A Product Service-System (PSS) is an integrated combination of products and services. This western concept embraces a service led competitive strategy, environmental sustainability, and the basis to differentiate from competitors who simply offer lower priced products. This paper aims to report the state-of-the-art of PSS research by presenting a clinical review of literature currently available on this topic. The literature is classified and the major outcomes of each study are addressed and analysed.On this basis, this paper defines the PSS concept, reports on its origin and features, gives examples of applications along with potential benefits and barriers to adoption, summarises available tools and methodologies, and identifies future research challenges. AbstractA Product Service-System (PSS) is an integrated combination of products and services. This western concept embraces a service led competitive strategy, environmental sustainability, and the basis to differentiate from competitors who simply offer lower priced products. This paper aims to report the state-of-the-art of PSS research by presenting a clinical review of literature currently available on this topic. The literature is classified and the major outcomes of each study are addressed and analysed.On this basis, this paper defines the PSS concept, reports on its origin and features, gives examples of applications along with potential benefits and barriers to adoption, summarises available tools and methodologies, and identifies future research challenges.

Purpose -The aim of this research paper is to present the critical factors that constitute a successful implementation of lean manufacturing within manufacturing SMEs. Design/methodology/approach -A combination of comprehensive literature review and visits to ten SMEs based in the East of the UK were employed in the study. The companies' practices were observed to highlight the degree of lean manufacturing utilisation within these companies. This was followed by interviewing of the relevant and key personnel involved in lean implementation. Results were analysed and validated through workshops, case studies and Delphi techniques. Findings -Several critical factors that determine the success of implementing the concept of lean manufacturing within SMEs are identified. Leadership, management, finance organisational culture and skills and expertise, amongst other factors; are classified as the most pertinent issues critical for the successful adoption of lean manufacturing within SMEs environment. Research limitations/implications -Continued scepticism within SMEs about the benefits of lean to their business is one of the fundamental limitations this research faces. SMEs are, therefore, not very willing to provide useful information and data, timely for further investigation. Originality/value -The novelty of this research project stems from the realisation of critical factors determining a successful implementation of lean manufacturing within SMEs environment. The results would provide SMEs with indicators and guidelines for a successful implementation of lean principles.

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Augmented Reality (AR) technologies for supporting maintenance operations have been an academic research topic for around 50 years now. In the last decade, major progresses have been made and the AR technology is getting closer to being implemented in industry. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of AR have been explored and quantified in terms of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for industrial maintenance. Unfortunately, some technical issues still prevent AR from being suitable for industrial applications. This paper aims to show, through the results of a systematic literature review, the current state of the art of AR in maintenance and the most relevant technical limitations. The analysis included filtering from a large number of publications to 30 primary studies published between 1997 and 2017. The results indicate a high fragmentation among hardware, software and AR solutions which lead to a high complexity for selecting and developing AR systems. The results of the study show the areas where AR technology still lacks maturity. Future research directions are also proposed encompassing hardware, tracking and user-AR interaction in industrial maintenance is proposed.

This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/42333/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge.Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the AbstractProduct-Service Systems (PSS), motivated to fulfil customers' needs, are seen as good strategies to face today's competitive business environment. The field of PSS research is however not fully mature and many different methodologies are proposed for PSS design. This paper seeks to understand the directions taken in eight state-of-the-art methodologies so as to identify common needs in future research. The methodologies are studied across their authors' views and definitions of services, PSS and their objectives and challenges, along with the tools that have been developed. A maturity model is built to access current PSS design across 20 dimensions. The model highlights that only three dimensions are strongly treated: design processes for integrating products and services, definitions of new terminologies and considerations concerning planning and designing lifecycle phases. To enhance the industrial application, collaboration between researchers and practitioners can be spurred through two challenges: common ontology and models for representation of PSS. Particular attention must also be placed on sustainability as current models do not support the generation of sustainable PSS. As a whole, the review shows that the PSS design is still in initial stages of development and substantial research is required to develop a practical PSS design methodology.