Development of an Approach for the Holistic Assessment of Innovation Projects in Manufacturing Including Potential, Effort, and Risk Using a Systematic Literature Review and Expert Interviews

Manufacturing companies face severe challenges from rapid technological developments. Industry 5.0 indicates the need for a sustainable, human-centered, and resilient industry. In striving for transformation, innovation becomes critical. However, a careful allocation of resources implies the evaluation of innovation projects. Moreover, diverse types of innovation and limited amounts of information represent a significant challenge. Therefore, this contribution presents an approach for holistically assessing innovation in manufacturing. First, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted to frame the current research state and identify assessment criteria. Second, a multiple-attribute decision-making method (MADM) was developed using the findings of the SLR and expert interviews. Finally, the criteria and the assessment approach were verified and validated by expert interviews, a workshop, and an industrial use case application. As the main findings, three criteria groups were derived and detailed: potentials, efforts, and risks. These criteria groups were used in a MADM approach incorporating Fuzzy set theory within a hybrid technique, combining the Analytical Hierarchical Process with the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solutions. In conclusion, an enhancement of innovation assessment in manufacturing was achieved through the integration of different criteria and the balance between complexity and industrial applicability

Managing technological transitions: prospects, places, publics and policy

Transition management (TM) approaches have generated considerable interest in academic and policy circles in recent years (Kemp and Loorbach, 2005; Rotmans and Kemp, 2003). In terms of a loose definition, a ‘transition can be defined as a gradual, continuous process of structural change within a society or culture’ (Rotmans et al, 2001, p.2). The development of TM, much of which has occurred within the context of the Netherlands, may be seen as a response to the complexities, uncertainties and problems which confront many western societies, in organising ‘sustainably’ various aspects of energy, agricultural, water, transport and health systems of production and consumption. Problems such as pollution, congestion, the vulnerability of energy or water supplies and so on are seen as systemic and entwined or embedded in a series of social, economic, political, cultural and technological relationships. The systemic nature of many of these problems highlights the involvement - in the functioning of a particular system and any subsequent transition - of multiple actors or ‘stakeholders’ across different local, national and international scales of activity. With this in mind, such problems become difficult to ‘solve’ and ‘solutions’ are seen to require systemic innovation rather than individual or episodic responses. The point being that ‘these problems are system inherent and… the solution lies in creating different systems or transforming existing ones’ (Kemp and Loorbach, 2005, p.125). In this paper we critically engage with and build upon transitions approaches to address their ‘applicability’ in the context of the UK. In doing this the paper addresses the prospective potential of transitions approaches, but also their relative neglect of places and publics. Through developing an argument which addresses the strengths and ‘gaps’ of transitions approaches we also analyse the resonances and dissonances between three themes – cities and regions, public participation and national hydrogen strategy – in the transitions literature and the UK policy context

Design optimization of oilfield subsea infrastructures with manifold placement and pipeline layout

This work presents a practical and effective optimization method to design subsea production networks, which accounts for the number of manifolds and platforms, their location, well assignment to these gathering systems, and pipeline diameter. It brings a fast solution that can be easily implemented as a tool for layout design optimization and simulation-based analysis. The proposed model comprises reservoir dynamics and multiphase flow, relying on multidimensional piecewise linearization to formulate the layout design problem as a MILP. Besides design validation, reservoir simulation serves the purpose of defining boundaries for optimization variables and parameters that characterize pressure decrease, reservoir dynamics and well production over time. Pressure drop in pipelines are modeled by piecewise-linear functions that approximate multiphase flow simulators. The resulting optimization model and approximation methodology were applied to a real oilfield with the aim of assessing their effectiveness.Este trabalho apresenta um método de otimização prático e eficaz para o projeto de redes de produção submarinas em campos de petróleo offshore, o que compreende o número de coletores, sejam manifolds ou plataformas, sua localização, atribuição de poços a esses coletores e diâmetro de dutos que interligam todos os elementos da rede. Ele traz uma solução rápida que pode ser facilmente implementada como uma ferramenta para otimização de layout e de estudos baseados em simulação. O modelo proposto compreende a dinâmica do reservatório e fluxo multifásico em dutos, baseando-se na linearização multidimensional por partes para formular o problema de otimização de layout como programação inteira linear mista. Além da validação da solução ótima obtida pelo método, a simulação de reservatórios define limites para as variáveis e parâmetros do modelo que caracterizam a perda de carga, a dinâmica do reservatório e a produção de óleo dos poços ao longo do tempo. A perda de carga nas tubulações é modelada por funções lineares por partes que aproximam resultados obtidos pelos simuladores de fluxo multifásicos. O modelo de otimização foi aplicado a um verdadeiro campo de petróleo offshore com o objetivo de avaliar sua efetividade

Report from GI-Dagstuhl Seminar 16394: Software Performance Engineering in the DevOps World

This report documents the program and the outcomes of GI-Dagstuhl Seminar 16394 "Software Performance Engineering in the DevOps World". The seminar addressed the problem of performance-aware DevOps. Both, DevOps and performance engineering have been growing trends over the past one to two years, in no small part due to the rise in importance of identifying performance anomalies in the operations (Ops) of cloud and big data systems and feeding these back to the development (Dev). However, so far, the research community has treated software engineering, performance engineering, and cloud computing mostly as individual research areas. We aimed to identify cross-community collaboration, and to set the path for long-lasting collaborations towards performance-aware DevOps. The main goal of the seminar was to bring together young researchers (PhD students in a later stage of their PhD, as well as PostDocs or Junior Professors) in the areas of (i) software engineering, (ii) performance engineering, and (iii) cloud computing and big data to present their current research projects, to exchange experience and expertise, to discuss research challenges, and to develop ideas for future collaborations

Environmental Harms, Use Conflicts, and Neutral Baselines in Environmental Law

Accounts of environmental law that rely on concepts of environmental harm and environmental protection oversimplify the tremendous variety of uses of environmental resources and the often complex relationships among those uses. Such approaches are analytically unclear and, more importantly, insert hidden normativity into putatively descriptive claims. Instead of thinking about environmental law in terms of preventing environmental harm, environmental problems can be understood more specifically and more meaningfully as disputes over conflicting uses of environmental resources. This Article proposes a use-conflict framework as a means of acquiring a deeper understanding of environmental problems and lawmaking without favoring any particular normative approach. The framework does not itself propose a resolution of any environmental problems but rather describes environmental problems and environmental lawmaking conceptually in a manner that exposes normative claims and attempts to establish some common ground across diverse normative perspectives

Indicators and tools for assessing sustainability impacts of the forest bioeconomy

The sustainable use of renewable resources has become an important issue worldwide in the move towards a less fossil-fuel-intensive future. Mainstream method for fulfilling this aim is to increase the share of renewable energy and materials to substitute fossil fuels and to become fully independent from fossil fuels over the long-term. However, the environmental sustainability of this endeavor has been questioned. In addition, economic and social sustainability issues are also much debated topics in this particular context. Forest resources are often thought to contribute partially to achieving a so-called “carbon-neutral society”. In this review, we discuss sustainability issues of using forest biomass. We present several sustainability indicators for ecological, economic and social dimensions and discuss the issues in applying them in sustainability impact assessments (SIAs). We also present a number of tools and methods previously used in conducting SIAs. We approach our study from the perspective of the Finnish forestry; in addition, various aspects regarding the application of SIAs in a broader context are also presented. One of the key conclusions of the study is that although sufficient data are available to measure many indicators accurately, the impacts may be very difficult to assess (e.g. impact of greenhouse gases on biodiversity) for conducting a holistic SIA. Furthermore, some indicators, such as “biodiversity”, are difficult to quantify in the first place. Therefore, a mix of different methods, such as Multi-criteria Assessment, Life-cycle Assessment or Cost-Benefit Analysis, as well as different approaches (e.g. thresholds and strong/weak sustainability) are needed in aggregating the results of the impacts. SIAs are important in supporting and improving the acceptability of decision-making, but a certain degree of uncertainty will always have to be tolerated

Numerical methods for sedimentary‐ancient‐DNA‐based study on past biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

Abstract Sedimentary ancient DNA (SedaDNA) is an emerging tool to reconstruct past biodiversity with high taxonomic resolution. Its growing popularity has stimulated an increasing complexity of SedaDNA data production (e.g., DNA extraction, amplification, and sequencing; authentication of molecules; bioinformatics). Conversely, less attention has been devoted to how appropriate statistical analyses can help to extract ecological information from SedaDNA. Until now, ecological studies based on SedaDNA have taken limited advantage of the multiple statistical and numerical methods available for analysis. Here, we present a range of numerical approaches that can be particularly useful to multispecies ecological analysis on SedaDNA, with a special focus on biodiversity studies on macroorganisms. We discuss the advantages and complexity of such methods and describe how some of them can be optimized for ecological analyses of SedaDNA‐based metabarcoding data, with a special focus on SedaDNA studies. First, site occupancy‐detection models can help to better ascertain the variation through time of the occurrence of target species and to identify the factors determining their detection through time. Second, several approaches can be used to estimate variation of relative abundance. Even though methods for abundance estimation have major limitations, they can provide useful information on temporal variation of ecosystem functions. Third, approaches exist to obtain better measures of species diversity, while taking into account the uncertainties of species abundance and identification. Fourth, techniques of clustering, ordination, and constrained ordination allow identification of temporal trends and testing of candidate drivers of community variation. Finally, structural equation models can be used to assess complex causal relationships among biodiversity, human activities, and environment. SedaDNA studies can make use of a broad panel of analytical approaches, which can improve our understanding of long‐term biodiversity changes, maximizing the information we can obtain from past ecosystems

Flexibility Value of Distributed Generation in Transmission Expansion Planning

The efficiency of the classic planning methods for solving realistic problems largely relies on an accurate prediction of the future. Nevertheless, the presence of strategic uncertainties in current electricity markets has made prediction and even forecasting essentially futile. The new paradigm of decision-making involves two major deviations from the conventional planning approach. On one hand, the acceptation the fact the future is almost unpredictable. On the other hand, the application of solid risk management techniques turns to be indispensable. In this chapter, a decision-making framework that properly handles strategic uncertainties is proposed and numerically illustrated for solving a realistic transmission expansion planning problem. The key concept proposed in this chapter lies in systematically incorporating flexible options such as large investments postponement and investing in Distributed Generation, in foresight of possible undesired events that strategic uncertainties might unfold. Until now, the consideration of such flexible options has remained largely unexplored. The understanding of the readers is enhanced by means of applying the proposed framework in a numerical mining firm expansion capacity planning problem. The obtained results show that the proposed framework is able to find solutions with noticeably lower involved risks than those resulting from traditional expansion plans.Fil: Vásquez, Paúl. Consejo Nacional de Electricidad; EcuadorFil: Olsina, Fernando Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan. Instituto de Energía Eléctrica. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Energía Eléctrica; Argentin