23 research outputs found
Towards long-term standardised carbon and greenhouse gas observations for monitoring Europe's terrestrial ecosystems : a review
Research infrastructures play a key role in launching a new generation of integrated long-term, geographically distributed observation programmes designed to monitor climate change, better understand its impacts on global ecosystems, and evaluate possible mitigation and adaptation strategies. The pan-European Integrated Carbon Observation System combines carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG; CO2, CH4, N2O, H2O) observations within the atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems and oceans. High-precision measurements are obtained using standardised methodologies, are centrally processed and openly available in a traceable and verifiable fashion in combination with detailed metadata. The Integrated Carbon Observation System ecosystem station network aims to sample climate and land-cover variability across Europe. In addition to GHG flux measurements, a large set of complementary data (including management practices, vegetation and soil characteristics) is collected to support the interpretation, spatial upscaling and modelling of observed ecosystem carbon and GHG dynamics. The applied sampling design was developed and formulated in protocols by the scientific community, representing a trade-off between an ideal dataset and practical feasibility. The use of open-access, high-quality and multi-level data products by different user communities is crucial for the Integrated Carbon Observation System in order to achieve its scientific potential and societal value.Peer reviewe
Comparison of development in WordPress and In-house development : A case study comparing five criteria: documentation, security, codequality, development time and difference in code size
Valet mellan att utveckla ett system eller att köpa ett komplett är inte det lättaste för många organisationer. CriseIT har efterfrågat nya funktioner till sin övningsplattform som är byggd i WordPress. Ett problem inom systemutveckling är att utvecklarna väljer en utvecklingsmetod där alla av kundens krav inte kan realiseras. Kan man realisera alla CriseITs krav med WordPress eller är det bättre att utveckla ett eget system för att möta dessa? Syftet med uppsatsen är att informera CriseIT-projektet om ”kostnaden” i olika bemärkelser av att anpassa ett CMS respektive ett egenutvecklat webbsystem. Uppsatsen jämför dessa utvecklingsmetoder med fem olika kriterier: dokumentation, säkerhet, kodkvalitet, utvecklingstid och skillnad i kodstorlek. För att jämföra systemets utvecklingsprocess används dokumentanalys för att få data om kriterierna inom andra projekt om systemutveckling. Uppsatsen använder också koden av komponenterna för att jämföra kodkvalitet, utvecklingstiden och skillnaden i kodstorlek. Resultatet av undersökningen visar data om varje kriterium från WordPress och den egenutvecklade komponenten. Slutsatsen av uppsatsen är att organisationer kan köpa färdiga system och utveckla mindre samt lättare krav. Men om systemet inte stödjer den funktionalitet de behöver är det bra om organisationen bygger ett system internt för att realisera alla kraven. För CriseIT borde de ompröva utvecklingsmetoden för sitt informationssystem om fler krav behöver blir utvecklade än de som nu finns implementerade
Supporting smart manufacturing in industrialized house building through product data management
Industrialized house building (IHB) needs to improve efficiency and reduce costs to be able to meet the demand of future building requirements. The discrete manufacturing industry has already begun its transformation with concepts such as Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing. The focus of these concepts is on systems integration and utilizing different design principles and technologies to improve productivity and competitiveness. So far, smart manufacturing has not been discussed to any significant extent in the context of the IHB industry, even though it might be a way for this industry to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The purpose of this thesis is to support smart manufacturing realization in the IHB industry through improved systems integration capability. The objective is to develop a support system that helps to mitigate current product data management challenges in the IHB industry. The research presented here followed the design research methodology (DRM), and three research studies were conducted within the IHB industry, specifically within the context of the wooden single-family house industry. The findings emphasized that integrated information and communication technology (ICT) tools are a precondition for realizing smart manufacturing in IHB. A pilot product lifecycle management (PLM) system was developed as a support system to mitigate the challenges encountered in product data management. The support system was developed based on five requirements (integrate product data between ICT tools, extract product data to purchasing items, adaptable to the product realization process, organize product data in different views, and trace revisions on building information modeling (BIM) projects and BIM families) and six functions (extract and interpret product data from the BIM project, property mapping, revision management, different types of document structures, from document structure to item structure, and complete bill of materials). The pilot PLM system was perceived to have value and could, for the case company, mitigate their challenges with product data management and facilitate improved systems integration. Furthermore, 18 enablers for PLM implementation in IHB were identified and categorized into implementing organization, PLM implementation process, PLM system selection and development, and development of product data for PLM
Supporting smart manufacturing in industrialized house building through product data management
Industrialized house building (IHB) needs to improve efficiency and reduce costs to be able to meet the demand of future building requirements. The discrete manufacturing industry has already begun its transformation with concepts such as Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing. The focus of these concepts is on systems integration and utilizing different design principles and technologies to improve productivity and competitiveness. So far, smart manufacturing has not been discussed to any significant extent in the context of the IHB industry, even though it might be a way for this industry to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The purpose of this thesis is to support smart manufacturing realization in the IHB industry through improved systems integration capability. The objective is to develop a support system that helps to mitigate current product data management challenges in the IHB industry. The research presented here followed the design research methodology (DRM), and three research studies were conducted within the IHB industry, specifically within the context of the wooden single-family house industry. The findings emphasized that integrated information and communication technology (ICT) tools are a precondition for realizing smart manufacturing in IHB. A pilot product lifecycle management (PLM) system was developed as a support system to mitigate the challenges encountered in product data management. The support system was developed based on five requirements (integrate product data between ICT tools, extract product data to purchasing items, adaptable to the product realization process, organize product data in different views, and trace revisions on building information modeling (BIM) projects and BIM families) and six functions (extract and interpret product data from the BIM project, property mapping, revision management, different types of document structures, from document structure to item structure, and complete bill of materials). The pilot PLM system was perceived to have value and could, for the case company, mitigate their challenges with product data management and facilitate improved systems integration. Furthermore, 18 enablers for PLM implementation in IHB were identified and categorized into implementing organization, PLM implementation process, PLM system selection and development, and development of product data for PLM
Smart manufacturing for the wooden single-family house industry
To meet the demand of future building requirements, and to improve productivity and competitiveness, there is a need to modernize and revise the current practices in the wooden single-family house industry. In several other sectors, intensive work is being done to adapt to the anticipated fourth industrial revolution. The manufacturing industry has already begun its transformation with concepts such as smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0. So far, smart manufacturing has not been discussed to any significant extent for the wooden single-family house industry, even though it might be a way for this industry to improve productivity and competitiveness. The research presented in this thesis aims at increased knowledge about what smart manufacturing means for the wooden single-family house industry. This requires investigating what smart wooden house manufacturingis, what challenges that might be associated with it, and how smart wooden house manufacturing can be realized. At the core of this thesis is the conceptualization of smart wooden house manufacturing—when realized, it is expected to contribute to improve the competitiveness of the wooden single family house industry. The findings presented here are based on three Research Studies. Two studies were case studies within the wooden single-family house industry. The third study was a traditional literature review. The findings revealed two definitions and 26 components of smart wooden house manufacturing. At large, smart wooden house manufacturing emphasizes digital transformation with a focus on digital information flow, how to add information, information compilation, and information distribution between systems/programs and departments. Some of the challenges associated with smart wooden house manufacturing are, e.g. culture, competence and manual transfer of information between systems. The findings indicate similarities of smart wooden house manufacturing within certain components of industrialized house building and Industry 4.0, these components could enable the realization of smart wooden house manufacturing.För att möta efterfrågan på framtida byggkrav och för att förbättra produktiviteten och konkurrenskraften finns det ett behov av att modernisera och revidera nuvarande tillvägagångssätt inom träsmåhusindustrin. I flera andra sektorer arbetas det intensivt med att anpassa sig till den förväntade fjärde industriella revolutionen. Tillverkningsindustrin har redan påbörjat sin omvandling med koncept som smart manufacturing och Industry 4.0. Hittills har smart manufacturing inte diskuterats i någon större utsträckning för träsmåhusindustrin, även om det kan vara ett sätt för denna industri att förbättra produktiviteten och konkurrenskraften. Forskningen som presenteras i denna avhandling syftar till ökad kunskap om vad smart manufacturing innebär för träsmåhusindustrin. Detta kräver undersökning av vad smart trähustillverkning är, vilka utmaningar som kan vara förknippade med det och hur smart trähustillverkning kan realiseras. Kärnan i denna uppsats är begreppsframställningen av smart trähustillverkning—när det realiserats förväntas det bidra till att förbättra konkurrenskraften för träsmåhusindustrin. Resultaten som presenteras här är baserat på tre forskningsstudier. Två studier var fallstudier inom träsmåhusindustrin. Den tredje studien var en traditionell litteraturstudie. Resultaten avslöjade två definitioner och 26 komponenter av smart träshustillverkning. Sammanfattningsvis betonar smart trähustillverkning digital transformation med fokus på digitalt informationsflöde, hur man lägger till information, sammanställning av information och informationsfördelning mellan system / program och avdelningar. Några av utmaningarna associerade med smart trähustillverkning är t.ex. kultur, kompetens och manuell överföring av information mellan system. Resultaten indikerar likheter mellan smart träshustillverkning inom vissa komponenter av industriellt husbyggande och Industry 4.0, dessa komponenter skulle kunna möjliggöra realiseringen av smart trähustillverkning
Systemintegration med hjälp av PLM-system i småhusindustrin : Problembild och pilot
I det här projektet har problembilden med informationsflöden kartlagts för två företag inom småhusindustrin, Trivselhus och Eksjöhus. Tillsammans med PLM-utvecklarna YaPlm har en pilot av ett PLM-system utvecklats för att kunna hantera den problembild som kartlagts. Problembilden är att det finns mer eller mindre specialiserade men isolerade system som används i processen. Det ger upphov till många källor av produktinformation och manuell överföring. Problembilden medför konsekvenser som; tidskrävande, resurskrävande, och kvalitetsproblematisk administration. Projektet har tagit fram en generell pilot av ett PLM-system som fungerar mot ett centralt sådant problematiskt system, kallat Revit®. Med funktionerna i piloten kan projektet konstatera att ett PLM-system kan användas och hur det kan användas, givet de förutsättningar som råder för småhusindustrin, för att behandla en del av de utmaningarna som finns med systemintegration. PLM-system har potential att öka effektiviteten av informationsflödena hos företag i småhusindustrin
Systemintegration med hjälp av PLM-system i småhusindustrin : Problembild och pilot
I det här projektet har problembilden med informationsflöden kartlagts för två företag inom småhusindustrin, Trivselhus och Eksjöhus. Tillsammans med PLM-utvecklarna YaPlm har en pilot av ett PLM-system utvecklats för att kunna hantera den problembild som kartlagts. Problembilden är att det finns mer eller mindre specialiserade men isolerade system som används i processen. Det ger upphov till många källor av produktinformation och manuell överföring. Problembilden medför konsekvenser som; tidskrävande, resurskrävande, och kvalitetsproblematisk administration. Projektet har tagit fram en generell pilot av ett PLM-system som fungerar mot ett centralt sådant problematiskt system, kallat Revit®. Med funktionerna i piloten kan projektet konstatera att ett PLM-system kan användas och hur det kan användas, givet de förutsättningar som råder för småhusindustrin, för att behandla en del av de utmaningarna som finns med systemintegration. PLM-system har potential att öka effektiviteten av informationsflödena hos företag i småhusindustrin
Productivity of Firms in the Swedish Industry for Wooden Single-Family Houses
In Sweden, wooden single-family houses have been prefabricated for a long time, instead of being built on-site. However, it was mentioned that in several firms, many working tasks just were brought from outside into a manufacturing hall, yet the tasks were not adjusted to utilize potential benefits that prefabrication offers. Production development was not prioritized and thus, the firms’ productivity and efficiency were on a second-rate level, with profitability numbers following accordingly. In the past years, however, and especially related to the rapid development within the areas of digitalization and automation, several firms have been investing into different types of development. As the production of wooden single-family houses is very unstable in the past decade, yet, production costs per m2 more than doubled since 2002 and the industry is characterized of a very high degree of competition, productivity is a key performance indicator (KPI) in this industry.The aim of this study is to investigate in the productivity of Swedish firms producing wooden single-family houses in the past ten years. This is done by using the activity ratio Total Asset Turnover ratio, measuring a firm’s operational efficiency from 2008 to 2017, i.e. the latest data available. For 47 firms, data from annual reports were collected and analyzed.Data shows a productivity loss by 4.7%, aggregated for all firms in the industry. Further, the productivity for individual firms developed very different, varying from +141.7% to -68.4% and it can be concluded that a change in fixed assets affects productivity
Expected and Achieved Outcomes of Reshoring: A Swedish Perspective
Purpose: Over the last couple of decades, globalization has impacted market competition. This results in that companies heavily offshore to low-wage countries to enhance its competitiveness through lower costs. Offshoring constitutes relocation of manufacturing activities to other existing manufacturing sites in foreign countries. In recent years, low-wage countries have grown and developed. Studies show that low cost environments are increasing in cost, eliminating the benefits of offshoring. This phenomenon has sparked a new trend, ‘reshoring’- to bring back manufacturing to the home country, which has been acknowledged by both researchers and practitioners. The trend has become more distinct due to the increasing numbers of cases where companies that previously offshored manufacturing activities are returning them to the home country. The research done on reshoring focuses mainly on a “why” perspective, with drivers that cause reshoring and barriers that prevent them. However, research concerning the outcomes of what a company expected from reshoring and what they achieved afterwards is limited, especially in the high cost environment of Sweden. The purpose of this study is to explore the expected and achieved outcomes of the reshoring process through a multiple case study including four companies from Sweden that have reshored manufacturing back to Sweden. Method: The method used in this thesis was a systematic literature review to gain knowledge of the phenomenon. With the help of the systematic literature review an interview guide was created to assist in the data collection. This thesis used a multiple case study, the data was collected through semi-structured interviews and documents. The findings were analyzed within each case, cross-case, and in comparison to literature. Findings: To analyze the outcomes on the same premises, the researcher had to create a framework. All the outcomes from the literature were categorized based on firms’ operational and competitive capabilities namely cost, quality, delivery, flexibility, service, innovation, environment, culture, risk mitigation, reputation and trust, and government legislations. It was found that all the case companies had a successful reshoring process and all their expected outcomes were achieved. However, in comparison to the expected outcomes found in the literature, the companies expected less from reshoring. The companies were unaware of the full extent of reshoring, since their expectations were limited. The most expected outcome of reshoring, found in all the cases and in theory were: to decrease total cost, increase delivery speed, increase reputation and trust, and use the comfort of the home culture. A thorough analysis of achieved outcomes, in case and in literature, showed that all the case companies have achieved lower total cost, increased delivery speeds and higher reputation and trust. On comparing all the achieved outcomes in case and in literature it is evident that researchers have studied the process of reshoring from a why and theoretical perspective, aside from the effects after the reshoring, which this thesis has accomplished. A comparison between expected and achieved outcomes of all the case companies collectively, showed that they have achieved lower costs, higher quality, better service and higher reputation and trust, beyond what they expected. Implications: Reshoring back to Sweden would bring back more manufacturing jobs and encourage further local sourcing within the country. Strategical collaboration within the supply chain in the home country would make companies more responsive to customer demand. Geographically, the literature lacks case studies from Sweden, therefore, this thesis will contribute to theory by presenting successful reshoring case studies from Swede