Recycling manure as cow bedding: potential benefits and risks for UK dairy farms

Material obtained from physical separation of slurry (recycled manure solids; RMS) has been used as bedding for dairy cows in dry climates in the US since the 1970s. Relatively recently, the technical ability to produce drier material has led to adoption of the practice in Europe under different climatic conditions. This review collates the evidence available on benefits and risks of using RMS bedding on dairy farms, with a European context in mind. There was less evidence than expected for anecdotal claims of improved cow comfort. Among animal health risks, only udder health has received appreciable attention. There are some circumstantial reports of difficulties of maintaining udder health on RMS, but no large scale or long term studies of effects on clinical and subclinical mastitis have been published. Existing reports do not give consistent evidence of inevitable problems, nor is there any information on clinical implications for other diseases. The scientific basis for guidelines on management of RMS bedding is limited. Decisions on optimum treatment and management may present conflicts between control of different groups of organisms. There is no information on the influence that such 'recycling' of manure may have on pathogen virulence. The possibility of influence on genetic material conveying antimicrobial resistance is a concern, but little understood. Should UK or other non-US farmers adopt RMS, they are advised to do so with caution, apply the required strategies for risk mitigation, maintain strict hygiene of bed management and milking practices and closely monitor the effects on herd health

Experimental Proof of Concept of a Pilot-Scale Thermochemical Storage Unit

An efficient heat storage system, which allows disposal of the energy independently of the weather conditions, is a key factor on the development of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP). In this respect thermochemical heat storage could play an important role. Despite being still at early development stage, the number of recent studies dealing with thermochemical systems for high temperature storage shows that the interest on this topic is largely increasing. Among the reactive materials studied, certain multi-valent metal oxides seem to be a promising option, especially for air-operated CSP plants

Collaborative tool for the construction site to enhance lean project delivery

Efficient construction management is highly depending on respective persons in charge and their ability to steer the inherent complex flow of information. A lack of standardized short-term task scheduling and monitoring routines as well as not fully reached potentials of digital aids have been identified by authors. Both short-comings are tackled in this paper introducing a location-based scheduling and monitoring concept, which has been implemented in an interactive Dashboard application for the construction site. A tiered Location-based Management System (LBMS) methodology, which incorporates process monitoring on the lowest measureable level have been introduced. The Dashboard application can be used by different stakeholders of a construction project to monitor the work performance, progress and productivity on a daily basis. In Dashboard, KPIs like PAR, PPC, RNC as well as generic parameters describing progress, delays and economic losses have been included. This application aims to improve productivity, collaboration between project participants as well provide tailored information to the user. To reach this goal the following methods and technologies have been adopted: LBMS, Tiered Structure methodology and BIM