Floor Management Systems Research Articles

Tree Root-Associated Microbial Communities Depend on Various Floor Management Systems in an Intensive Apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) Orchard.

Regenerative 3agriculture prioritizes soil health to build up organic soil carbon and nitrogen stocks while supporting the active and diverse soil biota that is a prerequisite for maintaining crop productivity and quality in sustainable food production. This study aimed at unravelling the impact of organic and inorganic soil maintenance systems in a 'Red Jonaprince' apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) orchard on soil microbiota biodiversity and soil physico-chemical properties. During our study, we compared seven floor management systems in terms of microbial community diversity. Fungal and bacterial communities on all taxonomic levels differed largely between systems that augmented organic matter (organic) and other tested inorganic regimes. The dominant phylum of the soil in all management systems was Ascomycota. The operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within the Ascomycota were largely identified as members of Sordariomycetes, followed by Agaricomycetes, and both dominated in organic systems versus inorganic. The most prominent phyla, Proteobacteria, accounted for 43% of all assigned bacteria OTUs. Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidia, and Alphaproteobacteria were predominant in organic samples, while Acidobacteriae, Verrucomicrobiae, and Gemmatimonadetes were more abundant in inorganic mulches.

COMPARATIVE GROWTH, MEAT YIELD AND BLOOD LIPID PROFILES OF ARBOR ACRES, COBB 500 AND LOHMANN BROILER STRAINS

A total of 8883, day-old broiler chicks of Arbor Acres (S1- 2706), Cobb 500 (S2- 3308) and Lohmann (S3- 2869) were assigned to 3 treatment groups having 3 replications in each strain for 28 days of the age of the bird to identify a suitable strain for profitable broiler production. The birds were fed the starter diet (0-14 days) containing 22% CP and 2900 Kcal ME/kg and the finisher diet (15-28 days) containing 20% CP and 3000 Kcal ME/kg. The birds were reared on a littered floor management system providing standard management given by the breeder. The body weight, feed intake, mortality, production cost, and net profit did not differ among the strains (p˃0.05), except for the feed conversion ratio (FCR) (p<0.01). The lowest FCR was observed in S3, followed by S1 and S3, respectively. However, strain S2 tended to have higher body weight and feed intake compared to S1 and S3. Evidently but not significantly, Strain S3 had the highest production cost and lowest net profit among the strains. The strain S1 was comparable to S2 in terms of net profit. There was a tendency to increase meat yield traits and a decrease in blood lipid profiles in S2 compared to S1 or S3. Therefore, strains S2 and S1 performed better than S3 in terms of growth, net profit, meat yield, and lipid profile content of the blood. Hence, Cobb 500 (S2) was found to be superior to Arbor Acres (S1) considering the overall performance.

Different Floor Management Systems Affect Soil Properties and Initial Development of Apple Tree (Malus × domestica Borkh.) in an Orchard

In order to achieve sustainable food production, non-chemical weed management practices need to be developed for fruit growing. Tailor-made floor management systems enable efficient weed regulation, but they also affect the soil quality in an orchard. In this article, the effects of various floor management systems in a ‘Red Jonaprince’ apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) orchard on the soil properties and the trees’ nutritional status and initial development during the first two years after the orchard’s establishment were assessed. The experiment was set up in the spring of 2017 in the Experimental Orchard of WULS. ‘Red Jonaprince’ cv. trees grafted on M.9 rootstock were planted with 3.5 × 1 m spacing between them. Different floor management systems were applied to the rows, including the selected organic mulches: Miscanthus × giganteus straw (MG1 and MG2), spent mushroom substrates (SMS1 and SMS2), herbicide strip (HS), clear mechanical soil cultivation (MC), and synthetic black mulch (BC). The organic mulches affected the soil properties significantly. Spent mushroom substrates (SMS1, SMS2) increased the P and K contents in the soil, increased the salinity 10-fold, and retarded the growth in terms of the trunk cross-section area (TCSA) and its increment compared with other systems. Miscanthus × giganteus straw mulch (MG1, MG2) was associated with a more vigorous shoot growth compared with other combinations in the first year of the study as it provided a better tree nitrogen nutritional status. The floor management system affected the generative development of the trees. Mulching with a spent mushroom substrate boosted the flower bud formation intensity, but it did not affect the yielding quantity. Moreover, due to the poor fruit set, the trees mulched with a spent mushroom substrate (SMS2) gave a low initial bearing. High crop loads were noted for the trees treated with black synthetic mulch (BC) and the trees mulched with Miscanthus × giganteus straw (MG1). This was an effect of the tree size rather than the blooming intensity, while there were no differences in the cropping efficiency index (CEI) parameter.

A Sustainable Productive Method for Enhancing Operational Excellence in Shop Floor Management for Industry 4.0 Using Hybrid Integration of Lean and Smart Manufacturing: An Ingenious Case Study

In industry 4.0, industry individuals implement lean and smart manufacturing to improve shop floor management systems. Shop floor management is used to control operational performance and enhance production within limited constraints. Various shop floor management approaches are used in the present scenario of industry 4.0, and mainly include value stream mapping, total productive maintenance, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and fuzzy logic. The present research aims to develop an open innovation method to achieve sustainability in shop floor management systems in industry 4.0 by using lean and smart manufacturing concepts. The proposed method has been validated by an enhancement obtained in a real case of the shop floor management system in industry 4.0. The authors are confident that the proposed method would provide sustainability in the shop floor management system within limited constraints in industry 4.0.

Comparison of preprocessing approaches for text data in digital shop floor management systems

In an increasing number of production companies shop floor management (SFM) is supported by digital systems. The data generated while working with these systems can be used for assistance systems to further enhance the value of digital SFM. Several assistance systems using text data from problem-solving processes have been suggested but had limited quality due to the domain specific language characteristics: short texts with spelling errors and the usage of synonyms. This research aims to quantify the improvement potentials of different preprocessing approaches on the quality of the assistance systems. For that and for comparison in the research community a public, labeled data set is needed. This paper introduces such a data set based on the characteristics identified in three real industry data sets. To overcome the problems in text processing of shop floor data (e.g. domain specific synonyms), several approaches are suggested, tested, and compared to a generic approach for text clustering. The study identifies best practices for the handling of shop floor text data and provides a data set with the goal of simplifying and stimulating research on this topic.

Effect of Living Mulch on Soil Conditions and Morphometrical Indices of Sweet Cherry Trees

In order to maintain natural biocenosis and to create optimal conditions for reproducing soil fertility, it is necessary to keep the soil under living mulch in organic orchards. But the effect of the living mulch on soil properties and biometric indices of trees has not yet been fully investigated. This work aimed at examining the effects of living mulch (compared with standard mechanical cultivation) on soil moisture, soil temperature and biometric indices of sweet cherry trees in the arid conditions of the Southern Steppe of Ukraine. The work was conducted from 2014 to 2019 in the Southern Steppe of Ukraine in Zelene village near the city of Melitopol (46°46’N, 35°17’E). In organic sweet cherry (<i>Prunus avium L./Prunus mahaleb</i>) orchard standard mechanical cultivation (MC) was compared with living mulch - spontaneous vegetation cover (LM). The soil moisture at 20 cm depth was significantly greater under LM (an average of 3,9%), the soil temperatures under LM plots were lower (an average of 1.5°C over 6 years of research), in comparison to MC. It was established that the trunk cross sectional area of sweet cherry trees was significantly reduced under LM - by 1.2-2.1 times. However, LM contributed to an increase in the shoot growth efficiency – by 1.5-2.9 times, compared to MC. The ratio of total leaf area to the trunk cross sectional area was also significantly greater in conditions of LM, since 2015 by 1.3-2.5 times. The weather conditions of the year significantly influenced the formation of the biometric indices of the trees - Year×orchard floor management system interactions were significantly throughout all years of research. Investigated sweet cherry cultivars (Valery Chkalov and Dilemma) respondend to the floor management systems in a similar way – their biometric indices did not differ significantly.

Extracting problem related entities from production chats to enhance the data base for assistance functions on the shop floor

This paper presents an approach to recognize problem related entities in production chats to structure the informal communication and include arising problems into digital shop floor management and its assistance functions. Requirements are derived from employee surveys, company surveys and from union experts. Based on annotated data that has been collected during a simulation in the process learning factory “Center for Industrial Productivity” (CiP) at the Technical University of Darmstadt, approaches for identifying and structuring problem recognition and solution in production chat logs are evaluated. Finally, a system design is suggested to utilize such an entity recognition in an industrial chat application to improve digital shop floor management systems.

Influence of an Alternative Soil Management System to Herbicide Use on Tree Vigor, Yield, and Quality of Apple Fruit

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of alternative soil maintenance systems in a ‘Gold Chief’ apple orchard to the herbicide strip on tree growth, yield, and optimal fruit quality during 2012–2016. We compared several floor management systems: organic mulch comprised of Miscanthus spp., mechanical cultivation, black polypropylene cover, and herbicide strip as the control, with particular emphasis on the suitability and effectiveness of the organic mulch. During this five-year experiment Miscanthus spp. mulched trees grew most vigorously and significantly more than trees from other systems. The increment of the trunk cross-sectional area was higher for Miscanthus spp. mulched trees when compared to both mechanical fallow and herbicide strip. On average, fruits from trees grown in Miscanthus spp. plots were significantly larger than fruits from mechanical fallow and black polypropylene cover plots. The cumulative yield from the entire experiment was not significantly different for organic mulch, herbicide strip, and black polypropylene cover and was significantly higher than the mechanical cultivation. Different floor management systems had a significant effect on the solid soluble content in fruit both directly after harvesting and after storage. Our study shows that organic mulch can be a good alternative for soil management in orchard production systems.

Soil Nitrogen and Weed Biodiversity: An Assessment under Two Orchard Floor Management Practices in a Nitrogen Vulnerable Zone in Italy

Nowadays, understory vegetation along the tree row is considered a vital source of agroecosystem services and functional biodiversity improvement in the fruit orchard. Hence, current orchard floor management systems encourage practicing a more sustainable approach that supports vegetation cover rather than keeping bare soil herbicide use, or tillage. A two-year field trial was conducted using two different ground management techniques; integrated mowing (mower and brush or disc) and herbicide (glyphosate) in two commercial apple and peach orchards in a nitrogen vulnerable zone (NVZ) of the Marche region, Italy. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of these practices on soil N status, weed abundance, percent of soil cover, and dry weed biomass production. Weed management systems had no significant effect on soil organic matter and N availability; however, an improvement was noticed under integrated mowing when compared to the one treated with herbicides. Integrated mowing had a significant effect on species richness, soil coverage, and weed biomass production, which was approximately 2-times higher than in the herbicide-treated plots. The overall results showed that integrated mowing maintained a balance in the soil N status of both orchards, while supporting above-ground weed biodiversity and soil protection.

Root distribution and seasonal fluctuations under different grove floor management systems in citrus

Grove floor management practices play a significant role in citrus physiology, root distribution, and overall tree health. Among the various agricultural practices evaluated in this study, black plastic mesh groundcovers showed increasing soil moisture availability and temperature, as well as improving plant growth and yields. Raised bed practices have also been used to increase soil drainage and porosity to promote root proliferation in compacted soils. While these practices have been primarily studied on annual or row crops, their introduction into grove systems has been slow, even the positive results obtained with these practices. Citrus are managed very differently from row crops, with long-term practices and management techniques often negatively impacting root growth. Citrus management practices using raised beds and black plastic mesh groundcovers have shown great promise in improving citrus production and tree growth. However, few studies have investigated the impact of these practices on root growth and morphology and how these practices affect aboveground growth and production. In this experiment, we aimed to evaluate how different practices affected root growth and how this, in turn, impacted aboveground parameters. To accomplish this, we examined root distribution and in-growth (root growth inside a hand-made core) in four different citrus grove floor management systems; raised bed with groundcover, raised bed without groundcover, flatbed with groundcover, and flatbed without groundcover at various times throughout the growing season for three years. We then assessed how each treatment parameter affected root characteristics and how this affected the aboveground and soil measurements. Root analysis with WinRhizo® software showed significant differences between management systems. Raised beds with black plastic groundcovers increased root growth and density throughout the study. Seasonal in-growth core data indicated that the period from Fall-Spring showed significantly higher root growth than the Spring-Fall period, indicating seasonal growth and senescence of roots. The Spring-Fall cores were also less influenced by management treatment than the other sampling dates. While short-term growth varied with season, the effects of raised beds with plastic groundcovers positively influenced tree growth, root growth, and morphology over the long-term.

Autonomous Mowing and Turf-Type Bermudagrass as Innovations for An Environment-Friendly Floor Management of a Vineyard in Coastal Tuscany

The establishment of permanent cover crops is becoming a common practice in vineyard floor management. Turfgrass science may provide species and techniques with a high potential for improving the sustainability of vineyard floor management. Based on this assumption, an experiment was carried out during 2018 and 2019 at the Donna Olimpia Vineyard, Bolgheri, Italy. The trial aimed at comparing an innovative floor management system based on a turf-type cultivar of bermudagrass mown with an autonomous mower with a conventional floor management system. Ground cover percentage, energy consumption, CO2 emissions, grapevine water status, leaf nitrogen content, fruit yield and must composition have been assessed in order to perform the comparison. The innovative vineyard floor management produced an almost complete ground cover (98%) at the end of the second growing season, with the resident species reduced to a small percentage (4%). Resident species growing under-trellis were efficiently controlled without herbicide applications. A lower primary energy consumption and a reduction in CO2 emissions were observed for the innovative management system compared to the conventional management system. Grapevine water status, leaf chlorophyll content, soil–plant analyses development (SPAD), fruit yields and must composition were similar between the different soil management systems. Based on results obtained in this trial, turf-type bermudagrass and innovative mowing machines may contribute to enhance the sustainability of vineyard floor management.

Effect of living mulch on physiological and biochemical parameters of cherry leaves and fruits with organic growing technology

In organic sweet cherry (Prunus avium L./Prunus mahaleb) orchard standard mechanical cultivation was compared with living mulch – spontaneous vegetation cover. Since 2013 the experimental orchard has been maintained with two different orchard floor management systems: standard mechanical cultivation (MC) – one discing at a 15 cm depth + manual weeding during the growing season was compared with living mulch (LM) – spontaneous vegetation cover. The natural vegetation of grasses was mowed 4 times during the growing season and the clippings were left on the ground for decomposition. Any other management was identical in each treatment. Synthetic fertilizers and chemical plant protection products were not used. It was established that total moisture content of the leaves was significantly reduced under LM (over 2 years) or did not differ significantly from MC (1 year). The water-retaining ability of the leaves did not differ significantly between LM and MC (2 years) or was higher in the conditions of LM (1 year). The total leaf area at the beginning of the study (1 year) was larger in MC conditions. In the following year, the difference between LM and MC was insignificant. In 2019, the total leaf area was significantly larger in the conditions of LM. An increase in the total leaf area under LM conditions led to a significant decrease in the specific surface density of the leaves, the accumulation of chlorophylls in them, and a decrease in the ratio of chlorophylls (a/b) due to an increase in the content of chlorophyll b (compared to the MC conditions). The difference in fruit size parameters, average weight of the fruits, total soluble solids, total sugars, titratable acidity, sugar-acid index were insignificant between LM and MC. Ascorbic acid and total anthocyanins content of sweet cherry fruit was significantly increased under LM conditions compared to MC. The results show that cherry trees gradually adapt to coexistence with natural herbs and, during stress, accumulate more physiologically active substances in the fruit. Key words: sweet cherry, organic orchard, living mulch, total leaf area, specific leaf density, chlorophylls, fruit size, ascorbic acid, anthocyanins.

Influence of a shop floor management system on labour productivity in an automotive parts manufacturing organisation in South Africa

Background: South Africa’s labour productivity at the shop floor remains an issue of central concern for business. It plays a role in the life of every person and the performance of every business, thus requiring the business to solve problems at the shop floor level. This sentiment underpins the concept of a shop floor management (SFM) system. An SFM system refers to the extent of control exercised at the shop floor level for commitment and involvement of shop floor employees aimed at improving productivity. It is a process that facilitates employee engagement. Aim: This study examines the influence of an SFM system for productivity improvement in automotive parts manufacturing companies in South Africa. Productivity in the South African’s manufacturing sector is low compared to its counterpart industries in the Asian and Western countries. This sector experiences the lack in short to medium term growth in productivity. Setting: The automotive parts manufacturing company that has adopted an SFM strategy for productivity improvement participated in the study. Methods: The study objectives were achieved by examining the production and related experiences in the company. The collection of data was carried out in two phases. This includes the collection of results pre and post-SFM implementation from company records for spoilage, absenteeism and housekeeping rates. The pre-SFM results were quarterly data reflecting the company’s performance over the three-year period prior to the implementation of the SFM. This company operates in the eThekwini District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. Results: The study established that housekeeping and SFM have no relation to labour productivity. However, it revealed the relationship of both absenteeism and spoilage rates with labour productivity. Conclusion: SFM is an employee engagement process that creates a working environment that encourage worker participation and commitment. Contribution: The original value of this paper is its approach in uncovering strengths and weaknesses of SFM for productivity in South Africa.

Knowledge management on the shop floor through recommender engines

Even with digital shop floor management systems on the rise the knowledge about previously solved problems in production is not shared and used valuably. This paper aims to evaluate if recommender engines can be utilized in digital shop floor management systems to overcome this gap. Therefore, in a first step interviews are conducted to identify requirements from an industry perspective. Based on those, a system for problem solving management with an integrated content-based recommender engine to enhance knowledge management on the shop floor is designed, implemented and tested for its functionality. The evaluation of the quality of the recommendations as well as the quantified industry feedback give promising results and indicate future research and development steps.

Shop floor management system in the context of smart manufacturing: a case study

Purpose The purpose of this study intends to make a characterization of a shop floor management (SFM) system in the context of smart manufacturing, through smart technologies and digital shop floor (DSF) features. Design/methodology/approach To attain the paper objective, a mixed method methodology was used. In the first stage, a theoretical background was carried out, to provide a comprehensive understanding on SFM system in a smart manufacturing perspective. Next, a case study within a survey was developed. The case study was introduced to characterize a SFM system, while the survey was made to understand the level of influence of smart manufacturing technologies and of DSF features on SFM. In total, 17 experts responded to the survey. Findings Data analytics is the smart manufacturing technology that influences more the SFM system and its components and the cyber security technology does not influence it at all. The problem solving (PS) is the SFM component more influenced by the smart manufacturing technologies. Also, the use of real-time digital visualization tools is considered the most influential DSF feature for the SFM components and the data security protocols is the least influential one. The four SFM components more influenced by the DSF features are key performance indicator tracking, PS, work standardization and continuous improvement. Research limitations/implications The study was applied in one multinational company from the automotive sector. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is one of the first to try to characterize the SFM system on smart manufacturing considering smart technologies and DSF features.

Effect of floor management systems in an organic orchard on biometric indices of sweet cherry trees

Effect of floor management systems in an organic orchard on biometric indices of sweet cherry trees

Impact of Flood Danger in Built-Up Areas in Nigeria and Floor Management Systems for Espousal

Tendency of flood danger happening often and size in built up areas in Nigeria, caused man to take steps of providing flood mitigation as remedy against flooding. Diverse flood danger regulation standard was implemented in various region of the universe yet flood occurrence perseveres. This paper appraises key sources of floor hazard in cities along with different floor risk regulation standard in order to develop acceptable floor danger mitigation standard for built up areas. Pertinent information for analyzing the component of flood risk and tendency in flood danger mitigation standard were obtained through corresponding empirical learning and theories. The outcome shows the incapability of non-structural as well as structural standard to totally terminate flood happenings. Flood hazard in cities can sustainably minimize by consolidating present measures together with partial logical transformation of land operation to its natural position.

Soil quality and tree status in a twelve-year-old apple orchard under three mulch-based floor management systems

Interest in abandoning herbicide fallow as the standard in-the-row orchard floor management system continues unabated. Despite research efforts, available relevant data remain insufficient to formulate reliable recommendations for individual site conditions. A long-term experiment was therefore initiated in a temperate climate area in south-western Poland. ‘Ligol’ and ‘Pinova’ cultivar apple trees were planted in an unirrigated orchard in 2004, with treatment plot tree-rows mulched and control plots maintained with herbicide fallow. In 2016, black woven polypropylene fabric and Agrostis vulgaris With. and Festuca ovina L. living mulches were compared with the herbicide fallow in terms of their effect on soil properties, tree nutrient status and yields. While the living mulches had a positive influence on soil porosity, humus content and pH, there were substantial yield reductions; arguably due to competition for water. It is therefore important that more intensive methods of understory vegetation suppression are explored and more competition-resilient rootstocks sought to counteract yield loss. The polypropylene cover was primarily associated with a decreased leaf K:Ca+Mg ratio. A synthetic mulch is a viable choice for certain rain-fed orchards.

Axiomatic Design based Design of a Software Prototype for Smart Shopfloor Management

Shopfloor management systems are currently undergoing a change. With the era of Industry 4.0, traditional shop floor management concepts are changing to new and digitally supported approaches for the coordination and management of production at the shop floor level. In order to investigate this change, the research project “Smart Shopfloor” is aiming to develop a software prototype for production management in the era of Industry 4.0. Requirements of industry are collected through literature review and workshops with industry and are translated into software functionalities. These functionalities lead, via an Axiomatic Design (AD) decomposition to design solutions for Smart Shop Floor Management systems. The results of the AD study form the basis for the software architecture and the definition of core and add-on functionalities of the software prototype. The focus of this paper lies on the AD decomposition of the design concept and further gives an overview of potential functionalities. In future, the developed concept will then be implemented in a lab environment before implementing and testing it in industrial case studies.

Comparative analyses of layer males, dual purpose males and mixed sex broilers kept for fattening purposes regarding their floor space covering, weight-gain and several animal health traits

Summary As a major part of world poultry production is specialised in meat or egg production, millions of day-old male layer chicks are culled in Europe each year.