Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The practice of irrigated agriculture represents an increase of agricultural productivity, especially for areas with water deficit. Lands are frequently characterized erroneously which, coupled with lacking conservation measures, imposes serious consequences for the environment. In reality, any land use and intensive soil management when carried out unsustainably, can result in degradation processes. This study aims to provide subsidies for a conservationist planning in the Irrigated Perimeter of Mirorós, based on the rational use of land and adequate soil management. The perimeter is located in a semi-arid region of Bahia State (Brazil), municipality of Ibipeba, micro-region of Irecê. The following methods were adopted to evaluate the perimeter: evaluation of the edapho-climatic land potential, evaluation of the land potential for irrigation, determination of rates of land use adequacy as well as the use of indicators of soil quality for two kinds of land use (with and without irrigation). Thereby it was possible to define priority areas for intervention regarding land use and soil management (projected for conservation, recovery or recovery/preservation) and to identify the main susceptibilities for degradation processes or for improvements in soil quality, which have proven fundamental for conservationist planning strategies. The results showed that irrigated agriculture resulting in changes in the classification of land and greater impairment of soil quality, especially due to the susceptibility to the processes of compaction, salinisation and sodification, when compared to other uses without irrigation. On the other hand, the irrigated soils showed greater susceptibility to improvements in fertility and acidification. In fact, the negative effects as well as the improvements in soil quality were noted, in a smaller scale, in soils with other usage without irrigation. In general, the land of the perimeter in Mirorós possesses the potential for general agricultural use or for irrigated agriculture, but there is urgent need for interventions in soil management, including necessities of conservation or priority conservation. Additional interventions in usage are needed in areas that are being used in excess of their potential, resulting in the recovery/priority preservation of these areas. Furthermore, there are existing demands for interventions both in usage and management, resulting in areas that are priority for recovery. The proposed methods can be considered essential tools for the conservation of the natural resources in the study area, contributing towards sustainability in an agricultural environment. / A prática da agricultura irrigada representa um incremento da produtividade agrícola, principalmente para regiões com deficiência de água. No entanto, muitas vezes, a classificação das terras ocorre de forma incorreta, aliada à falta de medidas de conservação, o que tem imposto sérias conseqüências ambientais. Na realidade, qualquer uso da terra e manejo intensivo do solo, quando de maneira não sustentável, pode acarretar em processos de degradação. Este trabalho objetiva fornecer subsídios ao planejamento conservacionista, no Perímetro Irrigado de Mirorós, com base no uso racional das terras e manejo adequado do solo. Esse perímetro está localizado no semi-árido baiano, município de Ibipeba, microrregião de Irecê (BA). Para tanto, são adotadas a Avaliação do Potencial Edafoclimático das Terras e a Avaliação do Potencial das Terras para Irrigação, são determinadas as taxas de adequação do uso das terras, além da utilização de indicadores de qualidade do solo para dois tipos de usos das terras (com irrigação e sem irrigação). Com isso, houve possibilidade de definir áreas prioritárias de intervenção quanto ao uso das terras e manejo do solo (destinadas para Conservação, Recuperação ou Recuperação/Preservação) e identificar as principais suscetibilidades aos processos de degradação ou às melhorias na qualidade dos solos, as quais se mostraram fundamentais como estratégias para o planejamento conservacionista. Os resultados mostraram que a agricultura irrigada vem causando mudanças nas classificações das terras e maior comprometimento da qualidade do solo, sobretudo pela suscetibilidade aos processos de compactação, de salinização e de sodificação, em relação aos outros usos sem irrigação. Por outro lado, os solos irrigados se destacaram pela suscetibilidade às melhorias na fertilidade e na acidificação. Na verdade, os efeitos negativos, assim como melhorias na qualidade do solo, também foram notados nos solos com outros usos sem irrigação, porém de modo menos acentuado. Em geral, as terras do Perímetro de Mirorós possuem potencialidades para a agricultura geral ou para a agricultura irrigada, mas há urgência, especialmente, em intervenções no manejo, com necessidades de Conservação ou Conservação Prioritária. Além disso, há exigências de intervenções no uso, implicando na Recuperação/Preservação Prioritária de áreas que estejam sendo utilizadas acima do seu potencial, como também de intervenções no uso e manejo, ou seja, na Recuperação Prioritária. Os métodos propostos podem ser considerados ferramentas essenciais para a conservação dos recursos naturais na área de estudo e contribuir para o alcance da sustentabilidade no meio agrícola.

Electrical switches are ubiquitous. Performance requirement for a switch is stringent. The operating mechanism mostly decides the performance of an electromechanical switch. However, design of such mechanisms, which involve discontinuous motions, is not much addressed in literature. The present work proposes a systematic procedure to design and analyze toggle based switching mechanisms. The work defined the toggle phenomenon rigorously, and, based on the behaviour of the toggles, provided a classification scheme for the switch mechanisms. The existing switches fall in two major categories viz., single-toggle and double-toggle switches. The double toggle mechanism is more suitable for high power breaking as it can isolate the system’s behaviour from the operator’s behaviour. The kinematic and geometric attributes of the operating mechanism which affect the toggle sequence and timings have been identified. A systematic simulation based study has been performed to identify the influence of different kinematic and dynamic parameters on the functionality of a double toggle switching mechanism. The influence of the variable moment of inertia and mechanism singularities arising out of introduction of the four bar sub chain on the performance of the system have been studied in detail. It is observed that the performance of the double toggle systems is less susceptible, though not immune to the user behaviour; in extreme scenarios the switching performance could become erratic. The use of an additional spring in an existing system enhanced the system performance; but, connecting the main spring with the coupler link altered the system performance more dramatically. Thus it established that the influence of the kinematic configuration on the performance of a switching mechanism is more pronounced than the dynamic characteristics of a comparable system. For the ab initio design of double toggle switching mechanisms, necessary structural criteria for a mechanism to exhibit double toggle phenomenon have been identified and verified with various 2 d.o.f. systems. It is also established that any double toggle mechanism cannot be used directly as a switching mechanism; the link dimensions, link arrangements and the stopper locations have to be chosen properly. Towards that end, three necessary kinematic criteria for a switching mechanism are identified. A few mechanisms which satisfy all structural and kinematic criteria are identified; the switching and toggle behaviour of these mechanisms are examined through simulations using Pro/Mechanism. Finally, considering all the conditions a is constructed with consideration of mass and geometric shape of the links. Thus, it established that the proposed methodology can systematically generate novel, structurally distinct electrical switches.

I det här examensarbetet har vi studerat Trafikverkets huvudprocess Planera åtgärder och gått på djupet i delprocessen Tidig planering med andra. Syftet med studien var att kartlägga hur arbetet utförs i verkligheten kopplat till processen Tidig planering med andra. Utifrån kartläggningen av problemet är studien ämnad att ta fram ett lösningsförslag till Trafikverket. Genom tio intervjuer, två observationer och 35 mottagna frågeformulär har vi kunnat skapa oss en djupare bild och förståelse över förbättringsområdet För omfattande process. För omfattande process innebär att processen i sig beskriver i stora drag hur en samhällsplanerare arbetar men lämnar utrymme till egen tolkning, vilket i sin tur leder till att kommuner får olika bemötanden. Med hjälp av verktygen paretodiagram, histogram och korrelationsmatris kunde vi tydliggöra nuläget. I analysen framkom det att grundorsaken till att förbättringsområdet För omfattande process uppstått är på grund av avsaknad av kunskap om ämnena process och processledning. Genom teorikoppling har vi tagit fram ett lämpligt lösningsförslag för att ta tag i grundorsaken. Lösningsförslaget innefattar kompetensutveckling inom offensiv kvalitetsutveckling. Till lösningsförslaget tillkommer en implementeringsplan för att underlätta framtida förbättringar i Trafikverket. Slutsatsen som tagits är att Trafikverket har svaga kunskaper om processer och för att kunna arbeta med processer samt ständigt utveckla processerna behöver de genomgå en utbildning. Utbildningen kan lägga grunden för att Trafikverket i framtiden ska kunna ta fram en önskvärd process som alla i enheterna Samhällsplanering kan arbeta efter och känner för. / In this examination paper we have studied the Swedish Transport Administrations main process Plan measures and thoroughly analysed the subprocess Early planning with other stakeholders. The purpose with this study was to chart how the work is conducted in real life connected to the process Early planning with other stakeholders. From the mapping of the improvement area is the study meant to propose a solution to the Swedish Transport Administration. By conducting ten interviews, two observations and 35 received questionnaires we have created a more in depth knowledge and understanding about the improvement area Too extensive process. Too extensive process means that the process describes generally how a planner works but leaves space for interpretation, which leads to that different municipalities gets different refutation. Using the tools, pareto charts, histogram and correlation matrix we where able to clarify the present situation. In the analysis it appeared he improvement area Too extensive process emerged by a lack of knowledge within the subject of process and process management. Through theory linking we are presenting a suitable solution proposition to handle the main reason for development. The solution contains capacity building through a total quality management. To the solution proposition resides an implementation plan to facilitate future improvements within the Swedish Transport Administration. The conclusion is that the Swedish Transport Administration has flickering knowledge about processes. To be able to work with processes and constantly improvements the processes do they need to conduct a capacity building. The capacity building can lay the foundation for the Swedish Transport Administration to in the future be able to present a desired process which all in The infrastructural planners division can work with and work for.

The theme of the thesis is the area of process management. In the theoretical part of the thesis the basic terms are explained, so as the other areas, which relate to area of processes and proces management. This section also describes the essential terms used in the methodology of the real potential for improvement. The whole theoretical part concludes description of selected ISO standards, which the analyzed company disposes. The practical part of the thesis is aimed to describtion and application of the methodology to achieve the potential improvement in the environment of manufacturing company. This methodology is also accompanied by several activities that contribute to the complexity of the methodology. The following describes the operation of manufacturing companies in order to analyze the maturity of individual processes and also describe the selected processes,which were based on analysis of the processes identified as the highest priority for this company. After completing the necessary steps of analysis, individual potentials, that can contribute to increase the efficiency of the process areas in the analyzed company, have been identified. What could affect the achievement of the real potential is expressed by means of hard and soft effects. The last part of the thesis consist of specific procedures, which serves to remove the internal limits of the company, respectively to achieve the identified potential.

Business Process Improvement (BPI) is a challenge for most companies facing challenges in finding temporary solutions to immediate problems. An increased intertwining between the digital and the physical world leads to new ways of customer interaction. Today's digitalized society placing high demands on the digitalization of companies and insurance companies is no exception. The insurance industry is considered behind for what is required for digitization leading to unnecessarily long processing times and arbitrary assessments. A digital solution for insurance management is expected to reduce processing times and be more in line with customers' expectations. The purpose of the work is to evaluate how process improvements in claims management can be achieved via a digital customer portal. The research includes a case study at a well-established insurance company where a current situation of a claims process is mapped and evaluated through interviews and workshops. A prototype of a digital customer portal is developed and evaluated in a theoretical applicability test. Important factors for BPI are developed with the help of previous research and the study's result analyzes based on these factors. The primary result showed that BPI were generated via the digital customer portal through the factors lead times, automation, bottlenecks, quality assurance of information and value creation. Thus, the customer portal proved to be a theoretical way of being able to live up to customers' expectations of digitalization, contribute with competitiveness, customer loyalty and improved customer experience and customer service. Finally, companies can acquire knowledge about the importance of customer centering and the development of digital customer portals for BPI and which factors to consider for BPI. / Förbättring av affärsprocesser (eng. Business Process Improvement, BPI) är en utmaning för de flesta företag som ständigt står inför utmaningen att hitta tillfälliga lösningar på omedelbara problem. En ökad sammanflätning mellan den digitala och den fysiska världen leder till nya sätt för kundinteraktion. Dagens digitaliserade samhälle ställer höga krav på digitaliseringen hos företag och försäkringsbolagen är inget undantag. Försäkringsbranschen anses ligga efter vad gäller digitalisering vilket kan leda till onödigt långa handläggningstider och godtyckliga bedömningar. En digital lösning för försäkringshandläggning förväntas kunna effektivisera handläggningstider och leva upp till kundernas förväntningar. Syftet med arbetet är att utvärdera hur processförbättringar inom försäkringshandläggning kan uppnås via en digital kundportal. Arbetet omfattar en fallstudie på ett väletablerat försäkringsbolag där ett nuläge av en skadeprocess kartläggs för att sedan utvärderas genom intervjuer och workshops. En prototyp av en digital kundportal utvecklas och utvärderas i ett teoretiskt applicerbarhetstest. Viktiga faktorer för BPI tas fram med hjälp av tidigare forskning och studiens resultat analyseras utifrån dessa faktorer. Det primära resultatet var att BPI förväntades kunna uppnås via den digitala kundportalen med hänsyn till faktorerna ledtider, automatisering, flaskhalsar, kvalitetssäkring av information samt värdeskapande. Kundportalen visade sig också teoretiskt sätt kunna leva upp till kundernas förväntan av digitalisering, bidra med konkurrenskraft, kundlojalitet samt förbättrad kundupplevelse och kundservice. Avslutningsvis kan företag utifrån arbetet inhämta kunskap om kundcentreringens och utvecklingen av digitala kundportalers betydelse för BPI samt vilka faktorer att ta hänsyn till vid BPI.

The subject of this master’s thesis is communication with foreign customers in the company TEMPISH Ltd. The thesis is divided into two parts connected to each other and complements each other. It is the theoretical basis and its subsequent practical use. The theoretical part is focused on clarifying the concepts of communication, customer and their forms. In the practical part of the thesis communication with customers in the company TEMPISH Ltd. is characterized. This part also covers analysis of survey results. Based on the findings proposals to improve the current state of communication, especially with foreign customers, are described.

Titel: Sales & Operations Planning: Utvärdering, förbättring och implementering. En fallstudie på Höganäs Sweden AB.  Kurs: 4FE19E Examensarbete i Logistik för Civilekonomprogrammet. Författare: Aron Lindahl & Isac Gladh. Handledare: Peter Berling.  Bakgrund: Höganäs Sweden AB upplever att deras S&OP-arbete i nuläget inte fungerar effektivt. Missförstånd och oklarheter uppkommer ofta mellan avdelningarna och det är brist på standardiserade arbetssätt att förhålla sig till när det kommer till arbetet med S&OP. S&OP är ett verktyg som kan användas för att stärka samarbetet mellan olika avdelningar inom en verksamhet samt göra informationsdelningen mer transparant och effektivare vilket i sin tur leder till en högre grad av planeringsintegration. Representanter från företaget menar att det finns förbättringspotential kopplat till deras arbete med S&OP.  Syfte: Syftet med uppsatsen är att generera ett ramverk som tillverkande företag kan använda för att utvärdera, förbättra samt implementera sin S&OP-process.  Metod: Detta arbete är en fallstudie på företaget Höganäs Sweden AB där empiri har samlats in genom direkta observationer, strukturerade-, semistrukturerade samt ostrukturerade intervjuer med olika representanter från företaget. Arbetet grundar sig i ett kvalitativt angreppssätt med en deduktiv ansats.  Slutsats: Denna studie har fastställt mognadsgraden för S&OP-processen vid Höganäs Sweden AB och konstaterats att det finns förbättringspotential. Studien har, utifrån nuvarande mognadsgrad, tagit fram en rad åtgärder och verktyg som syftar till att förbättra processen och på sikt öka mognadsgraden för S&OP-processen vid Höganäs Sweden AB. För att kunna implementera dessa förbättringsförslag har författarna genererat en modell som behandlar hur tillverkande företag ska implementera S&OP. Implementeringsprocessen som beskrivs i modellen är en utveckling av befintlig teori där viktiga faktorer och åtgärder från olika källor har sammanfogats till en modell för effektiv implementering. / Title: Sales & Operations Planning: Evaluation, improvement and implementation. A case study at Höganäs Sweden AB. Course: 4FE19E Degree project in Logistics, the Business Administration and Economics Programme. Authors: Aron Lindahl & Isac Gladh.  Tutors: Peter Berling. Background:  Höganäs Sweden AB is experiencing that their current S&OP is not operating effectively. Misunderstandings and ambiguities often arise between departments and there lack of standardized ways of working when it comes to S&OP. S&OP is a tool that can be used to strengthen the cooperation between departments within a business and make the information sharing more transparent and effective which in turn leads to a higher degree of plan integration. Representatives from Höganäs Sweden AB states that there is potential for improvements when it comes to their work with S&OP.    Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to generate a framework that manufacturing companies can use to evaluate, improve and implement their S&OP-process.  Method: This is a case study at Höganäs Sweden AB where the empirical data has been collected through direct observations and unstructured, semi-structured and structured interviews. The work is based on a qualitative strategy with a deductive approach. Conclusion: This case study has determined the maturity level of the S&OP process at Höganäs Sweden AB and established that there is potential for improvements. The case study has, based on the current maturity level, generated a number of improvement suggestions with the purpose of improving the process and in the long run increase the maturity level for the S&OP process at Höganäs Sweden AB. In order to be able to implement these improvement suggestions the authors have generated a model that cover how manufacturing companies should implement S&OP. The implementation process that is described in the model is a development of existing theory where important elements and actions from different sources has been collected and merged into one model for effective implementation.

The purpose of this case study is to understand how children participation cancontribute to the organizations development through the Västermodel. TheVästermodel is a tool which four municipalities use to involve children in purpose toachieve a development. The method of use in this study has been semi structuredqualitative interviews and document analysis. The data has been collected from oneorganization that used the Västermodel during two years. The result shows that theVästermodel is orientated towards evaluation and that the children have a low degreeof participation. Despite this, the result show that the Västermodel has contributed toimprovements of the service and a higher degree of customer orientation. Theorganizations ability to work with continuous improvements also seems to havematured between the two years. The conclusion in this study is that the studiedapplication of the Västermodel can contribute to an organizational and a servicedevelopment, primarily through evaluation of existing services and how theorganization delivers that service. It could therefore be a first step towards a higherdegree of children involvement. The organizations need to take actions to analyze theimprovements that have been made to be able to show the value of childreninvolvement. / Denna fallstudie har syftat till att förstå hur barns delaktighet kan bidra tillsocialtjänstens verksamhetsutveckling genom Västermodellen. Västermodellen är ettarbetssätt som fyra kommuner använt för att involvera barn i syfte att åstadkomma enverksamhetsutveckling. Datainhämtningen har skett i form av kvalitativa intervjuer samtinhämtande av skriftliga dokument vilka har kvantifierats, datainhämtningen har ägtrum inom en organisation som använt sig utav Västermodellen under två års tid.Resultatet visar på att Västermodellen är utvärderingsorienterad där barnen utifrånbeskriven teori har en låg grad av involvering. Trots detta visar resultatet på attorganisationen med stöd av Västermodellen bidragit med förbättringsåtgärder och enökad kundorientering. Även organisationens förmåga att arbeta med ständigaförbättringar verkar ha mognat mellan de två åren. Slutsatserna i denna studie är blandannat att Västermodellen i den studerade tillämpningen visar på en förmåga att bidratill en verksamhetsutveckling, främst gällande befintliga tjänster och hur den tjänstenges. Västermodellen kan därmed utgöra ett första steg mot ökad barninvolvering,organisationen behöver dock vidta åtgärder för att analysera de förbättringsåtgärdersom genomförs för att visa på värdet av att involvera barnen.

This thessis determines return of investments for energetic improvements. Theoretical chapter introduces term definitions for investments, assessing and energetic improvements domains. Practical part compares several possibilities of energetic improvements applied on real estate. Comparsion that is based on amount of initial investment, effectivity and return time determines optimal solution for particular estate.

Studien har genomförts på en svensk organisation som står inför en branschomställning vilket innebär att rekryteringsbehovet ökar och fler medarbetare behöver anställas. Syftet med studien är att undersöka vad en attraktiv arbetsplats är, hur attraktiva arbetsplatser skapas, om det går att mäta och hur den studerade organisationen förhåller sig till det.   Datainsamlingen bestod av marknadsundersökningar som behandlar vad som utgör attraktiva arbetsplatser, organisationens egen medarbetarundersökning samt intervjuer med ledning och medarbetare. Data analyserades med teorier och tidigare forskning inom organisatorisk förändring, ledarskap och sensemaking, offensiv kvalitetsutveckling, attraktiv arbetsplats samt arbetsgivarvarumärke.   Organisationens medarbetare trivs väldigt bra, men organisationen har ett arbete framför sig för att bli mer attraktiva bland potentiella arbetstagare. Förbättringspotential ligger i att skapa delaktighet bland medarbetarna, ökad transparens i kommunikation och beslutsfattande, ledarskap och sensemaking samt att arbeta aktivt med ständiga förbättringar och innovation.   Med hänsyn till hur en attraktiv arbetsplats kan mätas presenteras en mognadsmodell med fem dimensioner. Dessa är sociala värderingar, maximera potential, effektivt ledarskap, ömsesidig tillit samt utveckling och innovation. Organisationen utvärderas med hjälp av modellen och nuläge identifieras. Slutligen presenteras förbättringsförslag som organisationen kan använda sig av för att göra en förflyttning mot att bli en mer attraktiv arbetsplats. / The study has been conducted at a Swedish organization facing industry changes and scaling, meaning the organization need to reconsider their strategies for attraction and retention of employees. The study aims to investigate what makes a workplace attractive, how great places to work are created and how this can be measured. Further, the study investigates where the specific organization fits into this and how they can create a workplace to attract more talent.   Data for the study was collected through market research, the organization's employee survey and through interviews with top management as well as employees. The data was analyzed using theories and previous research within organizational change, leadership and sensemaking, total quality management, great place to work and employer branding.   There is an overall high satisfaction amongst employees of the organization, however, there are areas of improvement. The organization needs to work with involving and engaging employees at all levels, increase transparency in communication and decision making, leading through sensemaking, and working actively with continuous improvements to innovate.   In regards of measuring how attractive a workplace is, a maturity grid has been presented. The maturity grid is based on five dimensions for creating a great place to work. These are social values, maximizing potential, efficient leadership, mutual trust in addition to continuous improvement and innovation. The studied organization has been evaluated in the maturity grid and suggestion for improvement to create a better workplace has been presented.