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About

About

Researcher, in technology adoption and innovation process, at the Centre for Enterprise of Systems Engineering from INESC TEC. She was invited assistant and invited Professor at the University of Minho (2003-2017). Before joining INESC TEC she worked as a senior consultant in health strategy management and planning, developing several consulting projects for the healthcare sector's regional and national government bodies. Ana obtained a PhD in Engineering and Industrial Management (Faculty of Engineering of University of Porto, 2016), an M.S. in Quantitative Methods Applied to Management (Porto Business School of University of Porto, 2003) and a B.S. in Engineering and Industrial Management (University of Aveiro, 1998). Supervisor of several Master's theses. Researcher/consultant in several R&D projects, funded by different entities, in technology adoption, innovation process, design and development of advanced training programmes and healthcare planning topics. Author of several publications in international journals in management, technology management and healthcare planning/management. Her main research interests are technology management and technology implementation.

Interest
Topics
Details

Details

015
Publications

2023

The Role of Digitalization, Servitization and Innovation Ecosystem Actors in Boosting Business Model Innovation – A Literature Review

Authors
Mesquita, M; Simões, AC; Teles, V;

Publication
Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering

Abstract
The Industry 4.0 technologies and servitization are requiring manufacturers to reinvent themselves to remain competitive. In this sense, companies are putting more emphasis on the customer experience, while associating services to their products with the support of emerging technologies. At the same time, actors in the innovation ecosystem such as universities, research institutes, and service providers are involved in the value co-creation process. Thus, this study aims to systemize and present the main findings of a literature review regarding the role of digitalization, servitization, and innovation ecosystem actors in boosting innovation in business models. The study involved 585 articles in international journals and conference proceedings published till 2021. A detailed selection process led 10 articles for further analysis. As a consequence of digitalization and servitization, there has to be an alignment among ecosystem actors to capture the co-created value generated by BMI. Moreover, the combination of BMI, servitization, and digitalization may also be structured into frameworks according to the different levels of each of those factors, thus allowing for companies to assess and position themselves in such frameworks and identify the path to follow. However, any of these articles addressed the combination of the three topics proposed: digitalization, servitization, and the contribution of the innovation ecosystem actors, even if they showed a clear interdependence between these areas, leading to common findings impacting BMI. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

2023

Servitization on the primary sector – coffee plantations case

Authors
Da Silveira, RIM; Torres Júnior, N; Teixeira, R; Simões, AC;

Publication
Exacta

Abstract
Este trabalho analisa o processo de servitização de diferentes fornecedores na cadeia produtiva do café no Brasil. Foi realizada uma revisão da literatura sobre sistemas produto-serviço (SPS) para estabelecer uma estrutura para identificar a tipologia de serviços no setor agrícola. Os resultados destacaram que a prestação de serviços "menos avançados" não é uma condição necessária para que a empresa ofereça serviços "mais avançados". Entretanto, as características das propriedades rurais parecem afetar o número de serviços associados aos fornecedores de máquinas. Os resultados ajudam os gerentes desse setor a identificar as ofertas de serviços e ampliam a discussão sobre servitização, ao abranger um setor pouco explorado.

2022

Ergonomics and Safety in the Design of Industrial Collaborative Robotics: A Systematic Literature Review

Authors
Pinheiro, S; Correia Simões, A; Pinto, A; Van Acker, BB; Bombeke, K; Romero, D; Vaz, M; Santos, J;

Publication
Studies in Systems, Decision and Control

Abstract
Objective: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify relevant ergonomic and safety factors for designing collaborative workspaces in industrial settings. Background: The growing use of smart and collaborative robots in manufacturing brings some challenges for the human-robot interaction design. Human-centered manufacturing solutions will improve physical and mental well-being, performance, productivity and sustainability. Method: A systematic review of the literature was performed based on the protocol of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Results: After a search in the databases Scopus and Web of Science, applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 33 publications in the English language, published between the years 2010 and 2020, remained in the final analysis. Publications were categorized in cognitive ergonomic factors (13), safety factors (10), physical ergonomic factors (6) and organizational ergonomic factors (4). The analysis of results reinforced that to optimize the design of collaborative workstations it is imperative to have a holistic perspective of collaboration, integrating multiple key factors from areas such as engineering, ergonomics, safety, sociology and psychological as well as manufacturing efficiency and productivity. Application: Considering the advantages of the use of cobots in manufacturing, the results of this review will be useful to support companies in implementing human-robot collaboration. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

2022

Impact of Governmental Support for the Implementation of Industry 4.0 in Portugal

Authors
Faria, BS; Simoes, AC; Rodrigues, JC;

Publication
INNOVATIONS IN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Abstract
Technological breakthroughs, such as the Internet of Things, Big Data repositories, artificial intelligence or additive manufacturing, are triggering a Fourth Industrial Revolution. This new revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, is characterized by the combination of physical and digital worlds in digital ecosystems that connect the different members in the value chain from clients to suppliers and distributors. Companies are redefining their strategies based on this new paradigm to obtain a competitive advantage. They aim to achieve more efficient and flexible productive processes that can produce high-quality products at low costs, investing on mass customization to satisfy their clients. Accordingly, governments are implementing support programs that create a suitable environment for the adoption of technological innovation strategies by the companies. Although some programs may diverge in some objectives, they all aim to promote workers' skills adaptation, technological supply development, and business modernization. The Portuguese Government also released its program for Industry 4.0 support, known as Portugal i4.0, which is intended to stimulate Portuguese economy digitalization. Furthermore, in latest years, it has been supporting projects through European funds mobilizations from Portugal 2020 program. The present study analyses whether companies that received financial support from Portuguese government to implement innovative projects, within the Industry 4.0 paradigm, were able to improve economic and financial performance and competitivity gains. For such purpose, it was applied an inference statistical method to analyse the differences verified in economics and financial indicators between the periods before and after projects implementation in a selected group of companies.

2022

The Impact of Industry 4.0 Paradigm on the Pharmaceutical Industry in Portugal

Authors
Simoes, AC; Mendes, JT; Rodrigues, JC;

Publication
INNOVATIONS IN INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Abstract
Technological evolution has continuously driven the development of industries and consequently of society. The fourth industrial revolution consists in the combination of a set of physical and digital technologies that has been changing systems' operations within industries. The pharmaceutical industry has a considerable impact on well-being and has been strongly challenged with this new reality, not only by those that are transversal to all industries but also due to the fact that it is a highly regulated sector, which creates additional barriers for industry 4.0 (I4.0) initiative's implementation. However, it is due to the fact that this revolution provides high growth opportunities to the industry, and consequently for the improvement of population's quality of life, that this topic has been subject to so much research at a global level. This study's main purpose is to understand the impact of I4.0 paradigm implementation in the pharmaceutical industry (mainly in the production area), to analyze the technological readiness of Portuguese pharmaceutical companies to implement I4.0 technologies and to understand the role of the I4.0 paradigm to fight the pandemic situation caused by the COVID-19. To achieve this purpose, an exploratory multiple-case study based on semi-structured interviews was conducted in two Portuguese pharmaceutical companies. It is expected that the results of this work lead to recommendations that help the Portuguese pharmaceutical industry to be better prepared to face the challenges that are coming with this revolution.

Supervised
thesis

2022

Development of a decision-making framework for collaborative robot (cobot) adoption

Author
Andreia Sofia Sousa e Silva

Institution
UP-FEP

2022

Burnout em Professores do Ensino Superior-estudo comparativo entre Portugal e Brasil

Author
Susana Gonçalves Rodriguez

Institution
IPP-ESS

2022

Implementation of Robotic Process Automation and company’s employees Upskilling

Author
Edgar José Ribeiro Simões

Institution
UP-FEP

2022

Competências Digitais nos Locais de Trabalho: uma Revisão Sistemática da Literatura

Author
Ana Raquel Marques Domingues

Institution
IPP-ESS

2022

Training needs and didactical requirements to embrace the digital transformation challenge by SME

Author
Tiago da Custódia de Carvalho

Institution
UP-FEP