Industrial Experience Research Articles

디지털 시대의 보험설계사

The insurance industry is facing a changing market environment due to the entry of big tech companies, changing consumer needs, and a preference for general agencies(GA) among solicitors. In particular, as the entry of big tech companies deepen their presence, insurance companies have introduced “digital insurance solicitors” as one response to strengthen their business capabilities. Unlike traditional insurance solicitors, digital insurance solicitors have low entry barriers and high work freedom. This provides an opportunity to become an insurance solicitor through online training, even offers online work environment for sales activities. Therefore, people who have had little or no experience in the insurance industry, such as working professionals seeking part-time jobs, graduate students, and homemakers, can work as insurance solicitors using their free time. Digital insurance solicitors can create positive effects such as increased opportunities for acquiring new customers and expanding customer touchpoints for insurance companies. However, efforts are needed to minimize expected side effects including incomplete sales due to a lack of insurance-related knowledge. Incentives are also recommended to encourage sales activities and maintain high settlement rates. Insurance companies need to continue to establish and monitor suitable support systems for the digital environment including expanding online and offline education to enhance the overall capabilities of digital insurance solicitors. The insurance industry's new and proactive attempt to respond to environmental changes, the “digital insurance solicitor”, should be watched with attention.

TVET Lecturer Work-Integrated Learning: Opportunities and Challenges

There is a widening gap between industry expectations and what Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) lecturers teach to students. In South Africa, work-integrated learning (WIL) equips lecturers with industry skills and experience necessary for effective teaching and learning. Most TVET lecturers in South Africa lack industry experience. There is a lacuna of research as lecturers’ industry opportunities and challenges are not much researched. This study aims to explore the opportunities gained by lecturers through WIL and reflect on the challenges encountered in industry. The qualitative study adopted an interpretive paradigm and employed face-to-face semi-structured interviews to generate data from twenty-seven participants (18 lecturers and 9 industry personnel) in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Purposive sampling focused on characteristics of the lecturer population of interest, which was considered information-rich to answer the research questions. Mechanical industry personnel hosted lecturers and were considered information-rich. This study employed Kolb’s experiential learning theory, which was complemented by Shulman’s framework on domains of teacher knowledge. Data were analysed thematically from transcriptions, identifying patterns, coding, developing themes, juxtaposing the relationships amongst the different themes, and developing an interpretation of meaning. Findings revealed that lecturers acquired industry experience through exposure to the latest machines, technology processes and practices, and networking with artisans. Challenges included a lack of supervision and support from industry personnel and college, a lack of hands-on engagement with expensive machinery and weak industry induction processes. This study recommends an embedded WIL component in the training of TVET lecturers to ensure their competency. Some crucial issues are highlighted in this study which can improve TVET delivery and the livelihood of citizens.

The Impact of Human Capital on Entrepreneurship Quality and Quantity at the Aggregate Level

Based on human capital theory and entrepreneurship literature, we propose that a country’s capital profiles including education level, industry experience, entrepreneurial experience, and immigration experience are positively related to its entrepreneurship quality. On the contrary, we hypothesize that these four dimensions are negatively associated with the quantity of entrepreneurship. These hypotheses are empirically examined on a sample of 86 countries obtained from Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and 1,858,444 participants in a 10-year period, from 2007 to 2016. We utilize the Generalized Estimating Equations (GEEs) for the main hypothesis testing and the Random Effects Model for robustness analysis. The findings support most of the hypotheses. We then discuss theoretical implications drawn from the study and provide suggestions for policy makers. Our paper emphasizes that the investment in human capital may not simultaneously result in both high entrepreneurship quality and high entrepreneurship quantity at the aggregate level.

The entrepreneur’s scope: A guide to business success

Starting a business may be challenging, especially for ambitious business owners who lack industry knowledge and experience. This paper aims to simplify the process of starting a business by providing a guide that covers subjects like types of entrepreneurs, starting a new business vs. an established one, financing, pricing, costing, budgeting, hiring and recruiting, marketing, proper accounting practice, internal controls and accountability, and tax considerations. By understanding these important topics, entrepreneurs will be better equipped to manage the challenges of starting a business and increase their chances of success.

Sensing technologies in construction engineering education: industry experiences and expectations

As the construction industry continues to advance technologically, the adoption of sensing technologies is gradually gaining momentum. Sensing technologies (such as radio frequency identification systems, laser scanners, cameras, and global position systems) play a significant role in reducing costs, improving project productivity, and enhancing workers' health and safety. This has prompted the need for a workforce with the required skills and knowledge for deploying sensing technologies in the industry. Since construction-related education is aimed at preparing students for the future of the industry, it is important to investigate the industry’s expectations for equipping the future workforce with the required skills. This study adopts a mixed-method research approach. Data are collected from surveys, case studies, and a focus group discussion with industry practitioners. The data elucidate participants’ perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs regarding: the skills required, and level of knowledge transfer required to advance sensing technologies on construction projects, and the value and anticipated demand for these skills. The findings also revealed the extent to which sensing technologies are deployed in the industry and the benefits driving the adoption of these technologies. The results reveal a high rate of adoption of sensing technologies amongst industry practitioners and inform construction applications and skills to be taught in construction engineering education. This study contributes to the existing scarce literature on the knowledge and skill demands of the industry to implement sensing technologies. The findings provide critical feedback for expanding the construction education curriculum to meet up the industry’s demand and adequately prepare the future workforce.

(Invited) From Material Discovery Towards a Prototype Hydrogen Generator

This contribution illustrates the approach that has been taken to develop a pre-commercial prototype of a water electrolyzer. The aim has been to develop and integrate novel nanostructured materials for both electrodes and membranes, demonstrating their upscaling potential by integrating them together in a water electrolysis cell with an active surface are of 50 cm² in order to proof their potential for further advancing the state of the art of green hydrogen generation.Based on industrial experience with medium flow hydrogen generators, the boundary conditions for the new electrode and membrane components were set, safeguarding their integration potential in a scalable stack. A nano-porous intrinsically conductive membrane material has been developed, that allows to drastically reduce the thickness of the separator, reducing ohmic losses without compromising gas separation quality during operation at elevated pressures (up to 20 barg). This was combined with nanostructured electrodes of 4-10 μm thickness on both sides of the membrane. Given the vast range of dimensional scales, from 10-8 to 10-1 m, special attention was needed for the interconnections of the materials to establish the required electronic and ionic coupling together with adequate mechanical robustness. Two phase fluid flow modelling was done do have an optimal reactant distribution and gas evacuation from the electrode surfaces. Aspects like contact resistance, elasticity, stiffness, and overall electric field distribution inside the cell were considered. To characterize the cell in operation, a dedicated balance of plant has been built (Fig.1). The installation is automated and takes care of the electrolyte solution conditions and of the process window settings in terms of applied current, electrolyte flow and operational temperature at a pre-set pressure. The resulting cell potential, the gas purity of both oxygen and hydrogen streams and the differential pressure between anolyte and catholyte chambers are continuously monitored. The upscaled cell demonstrates a high hydrogen generation efficiency of 85% (HHV) that outperforms currently installed alkaline systems in terms of productivity and gas purity when operated at an elevated pressure 20 bar. The cell robustness, documented over 800 hours, reveals further areas of improvement for both the internal construction of the stack and the control logic of the balance of plant. Figure 1

IT consulting leaders need to level-up in 2023 to meet the big challenges of the talent arms race

PurposeWith almost 95% of employers in the tech space experiencing a skills shortage, it is vital that IT consultants act now to futureproof their own skillsets to ensure they can provide business support services in the future. This paper aims to outline precisely how consulting businesses can overcome this industry challenge.Design/methodology/approachThe author draws on his first-hand industry experience and third-party research to highlight how IT consultancy firms can futureproof operations and safeguard against major skills shortages.FindingsDuring the course of research, three key industry challenges were uncovered and addressed. These provide the basis of the paper and focus on intelligent automation to transform operations, the reallocation of resources to support hybrid working and evergreen cloud automation supported by Managed Services Providers to mitigate against cybersecurity risk.Practical implicationsThis paper aims to guide IT consulting businesses seeking to counteract industry challenges by ensuring a strong digital infrastructure. The desired outcome of this paper is to encourage businesses to take the necessary next steps to become digitally mature enough to bridge the skills divide.Originality/valueThis paper comes during a period when businesses are being negatively impacted by supply chain shortages and economic downturn, as well as skill shortages. It provides a digestible checklist of the support that comes from a strong digital backbone and how this will help IT consulting businesses address the future of work challenges today.

Enabling the Production of Homogeneous High-Load Positive Electrodes by Tailoring the Electrode Formulation – a Conductive Additive and Solvent Approach

The automotive industry experiences a substantial change due to electrification of major parts of the transportation system by using lithium ion batteries (LIBs). To facilitate this transition, low cost and high energy density LIBs produced under the most sustainable conditions possible are required. These objectives are amongst others strongly related with the positive electrode. Thus, in order to achieve enhanced energy densities on cell level, the application of high-load positive electrodes for various cell systems ranging from lithium ion to lithium metal batteries is inevitable. However, to ensure high lithium ion mobility within thick composite electrodes and to obtain maximized capacity utilization, it is crucial to tailor the electrode microstructure. With regard to the production, detrimental effects like binder-migration can occur upon drying of thick electrodes inducing inhomogeneous distribution of binder and conductive additive within the electrode coating. Beyond that, the effect of lateral coating shrinkage resulting in electrode cracking during drying plays an increasingly significant role with increasing electrode thickness.The application of high solid contents (SC) during electrode paste processing can widely suppress the effects of binder migration and crack formation.[1,2] However, elevated SCs result in increasing paste viscosities leading to practical limitations for homogeneous electrode coating. By using nano-scale and micro-scale spherical, linear and three-dimensional conductive additives like carbon microfibers (CMF) or conductive graphite (CG) in addition to carbon black (CB), the adjustment of an appropriate paste viscosity can be facilitated. The addition of more carbonaceous additives acting as conductive additive as well as processing additive resolves the rheological requirements for an electrode paste with 80% SC and significantly influences the pore structure of the electrode. Thus, tailoring active and inactive components is crucial to enable processing of high SC electrode pastes with an appropriate viscosity in conjunction with the production of thick electrodes exhibiting an optimized pore structure benefiting the electrochemical performance. The additional introduction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) leads to the formation of segregated networks providing more stability within the electrode and a favorable electrode microstructure. Moreover, the use of CNTs benefits the electrochemical performance by immensely boosting electronic conductivity resulting in higher rate capability and increased capacity retention. The various electrode formulations containing up to three different conductive additives were compared to the benchmark formulation without further additives in terms of electronic conductivity, adhesion, pore structure and electrochemical performance. Different electrode formulations were investigated and compared regarding the composite electrode adhesion strength, electronic conductivity, microstructure and electrochemical performance over 400 cycles in a coin cell setup with a graphitic negative electrode. However, the optimized formulation containing CNTs enables the production of thick positive electrodes exhibiting significantly higher areal capacities up to 8 mAh cm-2 with superior electrochemical properties and higher content of active material in the formulation resulting in higher energy densities on cell level. In a next step, the state-of-art processing solvent N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidon (NMP) was targeted with the goal of replacing NMP with a non-toxic solvent. The influence of a co-solvent on the electrode paste viscosity was investigated to further increase the SC, lower production costs and enable improved environmental benignity.A comprehensive study on tailoring the rheological, structural and electrochemical properties by processing additives is presented. The increase of the SC to 80% is a first step towards the reduction of the ecologic and economic footprint for LIB production while simultaneously enabling electrodes with high areal capacities exhibiting increased rate capability and capacity retention enabled by the addition of CNTs.[1] J. Seeba, S. Reuber, C. Heubner, A. Müller-Köhn, M. Wolter, A. Michaelis, Chemical Engineering Journal Volume 402, 2020, 125551. [2] L. Ibing, T. Gallasch, P. Schneider, P. Niehoff, A. Hintennach, M. Winter, F. M. Schappacher, Journal of Power Sources 423, 2019, 183–191.

A long record of European windstorm losses and its comparison to standard climate indices

Abstract. Traditional insurance has both a great exposure to decadal variations in European storm activity and the ability to adjust its business strategy over these timescales. Hence, the recent development of skilful predictions of multiannual mean European winter climate seems a very welcome addition to the long list of ways that researchers have improved management of windstorm risk. Yet companies do not use these forecasts of mean winter climate to adjust their view of risk. The main reason is the lack of a long, reliable record of losses to understand how forecasted time-mean circulation anomalies relate to the damage from a few, intense storms. This study fills that gap with a European windstorm loss record from 1950 to 2022, based on ERA5 peak near-surface winds per event which were converted to losses using an established damage function. The resulting dataset successfully identifies major storms over the past 70 years and simulates the multidecadal variations from low values in the 1960s up to high levels in the 1980s and 1990s then down to the 2010s. However, it underestimated the steepness of the observed loss decline from the stormy end of the 20th century to the lull over the past 20 years. This was caused by a quite flat trend in ERA5 extreme winds over the period, in contrast to the significant decline in observed peak gusts. Imposing these gust trends on ERA5 peak winds reconciled modelled losses with industry experience over the past few decades. Indices of European winter climate used in long-range forecasting were compared to the new modelled loss dataset. They had correlations of around 0.4 at interannual timescales, rising to about 0.7 for decadal and longer variations. Notably, the climate indices have a similar multidecadal trend as ERA5 extreme winds in modern times, including a less steep decline than found in observed gusts and losses. Further investigation of the modern-day divergence between climate indices and losses may help connect decadal forecasting to insurance.

ABOUT THE FILLING FACTOR OF PROGRESSIVE CAVITY PUMPS

Progressive Cavity Pumps (PCP) are becoming more and more common in various industries. In the oil and gas sector, PCP are widely used in downhole pumping units for oil production, as well as multiphase pumps for transporting gas-liquid mixtures. In recent decades, PCP have been widely used in the drilling mud circulation systems in fine cleaning units using centrifuges, as well as in various environmental projects. At the same time, industrial experience shows that in order to increase the efficiency of the PCP in various technological processes in the oil, construction, food and other industries, it is necessary to clarify some provisions of the theory and practice of using single-screw hydraulic machines in nonstandard operating conditions. One of these issues, which has not yet been fully reflected in scientific and reference publications, is the study of the process of filling screw working cavities in the case of pumping high-viscosity fluids.
 The article discusses the theoretical foundations of modeling the process of filling the PCP and proposes dependencies for determining the filling factor, which allows for a reasonable approach to the choice of geometric and operational parameters of the pump in a wide range of changes in the properties of pumped products.

Influence of Customer Perception Factors on AI-Enabled Customer Experience in the Ecuadorian Banking Environment

This study reviews the relationship between customer perception factors and AI-enabled customer experience in the Ecuadorian banking industry. The study employs a self-designed online questionnaire with five factors for customer perception (convenience in use, personalization, trust, customer loyalty, and customer satisfaction) and two categories for AI-enabled customer experience (AI-hedonic customer experience and AI-recognition customer service). The final valid dataset consisted of 226 questionnaires. The data analysis and the hypotheses tests were conducted using SPSS 26 and structural equation modeling, respectively. The main findings displayed that all five customer perception factors (individual and joint effect) have a positive and significant effect (at least at the 5% level) on AI-enabled customer experience, AI-hedonic customer experience, and AI-recognition customer service in the Ecuadorian banking industry. Study results are aligned with previous findings from other countries, particularly the banking environment in the United Kingdom, Canada, Nigeria, and Vietnam. The AI techniques involved in the financial sector increase the valuation of customer experience due to AI algorithms recollecting, processing, and analyzing customer behavior. This study contributes a complete statistical and econometric model for determinants of AI-enabled customer experience. The main limitations of the study are that, in the analysis of the most demanded AI financial services, not all services and products are included and the inexistence of a customer perception index. For upcoming research, the authors recommend performing a longitudinal study using quantitative data to measure the effect of AI-enabled customer experience on the Ecuadorian banks’ performance.

Service robot perceived attributes, customer experience and customer acceptance in hospitality industry: Model for customer-robot interaction

Service robot perceived attributes, customer experience and customer acceptance in hospitality industry: Model for customer-robot interaction

Hospitality Management Competency: Framework to Match Expectations of Academia and Industry in Ghana

The main purpose of the study was to propose a framework to match the competencies of hospitality graduates with the expectations of hospitality industries in Ghana. The study adopted a qualitative research approach. Overall, 12 educators (five heads of departments and seven lecturers) were purposely selected from five (5) Technical Universities through a forum via Zoom to discuss the outcomes of the study in proposing the framework. The instrument used was a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data collected. The study results revealed that most of the educators, 10 (83.3%), were females and had worked for more than ten (10) years in the hospitality academic setting. The study revealed that there exists a gap between hospitality educators and the hospitality industry in Ghana. The study revealed that broader stakeholder consultation, student-related measures such as student orientation and specialization, technical/practical education, and lecturer-related measures such as encouraging lecturers to research and gain industry experience included measures to bridge the gap between hospitality academia and industry. Based on the findings and review of related literature, the study suggests a framework that can be implemented by hospitality educators in Ghana to match the competencies of hospitality graduates with those required by the hospitality industry.

Mitigating silica fouling in electro-electrodialysis: Anode compartment modification and process intensification approaches

Electro-electrodialysis (EED) based causticization of industrial (agro-based paper mills) green liquor experiences severe silicate fouling issues (especially in anode compartment) resulting frequent shutdown, dismantling, cleaning and reassembling challenges. Therefore, continuous causticization through EED process becomes difficult. Appropriate design modification of the anode compartment along with periodic silica removal could overcome frequent shutdown issues, and execution of EED process for longer duration. The novel mechanism of silicon removal using EED process by the precipitant is also presented. Their treatment performances in removing silicon were statistically evaluated and confirmed by instrumental techniques. Using modified design and 200 cm2 of membrane area, 500 mL of 2.56 mol·L−1 of NaOH (92% Na+ ion recovery) could be produced in 4 h by electrolyzing 500 mL of industrial green liquor under constant current density, 60 mA·cm−2. Proposed modification could result ∼21% improvement in caustic recovery/energy consumption compared to unmodified anode compartment. With improve the performance which is the average current efficiency 74.5% and energy consumption 4.42 kWh·kg−1, was recorded.

Validation of a mathematical model of ultrasonic cross-correlation flow meters based on industrial experience

In 2020, Ton [1] published an article named “A mathematical model of Ultrasonic Cross-Correlation Flow Meters Based on Industrial Experience” from here on it will be referred as “the model”. The model provided detailed mathematical derivation for the entire process involved in ultrasonic cross-correlation flow measurement (USCCFM). As such, the inputs and output parameters involved in USCCFM are defined, so their relationships are also described. Based on these relationships, the output parameters behavior of the model can be predicted by the input parameters variations. These relationships are exploited to validate the model. The results of this article show the USCCFM output parameters behave exactly as the model predicted in lab and field measurement conditions. Simulated data produced by an emulator further validate the model. Furthermore, the measured time delay error (using emulator) is within 0.1 ms of the set points. This result assures that USCCFM can measure the time it takes the flow to carry the signature from upstream to downstream very accurately.

An Overview of the Rise of Business Analytics Adoption in Banking and its Impact on Performance

Banking is now interacting with customers over many Internet channels or touchpoints. This progression into the digital realm is leading to a proliferation of big data, warranting advanced analytic methods to manage banks' systems effectively. One of the highlighted technological innovations is Business Analytics (BA). These techniques harness insights from data to improve customer experience and risk management in the banking industry. Thus, due to the rapidly increasing popularity of BA, its adoption and subsequent impact on banks' performance have become important research topics. Therefore, drawing on the BA literature, this paper presents an overview of BA as well as its adoption and impact on performance within the banking industry.

Where Do Social Support and Epistemic Centrality Come From? The Case of Innovators in the French Biotech Industry

The link between entrepreneur’s network centrality and innovation performance has been broadly studied in knowledge-intensive industries such as biotechnology. However, little research has been focused on the social mechanisms that allow innovators to reach such a central position. We contribute to the existing literature by exploring the factors that may lead or prevent entrepreneurs from reaching a central position in their professional networks of knowledge exchange and social support in French biotech milieu. We use a unique quantitative and qualitative database of 138 and 126 biotech entrepreneurs observed, respectively, in 2008 and 2013. When accounting for entrepreneurs’ position in the social (friendship) and knowledge (advice) domain, we draw on three dimensions through which entrepreneurs build their position: their professional experience, their inter-organizational (or political) engagement, and the financial and geographical situation of their company. Results from a regression analysis showed that the specific individual and organizational aspects of the trajectory of the entrepreneurs explain their position in the observed networks. Factors such as the previous experience in the health industry, the training expertise, the international experience, the political engagement, and the geographical and financial situation of the company help entrepreneurs to build up their centrality. The two observations allow us to describe indirectly the evolution of norms that are considered legitimated to carry out innovation in the biotech field.

Key Tasks for Facility Standardization Work Process in Capital Projects

The primary purpose of this study is to develop a work process for capital projects that can help the practitioners in developing a facility design standardization program. The goals of this paper are three-fold; 1) to identify and establish key work process tasks for facility standardization, 2) to evaluate the value and difficulty of implementation per each key task, and 3) to identify key parties/players responsible for implementing the identified tasks as well as timings of implementation. The study identifies 41 key tasks for the facility design standardization work process in capital projects. Also, the results show Define Scope and Standardization Approach (#10) and Validate Design Criteria to Standardization Design Envelope (#35) are the most valued tasks and Develop a Standardization Process and Work Process (#7) is the most difficult task to achieve. The results also show that the program lead/manager and project manager are the key responsible players for implementing the key tasks. Finally, the owner is the most accountable (85%), and most of the tasks (50%) must be performed early. The research method relies on a survey, extensive literature review, considerable industry experience of the participants and discussions. This study contributes greatly to facility design standardization strategy in capital projects and serves as a foundation for future research.

Prevalence and factors associated with occupational injuries among building construction workers in the Gambia

BackgroundAlthough occupational injuries among building construction workers are a major public health concern, limited studies have focused on the prevalence and factors associated with injuries among building construction workers in...

Transitioning from industry to teaching in VET: profiles of VET teachers in Chile

PurposeSituated in the Chilean context, this study investigates how Vocational Education and Training (VET) teacher profiles, based on their perceptions of prior work experience in industry, relate to their current motivation and perception of teaching in VET. By doing so, the authors seek to provide valuable evidence to inform the development of policies to attract and maintain well-qualified teachers from industry in Chile and other countries facing similar changes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a descriptive cross-sectional design to collect data from 660 VET teachers using a two-scale instrument: Perception of Prior Occupation (PPO) and adapted FIT-Choice scales. By adopting a typological approach, the authors constructed profiles of VET teachers based on their perception of past industry experience. The authors then analyzed how these profiles vary regarding individual teacher characteristics, motivation and perception of teaching in VET.FindingsThe authors found a significant degree of heterogeneity among VET teachers' prior industry experiences, leading them to identify three distinct VET teacher profiles: “High Perception of Prior Occupation,” “Learning and Teaching-Oriented” and “Low Perception of Prior Occupation.” Notably, the most distinguishing characteristics across these profiles were age, VET teaching area, holding a job outside of teaching and years of prior industry experience. Furthermore, the authors found that motivation and perceptions of teaching varied significantly across these VET teacher profiles.Originality/valueThere needs to be more research on the factors that attract and retain industry workers as VET teachers in high schools. This study is among the first to address this topic in a non-European context.