Many of the water sectors in developing countries are facing challenges and obstacles in providing potable water to their customers. These challenges resulted from many reasons such as; shortage of water, huge population, low water tariff, regulations, unplanned development, shortage of financing, absence of commercial orientation and others. Therefore, these sectors are requested to work innovatively to overcome these problems and find out proper solutions. One effective option to address these challenges is appropriate pricing of water. Setting up appropriate water price aims to recover service cost, reduce rate of subsidy and achieve financial sustainability. This research was carried out to determine how to achieve financial sustainability in the water sector in the Sultanate of Oman. The study is based on three main issues, improving the water tariff structure, the role of the customer and his expectation to increase the chance of financial sustainability. Two stages of qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were adopted in order to answer the research question. 22 semi-structured interviews were conducted with PAEW key staff and other relevant parties outside PAEW. 610 quantitative surveys were returned from a total of 1600 PAEW customers to get their views about the role of the customer and his expectations of PAEW in order to increase the chance of financial sustainability. Findings from qualitative data showed the appropriate water tariff is the cost reflective tariff which increases the chance of financial sustainability and cost recovery. The quantitative findings present the willingness of customers' participation and his expectation. Customer participation is expressed in three main roles: leakage and defect reporting, payment and conservation. In all of these, the research outcomes prove the role of the customer and the importance of these roles to increase the chance of financial sustainability. Customer expectations are expressed in customer service, billing system and water service. The outcomes reflect the customer expectations in terms of satisfaction and identify the gap that should be filled by PAEW to make the customer satisfied and loyal.

Le contexte hospitalier actuel exhorte les établissements de santé à une gestion plus rigoureuse et objective des ressources dans le but de maitriser leur performance. Le patrimoine immobilier des établissements publics de santé contribue à la qualité des soins demandée, à la qualité d'accueil des patients et des conditions de travail du personnel. Aujourd'hui, les hôpitaux demeurent conçus et réalisés sans aucune anticipation des coûts futurs d'exploitation-maintenance. Ces coûts qui représentent indéniablement une valeur importante du budget global de fonctionnement, sont pourtant méconnus. Afin de palier à la faiblesse des moyens de financement public, l'administration a comme recours la mise en place d'une nouvelle procédure de contrats de Partenariat Public Privé. Or celle-ci ne dispose pas d'un minimum d'informations en terme de connaissances sur les dépenses d'exploitation-maintenance actuelles de son patrimoine. Dans ce contexte, le coût global constitue une approche innovante dans la gestion des projets immobiliers.La problématique développée dans ce travail de thèse est donc d'approfondir les connaissances en amont des coûts d'exploitation-maintenance des bâtiments hospitaliers. Elle apporte un éclairage sur la relation entre les coûts d'exploitation-maintenance et l'activité hospitalière. Elle propose ainsi une réponse plus adaptée et plus opérationnelle à la question de l'estimation de ces coûts d'exploitation-maintenance en aidant le maître d'ouvrage à prendre en compte l'activité de soin et les choix architecturaux dans son projet. Cela revient à proposer une méthode d'aide à la décision pour construire un bâtiment hospitalier qui minimise les dépenses futures de fonctionnement. Cette méthode s'appuie sur un modèle d'estimation et sur un observatoire des coûts d'exploitation-maintenance réel de 37 établissements publics de santé. / The current situations of hospitals require more efficient management in order to control their performance. The real estates of public hospitals contribute to the quality of required healthcare, the quality of patient care and working conditions of healthcare staff.Today, hospitals are designed and built without anticipating of future evolution of operation and maintenance costs. These costs that are an important contribution to the value of the overall operating budget are underestimated and far unknown.To overcome the lack of public finance, the government has so used the Public Private Partnership Contracts as a new procedure. Yet the government does not have a minimum of information about operating and maintenance expenses of its real estates. In this context, the Whole Life Cycle Costing is an innovative approach in managing public healthcare real estate projects.The problem developed in this thesis is to expend is to expend the knowledge of operation and maintenance costs of healthcare real estates. This thesis highlights the relationship between operating and maintenance costs and hospital activity. It proposes a more efficient response in the issue of estimating these costs by helping the director to take into account the healthcare activity and the architectural choices. It provides a decision making tool for designing and building a new hospitals for minimizing future costs of operation.This method is based on a model for estimating costs and on an observatory of real operation and maintenance costs of 37 public hospitals.

The goal of Master's Thesis is an identification of life cycle costs of vacuum cleaners. Next point is an analysis of these life cycle cost by using value analysis. The theoretical part is focused on definitions of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Value Analysis (VA). The practical part, which is fundamental, contains identification of life cycle cost of selected vacuum cleaners, life cycle costing of selected vacuum cleaners and their value analysis. Result of this Master's Thesis is an interpretation of the results and the suggestion of steps for consumers and producers of vacuum cleaners.

This research assesses the impacts of developing shale gas in the UK, with the focus of determining whether or not it is possible to develop it sustainably and how it could affect the electricity and gas mix. There is much uncertainty on the impacts of developing shale gas in the UK, as the country is currently in the early stages of exploration drilling and the majority of studies which have been carried out to analyse the effects of shale gas development have been US specific. To address these questions, the environmental, economic and social sustainability have been assessed and the results integrated to evaluate the overall sustainability. The impacts of shale gas electricity have been assessed so that it can be compared with other electricity generation technologies (coal, nuclear, renewables etc.), to ascertain its impacts on the UK electricity mix. Life cycle assessment is used to evaluate the environmental sustainability of shale gas electricity (and other options), while life cycle costing and social sustainability assessment have been used to evaluate the economic and social sustainability. Multi-criteria decision analysis has been used to combine the results of three to evaluate the overall sustainability. The incorporation of shale gas into the UK electricity mix is modelled in two future scenarios for the year 2030. The scenarios compare different levels of shale gas penetration: low and high. The results show that shale gas will have little effect on improving the environmental sustainability and energy security of the UK’s electricity mix, but could help ease energy prices. In comparison with other options, shale gas is not a sustainable option, as it has higher environmental impacts than the non-fossil fuels and conventional gas and liquefied natural gas: 460 g CO2-Eq. is emitted from the shale gas electricity life cycle, while conventional gas emits 420 g CO2-Eq. and wind 12 g CO2-Eq. The power plant and drilling fluid are the main impact hot spots in the life cycle, while hydraulic fracturing contributes a small amount (5%). In addition to this, there are a number of social barriers which need to be addressed, notably: traffic volume and congestion could increase by up to 31%, public support is low and wastewater produced from hydraulic fracturing could put strain on wastewater treatment facilities. However, the results indicate that shale gas is economically viable, as the cost of electricity is cheaper than solar photovoltaic, biomass and hydroelectricity (9.59 p/kWh vs 16.90, 11.90 and 14.40 p/kWh, respectively). The results of this thesis show that there is a trade-off in the impacts, but because of its poor environmental and social ratings shale gas is not the best option for UK electricity. The results also identify areas for improvement which should be targeted, as well as policy recommendations for best practice and regulation if shale gas were to be developed in the UK.

In a world with limited resources and serious environmental, social and economical impacts, a more sustainable life style is everyday more important. Therefore, the general objective of this work is to develop a methodological procedure for eco-efficiency and sustainability assessment of industrial processes with multi-scale technology at design level. The methodology developed follows the ISO 14040 series for environmental LCA standard. To integrate the three pillars of sustainability the analytical hierarchical process was used. The results are represented in a triple bottom line framework. The methodology was applied to the case study "production of perfume-containing microcapsules" and different scenarios were assessed and compared. Several sustainability indicators were chosen to analyze the impacts. The results showed that this methodology can be used as a decision making tool for sustainability reporting. It can be applied to any process choosing in each case the corresponding set of inventory data and sustainability impact indicators. / En un mundo con recursos limitados y graves impactos ambientales, sociales y económicos, un estilo de vida más sostenible es cada día más importante. Debido a esto, el objetivo general de este trabajo es desarrollar un procedimiento metodológico para evaluar eco-eficiencia y sostenibilidad de procesos industriales con tecnología multi-escala a nivel de diseño. La metodología desarrollada sigue la serie ISO 14040 para el medio ambiente. Se utilizó el proceso analítico jerárquico para integrar los tres pilares de sostenibilidad. Los resultados se presentan en un balance triple. La metodología se aplicó al caso de estudio "producción de micro-cápsulas que contienen perfume" y se analizaron y compararon diferentes escenarios. Se seleccionaron diversos indicadores de sostenibilidad para analizar los impactos. Los resultados demostraron que esta metodología puede ser utilizada como herramienta de toma de decisiones y que puede aplicarse a cualquier proceso seleccionando, en cada caso, los datos del inventario y los indicadores.

In complex aerospace system design, making effective decision requires knowledge from all disciplines, both product and process perspectives. Manufacturing knowledge integration is most valuable during the early phase of the design since designers have more freedom, and design changes are relatively inexpensive. Yet, there is still lack of structured methodology that will allow feedback from the process perspective to show the impact of the design decisions in a quantifiable manner. The major metrics in the design decision as far as process is concerned are cost, time, and manufacturability. To incorporate these considerations in the decision making process without sacrificing agility and flexibility required during conceptual and preliminary design phases, a new set of software analysis tools are proposed. To demonstrate the applicability of this concept, a Hybrid Lifecycle Cost Estimating Tool (HLCET) is developed, and integrated to existing design methodology, Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD). The ModelCenter suite is used to develop software architecture that seamlessly integrate between product and process analysis tools, and enable knowledge transfer between design phases. HLCET integrates high fidelity estimating techniques like process-based and activity-based into a hierarchical lifecycle cost model to increase the sensitivities of the top-down LCC model to changes or alternatives evaluated at the part or component level where tradeoff is required. Instead of applying arbitrary complexity factor to existing CERs to account for difference material or process selection, high fidelity tool can be used to related product and process parameters specific to the design to generate new result that can then be used to update top-level cost result. This new approach to lifecycle cost estimation allows for a tailored study of individual processes typically required for new and innovative designs. An example of a hypothetical aircraft wing redesign demonstrates the utility of HLCET.

The early stages of a product’s design are a critical time for decisions that impact the entire life-cycle cost. Product designers have mastered the first generation; however, they currently do not have the ability to know the impact of their decisions on the multi-generational view. This thesis aims at closing the gap between total life-cycle information and the traditional design process in order to harbor sustainable value creation among all stakeholders involved. A framework is presented that uses a combination of a life-cycle costing methodology and an evolutionary algorithm in order to achieve a sustainability assessment for a true multi-generational component. An illustration of the implementation of the framework shows the value to current engineering scenarios. A foundation is also laid for the overall future vision of this work to utilize proper databases and existing design tools to evaluate the overall sustainability and life-cycle cost of multi-generational components.

In the past few decades, globalization has led to a world economy with unbounded consumption. In addition to the consequential impoverishment of natural resources, this large consumption produces copious amounts of waste and requires high energy use. Proper end-of-life strategies can help to reduce the global impact of these inefficiencies. The objective of this thesis is to demonstrate, through life-cycles analyses of an automotive transfer case and a gear, the positive environmental impact of remanufacturing strategies compared to recycling and disposal end-of-life strategies. In this study, the energy consumption, the air emissions and the wastes resulting from the entire supply chain s engineering processes will be quantitatively evaluated through calculations and also industrial or governmental data. In disposal end-of-life strategies, the analysis will begin with the ore mining phase, will go through material refining and processing; and eventually end with the final parts machining. In recycling scenarios and remanufacturing scenarios, the analysis will begin with the used material collection, will go through material s reprocessing or refurbishing and will finally end with the new or renewed parts machining. This study will show the significant impact of high energy consumption processes such as electrolysis of aluminum and metal melting. It will also show how shipping and collection phases can dramatically change or annihilate the advantage of sustainable reuse scenarios depending on the sorting strategies adopted in the supply chain. To conclude, the goal of this research is to demonstrate how remanufacturing strategies can reduce the energy consumption, air emissions and waste. This thesis will also show how inappropriate supply chain management can negate the impact of these savings.

Orientador: Saide Jorge Calil / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T16:40:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nascimento_LeonardoNovaesdo_M.pdf: 728894 bytes, checksum: a634cf10f92a568a1d7fcacc8a4c1797 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Embora pouco seja conhecido sobre a contribuição de equipamentos médicos no custo de atenção à saúde, eles têm sido apontados como grandes responsáveis pelo aumento nas despesas do setor de saúde. Este trabalho apresenta um método para analisar o modo como os equipamentos médico-hospitalares (EMH) consomem recursos durante os procedimentos médicos e para estimar os custos desses recursos. Focalizando o procedimento médico, o método combina o sistema de custeio baseado em atividades direcionado por tempo (Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing, TDABC) e técnicas de cálculo do custo do ciclo de vida (Life-Cycle Cost) para avaliar o papel dos equipamentos médicos no processo de assistência à saúde. O método é composto de duas fases: (1) mapeamento da estrutura de consumo de recursos e (2) identificação e alocação dos custos dos recursos ao procedimento. O método só avalia os custos diretamente relacionados aos equipamentos (como acessórios, itens descartáveis e manutenção). Os resultados mostraram que a contribuição dos equipamentos no custo de um procedimento médico depende do modo que ele é usado em cada procedimento e das práticas específicas do hospital. / Abstract: Although little is known about the contribution of medical equipment to the cost of providing health care, they have been pointed out as major cause of the increase in the health sector expenditures. This study presents a method to analyze the way medical equipment consumes resources during medical procedures and to estimate the costs of these resources. Focusing the medical procedure, the method combines Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing (TDABC) and Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) techniques to evaluate the role of medical equipment in the process of delivering health care. The method is composed of two phases: (1) mapping of the resource consumption structure and (2) identification and allocation of resource costs to procedures. The method only evaluates the costs directly related to the equipment (such as accessories, disposables and maintenance). The results showed that the contribution of equipment to the cost of a medical procedure depends on the way it is used in each procedure and on the hospital's specific practices. / Mestrado / Engenharia Biomedica / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

The thesis deals with the strategic cost management (SCM) highlighting particular approaches and their possible synergies. In the beginning, it depicts actual state of this field of research and presents areas related to the SCM including strategic management and business strategies. The main part of the thesis deals with an analysis of the existing three lines of research. A special emphasis is given to the information support of the decision-making process. In order to analyse these approaches the thesis includes selected tools that should define and characterize their requirements. Process-based line includes an examination of Activity Based Costing/Management (ABC/M) model. Product-based line is covered by a calculation of the Life Cycle Costing (LCC). Responsibility-based line aims on the two main pillars of the approach, which are the organisational structure and the performance measurement system. Balanced Scorecard (BSC) model is then used as an example of a complex performance measurement system. In the end, the thesis analyses current state of the managerial accounting and it sums up contemporary trends and influences in the field. Finally, it identifies the main shift towards a managerial accounting that uses various lines of research that together form an efficient synergy that empowers the long-term growth of the company.