Innovative Operational Strategies Research Articles

Guest Editorial: Introduction to Special Issue on “Cloud-Edge-End Orchestrated Computing for Smart Grid”

The integration of distributed energy resources (DER) into the smart grid through digitalization has transformed the power grid into a more decentralized system, enhancing energy efficiency and resilience during significant catastrophes. However, the integration of a large number of DERs into the transmission and distribution networks poses reliability challenges due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources. To tackle this, smart grids have been using advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices for over two decades to improve grid observability and enable near-real-time forecasting of continent-wide anomalies. Cloud-edge-end orchestrated computing can achieve hierarchical management and innovative operational strategies, such as multi-level control and optimization of all-grid-level DERs, voltage and frequency regulation using phasor measurement units (PMU), and special protection schemes (SPS) to detect and prevent potential faults or large-scale cyber-attacks.

Cooling tower performance and the ambiguity of the L/G ratio scheme in optimization: A single cell control volume approach

Present optimization schemes and innovative operation strategies of the cooling tower often encounter unexpected results, which may derail the effort for better efficiency. In some instances, the practice may even cause energy and water wastage. In this study, the single-cell approach is performed numerically, translating the full cooling tower fill into the smallest fundamental state of control volume to investigate the performance ambiguity attributed to the L/G ratio scheme. Two types of surface are proposed to investigate the surface effect. The actual fluid rate inside the fill varies by 20–50% between the two fill surfaces, which is relatively higher on the multi-faceted single cell. The Merkel number is integrated into the analysis by examining the liquid-gas interface for heat transfer assessment. The lower fluid rate on the circular single cell generates a higher Merkel number than the multi-faceted single cell. Even though the 32% increase in Merkel number is achieved under various liquid loads on the multi-faceted single cell, approximately half of the operating liquid load leads to decreasing Merkel number. Meanwhile, the reaction axis is introduced to characterize the surface fill under the effect of the liquid load. It is symmetrical on the circular single cell, indicating a positive linear effect to increasing liquid load. On the contrary, the reaction axis is asymmetrical on the multi-faceted single cell suggesting a negative linear effect which also leads to excess unproductive fluid rate.

Doctoral dissertation summary: Outdoor tourism development concept as a generator of destination competitiveness

The analysis of the current situation and the possibility of development of outdoor tourism on the island of Krk with the aim of developing a tourist destination based on small and medium enterprises through the model of development concept is the main objective of the research. The purpose of this dissertation is to research the development of a tourist destination, small and medium enterprises, following the creation of a successful model that ensures the competitive advantage of the destination in accordance with the new market demands and new trends in tourism with the aim of differentiating the tourist product. Since the island of Krk has all the natural conditions for the development of outdoor tourism, it is necessary to implement a model of the concept of outdoor tourism development at all levels of destination management and all stakeholders involved in the creation of a tourist product. For the implementation of the innovation, the existing system of destination management, the definition of objectives and operational strategies is challenged. The primary importance of defining the model of the concept of development is based on information and knowledge management in the future. In accordance with the theme and purpose of the research, the aim of the research is to conduct a situation analysis and determine the possibilities of outdoor tourism development in the sphere of entrepreneurship on the island of Krk, set goals and proposals for innovative operational strategies and ways of managing development at all levels and innovate the tourism product by creating a model of the concept of outdoor tourism development. The model of the concept of development, the goal of this research, connects to the goals and innovation of the operational strategies as a set of dynamic activities that must be used to transform the tourist destination as a carrier of change, to be ready to achieve competitiveness in a dynamic tourism market in the function of development of small and medium enterprises.

Strategic Surge Responses in the COVID-19 era: Operational Themes, Innovative Solutions and Lessons Learned by Three Freestanding Pediatric Emergency Departments.

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has created unique and complex challenges in operational and capacity planning for pediatric emergency departments, as initial low pediatric patient volumes gave way to unpredictable patient surges during Delta and Omicron variants. Compounded by widespread hospital supply chain issues, staffing shortages due to infection and attrition, and a concurrent pediatric mental health crisis, the surges have pushed pediatric emergency department leaders to re-examine traditionally defined clinical processes, and adopt innovative operational strategies. This study describes the strategic surge response and lessons learned by 3 major freestanding academic pediatric emergency departments in the western United States to help inform current and future pediatric pandemic preparedness.

Pollution prevention and waste phycoremediation by algal-based wastewater treatment technologies: The applications of high-rate algal ponds (HRAPs) and algal turf scrubber (ATS)

Following the escalating human population growth and rapid urbanization, the tremendous amount of urban and industrial waste released leads to a series of critical issues such as health issues, climate change, water crisis, and pollution problems. With the advantages of a favorable carbon life cycle, high photosynthetic efficiencies, and being adaptive to harsh environments, algae have attracted attention as an excellent agent for pollution prevention and waste phycoremediation. Following the concept of circular economy and biorefinery for sustainable production and waste minimization, this review discusses the role of four different algal-based wastewater treatment technologies, including high-rate algal ponds (HRAPs), HRAP-absorption column (HRAP-AC), hybrid algal biofilm-enhanced raceway pond (HABERP) and algal turf scrubber (ATS) in waste management and resource recovery. In addition to the nutrient removal mechanisms and operation parameters, recent advances and developments have been discussed for each technology, including (1) Innovative operation strategies and treatment of emerging contaminants (ECs) employing HRAPs, (2) Biogas upgrading utilizing HRAP-AC system and approaches of O2 minimization in biomethane, (3) Operation of different HABERP systems, (4) Life-cycle and cost analysis of HRAPs-based wastewater treatment system, and (5) Value-upgrading for harvested algal biomass and life-cycle cost analysis of ATS system.

Innovative operational strategies in photosynthetic biogas upgrading in an outdoors pilot scale algal-bacterial photobioreactor

Three innovative operational strategies were successfully evaluated to improve the quality of biomethane in an outdoors pilot scale photobioreactor interconnected to an external absorption unit: i) the use of a greenhouse during winter conditions, ii) a direct CO2 stripping in the photobioreactor via air stripping during winter conditions and iii) the use of digestate as make-up water during summer conditions. CO2 concentrations in the biomethane ranged from 0.4% to 6.1% using the greenhouse, from 0.3% to 2.6% when air was injected in the photobioreactor and from 0.4% to 0.9% using digestate as make up water. H2S was completely removed under all strategies tested. On the other hand, CH4 concentrations in biomethane ranged from 89.5% to 98.2%, from 93.0% to 98.2% and from 96.3% to 97.9%, when implementing strategies i), ii) and iii), respectively. The greenhouse was capable of maintaining microalgae productivities of 7.5 g m−2 d−1 during continental weather conditions, while mechanical CO2 stripping increased the pH in order to support an effective CO2 and H2S removal. Finally, the high evaporation rates during summer conditions allowed maintaining high inorganic carbon concentrations in the cultivation broth using centrate, which provided a cost-effective biogas upgrading.

Multi-time scale energy management of electric vehicle model-based prosumers by using virtual battery model

The increasing number of small and medium-sized prosumers with distributed energy resources (DERs) has led to the need for innovative operational strategies at the distribution system level. Among them, microgrid (MG) energy management for peer-to-peer power sharing between prosumers is a promising approach. In this study, we develop a multi-time scale optimization method for virtual battery model-based prosumer energy management. First, a day-ahead optimal scheduling model is established based on an integrated virtual battery model that aims to minimize the total dispatching cost of a prosumer-oriented MG without impacting the privacy of individual end-prosumers. Then, close to real-time operation, model predictive control is applied to minimize the deviation between the real-time power and the day-ahead optimal schedule over the control horizon for prosumers with energy storage resources. The simulation results show that the proposed approach employing the integrated virtual battery model to quantitatively characterize the resource flexibility of prosumers yields a good optimization performance and high computing efficiency, compared to those of the approaches modelling traditional DER flexibilities.

Innovative operational strategies for biogas plant including temperature and stirring management.

Finding the optimum operational conditions (mainly temperature and stirring) inside the fermenters is crucial in the field of anaerobic digestion. This study was conducted to contribute to the research area of anaerobic digestion process optimization and is an example for other biogas plants to improve efficiency. The research aimed at finding the optimum operational conditions in a large-scale biogas plant located in Lower Saxony, Germany, which started operation in 2011. The optimization activities were performed by operating the fermenters under different operational conditions: the temperature inside the fermenters ranged between 40°C and 43°C, while applying several stirring scenarios. These changes led to an increase in specific electricity yield of 11.7% and a decrease in internal energy consumption of 10.4%. The total internal energy consumption of the biogas plant was in the range of 6.3-7.2% (the average monthly internal energy consumption was 6.7% in 2013 and 6.0% in 2014) from their own production, and 28% of this energy consumption was used by the stirrers before optimization. Therefore, finding the optimum operational conditions leads to high energy harvesting and lower internal energy consumption.

Ten questions concerning future buildings beyond zero energy and carbon neutrality

Architects and planners have been at the forefront of envisioning a future built environment for millennia. However, fragmental views that emphasize one facet of the built environment, such as energy, environment, or groundbreaking technologies, often do not achieve expected outcomes. Buildings are responsible for approximately one-third of worldwide carbon emissions and account for about 40% of primary energy consumption in the U.S. In addition to achieving the very ambitious goal of reducing building-associated greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2050, buildings must improve their functionality and performance to meet current and future human, societal, and environmental needs in a changing world. In this article, we introduce a new framework to guide potential evolution of the building stock in the next century, based on greenhouse gas emissions as the common thread to investigate the potential implications of new design paradigms, innovative operational strategies, and disruptive technologies. This framework emphasizes integration of multidisciplinary knowledge, scalability for mainstream buildings, and proactive approaches considering constraints and unknowns. The framework integrates the interrelated aspects of the built environment through a series of quantitative metrics that aim to improve environmental outcomes while optimizing building performance to achieve healthy, adaptive, and productive buildings.

Innovative Operations Measures and Nutritional Support for Mass Endurance Events.

Endurance and sporting events have increased in popularity and participation in recent years worldwide, and with this comes the need for medical directors to apply innovative operational strategies and nutritional support to meet such demands. Mass endurance events include sports such as cycling and running half, full and ultra-marathons with over 1000 participants. Athletes, trainers and health care providers can all agree that both participant outcomes and safety are of the utmost importance for any race or sporting event. While demand has increased, there is relatively less published guidance in this area of sports medicine. This review addresses public safety, operational systems, nutritional support and provision of medical care at endurance events. Significant medical conditions in endurance sports include heat illness, hyponatraemia and cardiac incidents. These conditions can differ from those typically encountered by clinicians or in the setting of low-endurance sports, and best practices in their management are discussed. Hydration and nutrition are critical in preventing these and other race-related morbidities, as they can impact both performance and medical outcomes on race day. Finally, the command and communication structures of an organized endurance event are vital to its safety and success, and such strategies and concepts are reviewed for implementation. The nature of endurance events increasingly relies on medical leaders to balance safety and prevention of morbidity while trying to help optimize athlete performance.

Strategic orientation and dual innovative operation strategies

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, to address a key but neglected area of research in operation and strategy that is the association between strategic orientation of the firm and its innovation emphasis on the current and future operation initiatives. Second, to explore and examine respective performance implications of these two kinds of operation strategies.Design/methodology/approach– Data from a carefully designed and conducted survey of Malaysia manufacturing SMEs were analysed using a structural equation modelling approach.Findings– Findings suggest that strategic innovation is strongly associated with both types of innovative operation strategies and they bring about different operational and market performance outcomes for the firm. This sheds light on a new framework for understanding the strategic architecture of innovation in operation strategies.Research limitations/implications– This study was limited to the small manufacturing firms in Malaysia. As a result, to assess its generalizability it can be replicated in other sectors and also other countries.Practical implications– Several managerial implications emanate from this research. Most notably is the notion that strategic orientation is a key antecedent of innovation in operation strategies and in particular, it affects both current and future related innovative initiatives. This indicates that executives of manufacturing firms must align their innovative moves with their strategic mind-set to achieve their desired outcomes both operationally and financially.Originality/value– To the best of knowledge of the author and based on a comprehensive review of past research, this study is original in two ways: first it is the first research that links strategic orientation with dual innovative operation strategies and second it is the first attempt to investigate respective operational and financial outcomes of these associations separately. This framework adds new insights and original value to several bodies of knowledge.

Methane abatement in a gas-recycling biotrickling filter: Evaluating innovative operational strategies to overcome mass transfer limitations

The present study aimed at maximizing the performance of a standard biotrickling filter (BTF) devoted to the treatment of CH4 at low concentrations by enhancing the mass transfer using optimum liquid recycling rates and an innovative gas recycling strategy. Internal gas recycling favored CH4 abatement in the early stages of BTF operation and supported stable elimination capacities (ECs) above 30 g m−3 h−1 at an empty bed residence time of 4 min and a liquid recycling velocity of 5 m h−1 higher than most ECs achieved in single phase BTFs to date. The BTF exhibited a high microbial diversity (Shannon–Wiener indices of 2.5–2.8) dominated by Type I methanotrophs, likely due to the presence of high Cu2+ concentrations. Mass transfer limitations from the aqueous phase to the microorganisms, attributed to biomass accumulation in the packing material, were identified under the long term operation.

Strategic orientation, innovative operation strategies, and competitiveness of small firms in face of uncertainty: evidence from the Malaysian manufacturing firms

The purpose of this article is to develop a more fine-grained view of the strategic-orientation-competitiveness relationship by accounting for the mediating role of the innovative operation strategies of the firm. For this purpose, a new typology of innovative operation strategies was validated and used. Data from a survey of 201 firms in Malaysia was analysed using a structural equation modelling approach. Analysis revealed that assumptions of this models hold for small manufacturing enterprises. These findings have significant implications for the alignment between the firm’s operation and strategy and unveil a new framework for competitiveness of small manufacturing firms.

The Psychosomatic Practice.

There is increasing awareness of the limitations of the disease oriented approach in medical care. The primary goal of psychosomatic medicine is to correct this inadequacy by incorporation of innovative operational strategies into clinical practice. Psychosomatic practice can be recognized by 2 distinctive features: the holistic approach to patient management (encompassing psychosocial factors) and the clinical model of reasoning (which reflects a multifactorial frame of reference). A basic psychosomatic assumption is the consideration of patients as partners in managing disease. The partnership paradigm includes collaborative care (a patient-physician relationship in which physicians and patients make health decisions together) and implementation of self-management (a plan that provides patients with problem-solving skills to enhance their self-efficacy). Pointing to strategies that focus on individual needs may improve patient quality of life and final outcomes.

Optimizing capacity utilization by large scale 3000 L perfusion in seed train bioreactors

Increasing capacity utilization and lowering manufacturing costs are critical for pharmaceutical companies to improve their competitiveness in a challenging environment. Development of next generation cell lines, improved media formulations, application of mature technologies and innovative operational strategies have been deployed to improve yields and capacity utilization. This article describes a large-scale perfusion strategy for the N-1 seed train bioreactor that was successfully applied to achieve higher inoculation cell densities in the production culture. The N-1 perfusion at 3,000-L scale, utilizing a inclined settler, achieved cell densities of up to 158 × 10(5) cell mL(-1) at perfusion rates of 2950 L day(-1) and a retention efficiency of >85%. This approach increased inoculation cell densities and decreased cultivation times by ~20% in a CHO-based, fed-batch antibody manufacturing process while providing comparable culture performance, productivity, and product quality. The strategy therefore yielded significant increase in capacity utilization and concomitant cost improvement in a large scale cGMP facility. Details of the strategy, the cell retention device, and the cell culture performance are described in this article.

Multimodal Approach to Low-Cost Improvements Addressing Freight Mobility Constraints

Freight mobility is constrained not only by physical infrastructure inadequacies but also by operational, regulatory, policy, technological, and financial limitations. The capacity of the existing freight transportation system can be increased through innovative operational strategies, performance-improving regulatory and policy changes, and low-cost capital improvements. This paper defines freight mobility constraints in a multimodal context, identifies the primary causes of the constraints, develops criteria for low-cost improvements that can be quickly implemented, and presents examples of practical, low-cost improvements to address mobility constraints encountered in moving freight by highway, by rail, and through deepwater ports and inland waterways. The paper also presents the framework for a methodology that can be used by public-sector agencies to evaluate mobility constraints and select low-cost improvements derived from implemented projects.