"Problems of Scale": The Case for IIASA Research

This paper considers the general problem of how the "scale" or "size" of an entity is or should be determined, for entities ranging from individual units of plant to large organizations and industrial complexes. Several "levels" of scale are defined. The factors bearing on scale decisions are identified. A number of techniques are reviewed, along with their relationship to socio-economic environment. In the socialist economies, the national and sectoral plans provide the framework for an analytical solution by mathematical programming, including non-linear production cost functions to represent economies of scale. In the market economies, the uncertainties of competition create a less stable environment; in which the scale decision has competitive significance. The relationship of large-scale projects of overall strategic planning is emphasized. Following the review of techniques and methodology, the contribution of eight distinct disciplines to the subject is described. Section 5 considers research issues, discussing the problem of generalizing the measurement of scale, and emphasizing the changing nature of environments. Reference is made to the expanding East-West trade, and the growth of large-scale, long-term agreements. Within the Western economies, the pursuit of scale economies and of dominant market share may be leading to changes in the causal texture of operating environments. In the final section, possible case material for future research is considered. The case of coal-fired electricity generating stations is reviewed. A description of the interaction between the growth of scale and of "relevant contexts", through diffusion and the reduction of barriers, leads towards consideration of possible implications in the field of trade planning and industrial development models. Other research problems in the field of industrial rationalization and restructuring are suggested

Scale in Production Systems; Based on an IIASA Workshop, June 26-29, 1979

When a new enterprise is planned or the scope of an organization is changed, a decision on scale has to be made. At a certain stage in the development of a technology, the economies of scale that have been established are overtaken by factors that had hitherto been considered secondary. Mistakes of scale have been made, from hospitals to electricity-generating boards. The mistakes of being too large are the most eye-catching, but the mistakes of being too small are probably just as frequent, and just as important. Twelve chapters of this book are based on reports of a workshop on scale and productive efficiency held at IIASA. The other eight chapters describe work done at the Institute; they also include discussion of the key issues relevant to scale that arose at the workshop, thus broadening the survey of this topic. This book treats problems of scale at various levels: at the unit (the equipment) and plant levels; and at industrial and national levels, and includes practical case descriptions that will be of value to managers and decision makers, as well as material of value to research workers

An interactive environment for teaching a watch crew to act properly in case of wind and wave perturbation

An interactive environment is supposed to be one of the most important technologies for developing teaching systems for a deck crew. It enables modeling different interworking scenarios (excursions) among marine crafts as well as responding maritime facilities to operator performance, etc. The ship crew is possible to be taught in order to know how to act effectively in alarm or challenging situations in such an environment. A virtual polygon can also be used as a decision making support system to forecast growing threats and then choose the best behavior strategy/policy. The paper illustrates the findings of a virtual polygon development for simulating navigation safety problems with Blender environment applied for a three-dimensional graphic image representation, Delphi programming language for software support of the developed methods and a user interface design. The authors explained a layout algorithm for constructing three-dimensional offshore surface vessels. Moreover, the researchers simulated various situations in different weather effects and wind and wave perturbation in their study