The main objectives of this thesis are to determine if the addition of an energy wheel in an HVAC system can improve the indoor air relative humidity (RH), and perceived air quality (PAQ), as well as reduce energy consumption. An energy wheel is an air-to-air energy exchanger that transfers heat and moisture between the outdoor air entering and the exhaust air leaving a building. This thesis uses the TRNSYS computer package to model two buildings (an office and a school) in four different cities (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Vancouver, British Columbia; Tampa, Florida and Phoenix, Arizona).<p>The results with and without an energy wheel are compared to see if the energy wheel has a significant impact on the RH and PAQ in the buildings. The energy wheel reduces peak RH levels in Tampa, (up to 15% RH), which is a humid climate, but has a smaller effect on the indoor RH in Saskatoon (up to 4% RH) and Phoenix (up to 11% RH), which are dry climates. The energy wheel also reduces the number of people that are dissatisfied with the PAQ within the space by up to 17% in Tampa. <p>The addition of the energy wheel to the HVAC system creates a reduction in the total energy consumed by the HVAC system in Saskatoon, Phoenix and Tampa (2% in each city). There is a significant reduction in the size of the heating equipment in Saskatoon (26%) and in the size of the cooling equipment in Phoenix (18%) and Tampa (17%). A cost analysis shows that the HVAC system including an energy wheel has the least life-cycle costs in these three cities, with savings of up to 6%. In Vancouver, the energy wheel has a negligible impact on the indoor RH, PAQ and energy consumption.

In any business environment companies experience challenges and competition. In this current worldwide economic crisis, the stakes are now higher. With every crisis comes opportunity. The best companies with the best methods and processes that create highest quality product for less money will have an extraordinary advantage over their less efficient, lower quality competition. The term ‘Lean’ describes how Toyota does business: fewer humans, less effort, less investment, fewer defects, less time to develop, less inventory. For companies that have truly understood and implemented these principles the effects are significant; but many others have failed Lean initiatives. What factors are necessary for a company to successfully adopt the processes proven by over 50 years of success in Toyota? Using both primary and secondary research, I compared attributes of four companies, three of which were successful, and one that did not make the conversion. Three main factors emerged, the Technical Factor -- knowing both your core business and having a deep understanding of Lean principles, the Management Factor -- strong leadership operating within Lean principles and with hands-on approach, and the Human Factor -- approaching the workforce with respect and employee engagement in problem-solving process. The following is a brief review of these factors and the tools and concepts that undergird them. / text

The use of Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors (KHI) is one of the optimum methods employed to control gas hydrate formation issues and provide flow assurance in oil and gas production systems. The application of this technology has several advantages to operators, including significant cost savings and extended life of oil and gas systems. This paper will highlight a specific case where a Major operator in the North Sea (UK sector) significantly reduced the cost of well intervention operations by applying a KHI in a subsea gas lift line. Considerable cost savings were realized by reducing volume of chemical required and this enabled the application to be performed from the FPSO eliminating the need for a dedicated Diving Support Vessel (DSV). Furthermore, the application of KHI also reduced manual handling and chemical logistics usually associated with this particular treatment. In order to prevent mineral scale deposition occurring in downhole tubing and near well bore and in the formation; scale inhibitor squeeze applications are standard practice. For subsea wells the fluids can be pumped down in to the well via gas lift lines. However, upon completion of previous scale squeeze operations at this particular location, hydrate formation was observed when a mixture of MEG and water was used following interventions via the gas lift line. By applying 1% KHI with a mixture of MEG and Water, the well was brought back into production following scale squeeze operations without hydrate formation occurring.

The use of Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors (KHI) is one of the optimum methods employed to control gas hydrate formation issues and provide flow assurance in oil and gas production systems. The application of this technology has several advantages to operators, including significant cost savings and extended life of oil and gas systems. This paper will highlight a specific case where a Major operator in the North Sea (UK sector) significantly reduced the cost of well intervention operations by applying a KHI in a subsea gas lift line. Considerable cost savings were realized by reducing volume of chemical required and this enabled the application to be performed from the FPSO eliminating the need for a dedicated Diving Support Vessel (DSV). Furthermore, the application of KHI also reduced manual handling and chemical logistics usually associated with this particular treatment. In order to prevent mineral scale deposition occurring in downhole tubing and near well bore and in the formation; scale inhibitor squeeze applications are standard practice. For subsea wells the fluids can be pumped down in to the well via gas lift lines. However, upon completion of previous scale squeeze operations at this particular location, hydrate formation was observed when a mixture of MEG and water was used following interventions via the gas lift line. By applying 1% KHI with a mixture of MEG and Water, the well was brought back into production following scale squeeze operations without hydrate formation occurring.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the single largest cause of death in Australia. Lack of physical activity is a primary risk factor for CHD. The thesis aimed to quantify the efficacy of walking in reducing CHD risk. Meta-analyses were performed for the quantification with the application of random-effect meta-regression models. The thesis also aimed to quantify reductions in CHD-related direct healthcare costs, productivity loss and disease burden resulting from walking interventions in Australia, using the population attributable fraction model, the work and leisure models, and the consumer surplus model. Economic evaluations were also conducted to estimate CHD-related productivity loss using the human capital and the friction methods. The results indicated that 30 minutes of normal walking a day for 5-7 days a week compared to physical inactivity reduced CHD risk by 24%. There existed a dose-response relationship between walking and CHD risk reduction. An increment of approximately 30 minutes of normal walking a day for 5 days a week reduced CHD risk by 19%. The annual productivity loss resulting from CHD was estimated at AU$1.79 billion based on the human capital method and AU$25.05 million under the friction method. 30 minutes of normal walking a day for 5-7 days a week by the country???s ???sufficient??? walking population was shown to generate an estimated $126.73 million in net direct healthcare savings annually. The net economic savings could increase to AU$419.9 million if the whole inactive population engaged in ???sufficient??? walking. The study also found that 30 minutes of normal walking a day for 5-7 days a week reduced the burden of CHD by an estimated 25,065 DALYs and the productivity loss by AU$162.65 million annually under the leisure model. If the whole inactive population engaged in such walking, the total disease burden and productivity loss could be reduced by approximately one third. The findings present epidemiological and economic evidence in support of the national physical activity guidelines, which encourage the general public to engage in moderate physical activity including walking for a minimum of 30 minutes a day for 5-7 days a week.

In order to reach the European aim for a sustainable growth, the “Triple 20 by 2020”, the energy audit in every sector is one of the keys of the success. In order to carry on with the energetical development, sustainability and future energy efficient systems, the energy efficiency in the industry is one of the most important matters. The Swedish industry uses 147 TWh of energy per year, which represents the 39% of the total final energy use and also the biggest energy user of the three sectors. The food processing industry only uses a 3% of the total Swedish industrial energy use, however this is 4410 GWh per year, what still has high possibilities to reduce the use of energy through different energy efficiency measures.The present study consists on an energy audit of a small-medium industrial bakery in Ockelbo, Sweden, by starting with the compilation of a few energy efficiency measures that are usually carried out on the energy audits. Then those measures have been tried to implement in the bakery in order to reduce the energy use and therefore the costs, which are the principal aims of the study, together with the approach to future energy efficiency ideas. However, the lack of electrical measure equipment has been a big limitation for the study. The method, that has been the guideline for the energy audit, is the Energy management procedure, which is a widely used method on different energy audits. The main measures that have been proposed are regarding the auxiliary processes like lighting and the compressed air system, additionaly, changes regarding the power contract and the installed power of they bakery are presented. Also different future possibilities for the heat recovery are analyzed and discussed like using the waste heat for preheating tap water for the dough processes. Additionally this study contains a wide explanation of the Swedish electrical bills that every company has to pay and probably many of them do not understand.If the presented energy efficiency measures are implemented the electrical energy use can be reduced with at least 23109 kWh per year. In terms of money, the cost savings are at least 57781 SEK per year with an investment of 106300 SEK.

The diploma thesis deals with the proposal for improvement of distribution logistics in the production company. Firstly, the theoretical background is written, which will be the basis for another part of the work which focuses on the analysis of the company's internal and external environment, SWOT analysis and distribution of Pivovary Lobkowicz Group, a.s. At the end of the thesis there are proposed changes in distribution that lead to cost reduction and distribution efficiency.

Under vinterhalvåret krävs snöröjning på en flygplats och den processen utgör idag ett hinder för flygtrafiken. Snöröjningsprocessen av en landningsbana ser olika ut beroende på flygplats i världen. Swedavia driver ett världsledandeprojekt som avser att automatisera snöröjningsprocessen. Denna rapport visar det ekonomiska resultat som erhålls som följd av att den inre effektiviteten ökas i snöröjningsprocessen. Detta visas genom fyra effektivitetsmått - resursnyttjande, kapabilitet, flexibilitet och ledtid. Resultatet från samtliga effektivitetsmått visar ett övertygande samband mellan processeffektivitet och reducerade kostnader. Andra områden där kostnadsbesparingar kan undersökas är leanslöserier. Leanslöserier har undersökts under projektet och en förbättring har konstaterats inom flera områden, men magnituden har inte beaktats i detta arbete. / Snow removal at the airports is a requirement during the period of October-March. The snow removal process is currently an obstacle for arriving and departing air traffic. Swedavia is implementing a world-leading project with intentions to automate the snow removal process. This report’s purpose is to visualize the financial result because of the increasing inner efficiency of the snow removal process. Resource utilization, capability, flexibility and lead time were used as criteria to illustrate the relation between process efficiency and reduced costs. Using these four criteria, all results indicate a connection between process efficiency and reduced costs. Other areas where cost reduction may be investigated are lean wastes. Lean wastes have been investigated during this project and improvements have been noted in several areas. However, the cost-saving magnitude of these improvements is not considered in this report.

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This study assesses cost savings associated with specific contraceptive methods provided to beneficiaries enrolled in South Carolina Medicaid between 2012 and 2018. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, defined as the additional cost of contraception provision per live birth averted, were estimated for 4 contraceptive methods (intrauterine devices [IUDs], implants, injectable contraceptives, and pills), relative to no prescription method provision, and savings per dollar spent on method provision were calculated. Costs associated with publicly funded live births were derived from published sources. The analysis was conducted for the entire Medicaid sample and separately for individuals enrolled under low-income families (LIFs), family planning, and partners for healthy children (PHC) eligibility programs. Sensitivity analysis was performed on contraceptive method costs. IUDs and implants were the most cost-effective with cost savings of up to $14.4 and $7.2 for every dollar spent in method provision, respectively. Injectable contraceptives and pills each yielded up to $4.8 per dollar spent. However, IUDs and implants were less cost-effective than injectable contraceptives and pills if the average length of use was less than 2 years. Medicaid's savings varied across Medicaid eligibility programs, with the highest and lowest savings from contraceptive provision to women in the LIFs and PHC eligibility programs, respectively. The results suggest the need to account for unique needs and preferences of beneficiaries in different Medicaid eligibility categories during contraception provision. The findings also inform program administration and provide evidence to justify legislative appropriations for Medicaid reproductive health care services.