Recent studies on sustainability indicate that the concept of the Product-Service System (PSS) is a promising approach to dematerialise the economy and reduce the environmental impacts of industrial activity. Considering the urban scale, mobility is one of the challenges that should be addressed and improved for a better quality of life for residents and lower pollution levels for the environment. In this respect, this study aims at analysing Public Use Bicycle (PUB) systems from a PSS perspective. Six PUB systems implemented in different countries in Europe have been investigated based on the products and services they contain and the business context they are in. The results of this investigation indicate that PUB systems have the potential to increase the use of public transport and hence to decrease the environmental load of personal mobility activities. Further, it has been determined that how the products and services are combined, and how the business context is structured are important considerations in the design of sustainable PUB systems. In this study, a PUB system scenario is developed for tourists in the context of Rotterdam, to reflect on the literature eview on PSS and to show the findings of the investigation of six PUB systems in more concrete terms.

¡iABSTRACT¡j Three internal fixed network companies started operations one after another in July, 2001. Instantly, telecommunication market is running into a state of intense competition in our country. Besides comparing with each company's price and the quality of product, customers also take the services into consideration. It is thus important to attract customers by conducting the cost and the services for telecommunication companies. That means, it is important to find the differences between products and the services. Thus, to remain a good relationship with customers is indispensable for a successful business. ¡§Call Center¡¨ is the key of the service. According the research, the operational efficacy of the service department is growing quickly. The growing domain is not only increasing the limit but also increasing the content. Thus, the business managers must have different views about their agents. The agents are no more low human resources. A good agent will benefit a focal point of strategic market by training. Call center will be from a ¡uCost Center¡vto a ¡uProfit Center¡v. Besides transmitting to the customers the ideas of the company, the products, the services and the operating ideals, the agents are also the moment of key point between the company and the customers. It needs to go with officials and managers, if an agent wants the customers to feel satisfied. To create the best values and products, the other personnel must help the agents. This research is an exploration, take company A as an example, of the moment of quality of inbound operation that customers call for telecommunication's Call Center with internal customers¡¦ viewpoints and external customers¡¦ suggestions of quality. To do a deeper constructional exploration systematically what kind of serviceable quality does customers need, this research utilizes the technique of QFD (quality Function Deployment) and found: First, customers request the quality of voice (external metrics). The important items are to handle questions correctly, answering rate, and the ability to solve problems. Second, the important items of service quality (internal metrics) include average handling time, percentage of calls handle on the first calls, the capability of solution, percentage of abandonment, and the ability of specializing knowledge. Third, functions of supportive system that effect on the servicing quality (concerning metrics). There are eight important items about it. It Includes the investigation of customer satisfaction, thrust out promote activity, setting up the evaluation of servicing quality, productivity of agents, handling of current working situation, setting up the objective and the measuring standard of servicing quality, thinking highly of call center, and handling of the unexpectedly events. According the documents and the operating system of call center and to promote the service quality, it offers suggestions of the operating system and methods to improve the countermeasure of management. It proves the crucial point of importance of total service systems.

<p>The focus of environmental work in manufacturing companies has increasingly shifted from end-of-pipe solutions to the environmental performance of products and services. The product development process is central to creating value for customers. This thesis argues that companies can simultaneously create value for consumers and be profitable while taking environmental considerations into account.</p><p>Modernising ecodesign means taking advantage of environmental benefits and the innovation potential when developing solutions rather than using ecodesign simply to ensure that legal requirements or customer demands are met. Ecodesign is a strategic issue and should be included in early product development activities, such as for project selection and when setting product targets. There is also need to perform ecodesign according to the characteristics of specific development processes as for radical product development or when developing integrated solutions, using a combination of services and products.</p><p>This thesis reports on the findings from five different research studies, all of which adopted a qualitative approach in which the emphasis falls on exploring and creating understanding and meaning. The studies focused on three areas of ecodesign: A) rethinking approaches for manufacturing companies, B) setting environmental project targets and project selection and C) redesign of products.</p><p>Recommendations on how to modernise ecodesign have been developed and can be summarised in six points:</p><p>• Perform ecodesign both vertically and horizontally in a company.</p><p>• Increase interaction between organisational units.</p><p>• Take advantage of innovation potential in products, services, user behaviour and the delivery and take-back systems.</p><p>• Take environmental considerations into account in the project selection process.</p><p>• Set environmental targets for ensuring that environmental considerations are taken when developing innovative solutions.</p><p>• Develop ecodesign procedures that fit the characteristics of the development process</p>

In response to competitive and economic pressures, an increasing number of manufacturing firms are adding services to their traditional product offerings. However, companies are confronted with an arduous undertaking, and find it difficult to servitize successfully and profitably. This thesis investigates the transformation that traditional manufacturers undergo to become providers of integrated products and services, a phenomenon known as servitization. Servitization is considered a strategic re-direction of the manufacturing organisation and a major challenge for senior management. The purpose of this study is to provide better understanding of the change that occurs when a manufacturer attempts servitization. The study adopts a qualitative theory building approach to investigate an under-researched phenomenon and a major managerial challenge. It follows a strategy of engaged scholarship to understand a complex organisational problem. The research utilised multiple case studies, action research, and focus groups to tackle a problem with significance to industry. The findings reveal the nature of servitization as a complex transformative change which exposes the manufacturing company to its environment in new ways, and closely interlinks the organisation with a network of stakeholders through new dependencies. The transformation of traditional manufacturers towards servitized organisations is multi-dimensional and goes through eleven dimensions of transformation across the organisation and its network. In addition, thirty nine forces of change were found to influence the outcome of servitization, and were categorised into three sets of change drivers for servitization. The results of the study led to the formation of a model for transformation towards a servitized organisation for use by industry practitioners to roadmap and facilitate their organisation‟s shift towards services. The model represents a novel approach to managing servitization. This research has addressed a literature gap and met an industrial need, and has made a significant contribution to knowledge about the change that traditional manufacturers experience to become servitized organisations.

The aim of this thesis is to present a new methodology to evaluate and optimize sustainability of customizable product-service systems while ensuring economic, environmental and societal constraints are also satisfied. Activities across the total product lifecycle are considered to develop a model that evaluates closed-loop flow, while being monitored through the growth, maturity and decline stages of the product to provide a comprehensive analysis. A novel method to evaluate the customer satisfaction is also presented. The research considers a modular product where customization can be achieved by selecting from alternatives while ensuring the compatibility between these alternatives. A manufacturer will be able to use the tool developed to optimize the business models developed by maximizing their profitability, satisfying regulatory and customer requirements, and evaluating the metrics that determine the sustainability of the product. The tool primarily uses a Microsoft Excel based platform for calculation and analysis while using ILOG OPL software for optimization. The sensitivity analysis provides examples of the variety of information that can be generated through the model according to the interests of the user. The results demonstrate the usefulness of the tool as a ‘sustainable product configurator’ which can be integrated with conventional product configurators after further refinement.

This research aims to explore and propose a more effective management of rail and road infrastructure and the possibility of a more resource-efficient road and rail infrastructure by applying business models based on performance and a life-cycle perspective. There is a lack of efficiency in the Swedish rail and road infrastructure industries - at the same time as the availability of the rail tracks and roads is essential. Rail and road infrastructure have long lifetimes, around 40-60 years, and during these decades regular maintenance and reconstruction are needed to ensure proper function. Large amounts of resources are required to construct the infrastructure, and the overall environmental pressure depends substantially on this. This research is largely based on interviews conducted with the buyer, contractors and design consultants for rail and road infrastructure in Sweden. Literature reviews have been conducted to develop the framework needed to analyze the empirical findings. This research contributes by building on theory in areas such as Integrated Product Service Offerings (IPSOs) and eco-design, and this abstract presents a brief summary of the overall conclusions. Several challenges for rail and road infrastructure in Sweden have been identified, such as the lack of information and knowledge transfer between different projects and actors. This is due to e.g. the use of traditional short-term contracts and conservative cooperate cultures, creating sub-optimizations in management. Increased collaboration, through e.g. partnering, seems to be a promising way to increase the information and knowledge transfer between actors by increasing trust and interaction. In this way, management would be more effective, and by involving contractors in the design phase, more efficient technical solutions could be developed and used. Additionally, increased involvement by the design consultants and an iterative information loop between design, construction and maintenance could also be beneficial. The research indicates that increased cooperation increases trust. In this way, there is a possibility to remove the detailed requirements that prevent new ways of working. Rail and road infrastructure have characteristics, such as the resources used and the importance of availability, that are well-suited for IPSOs. This performance-based business model with a life-cycle perspective provides incentives to optimize the use of resources and provide a holistic view for management that is lacking today for rail and road infrastructure. However, a long-term contract such as an IPSO creates uncertainties. The actors are risk-averse, which is an obstacle in the development of new business models and contract forms. Most of the risks and uncertainties identified are due to lack of experience. This implies that an implementation of IPSOs will have a steep learning curve. Additionally, risk allocation between the actors is important for effective management: too much risk for the suppliers will make them reluctant in developing new solutions, and they will use a risk premium to cover up for the risk.

Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is a highly bandwidth efficient transmission technique for digital communications. It makes use of multiple signal phase and amplitude levels to carry multiple bits per symbol. This requires accurate and robust carrier phase and frequency estimation in the receiver. / Thesis (PhDElectronicEngineering)--University of South Australia, 2002.

Bibliography: leaves 203-219. / 226 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Develops efficient analytical methodologies for multimedia traffic integration and improved design tools to enhance data performance. The call admission control policies proposed are not only able to enhance traffic performance but also maintain communication quality at an acceptable level. In particular, the multiple priority scheme is a promising technique for the control of packet congestion in a high-speed wireless multimedia environment. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2000?

Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is a highly bandwidth efficient transmission technique for digital communications. It makes use of multiple signal phase and amplitude levels to carry multiple bits per symbol. This requires accurate and robust carrier phase and frequency estimation in the receiver. / Thesis (PhDElectronicEngineering)--University of South Australia, 2002

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2007. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.