Analysis of the milking work on "Serrana" goat farms in NE Portugal, in order to improve goat breeding and milk production, in this region

The “Serrana” goat is the leading Portuguese local breed and it is generally bred to produce milk for cheese-making. Besides, the "Serrana" goat is largely predominant in the northeastern region of Portugal. In this region, the farms on which the Serrana goat is raised are small, with small flocks raised according to extensive systems and they rarely have suitable milking facilities. Mostly, goats are hand-milked inside the shelters in which they are housed during the night. As a result of actions carried out over the recent years involving strategies to improve milking conditions on goat farms in the region, some breeders adopted mechanical milking. Presently, there are very few farms with milking machines. Milking parlors are in very reduced number and usually, goats are placed on a platform and milked by small-scale milking machines (mobile/portable machines). For these breeders, mechanical milking is a new technology, they are inexperienced and they lack knowledge about the correct use of these machines and best milking practices. The main objectives of this work were to identify milking practices on farms with mechanical milking; to analyze milker's procedures and activities; and to study work organization during goat milking. The study allows us to identify problems and to think about ways to tackle them, as well as to propose changes that should be recommended. ANCRAS (Serrana breeder's association) intends to encourage breeders to adopt mechanical milking, aiming to improve working conditions and milk quality. Therefore, it contributes to improvement in goat production and the development in rural areas.Milking was studied on six goat farms (ANCRAS affiliate) that used milking machines. We collected data about the conditions of the place where milking is carried out, the equipment used and work organization. Milking procedures were recorded on video with a digital camera. Later, video recordings were studied with appropriate software in order to identify milking practices, to analyze working organization and to identify activities and procedures performed by milkers. After that, we identified the problems and deficiencies that occurred during milking work.Observing milking work we can say that there are significant differences among goat farms studied. There are milkers with different working methods and different work organization. On several farms, it is possible to verify the poor adaptation to new technologies (mechanical milking) and the lack of knowledge about good practices required by this type of milking method. The main problems and deficiencies identified have to do with the cleanliness and disinfection of the teats and udder. Other times, they concern handling and controlling goats, or the way work is organized

Problemas e dificuldades no acesso e disponibilidade de energia nas instalações de caprinos de leite em Trás-os-Montes

O licenciamento de instalações de caprinos está sujeita a normativos decorrentes de legislação nacional e de regulamentos e posturas municipais, que condicionam a sua localização. As instalações isoladas e afastadas das localidades têm dificuldade no acesso à rede eléctrica pública, principalmente pelo custo associado à sua ligação. A indisponibilidade de energia é um factor limitante ao crescimento e desenvolvimento da produção caprina. O acesso a energia é importante para conseguir condições adequadas para a realização de alguns trabalhos como distribuição de alimentos e ordenha. Nas explorações de caprinos de leite, a ordenha é uma operação de grande importância pois dela depende o rendimento da exploração e a qualidade dos produtos obtidos (por exemplo, o queijo). Para a implantação e divulgação da ordenha mecânica é necessário que as instalações tenham ligação à rede de energia eléctrica ou disponham de outra fonte de energia que permita a utilização dos equipamentos de ordenha. Mesmo na ordenha manual, a hora e tempo de ordenha está condicionada pela iluminação disponível (natural ou outra). Para este trabalho, foram consideradas todas as explorações de associados da ANCRAS dos concelhos de Alfândega da Fé, Alijó, Macedo de Cavaleiros, Mirandela, Mogadouro e Murça, na região de Trás-os-Montes. Foram estudadas as formas de energia disponíveis e a sua utilização, principalmente nas explorações que praticam ordenha mecânica. Estudaram-se, também, os custos associados ao acesso e utilização da energia nas diferentes situações. Os dados já analisados permitem concluir que a grande maioria das explorações de caprinos de leite da região de Trás-os-Montes não dispõe de energia eléctrica nas suas instalações. Os custos de ligação à rede eléctrica são demasiado elevados para a capacidade de investimento das explorações de caprinos da região. A necessidade básica de iluminação é, geralmente, assegurada por equipamentos portáteis de vários tipos, maioritariamente por lanternas de mão (a pilhas) e, muitas vezes, por velas de cera. Este tipo de iluminação não é a mais adequada para a realização dos trabalhos de distribuição de alimentos e ordenha. É necessário encontrar soluções ou alternativas para a disponibilidade de energia nas instalações de caprinos de leite, tendo em conta as condições económicas e possibilidades financeiras dos criadores da regiã

Estimativa dos componentes de variância da produção de leite diária da cabra serrana (ecótipo transmontano)

O objectivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver um modelo para a avaliação genética, baseado na produção de leite diária, para os caprinos de raça Serrana - Ecótipo Transmontana. Foram utilizados 2934 registos de contrastes de produção de leite diário da primeira, segunda e terceira lactações. Os registos obtidos nos sete dias imediatamente a seguir ao parto e 200 dias após o parto foram removidos da análise. A produção de leite diária média foi de 0,855 ( 0,309) kg para o conjunto das três lactações, 0,787 ( 0,268) para a primeira lactação, 0,903 ( 0,309) para a segunda lactação e 0,931 ( 0,341) para a terceira lactação. O pedigree continha 1264 animais (31 bodes e 1233 cabras) e, destes, 488 eram animais base. O método REML, implementado no software VCE-5, foi utilizado para estimar os componentes de co-variância. Foram testados e comparados dois modelos, o Modelo 2.1 continha o tipo de parto, a ordem de lactação, a interacção entre o ano e a estação de parto e a interacção entre o ano e a estação de contraste como efeitos fixos, e os efeitos do rebanho e genético aditivo directo como efeitos aleatórios; o Modelo 2.2 foi melhorado incluindo o estádio de lactação (como classes de 30 dias de intervalo) como efeito fixo, e o efeito do ambiente permanente como efeito aleatório. As estimativas da heritabilidade foram de 0,32 para o Modelo 2.1 e 0,18 para o Modelo 2.2. O Modelo 2.2 mostrou-se bastante eficiente para prever os efeitos genético aditivo directo e do ambiente permanente que, numa primeira fase, poderá ser utilizado para a selecção dos reprodutores a incluir no programa de melhoramento. The objective of this study was to develop a model, based on the test-day milk records, for the genetic evaluation for the breed Serrana - Ecótipo Transmontana dairy goats. Data comprising 2934 test-day records from the first, second and third lactations of 629 goats were used in analysis of daily milk yield (DMY). Records before 7 and after 200 days in milk were discharged. Average daily milk yield was 0,855 ( 0,309) kg for all lactations, 0,787 ( 0,268) for the first lactation, 0,903 ( 0,309) for the second lactation, and 0,931 ( 0,341) for the third lactation. The pedigree file contained 1264 animals (31 bucks and 1233 goats), and 488 animals were base animals. The REML method, as implemented in the VCE-5 programme, was applied for the estimation of (co)variance components of two models. Two models were tested, Model 2.1 contained parity type, lactation number, interaction year with season of lambing, interaction of year and season of testing as fixed effects, and owner and direct additive genetic effects were treated as random. Model 2.2 was upgraded including the stage of lactation (as 30 days in milk class) as fixed effect, and permanent environment as random effect. The heritability estimates were 0,32 for Model 2.1 and 0,18 for Model 2.2. There is a potential for using Model 2.2 to predict the additive genetic and permanent environmental effects for the genetic evaluation of the Serrana goats

Internet of Things: an evolution of development and research area topics

Internet of Things (IoT) is a hot topic in the Europe Union (EU). In the year of 2015 the EU established an Alliance of Internet of Things Innovation (AIOTI) and this alliance included the IoT European Research Cluster (IERC) on the Internet of Things in the work group 01. IERC was established in 2007 and addresses the large potential for Internet of Things-based capabilities in Europe and to coordinate the convergence of ongoing activities. This organization regularly publishes Strategic Research Agendas with short, medium and long term forecasts of development and research topics. The aim of this paper is to study these Strategic Research Agendas published in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016 and make an identification of topics, in order to understand its evolution over time in terms of areas that have already been researched (or the research has already started) as well as those not yet explored. This work was performed based on a literature review methodology to identify the evolution in all the Strategic Research Agendas published in the years of 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016.This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145- FEDER-007043 and FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Importance of Subcontracting and Its Relationship With Lean Philosophy in Automotive Industry

The automotive industry represents one of the largest economic sectors in the world and most companies in this industry involve subcontracting in their strategy. However, subcontracting is one of the possible processes that can lead to inefficiencies for companies. Since lean arises as a response to the most varied problems of companies, the main goal of this work is to understand the importance of subcontracting in the automotive sector and to understand how lean and subcontracting are related. For this, an empirical study of papers and books related to these topics was performed, concluding that subcontracting is frequently used in the automotive sector, to obtain strategic advantages, and that it supports the foundations of the lean concept, as well as the lean can help manage subcontracting. The trade-off of the transfer of activities enables organizations to be flexible, lean and agile; they can then focus on their core activities, which generate more value, while the option to subcontract generates a significant reduction in costs by transferring non-core activities. In short, these two concepts are related to each other in the context of the automotive industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Big Data system architecture to support the monitoring of paved roads

Today, everything is connected, including the exchange of data and the generation of new information. As a result, large amounts of data are being collected at an ever-increasing rate and in a variety of forms, a phenomenon now known as Big Data. Recent developments in information and communication technologies are driving the generation of significant amounts of data from multiple sources, namely sensors. In response to these technological advances and data challenges, this paper proposes a Big Data system architecture for paved road monitoring and implements part of this architecture on a section of road in Portugal as a case study. The challenge in the case study architecture is to collect and process sensor data in real time, at a rate of 500 records per second, producing 15 GBytes of data per day, using a real-time data stream for real-time monitoring and a batch data stream for deeper analysis. This allows users to obtain instant updates on road conditions such as the number of vehicles, loads, weather, and pavement temperatures on the road. They can monitor what is happening on the road in real time, receive alerts, and even gain insight into historical data, such as analysing the condition of structures or identifying traffic patterns.This work was also partly financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020, and under the Associate Laboratory Advanced Production and Intelligent Systems ARISE, under reference LA/P/0112/2020. This work was also partly supported by the FCT under the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Ordenha mecânica nas explorações de caprinos de Trás-os-Montes (Portugal): problemas e dificuldades para a sua divulgação

Na região de Trás-os-Montes (nordeste de Portugal) a exploração de cabras de leite, principalmente da raça Serrana, autóctone, é uma actividade relativamente importante do ponto de vista socioeconómico, porque se trata de uma região pobre e onde são raras as actividades económicas alternativas para a população rural. Para o desenvolvimento da actividade e para a melhoria da qualidade e quantidade de leite produzido, é importante melhorar as condições de ordenha, especialmente quanto às instalações e equipamentos; e às condições de trabalho do ordenhador. A maioria das explorações de caprinos da região pratica a ordenha manual. Este tipo de ordenha tem vários problemas quanto às condições de trabalho e à qualidade do leite recolhido. Nos últimos anos desenvolveram-se várias acções no sentido de melhorar as condições de ordenha e de incentivar os criadores para a adopção de ordenha mecânica. No entanto, verificam-se alguns problemas e dificuldades dos criadores na adopção e utilização dos destes equipamentos. Com este trabalho, pretende-se identificar os problemas e dificuldades que resultaram da adopção/utilização de equipamentos de ordenha mecânica em explorações de cabras de leite da região de Trás-os-Montes. O estudo da ordenha mecânica abrangeu vários aspectos: os equipamentos utilizados; a organização do trabalho e das instalações; as rotinas de ordenha; e as operações do ordenhador no trabalho de ordenha. Foram estudadas as explorações de caprinos de raça Serrana da região de Trás-os-Montes que utilizam qualquer tipo de ordenha mecânica. A informação recolhida permite concluir que há dificuldades na adaptação ao uso de novas técnicas de ordenha e equipamentos. Os problemas estão, principalmente, relacionados com a organização do trabalho e do local da ordenha, e com a aprendizagem da correcta utilização dos equipamentos. De futuro, será importante considerar o desenvolvimento de acções de apoio técnico aos criadores, no sentido de melhorar as instalações/local de ordenha e a utilização dos equipamentos.In the national context, the region of Trás-os-Montes, in Northeastern Portugal, is one of the most depopulated and least favoured areas. In this region, goat breeding has great socioeconomic importance due to the number of families that are economically dependent on these activities. This importance is particularly due to the scarcity of alternative economic activities. To improve goat breeding, milk production and milk quality, it is important to enhance milking conditions, mainly in facilities, equipment and working conditions. Presently, there are very few farms with milking machines. Mostly, goats are hand-milked inside the shelters. As a result of actions carried out over the recent years involving strategies to improve milking conditions on goat farms in the region, some breeders adopted mechanical milking. For these breeders, mechanical milking is a new technology, they are inexperienced and they lack knowledge about the correct use of these machines and best milking practices. To study mechanical milking we established the following aspects to consider: working organization and facilities, milking operations, and procedures performed by milkers. Goat farms that used mechanical milking in the region of Trás-os-Montes were studied. From the information collected, it was found some difficulties in the adaptation to the use of new milking techniques. Main problems are related to working organization, facilities and equipment utilization

The relevance of space analysis in warehouse management

Customers are becoming increasingly demanding and logistics is gaining more importance in order to assure customer satisfaction in terms of money, quality and time. The goal of this paper is to show that warehouses can be a source of competitive advantage and that a critical approach towards the existing available space may lead to increases in capacity with low investment. To accomplish this, a company is used as a model and suggestions for improvements are carried out. Regarding the capacity, a volume approach is taken into consideration, both in terms of the products and regarding the bins. Moreover, opportunities to achieve better space usage are presented by suggesting additional or different bins. Therefore, it is possible to reduce costs, to increase safety, to increase capacity up to 9,77%, and to help minimizing traveling distances and damages caused to the items.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New conceptual model of Reverse Logistics of a worldwide Fashion Company

This paper focuses on the logistics activity of the Outlet Retail industry of accessories and clothing items produced by a Portuguese fashion company, operated by an also Portuguese Third-Party Logistics providers (3PL). The main goal of this study is to address and analyze the current business and process model used by the Portuguese 3PL, to compare it with other existing models within the state-of-art, and to design a new conceptual model for 3PL’s reverse logistics activities in the Clothing and Fashion Industry. The second main goal is to identify improvement opportunities, while observing and mapping logistic activities, in order to increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve the quality of the service. The analysis was supported by Lean and Supply Chain methodologies and by appropriate tools like the Value Stream Mapping (VSM). VSM contributed to map the business processes in a structured and systematic way and provided a wide perception of the value chain to identify the waste that could be reduced. The data used to feed the VSM was collected by cycle time measurements and also data analytics. After the analysis, a new Value Stream Proposal was presented for that business model, as well as the gains achieved by the execution of technologic and lean-based improvement actions. Finally, this paper presents a Conceptual Business Model for 3PL’s Reverse Logistics in the Clothing and Fashion Industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implementing “quick-wins” in lean managementa case study

This study was undertaken at a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) in the metalworking sector, where Lean Management has been implemented through several Lean Tools (LT) and their variations. This study comprised two main goals. The first involved demonstrating which LT allow the highest impact during the implementation phase, thus producing great influence both in terms of organization and operational results, as well as in the context of employees’ motivation. The second goal consisted of introducing procedure changes based on the Management of Human Resources through Lean Leadership tools. By implementing these two objectives, one was able to achieve an increase of 8,5% in machine occupancy rate, and a reduction of 27,9% regarding the costs of defective products per hour.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio