Thesis (Master of Military Studies)-Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2008. / Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on: Feb 11, 2010).

The localization of the sensor nodes is a fundamental issue in the area of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). An attractive way for estimating the location of mobile or static wireless objects is by using the received signal strength (RSS) attenuation with the distance, which does not require any additional hardware. This is possible due to the fact that in most sensor nodes radios the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) is a standard feature and can be obtained automatically by the received messages. On the other hand the RSS is known for being noisy, unstable, variable and difficult to use in practice. For achieving a better understanding of the nature of these difficulties and limitations, and for identifying the range of applicability of the RSS in localization and tracking scenarios, a thorough study about the RSS and its dependence on the various factors and environmental conditions is essential. The present doctoral dissertation investigates the feasibility of sensor node localization and target tracking with the resources of the WSN technology, when using only the RSS of the exchanged messages. Moreover, it offers experimental support to the hypothesis that proper modeling of the RSS behavior and appropriate selection of the topology parameters are essential for the applicability of WSN in real world conditions. In brief, the present doctoral dissertation concerns with: (i) identifying the main factors that influence the accuracy, the variability and the reliability of the obtained RSS, (ii) modeling the RF signal propagation in the context of WSNs, and (iii)defining the basic deployment constraints and evaluation of the topology parameters that can guarantee successful localization and tracking. For assessing the practical value of various RF-models, experiments using Tmote Sky and TelosB sensor nodes in real-field outdoor environment were carried out. The impact of a number of factors, such as the operating frequency of the radio, the transmitter–receiver distance, the variation of transceivers hardware due to manufacturing tolerances, the antenna orientation, and the environmental conditions, on the RSS was investigated. The influence of the various factors that affect the RF signal propagation and some constraints imposed by the WSN nature was accounted in order to design practical models, suitable for outdoor unobstructed and outdoor tree-obstructed environments. A pre-deployment simulation framework has been introduced and in its context a RF signal propagation-based connectivity strategy (RFCS) has been developed to fulfill three deployment provisions: (i) discovering the most appropriate height from the ground and distances for the sensor nodes, (ii) reducing the transmission power, and (iii) minimizing the interference from non-neighbor nodes. The RFCS uses a RF signal propagation model to predict the RSS in order to identify the most appropriate communication-based deployment parameters, i.e. T-R distance, height from the ground and transmission power. The localization and tracking considerations, by means of localization and tracking techniques, topology parameters and factors influencing the localization and tracking accuracy, are combined in illustrative simulation examples to evaluate their significance concerning the performance of the localization and tracking task. Furthermore, the propagation model and the topology parameters being identified were validated in real outdoor sensor node localization and target tracking tests. / -

O presente trabalho apresenta um modelo de aplicação de ferramentas de projeto integradas ao longo das fases de desenvolvimento de produto, neste caso, aplicadas na melhoria do produto suporte para fixação de cilindro de gás natural veicular. O foco do trabalho é apresentar a integração de ferramentas nas fases de Projeto Informacional, Projeto Conceitual e Projeto Detalhado do Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos. Entende-se por integração a escolha de ferramentas que permitam conduzir o fluxo de informação ao longo das fases de desenvolvimento de produtos, de tal forma que a informação de saída de uma ferramenta seja a informação de entrada da ferramenta subseqüente. As ferramentas integradas a partir da fase de Projeto Informacional foram a Pesquisas de Mercado Qualitativa e Quantitativa, com a finalidade de identificar as demandas dos clientes. As demandas dos clientes foram os dados de entrada da Matriz da Qualidade (Quality Function Deployment - QFD), resultando nos requisitos do produto e suas respectivas especificações-meta. A partir dos requisitos do produto, diferentes conceitos (configurações) foram gerados, apoiados pela Matriz Morfológica no Projeto Conceitual. Na seqüência utilizou-se a ferramenta de Projeto de Experimentos (Design of Experiments - DOE) para avaliar a estimativa de preço frente às possíveis configurações do produto. Com a Matriz de Pugh, alternativas de conceito de produto foram avaliadas possibilitando a escolha do melhor conceito de produto. No Projeto Detalhado, foi aplicada ferramenta de Análise dos Modos de Falha e seus Efeitos (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis - FMEA), utilizado de forma integrada com o QFD, para identificar as falhas atuais e potenciais e seus efeitos em sistemas e processo. Em função das demandas identificadas, foram definidas e implementadas melhorias no produto. Observou-se a adequabilidade destas ferramentas de projeto para aplicação de forma integrada, garantindo um fluxo contínuo de informações rastreáveis e que tendem a levar à uma reduzida chance de perdas ao longo do processo. / There are few examples in literature about the integration of project tools along the product development phases. The main research objective in thesis is to integrate some tools that facilitate the information flow along the product development phases, more specifically in Informational Project, Conceptual Project and Detailed Project phases. The product improvement “support for Vehicular Natural Gas” was the object of study in thesis. The main idea is that the information output from one tool is the input information of the subsequent tool. Starting from the Informational Project phase it was performed qualitative and quantitative market researches with the purpose of identifying the customers' demands for the studied product. The customers’ demands were the entrance data of the QFD (Quality Function Deployment) tool resulting in the product requirements and their respective specifications-goal. In Concept Project the product requirements were converted in functions and further different concepts were generated through the Morphologic Analysis. In the sequence, it was used the DOE (Design for experiments) tool to evaluate the estimate price to the possible products' configurations. The Pugh Matrix tool was used for concepts evaluation and choice. The FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) tool integrated with QFD was useful for current and potential failures identification and impact analysis in the system and process. With the application of these five tools the users’ demands were identified and improvements to the product were performed. The chosen tools proved to be adequate for integration, assuring that a continuous trackable information flow was attained with presumable reduced information loss, along the Product Development Process phases.

Submitted by Liliane Rocha (liliane.rocha@gestaokairos.com.br) on 2017-11-10T18:19:05Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Trabalho Final - MPGPP _ficha catalografica 11.11.pdf: 1286985 bytes, checksum: f2dbf972ee33d0e44fd5bbdc161c4aa3 (MD5) / Rejected by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br), reason: Liliane, boa tarde Conforme conversamos, deverá realizar alterações: Retirar as informações referente à elaboração da ficha catalográfica e na contra capa alinhar as informações dos membros da banca ao lado direito. Em seguida realizar uma nova submissão. Att on 2017-11-10T18:26:52Z (GMT) / Submitted by Liliane Rocha (liliane.rocha@gestaokairos.com.br) on 2017-11-10T18:36:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Trabalho Final - MPGPP _Versão Finalissima 11.11.pdf: 1255192 bytes, checksum: 20b0c06a4727cfcfe0e4f1186de5bfee (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Renata de Souza Nascimento (renata.souza@fgv.br) on 2017-11-10T23:39:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Trabalho Final - MPGPP _Versão Finalissima 11.11.pdf: 1255192 bytes, checksum: 20b0c06a4727cfcfe0e4f1186de5bfee (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-11-13T11:58:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Trabalho Final - MPGPP _Versão Finalissima 11.11.pdf: 1255192 bytes, checksum: 20b0c06a4727cfcfe0e4f1186de5bfee (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10-11 / A proposta deste estudo foi analisar a percepção das Diretorias Regionais de Assistência e Desenvolvimento Social (DRADS) do Estado de São Paulo em relação à implantação do Plano Estadual de Assistência Social (PEAS) concluído no final de 2015 e com validade até 2019. Apesar de reconhecido como um processo de construção participativa por todos os atores da Secretaria Estadual de Desenvolvimento Social (SEDS), o período pós-elaboração do PEAS tem se mostrado um momento desafiador no que se refere à implementação das diretrizes e projetos em âmbito regional. Consideradas como instâncias estratégicas no desdobramento das políticas estaduais de assistência social, as DRADS são responsáveis pela interlocução com os municípios do Estado de São Paulo e, portanto, a compreensão e corresponsabilidade pelas ações eleitas como prioritárias. A implementação depende da capacidade de cada diretoria regional em apoiar e comunicar as gestões municipais na busca pelos resultados definidos no PEAS. Buscou-se, portanto, o entendimento do processo vivenciado na elaboração do PEAS e posteriormente a identificação de questões não trabalhadas junto às DRADS para subsidiar uma adequada implementação do plano com os municípios. Dessa forma, ao definir o referencial teórico que subsidiou toda análise, partiu-se para as entrevistas semiestruturadas e, por fim, para a realização de um survey semiestruturado considerando o universo das 26 DRADS. Como referência para respaldar as considerações sobre a implementação da política estadual junto aos municípios, buscou-se a experiência do Estado do Paraná, que aponta várias estratégias na busca pela redução da extrema pobreza. Com o trabalho foi possível verificar lacunas na implementação do plano e, consequentemente, apontar sugestões de melhorias que envolvem conceder às DRADS o papel de protagonista na elaboração dos próximos planos estaduais de assistência social, melhorar a qualificação dos profissionais, avançar no uso de tecnologias e garantir maior periodicidade nos encontros para acompanhamento das ações das diretorias regionais. / The purpose of this study is to analyze the perception of the Regional Board of Social Assistance and Development (DRADs) in the State of São Paulo with regard to the deployment of the State Social Assistance Plan (PEASS) completed in the end of 2015 and valid until 2019. Although its recognition as a participatory construction by all the actors at the State Social Development Department (SEDS), the period after PEAS’s elaboration has been a challenging moment with regard to the deployment of the guidelines and projects in regional scopes. The DRADs are considered as strategic instances for the unfolding of the state social assistance politics and are also responsible for the interlocution with the municipalities in the State of São Paulo and, therefore, for the comprehension and co-responsibility for the priority actions. The deployment depends on each regional board’s capacity of supporting and communicating the municipality administrations in search for the targets defined by PEAS. Therefore, we seeked for the understanding of the whole PEAS elaboration process and then for the identification of not-worked questions next to DRADs in order to subsidize a suitable plan deployment with the municipalities. This way, while defining the theoretical references of the analyzes, we started the semi-structured interviews and, at last, to a semi-structured survey considering the 26 DRADs universe. As a reference to support the considerations about the deployment of the State Politics jointly to the municipalities, we used the State of Paraná experience, that points to several strategies to pursuit the extreme poverty reduction. It was possible to note the gaps in the plan deployment and consequently point to improvement suggestions that involve granting the DRADs a main role at the next steps elaborations of the state social assistance plans, enhancing the professional qualification, advancing in technology usage and ensuring more frequent meetings in order to monitor the regional boards’ actions.

Dans un contexte où l'utilisation de structures déployables s'est généralisée, le département Recherche de la société Thales Alenia Space étudie un nouveau concept de télescope spatial dont le miroir secondaire est déployé grâce au déroulement de six mètres rubans. Des études antérieures ont permis la mise au point d'un prototype constitué de rubans métalliques dont le déploiement s'est avéré trop violent. Dans ce travail de thèse nous proposons d'une part un nouveau type de ruban à la vitesse de déroulement maîtrisable et d'autre part un modèle original décrivant le comportement dynamique de tels rubans, permettant de mieux appréhender les phénomènes complexes pouvant intervenir lors de scénarios de pliage, de déploiement ou de déroulement. La solution envisagée pour contrôler la vitesse de déroulement repose sur l'exploitation des propriétés mécaniques d'une couche de matériau viscoélastique collée à la surface du ruban. Ces propriétés variant avec la température permettent de garantir un maintien de la position enroulée à froid et assurent un déroulement régulé grâce à un réchauffage localisé. Ces phénomènes ont été mis en évidence expérimentalement et numériquement. La lourdeur des méthodes classiques de modélisation et le manque de richesse des méthodes simplifiées nous ont conduit à développer un modèle de poutre à section fortement déformable permettant de décrire le comportement dynamique des rubans en grands déplacements. Partant d'un modèle de coque, l'originalité de la méthode repose essentiellement sur l'introduction d'une cinématique de type elastica pour décrire les grandes variations de forme de la section. Un modèle énergétique 1D est obtenu en intégrant dans la section et le problème est résolu à l'aide du logiciel de modélisation par éléments finis COMSOL. On propose finalement un modèle continu 1D à 4 paramètres cinématiques qui permet de rendre compte d'une large gamme de phénomènes intervenant dans des scénarios complexes de pliage, de déroulement et de déploiement dynamique. / The research department of Thales Alenia Space is studying new concepts of space telescopes whose secondary mirror is deployed thanks to the unreeling of six tape-springs. A breadboard using metallic tape-springs has been built during preliminary studies and has exhibited a deployment that is too energetic and induce too important shocks.In this thesis a new kind of tape-spring with a controlled uncoiling speed is introduced. Secondly a rod model with highly deformable thin-walled cross-sections describing the dynamic behaviour of tape-springs is derived.In order to over come the deployment speed of a tape spring, a viscoelastic layer is stuck on its sides. Thanks to its properties varying with the temperature, the viscoelastic layer is used to maintain the tape-spring in a coiled configuration at low temperature whereas a local heating leads to a controlled uncoiling. These phenomenons have been underlined experimentally and numerically.Because of the high complexity of classical shell models and the lack of details of simplified models, smart modelling methods need to be developed to describe the highly non linear behaviour of a tape-spring. A planar rod model with highly deformable thin-walled cross-sections that accounts for large displacements and large rotations in dynamics is proposed. Starting from a classical shellmodel, the main additional assumption consists in introducing an elastica kinematics to describe thelarge changes of the cross-section shape with very few parameters. The expressions of the strain andkinetic energies are derived by performing an analytical integration over the section. The Hamilton principle is directly introduced in a suitable finite element software to solve the problem. Several examples (folding, coiling and deployment of a tape spring) are studied through the FEM software COMSOL to demonstrate the ability of the 4-parameter model to account for several phenomena: creation of a single fold and associated snap-through behaviour, splitting of a fold into two, motion of a fold along the tape during a dynamic deployment, scenarios of coiling and uncoiling of a bistable tape-spring.

The main topic of the thesis is the area of logistics and production with emphasis on saving time and place in the processing of order, the layout of machines, workplaces and warehouses in the production hall. The advantages and disadvantages were analyzed in the selected company, critical points were determined and solutions were designed, comparison and evaluation were carried out with the original condition. The work is based on the theoretical foundations of the subject, collected data from its own investigations and observations of the analyzed processes.

O presente trabalho apresenta um modelo de aplicação de ferramentas de projeto integradas ao longo das fases de desenvolvimento de produto, neste caso, aplicadas na melhoria do produto suporte para fixação de cilindro de gás natural veicular. O foco do trabalho é apresentar a integração de ferramentas nas fases de Projeto Informacional, Projeto Conceitual e Projeto Detalhado do Processo de Desenvolvimento de Produtos. Entende-se por integração a escolha de ferramentas que permitam conduzir o fluxo de informação ao longo das fases de desenvolvimento de produtos, de tal forma que a informação de saída de uma ferramenta seja a informação de entrada da ferramenta subseqüente. As ferramentas integradas a partir da fase de Projeto Informacional foram a Pesquisas de Mercado Qualitativa e Quantitativa, com a finalidade de identificar as demandas dos clientes. As demandas dos clientes foram os dados de entrada da Matriz da Qualidade (Quality Function Deployment - QFD), resultando nos requisitos do produto e suas respectivas especificações-meta. A partir dos requisitos do produto, diferentes conceitos (configurações) foram gerados, apoiados pela Matriz Morfológica no Projeto Conceitual. Na seqüência utilizou-se a ferramenta de Projeto de Experimentos (Design of Experiments - DOE) para avaliar a estimativa de preço frente às possíveis configurações do produto. Com a Matriz de Pugh, alternativas de conceito de produto foram avaliadas possibilitando a escolha do melhor conceito de produto. No Projeto Detalhado, foi aplicada ferramenta de Análise dos Modos de Falha e seus Efeitos (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis - FMEA), utilizado de forma integrada com o QFD, para identificar as falhas atuais e potenciais e seus efeitos em sistemas e processo. Em função das demandas identificadas, foram definidas e implementadas melhorias no produto. Observou-se a adequabilidade destas ferramentas de projeto para aplicação de forma integrada, garantindo um fluxo contínuo de informações rastreáveis e que tendem a levar à uma reduzida chance de perdas ao longo do processo. / There are few examples in literature about the integration of project tools along the product development phases. The main research objective in thesis is to integrate some tools that facilitate the information flow along the product development phases, more specifically in Informational Project, Conceptual Project and Detailed Project phases. The product improvement “support for Vehicular Natural Gas” was the object of study in thesis. The main idea is that the information output from one tool is the input information of the subsequent tool. Starting from the Informational Project phase it was performed qualitative and quantitative market researches with the purpose of identifying the customers' demands for the studied product. The customers’ demands were the entrance data of the QFD (Quality Function Deployment) tool resulting in the product requirements and their respective specifications-goal. In Concept Project the product requirements were converted in functions and further different concepts were generated through the Morphologic Analysis. In the sequence, it was used the DOE (Design for experiments) tool to evaluate the estimate price to the possible products' configurations. The Pugh Matrix tool was used for concepts evaluation and choice. The FMEA (Failure Mode and Effects Analysis) tool integrated with QFD was useful for current and potential failures identification and impact analysis in the system and process. With the application of these five tools the users’ demands were identified and improvements to the product were performed. The chosen tools proved to be adequate for integration, assuring that a continuous trackable information flow was attained with presumable reduced information loss, along the Product Development Process phases.

Submitted by Izabel Franco (izabel-franco@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T12:12:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseFRS.pdf: 2872518 bytes, checksum: 745bb6d4d22ecbb4788958d4ee45dd45 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T19:43:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseFRS.pdf: 2872518 bytes, checksum: 745bb6d4d22ecbb4788958d4ee45dd45 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T19:44:06Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseFRS.pdf: 2872518 bytes, checksum: 745bb6d4d22ecbb4788958d4ee45dd45 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-27T19:50:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseFRS.pdf: 2872518 bytes, checksum: 745bb6d4d22ecbb4788958d4ee45dd45 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-11 / Não recebi financiamento / The Statistical Process Control (SPC) is recognized in the literature as one of the main tools for controlling and improving the quality and productivity. The control chart is a central element of the SPC; and these, statistical tools whose efficiency depends on certain skills and organizational behavior. With regard to the results to the organization, it is observed that the use of control charts can be divided into two groups: those that can be directly attributed to reduced variability called hard; and those associated with the motivational aspects, or organic, called Soft. Despite the arguments in favor of SPC survey, a study conducted in the automotive sector shows that about 70% of companies have some difficulty in conducting their activities related to the SPC. On this, the literature indicates that factors related to methodological, statistical and managerial aspects of control charts of the implementation process are conditions for the success of a structured plan of implementation of the SPC. Given this situation, it is objective of this thesis contribute to an effective use of control charts by national companies, and to advances in research. To this end, we opted for a field survey to capture and describe the perceptions of experts who use control charts and working in the automotive industry. The field research was structured in three basic dimensions - statistics, methodology and management, and the results achieved by the use of the SPC, divided into Soft and Hard. The method used was based on a survey, which has a population of interest was the managers of SPC programs that use the control charts for more than 01 years in the auto parts industry. This survey was sent to 98 individuals in the population of interest, identified in the Official Guide Auto parts Industry (2014), which resulted in 37 questionnaires and valid for analysis. The results of this field research validated the hypotheses in part the theoretical framework, but showed, besides the complexity and importance of methodological and managerial aspects in the implementation of the SPC, there is a significant gap between theory and practice. This may partly be explained by the dissonance between the main scientific advances in the field, especially in the statistical aspects, and the controversies about the real benefits of SPC program. As a result of this thesis is recommended that field research has been done for that to report real success stories of the SPC; whose cases are examined in depth so that good practice is disseminated in the academic environment. / O Controle Estatístico de Processo (CEP) é reconhecido na literatura como uma das principais ferramentas para o controle e melhoria da qualidade e da produtividade. Constata-se que as cartas ou gráficos de controle é um elemento central do CEP; sendo essas, ferramentas estatísticas cujo uso eficiente depende de determinadas habilidades e comportamentos organizacional. No que se refere aos resultados para a organização, observa-se que o uso das cartas de controle pode ser dividido em dois grupos: aqueles que podem ser diretamente atribuídos à redução da variabilidade, denominado de hard; e aqueles associados aos aspectos motivacionais, ou orgânicos, denominados de Soft. Apesar dos argumentos favoráveis ao CEP, pesquisa realizada no setor automotivo aponta que cerca de 70% das empresas apresentam alguma dificuldade na condução das suas atividades relacionadas ao CEP. Sobre isso, a literatura indica que fatores relacionados aos aspectos metodológicos, estatísticos e gerenciais do processo de implantação das cartas de controle são condicionantes para o sucesso de um plano estruturado de implantação do CEP. Diante deste quadro, é objetivo desta tese contribuir para um efetivo uso das cartas de controlo pelas empresas nacionais, e também para avanços no campo da pesquisa. Para tal, optou-se por uma pesquisa de campo para captar e descrever as percepções de especialistas que usam gráficos de controle estatístico e que atuam na indústria automotiva. A pesquisa de campo foi estruturada em três dimensões básicas - a estatística, a metodológica e a gerencial, e nos resultados alcançados pelo uso do CEP, subdivididos em Soft e Hard. O método utilizado baseou-se em uma pesquisa de campo por amostragem, cuja população de interesse foi os gestores dos programas CEP que utilizam as cartas de controle estatístico por mais de 01 ano na indústria de autopeças. Foi enviado um total de 98 questionários para indivíduos da população de interesse, identificados no Guia Oficial do Setor de Autopeças (2014), que resultaram em 37 questionários respondidos e válidos para análise. Os resultados desta pesquisa de campo validaram em parte as hipóteses do referencial teórico, porém mostrou, além da complexidade e a importância dos aspectos metodológicos e gerenciais na implantação do CEP, que há uma lacuna significativa entre a teoria e a prática. Isso em parte pode ser explicado pela dissonância entre os principais avanços científicos na área, sobre tudo nos aspectos estatísticos, e as controvérsias sobre os reais benefícios de um programa CEP. Recomenda-se, como resultado desta tese, que pesquisas de campo sejam realizadas para que se relatem casos reais de sucesso do CEP; cujos casos sejam analisados em profundidade, para que boas práticas sejam disseminadas no ambiente acadêmico.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Electrical Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / This research project addresses the unique challenges of extensive farming in terms of monitoring and controlling remote equipment or events. Poorly maintained roads and escalating fuel costs increase difficulty of farming and the time spent on physically monitoring remote sites further reduces financial yields. The research showed that there are very few solutions that implement wireless or electronic technology to overcome the challenges associated with these isolated and arid areas and that a low-cost, long range wireless telemetry solution that is easy to use would be beneficial for the extensive farming industry. It was therefore the aim of this project to develop a remote monitoring and controlling solution that implements wireless technology to convey information of activities around the farm utilising electronic means. To be able to successfully develop a wireless telemetry solution that will accurately meet the needs of this specific sector of industry, market research was conducted. To guide the research, the QFD (quality function deployment) process for product development has been implemented. The research consisted out of various aspects including a survey, financial considerations and international comparisons. The research also aided in the understanding of the day-to-day activities and also the physical parameters of extensive farms. Also, currently available technologies and products were evaluated to establish whether similarities exist that will aid in the development of a new product. The development process was based on the results obtained in the market research and resulted in a wireless telemetry solution that overcame all the design challenges and proved to be technically feasible, successfully addressing the application requirements. Zigbee technology was utilized for wireless communication because it provided an off-the-shelf solution with a number of readily available development platforms from various technology providers. A communication range of up to 6 kilometres with a transmitted power of 11dBm was achieved for point-to-point communication and a mesh network topology has been implemented for even longer range and complete coverage on farms. Various types of measurements have been catered for, with custom-designed instrumentation which enabled measurements such as water levels, movement and analogue signals. Also, a basic user interface was developed to enable the user to monitor or control the equipment or events remotely from a personal computer, locally or even over the internet. The results of this research project showed that by carefully selecting available technologies and understanding the application, it is possible to develop a solution that addresses the monitoring and controlling needs associated with extensive farming. The wireless telemetry system that was developed resulted in a saving equal to 10% of the total expenses of the farms per year. The telemetry system is therefore a financially feasible solution with a payback period of less than 1 year and far below the initial estimated budget. Without the need to physically monitoring equipment and events, an increase in productivity and the expansion of the overall enterprise is a further benefit added unto the monetary savings. In addition to the financial benefits of implementing new wireless technology, this is an opportunity to contribute to a cleaner and more sustained future as a legacy for the next generation by reducing the carbon footprint of the farm.

Para que o desenvolvimento de um novo produto tenha melhores chances de sucesso no competitivo mercado atual, as empresas devem preocupar-se em contemplar as reais necessidades dos clientes em seus projetos. Para tanto, é preciso que os desejos dos clientes transformem-se corretamente em especificações de produto claras e objetivas. Caso contrário, as incorretas ou subjetivas especificações-meta podem gerar um produto que não atenda às expectativas do consumidor. Sabe-se que o reprojeto e retrabalho para modificação do produto implicariam em perdas de tempo, custo e qualidade. Por isso, o processo de geração de especificações no desenvolvimento de produtos é crítico para atingir as metas de time-to-market, custo e qualidade do produto final. A tradução da voz do cliente em requisitos técnicos de projeto é, geralmente, realizada através de métodos como, por exemplo, o QFD. Contudo, o QFD não é muito utilizado na prática em diversos tipos de indústrias, como a de eletrodomésticos, devido a sua generalidade e dificuldade de uso. Desta forma, tem-se por objetivo principal desenvolver uma abordagem sistemática para auxiliar a elaboração de especificações-meta de um eletrodoméstico, no caso, um fogão. Foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo em uma empresa do ramo para a verificação da oportunidade de pesquisa e coleta de dados para o desenvolvimento de um método e ferramenta. Em seguida, elaborou-se uma ferramenta em planilha eletrônica na qual as especificações-meta de um fogão são geradas automaticamente a partir das informações de entrada de projeto. A validação da sistemática foi realizada pela análise comparativa do resultado gerado pela ferramenta com produtos anteriores já desenvolvidos pela empresa pesquisada. O resultado deste estudo indicou que o método proposto apresenta-se como um mecanismo para geração de especificações de maneira simples e prática, contribuindo para a maior assertividade no desenvolvimento do produto e possível de ser incorporado ao cotidiano da empresa. / In order for a new product development to have better chances of success in today’s competitive market, companies should focus on meeting the real consumer needs in their projects. Thus, it is necessary that the consumer wishes be transformed correctly into clear and objective product specifications. Otherwise, the incorrect or subjective target specifications could generate a product which does not fulfill to the consumer expectations. It is known that the redesign and rework needed due to product modifications would involve loss of time, cost and quality. So, the specification elaboration process during the product development is critical to achieve the targets as time-to-market, cost and quality of the final product. The translation of the voice of customer into project technical requirements is usually accomplished by such methods as, for example, QFD. However, the QFD is not used very often in several industries, like the home appliances factory, because it is general and difficult to use. Therefore, the main objective is to develop a systematic approach for a home appliance specification elaboration, in this case, a cooker. A field study was conducted in a company of this branch to verify the research opportunity and data collection for the method and tool development. Next, an electronic spreadsheet toll was developed for automatically generate the target specifications of a cooker from input data of the project. The systematic validation was implemented by the comparative analysis among the results obtained by the tool with previous products already developed by the researched company. The result of this study indicates that the method proposed is a mechanism for generating specifications in a simple and practical way, contributing to greater assertiveness in product development and can be embedded in the daily-basis process of the company.