Title: Control over and inspections of the incoming flow of deliveries Background: Staples experiences difficulties to get their incoming flow of deliveries to deliver on time. This is because Staples has a poor control of its suppliers in the current situation. Another problem that Staples experience is that their inspection of the incoming flow is taking too long time. These problems can lead to unnecessary tied up capital, backlogs and rest orders. Staples would like to explore the possibility of improving the control and inspection of the incoming flow. Purpose: To identify the amount of late and early incoming flow of deliveries and describe how Staples could control them in order to receive more on-time deliveries. Moreover to describe how Staples could improve the inspection process in order to make the incoming flow of deliveries flow faster into storage. Methodology: The study is a case study in Staples central warehouse in Växjö, Sweden. Results: Suggestion has been made for how Staples could improve the control over the incoming flow of deliveries, and the inspections of the incoming flow of deliveries. The suggestions made are based on how Staples could control deliveries in advance in order to receive more on-time deliveries. Moreover specific requirements could be made towards the suppliers to improve the inspections in order to reduce the flow time into storage.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / The purpose of this paper is to provide a proposal of a production management model using lean manufacturing techniques to improve on-time deliveries of a metal-mechanic company that works in a make-to-order (MTO) manufacture of industrial fans environment. The proposal of the research refers to the implementation of a production management model in a metal mechanic company in Peru and analyze the effect in on-time delivery rate of the company. In one month of operation after the implementation of the pro-posed model, the on-time delivery rate of the company increased from 35% to 80%. Likewise, the problems present in the metalworking research company may be the same in many metalworking companies in the country, so the present investigation will serve as an example for the possible solution of the problems of other companies.

<p> Cationic polyelectrolytes have attracted growing attention in the field of non-viral oligonucleotides (ONs) deliveries because of their ability to bind ONs by electrostatic interactions for efficient cellular uptake. However the formation of electrostatic polymer/ONs complexes and their biological effects are still poorly understood. The relationships between polymer structure and complexation performance have not been well established. The objectives of this research are to synthesize and characterize well-defined and well-controlled cationic polyelectrolytes and to evaluate the effects of polyelectrolyte chain properties on ONs complexation. Poly(2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (polyDMAEMA) and its derivatives are used as the polymer candidate. A fluorescein-labeled oligonucleotide, 5 '-FGCGGAGCGTGGCAGG-3' (F: fluorescein), is used as the oligonucleotide candidate.</p> <p> Low-molecular-weight cationic polyDMAEMA samples having narrow molecular weight distribution were synthesized by living anionic polymerization (LAP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) methods. Fully charged polyDMAEMA quats were prepared by sequential quaternization of polyDMAEMA samples, as well as by direct ATRP of the quaternized DMAEMA monomer. An aqueous GPC calibration method was first developed for the characterization of these cationic polyelectrolytes. It was found that the type of counter-ion has little effect on the hydrodynamic volume of polyDMAEMA quat. Therefore the dimethyl sulfate salt of polyDMAEMA provided a reliable calibration standard for other types of quaternized DMAEMA homopolymers.</p> <p> Cationic block copolymers of polyDMAEMA with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) were also prepared by ATRP. It was found that the order of monomer addition, solvent type, temperature, and molecular weight of macroinitiator have significant effects on the living feature of the polymerization. Well-controlled block copolymers were obtained when polyHEMA was used as the macro initiator.</p> <p> The complexation capability of the prepared polyelectrolytes with oligonucleotides (15 mer) was evaluated by a fluorescence technique. It was found that the complexation performance depends on polymer molecular weight, charge density, and counter-ion type, as well as polymer concentration and block composition. The polymer sample that has double molecular weight of the ONs gave the optimal complexation performance.</p> / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

This thesis aims to forecast aircraft demand in the aerospace and defense industry, specifically aircraft orders and deliveries. Orders are often placed by airline companies with aircraft manufacturers, and then suddenly canceled due to changes in plans. Therefore, at some point during the three-year lead time, the number of orders placed and realized deliveries may be quite different. As a result, orders and deliveries are very difficult to predict and are influenced by many different factors. Among these factors are past trends, macroeconomic indicators as well as aircraft sales measures. These predictor variables were analyzed thoroughly, then used with time series and multiple regression forecasting methods to develop different forecasts for quarterly and annual orders and deliveries. The relative accuracies of forecasts were measured and compared through the use of Theil’s U statistic. Finally, a linear program was used to aggregate multiple forecasts to develop an optimal combination of all forecasts. In conclusion, the methods employed in this thesis are quite effective and produce a wholesome aggregate forecast with an error that is generally quite low for a forecasting task as challenging as this one.

This thesis addresses the subject of drone deliveries within healthcare to examine whether unmanned aerial vehicles can contribute with increased accessibility to medical supply. An overview of the advancements made in the field since its introduction in health care, is first presented in the report. Through a literary review on the subject, dimensions have been identified as significant for determining the possibly increased accessibility to medical equipment that the unmanned aerial system provides, and thus the utility of the system. This thesis further evaluates the system out of an accessibility perspective, which aims to meet theoretical criteria established by previous researchers in the accessibility field, and thereby adopt a holistic approach to the subject. It is concluded that the dimensions are dependent on characteristics of the geographical location and should be considered when discussing drones in medicine. However, knowledge and evaluations are lacking from regions that have implemented such a system, which contributes to uncertainties for how drone deliveries work in practice.

Med den kontinuerliga automationen och de globala mål som syftar till miljövänliga och grönare samhälle, bildades företaget TerraGo Deliveries med syfte att minimera växthusgasersutsläpp i stora städer genom hållbarare logistik. Deras mål är att bygga en robot som levererar mat från restauranger till kunder. Roboten ska gå på gångställe med människor för att minska trafiken i körfälten. Vanligtvis, går leveransen genom chaufförer som kör bilar eller moped som orsakar mer gasutsläpp och mer trängsel i trafik samt risk för olyckor. Det här projektet går ut med att framta ett upphängning system till första prototypen av TerraGo Deliveries robot som är sexhjuldriven. Det nya systemet ska klara sig med att gå på grusvägar och gå på trottoars kanter. För att komma fram till den slutliga designen så delas projektet in i flera olika delmoment som består av faktainsamling för upphängning system till olika fordon och robotar, skisser, mekanikberäkningar, CAD modellering, 3D-printing, värklighetstester, konceptutveckling och materialval. CAD-programmet Creo Parametric 5.0 har använts för att skapa 3D-modeller för de olika koncepten. Samt programmet Granta EduPack, som är ingenjörsmässigt materialdatabas, har varit ett verktyg för materialvalet. Dessutom renderingar på den slutliga designen har utförts med hjälp av KeyShot 10 för att visa hur den kommer se ut på verkligheten. Resultatet kommer att redovisa upphängningssystemet som en 3D-modell som visar hur den kommer att lösa problemet med hänsyn till montering anvisningar. Materialvalet för systemet hamnar på aluminiumlegeringen SS 4212–06. / With the continuous automation and the global goals that aim to more environmentally friendly and greener society, the company TerraGo Deliveries was formed with purpose of minimizing greenhouse gas emissions in large cities through more sustainable logistics. Their goal is to build a robot that delivers food from restaurants and shops to customers. The robot will go on the pavement at peoples’ speed to reduce traffic in the lanes. Usually, the delivery goes through drivers who drive cars or scooters that cause more gas emissions and more congestion in traffic as well as the risk of accidents. This project involves developing a suspension system for the first prototype of the TerraGo Deliveries robot, which is six-wheel drive. The new system will be able to go on gravel roads and climb on the curbs without any problem. To reach at the final design, the project has been divided into several different phases that consist of fact collection for suspension systems for different vehicles and robots, sketches, mechanical calculations, CAD-modeling, 3D-printing, reality tests, concept development and material selection. The CAD program Creo Parametric 5.0 has been used to create 3D models for the various concepts. And the program Granta EduPack, which is an engineering material database, has been a tool for material selection. In addition, renderings of the final design have been performed using KeyShot 10 to show how it will look like in reality. The result will present the suspension system as a 3D-model that shows how it will solve the problems, which are introduced in the report, with the assembly instructions. The choice of material for the system ends up on the aluminum alloy SS 4212–06.

Le contexte technologique et socioéconomique favorise la croissance des volumes de colis échangés en France et particulièrement l'augmentation des livraisons dans les villes. Livraisons qui se complexifient sous l'effet des contraintes urbaines, des injonctions de durabilité, des évolutions des attentes des clients. Les prestataires de la distribution urbaine de colis doivent relever les défis économiques, organisationnels, environnementaux et politiques que représente cette mutation de la distribution du dernier kilomètre. Replacer la ville et son organisation spatiale au centre de la création de nouvelles organisations de la distribution et rapprocher l'analyse spatiale des outils et des techniques de gestion du transport de marchandises en ville (TMV), et notamment de la modélisation, peut permettre d'innover. La thèse va développer cette posture, jusque-là délaissée par les recherches en TMV. Une analyse détaillée de la nature des relations entre forme urbaine, organisations spatiale et TMV va être proposée. A partir de ces résultats, les premiers éléments d'une modélisation spatiale du TMV au service de la création d'un outil d'aide à la décision capable de segmenter la ville en zones différenciées en fonction de leurs caractéristiques spatiales, socioéconomiques et politiques et d'adapter les solutions de livraison par zones seront proposés. / With the spread of new technologies and the advent of economic and social changes, the volume of parcels has grown in France. Parcel deliveries in cities have similarly experienced an important increase. Deliveries have become more and more complex because of changing client patterns, urban constraints and cities' concerns for sustainability. The growing complexity of the ‘last mile' delivery poses economic, organizational, environmental and political challenges to parcel providers. Putting the spatial organization of cities back at the heart of the creation of new logistics organizations and integrating spatial studies to urban logistics techniques and tools, in particular in modelling, can be means of innovation. Until now spatial studies have been largely under-used in UF. This study will provide an in-depth analysis of the relationships between urban spatial organization, urban form and UF. Based on those results, the thesis provides the first elements of a spatial urban freight modelling approach. The modelling approach will enable the creation of a decision support tool able to identify homogeneous urban zones based on urban form, economic and political characteristics in order to offer the most suitable delivery solution to each zone of a city.

En växande medvetenhet om miljöfrågor i kombination med den ökade produktiviteten och effektiviteten som skapas av automation och digitalisering har lett till ett växande intresse för autonoma leveransrobotar. TerraGo Deliveries utvecklar eldrivna autonoma leveransrobotar med fokus på matleveranser. Målet med detta arbete är att ta fram ett chassi med ett upphängningssystem för en sexhjulig autonom leveransrobot där upphängningssystemet gör det möjligt för roboten att klättra över hinder på en max höjd av 10 cm. Programmet Granta EduPack 2022 R1 har använts för att söka ett lämpligt tillverkningsmaterial. Aluminiumlegering 6061-T6 har valts på grund av dess goda egenskaper. Creo Parametric 7.0.6.0 har använts för att designa chassit och upphängningssystemet. Creo parametric har också använts för att utföra alla statiska finita elementanalyserna (FEA) och dynamiska mekanismanalyserna. Programmet Ultimaker Cura 4.12.1 med 3D-skrivaren Ultimaker 2+ har använts för att skapa en förminskad prototyp för lösningsförslaget. Resultatet har blivit ett stegramschassi med en bågformad boggi som upphängningssystem som gör att roboten kan klättra upp och ned hindren. / A growing awareness of environmental issues in combination with the increased productivity and efficiency created by automation and digitization has led to a growing interest in autonomous delivery robots. TerraGo Deliveries develops electrically powered autonomous delivery robots with a focus on food deliveries. The goal of this work is to develop a chassis with a suspension system for a six-wheeled autonomous delivery robot where the suspension system makes it possible for the robot to climb over obstacles at a maximum height of 10 cm. The Granta EduPack 2022 R1 software has been used to search for suitable manufacturing material. Aluminum alloy 6061-T6 has been chosen because of its good properties. Creo Parametric 7.0.6.0 has been used to design the chassis and suspension system. Creo parametric has also been used to perform all static finite element analyses (FEA) and dynamic mechanism analyses. The Ultimaker Cura 4.12.1 software with the Ultimaker 2+ 3D printer has been used to create a scaled-down prototype of the designed system. The result has become a ladder frame chassis with an arched bogie as a suspension system that enables the robot to climb up and down obstacles.

Framväxten av e-handel har ställt höga krav på last mile-leverans, där leverans av paket till konsumenter har blivit allt viktigare och en väsentlig del av kundens köpupplevelse. I takt med att kraven på e-handel och frakt ökar, så ökar också konsumenternas krav på servicekvalitet och leveranstid. I takt med att e-handeln fortsätter att växa behövs nya lösningar som kan leverera snabbt, effektivt och hållbart till lägre kostnader. Något som diskuterats på flera ställen är autonoma leveransfordon. Ett exempel på detta är drönare, som inte har testats i så stor utsträckning. Syftet med studien är att identifiera de krav som konsumenter ställer på drönarleveranser av paket i Sverige i en tid av ökad e-handel. Således för att bidra med kunskap kring hur skräddarsydda paketleveranser av drönare kan leda till ökad kundnöjdhet. För insamling av empirin tillämpas kvalitativ metod som genomfördes genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju konsumenter för att få en inblick i konsumentens krav. Sedan har intervju med en kvalitets- och miljöchef från DHL gjorts för en inblick i hur distributionsföretag belyser dessa krav. Studiens resultat visade att konsumenterna har en nyfiken men skeptisk inställning mot leveransdrönare och att de i allt högre utsträckning förväntar sig en mer kundanpassad leverans. Andra krav som konsumenter ställer är snabba leveranser och stark förpackning. Samtidigt vill konsumenter undvika fysisk kontakt med drönare och väljer att få paket levererat till anvisad plats. Däremot finns inget större behov att betala mer för en drönarleverans trots de högre kraven på last mile leveranserna. / The rising e-commerce has placed great demands on last mile deliveries where deliveries to consumers have become increasingly important and are an important part of the shopping experience for the customer. Consumers' demands for service quality and delivery time have risen in connection with the increased e-commerce and demand for transport. In step with the ever-increasing e-commerce, new solutions are required to be able to deliver quickly, efficiently, sustainably and at a lower cost. Something that has been discussed in several places is autonomous delivery vehicles. An example of this is drones, which have not been tested to such an extent. The purpose of the study is to identify the demands that consumers place on delivery drones of parcels in Sweden in a time of increased e-commerce. Thus to contribute with knowledge about how customized deliveries by drones can lead to increased customer satisfaction. For collecting the empirical data, a qualitative method was applied that was conducted through semi-structured interviews with seven consumers to get an insight into the consumers requirements. Furthermore an interview was conducted with a quality- and environmental manager from DHL for an insight into how these requirements are highlighted. The results of the study showed that consumers have a curious but skeptical attitude towards delivery drones and that they expect a more customized delivery. Other requirements that consumers set are fast deliveries and strong packaging. At the same time, consumers want to avoid physical contact with drones and choose to have packages delivered to a specific location. However, there is no greater demand to pay more for a drone delivery despite the higher requirements for last-mile deliveries.

This study analyzes effective service delivery in organizations serving the mentally retarded. Qualitative organizational analyses of three community care facilities were compared to assess effectiveness. Data were gathered by systematic observations, field notes, documents, and employee interviews. Program analysis, the funding system of service delivery, and staff attitudes best indicated effective service. I concluded that effectiveness would improve by focusing on individual consumer needs and further defining service delivery.