Rubber Manufacturing Research Articles

Management of agricultural waste to manufacture biochar: An alternative reinforcing filler for carbon black in nitrile butadiene rubber composites

The carbon black (CB) used in rubber manufacturing and the unsafe disposal of agricultural waste are one of the causes of environmental pollution. Indeed, the production of one ton of CB produces about 2.4 tons of carbon dioxide. The conversion of these agricultural wastes into biochar (Bi) and using them as a reinforcing material is one of the trends that achieve sustainability and promote environmentally sound. Herein, the modified biochar (MBi) was obtained by chemo-mechanical treatment utilizing stearic acid for Bi which was produced from the pyrolysis of citrus trees to enhance its dispersion in nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) composite. In addition, the present study scrutinized the influence of synergism between the MBi and CB as a filler in the NBR composites. The characterization of as-prepared samples was carried out by tracing the surface morphology, particle size analyzer, and identification of chemical bonds, as well as rheological, mechanical, aging, and electrical conductivity properties. The rheological studies showed that the optimum vulcanization time (tc90) did not significantly prolong for MBi-filled composites, which sequentially higher the benefits of the study by reducing energy consumed and thus, the process cost. In addition, the surface morphology and the mechanical data have distinguished that MBi particles were well-distributed along the matrix, as revealed by the tensile properties of the final composites. The electrical conductivity results manifested that MBi did not adversely affect the enhancement of conductivity. Whereas, the permittivity was increased due to the interfacial polarization between the filler and rubber matrix. In conclusion, the innovative filled-MBi elastomer composite would pave the way for an eco-friendly product that is valid for various applications.

Reliability analysis based on load spectrum: A structural improvement of Indian Railways three-piece freight bogie elastomeric pad

Dynamic characteristics and reliability of elastomeric pads are dominant components in the design methodology to satisfy the performance parameters under dynamic operations. The fatigue life of rubber pads fitted with elastomeric pads mainly depends upon elastomers; natural rubber, chloroprene, nitrile butadiene, silicon compounds, etc., additives, accelerators, activators, fillers, anti-degradants, and manufacturing processes. The performance of the elastomeric pad is evaluated based on service operation, simulation, and laboratory testing. New and failed elastomeric (EM) pads have been examined in the Indian Rubber Manufacturer’s Research Association IRMRA laboratory for detailed failure analysis of existing EM pads. Further, chemical and physical properties are also evaluated in M&C (Metallurgical and Chemical) and Testing Directorate of Research Designs and Standards Organization (RDSO), labs respectively. The fatigue life of the EM pad is estimated based on the results extracted from the Finite Element (FE) analysis of the EM pad. An attempt is made to modify the design of the EM pad by considering the results of detailed field trials, lab testing, and FE analysis. The modified design satisfies the dynamic characteristic during FE (Structural and Thermal) analysis and lab testing.

Theoretical investigation of a novel high-temperature heat pump exploiting low-temperature waste heat and using two-phase machines with zero electric consumption

A novel high-temperature heat pump (HTHP) exploiting low-temperature waste heat is presented, which is enabled by two-phase compressors and expanders without the need for any requirement of external electric power. The investigation involves a sensitivity analysis at the design point, considering the concurrent variation of five independent variables. The aim is to identify the best-performing conditions for a rubber manufacturer and a canning industry which have different temperatures of waste heat and required heating power. The COP of the overall HTHP system, which is the ratio between the output heating power and the input thermal power (coming from the heat source) is evaluated. The maximum COP values are 0.258 for the rubber manufacturer and 0.452 for the canning industry. The primary energy saving is assessed in terms of equivalent fuel consumption. For the rubber manufacturer, the resulting yearly cost saving is in the range of 129 ÷ 646 €/kWth of HTHP installed capacity, and 140 €/kWth for the canning industry. The economic viability of the HTHP is contingent upon achieving isentropic efficiencies of the expanders and compressors higher than 0.59 and 0.55, respectively, for the rubber manufacturer, and both higher than 0.45 for the canning industry.

Disparities in Fatal Occupational Injury Rates in North Carolina, 1978-2017: Comparing Nonmanagerial Employees to Managers.

We examined fatal occupational injuries among private-sector workers in North Carolina during the 40-year period 1978-2017, comparing the occurrence of fatal injuries among nonmanagerial employees to that experienced by managers. We estimated a standardized fatal occupational injury ratio by inverse probability of exposure weighting, taking nonmanagerial workers as the target population. When this ratio measure takes a value greater than unity it signals settings in which nonmanagerial employees are not provided as safe a work environment as that provided for managers. Across all industries, nonmanagerial workers in North Carolina experienced fatal occupational injury rates 8.2 (95% CI = 7.0, 10.0) times the rate experienced by managers. Disparities in fatal injury rates between managers and the employees they supervise were greatest in forestry, rubber and metal manufacturing, wholesale trade, fishing and extractive industries, and construction. The results may help focus discussion about workplace safety between labor and management upon equity, with a goal of providing a work environment for nonmanagerial employees as safe as the one provided for managers.

Bangladeş'teki İmalat Sanayilerinde Teknik Verimlilik: DEA Parametrik Olmayan Analiz

This study's aim is to evaluate the technical efficiency of Bangladesh's manufacturing industry. We utilized DEA analysis with selected three distinct DEA models: CCR, BCC, and the slack-based model. In this study, the number of firms, labour, salary/wages, industrial and non-industrial cost are considered as inputs variables, and the gross output value is set as the output variable. Our analysis found that Common efficient industries are the Manufacture of beverages, Manufacture of tobacco, readymade garments, rubber and plastic, transport equipment, Recycling, non-metallic mineral products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles & trailers and Repairs of machine & equipment. By using three DEA model explored that, in most circumstances manufacture of beverages, tobacco products, of Readymade garments industries remain among topmost performers in positions of proficiency achievement. This research suggests that those industries have made significant efficiency improvements, and they have also gained the ability to continue competing in the global marketplace.

A Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Program Regarding Occupational Health and Hazard in Terms of Knowledge among Workers Working in Modi Continental at Modipuram Meerut, UP

Abstract: Background of the study: Occupational health is a multidisciplinary activity aimed at the protection and promotion of the health of workers by preventing and controlling occupational diseases and accidents and by eliminating occupational factors and conditions hazardous to health and safety at work. Occupational risks and hazards are the health problems employees’ face in their work environment and how those health problems affect the health status of employee and their family. It can also be defined as diseases, accidents and other hazards arising from the work environment or situations that arise in the attempt to perform tasks in any occupation. It is a compensable disease that arises out of and in the course of employment. The process of rubber manufacturing is complex and continually changing, thus making the study of occupational exposures in the rubber industry difficult. Rubber workers’ route and compounds of chemical exposure depend largely on the specific employee work task and environment. In 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health summarized these various exposures. Thus this study was needed for the assessment of knowledge of factory workers so that they can be work in a safe and healthy working environmen

Analysis of Working Postures in Rubber Manufacturing Industry by using OWAS and RULA Methods

The basic conditions of working in a healthy and safe workplace are to design the job in accordance with the anthropometric measurements, body strength and personal characteristics of the person, to ensure that the materials, machinery and equipment used in the working process are suitable for the employee's capacity, and to provide an environment that will produce positive psycho-social results. Correct analysis methods should be used and evaluated in order to meet this basic requirement. Identifying the negative effects of working postures, taking corrective measures and improving them is a critical step of an efficient working environment. Working postures that are not properly analyzed cause strain on workers and even discomfort. It provides important contributions in the field of analyzing and improving working postures with scientific methods, controlling work performance and reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). OWAS (Ovako Working Posture Analyzing System) and RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) are successfully applied in various fields in the analysis of working postures. In this study, it was aimed to determine the MSDs risk levels of the workers working in the rubber industry by OWAS and RULA methods and measures were proposed for these risks. While OWAS analysis was obtained by using expert opinions in the study, CATIAV5R20 program was used for RULA analysis. The study includes the examination of 5 different postures in total. In the OWAS and RULA results of the study, it was seen that the most risky postures are attach the rubber hose to the cores and to place the rubber hoses attached to the cores in the autoclave. The results of the analysis showed that the RULA method is more suitable and reliable than the OWAS method for the analysis of the tasks in the vulcanization process workstations.

The improvement in whiteness index of calcite tailings using attrition-scrubbing process

ABSTRACT Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is an essential mineral critical for various applications in many industries like plastic, rubber, paint, and paper manufacturing. However, salable CaCO3 products need to meet specific requirements. For the paint and paper manufacturing industries, the whiteness index (WI) of CaCO3 is an important property because it strongly influences the final color of paper and paint products. In this study, the effects of retention time and pulp density on the WI after attrition-scrubbing of calcite tailings were investigated. To increase the whiteness index, an attrition scrubber was used to remove impurities on the CaCO3 surface with different pulp densities—40, 45, 50, 55, 60, and 70% solids—and retention time—10, 15, 20, and 25 min—as process variables. The results of laboratory-scale experiments found that the attrition-scrubbing process improved the whiteness index of CaCO3 tailings and reduced its iron content. The optimum condition was at the pulp density of 55% solids, which was used in the pilot-scale experiments. The results of the pilot-scale tests were consistent with the laboratory-scale, indicating that the attrition-scrubbing process can be used to improve the quality of CaCO3 tailings.

Impact of Foreign Exchange on Supply Chain of the Logistics Industry

China is the world's largest manufacturing country, the most important link in the global industrial chain, and the world's second largest consumer market after the United States. China's manufacturing industry has also been affected by the epidemic, and its transformation and upgrading have been affected. China's total manufacturing industry has occupied the world's top position for many years in a row, becoming an indispensable link in the global production chain. In the situation of global manufacturing shift, some labor-intensive industries are gradually moving out of China as the cost of labor factors rises. The new epidemic has further accelerated the outward migration, especially in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, where many countries are concerned about the security of their supply chains due to their over-dependence on China, and some overseas countries have widely raised the slogan of "de-Chinaization". With the normalization of the epidemic, the acceleration of the reverse globalization process and the rise of trade protectionism, the position of Chinese manufacturing in the global value chain will be affected. According to the data, it can be found that the first thing that affects the Chinese manufacturing industry is the import and export, like Brazil, which has frequent trade with China, has a higher dependence on rubber and plastic manufacturing and a more pronounced dependence on chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing in terms of imports. The international competitiveness of China's major manufacturing industries is analyzed using the RCA-VA index. Finally, specific solutions are proposed to address the risks posed by the epidemic.

Analysis of Stock Market Reaction in Malaysia During Covid-19 Pandemic via ARIMA

Investment has become a major money-making business in this world through investment in financial markets, stock markets, and forex. There is uncertainty about which stocks to buy during a pandemic like Covid-19. Poor investment choices will affect the profitability of the investors, shifting their risk appetite to be more defensive. Thus, this research is carried out to study the movement of stocks for the year 2020 in Malaysia based on the data obtained from Yahoo Finance. The objective is to provide investors with a guide to investing efficiently during a pandemic. This study investigates how Covid-19 impacts the rate of growth or reduction of stocks so that the performance of the stocks can be forecasted in the future. The moving average method is used to analyze the trend of the stock by comparing the top gainers against the top losers during the periods of pre Covid-19 and Covid-19. The Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model studies the autocorrelation function (ACF) graph of selected stocks to further understand the movement of the stocks and compare it to the closing prices of the selected stocks. Based on the findings, it was demonstrated that the quantitative method used could be used to study the effects of a pandemic, as well as the severity of the losses incurred, and profits earned by the industries. The industries that are essential to the country, like pharmaceuticals and rubber manufacturing, are able to maintain their businesses. Moreover, these sectors have profited from the pandemic. The tourism and aviation industries have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, as evidenced by falling stock prices. Thus, it would be wise for investors to invest in an essential sector company during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Towards sustainable rubber compounds: The use of waste raw materials

AbstractThis article aims to realize a sustainable rubber compound made in large percentage of secondary raw materials. Waste chewing gum (WCG) has been studied as source of rubber and added in 25% by weight in an ethylene propylene diene monomer based compound in view of a circular economy and eco‐friendly rubber manufacturing. Biobased CaCO3 extracted from waste eggshells was used as extender agent and waste cooking oil from potato chips frying was employed as processing aid. The rubber extracted from WCG resulted to be polyisobutylene (PIB) whereas the main component of the WCG is polyvinyl acetate (PVAc). The addition of the WCG modifies the rheological properties of the rubber compound leading to a better filler–filler and filler–matrix interaction. On the other hand, the presence of both PVAc and PIB leads to lower mechanical properties (max torque 6 vs 10 dNm in curing test) but also higher elongation at break (600% vs 500%). The WCG also increases the self‐adhesion of the rubber and decreases the glass transition temperature allowing for the use of these compounds at lower temperatures thanks to its good tack behavior.

Exposure to occupational risk factors is associated with the severity and progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) results from a complex interaction between genes and the environment, and occupational exposures are an underappreciated risk factor. Until now, little research attention has been paid to the potential impact of occupational risk factor exposure on the COPD in China. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the role of occupational risk factor exposure on the severity and progression of COPD for exploring new prevention strategies for this disease. This study adopted a random cluster-sampling method. Five grade-A tertiary hospitals that met the inclusion criteria were selected as the survey sites, and patients with COPD hospitalized in these hospitals from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019, were selected as the research subjects. Data of the patients diagnosed with COPD met the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (2019) criteria and were collected from the computerized medical record databases. Among 4082 investigated COPD patients, 1063 (26%) were found to have occupational risk factor exposure history. The top 3 industries with a large COPD case number and a history of occupational risk factor exposure ranked in the order of agriculture (including farming, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery), manufacturing, and mining. Further multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that when setting a low exposure level as a reference, medium and high exposure levels were correlated with the severity of COPD (odds ratio values were 2.837 and 6.201, respectively, P < .05). Linear regression analysis showed that cumulative exposure to occupational risk factors was negatively correlated with the forced expiratory volume in 1-second percentage of COPD patients, with a correlation coefficient of 0.68. Our results indicated that occupational risk factor exposure levels were related to the severity of COPD significantly. The incubation period of COPD in the exposure group was significantly shorter than that in the non-exposure group. To prevent worked-related COPD, special attention and control efforts should be taken to reduce the level of occupational risk factors such as organic dust, irritating chemicals, etc in the work environments, especially in the industries of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, manufacturing, and mining.

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Optimizing Rubber Manufacturing Processes

This review article examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to optimize rubber production processes. The main goals are to list rubber manufacturers' difficulties, investigate AI applications, highlight significant discoveries, and discuss the policy ramifications for effective AI integration. Using a secondary data-based methodology, the study gathers information about AI applications unique to the rubber manufacturing business by reviewing a large body of literature from conferences, peer-reviewed journals, and industry reports. The results show that artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in rubber manufacturing facilitate improved process optimization, predictive maintenance, quality control, and adaptive process control. Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered technologies enhance compounded formulations, automate shaping procedures, forecast equipment breakdowns, and maximize resource efficiency. The policy consequences encompass resolving data privacy issues, allocating resources toward workforce training, instituting moral AI governance structures, and offering monetary incentives to encourage the deployment of AI. In summary, artificial intelligence has revolutionary prospects for rubber producers to improve productivity, excellence, and environmental friendliness. Rubber manufacturing processes can be made more innovative and continuously enhanced by embracing AI-driven solutions and strategic plans.

Multi-level thresholding image segmentation for rubber tree secant using improved Otsu's method and snake optimizer.

The main disease that decreases the manufacturing of natural rubber is tapping panel dryness (TPD). To solve this problem faced by a large number of rubber trees, it is recommended to observe TPD images and make early diagnosis. Multi-level thresholding image segmentation can extract regions of interest from TPD images for improving the diagnosis process and increasing the efficiency. In this study, we investigate TPD image properties and enhance Otsu's approach. For a multi-level thresholding problem, we combine the snake optimizer with the improved Otsu's method and propose SO-Otsu. SO-Otsu is compared with five other methods: fruit fly optimization algorithm, sparrow search algorithm, grey wolf optimizer, whale optimization algorithm, Harris hawks optimization and the original Otsu's method. The performance of the SO-Otsu is measured using detail review and indicator reviews. According to experimental findings, SO-Otsu performs better than the competition in terms of running duration, detail effect and degree of fidelity. SO-Otsu is an efficient image segmentation method for TPD images.

Revisiting the surface olefin cross-metathesis of nitrile butadiene rubber on palygorskite nanorods: Product controlling for specific applications

Clays have been widely used for various fields after surface modification. In our previous work, nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) had been successfully grafted onto palygorskite nanorods (Pal NRs) via the surface olefin cross-metathesis (OCM) reaction and their potential applications were preliminarily explored as nano-reinforcing agent, self-separable adsorbent, or Pickering surfactant. Aimed on a precise manipulation of the products for better performance in such specific applications, the modification of Pal NRs with NBR via OCM was optimized, including different vinyl groups modified on Pal NRs, feeding ratios, solid contents, solvents and reaction times. The reaction time was found as a critical factor for the manufacturing of nitrile butadiene rubber modified palygorskite nanorods (NBR-Pal NRs) as potential nano-reinforcing agent and Pickering surfactant. Overreaction with prolonged reaction time would produce the crosslinked nitrile butadiene rubber-palygorskite nanorods microgels (NBR-Pal MGs) as self-separable adsorbent. Furthermore, the better dispersibility of the Pal NRs and the better dissolubility of NBR could be achieved with the polar solvent, favoring the OCM reaction between the V-Pal NRs and accelerating the formation of the NBR-Pal MGs.

Waste of brewing production - a coagulating agent in the technology of extraction of emulsion rubbers from latex

Today, there is a growing interest in the production of synthetic polymers, which are widely used in the production of modern materials. Of particular interest is the manufacture of rubbers by emulsion polymerization. Rubber compounds and vulcanizates made on their basis have characteristics due to which they are actively used in various industrial sectors. The coagulation process in the production of emulsion polymers increases environmental stress. Sodium chloride used at some enterprises as a coagulating agent is consumed in large quantities - up to 200 kg / t of rubber, and increases environmental pollution. In the presented work, for the first time, the possibility of recycling the beer production residue - inactivated yeast, which is proposed to be used to reduce the aggregative stability of disperse systems, is considered. The introduction of yeast into the emulsion polymer isolation technology makes it possible to reduce the amount of sodium chloride in the waters discharged from the enterprise. The use of a system based on a protein coagulant contributes to the complete release of coagulum from latex at a consumption of inactivated yeast in the amount of 10-15 kg/t of rubber. The most effective results were obtained when yeast preliminarily acidified with sulfuric acid was used in this process, which led to the charging of the nitrogen atom of the protein component. It is noted that the best temperature regime for the process of coagulation of latex particles is 1-20 ℃. An increase in temperature to 60 ℃ leads to an increase in the consumption of coagulant up to 25 kg/t of rubber. The ratios of the consumption of sulfuric acid and acidified yeast have been optimized, allowing to obtain the most complete coagulation of the latex. It has been established that the rubbers isolated using food production waste meet the requirements for rubbers of the SKS-30ARK brand according to the main physical and mechanical indicators.

Effects of Soret and Dufour Numbers on the Three-Dimensional MHD Flow of Micropolar Fluid Containing Gyrotactic Microorganisms Over a Bidirectional Stretching Sheet With Cattaneo–Christov Heat and Mass Flux Model

Abstract Stretching flow problems have several real-world applications in engineering, biological, and industrial fields. The real-world applications of the stretching sheet flow problems are continuous cooling of fiber, manufacturing of rubber and plastics sheets, metal-working processes, crystal growth processes, drawing of the filaments through a quiescent fluid, and consideration of the liquid's films and many others. The present problem focuses on the study of heat and mass transmission phenomena of the magnetohydrodynamics flow of three-dimensional micropolar liquid over a bidirectional stretching surface. In the current analysis, the heat and mass transport mechanism are demonstrated by incorporating the Cattaneo–Christov heat and mass flux model. The micro-organisms are only used to stabilize suspended nanoparticles via bioconvection, which is caused by the combination of magnetic field and a buoyancy force. The current model is demonstrated in the system of higher order partial differential equations (PDEs), which are changed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by the exploitation of appropriate similarity variables. For the analytical solution, the resulting nonlinear ODEs are simulated by employing the homotopy analysis scheme. The physical significance of velocities, microrotation, temperature, concentration, and micro-organism profiles of the fluid via various embedded parameters are calculated and discussed in a graphical form. The Nusselt number, Sherwood number and micro-organism density number are calculated via tables. Some major findings of the current problem are that the Nusselt number is weakened for the boosted estimation of radiation and thermal relaxation time parameter. The bioconvection Lewis number raised the micro-organism density number. The nanofluid microrotation profile is boosted with the augmentation of the microrotation parameter. The temperature of nanoliquid is lower for thermal relaxation time parameter and nanofluid concentration is lower the for solutal relaxation time parameter.

Labour Productivity as a Factor of Tangible Investment in Companies Producing Wind Energy Components and Its Impacts: Case of Lithuania

This paper aims at justifying the significance of investment in the improvement of labour productivity (LP) and importance of the latter on economic performance of companies manufacturing wind energy components (WEC) in Lithuania in terms of value added (VA) created, profitability and wage earned. The time period covered is 2000–2020. The following methods have been employed: analysis of legal acts, programmes, strategies, and business structure and finance indicators, interdependence (correlation and regression), trend, case analysis, logical economical reasoning and graphical representation. The research results of current status analysis showed that the business of WEC manufacturing is small in regard to their variety of products but increasing in terms of VA and employment in Lithuania. Investment has been found as a driver of improvement in LP. The calculated historical ratio of change in LP to investment showed that, on average, after 1000 EUR per employee has been invested in tangible assets (TA), the LP increased by 0.13 EUR/h. A higher than average ratio was found in the manufacture of other transport and repair and installation of machinery and equipment (1.41), such as rubber, plastic and other non-metallic mineral products (0.17), but lower in the manufacture of electronic and communication (0.12) and metal (0.06) products. Taking into account the linear curves of LP to investment in TA curve and the average volumes of investment in different manufacturing activities, it is estimated that LP could grow by 5.3% a year in the manufacture of electronic products, and communication equipment are expected to increase by two-fold to 33 EUR/h in 2030, but it could grow only by 2.0% a year in the manufacture of rubber, plastic and other non-metallic mineral products to reach 28 EUR/h in 2030. Due to investment related changes in LP, the VA created by WEC companies could increase by 5.9% a year and account to 2.9 billion EUR during 2021–2030. Net profitability and real wages (and salaries) could also increase in future. Seeking to use the potential of companies to manufacture WEC for domestic wind installations and exports, investment supporting programmes are of high importance in the fields of promotion of innovations, development of human capital and adaptation of new technologies.

Sectoral Analysis of BTEX Exposure Data

Benzen, toluen, etil benzen ve ksilen (BTEX) havadaki önemli toksik uçucu organik bileşiklerdendir. Kapalı çalışma ortamında boyalar, çözücüler, yapıştırıcılar ve temizlik maddeleri gibi çeşitli emisyon kaynaklarına sahiptirler. Ortama salındıklarında hızlı bir şeklide havaya karışırlar ve vücuda solunum yoluyla kolayca girebilirler. Çalışanlarda akut ve kronik sağlık sorunlarına sebep olmaktadır. İş hijyeni laboratuvarlarının ölçüm ve analiz sonuçları işyerlerinde alınacak önlemlere kaynaklık etmesi ve gerekli iyileştirmelere yön vermesi açısından çok önemlidir. Bu çalışmada, iş hijyeni laboratuvarları tarafından İSG-Katip sistemine 21 Ocak 2016 21 Ekim 2020 tarihleri arasında girilmiş kişisel BTEX maruziyet sonuçları sektörel faaliyet alanına, ölçüm yapılan coğrafi bölge ve şehre, tehlike sınıflarına, sınır değeri aşma veya sınır değere yakın olma durumuna göre değerlendirilmiştir. Toplam 162331 verinin 8435’inin havadaki BTEX konsantrasyonuna yönelik sonuçlarla ilgili olduğu tespit edilmiştir. BTEX verileri % 11’i az tehlikeli, % 64,9’u tehlikeli, % 24,1’i çok tehlikeli sınıfta yer alan 63 farklı şehirde bulunan 1089 işyerinden elde edilmiştir. 6361 kişisel maruziyet verisinin %5,3 ‘ünün sınır değere yakın veya sınır değerin üstünde olduğu saptanmıştır. Veriler sektörel olarak tarandığında 242 faaliyet alanında yapılan ölçümler 31 sektör altında toplanmaktadır. En çok ölçüm ve analiz yapılan üç sektör makine ve ekipmanları imalatı, tekstil ürünleri ve giyim eşyaları imalatı ve kauçuk ve plastik ürünlerin imalatı olarak belirlenmiştir. BTEX maruziyetlerinin sektörel olarak değerlendirildiği bu çalışma ile ülkemizdeki mevcut durumun ortaya konulması ve iş sağlığı ve güvenliği alanında çalışanlara bir kaynak oluşturulması amaçlanmıştır.

Knowledge Transfers and Absorptive Capacities as Determinants of Competitive Advantages: The Mexican Case

Using a quantitative methodology and in different stages, a linear regression model is applied to measure the capacity of knowledge transfer processes and knowledge absorption capabilities to generate competitive advantages in companies. The main objective is to determine the extent to which efficient knowledge transfer and absorption processes could determine the generation of competitive advantages. A data collection instrument is applied. It is concluded that the companies that generate the most significant competitive advantages are the manufacture of lighting accessories, the tobacco industry, and the manufacture of synthetic resins and rubber. Finally, it is concluded that knowledge transfers and the capacity to absorb knowledge explain 69.9% of the capacity of the companies to generate competitive advantages.