Sources and Ways of Controlling Manufacturing Industrial Waste in the Northern Ghana

Manufacturing waste forms part of industrial waste which is also rooted in solid waste. In Ghana, the ruling government has a flagship project known as one district one factory (1d1f). Most of these factories that are established and yet to be established are manufacturing industries. No doubt that these industries will generate lots of waste which must be managed properly. Also, the more factories are built, the more waste will be created. The main purpose of this paper is to identify and try to control the exact sources of waste generation on the production line of manufacturing industries. The method used was literature review, and interview of industry players. From the literature review, it was found that several sources of waste have been established such as municipal sources of waste, medical/clinical sources, agriculture sources, end-of-life-of automobile, industrial sources of waste, construction/demolition sources, and electronic sources of waste (eschooltoday, 2020, amauomo and baird, 2016) whiles the results from the interview session revealed that the exact point on the manufacturing line of the industry, which can be termed as sources of waste are; at the beginning, and sometimes the end of the production line. Observation on the production line also confirmed the perception of the factory hands, that at the beginning, and the end. Once the sources are identified, it is possible to control it. In conclusion, it was revealed that factory hands do not make critical observation on the production line. They agreed that if the sources are identified and controlled, it will reduce the cost of production which will increase their profit margin. It is therefore recommended that manufacturing industries should take much interest in identifying the sources of waste creation on their production lines. Also, they should take measurement seriously when feeding raw materials into the production line

Evaluating Entrepreneurial Features of Firm's Growth Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The growth of Small and medium-size firms cannot ensue without the entrepreneurial features and the environment that the firm operates. The entrepreneurial characteristics, therefore, are vital due to the unique individualism of firm owners or sponsors. Construction SME growth-oriented firms are a significant contributor to Ghana's economic gain. Conversely, the concept of growth varies from one entrepreneur to the others depending on the exhibited skills by the entrepreneurs, hence entrepreneurial features. Numerous factors influence the entrepreneurial features as a factor of firm’s growth. Some are of the factors are established and categorised as having strong influence while others are classified weak. This study, therefore, adopted the confirmatory factor analytical technique to justify the factors after exploring. To achieve the goal of the study, respondents such as firm owners, SME managers and construction professionals engaged by SMEs as the population were administered with questionnaires. In all, 315 questionnaires were given out in the form of semi-structured structured, but only 228 were retrieved for analysis representing a responds rate of 72 percent. The study established Cronbach alpha and composite reliability values that predicted the entrepreneurial feature as a subsequent determinant of firm’s growth. Additionally, the hypothesis was supported statistically suggesting that there is a direct relationship between entrepreneurial features and firm growth

The national public works programme, 1994-1998: does the past suggest the future?

Paper presented at the Wits History Workshop: Forging the links between historical research and the policy process, 18-19 September 1999.The National Public Works Programme (NPWP) was launched in 1994 to establish programmes, using labour-intensive methods, to construct and maintain infrastructure, generate employment and develop skills. This article discusses the programme's progress

Assessing South African Construction Worker’s Knowledge of Modern Technologies for Effective Material Management

Material management is a matter of concern for construction stakeholders in South Africa.  ICT is the way forward for all sectors upon which the economy thrives both in the national and international level. Incorporating modern technologies will lead to effective material management. However, the level of awareness of modern technologies among South African construction stakeholders needs to be assessed. The study adopted a quantitative approach where questionnaires were administered to professionals in the South African construction industry. Descriptive statistics tools were used to analyse the gathered data. Findings showed that construction stakeholders in South Africa are aware of modern technologies for effective management. The tools according to the level of awareness are Microsoft programs, barcoding, RFID, construction materials planning systems and materials handling equipment selection advisor. Also, the level of importance of these tools according to Stakeholders in South African Construction industry are Microsoft programmes, Barcoding, RFID, materials handling equipment selection advisor, construction materials exchange and construction materials planning system. Therefore, it is evident that there is still unyielding to recent technological move in the construction industry, which may be preventing the progressive growth. It is imperative to indulge modern technologies to counter this problem which in turn help effective material management

Organizational change and its effects on throughput : a case study of Lonmin Mine Shafts

Abstract: Several factors contribute to the effectiveness of an organization after an organization restructuring. Some of these factors are easily measurable while some are not. This study investigated the effect of employee attitude and perception towards organizational change (Theory of Constraints (TOC)) implementation using two Lonmin mine shafts as case studies. Sustainability of TOC was also considered. A quantitative research method was used for collecting data from two shafts in Lonmin Mine as a case study. The data was analysed using the IBM SPSS statistics 26 software. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were performed on the data to test for statistical significance of the results. Findings from the study revealed that employees show remarkably positive attitude and perception towards organizational change. However, there is no correlation between the attitude and perception of employees and the organizational throughput

Drivers of renewable energy adoption in the built environment : a case of South Africa

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The future of smart city : a review of the impending smart city technologies in the world

Abstract: Smart city is one of the major trending topics of the 4th industrial revolution. It can be described as a city that operates with the help of information communication technology. The world’s population explosion has made the need for smart city ever significant considering the UN statistics. In other to develop new ideas for future technologies of smart cities, this study aimed at reviewing existing literature related to the technologies that will form an integral part of the future smart cities. This study adopted an efficient literature review method by sourcing published journal articles, books and conference articles from web of science and scopus database. The study revealed moveable smart city, automated pandemic detecting city, driverless cars, online central government treasury app, automated self-repairable smart city, 100% online education, financial technology and national e-voting system as key technologies of the future smart cities

Construction digitalisation tools in South African construction industry : an added advantage

Abstract: The execution of the building project requires the assembling and accumulation of works at a large scale for it to become a reality. This involves the exchange of a large amount of data from one party to another. The development of information and communication technology (ICT) has therefore enhanced an active and proficient way of exchanging data among professionals. This research work set out to assess the benefits of using ICT tools by construction organisations in South Africa. A quantitative research technique was used through a well-structured questionnaire to collect data from construction professionals. They include construction project managers, civil engineers, quantity surveyors, construction managers, industrial, mechanical and electrical engineers. Standard deviation (SD) and mean item score (MIS) were used to analyse the retrieved data. The findings indicated that the most eminent benefits of ICT tools to construction organisations are effective communication management, competitive advantage and time-saving. This study recommended that construction organisations should provide lessons on different ICT tools uses to address each problem that will rise during the construction cycle and reap the full benefit of ICT such as improved productivity, increased speed, and diversification

A review of the impact of construction automation and robotics on project delivery

Abstract: The use of construction technologies is to improve working conditions, improve health and safety, scheduling and improving quality of the construction products. Construction automation redefines construction with machines and advanced technology to mitigate the problems faced in construction, such as labour-related issues among others. To adequately understand the impact of automation and robotics in the construction industry, this study is aimed at reviewing extant literature on how automation and robotics can be put into use in the construction industry as it is being used in the manufacturing industry. The study employed a systematic literature review approach and sourced for published journal and conference articles from Web of Science and Scopus databases. The review revealed that construction automation and robotics increase accuracy of components’ dimension through the use of lasers for dimension analysis, promote design specifications through the use of computer aided designs, increase quality of construction products by ensuring standards are met, brings cost effectiveness as value for money spent is achieved, eliminate material wastage due to accurate and precise estimate of materials needed, reduce construction accidents due to the usage of machines for dangerous construction activities, improve working condition as workers’ are more secure and safety is guaranteed, and reduce labour cost given the fact that machines are deployed for construction activities

Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals