scholarly journals Warehouse Configuration Analysis to Achieve Productivity and Cube Utilization

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard F. Schieler
Keyword(s):  
Operating Cost ◽  
Debt Service ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Unit Load ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Tank Farm ◽  
Plant Area ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Many ◽  
Necessary Evil

There are many factors which influence profitability for a Citrus Industry processor. Demand and raw product quality/availability surely are near the top of the list. The process itself gets a lot of attention relative to cost reduction. One area which does not get a lot of attention, however, is warehousing. The warehouse has historically been a “foster child” so to speak. If warehousing continues to be considered a necessary evil, its effect on profitability of total operations will obviously be negative. If warehousing is given some much needed attention, the negative effect can be minimized and, in fact, can even help improve profitability. An example might demonstrate this claim: A processing plant is relatively land-locked and needs to expand to meet plan goals. Thirty (30) to forty (40) percent of existing plant area is utilized for warehousing. In many cases, productivity in these existing warehouses is poor, maintenance costs are higher than they might be, and cube utilization can be poor. A land-locked plant which must expand suggests big capital costs or debt service for additional land and buildings. Why not zero in on the relatively unproductive utilization of 30 to 40 percent of existing space. If we can improve cube utilization alone, we might free up enough space to accommodate process expansion on the site. If we can do this with a corresponding productivity increase, we effectively lower operating cost and capital cost or debt service. In the profit equation, lower cost means higher profits. Product is stored as concentrate in tank farms, as concentrate in drums, in totes in some cases, as frozen single-strength slabs or in the many finished package configurations. There is not much we can do about improving tank farm space utilization, so we will concentrate on storage of unit loads (drums, frozen single-strength slabs or palletized finished unit loads). Given the time we have to address the topic, we will zero in on drum storage. The principles discussed can be applied on any unit load configuration. To adequately address warehouse optimization, product storage configuration and method of operation must be evaluated. These two (2) variables cannot be independently developed. To a degree, each is affected by changes in the other. SORA has developed a systematic approach to the analysis of warehousing operations that recognizes this interrelationship. This analysis in general consists of a series of proprietary computer programs and algorithms that are individually customized to suit the particular needs of a client while at the same time maintaining the inter-linked relationship. This methodology is further explained and the date collection requirements are defined in this paper. An example is provided which demonstrates the results of proper analysis and provides sufficient budgetary and “rule-of-thumb” data for implementation of preliminary analysis of your own needs. Paper published with permission.

Federal Funds and University Research

1973 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-130
Author(s):  
Bernard S. Sheehan
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Research University ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
University Research ◽  
Post Secondary Education ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

The federal government withdrew from the field of direct financial support of universities in 1967 under provisions of the new Act. Along with the full responsibility for university finance, the federal government transferred to each province certain tax revenues and a post-secondary education adjustment payment to bring the total financial transfer to at least 50 per cent of the allowable operating cost of post-secondary education. Costs allowable under the Act exclude capital costs, federal grants, student aid, and income for assisted, sponsored, and contract research. The federal councils and agencies continue to be the primary contributors to university research funds. The purpose of this note is to determine the current financial contribution of the government of Canada to university research. Much of the problem is its definition. To establish the framework for this definition, three sets of ideas are explored. These are: direct and indirect costs of university research, university research as an embedded activity, and the problem of relating university activity costs to incomes received from specific sources. These notions lead to formulae which yield divergent alternatives of the federal contribution depending upon the set of assumptions deemed appropriate. Much of the data needed for these calculations were gathered from primary sources and illustrate the application of the formulae for the four-year period 1966–70.

Results of INPRO in the Area of Economics

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Depisch ◽  
Juergen Kupitz
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Energy ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Environmental Objectives ◽  
Important Message ◽  
Unit Energy ◽  
Sres Scenarios ◽  
Fuel Costs

In the area of Economics four selected scenarios from the SRES study have been analysed within the International Project on Innovative Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) of the IAEA. They cover a range of possible future developments characterized by different degrees of globalisation and by different relative priorities on economic and environmental objectives. Four “aggressive nuclear” variants, one for each of the four selected SRES scenarios, are also analyzed. Provided innovative nuclear energy systems (INS) are economically competitive, they can play a major role in meeting future energy needs. Future economic competitiveness will depend on the speed of continuing cost reductions achieved by nuclear energy relative to competing technologies. The paper presents specific capital costs and electricity production costs at which nuclear energy is competitive in 2050 in the four selected SRES scenarios, and estimates corresponding costs for nuclear energy in the four aggressive nuclear variants. The important message is that for nuclear technology to gain and grow market share it must benefit sufficiently from learning to keep it competitive with competing energy technologies. For such learning to take place experience must be gained and to gain such experience the energy from INS must be cost competitive with energy from alternative sources and INS must represent an attractive investment to compete successfully in the capital market place. In total, INPRO defined two basic principles, five user requirements and several criteria in this area, which are presented in the full paper. To be cost competitive all component costs, e.g., capital costs, operating and maintenance costs, fuel costs, must be considered and managed to keep the total unit energy cost competitive. Limits on fuel costs in turn imply limits on the capital and operating cost of fuel cycle facilities, including mines, fuel processing and enrichment, fuel reprocessing and the decommissioning and long term management of the wastes from these facilities. Cost competitiveness of energy from INS will contribute to investor confidence, i.e. to the attractiveness of investing in INS, as will a competitive rate of return.

Preliminary economic appraisal of personal rapid transit (PRT) and urban gondola feeder systems serving a university campus and its surrounding major attractions

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
Shahram Tahmasseby ◽  
Lina Kattan
Keyword(s):  
Energy Use ◽  
High Reliability ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Rapid Transit ◽  
Modal Shift ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Personal Rapid Transit

Personal rapid transit (PRT) and urban gondolas are two types of driverless transit vehicles that are increasingly attracting attention as viable mass transit alternatives in urban environments. Both systems are identified with high reliability of travel time, as they have their own right of way and, thus, do not interact with vehicular traffic. They are also associated with environmental benefits, resulting from their low emissions, energy use, and noise pollution. The objective of this study is the investigation of the potential economic viability of the implementation a PRT feeder line linking the University of Calgary to its surrounding major attraction centres, compared to that of two types of urban gondola systems. The main focus of the research is the examination of the thresholds and feasibility of these emerging urban transit systems relative to certain important inputs, such as capital costs, ridership levels, and modal shift from other modes. The VISSIM microsimulation tool was used to simulate the operation of these systems to replicate more closely the on-demand nature of PRT and to get better estimates of the operating speed, reliability, and passengers waiting, boarding and alighting times for both types of examined systems. The project efficiency was analyzed given the calculated economic cash flow for a certain period (e.g., 30 years). The results indicate that the three examined systems differed widely in terms of their capital cost, maintenance and operating cost, capacity, and their anticipated benefits.

scholarly journals Techno-Economic Assessment of Polysaccharide Extraction from Baobab: A Scale Up Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9915
Author(s):  
Maria Dimopoulou ◽  
Vivian Offiah ◽  
Kolawole Falade ◽  
Alan M. Smith ◽  
Vassilis Kontogiorgos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Operating Cost ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Extraction Process ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Technoeconomic Analysis ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Uk

This research studied the commercial exploitation of an indigenous African crop in order to formulate high value products, with a potential significant impact on the local economy. More specifically, the present work investigated the extraction of polysaccharides from baobab in a bench-scale unit, focusing on the overall yield and the techno-economic assessment of the extraction process. Preliminary technoeconomic analysis for two scenarios (with and without ethanol recycling) was performed to determine the economic viability of the process and the development of the baobab market both in Nigeria and the UK. A full economic analysis was undertaken for each of the two scenarios, considering all operating and capital costs, and the production cost of baobab polysaccharides was estimated based on a constant return on investment. Combining the operating cost with the average polysaccharide yield, the minimum profitable selling price in the UK was estimated to be between £23 and £35 per 100 g of polysaccharide, which is comparable to the commercial selling price of high purity polysaccharides. An assessment of a scaled-up plant was also performed under Nigerian conditions and the results showed that such an investment is potentially viable and profitable, with a minimum profitable selling price of £27 per 100 g, a value comparable to the UK-based scenarios.

Forage intake and nutrient digestibility of tropical grasses with or without supplementation of the two fermented organic wastes

1969 ◽  
Vol 90 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 57-73
Author(s):  
Abner A. Rodríguez ◽  
Félix J. León-Álamo
Keyword(s):  
Live Weight ◽  
Nutrient Digestibility ◽  
Neutral Detergent Fiber ◽  
Processing Plant ◽  
Fermented Fish ◽  
Randomized Design ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Forage Intake ◽  
Sorghum Silage

Three experiments were conducted with adult rams to determine the intake and in vivo digestibility of the dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of native tropical grass hay (NTGH) and sorghum silage (SS) with or without supplementation of fermented wastes from a tilapia fish processing plant (FWTP) and fermented sludge from a tuna processing plant (FSTP). In the first metabolic trial, the two forages were compared without supplementation. Four adult native rams were assigned to treatments in a completely randomized design (CRD). Higher forage intake (P < 0.05) was observed in rams fed with NTGH than with SS. Apparent nutrient digestibility was also higher for NTGH than for SS, but these differences were not statistically significant. In the second and third metabolic trials, the effect of supplementation with FWTP and FSTP, respectively, at levels of 30% of expected DM consumption based on live weight, to basal diets of NTGH and SS, was evaluated. In both experiments, eight native rams were assigned to treatments in a CRD. The rams supplemented with both fermented fish by-products had higher (P < 0.05) DM and CP intakes than animals without supplementation, but a greater response was observed in those consuming NTGH rather than SS. Both supplements also tended to improve DM, CP and NDF digestibility in SS diets, whereas with NTGH diets supplements improved CP digestibility, and FSTP increased DM digestibility. The only negative effect observed in this diet was the decrease in the digestibility of NDF when supplemented with FSTP.

A New Concept of Evaporation Plants: Thermal Vapor Recompression for Reducing Costs and Improving Product Quality

1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard W. H. Wiegand
Keyword(s):  
Product Quality ◽  
Citrus Juice ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Reducing Costs ◽  
The Many ◽  
Vapor Recompression

GEA Wiegand has introduced a new evaporating concept tor concentrating orange juices by applying thermal vapor recompression (TVR). This technology is not new and has been used very successfully tor many decades in other industries but was never applied so far for citrus juice concentration. In this article a conventional 7-effect directly heated evaporating plant is set against a new 5-effect plant with thermal vapor recompression for comparison and to prove the many advantages of this concept with regard to low running and capital costs as well as product quality of the concentrate. Paper published with permission.

Sludge digestion instead of aerobic stabilisation – a cost benefit analysis based on experiences in Germany

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 430-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Gretzschel ◽  
Theo G. Schmitt ◽  
Joachim Hansen ◽  
Klaus Siekmann ◽  
Jürgen Jakob
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Energy Resource ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Operation Costs ◽  
Break Even Point

As a consequence of a worldwide increase of energy costs, the efficient use of sewage sludge as a renewable energy resource must be considered, even for smaller wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with design capacities between 10,000 and 50,000 population equivalent (PE). To find the lower limit for an economical conversion of an aerobic stabilisation plant into an anaerobic stabilisation plant, we derived cost functions for specific capital costs and operating cost savings. With these tools, it is possible to evaluate if it would be promising to further investigate refitting aerobic plants into plants that produce biogas. By comparing capital costs with operation cost savings, a break-even point for process conversion could be determined. The break-even point varies depending on project specific constraints and assumptions related to future energy and operation costs and variable interest rates. A 5% increase of energy and operation costs leads to a cost efficient conversion for plants above 7,500 PE. A conversion of WWTPs results in different positive effects on energy generation and plant operations: increased efficiency, energy savings, and on-site renewable power generation by digester gas which can be used in the plant. Also, the optimisation of energy efficiency results in a reduction of primary energy consumption.

The Relevance of the Identification Problem to Statistical Research on Capital Punishment

1982 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Yunker
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Capital Punishment ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Identification Problem ◽  
Statistical Research ◽  
Social Theories ◽  
Potential Problems ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
The Many

The great majority of the many recent multiple regression studies of homicide rate determination fail to find executions to have a statistically significant negative effect on homicides. A notable excep tion is the work of Isaac Ehrlich. This literature was recently reviewed in this journal by Richard McGahey. McGahey's review included a nontechnical description of the multiple regression method, but only very sketchy treatment of its potential problems. This paper supple ments McGahey's article by reviewing the several potential problems that often invalidate statistical tests of social theories. Particular em phasis is put on the identification problem, or the difficulty in disen tangling one particular relationship from a system of interacting social relationships sufficiently to allow valid estimation by statistical meth ods such as multiple regression. It is shown that there may be very serious identification problems in the estimation of the relationship between executions and homicides, and that serious questions may be raised regarding the validity of any particular estimation of this rela tionship. In light of these problems, the investigator cannot judge a given hypothesis solely on the grounds of indications from a given statistical test. Rather, the inherent plausibility of the hypothesis itself must be taken into account. The paper concludes with a brief argu ment that the hypotheses relied upon by the defenders of capital pun ishment possess greater inherent plausibility than those relied upon by its opponents.

scholarly journals Multiverse optimisation based technique for solving economic dispatch in power system

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 485
Author(s):  
Muhammad Haziq Suhaimi ◽  
Ismail Musirin ◽  
Muzaiyanah Hidayab ◽  
Shahrizal Jelani ◽  
Mohd Helmi Mansor
Keyword(s):  
Power System ◽  
Economic Dispatch ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
Test System ◽  
Similar Process ◽  
Load Demand ◽  
The Many ◽  
And Control ◽  
Exact Amount

Economic dispatch (ED) is one of the many important components in a power system operation. It is designed to calculate the exact amount of power generation needed to ensure a minimum cost of generation. A power system with multiple generators should be running under an economic condition. The operating cost has to be minimised for any feasible load demand. The increase of power demand is getting higher throughout the year. Economic dispatch is used to schedule and control all output of the fossil-fuel or coal-generators to satisfy the system load demand at a minimum cost. This paper presents the Multiverse Optimisation (MVO) for solving the economic dispatch in a power system. The proposed Multiverse optimisation engine developed in this study is implemented on the IEEE 30-Bus Reliability Test System (RTS). It has five generators, all of which are denoted as the control variables for the optimisation process. To reveal the superiority of MVO, a similar process was conducted using Evolutionary Programming (EP). Results from both techniques were compared, and it was revealed that MVO had outperformed EP in terms of reduced cost of generation for the system.

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