainability advantages in contrast to MNEs, this paper discusses several different incentives for SMEs to optimize sustainability: (1) becoming valuable sustainable investment targets for larger firms; (2) creating highly competitive networks of sustainable SMEs in market spaces where large enterprises are less successful; (3) becoming highly efficient suppliers in global supply chains through sustainable practices. While several successful models of the sustainable SME are evolving, it may be that networks of SMEs will become essential for addressing the systemic problems that underlie industrial ecology, enterprise resilience, and global supply chain sustainability. SMEs represent the majority of all enterprises, and rapidly evolving communication technologies allow for various routes of network formation.

This study contributes to current knowledge of sustainability in textile and clothing production and consumption. When the textile and clothing industry aims to promote sustainability, the main change factors have been linked to eco-materials and ethical issues in production. At present, however, business models are mainly linked with a large volume of sales and production. Although industrial development has moved toward smaller environmental impact, production as well as consumption has increased to levels where the benefits of technological development are reduced. A change is thus needed to reach a systemic transformation, not only in production but also in consumption. The aim of this paper is to open up the discussion on opportunities for radical change in this industry. The paper presents ways to rethink and redesign business in the textile and clothing field by offering an overview on several design strategies that exist today in niche markets. Furthermore we evaluate how interested consumers are in these design strategies and discuss the opportunities these design approaches offer to sustainable development through new value creation.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to act as a meticulous conceptual paper probing the contemporary view towards lean and illustrate that, despite its discernible benefits, the implementation record suffers as the prevailing opinion fails to encapsulate that an aspiring lean enterprise shall only succeed if it views lean as a philosophy rather than another strategy. Design/methodology/approach -The paper is based on a thorough literature search concerning the success and failure of lean implementations and acts as a precursor for one of the authors utilising a combination of methodologies; namely, interviewing, survey questionnaire and participant observation in attempting to prove his PhD hypothesis. Findings -Evidently, a cocktail of factors are needed for lean success; not only is it necessary to implement most of the technical tools but an organisation's culture needs transforming too. Furthermore, the alterations need to be implemented throughout an organisation's value chain. Lean has a major strategic significance, though its implementation procedure, HRM implications, general approach to the supplier base coupled with the overall universal conviction of viewing lean as a set of tactics rather than embracing it as a philosophy advocates that this contributes to the relatively low number of successful lean initiatives. Originality/value -The paper would prove invaluable to lean practitioners through its summation of the intricacies towards lean enterprise success and academic researchers by focusing their attention towards the necessary cultural implications.

In recent years, concerns about the sustainability and social responsibility (CSR) of businesses have become an increasingly high profile issue in many countries and industries, none more so than the mining industry. For mining, one outcome of the CSR agenda is the increasing need for individual companies to justify their existence and document their performance through the disclosure of social and environmental information. This paper explores recent trends in the reporting of such impacts and issues in the global mining industry. It offers a detailed review of the development of the media of social and environmental disclosure in the mining industry, and of the factors that drive the development of such disclosure. A temporal analysis of the recent trends in disclosure using a case study of the world's 10 largest mining companies is presented. Whilst there is evidence of increasing sophistication in the development of social and environmental disclosure, there is considerable variation in the maturity of reporting content and styles of these companies. The paper offers a simple classification of reporting companies, from 'leaders' to 'laggards'. Stronger leadership and co-operation from the top reporting companies is necessary to support the laggards of the industry.

Sustainable development requires radical and systemic innovations. Such innovations can be more effectively created and studied when building on the concept of business models. This concept provides firms with a holistic framework to envision and implement sustainable innovations. For researchers, the concept provides an analytical tool that allows them to assess the interplay between the different aspects that firms combine to create ecological, economic, and social value. In addition, the business model concept provides a link between the individual firm and the larger production and consumption system in which it operates. This paper provides an introduction to the special issue, which emerged from selected papers presented at the ERSCP-EMSU 2010 Conference held in Delft, The Netherlands. Papers in the special issue cover a broad range, from a conceptual discussion resulting in a research agenda, the assessment of diffusion of specific business models such as Product-Service Systems, the introduction of new management tools for business transition management, to case studies on how specific business models evolved in specific communities. Together, these papers provide insight into the promise of the business model concept for understanding and advancing sustainable innovation.

Virtual reality (VR) is a rapidly developing computer interface that strives to immerse the user completely within an experimental simulation, thereby greatly enhancing the overall impact and providing a much more intuitive link between the computer and the human participants. Virtual reality has been applied successfully to hundreds if not thousands of scenarios in diverse areas including rapid prototyping, manufacturing, scientific visualisation, engineering, and education. This paper gives an overview on the virtual reality applications in manufacturing processes.

Entrepreneurship is considered a central force of economic development, as it generates growth and serves as a vehicle for innovation and change. Tourism is one of the economic sectors in which a great degree of involvement is needed by the entrepreneurial sector: diversification of tourism products and services is needed to cope with increased demand for new types of tourism needs. These include opportunities for more sustainable tourism. The So¨dersla¨tt region of Sweden, which is used as a case study, is a newborn tourist destination with lots of natural and cultural characteristics. It is also one of the most agriculture intensive areas in Sweden where a potential for rural entrepreneurship development can be identified. However, the entrepreneurial culture and climate was poor in the region. This is due to the social pressure that is characteristic for this rural community. This paper shows the results of a SWOT analysis of So¨dersla¨tt tourism entrepreneurship development, which gives an overview of their current entrepreneurial situation. The case of a family-based enterprise, ''Healthy Pig Farm'' is presented as an example of a successful, innovative entrepreneur in farm tourism. Moreover, based on the findings and analyses, several recommendations are proposed to overcome obstacles for sustainable entrepreneurship development in rural tourist areas.

Purpose -This paper sets out to discuss the commonalities that can be found in learning outcomes (LOs) for education for sustainable development in the context of the Tbilisi and Barcelona declarations. The commonalities include systemic or holistic thinking, the integration of different perspectives, skills such as critical thinking, change agent abilities and communication, and finally different attitudes and values. Design/methodology/approach -An analysis of LOs that are proposed in the Tbilisi and Barcelona declarations is conducted, showing specific issues for the commonalities presented. Examples of LOs from Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) in Mexico, as well as various associations from the USA is shown. A brief discussion is done on the means to achieve these LOs and learning evaluation. Findings -In the example sets of LOs shown, the commonalities presented in the paper's first section appear in the LOs proposed by the institutions. Based on current knowledge and perception, sustainability is properly addressed in the examples. Practical implications -The paper can be used to foster a wider discussion and analysis of LOs for sustainability education, also further work on teachers' capacity building for sustainability, as well as the assessment needed for future professionals in higher education institutions. Originality/value -The paper presents the onset of discussing and comparing commonalities among higher education institutions regarding sustainability LOs.

Concern over the impact of anthropogenic carbon emissions on the global climate has increased in recent years due to growth in global warming awareness. Approximately 5% of global CO 2 emissions originate from the manufacturing of cement, the third largest source of carbon emission in the United States. In addition to the generation of CO 2 the cement manufacturing process produces millions of tons of the waste product cement kiln dust (CKD) each year contributing to respiratory and pollution health risks. In this paper LCA is used to evaluate the environmental impact of four cement manufacturing processes: (1) the production of traditional Portland cement, (2) blended cement (natural pozzolans), (3) cement where 100% of waste cement kiln dust is recycled into the kiln process, and (4) Portland cement produced when cement kiln dust (CKD) is used to sequester a portion of the process related CO 2 emissions. To reduce uncertainty this manuscript presents a cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment of several cement products. Analysis using SimaPro 6.0 software shows that blended cements provide the greatest environmental savings followed by utilization of CKD for sequestration. The recycling of CKD was found to have little environmental savings over the traditional process.

I ndustrialization and economic development have historically been associated with man's ability to harness natural energy resources to improve his condition. Based on this definition, two industrial revolutions occurred in the 18th and 19th centuries, where natural resources such as coal (first revolution) and petroleum (second revolution) were widely exploited to produce levels of energy far beyond what could be achieved by human or animal muscle power.

Introducing a new engineering product or changing an existing model involves making designs, reaching economic decisions, selecting materials, choosing manufacturing processes, and assessing its environmental impact. These activities are interdependent and should not be performed in isolation from each other. This is because the materials and processes used in making the product can have a large influence on its design, cost, and performance in service. For example, making a part from injection-molded plastics instead of pressed sheet metal is expected to involve large changes in design, new production facilities and widely different economic and environmental impact analysis.
Experience has shown that in most industries it is easier to meet the increasing challenge of producing more economic and yet reliable, aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly product if a holistic decision making approach of concurrent engineering is adopted in product development. With concurrent engineering, materials and manufacturing processes are considered in the early stages of design and are more precisely defined as the design progresses from the concept to the embodiment and finally the detail stage.
The objective of this book is to illustrate how the activities of design, materials and process selection, and economic and environmental analysis fit together and what sort of tradeoffs can be made in order to arrive at the optimum solution when developing a new product or changing an existing model.

The growing awareness regarding environmental sustainability has fully reached business reality. Consumers and companies alike are looking for alternatives to mitigate pressing environmental demands resulting from continuous population and economic growth. On the other hand, companies must deal with an increasingly competitive scenario where innovation is regarded as a survival need in most markets. It is thus clear that systematic academic research is paramount to guide companies to succeed in environmentally sustainable product innovation. In this context, this paper (i) consolidate extant research and aggregate findings of different studies on environmentally sustainable product innovation through an interpretative framework of published literature on the topic, and (ii) map critical success factors that drive the success of product innovation developed in this new logic of production and consumption. To achieve these objectives, a systematic literature review on environmentally sustainable product innovation was conducted. Results show that there are four main critical success factors for environmentally sustainable product innovation: market, law and regulation knowledge; interfunctional collaboration; innovation-oriented learning; and R&D investments. The factors identified in this research and corresponding variables were subjected to a brief empirical test by professionals. The test allowed a preliminary approval of the developed framework and identification of the most important variables within each factor. A research agenda based on the state-of-the-art on the topic is also proposed.

An axiom that has shaped policy approaches to sustainable consumption has been that if more consumers understand the environmental consequences of their consumption patterns, through their market choices they would inevitably put pressure on retailers and manufacturers to move towards sustainable production. The result is the proliferation of consumption of "green" products, eco-labels, consumer awareness campaigns, etc.

The paper defines and clarifies basic concepts of enterprise architectures. Then an overview on architectures for enterprise integration developed since the middle of the 1980s is presented. The main part of the paper focuses on the recent developments on ...

In 1966, a report published by the UK Department of Education and Science introduced the concept of tribology, which was defined as the science of interacting surfaces in relative motion. Tribology, as a "new science," studies friction, wear, and lubrication. These three processes affect each other with interacting causes and effects: tribology is the study of them as they interact.

Green innovation has currently been receiving a great deal of international attention because of the growing concern of consumers, governments, and the community as a whole with regard to the degradation of natural resources and environmental pollution. The automotive sector is one of the leading generators of industrial waste that affect the quality of the natural environment. This study aims to investigate the determinants of green innovation adoption and its effect on firm performance. Data were gathered by surveying 153 firms in the Malaysian automotive supply chain industry. Data were analyzed using the partial least squares technique. Environmental regulations, market demand, and firm internal initiatives have a positive effect on green innovation initiatives (GII), while GIIs have a positive effect on the three categories of sustainable performance (i.e., environmental, social, and economic). These results have important implications for designing strategic plans for the Malaysian automotive industry.

Photovoltaic energy has grown at an average annual rate of 60% in the last 5 years and has surpassed 1/3 of the cumulative wind energy installed capacity, and is quickly becoming an important part of the energy mix in some regions and power systems. This has been driven by a reduction of cost of PV modules. This growth has also triggered the evolution of classic PV power converters from conventional singlephase grid-tied inverters to more complex topologies in order to increase efficiency, power extraction from the sun, reliability, while not impacting the cost. This paper presents an overview of the existing PV energy conversion systems, addressing the system configuration of different PV plants, and the PV converter topologies that have found practical applications for grid-connected systems. In addition, recent research and emerging PV converter technology are discussed, highlighting their possible advantages compared with existing technology.

The components of a gas turbine operate in an aggressive environment where the temperature of service varies from ambient to near melting point of materials which introduce a variety of degradation on the components. Some components that lose their dimensional tolerance during use require repair and refurbishment when high cost replacement is avoidable. Erosion of fly ash and sand particles damages compressor blades which cause engine failure at an early stage. Dovetail roots of the compressor blades are subjected to fretting fatigue due to the oscillatory motion caused by vibration. Casing of the compressor comes in contact with rotating blades due to shaft misalignment, ovality of the casing and or inadequate clearance which cause blade and casing damage. Close clearance control that has bearing on the efficiency of the engine is therefore required in addition to preventing fire where titanium to titanium rubbing might occur. Wear out of the several contact surfaces which undergo rotating and reciprocating motion occur during the running of the engine need protection. Hot gases that are produced by burning the contaminated fuel in the combustion chamber will cause oxidation and corrosion on their passage. In the hot section rotating and stationary components need thermal insulation from higher operating temperature leading to enhanced thermodynamic efficiency of the engine. This wide range of functional requirements of the engine is met by applying an array of coatings that protect the components from failures. Current overview, while not aiming at deeper insight into the field of gas turbine coatings, brings out a summary of details of these coatings at one place, methods of application and characterization, degradation mechanisms and indicative future directions which are of use to a practicing industrial engineer.

The manufacturing cost of WT blade is about 15-20% of wind turbine production cost. The expenses of innovations in design of blades represent the small amount of overall cost of wind turbine production. Profits coming from better structural model, use of suitable composite materials and better techniques of manufacturing, both the blades and composite materials, causes necessity of application of numerical modeling and optimization techniques.

Power electronic converter-fed high performance AC drives belong to high-tech industry and are one of main factors for energy saving and productivity growth. This paper reviews present state and trends in development of key parts of controlled induction motor drive systems: converter topologies, modulation methods, as well as control and estimation techniques. Following topologies are described: Two-and Multi-level Voltage Source Converters, Current Source Converters and Direct Converters. Among the modulation techniques are briefly presented: conventional bipolar and unipolar PWM, space vector modulation (SVM) with extension for multilevel converters, harmonic control techniques, variable frequency modulation (hysteresis, nearest level, and model predictive techniques). About the control strategies, the generic torque control methods are described in two groups: linear and nonlinear controllers. In linear group are presented field oriented control (FOC), direct torque control (DTC) with voltage SVM, and DTC with flux vector modulation (DTC-FVM). The group of nonlinear control include: classical switching table based hysteresis DTC, direct self control (DSC) and predictive DTC scheme. Also, selected simple flux vector observers/estimators are discussed.

Production of alkaline keratinolytic protease related to various industrial applications, especially for enzyme detergents combination, was done from a selected bacterial strain Paenibacillus woosongensis TKB2. Enzyme yield was maximized by optimizing the culture conditions of a low-cost culture medium under submerged condition with a lab scale fermentor of 5 L capacity. The highest keratinolytic activity was obtained 76.05 U/mL by maintaining fermentation conditions of keratinase production at 30 C, 40% dissolved oxygen level at 500 rotations per minute (rpm) and an initial pH of media of 8.5 supplemented with 0.76% chicken feathers. In fact, the crude enzyme showed four proteolytic zones in casein zymography which revealed that the crude keratinase contained four hydrolytic enzymes. The crude keratinase was active in broad range of pH (7e10.5) with keratin as a substrate. However, it exhibited highest activities at pH 9. The crude keratinase which was strongly inactivated by Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), aprotinin and leupeptin, indicated that it was a serine type protease. The crude enzyme showed remarkable stability with EDTA and was compatible with commercially available detergents. The enzyme bead prepared by 1.5% CMC improved significant storage stability with commercial detergent powder making it suitable for commercial exploitation. The alkaline keratinase of P. woosongensis TKB2 showed a potential application in the laundry industry by removing the blood stains from the surgical cloths and gave a remarkable result towards removing the composite stain of blood, egg yolk and chocolate stain in a short period without changing texture, strength (27.18 g/tex) of cloths and cloths fibers. The effluents generates after cloth washing with this detergent formulation does not effect on aquatic ecosystem. Thus, this aqua-friendly detergent formulation can be used to avoid pollution problems associated with effluent generates after cloths washing.

The common failures mechanisms of boiler components at elevated temperatures and monitoring techniques used in power plants to detect damaging or failures are generally well described in literature. Despite of different classification concerning the principal failure mechanisms of boiler thermal power plant components, it is necessary to emphasize that essential difference between these classification does not exist. Concerning the different failures mechanisms it is obvious that the most of them are completely explained and clear in physical sense of process but some of them are not still so explicit. Therefore, until today there is a great interest to investigate the failures of power plant boiler components especially having in mind the all peculiarities of particular events. This efforts are necessary while a full assessment of the failure mechanism(s) is required to prevent further failures due to the same causes. The numerous case studies presented in this paper were done as a contribution to this efforts.

Against the background of the growing importance in corporate sustainability reporting, the Institute for Sustainable Management at the University of OAS in Aargau, North-Western Switzerland, instituted a research project in 2003. This represents one of the first attempts to perform a quantitative and qualitative analysis of corporate sustainability reporting in Switzerland. This is the second and, at the time, most comprehensive national study worldwide on reporting practices. The object of this paper is to reflect the methodology of the Swiss study independent of other procedures used to-date. The extent to which the new methodological approach overcomes the weaknesses of other approaches will primarily be demonstrated. Secondly, the research team's findings from the results of the study and interviews with managers from 25 Swiss companies in connection with the study will be presented.

The number of tools and approaches to develop sustainability is growing rapidly. Sometimes they are presented as if they are contradictory or in competition. However, a systems approach consistent with basic principles and the requirements of sustainability shows that these tools are complementary and can be used in parallel for strategic sustainable development. In fact, it is only when using these approaches outside of the systemic context of sustainability that they become contradictory. This paper is a collective effort of scientists who have pioneered some of these tools and approaches.

Rapid manufacturing using 3-D printing is a potential solution to some of the most pressing issues for humanitarian logistics. In this paper, findings are reported from a study that involved development of a new type of 3-D printer. In particular, a novel 3-D printer that is designed specifically for reliable rapid manufacturing at the sites of humanitarian crises. First, required capabilities are developed with design elements of a humanitarian 3-D printer, which include, (1) fused filament fabrication, (2) open source self-replicating rapid prototyper design, (3) modular, (4) separate frame, (5) protected electronics, (6) on-board computing, (7) flexible power supply, and (8) climate control mechanisms. The technology is then disclosed with an open source license for the Kijenzi 3-D Printer. A swarm of five Kijenzi 3-D printers are evaluated for rapid part manufacturing for two months at health facilities and other community locations in both rural and urban areas throughout Kisumu County, Kenya. They were successful for their ability to function independently of infrastructure, transportability, ease of use, ability to withstand harsh environments and costs. The results are presented and conclusions are drawn about future work necessary for the Kijenzi 3-D Printer to meet the needs of rapid manufacturing in a humanitarian context.

Metal forming is not only shaping the form of a product, it is also influencing its mechanical and physical properties over its entire volume. Advanced analysis methods recently enable accurate prediction of these properties and allow for setting these properties deterministically during the forming process. Effective measurement methods ensure the setting of these predicted properties. Several real examples demonstrate the impressive achievements and indicate the necessity of a paradigm change in designing products by including manufacturing-induced effects in the initial dimensioning. This paradigm change will lead to lightweight components and serve environmentally benign designs.

The construction industry already recognises the strong business case for improving resource productivity. It is associated with circular economy system (CE), propagated by the European Union. Circular economy systems keep the added value in products for as long as possible and virtually eliminate waste. Transition to a more circular economy requires changes throughout value chains, from product design to new business and market models, from new ways of turning waste into a resource to new modes of consumer behaviour. These actions relate to all industries, including the construction industry. Nowdays, the increase in demand for construction materials as a result of development has called for an alternative way to develop or derive construction materials from different sources, including sewage sludge ash (SSA). SSA is produced after the firing process of sewage sludge, and it must be disposed by other means. Researches were already accomplished investigating the use of sewage sludge ash for the building materials manufacturing, such as produce bricks and tiles, as a raw materials for cement production, as aggregates for concrete and mortar, as a component of the synthesis of lightweight materials and as substitute for sand and/or cement in cement stabilized bases, subbases and embankments in road constuctions. A detailed description of each application as a way towards a circular economy is presented in this paper.

Companies in the mining and oil and gas (MOG) industries operate in diverse institutional contexts, including developed and developing countries. The companies face significant environmental and social challenges ranging from pollution to community relation issues and must adhere to the requirements of several different national, international, and industry-wide institutional frameworks and standards. They have responded to these challenges by developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Drawing on new institutional and management standards literature, we develop and explain the concept of "regulatory scripts", defined as the practices shared by a group of organizations in an industry in response to international frameworks and standards, which we call 'institutional expectations'. We examine a data set of international CSR-leading MOG companies and a set of interviews with experts in these industries. Our study contributes to the existing body of literature in the field by mapping and identifying the main CSR institutional expectations in the MOG industries, identifying the regulatory scripts that appear in response to these institutional expectations across 20 firms in four areas and 29 sub-areas of CSR, and evaluating the managerial reach/scope and limits of these regulatory scripts.

This study examined the use of coal bottom ash (BA) from Tuncbilek Thermal Power Plant, Turkey, as an aggregate to produce aerated concrete. The BA was used as an aggregate with different replacement amounts. To determine the effect of ash incorporation on the final product properties, chemical, physical, mechanical, and microstructure analyses were performed. Results show that using BA in autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) formulations caused a unit weight decrease in the produced AAC for all concerned BA replacement ratios.

A new trend of product-service systems (PSS) that has the potential to minimise environmental impacts of both production and consumption is emerging. This article attempts to build a theoretical framework for PSS and serves as a background for identifying possible investment needs in studying them. There are three main uncertainties regarding the applicability and feasibility of PSS: the readiness of companies to adopt them, the readiness of consumers to accept them, and their environmental implications. The main finding is that successful PSSs will require different societal infrastructure, human structures and organisational layouts in order to function in a sustainable manner. Keywords: product-service systems, sustainability, functional economy dematerialisation and a possible answer to the sustainability challenge. However, so far, little attention to this concept has been given at policy and operational levels. The aim of this article is to contribute to building a theoretical background about the concept, and to stimulate debate about the sufficiency of existing efforts at academic and company levels.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been prepared by hydrolysis of titanium isopropoxide. Aqueous solution with various pH and peptizing the resultant suspension has been applied for preparation of the TiO 2 nanopowder with narrow size distribution. The influence of pH on the particle size and morphology of prepared powder has been evaluated. Synthesized powder is characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Experimental results have shown that the as-prepared powders have entirely consisted with anatase crystalline phase. Only powder acquired from an acidic solution has fine particle size with spherical morphology. The anatase to rutile transformation occurred at temperatures lower than 600 • C.

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Business Process Management Systems (BPMSs) are software platforms that support the definition, execution, and tracking of business processes. BPMSs have the ability of logging information about the business processes they support. Proper analysis of BPMS execution logs can yield important knowledge and help organizations improve the quality of their business processes and services to their business partners. This paper presents a set of integrated tools that supports business and IT users in managing process execution quality by providing several features, such as analysis, prediction, monitoring, control, and optimization. We refer to this set of tools as the Business Process Intelligence (BPI) tool suite. Experimental results presented in this paper are very encouraging. We plan to investigate further enhancements on the BPI tools suite, including automated exception prevention, and refinement of process data preparation stage, as well as integrating other data mining techniques.