Reduce Unit Costs Research Articles

Feasibility study and economic analysis of grid connected solar powered net zero energy building (NZEB) of shopping mall for two different climates of Pakistan and Thailand

In the current research,a comparative study of hybrid microgrid Net Zero Energy Buildings (NZEBs) is performed for temperate and tropical climates. A theoretical building of a shopping mall is considered for both countries. Climate data is recorded for one year and used for designing hybrid NZEB. The proposed hybrid microgrid NZEB consisted on photovoltaic (PV) modules and converters. However, the thermal load is the property of grid-connected hybrid system. Cost-effectiveness of the project is checked using economic parameters of the net present cost (NPC), payback period, and operational costs. Results show that investigation is economical and has a payback period of 1.84years in Thailand and 2.66years in Pakistan. Also, reduction in the per-unit cost of electricity is 31% and 27% in Thailand and Pakistan, respectively. Moreover, the designed hybrid system is 9.5% and 7.1% more economical than the pre working grid system with the unit cost reduction 0.12USD/kWh and0.21 USD/kWh in Pakistan and Thailand respectively. Additionally, maximum electricity generation by PV panels is 234739 kWh. So, results will help to develop an approach toward IEA task 47 in Pakistan by minimizing energy cost per unit of electricity. The research will also contribute to the research gap in energy sector by providing an economically advantageous study of simulation-based installation of NZEBs in the commercial sector in both countries.

Making sense of firms for ocean governance

Making sense of firms for ocean governance

Improving design and application method of screening bucket excavators

The purpose of the study is to increase the productivity and economic efficiency of mining operations using screening bucket excavators on the basis of the introduction of a new technical and technological solution that expands equipment functionality. The study involves the analysis of known designs of screening buckets installed on excavators that ensure material separation to be carried out simultaneously with excavation and loading works. It is noted that a promising development direction of screening buckets is a design with working drums. The article presents an excavator with a modernized screening bucket and its operation technology, which allows to start rock mass sorting in the bucket while the excavator is turning to the place of unloading. The improved screening bucket is equipped with a hinged movable bottom controlled by hydraulic cylinders to accumulate fine fractions screened through the working drums. Fine fractions accumulated in the moving bottom are unloaded into a dump truck, after which screening continues directly into the body of the dump truck. Screening finished, the movable bottom closes and the excavator unloads the coarse fractions remaining in the bucket into another vehicle. Unloading is carried out by bucket turning. The combination of screening and excavator turning reduces the operation cycle time, which increases the performance of both the excavator and dump trucks. The use of a modernized screening bucket with a moving bottom eliminates the loss of valuable fine material as a result of spilling when the excavator turns for unloading. The movable bottom can be installed on the screening buckets of known designs and does not require their significant alteration. Application of the proposed technical and technological solution will reduce unit costs and increase the efficiency of work.

Examining unit costs for COVID-19 case management in Kenya

IntroductionWe estimated unit costs for COVID-19 case management for patients with asymptomatic, mild-to-moderate, severe and critical COVID-19 disease in Kenya.MethodsWe estimated per-day unit costs of COVID-19 case management for patients....

АНАЛІЗ ВПЛИВУ ЧИННИКІВ НА ФОРМУВАННЯ СИСТЕМИ ІНТЕГРОВАНОГО ПАРТНЕРСТВА

This study focuses on a wide range of issues related to the effects of integration process on the development of economic relations, in particular, in the road transport services market. Special emphasis is put on the critical role of integration in contributing to building circular technological supply chains, ensuring sales coordination and management, reducing unit costs and increasing labor productivity. It is argued that the outcome of integration translates into a cohesive economic mechanism which in addition to its integrated elements is characterized by the presence of a core coordination element. The article offers a definition to a public-private partnership phenomenon, identifies its advantages and disadvantages, explores the mechanisms of public-private partnership implementation as well as suggests a toolkit to optimize the partnership functioning for integrated structures. This is a pioneering study that provides a rationale for the need to use several public-private partnership patterns simultaneously together with developing a mechanism for carrying out public-private partnership which is proposed to be consolidated into the mechanism of integrated partnership viewed as the most preferable one to be implemented in the market of road transport services. It has been verified that the integrated partnership pattern provides an opportunity to develop competitive advantages of all its participants. The research findings have enabled to make the following generalizations: the existing partnerships differ in types of arrangements and institutional support; prior to making a decision to launch a specific integrated partnership project, the mechanism of its implementation should be envisaged; to enhance the efficiency of the integrated partnership project implementation, building relevant infrastructure facilities is paramount; the prospects for further integrated partnership project operation assume the utilization of a network mechanism of public-private partnership which best meets the needs and the specifics of the road transport services market.

Optimisation of long-term quarry production scheduling under geological uncertainty to supply raw materials to a cement plant

ABSTRACT The success of a cement production project depends on the supply of raw materials. Long-term quarry production scheduling (LTQPS) based on resource models is essential to maintain a consistent supply to cement plants. Geological uncertainty is inherent due to sparse exploration data in resource models and significant risk factors for not achieving production targets. This research proposes a stochastic framework for LTQPS that considers the impact of geological uncertainty on raw material supply. A clustering algorithm uses multiple simulated deposit models to aggregate blocks into mining cuts. A new stochastic mixed-integer programming model is formulated with two objectives: to minimise the cost for developing the raw mix and the risk of not meeting production targets. The proposed framework is implemented successfully in a limestone deposit in Southern Vietnam, resulting in an increase of 5 million tons (Mt) and a 30% reduction in unit cost over the deterministic mixed-integer programming model.

Proposal and performance assessment of a combined system based on a supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle integrated with a double-effect absorption power cycle

The supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle is a promising energy conversion approach to provide high efficiency for a wide range of applications, and it is considered to be more potent and appropriate alternative to the conventional steam Rankine cycle for the power generation. To take advantage of the attractive physical and transport properties near the critical point of the carbon dioxide, a large amount of heat is released to the heat sink before the carbon dioxide entering the compressor. In this study, a novel double-effect absorption power cycle is proposed to reuse the waste heat from the supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle for further improving the overall performance. Six decision variables are selected to perform the parametric analysis for determining the effect of these decision parameters on the performance of the proposed system, and the further parametric optimizations, exergy analysis and the comparative study are conducted for the proposed system and other carbon dioxide based system to reveal the superiority in overall performance for the proposed system. The results indicate that the major exergy destruction occurs in the heat source and the heat sink of the single supercritical carbon dioxide system. The exergy destruction in the heat sink can be effectively reduced by 16.23% by integrating the supercritical carbon dioxide system with absorption power cycle, and it can be further reduced by 3.87% by replacing absorption power cycle with the proposed double-effect absorption power cycle. In addition, compared with the single supercritical carbon dioxide system and the combined system integrating supercritical carbon dioxide power cycle with absorption power cycle, the exergy efficiency improvement of 10.94% and 3.00% and the reduction in the total product unit cost by 7.97% and 2.66% can be obtained by the proposed system, respectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst for differentiated care models to end the HIV epidemic in the United States: applying lessons from high-burden settings.

The COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst for differentiated care models to end the HIV epidemic in the United States: applying lessons from high-burden settings.

Improving the reliability of the truck frame, taking into account maintenance frequency

In this work, the reliability of the KamAZ-4308 truck frame is increased, taking into account its maintenance frequency. This brand was chosen due to the fact that it is one of the best-selling cars in Russia among the cars with a gross weight of 14 to 40 tons in 2019. A method for optimizing the value of the intervals between the planned car maintenance (MAINT) is proposed. When calculating the reliability, the problem of minimizing the amount of initial data was solved in order to reduce the experiment time, its labor intensity and the financial testing costs. As one of the options for reducing unit costs, a change in the material for manufacturing a truck frame is considered. The empirical and approximating functions of the general totality of the finite volume (GTFV) of the Tp frame of the KamAZ-4308 car service life are obtained. At a given failure rate λ = 10-7 h-1, period values τ = 10 h and cost U/C = 100 the optimal frequency of maintenance is Topt = 993 h ≈ 1,4 month taking into account the minimum technogenic risk Smin = 0,0513.

The role of very large passenger aircraft in global air transport – a review and outlook to the year 2050

Aviation history has shown an increase in aircraft size in every generation, culminating in the Airbus A380 with a typical capacity of 450 to 600 seats. However, this trend may have come to a halt, as the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the retirement of very large aircraft. Already before the pandemic, airlines had begun to switch to more efficient, but smaller, twin-engine widebody aircraft like Airbus 350 and Boeing 787, and Airbus and Boeing had ceased the production of their largest aircraft types. As a result, in a post-COVID world, airlines will have to rely on aircraft considerably smaller than previously. In our paper, we analyze the operational history of very large passenger aircraft and discuss the economic challenges operating these aircraft. Furthermore, we provide a short-, medium and long-term view on strategies for airlines to cope with a situation where very large passenger aircraft will not be available any longer. We argue, that in the short term, airlines can react to this situation with revenue management techniques, effectively crowding out passengers with the least willingness to pay. In the medium term, airlines are likely to react with changing network strategies. New aircraft that will become available in the near future will allow airlines to operate ultra-long-haul routes and long-haul routes on airport pairs with lower demand. In the long term, we argue that aircraft manufacturers may have to re-consider their product portfolio, given the long-term growth prospects of aviation, capacity constraints at major airports and a preference of larger aircraft by airlines in their pursuit to reduce unit costs. Hence, despite the current arguments against very large passenger aircraft, a renaissance of this aircraft class might emerge in the next decades.

Reducing futile acute care services (ACS) for terminally ill cancer patients (Dignity Project).

23 Background: Patients with terminal diseases frequently undergo procedures and interventions that are futile and maybe detrimental to the patients’ quality of life. We conducted a quality improvement project aimed to reduce futile acute care services (ACS) for cancer patients treated with a palliative intent. Methods: A multidisciplinary team retrospectively reviewed the records of terminally ill cancer patients who died during in the hospital at our institution, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We included all patients expired between November 2017 to May 2018. The review aimed to assess the magnitude of improper utilization of acute care services (ACS) such as: critical care response team (CCRT), cardio-pulmonary resuscitations (CPR) and admission to intensive care unit (ICU). A root cause analysis and process mapping were conducted to identify reasons for over utilization of these services. Timely documentation of goals of care was identified as a main reason for this problem. Then interventions were implemented to improve the practice. Post intervention data was captured and compared to the baseline data. Results: After delivery of staff education sessions and implementation of mandatory documentation of goals of care in the electronic healthcare record system, the timely documentation of goal of care for patients with palliative intent had significantly increased from 59% of cases in the baseline to 86% for the post intervention phase. As a result, admission to ICU decreased from 32% of cases in the pre intervention phase to 14% in the post intervention phase reducing monthly cost of admission to the ICU by 40% and estimated to be on average of $48,000 USD monthly ($576,000 USD annually). Conclusions: Our interventions resulted in improved documentation of the goal of care leading to decrease in the utilization of acute care services (ACS) including reduction of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and cost. This outcome is even more relevant nowadays during COVID-19 pandemic and the pressure on critical care resources. Improvement is sustained by integrating the changes in the work process and electronic medical records.

The Impact of Productivity, Employment, Sales Volume With and Without Completely Knocked Down in Automotive Industry on Economic Growth in Nigeria: 1987-2019

This study investigated the impact of Productivity, Employment Creation, Sales Volume and CKD in Automotive Industry in Nigeria using time series data for 1987 to 2019. Unit root test was conducted, the result showed mixed order of integration i.e I(0) and I(1) which informs the use of Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) technique of analysis. The findings and conclusion from the study revealed that employment, productivity, sales volume and completely knocked down in automotive industry are all positive and significant. These immensely contribute to the economic growth in Nigeria. This attests to the fact that Government needs to allow only the importation of CKD and ban SKD to increase productivity thereby generating increase in employment. This invariably increases standard of living and boosting sales volume with reduction in average unit cost. The multiplier effects will also boost productivities of allied industries’ products and services such as iron and steel, rubber, plastics, electrical equipment, road construction, transportation, urban and rural development. So, government needs to be serious to establish Vehicle Finance Scheme where no one needs to put down 100% cash to own a vehicle. Government should therefore encourage importation of Completely Knocked Down rather than Semi Knocked Down . Keywords: Economic Growth (RGDP ) , Productivity (OUT), Employment Creation (EMP), Sales Volume (SAV), Completely Knocked Down (CKD), Semi knocked Down (SKD) and Automotive Industry DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-20-07 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

A comparative investigation of the unit cost for the preparation of modified sand and clay bricks from rice husk waste

Rice husk (RH) is produced in large quantities in Egypt and burned in open atmosphere to produce RH ash (RHA), which poses a great risk to the environment by affecting the land and the surrounding areas in which it is disposed of. Consequently, this work is an attempt to prepare a modified sand/lime brick, employing a mixture of sand and different percentages of RHA (5%, 10%, and 15%) with 15% of burned calcite. The compressive strength and bulk density of the prepared sand bricks were determined. Further, the phase composition and structure of the surface of the samples were also identified by Fourier-transform infrared (FT–IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. It was confirmed that the modified sand/lime brick, composed of 80% sand, 5% RHA, and 15% lime, exhibited the best results. The obtained bulk density and compressive strength were 1.82 g/cm3 and 103 kg/cm2, respectively. A comparative estimation of the unit cost of the modified RHA–sand/lime brick and those of two other brick types, namely clay/RH and cement/RHA bricks, which had been prepared and reported by the authors, was performed. It was concluded that the partial replacement of RH, as solid agricultural waste, in the manufacture of building bricks can reduce the cost significantly, as 20% RH substitution (yielding 5% RHA) in the sand brick, 10% RH substitution in the clay brick, and also 20% RH substitution (yielding 5% RHA) in the cement brick, resulting in 14%, 42.8%, and 25% unit cost reductions, respectively.

Pilot installation for applying protective coating on the surface of the agricultural equipment

Agricultural machinery is operated in difficult conditions and severe environment. Due to contact with road surfaces, soil, plants, fuels and lubricants, as well as fertilizers and pesticides, when changing temperature conditions and under the influence of a number of other factors, surfaces of agricultural machinery become old and corroded, which reduces their performance and worsens some of its parameters. Most agricultural machines are operated from 10-15 to 55-60 days during the year, and for the remaining time, they are subject to high-quality storage. During long-term storage, the dimensions of parts change due to corrosion, as well as the quality of their material decreases due to structural transformations and residual deformations caused by the machine’s own weight. Efficiency and its service life can increase by 10-15% due to the application of a protective coating on the surface of agricultural machines, which reduces the influence of external factors on their safety. The use of a developed spray gun in the design of a hydraulic installation for applying a protective coating on the surface of agricultural machinery allows one to reduce unit costs by 13.8% and electricity costs by 12.3%. The economic effect of using a hydraulic coating system with the developed spray gun will amount to 75,539.3 rubles per year when processing 124.9 m2 of agricultural machinery surface.

USE OF ENZYME PREPARATIONS IN COMPOUND FEED FOR DUCKLINGS

The paper presents the results of the influence of enzyme (ferment) preparations in various combinations on the dynamics of growth and development and slaughter qualities of ducklings. The scientific and economic experience was conducted in the Chuvash Republic. For carrying out experiments 3 groups of ducklings on 50 heads in everyone were selected and formed. Ducklings of the 1st experimental group received enzyme preparations amylosubtilin in the amount of 0.05 kg/t and protosubtilin in the amount of 0.05 kg/t during the entire period of growing together with feed. Ducklings for the 2nd experimental group of compound feed were enriched with enzyme preparations amylosubtilin in the amount of 0.1 kg/t and celloviridin in the amount of 0.075 kg/t. It was found that ducklings receiving enzyme preparations in addition to feed had increased growth energy throughout the experiment. By the end of the experiment, the live weight of ducks of the control group was 3,424 kg, the first experimental group receiving in addition to the feed enzyme preparations amylosubtilin in an amount of 0.05 kg/t and protosubtilin in the amount of 0.05 kg/t – 3,712 lbs. In the second experimental group, where the ducks advanced to the feed received enzyme preparations amylosubtilin in the amount of 0.1 kg/t and celloviridin in the amount of 0.075 kg/t, live weight to the end of the experiment amounted to 3,804 kg. The average daily live weight gain of animals in the control group was 53.52 g, and in the first experimental group - 58,10 g, in the second one - 59,56 g. The inclusion of a mixture of enzyme preparations with a compound feed of the experimental animals have contributed to the increase in body length compared to the control on average by 0.9 cm and 1.6 cm, length of tarsus by 2.5 cm and 4.3 cm, chest girth by 1.8 cm and 2.5 cm, respectively. The increased productivity of ducklings in growth was reflected in the reduction of feed costs and unit costs, which contributed to multiplying profits in the experimental groups.

The use of alternative feed protein from Musca domestica larvae in poultry

The results of numerous studies indicate that the biomass of Musca domestica larvae has great potential for use as a feed protein in animal husbandry. However, the issues of increasing the content of raw protein and improving the amino acid composition in the biomass of larvae remain open and require additional research. In addition, the study of the infl uence of such protein on the physiological and productive performance of broiler chickens has of scientifi c and practical interest. The purpose of the work was to develop a method for obtaining an alternative feed protein with an increased content of raw protein and improved amino acid composition. The larvae of Musca domestica have been used as a biological object of research, and chicken droppings have been used as a substrate. In order to conduct research a special insectarium has been equipped, in which the air temperature has been maintained at a stable level of 28–30 °C and a relative humidity of 60–70 %. Insects havebeen kept in special stationary cages. As a result of research, it has been found that the concentration of selenium and cobalt 15 mg/kg in the substrate is optimal for obtaining an alternative feed protein with an increased protein content and improved amino acid composition. The infl uence of microelements in the substrate composition on the chemical composition of the biomass of Musca domestica larvae has been revealed. The dynamics of the amino acid composition of the larval biomass has been studied using the proposed substrate. It has been found that the maximum content of many of the studied amino acids in comparison with the control was achieved after 48 hours of cultivation of larvae on the substrate with the addition of Se 15 mg/kg + Co 15 mg/kg. The maximum amount of lysine, phenylalanine, leucine+isoleucine, tyrosine was achieved after 48 hours, and histidine, valine, threonine, serine after 72 hours of cultivation. In addition, it has been found that the maximum concentration of raw protein was 61,72 % after 72 hours of cultivation. It has been found that the use of alternative feed protein from Musca domestica larvae in the feeding of cross Cobb 500 broiler chickens contributes to the improvement of physiological and productive parameters of the poultry. The revealed reduction in unit costs and increase in the gain of live weight of broilers leads to the decrease in prime-cost by 46 % and the increase in margin income by 149 %, and the level of profi tability by 110 %.

Online ordering rules for the multi-period newsvendor problem with quantity discounts

In this paper, we study the multi-period newsvendor problem with quantity discounts and stationary demand, where order quantities need to be decided sequentially over a finite or infinite horizon without making statistical assumption on demands. The Weak Aggregating Algorithm (WAA), which is an online learning method of prediction with expert advice, is applied to the problem. We first consider the all-unit discount case, in which the reduced unit cost is applied to all units in an order. We present explicit online ordering rules by using the fixed-stock strategy as expert advice during the application of WAA. A modified gain function implying convoluted contracts between the newsvendor and his supplier is defined to obtain some theoretical guarantees, which ensure that the newsvendor’s average gains are almost as large as those from the best expert advice for a sufficiently large horizon. Further, we generalize the results to the multi-level incremental discount case, in which there are different unit costs for different quantity ranges. We also extend the results to cases where order quantities are integer-valued, and provide correspondingly online ordering rules and theoretical guarantees. Finally, numerical experiments are performed and show that the average gains obtained by the proposed online ordering rules are comparable to those offered by the best experts in hindsight. The results also indicate that the cumulative gains achieved by the ordering rules for the problem with all-unit discount are larger than those achieved by the ordering rules for the problem with incremental discount; and order quantities increase with the discount level for the all-unit discount while decrease for the incremental discount. The results obtained in this paper can provide competitive online ordering rules for industry managers who need to place long-term continuous orders for perishable products when the demand distribution is unknown.

Analysis of Production Technology of Wood Briquettes, Including Costs and Distribution

Abstract The paper analyzes the costs of production of wood sawdust briquettes, manufactured by the company Brykiet-Pol2, based in Goleszów in southern Poland. In addition, production technology, raw material supply and distribution of the finished product were analyzed. The costs of producing one ton of briquettes for the four assessed variants ranged from PLN 364.8 (option D) to PLN 648.7 (option A). The cost structure was dominated by the purchase of raw material and depreciation of the technological line. The most economically advantageous production variant was option C, currently implemented in the company (production costs: PLN 458.7·t−1), and the proposed option D, using two briquetting presses. The latter option increased production efficiency and reduced unit costs of briquette production in a three-shift system around the clock.

Economic feasibility valuing of deep mineral resources based on risk analysis: Songtao manganese ore - China case study

The exploitation of deep mineral resources is an inevitable choice under economic development and resource shortage. Assessing the economic feasibility of deep mineral resource exploit projects is a prerequisite for resource industry development. Mining industry have some problems influence its economic feasibility, including long mining period, high infrastructure investment and lack flexibility, and have risks of geology instability and economic reserve degrade. On the other hand, with the increase of the buried depth of mineral resources, some problems have intensified the uncertainty of the profit of deep resource utilization project, such as high stress, high lithology, high temperature environment, and increase of upgrading cost. Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) are traditional economic evaluation means which difficult to identify and assess risks precisely. Decoupled Net Present Value (DNPV) provides an efficiency tool to separate the time value and risk cost which is helpful to finds the real value of projects. A manganese mining project which is located Guizhou province, China is analyzed, paper choices several mainly risks of influence expected revenue to analysis project feasibility based on the DNPV technology, which includes the thickness of ore body, ore grade, market price, operation cost and nature disaster. The cost of potential environmental risk (carbon emission cost) also is analyzed. Paper constructs a risk management framework by risk identify, assess and classification, and analyzes the corresponding measures to reduce risk costs. The mainly risk cost of study case from market price shock and unexpected ore grade decline, which accounting for 80% of the total risk cost. In the process of deep mineral resources exploit, effective cost control measures can reduce the risk cost to a certain extent, including improving productivity, reducing unit cost of ore, improving mine sustainability and exploration accuracy. Green mineral construction is a feasible direction of deep resource utilization. For improve the accuracy of economic feasibility evaluation of deep mineral resources utilization, further improvement is needed in the selection and construction of different risk assessment models.

Trade in the shadow of power: Japanese industrial exports in the interwar years

AbstractDuring the interwar years, Japanese industrialization accelerated alongside the expansion of industrial exports to regional markets. Trade blocs in the interwar years were used as an instrument of imperial power to foster exports and as a substitute for productivity to encourage industrial production. The historiography on Japanese industrialization in the interwar years describes heavy industries’ interests in obtaining access to wider markets to increase economies of scale and reduce unit costs. However, this literature provides no quantitative evidence that proves the success of those mechanisms in expanding exports. In this article we scrutinize how Japan—a relatively poor country—used colonial as well as informal power interventions to expand regional markets for its exports, especially for the most intensive human capital sector of the industrializing economy. Our results show that Japanese exports in 1938 would have been around one‐third smaller had no empire ever existed, which indicates an outstanding effect of empire in the international context.