Endurance athletes strive to improve their race times by enhancing their physical abilities, techniques, tactics, and equipment. Numerical simulations can aid in this effort by enabling repeated testing under identical conditions, thus isolating the effect of a single variable of interest on race time. This thesis outlines the mechanical assumptions and mathematical formulations to conducting numerical simulations. Paper I exemplifies applications and limitations when using numerical simulations with a propulsive power model, by investigating the impact of dynamic friction on race times in cross-country skiing. Further, the thesis introduces bioenergetic modeling as a possible method for more accurately modeling an athlete’s propulsive power. It provides an overview of existing bioenergetic models and describes a non-linear grey-box parameter estimation method for individualizing bioenergetic model formulations to reflect an individual athlete’s bioenergetic systems. In Paper II, an assessment of validation for two existing bioenergetic models is performed on an individual level when applied to simulated sprint time trials in cross-country skiing. The models show overall good agreement with measurement data but lack the ability to capture the dynamics of the human metabolic energy systems in more detail. In Paper III, a new bioenergetic model is developed which describes the dynamic behavior of the metabolic energy supply systems and various sources of metabolic demand. The model is individualized and validated against intermittent cycling with varying power output. Although the model shows good agreement with measurements, it does not capture the details of the aerobic slow component and periods of recovery, indicating a need for continued development. / Uthållighetsidrottare strävar efter att korta sina tävlingstider genom förbättrad fysisk förmåga, teknik, taktik och utrustning. Numeriska simuleringar kan hjälpa till i detta arbete genom att möjliggöra upprepade tester med identiska förhållanden där inverkan från en enskild variabel på tävlingstiden isoleras. Denna avhandling beskriver de mekaniska antaganden och matematiska formuleringar som krävs för att utföra numeriska simuleringar. Artikel I exemplifierar tillämpningar och begränsningar för simuleringar i kombination med en empirisk modell för framdrivande effekt genom att undersöka den dynamiska friktionens inverkan på tävlingstider i längdskidåkning. Avhandlingen introducerar bioenergisk modellering som en möjlig metod för att mer exakt modellera en idrottares uteffekt. Vidare ges en översikt över befintliga bioenergiska modeller och en metod för att anpassa bioenergiska modeller till att återspegla en specifik idrottares metabola system. I Artikel II utförs en utvärdering av validiteten för två befintliga bioenergiska modeller på individnivå när de tillämpas på simulerade sprintlopp i längdskidåkning. Modellerna visar överlag god överensstämmelse med mätdata, men saknar förmågan att fånga detaljerna i de mänskliga metaboliska energisystemens dynamik. I Artikel III utvecklas en ny bioenergisk modell som beskriver dynamiken hos de metabola energiförsörjningssystemen och flera processer som ger upphov till metabola krav. Modellen individanpassas och valideras mot intermittent cykling med varierande uteffekt. Modellen visar god överensstämmelse med mätdata, men lyckas inte fånga detaljerna i det aeroba systemet vid de högsta uteffekterna eller vid perioder av återhämtning, vilket motiverar fortsatt utveckling. / <p>Vid tidpunkten för framläggningen av avhandlingen var följande delarbete opublicerat: delarbete 3 (inskickat).</p><p>At the time of the defence the following paper was unpublished: paper 3 (submitted).</p>

Today firms must maintain high levels of efficiency, quality control, customer responsiveness and speed, but even the full set of these attributes is not sufficient for sustainable competitive advantage. A further challenging requirement is to innovate successfully, not only in product development but also in production. Traditionally, innovation is regarded as successful product development, and delivering innovative products of sufficient quality at a reasonable price is seen as the primary means of acquiring and maintaining competitiveness. In this context, the role of production development is simply to provide production solutions required for the realization of new products. However, production development (sometimes called ‘production improvement’ or ‘process innovation in production’) may also involve continuous incremental or radical improvement of current production processes or systems in terms of productivity, cost, speed, quality, and/or flexibility. Previous research provides a rather narrow view of production development, largely ignoring value creation, which obscures its importance for organizations. Due to the lack of attention to innovativeness in production development, limited effort is also made to understand how to manage production development projects as innovation processes, where the emphasis is on obtaining value. This retards progress and restrains organizations’ competitiveness, and to some extent the potential social benefits (such as increases in sustainability) of new production technologies. Thus, the primary objective of the research this thesis is based upon was to increase understanding of distinguishing features and valuable outcomes of production innovation, together with challenges in managing production innovation processes. Data underlying this research were collected through case studies of development projects in firms operating in several industries. The research findings show that the pursued outcomes of production innovation are mainly cost reductions and increases in quality. Nevertheless, production innovation also contributes with expansion of product design space, and strengthening innovation capabilities, which in themselves provide sustainable competitive advantage. Further, production innovation is highly dependent on successful implementation – a complex endeavour involving internal organization, external customers and other actors contributing to the production system. Organizations lack support for capturing, prioritization, decision making and resource allocation in production innovation processes, a topic that warrants further research.

Godkänd; 1999; 20070403 (ysko)

The transition towards a bioeconomy is one of the greatest challenges of our times, and dependent upon radical innovations and the replacement of fossil-based technologies with clean and more sustainable ones. This is however not done in a jiffy since key underlying process technologies are underdeveloped and also contradict with the prevailing socio-technical regime. This makes demonstration projects crucial for the development of new biorefinery technologies since such projects can reduce not only technical but also organizational and institutional uncertainties.   Due to the complexity and costs of demonstration activities, they are typically performed in inter-organizational settings with actors from government, academia, research institutes and the industry. Such a constellation of actors often implies somewhat contradicting interests, for example regarding diffusion versus protection of knowledge that bring challenges for technological development. The overall purpose of the thesis is therefore to enhance knowledge about demonstration projects as knowledge generators contributing to the progression of sustainable technologies. The thesis builds upon case studies of biorefinery demonstration plants and investigates the processes of knowledge development and diffusion in order to contribute to bridging the valley of death between demonstration and commercialization of more sustainable technologies.   Three papers are appended to the thesis. Paper I studies which key barriers that actors engaged in demonstration plants experience during technological development and suggest a role-typology to address those barriers. The second paper investigate knowledge production taking place in demonstration projects and suggests that there is an “imbalance” in production of domain-specific technical knowledge in relation to general and procedural knowledge on how to work with commercialization, which contributes to the problem of new technologies not making it past demonstration. The third paper seeks to address management of demonstration projects as protected spaces for emerging technologies. Those findings show that patenting strategies influence the formulation of expectations among actors that guides the creation of the social network as well as the experimental work and learnings taking place there in order for emerging technologies to develop further. / Förverkligandet av den biobaserade ekonomin: pilot- och demonstrationsanläggningar i innovationspolitiken

The ongoing fast paced technological evolution is impacting companies at a higher rate than ever before. For industrial companies’ new digital technologies have numerous application areas in the manufacturing process and offer the potential to offer advanced service offerings to customers. This implies that companies need to change their business model, however studies show that attempts by incumbents to change their business model often fail. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate which building blocks of a service provider’s business model could be modified, and how, to be able to design digital service offerings that overcome customers limitations related to acquiring digital solutions. The development of service offerings should be based on a deep understanding of customers’ activities. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were carried out to gain an understanding of limitations experienced by the case company’s customers related to acquiring digital solutions. By analyzing the collected empirical data and applying it to the case company’s business model utilizing the service logic business model canvas presented by Ojasalo and Ojasalo (2018) the research questions could be answered.  It is concluded that the service provider’s business model building blocks ‘customer’s world and desire for ideal value’, ‘value proposition’, ‘key resources’, and ‘key partners’ are impacted by the limitations faced by the customers. Thus, the elements of customer needs are:  Offerings that target a specific customer value and are financially reasonable Change management Digital readiness A stable supplier with long time commitment Systems that meet customer requirements (regarding system usability, continuous development, and cyber security) Peripheral equipment that meets customer requirements Competence A person in charge of the system From the service provider’s perspective, the offerings could be altered to target a specific customer value. Additionally, it is suggested that offered systems should fulfil customer demands regarding system usability, continuous development, and cyber security. Moreover, a need for competence and resources is expressed by the customers, thus, this could be a business opportunity for the service provider as well. Yet, all the needed resources and competence cannot be obtained within the service organization or the customer organization, thus, the building block ‘key partners’ must be altered as well.

This master thesis explores the implementation of Collaborative robots into Elekta's mechanical product verification process. Elekta is a pioneer in precision radiation therapy solutions. Ensuring the compliance of Elekta's products with performance, safety, and quality criteria is of great importance. The existing verification process faces challenges regarding resource management, ergonomics, efficiency, and test accuracy.This thesis delves into three main research areas, the study begins with theoretical research investigating Industry 4.0, automation, and human-robot collaboration, focusing on the ABB GoFa Cobot. The following research area analyzes the existing market, regarding the exploration of different robotic grippers. Lastly, the third research area focuses on the user. Including interviews and observations with Elekta testing employees and industry experts from ABB and Atlas Copco.This thesis examines insights from theoretical, market, and user research to identify key factors influencing the development of concepts, prototypes, and models. By this, strengths, weaknesses,and a criteria value matrix were created for various gripper options for Elekta's tests. Furthermore, test parameters were defined to make the test suitable for automated Cobot verification. Lastly, the conclusion from the user research was examined in several parts, including, efficiency, safety, ergonomics, limitations, robotics, and industry. The thesis continued with a creative process that contains the development and iterations of concepts by CAD modeling, 3D printing, and Cobot programming for a specific verification test. The results of this thesis include Cobot implementation guidelines, covering the selection of suitable tests for automation, gripper selection, and finger development. The report then delves into the sustainable regards related to Cobot implementation, studying social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Furthermore, decisive factors that could influence the project were discussed. In conclusion, this master's thesis successfully addresses Elekta's mechanical product verification challenges through the strategic implementation of Cobots. It is expected to increase efficiency, reduce ergonomic risks, improve resource management, and increase test precision. This research provides a blueprint for Cobot implementation at Elekta and positions the company at the forefront of modern industrial technology, emphasizing the potential for further development in this field. / Denna masteruppsats utforskar implementeringen av kollaborativa robotar i Elektas mekaniska produktverifieringsprocess. Elekta är en pionjär inom precisionslösningar för strålterapi. Det är av stor vikt att säkerställa att Elektas produkter överensstämmer med kriterierna för prestanda, säkerhet och kvalitet. Den befintliga verifieringsprocessen står inför utmaningar när det gäller resurshantering, ergonomi, effektivitet och testnoggrannhet. Denna avhandling fördjupar sig i tre huvudsakliga forskningsområden, studien börjar med teoretisk forskning som undersöker Industri 4.0, automation och människa-robotsamarbete, med fokus på ABB GoFa Cobot. Följande forskningsområde analyserar den befintliga marknaden, avseende utforskning av olika robotgripare. Slutligen fokuserar det tredje forskningsområdet på användaren. Inklusive intervjuer och observationer med Elekta som testar anställda och branschexperter från ABB och Atlas Copco. Denna uppsats undersöker insikter från teoretisk forskning, marknads- och användarundersökning för att identifiera nyckelfaktorer som påverkar utvecklingen av koncept, prototyper och modeller. Genom detta skapades styrkor, svagheter och en kriterievärdesmatris för olika gripalternativ för Elektas tester. Dessutom definierades testparametrar för att göra testet lämpligt för automatiserad Cobot-verifiering. Till sist undersöks slutsatser från användarforskningen i flera delar, inklusive effektivitet, säkerhet, ergonomi, begränsningar, robotik och industri. Examensarbetet fortsatte med en kreativ process innehållande utveckling och iterationer av koncept genom CAD-modellering, 3D-utskrift och Cobot-programmering för ett specifikt verifieringstest. Resultaten inkluderar riktlinjer för implementering av Cobot inom industrin, som täcker valet av lämpliga tester för automatisering, val av gripdon och utveckling av fingrar anpassade efter gripdonet. Rapporten fördjupar sig sedan i de hållbara aspekterna relaterade till Cobot-implementering, genom att studera social, ekonomisk och miljömässig hållbarhet. Vidare diskuterades avgörande faktorer som skulle kunna påverka projektet. Sammanfattningsvis tar denna masteruppsats framgångsrikt upp Elektas utmaningar för mekanisk produktverifiering genom den strategiska implementeringen av Cobots. Det förväntas öka effektiviteten, minska ergonomiska risker, förbättra resurshanteringen och öka testprecisionen. Denna forskning ger en plan för Cobot-implementering hos Elekta och positionerar företaget i framkanten av modern industriell teknik, vilket betonar potentialen för ytterligare utveckling inom detta område.

Detta arbete handlar om vindstabilisering av en SIPS byggnad i Sverige där fokuset ligger påhur infästningar sker mellan grundplattan och väggarna. SIPS (Structural insulated panels) ärett bärande isoleringselement som används för att bygga hela byggnadskalet. Det är ennykommen byggnadsteknik i Sverige som används för passivhus för att kunna minskaenergianvändningen enligt Parisavtalet. Elementen är prefabricerade och binds ihop medglasfiberbalkar, som även används för att förstärka öppningar i byggnaden (dörrar ochfönster). Metoden som kommer att användas i detta arbete är finita elementmetoden medhjälp av datorprogrammet FEM-design av företaget Strusoft. I programmet återuppbyggdesmodellen som analyserade byggnaden enligt finita elementmetoden och beräknade medhänsyn till Eurokod. I samarbete med SIPs företaget Avis Building technology modelleradesbyggnaden och skarven enligt en modul från företaget, där resultatet sedan analyserades.Detta resulterade skarven består av skruvar som fästs i en Z-profil som binder ihop väggenmed grunden. Resultatet gav de skjuv-och normalkrafter som skruven och plåten utsätts för.Dessa krafter analyserades och på så sätt kunde en lämplig leverantör hittas som tillverkarskruvar som kan ta upp dessa laster. Valet landade på Zebra Pias (hexagonal head withcollar) av företaget WÜRTH. Denna metod användes även för att hitta en leverantör somtillverkar passande profiler som kan hantera lasterna utan att gå i brott. Valet landade påaluminiumprofiler med tjockleken 4 mm av företaget Tibnor. På så sätt har frågeställningenom hur en infästning av SIPs-byggnad kan ske blivit besvarad. Resultaten i FEM-designvisar att en SIPS-byggnad kan vindsatbiliseras i Sverige med undantag vissa delar som kankompletteras med en bärande innervägg för att nå full stabilisering. Men denna frågeställningkan inte besvaras med full säkerhet utan att mer data och forskning om elementet görs. Alltför många parametrar om elementens egenskaper var okända vilket ledde till en osäkerhet. Iprogrammet var byggnaden stabiliserad men hade för stora deformationer på vissa ställen.Detta betyder inte att en sådan byggnad inte kan stabiliseras, utan fler undersökningar måstegöras innan slutsatsen kan dras. I arbetet gjordes inga prövningar av elementet vilket bidrogtill denna osäkerhet. Vid fler mätningar och prövningar kan en SIPS-byggnad absolut bli enframtida byggnadsteknik i Sverige.

The usage of electronic items and microchips in home appliances, transportation systems, office equipment, industrial instruments, and other devices has increased dramatically during the past few decades. As a result, it is becoming difficult to safely dispose of the enormous volume of E-waste globally. E-waste production is thought to be between 20 and 50 million tons annually worldwide. E-waste is also growing at a pace of 4-5% globally. E-waste is increasing by 25% annually in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, a considerable study in this area is needed to find solutions to the present E-waste problem and the related health issue. The current study examined Bangladesh's E-waste management practices and discovered weak E-waste management practices. The majority of the circuits and microchips gathered are transferred to other nations for recycling. Just 25% of E-waste is collected; this percentage should be increased by using an efficient management strategy. Bangladesh is where the majority of recovered photovoltaic cells from used batteries are produced. Most of the Photovoltaic cells of waste batteries are being recycled in Bangladesh. The study also conducted an analysis of treatment/recycling cost and their economic benefits. The net benefit was found 243.80 million USD, which will surely play a pivotal role in the economy of the country. This outcome can inspire prospective stockholders to launch a brand-new recycling operation. Finally, the report presents management recommendations for effectively managing the expanding E-waste.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to create practical guidelines for mid-level managers on how to structure their screening process of customer insights. In doing so, the study draws comparison between B2B and B2C innovation funnels and investigates what aspects the consumer market can benefit from in a global environment. Method: This is an explorative case study composed of two clusters of respondents that were interviewed, 9 data users and 8 business leaders. The data users were interviewed first to understand the purpose of why business leaders do their screening. Inductive analysis was performed generating a thematic analysis with three layers of themes. Findings: The study shows that even if the B2C market is more volatile there is still a call for further structuring, this need to be done regarding the collection and refinement stage where communication must be clear and purposeful to provide the screening stage with actionable ideas. To sustain such a process, a feedback system needs to show results to maintain the process purpose and further develop the process. Theoretical and managerial implications: This thesis gives light on the differences and similarities between the B2B and B2C screening processes. Showing mainly that focusing on a more standardized collection provides higher quality ideas and increases the number of ideas submitted. Secondly, it shows that the purpose of a good feedback system is to provide not only information on further developing ideas but also to continue evolving the screening process.

Detta projekt undersöker sammanlagringskoefficienten av effektanvändning i skolkök på två fastigheter i Uppsala kommun. Utifrån högupplöst data av förbrukningsmönster det senaste året samt diverse information om kökens kapacitet och utrustning kunde sammanlagringen uppskattas.Projektet fann att de effekttoppar som uppstår i köket kan överstiga den vedertagna koefficienten som idag används för sammanlagring i skolkök i branschen. Trotts detta så konstaterades det även att en av skolorna i helhet är översäkrad. Projektet påvisade även att effekttopparna ej innehåller en stor mängd energi och är hanterbara med tekniska lösningar och/eller ändrade förbrukningsvanor i köken. Slutsatsen är att det finns tekniska lösningar som kan spara in stora summor pengar samt att fastighetsägare troligtvis har mer installerad effekt än vad de använder och att det inte behöver installeras lika mycket effekt vid framtida nybyggnationer av samma karaktär.