A Study on Efficient Energy Use for Household Appliances in Malawi

Energy is important for the socio-economic development of all countries. However, the mismanagement of its utilisation can lead to a short fall in the supply of electricity. It is therefore imperative that everybody should be concerned about the efficient use of energy in order to reduce consumption. The demand for electricity in Malawi is so high that it is even more important to conserve and use efficiently the electricity available. Since households are one of the major consumers of electricity in Malawi, they should be involved in efficient energy use. The paper presents a study on the energy consumption of the most common household appliances in Malawi and prescribes the various steps that can lead to reduced energy consumption. The energy consumption of various household appliances has been measured over a period of one month in Zomba using a Landis +Gyr power meter. It was observed that the electrical-cooking stove, water heater, dry iron, and incandescent bulbs were the most electrical power-consuming appliances. It has also been observed that by using high-efficiency energy saving bulbs, hoseholds can reduce their electricalconsumption from ordinary incandescent bulbs by 90%.Keywords: Efficient; energy use; household appliances; power consumption; power mete

Assessment of noise levels in heavy and light industries in Blantyre City, Malawi

This study was aimed at assessing noise levels in various companies in Blantyre City, Malawi in relation to their compliance with the National Standards and the Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act of Malawi (1997) on noise pollution control program. The noise levels, ambient temperature and humidity were measured in various sections of the different industries in the city. A questionnaire was used to check if the industries applied any control measures to prevent induced hearing loss. The results show that noise levels in most industries are above the recommended limit level of 85 dBA. The study has also shown that only 21 % of the industries complied with the national regulations. Lack of noise data, awareness, commitment, and enforcement by the regulatory authorities were observed to be contributing factors to the failure to implement induced noise hearing loss control programmes. The study recommends that in some sections of the industries where the noise levels are high, programs to reduce or prevent hearing loss should be implemented. In addition, there is a need for regular inspections of noise levels in industries out to ensure compliance of permissible noise levels.Keywords: Compliance, Decibels, Hearing loss, Industries, Noise level

BIM in the water industry: addressing challenges to improve the project delivery process

The UK Government BIM implementation 2016 target for all public projects formed the major driver for the construction industry to upskill and learn new ways of working. The water industry is a private sector that has no mandate to implement BIM and would also benefit from its use. Research has identified that fragmentation and inefficiency still existed in the water industry project delivery processes. These issues can be addressed by harnessing the collaboration that BIM brings by using emerging information technology. The UK water industry has had little research in the use of BIM in the project delivery processes over the years. Therefore, the aim of the research is to explore and examine BIM use in the water construction industry, as well as understand the challenges faced and how they are being addressed to improve project delivery processes. The qualitative case study approach was adopted for the collection and analysis of data which was carried out by undertaking observations, document reviews and semi structured interviews. A water company and a design and build contractor on a framework formed the research sample. The design and build contractor was also part of other water industry frameworks. The research findings identified that there are similarities between the water industry and the other infrastructure sectors in the use of BIM realizing benefits of collaborative working. These benefits included improved information quality, cost reductions, shorter programme durations and greater collaboration. However, BIM was yet to be fully understood and used which led to challenges of overcoming and changing organizational cultures, developing levels of BIM expertise, data and information control, interoperability and data entry. The research also identified that the water company was lagging in BIM use despite noticeable benefits shown by its supply chain. The paper concludes by identifying that the water industry supply chain has taken positive steps and started to benefit from BIM use. However, more needs to be done as BIM is still in its infancy facing challenges associated with changing organizational cultures. The research recommends that the water industry and its supply chain should continue to invest more resources in implementing BIM to achieve the benefits realized by other sectors with NBS and CITB becoming more visible. This should include staff training, creating standardized approaches, processes to harness the collaborative nature of BIM

Knowledge management in the UK water industry

The UK government has set ambitious targets for the construction industry to maintain global competitiveness. It aims to remove barriers, increase productivity, improve competition, at the same time benefiting the customers by lowering water bills. Through the water industry regulators, Ofwat, Defra and DWI, the privatised water industry saw competition opened for business and non-household water customers in 2017. Knowledge has become known as the major resource organisations must have to maintain a competitive advantage. Management of this organisational knowledge, commonly referred to as Knowledge Management (KM), creates business value generating competitive advantage, enabling creation, communication and application of various knowledge to achieve business goals. Although the UK water industry is information and knowledge rich, there is limited research in the KM subject within this industry. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore, examine and understand how knowledge is being managed in the UK water industry. A qualitative case study was used for the collection and analysis of data with the results obtained through review of water company supply chain processes, documents, observations and semi structured interviews. Organisational culture and the need to maintain and retain business competitiveness was the major drive for implementation of KM, as found in this study. The water industry and its supply chain are changing their goals and objectives to align them with KM practices, identifying needed knowledge, creating KM resources, sharing and fostering knowledge through information technology tools. The study concludes that the knowledge rich water industry has put in place measures and processes fundamental to KM and will eventually take the next step for its full implementation. Organisational leadership and management were the initiating and driving positive KM cultures, placing knowledge as the major project resource. The current drive to create, foster and provide resources for KM through organisational culture changes and making use of information technology should continue to be invested in. This will allow organisations to maintain, sustain and increase competitiveness, improve productivity whilst meeting business goals. The advancement of information technology should also be taken advantage of as an enabler for implementing of KM strategies.Paper delivered at the 20th European Conference on Knowledge Management, Universidade Europeia de Lisboa, 5th-6th September 2019, Lisbon, Portugal

Building information modelling in the framework of knowledge management: a water industry case study

The UK private water industry has seen a lot of growth in expenditure since privatisation. Ofwat, Defra and DWI have set targets for the water companies to be customer focused, reducing bills, be innovative as well as encourage competition. The emergence of Building Information Modelling (BIM) has offered opportunities to the water industry to achieve cost and programme efficiencies as the rest of the construction industry. This, together with emerging information technology has allowed organisations to take steps in collaborative working, making information available at the right time to the right people, which is fundamental to Knowledge Management (KM). There is limited research in the subject of BIM being used in the context of and tool for KM within the UK water industry. Hence the aim of the study is to explore and understand how the UK water industry is using BIM for KM. A qualitative case study was used for the collection and analysis of data with the results obtained through review of water company supply chain processes, documents, observations and semi structured interviews. The key finding from the study is the significant impact of organisational culture influence on the implementation of BIM & KM in which the water industry supply chain has been aligning its business goals, identifying needed knowledge, creating KM resources and sharing knowledge through BIM as one of KM resources or tools. In conclusion, research identifies that the water industry is heading in the right direction, with leadership and management at the forefront of instilling a positive KM culture, though it is still developing. Ongoing training and provision of resources for KM should continue to be invested in to yield cost, programme, quality and knowledge capture benefits. The close definitions for Information and Knowledge should be taken advantage of for development and implementing of KM strategies using BIM as one of its key tool or resource

BIM in the water industry: Addressing challenges to improve the project delivery process

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Emerald in Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management on 07/07/2020. The published version can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-12-2019-0692 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.Purpose The UK water industry is a private sector that has no government mandate to implement BIM but would benefit from its use. Research has identified that fragmentation and inefficiency still existed in the water industry project delivery processes. These issues can be addressed by harnessing the collaboration that Building Information Modelling (BIM) brings by using emerging information technology. The UK water industry has had little research in the use of BIM in the project delivery processes over the years. Design/methodology/approach The aim of the research is to explore and examine BIM elements currently used in the water industry, as well as understand the organisational cultural support for BIM. It also investigated the adoption of BIM which will enable to improve water industry project delivery processes. An empirical study was performed in the UK. Given the relatively new and unexplored nature of the research problem, a qualitative research methodology was adopted. In total, 14 semi-structured interviews from six water sector organisations were conducted to collect data, which was then analysed using thematic analysis for inference and conclusion. Findings The study identified that BIM has already changed how projects are delivered by the water companies and their supply chain. Use of emerging technology such as Autodesk Revit, Civil 3D, and virtual reality has gained traction and is leading organisations to continue investing in these areas to remain relevant. Although staff training was offered by all organisations within the study cohort, some interviewees still thought that more can be done by their organisations as BIM is still maturing. Those interviewed regarded BIM models as data and information rich with the ability to enable the supply chain to obtain quicker approvals. Originality/value The paper provides a richer insight into the understanding and awareness of BIM elements used in the water industry to improve project delivery processes. This study shows that the water industry supply chain has taken positive steps and started to benefit from BIM use. It also recommends that there is a need for cross‐sector collaboration to capture and share best and worst practices relating to BIM adoption in the water sector

Toxicity of natural radioactivity in water samples from a gold mine in Gauteng Province, South Africa

A radiological toxicity assessment of natural radioactivity in water samples from a gold mine in the Gauteng Province of South Africa was evaluated. In this study, 29 water samples were collected from the mine and 5 were collected from a control area. A broad energy germanium detector was used to measure the activity concentrations of Uranium-238, Thorium-232, and Potassium-40. Their activity concentrations were then used to calculate radiological hazard parameters in water for the area.  The average value of the Radium Equivalent Activity (Raeq) in water samples from the mining area and from the control area was found to be lower than the allowable limit of 370 Bq.L-1.  The Annual Effective Dose Equivalent (AEDE) was found to be equal to 1.29×10-3 mSv.y-1, a value below worldwide average of 2.4 mSv.y-1 for natural radiation. The external hazard (Hex) and internal hazard (Hin) index for water samples from the mining area were less than unity, making water samples safe to the population in the area

Design and consruction of microcontroller-based multi-parameter monitoring system.

Many farmers and agricultural research groups need environmental data to augment their agricultural measurements. Such data is needed to understand the physical environment that includes the climate in general, and the microclimate and soils of the area under consideration. An understanding of the environmental variables helps in increasing productivity. Using environmental control it is possible to programme microclimatic conditions so that high value products may be produced. It is this view that initiated the idea of designing and developing a microcontroller-based environmental data acquisition system for monitoring environmental variables. During this process, an investigation on different types of sensors was studied and the design of low cost sensors was undertaken to replace the commercial types, which are very expensive. It was intended that this system would be cheap, cost-effective and easy to use. The first stage was to design and construct sensor circuits to be used for measuring the environmental parameters. This was done by identifying the sensors to be developed. The temperature sensor circuit was the first to be designed using the available materials. The design revolved around the LM335Z sensor to produce a temperature range of –10 oC to +70 oC within ±1 oC. This was followed by the construction of a wind speed sensor. In its design, a thermistor bead was used to measure wind speed from 0 to 10 m/s within ±0.1 m/s. This was only true under a constant temperature environment of around 25oC. The third sensor to be developed was a solar radiation sensor, which used a solar cell to measure solar radiation from 0 to1000 W/m2 within ±10 W/m2. The solar cell was recommended because of its availability and reasonable cost. In all these designs the signals produced were conditioned such that the voltage was in the 0-5V range. This is because the microcontroller, which was used in this investigation, did not accept higher voltages. The second stage was the design of the main circuit used to measure the analogue voltages to be converted into digital form for display on the seven segment displays. The environmental parameters measured are displayed, one at a time, with a 5 second separation. The values are also stored on EEPROM at 5-minute intervals. After 85 sets of points, covering over 7 hours, the system begins to overwrite values already stored. At this point, data retrieval should take place through pressing a read button on the front panel of the system. The heart of the main circuit was the PIC16F876 microcontroller. The third stage was the development of the software to support the various activities of the system. Calibration of the various sensors was later done in order to enhance the accuracy of the readings. After this, the system was finally assembled