Olofsfors is a steel product manufacturer in Nordmaling, Sweden, producing steel edges for snowplows, tracks for forest machines, and wear edges for buckets on heavy equipment. Most of their products are heated to 900◦ C and then cooled down in water, so-called quenching, during the hardening process. A group of ovens and quench machines together form an oven system and this is used for the hardening. Since it takes a long time for the ovens to reach operating temperature, they are always kept on, which is why it is important to utilize them as effectively as possible. This project investigates the potential utilization increase of one of the three oven systems in the wear edge production unit. This oven system is part of a production line that consists of a saw and a mill, and can process products up to two meters in length, and is hereon called the two-meter line. The two-meter line has a natural inflow through the saw, but raw material produced in other parts of the factory can also be fetched from another inlet. The use of the other inlet is limited by the operator of the two-meter line who has to fetch the material with a forklift. This could be automated so that the operator would not have to handle this inlet. The purpose is to investigate the potential increases in utilization of the oven system for different degrees of automation in order to make the most of the machines and the operator at the two-meter line. In the end, a recommendation is given with a set of ideal properties of the investment that could improve productivity the most. The main method applied in order to explore the potential use of the oven system is a re-entrant flow shop scheduling model. As preceding steps, the production line is first mapped in order to find potential routes for different product families, then the order quantities in the production data are translated into jobs to be scheduled with the help of packing problems and batching rules. The scheduling model of the production line is then solved heuristically with a genetic algorithm based on the sequence of jobs entering the production line followed by a method for creating a deterministic schedule based on this initial sequence of jobs. Lastly, a sensitivity analysis is applied to the processing time for the steps performed by the operator to evaluate the results' robustness. The conclusion is that there is a substantial potential to increase the utilization of the oven system of the two-meter line. The largest potential is when the operator is not actively working at the production line; a maximum of 15.6 h on average. There does also exist a potential to increase utilization while the operator is working at the production line; a maximum of 3.9 h on average. The automation degree needed is high in both cases but due to different reasons. When the operator is not working, the automatic solution needs to work without supervision for longer periods of time, while, in the other case, it needs to be smart enough to adjust to not disturb the operator’s work. For the future, the recommendation is to focus the next step on finding investment options that could exploit the time when the operator is not working. By further specifying the potential investment alternatives, the cost factor can be added to the analysis as well. / Olofsfors AB är en stålproduktstillverkare i Nordmaling, Sverige, som producerar vägstål till bland annat snöplogar, band till skogsmaskiner och slitstål till entreprenadmaskiner. De flesta av deras produkter hettas upp till 900 C och släcks sedan i vatten under härdningsprocessen. En grupp av ugnar och härdmaskiner kallas tillsammans för ett ungsystem och det används till härdningen. Eftersom det tar lång tid att värma upp ugnarna står de alltid på-slagna och det är därför viktigt att använda dem så effektivt som möjligt.  I detta projekt har potentialen att öka användandet av ett av tre ugnsystem i slitstålsproduktionen undersökts.  Ugnsystemet i fråga är en del av en produktionslinje som också består av en såg och en fräs och kan härda artiklar med längder upp till två meter och kallas därför här tvåmeterslinjen. Den naturliga ingången för råmaterial i produktionslinjen är genom sågen, men det finns även en alternativ ingång för råmaterial som förbehandlats i tidigare produktionssteg i fabriken. Användandet av den andra ingången till produktionlinjen begränsas av att operatören i produktionslinjen måste hämta materialet med truck. Detta in-flöde skulle gå att automatisera så att operatören inte skulle behöva hämta dessa artiklar.  Syftet är att undersöka det potentiella ökade nyttjandet av ugnsystemet för olika grader av automation för att bäst använda maskiner och operatör i tvåmeterslinjen. I slutet ges en rekommendation gällande vilka egenskaper investeringen bör ha för att öka produktiviteten mest.  Huvudmetoden för att undersöka möjligt ökat nyttjande av ugnarna är en schemaläggningsmodel. Som underliggande steg kartläggs först produktionslinjen och de olika rutter som olika produktfamiljer tar genom produktionslinjen. Produktkvantiteterna för varje order i produktionsdatan omvandlas sedan till jobb som kan schemaläggas genom packningsproblem och regler för laststorlekar i de olika maskinerna. Schemaläggningsmodellen löses sedan heuristiskt med hjälp av en genetisk algoritm som bestämmer den initiala sekvensen av jobben i första steget, tillsammans med en deterministisk metod för att skapa ett helt schema baserat på den initiala sekvensen av jobben. Slutligen genomförs en känslighetsanalys på processtiderna för steg som motsvarar operatören för att undersöka hur robust resultatet är.    Slutsatsen är att det finns en stor potential att öka nyttjandet av ugnsystemet i tvåmeterslinjen. Den största potentialen är när operatören inte arbetar aktivt vid produktionslinjen, med ett maximum på ca 15,6 h per dag. Det finns också en möjlighet att utöka nyttjandet av ugnarna under tiden som operatören arbetar aktivt med ordrar och outnyttjad tid då är 3,9 h i genomsnitt. Graden av automation är hög oberoende av vilken tid som ska utnyttjas men på grund av olika anledning. Om tiden då operatören inte aktivt jobbar utnyttjas, måste den automatiserade lösningen fungera autonomt under längre tid. Om den istället förväntas fungera parallellt med operatören måste den anpassas smart så att den inte stör operatörens arbete och flöde. Rekommendationen är att fokusera på att hitta konkreta investeringsalternativ som utnyttjar tiden då operatören inte aktivt arbetar för att få bättre kostnadsunderlag att ha med i den vidare analysen.

Servicescape is a physical setting where the performance, delivery and consumption are exchanged within a service marketplace. It includes sensory components, such as the theme of the place that has a high impact on customer perceptions and purchasing decisions and providing them with extraordinary experiences (Pine and Gilmore, 1999; Zeithaml, Bitner and Gremler, 2009). Therefore, the Disneyization concept which is influenced by the previous was applied as it focuses on providing differentiated services. However, the purpose of this research was to explore how theming and performative labour have been used in Small-Medium-Enterprises (SME) cafés as a differentiation strategy, thus only 2/4 Disneyization principles were looked into. Together with their teamwork differentiation was established against homogenised Fika cafés in Sweden. Three sub-questions have been created to allow the authors to answer the main question accurately. Deductive reasoning has been adapted for theory collection, while qualitative research was used when collecting primary data, through purposive sampling, due to criteria having to be met. A total of seven cafés participated through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis was followed to analyse, code, review, and define themes. The themes in the findings were cross-referenced with the literature review, thus the use of both interpretive and positivist research has shown slightly different results from previous studies. The findings state that when theming, all cafés cared about the different sensory elements such as interior design, sounds and smell for creating uniqueness. However, different from big enterprises, the passion of owners towards the theme was a significant factor in creating a successful theme as well. Nevertheless, theming alone was found to be not efficient enough as a differentiation strategy. Performative labour is needed to complement it which includes the concepts of emotional and aesthetic labour. Aesthetic labour had not a high effect on differentiating services, rather the extent of its application depends on the place and theme itself. On the contrary, emotional labour, which was connected with the service provided had a significant effect on instead, through interaction. Interaction is what is found to provide a unique service, creating a customer experience, thus loyal ones. Furthermore, the execution of theming and performative labour through a strong team is what creates a differentiation strategy in the face of competitors. Therefore, a Differentiation Strategy (DS) model for SME cafés was developed from the Disneyization model to include interaction and teamwork. The empirical data suggest that if a SME café successfully implements the model, it will create a differentiated strategy for itself.

Arbetet utforskar hur väl det går att tillämpa Slow Design och dess principer (reveal, expand, reflect, engage, participate, evolve och ritual) inom utvecklingen av digitala artefakter. I kontrast till ett fokus på effektiva interaktioner, fokuserar Slow Design på att främja medvetna interaktioner genom att skapa tillfällen för reflektion. Tidigare forskning har däremot mestadels fokuserat på tillämpningar av filosofin i design av fysiska artefakter. Med detta i åtanke, syftar detta arbete att besvara följande frågeställning: Hur kan principer för Slow Design appliceras i utvecklingen av digitala artefakter för att uppmuntra reflektioner hos användare? Huvudsakliga forskningsstrategin i studien var design science, med fokus på design och demonstration. Problemformuleringen och en del av behovsdefinitionen baserades på insamlad data från ett tidigare projektarbete genomfört av samma författare, där en virtuell matbutik utvecklades baserat på data från en empirisk studie kring mathandel. Utifrån detta togs en behovsdefinition fram för detta arbete, där krav på artefakten fastställdes. Detta kompletterades vidare med en tillämpning av principerna för Slow Design. Designarbetet inleddes därefter med en idégenerering, där ett flertal olika idéer genererades utifrån specificerade krav och principer för Slow Design. En validering med användare resulterade sedan i ett urval av idéer som användes som utgångspunkt för tidiga skisser på nätbutiken. Med utgångspunkt i skisserna utvecklades en prototyp av en nätbutik där olika funktioner implementerades med syftet att gestalta ett flertal principer för Slow Design. Därefter genomfördes en demonstration av prototypen, där sex deltagare ombads utföra ett antal uppgifter med både prototypen och en etablerad nätbutik. Detta genomfördes inom ramen av en mindre kartläggning där både observationer och semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes, som kunde ge insikter kring deltagarnas upplevelser av den utvecklade artefakten jämfört med en etablerad nätbutik. Insamlad data analyserades tematiskt och resulterade i tre teman: transparens, form och temporalitet. Dessa tre teman visade på övergripande aspekter i nätbutiken som kunde påverka reflektion. Utifrån den bedömning som gjordes, lyckades fem av sex implementerade principer framgångsrikt gestaltas i prototypen. Resultatet visade hur Slow Design kunde appliceras i utformning av en nätbutik, samt hur en implementering av de olika principerna kan bidra till en mer reflekterande, medveten och meningsfull mathandel. Därför dras slutsatsen, att arbetet på en mer övergripande nivå tydligt visar hur Slow Design kan appliceras i utvecklingen av digitala artefakter, och hur en tillämpning av principerna kan leda till fler möjligheter för användare att reflektera under användningen av digitala artefakter. / This paper reports on an exploration of how to apply Slow Design and its principles (reveal, expand, reflect, engage, participate, evolve and ritual) to digital artifacts. Unlike a more traditional focus on efficient interactions, the intention behind Slow Design is to promote meaningful interactions by supporting moments of reflection. However, previous research has primarily focused on applying the philosophy to physical artifacts or products. With this in mind, the following research question was defined: How can principles for Slow Design be applied in developing digital artifacts to encourage reflection in users? The primary research strategy used was design science, focusing on design and demonstration. The problem explication and a part of the requirement definition were based on a previous project by the same authors, in which a virtual grocery store was developed based on data gathered through an empirical study of slowness regarding grocery shopping. The main findings of the empirical study are reported on and further operationalized in this study to define the requirements for an artifact. The requirement definition was expanded further by translating the current principles for Slow Design to make them more applicable to digital design. Design concepts were subsequently developed as part of the design and development phase, in which interweaving requirements and principles for Slow Design resulted in multiple ideas. Three users then validated the ideas, resulting in a selection of ideas to be used in early sketches of the online store. Based on these sketches, a prototype was developed with functionality that, in different ways, embodied a total of six (out of seven) principles for Slow Design. A demonstration of the prototype was then conducted, in which six participants were instructed to perform a set of tasks with both the prototype and an already established online store. For this purpose, a small-scale survey was conducted in which observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data that could highlight differences in the experiences of using both artifacts. A thematic analysis was then conducted to identify overarching patterns in the data, resulting in three themes highlighting properties of the prototype that could influence or limit reflective use: transparency, form, and temporality. The authors then assessed that five (out of six) principles for Slow Design had been successfully embodied in the prototype. The result showed how Slow Design could be applied in the design of an online grocery store and how implementing the principles could contribute to a more reflecting, conscious, and meaningful grocery shopping experience. Therefore, the study on a higher level clearly shows how Slow Design can be applied in the design of digital artifacts, and how applying the principles can lead to more opportunities for users to reflect during their interactions with digital artifacts.

Управление персоналом – это установление организационно-экономических, социально-психологических и правовых отношений субъекта и объекта управления с целью получения качественного персонала. На примере организации «Французский пекарь» можно проследить то, как происходит развитие рынка кофеен с течением времени и как меняется стратегия управления персоналом при масштабировании. Объектом исследования данной выпускной квалификационной работы магистра является управление персоналом на предприятиях общественного питания. Предмет исследования – персонал предприятия общественного питания. Цель исследования – выявить особенности и проблематику в работе с персоналом на предприятиях общественного питания и проанализировать технологии управления персоналом на предприятиях общественного питания на примере сети кофеен Французский пекарь. Исходя из поставленной цели, в работе решаются следующие задачи -раскрытие понятия «управления персоналом» и ее целей, рассмотрение теоретических основ системы управления персоналом на предприятиях общественного питания, проанализировать рынок кофеен России и Екатеринбурга в частности и изучить организацию системы управления персоналом в кофейне «Французский Пекарь». В ходе работы было раскрыто понятие «управление персоналом», были определены цели, рассмотрены основные сегменты в теории управления персоналом. В анализе рынка кофеен были обозначены основные тенденции развития кофейного рынка России и Екатеринбурга, в частности. Благодаря изучению и анализу вышеизложенного материала можно подвести итоги об изучаемой компании «Французский Пекарь». Система управления персоналом в компании отвечает внешним рыночным и внутренним организационным вызовам. / Human resources management is the establishment of organizational, economic, social, psychological and legal relations between a subject and a management object in order to obtain high-quality personnel. Using the example of the French Baker organization, we can trace how the coffee market develops over time and how the personnel management strategy changes when scaling. The object of study of this final qualification work of the master is personnel management in catering. Subject of study - restaurant staff. The purpose of the study is to identify features and problems in working with personnel at public catering enterprises and to analyze personnel management technologies at public catering enterprises using the example of the French baker coffee shop network. Based on the goal, the following tasks are solved: the disclosure of the concept of “human resources management” and its goals, consideration of the theoretical foundations of the personnel management system at public catering establishments, to analyze the coffee market in Russia and Yekaterinburg in particular, and to study the organization of the personnel management system in the “French Coffee House Baker". In the course of the work, the concept of “human resources management” was revealed, goals were defined, the main segments in the theory of personnel management were considered. In the analysis of the coffee market, the main trends in the development of the coffee market in Russia and Yekaterinburg, in particular, were identified. Thanks to the study and analysis of the above material, you can summarize the studied company "French Baker". The personnel management system in the company meets external market and internal organizational challenges.

Исследованы свойства побочных тонкодисперсных продуктов, возникающих при производстве керамической плитки, приведен обзор способов их дальнейшей утилизации, и разработана технология переработки этих материалов с целью получения новых продуктов. / The properties of fine-dispersed by-products arising in the production of ceramic tiles are investigated, an overview of ways of their further utilization is given, and a technology for processing these materials in order to obtain new products is developed.

Up until now, Bitcoin as a marketing tool to leverage the brand image of an e-retailer has only been researched scarcely. This paper contributes to filling this gap by looking at Bitcoin’s suitability as primarily a cognition-based trust-building tool in the context of online sex shops. Online sex shops in which affective-based trust is taken as a use-case to exemplarily assess whether far associations customers have with Bitcoin can be transferred unto their brand image, assessing its effectiveness. Moreover, as Bitcoin is a payment method, this study feels the pulse in how far trust is established with the general public to assess chances of success when introducing it as an option to existing alternatives. Trust is considered important in the transaction and decision-making processes of a customer as much as it is in building and fostering brand image. Two expert interviews and one survey make up the data source for this research to gain a holistic view from the customer’s, the retailer’s and the industry expert’s perspective. Findings from the different sources were first in-case analyzed before cross-comparing them. The study highlighted the fact that Bitcoin as a marketing tool is highly case-sensitive, cognition-based, and risky in both - financial and marketing terms. It is best used as part of a long-term strategy and in cases in which the brand image of a brand is as similar to that of Bitcoin as possible. Additionally, Bitcoin disposes of many of the same qualities as other payment methods do and although trust in it is still limited, it is competitive in terms of factors like transaction speed and cost. There is no uniform bundle of associations and a positive or negative evaluation thereof to be connected to it, however, factors like gender, financial education, and trust in one’s own abilities are all found to influence trust and usage intention. The study finds potential for both – Bitcoin as a marketing tool and payment method.

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Industri 4.0 har medfört stora förändringar och med denna våg av förändringar har artificiell intelligens tillkommit. AI är inget nytt och har forskats på utvecklats sedan den första datorn uppfanns. Tanken var då enligt Alan Turing fadern av datalogi att om en maskin inte kan särskiljas från en människa då är det en AI. Sedan dess har vi sett flera AI modeller slå människan i olika fält och sett AI teknologiers förmåga. Att AI ska implementeras inom den mest innovativa branschen var inte långtsökt. Industriell AI är till skillnad från vanliga AI modeller en kontrollerad process som hittills tillämpats inom begränsade områden. Eftersom standardisering och systematisk tillvägagångsätt kan likställas som synonymer till industriella verksamheter. Är det ingen skillnad på processer inom fabriker, och AI teknologier måste anpassas efter dessa processer. Det har under det senaste decenniet globalt investerats i innovation inom industrier. Länder världen över vill att deras industrier med Industri 4.0 hamnar i framkanten. Där Tyskland introducerade Industri 4.0, USA Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, Kina deras plan kallad China 2025 och EU tillkännagett Factories for the future. Som en konsekvens av dessa enorma satsningar har denna studie som mål att se hur AI kan hjälpa tillverkande företag öka resurseffektiviteten inom produktionsplanering. Eftersom forskningsområdet är relativt nytt kommer studien basera resultaten på fallstudier där ABB och Scania intervjuas. Dock behöver detta område mer forskning. / The global introduction of Industry 4.0 has brought with it changes within industry. The indirect consequence of Industry 4.0 being artificial intelligence. The idea of AI is as old as the invention of computers with Alan Turing the father of computer science stating the first description of AI. His thought was that if a machine could be mistaken for a human then the machine was intelligent. The thought being that machine never could outperform humans back then. Now in modern times we have witnessed great feats made by intelligent algorithms where they outperform humans in various fields. For AI to be implemented in industry the most innovative buisness it has to adapt to the workings of indutrial processes. Systematic approach and standardization being two values that strongly represents industries. During the last decade global initiative and investment in innovation of industry. Has led to global competitors such as Germany creating Industry 4.0, The United States creating Smart Manufacturing Leadership Coalition, China introducing their plan called China 2025 and EU with Factories for the future. This paper is a reaction of these enormous investments made into Industry 4.0. The objective of this paper is to examine how AI can help manufacturing enterprises increase their resource efficiency within production planning. Since this field of science stillbeing in its infancy this paper will base its result on interviews made with companies as ABB and Scania. However this field needs more work.

The aim of this thesis is to explore consumer perceptions regarding the emerging trend among traditional clothing stores in Gothenburg, Sweden, where a section of their retail space is dedicated to reselling pre-loved clothing. Additionally, it seeks to investigate the factors influencing consumers' preference for these sections over conventional thrift stores. Employing a qualitative approach, the study conducts 10 shop-along sessions comprising semi-structured interviews and unstructured observations in four traditional clothing stores, each featuring an integrated pre-loved section. The theoretical framework encompasses consumer value theory, supplemented by the Means-End Chain Theory, which is utilized to analyze the findings. Results reveal a positive response from participants toward pre-loved initiatives, indicating an overall favorable perception. Findings show that consumers perceive pre-loved initiatives as multiple valuable, including economic savings, functional quality, social value, and an enjoyable, empowering, and satisfying experience. Furthermore, various factors such as curated pieces, well-organized sections, unique garments, and diverse assortments influence consumers, leading to different consequences and values such as feeling efficient, self-fulfillment/self-expression, and enjoyment, thus favoring pre-loved initiatives over conventional thrift stores. In conclusion, the study sheds light on the growing preference for pre-loved initiatives among consumers in traditional clothing stores.

In dieser Doktorarbeit wird untersucht, wie Radiofrequenz-Identifizierung (RFID) zu einer Optimierung von Produktionsprozessen beitragen kann. In den ersten Kapiteln wird analysiert, welchen potenziellen Nutzen die Anwendung von RFID für Prozessoptimierungen ergibt und welche Herausforderungen daraus erwachsen. Diesbezüglich wurden sechs Fallstudien in Produktionsbetrieben durchgeführt, in denen die Autorin mögliche RFID-Szenarien untersuchte. Basierend auf den Fallstudien wertet sie sieben RFID-Anwendungsszenarien aus. Diese sind entweder ein Ersatz von Barcodes oder eine Anwendung, die nur mit Hilfe von RFID ermöglicht wird. Kap. 4 und 5 beschäftigen sich mit der Frage, wie RFID in die existierende IT-Infrastruktur eingebettet werden kann. Dafür evaluiert die Autorin zunächst generelle IT-Infrastrukturen bei verschiedenen, produzierenden Unternehmen, indem sie weitere sieben Fallstudien durchführt. Im Anschluss erstellt sie Leitlinien für eine Integration von RFID in existierende Softwaresysteme, bei der die in diesen Fallstudien gewonnenen Anforderungen erfüllt werden. Für die Produktion gibt es noch immer keine dedizierten Modelle für die Berechnung von quantifizierbaren und die Abschätzung von nicht-quantifizierbaren Nutzen und Kosten von RFID-Einführungen. Daher untersucht die Autorin in Kap. 6 quantifizierbare und nicht-quantifizierbare Kosten und Nutzen von RFID-Einführungen in der Produktion. In Kap. 7 untersucht die Autorin RFID-Anwendungen, die über die Unternehmensgrenzen hinausgehen: RFID kann, wenn es in inter-organisatorischen Systemen implementiert ist, einen Informationsaustausch in Echtzeit gewährleisten. Jedoch stellte sie bei den Unternehmen neben den unternehmensinternen auch in den inter-organisatorischen RFID-Szenarien Vorbehalte gegenüber RFID-Einführungen fest. Daher analysiert und identifiziert sie wichtige Faktoren für die Einführung von RFID in Lieferketten am Beispiel der Lieferkette der Automobilindustrie. / In this thesis, the author investigates how radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology can contribute to the optimization of production processes. In the first chapters the author analyzes potential benefits and challenges of using RFID to improve production processes. To this end, she conducted case studies at six German manufacturing enterprises in which she explores possible RFID scenarios. Based on the case studies she evaluates seven use cases for RFID. They are either a replacement of bar codes or an application that can only be realized using RFID. Furthermore, the autor evaluates which challenges the manufacturer has to face when applying RFID. Chapters 4 and 5 deal with the question of how RFID can be embedded into an existing IT infrastructure. For this the author first evaluates general IT infrastructures at diverse manufacturers by conducting seven additional case studies. She then designs guidelines for integrating the RFID requirements obtained from the case studies into existing software systems, showing where RFID data processing can fit in. The manufacturing domain still lacks dedicated models for evaluating costs and benefits of an RFID rollout especially concerning the intangible, non-quantifiable aspects of such an investment. Therefore, Chapter 6 presents such a model. In Chapter 7 the author looks beyond inter-enterprise RFID applications in manufacturing: RFID can ensure real-time information sharing when implemented in inter-organizational systems along the supply chain. However, besides challenges in intra-organizational scenarios of applying RFID in production processes, the author can also observe an inter-organizational reservation of embedding RFID in supply chains. Therefore, the author analyzes and identifies important determinants of adopting RFID in supply chains; taking the automotive as an example.