The purpose of this thesis is to develop a model for assessing cost effectiveness of applying lean tools. The model consists of eight phases: it starts by understanding customers' requirements using Voice of Customer (VOC) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) tools. In phase 2, the current state of plant is assessed using lean profile charts based on Balanced Scorecard (BSC) measures. In phase 3 and phase 4, identification of critical problem(s) and generating of improvement suggestion(s) are performed. Phase 5 provide evaluation of the cost effectiveness of implementing the suggested lean methods based on life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and phase 6 prefers the right alternative based on multiple criteria decision making (MCDM). In phase 7 the selected alternative is supposed to be implemented and finally the user should monitor and control the process to make sure that the improvement is going as planned. The model was verified successfully using a case study methodology at one Swedish sawmill called Södra Timber in Ramkvilla, one part of Södra group. Results obtained from the study showed that the production and human resources perspectives are the most critical problem areas that need to be improved. They got the lowest scores in the lean profile, 63% and 68%, respectively. Using value stream mapping (VSM) it was found that the non value added (NVA) ratios for the core and side products are 87.4% and 90.4%, respectively. Using the model, three improvement alternatives were suggested and evaluated using LCCA and MCDM. Consequently, implementing 5S got the highest score, second came redesigning the facility layout. However, it was estimated that 4.7 % of NVA for the side product would be reduced by redesigning the facility layout. The recommendations were suggested for the company to improve their performance. The novelty of the thesis is based on the fact that it addresses two main issues related to lean manufacturing: firstly, suggesting lean techniques based on assessment of lean profile that is based on BSC and QFD, and secondly assessing the cost effectiveness of the suggested lean methods based on LCCA and MCDM. This thesis provides a generalized model that enables the decision-maker to know and measure, holistically, the company performance with respect to customer requirements. This will enable the company to analyze the critical problems, suggest solutions, evaluate them and make a cost effective decision. Thus, the company can improve its competitiveness.

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to develop a model for assessing cost effectiveness of applying lean tools. The model consists of eight phases: it starts by understanding customers' requirements using Voice of Customer (VOC) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) tools. In phase 2, the current state of plant is assessed using lean profile charts based on Balanced Scorecard (BSC) measures. In phase 3 and phase 4, identification of critical problem(s) and generating of improvement suggestion(s) are performed. Phase 5 provide evaluation of the cost effectiveness of implementing the suggested lean methods based on life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and phase 6 prefers the right alternative based on multiple criteria decision making (MCDM). In phase 7 the selected alternative is supposed to be implemented and finally the user should monitor and control the process to make sure that the improvement is going as planned. The model was verified successfully using a case study methodology at one Swedish sawmill called Södra Timber in Ramkvilla, one part of Södra group. Results obtained from the study showed that the production and human resources perspectives are the most critical problem areas that need to be improved. They got the lowest scores in the lean profile, 63% and 68%, respectively. Using value stream mapping (VSM) it was found that the non value added (NVA) ratios for the core and side products are 87.4% and 90.4%, respectively. Using the model, three improvement alternatives were suggested and evaluated using LCCA and MCDM. Consequently, implementing 5S got the highest score, second came redesigning the facility layout. However, it was estimated that 4.7 % of NVA for the side product would be reduced by redesigning the facility layout. The recommendations were suggested for the company to improve their performance. The novelty of the thesis is based on the fact that it addresses two main issues related to lean manufacturing: firstly, suggesting lean techniques based on assessment of lean profile that is based on BSC and QFD, and secondly assessing the cost effectiveness of the suggested lean methods based on LCCA and MCDM. This thesis provides a generalized model that enables the decision-maker to know and measure, holistically, the company performance with respect to customer requirements. This will enable the company to analyze the critical problems, suggest solutions, evaluate them and make a cost effective decision. Thus, the company can improve its competitiveness.</p>

When implementing a bridge design proposal, it is common that several alternatives be considered, each with a different material of construction. Traditional building materials used for the construction of bridges have mainly been concrete, steel, timber or aluminium. With all these materials options, maintenance and replacement costs throughout the lifespan of a bridge make up for a large proportion of their total life cycle costs. Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) provides a new viable construction material, which can be implemented in bridge construction. This plastic based material has favourable material properties such a very high strength to weight ratio, high corrosion resistance and durability, as well as very low maintenance costs over its lifetime. In the feasibility analysis, a case study of an existing FRP deck bridge was taken and examined in three aspects: structural, economic and environmental. The bridge was also redesigned with a concrete deck solution, to provide a comparison to a conventional construction material. The results were found, in general to be favourable towards the FRP solution. From the structural analysis savings on deflection, support reactions and superstructure stresses were outputted. Economically, the composite material was found to have a substantial higher initial cost but much lower periodic maintenance costs than the concrete option. Finally the FRP bridge option displayed a lower construction time for the superstructure, at one third of that of concrete and an overall lower environmental impact, based on material production and the overall bridge construction process.

Studien syftar till att ta fram rekommenderade livscykelplaner för övergångskonstruktioner för att i framtiden möjliggöra säkrare livscykelkostnadsanalyser. Nedbrytningen av övergångskonstruktioner kan grovt delas upp i två kategorier, användarrelaterad nedbrytning samt nedbrytning associerat med rådande klimatförhållanden. I studien har årsdygnstrafiken och klimatzonernas påverkan på övergångskonstruktionen studerats genom utvärdering av historiskt utförda åtgärder kopplade till Trafikverkets broförvaltningssystem BaTMan. Regressionsanalyser och överlevnadsanalyser utfördes för de vanligaste åtgärderna. Resultaten visar att utbyte av tätprofil samt övergångskonstruktion är de åtgärder som förekommer allra mest och sker i genomsnitt efter 25 respektive 33 år. Från analyserna kunde utläsas att trafikintensiteten är en faktor som direkt påverkar nedbrytningen och således reparation och utbyte av övergångskonstruktion, troligt är även att tung trafik står för en stor del av nedbrytningen. Även klimatet verkar ha en påverkan på både övergångskonstruktionens och tätprofilens livslängd. Baserat på resultaten rekommenderas tre livscykelplaner, livscykelplanerna kan användas som underlag i framtida livscykelberäkningar. De kan även användas som stöd för förvaltare vid uppbyggnad av strategier under förvaltningsfasen. / This study aims to develop recommended Life-Cycle Plans for bridge expansion joints which in the future can be used for Life-Cycle Cost analysis to achieve a higher degree of certainty. The degradation of expansion joints can be roughly divided into two categories, user-related degradation and degradation due to climatic conditions. In the study, the influence of annual average daily traffic and climate zones on the expansion joint will be studied by evaluating historically conducted maintenance actions related to the Swedish Transport Administrations (Trafikverket) bridge management system BaTMan. Regression analysis and survival analyzes were performed for the most common actions. The results show that replacement of the strip seal and the expansion joint is the most commonly performed maintenance measures and occurs on average after 25 and 33 years. From the analyzes it was deduced that the traffic intensity is a factor that directly affects the degradation and therefore also the repair and replacement of the expansion joint, likely is also that a large part of the degradation is due to the wear of heavy vehicles. The climate also seems to have an impact on the lifetime of the expansion joint as well as the strip seal. Based on the results, three Life-Cycle Plans was recommended. These Life-Cycle Plans can be used for future Life-Cycle Cost calculations but also to support bridge managers when comparing different maintenance strategies during the operational phase.

Construction of infrastructure does not only mean large capital investments but also future costs to operate and maintain these assets. Decision making in planning and design of roads will impact the need of future operation and maintenance activities. Additionally, infrastructure management is often under increasing pressure of aging structures, limited budgets and increased demands from public which require transparency in the decision making. Life cycle costing is a methodology that takes into account costs throughout an asset’s life cycle including investment, operation, maintenance and disposal. Despite the methodology’s existence for more than 40 years, the practical application is often reported to be scarce in both private and public sectors. Implementation in road planning and management means a high complexity where the life cycle costing can to be applied from early planning, design, construction and management in which all influence life cycle cost. Life cycle costing can also be applied in many different ways, level of detail and for different type of studies. For effective implementation of life cycle costing in road planning, design and management, different considerations need to be understood. In this thesis the application of life cycle costing has been studied through case study research. The main case selected was an investment to convert a single carriageway road to a, so called, sparse collision-free road. Through widening and separation between driving directions the traffic safety is significantly improved. However, in recent years increased operation and maintenance costs have been associated with the road type. Especially concerns regarding increased road user cost during road works have been expressed. This case was examined in two case studies from different perspectives. The first one was to study the implications on project appraisal and the second one examined the possibility to optimise pavement design. Results from cost benefit analyses based on established road appraisal techniques indicated that operation and maintenance related costs had limited impact on profitability. The second study also indicated that future cost can be influenced differently depending on criteria for optimal alternative. Based on economic analyses using established techniques, increased operation and maintenance liabilities appear to be of limited concern, in contrary to the perception. In future research this need to be set in context of road management with refined analysis in order to study implications for future management. / <p>QC 20141028</p>

growing concern on achieving environmental sustainability and at the same time making economical savings has become a necessity in our society. The prices of different battery energy storage technologies together with PV cells are declining all around the globe which has led to the fact that there is an increased interest in investing and using these technologies to be able to reach environmental sustainability. The combined system however, must be accurately calculated both when it comes to the sizing and the different costs related to the combined system to be able to make an economical saving. This thesis addresses both of those aspects in Sweden where a residential building with roof-top installed PV system is assessed with a battery energy storage system. An investigation is necessary to be able to assess the different battery storage technologies available in the market today with their specific technical and economical specifications. The electricity market in Sweden, the role of the Distribution System Operator on the electricity pricing with different time tariffs and fuse size subscription, PV generation and battery specifications are investigated and modeled in this study. Sizing of the different battery technologies for the given system is accomplished through a methodology that is developed in this project for the Swedish system. The calculated size of the battery is then used in the Life Cycle Cost analysis, using Monte Carlo simulations for a chosen period of 25 years.Calculations shows that the most appropriate size for the battery system with the given parameters is 6 kWh for all the battery types investigated in this study. The size of the batteries is also shown to be mainly dependent on the charging/discharging time together with the set fuse size margin. Profitability of the Battery Energy Storage system is proven to be mainly dependent on the fuse size downgrade. Sulphur-Sodium battery result in the greatest savings while Vanadium Redox batteries in the least when sizing the batteries. Lithium-Ion battery technology however is most likely to result in the lowest Levelized Cost of Electricity, total- and cycle costs while the highest Net Present Value with 90 % probability in the Monte Carlo simulations. Lithium-Ion battery technology is also found to have the highest probability of having a positive NPV compared to the lowest probability for Sulphur-Sodium battery technology. Lead-Acid battery technology is however shown to have the least uncertainties compared to other Battery Energy Storage technologies due to its maturity. It is additionally shown that government subsidy plays a crucial role when investing in the battery storage system. However, even with the case of removed government subsidy, Lithium-Ion battery technology still results in the largest probability of having a positive NPV while Sulphur-Sodium battery technology results in the lowest probability of having a positive NPV. / Den växande oron för att uppnå miljömässig hållbarhet och samtidigt göra ekonomiska besparingar har blivit en nödvändighet i vårt samhälle. Priserna på olika energilagrings teknologier så som batterier tillsammans med PV-celler minskar runt om i världen vilket har lett till att det finns ett ökat intresse när det gäller att investera och använda dessa teknologier för att kunna nå miljömässig hållbarhet. Det kombinerade systemet måste dock noggrant beräknas både när det gäller storleken och de olika kostnaderna för det kombinerade systemet för att kunna göra en ekonomisk besparing. Denna avhandling behandlar båda dessa aspekter i Sverige där en bostadsbyggnad med takmonterat PV system utvärderas med ett batteri system. En undersökning är nödvändig för att kunna bedöma de olika batteri teknologier som finns tillgängliga på marknaden idag med sina specifika tekniska och ekonomiska specifikationer. Elmarknaden i Sverige, Distribution System Operatörs roll för elprissättning med olika tidstariffer och säkringsabonnemang, PV-generation och batterispecifikationer undersöks och modelleras i denna studie. Dimensionering av olika batteri teknologier för det givna systemet uppnås genom en metod som utvecklats i detta projekt för det svenska systemet. Den beräknade storleken på batteriet används sedan i livscykelkostnadsanalysen, med Monte Carlo-simuleringar under en vald period på 25 år. Beräkningar visar att den optimala storleken för batterisystemet med de angivna parametrarna är 6 kWh för alla batterityper som undersöktes i denna studie. Batteriets storlek visar sig också vara huvudsakligen beroende av laddning / urladdningstiden tillsammans med den inställda säkrings storleken. Lönsamheten hos batterilagringssystemet visar sig vara huvudsakligen beroende av säkringens nedgradering. Svavel-Natriumbatteriet resulterar i de största besparingarna medan Vanadium Redox batteriet i de minsta när dimensionering av batteriet äger rum. Litium-Ion batteriet är emellertid sannolikt att leda till den lägsta nivån av elkostnader, total- och cykelkostnader, medan det högsta nettoförsäljningsvärdet med 90% sannolikhet i Monte Carlo-simuleringarna. Litium-Ion batteriet befanns också ha den högsta sannolikheten att ha en positiv NPV jämfört med Svavel-Natriumbatteriet som resulterar i den lägsta sannolikheten. Lead-Acid batteriet visar sig ha den minsta osäkerheten i jämförelse med andra batterilagrings teknologier på grund av dess mognad. Det framgår dessutom att statlig subvention spelar en avgörande roll när man investerar i ett batteri lagrings system. Dock även med borttagna statliga subventioner, resulterar Litium-Ion batteriet fortfarande största sannolikheten för att ha en positiv NPV, medan Svavel-Natriumbatteriet resulterar den lägsta sannolikheten för att ha en positiv NPV.

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Oil palm has flourished as an economically vital crop in Indonesia given its use in both food and non-food products (including biodiesel) for domestic and export markets. However, the expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia is controversial. While the crop generates fiscal earnings for the country, and regular income streams for farmers and companies, oil palm plantation expansion is claimed to cause deforestation, environmental degradation and biodiversity losses. At the same time, there is a national target to reduce GHG emissions from land use change and the production of palm oil. Climate change mitigation goals also include ambitious targets to blend biodiesel with fossil diesel in various economic sectors. This thesis looks at the palm oil agro-industry, from oil palm plantation to crude palm oil (CPO) production, and CPO based biodiesel production. It proposes a policy evaluation to verify policy implications in relation to the issue of land use allocation, and the poor profitability in palm oil biodiesel production. The overarching objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of prevailing policies used to promote the palm oil agro-industry for biodiesel production in Indonesia. The thesis is framed by policy research and ex-post policy evaluation. The focus is on the process of policy formulation and implementation, rather than outcome evaluation. Two specific analytical frameworks are used to answer the research questions while addressing the criteria of effectiveness in policy evaluation: (i) policy coherence analysis and (ii) life cycle cost analysis. Qualitative indicators are used to measure the coherence of biofuel policy with other sectoral policies (agriculture, climate and forestry) in relation to land allocation. Quantitative economic indicators are used to compare the costs and benefits of conventional palm oil biodiesel production with a biorefinery conceptual plant. There are valuable lessons to be learnt from this policy evaluation. The results indicate areas in which policy effectiveness can be improved. For land allocation, adjustments and improvements in policy formulation and implementation are crucial. Uncertainties when it comes to the allocation of land to meet multi sectoral policy goals are to be addressed by clarifying land use definitions and categories, which should be backed up by consistent land use definitions in various policy documents. The dual land classification presently applied should move towards a single land classification, linking actual landscape coverage and the legal status of the land. Policy information and guidance across sectoral policies should be compiled in a single database. Such a publicly available database would help enhance the efficiency of land allocation for multiple policy purposes. More importantly, the formulation of biodiesel policy has to engage various sectoral policies that compete for the same resources. The biorefinery conceptual plant allows the reduction of government subsidies, while also providing a pathway to enhance the use of renewable energy and reduce GHG emissions. Policies have been designed to enhance plant profits through the improved utilisation of biomass residues in the palm oil mill for energy generation and composting. However, the low implementation rate of policies indicates the need to improve the effectiveness of policy implementation, and therefore the need for better monitoring processes, and possibly more stringent consequences for non-compliance. / <p>QC 20180223</p>

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