Abstract
This paper emphasizes the need to broaden organizational perspectives through Open X, which promotes sharing and collaboration over selfishness and competition, instead of that industrial intellectual protection through patents can divert resources essential for the growth of organizations. Faced with new realities, organizations need different management approaches with the potential to transform the reindustrialization resulting from deindustrialization into a Neoindustrialization 2.0. It does not mean tearing down or creating new boundaries but an open culture where organizational efforts have social relevance. In the face of economic interests, Open X can make organizational outcomes more plentiful and robust. © 2024 Published by Faculty of Engineering.

Abstract
The concept of Industry 4.0 promises to transversally revolutionise industries. Simulation, as one of the main pillars of Industry 4.0, allows improvements in the organisational and production processes of companies. This research work develops a decision support tool based on system dynamics, that address the problem of car dealership sales forecast and evolution depending on the commercial strategies adopted. This decision support tool considers main variables that are expected to influence car sales in Portugal. To develop this tool several interviews were conducted with the people responsible for the commercial sector of different dealerships while considering existing literature on the subject. This allowed us to parameterize a system dynamics model with the most influential sales factors. The developed tool is expected to contribute to car dealerships to evaluate their commercial policies and define adjustments to these to improve profitability. © 2024, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Abstract
Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning (DDMRP) assumes that a production order is generated for replenishment when the inventory position, given by the net flow equation, is below a given level. Literature on this production planning and control system suggests prioritizing open orders on the shop floor based on the inventory buffer status. However, the performance of buffer-oriented priority dispatching largely remains unknown. Using discrete event simulation, this study suggests that buffer-oriented dispatching based on the net flow equation outperforms due date-oriented dispatching rules and first-come-first-served. The performance impact depends, however, on the reorder quantity associated with the production orders. These results have important implications for industrial practice.

Abstract
Total evacuation time constitutes an important factor in the safety of any building. It is thus essential to devise an emergency evacuation plan, which will enable the safe evacuation of all the occupants in the shortest possible time. The main objective of this article was to examine and improve the evacuation process of a 4-star hotel located in the city of Porto, Portugal. To this end, one looked into 6 scenarios, by means of PathFinder simulation software, so as to determine the shortest total evacuation time and identify possible bottlenecks and congestion. The simulation model developed was tested to analyze the evacuation of 429 people from the hotel, based on the availability of the 3 accessible exit doors (central exit, side exit, spa exit) and elevators. Strategy 4 presented the shortest total evacuation time, with 536.0 s. Two other strategies which showed very similar times were 5 and 6, with 537.0 s and 537.5 s, respectively.

Abstract
Demand Driven Material Requirements Planning argues that production replenishment orders should be scheduled on the shop floor according to the buffers' on-hand inventory. However, the actual performance impact of this remains largely unknown. Using discrete event simulation, this study compares scheduling based on the on-hand inventory, with scheduling based on the inventory net flow position. Results of our study show that scheduling based on the former performs best, particularly when multiple production orders are simultaneously generated and progress independently on the shop floor. Our finds give hints that are important to both, industrial practice and software development for production planning and control.

Abstract
In everyday life, the production lines of companies are required to be flexible, rapidly adopting new processes and methods in order to ensure their competitiveness in the market. The main objective of this study was to analyze the impact of automation on a workstation at an industrial company which paints accessories. By means of simulation, one was able to identify several aspects that negatively affect the company’s overall capacity, namely reduced productivity and long cycle times. The digital tools developed through Visual Basic for Applications constituted the starting point for the automation of several repetitive and bureaucratic tasks which support decision-making, initiating the process of Digital Transformation at the organization. In economic terms, this improvement in the workplace can potentially reduce costs in the order of thousands of euros annually, in addition to increasing productivity thus improving the company’s general performance. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.