Simulation of site-specific irrigation control strategies with sparse input data

Crop and irrigation water use efficiencies may be improved by managing irrigation application timing and volumes using physical and agronomic principles. However, the crop water requirement may be spatially variable due to different soil properties and genetic variations in the crop across the field. Adaptive control strategies can be used to locally control water applications in response to in-field temporal and spatial variability with the aim of maximising both crop development and water use efficiency. A simulation framework ‘VARIwise’ has been created to aid the development, evaluation and management of spatially and temporally varied adaptive irrigation control strategies (McCarthy et al., 2010). VARIwise enables alternative control strategies to be simulated with different crop and environmental conditions and at a range of spatial resolutions. An iterative learning controller and model predictive controller have been implemented in VARIwise to improve the irrigation of cotton. The iterative learning control strategy involves using the soil moisture response to the previous irrigation volume to adjust the applied irrigation volume applied at the next irrigation event. For field implementation this controller has low data requirements as only soil moisture data is required after each irrigation event. In contrast, a model predictive controller has high data requirements as measured soil and plant data are required at a high spatial resolution in a field implementation. Model predictive control involves using a calibrated model to determine the irrigation application and/or timing which results in the highest predicted yield or water use efficiency. The implementation of these strategies is described and a case study is presented to demonstrate the operation of the strategies with various levels of data availability. It is concluded that in situations of sparse data, the iterative learning controller performs significantly better than a model predictive controller

Air pollution and livestock production

The air in a livestock farming environment contains high concentrations of dust particles and gaseous pollutants. The total inhalable dust can enter the nose and mouth during normal breathing and the thoracic dust can reach into the lungs. However, it is the respirable dust particles that can penetrate further into the gas-exchange region, making it the most hazardous dust component. Prolonged exposure to high concentrations of dust particles can lead to respiratory health issues for both livestock and farming staff. Ammonia, an example of a gaseous pollutant, is derived from the decomposition of nitrous compounds. Increased exposure to ammonia may also have an effect on the health of humans and livestock. There are a number of technologies available to ensure exposure to these pollutants is minimised. Through proactive means, (the optimal design and management of livestock buildings) air quality can be improved to reduce the likelihood of risks associated with sub-optimal air quality. Once air problems have taken hold, other reduction methods need to be applied utilising a more reactive approach. A key requirement for the control of concentration and exposure of airborne pollutants to an acceptable level is to be able to conduct real-time measurements of these pollutants. This paper provides a review of airborne pollution including methods to both measure and control the concentration of pollutants in livestock buildings

Utilización de antropometría en el diseño para mejorar el desempeño de la tripulación

Today’s naval ship or craft designer routinely uses the principles of human factors (ergonomics) as a way to help enhance crew performance. But even though many aspects of human factors are well known, certain important categories often remain underutilized. One of these categories is anthropometrics, the study of human body dimensions and capabilities. Anthropometrics analyzes age, gender, and other data within populations of people, such as the general population of a nation or the special population of that nation’s active duty naval personnel. For the naval designer, anthropometrics helps to ensure adequate ergonomic design for the population from which the crew is drawn. The naval designer can address in a quantifiable manner issues such as lines of sight, console height and valve handle accessibility. When anthropometric principles are thus applied, the ship better fits the capabilities and limitations of the crew, resulting in enhanced crew performance.El diseñador actual de buques navales o embarcaciones rutinariamente utiliza los principios de los factores humanos (ergonomía) como una manera para mejorar el desempeño de la tripulación. Pero, aunque muchos aspectos de los factores humanos son bien conocidos, ciertas categorías importantes a menudo permanecen subutilizadas. Una de estas categorías es la antropometría, el estudio de las dimensiones y capacidades del cuerpo humano. La antropometría analiza la edad, sexo y otros datos dentro de poblaciones de personas, como la población general de una nación o la población especial del personal naval en servicio activo de esa nación. Para el diseñador naval, la antropometría ayuda a asegurar el diseño ergonómico adecuado para la población de donde se obtiene la tripulación. El diseñador naval puede abordar confiablemente asuntos como linea de visión, altura de consola y accesibilidad de agarraderas de válvulas. Cuando los principios de la antropometría se aplican de esta manera, el buque encaja mejor con las capacidades y limitaciones de la tripulación, con el resultado del desempeño mejorado de la tripulación

The role and potential contribution of industrial design in developing agricultural machinery for Malaysia

The aim of this research is to determine whether Industrial Design has an important role to play in the design and development of agricultural equipment, particularly in Malaysia. It is perhaps natural to think of agricultural machinery and equipment as being functional devices with issues such as task performance, robustness and reliability in all weathers being paramount. So is there really a role for the industrial designer? It is argued here that effective design of agricultural products cannot be achieved by considering only the functional requirements and technological aspects, since there are also many human issues to be taken into account. Effectiveness of new product development depends on interdisciplinary team working. This research has been conducted utilising qualitative and quantitative survey methods consisting of interviews and postal questionnaires. The findings show the need for a broad approach to design and confirm that industrial design has an important contribution to make in Malaysian agricultural equipment industries. Introducing two design projects in this research has strengthened the research methodology. The purpose of these design projects is to implement the knowledge and skills of the researcher into agricultural machinery design activities as a means of gaining insight into the problems and processes fundamental to agricultural design. Design guidelines formulated from the research findings will provide Malaysian industrial designers with an approach for effective participation within agricultural design activities. These will help design teams to identify and consider the broad range of issues inherent in agricultural design projects, and hence to work more effectively. Designing agricultural machinery requires an understanding not only of the tasks, crops and the working environment but also of the people who will buy and use the products. Malaysian agricultural machinery design activities have been left, behind compared to some other countries. A push in this area could create major benefits because agricultural machinery design can provide significant advantages to the farmers and hence to the country

Process Improvements of Cilantro Harvesting with Ergonomic Considerations

The problems presented by Talley Farms to the team were a lower than desired cilantro harvesting capacity and work health pertaining to lower back problems. The project objectives were to address and improve upon both of these objectives. To increase harvesting capacity, a simulation model was created using standard times from time studies. The simulation model helped to compare the different harvesting methods as well as the effect of the utilization of the on-site manager. The throughputs between each of the models were analyzed. To address ergonomic concerns, a work sampling study was conducted and it was determined that kneeling methods are the most ideal ergonomically as they do not require workers to be in the most strenuous positions as compared to the standing methods. Several conclusions were made based off of the results: harvesting while standing is faster but worse ergonomically and the utilization of a supervisor will increase throughput

RISK MAINTENANCE STRATEGY IN BLADE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY MACHINERIES - BY USING APPLICATIONS OF TOPSIS METHOD

Regarding the capital and operating expenses of windmill turbines, blades are amongst the most vital parts. Those blades are made using conventional manufacturing methods such as deep groove machine, CNC Machine, foam slicing machine, glass layer machine, glass layer winding machine, balsa angle cutting machine, etc. In this research, TOPSIS (Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method is used to sort the machining methods that need to be handled very carefully according to risk and hazard in blade production. This research objective is to find the windmill blade design data, various production processes and its hazards, risks etc. with the help of previous research papers. Through these results, using the TOPSIS method, a priority number can be given to all the production processes and the safety windmill blade production processes that need more attention can be identified

Computer aided design for work injury elimination in production assembly systems

Work injury is one of the major obstacles in manufacturing industries especially in production assembly systems all over the world. Work injuries reduce production efficiency and threat human health. Among various types of work injuries, repetitive work injuries are the one that can be easily neglected. This thesis is about the application of computing technology to analysis and synthesis of repetitive work injuries in production assembly systems for the purpose of reduction or elimination of these injuries. A production assembly system consists of the assembly machines, products, tools, humans (workers), and particular environments. Injuries of the worker are basically caused by over stress, strain, and fatigue, which are further related to the worker’s posture. This research proposed a general methodology for constructing a software system for analysis and simulation of a worker’s postures in a virtual environment. The implementation of such a computer system was discussed. This research also proposed methods to compute work injury cost. Finally, this research proposed a more systematic method for the synthesis or re-design of worker’ postures to reduce or eliminate work injuries. The major contribution of this thesis work is to advance computing to work injury analysis and synthesis in production systems. This thesis study concludes that the computer technology is matured enough to highly automate the process of work injury analysis and synthesis. It is possible that a complete design of production systems with consideration of work injuries can be done in a much more efficient manner – perhaps reduction of the ramp-up process in the automobile industry from 6 months (typically) to one month in addition to the removal of wasted materials and potential injuries in the ramp-up process

Musculoskeletal Risks: RULA Bibliometric Review

The objective of this study was to reveal RULA method applications in terms of the knowledge, country, year and journal categories. The search was performed using the “Web of Science Core Collection”. The period from 1993 to April 2019 was selected. Eight hundred nine results were obtained, of which 226 were used. The largest number of publications was determined to be in the fields of industry and health and social assistance, which coincides with the OWAS and Standardized Nordic Questionnaire methods. By country, the USA stands out for its greater number of research studies and categories that are encompassed. By date, 2016 was the year when more studies were carried out, again coinciding with the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire. By journal, “Work—A Journal of Prevention Assessment and Rehabilitation” is highlighted, as it is for the REBA method as well. It was concluded that RULA can be applied to workers in different fields, usually in combination with other methods, while technological advancement provides benefits for its application