A Scientific and Economic View on Collaboration, Balancing vs. Sharing

There is a class of artifacts bodies and their science, also known as 3M & I-bodies in 2008, which consist of human, material/machine, monetary and informational components. For multi-body systems, the paper discusses and develops the scientific and economic fundamentals of the Follett-like classification as domination, compromise, integration and sharing in 2-center conflict types (Matsui, 1983). That is, the mathematical view is based on the Venn diagram of sets in mathematics, the physical view is based on the principle of the lever in Archimedes’ work, and the economical view is based on the profit (specific gravity) and Matsui’s equation. From a systematic view composed of these, it is obtained that the integration pursues the maximization of intersection (compromise) in the two-center, whereas the sharing pursues the minimization of intersection (compromise) in field. When the marginal (maximal) profit is the same, both are pointed out to be similar on the relation of classical Nash’s solution and duality; the scientific and economic findings will contribute to the advance of the coming society and its visibility and harmony in collaboration vs. sharing

Evaluation of Interhandle Distance During Pushing and Pulling of a Four-Caster Cart for Upper Limb Exertion

AbstractBackgroundThis study examined the relationship between interhandle distances and upper limb exertion during simply pushing and pulling of a cart with four swivel wheels, defined by a roll box pallet (RBP) in a Japanese industrial standard.MethodsSix healthy young male participants were asked to push and pull an RBP at a distance of 5.2 m under six conditions corresponding to different interhandle distances (40 cm, 60 cm, and 80 cm) and weights (130 kg and 250 kg). The upper limb exertion was studied by shoulder abduction and flexion, and elbow flexion, as well as surface electromyogram (EMG) in shoulder extensor, and elbow flexor and extensor. Participants were required to provide subjective evaluations on operability after each trial.ResultsSubjective operability indicated that a narrower interhandle distance had a better operability for pushing. Interhandle distance was also related to upper limb exertion especially for pushing. A narrow interhandle distance caused smaller shoulder adduction but larger elbow flexion. The normalized EMG data revealed that muscular activity became smaller with a narrow interhandle distance in shoulder extensor. During the pulling task, elbow flexion was smaller at a narrow interhandle distance, although subjective operability and normalized EMG were not significantly varied.ConclusionA wider interhandle distance, such as 80 cm, was not suitable in the forwardbackward movement of the RBP. Therefore, this study concluded that an interhandle distance of 40 cm would be suitable for pushing and pulling an RBP to protect the workers' hands against the risk of injury by installing inner handles

ハラール食品サプライチェーン －マレーシアと日本の比較－

研究の視

Solar Energy Demand-to-Supply Management by the On-Demand Cumulative-Control Method: Case of a Childcare Facility in Tokyo

In recent years, environmental and energy issues relating to global warming have become more serious, and there is a need to shift from conventional power generation, which emits an abundance of carbon dioxide, to renewable energy sources without emissions, such as solar and wind. However, solar power generation, which is one of the renewable energies, changes dynamically, depending on real time weather conditions. Thus, power supplied mainly by solar power generation is often unstable, and an appropriate on-demand energy management for demand-to-supply is required to ensure a stable power supply. Demand-to-supply management methods include inventory management analysis and on-demand inventory management analysis. The cumulative-control method has been used as one of the production management methods to visually manage inventory status in factories and warehouses, while the on-demand cumulative-control method is an extension of inventory management analysis. This study models a demand-to-supply management method for a solar power generation system by using the on-demand cumulative-control method in an actual case. First, a demand-to-supply management method is modeled by an on-demand cumulative-control method, using actual power data from a childcare facility in Tokyo. Next, the on-demand cumulative-control method is adopted to the case without batteries, and the amount of electricity to be purchased is estimated. Finally, the effectiveness of the maximum battery capacity and the amount of the initial charge are examined and discussed by sensitivity analysis

Solar Energy Demand-to-Supply Management by the On-Demand Cumulative-Control Method: Case of a Childcare Facility in Tokyo

In recent years, environmental and energy issues relating to global warming have become more serious, and there is a need to shift from conventional power generation, which emits an abundance of carbon dioxide, to renewable energy sources without emissions, such as solar and wind. However, solar power generation, which is one of the renewable energies, changes dynamically, depending on real time weather conditions. Thus, power supplied mainly by solar power generation is often unstable, and an appropriate on-demand energy management for demand-to-supply is required to ensure a stable power supply. Demand-to-supply management methods include inventory management analysis and on-demand inventory management analysis. The cumulative-control method has been used as one of the production management methods to visually manage inventory status in factories and warehouses, while the on-demand cumulative-control method is an extension of inventory management analysis. This study models a demand-to-supply management method for a solar power generation system by using the on-demand cumulative-control method in an actual case. First, a demand-to-supply management method is modeled by an on-demand cumulative-control method, using actual power data from a childcare facility in Tokyo. Next, the on-demand cumulative-control method is adopted to the case without batteries, and the amount of electricity to be purchased is estimated. Finally, the effectiveness of the maximum battery capacity and the amount of the initial charge are examined and discussed by sensitivity analysis