• Title/Summary/Keyword: Productivity management

Search Result 2,569, Processing Time 0.031 seconds

Effects of water physico-chemical parameters on tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) growth in earthen ponds in Teso North Sub-County, Busia County

  • Makori, Agano J.;Abuom, Paul O.;Kapiyo, Raphael;Anyona, Douglas N.;Dida, Gabriel O.
    • Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
    • /
    • v.20 no.11
    • /
    • pp.30.1-30.10
    • /
    • 2017
  • Small-scale fish farmers in developing countries are faced with challenges owing to their limited information on aquaculture management. Nile tilapia farmers in Teso North Sub-County recorded lower yields than expected in 2009 despite having been provided with required inputs. Water quality was suspected to be the key factor responsible for the low yields. This study sought to assess the effects of earthen pond water physico-chemical parameters on the growth of Nile tilapia in six earthen fish ponds under semi-intensive culture system in Teso North Sub-County. The study was longitudinal in nature with pond water and fish being the units of analysis. Systematic sampling was used to select five ponds while a control pond was purposively selected based on its previously high harvest. Four ponds were fed by surface flow and two by underground water. Each pond was fertilized and stocked with 900 fry of averagely 1.4 g and 4.4 cm. Physico-chemical parameters were measured in-situ using a multi-parameter probe. Sixty fish samples were randomly obtained from each pond fortnightly for four months using a 10 mm mesh size and measured, weighed and returned into the pond. Mean range of physico-chemical parameters were: dissolved oxygen (DO) 4.86-10.53 mg/l, temperature $24-26^{\circ}C$, pH 6.1-8.3, conductivity $35-87{\mu}S/cm$ and ammonia 0.01-0.3 mg/l. Temperature (p = 0.012) and conductivity (p = 0.0001) levels varied significantly between ponds. Overall Specific Growth Rate ranged between 1.8% (0.1692 g/day) and 3.8% (1.9 g/day). Ammonia, DO and pH in the ponds were within the optimal levels for growth of tilapia, while temperature and conductivity were below optimal levels. As temperature and DO increased, growth rate of tilapia increased. However, increase in conductivity, pH and ammonia decreased fish growth rate. Temperature and DO ranging between 27 and $30^{\circ}C$ and 5-23 mg/l, respectively, and SGR of 3.8%/day and above are recommended for higher productivity.

Analysis on relationship between operating problems and competitiveness of Busan container terminals (부산항터미널의 운영문제점과 경쟁력간의 관련성분석)

  • Ahn, Ki-Myung;Kim, Sung-Yong;Choo, Yeon-Gil;Kim, In-Su
    • Journal of Navigation and Port Research
    • /
    • v.32 no.8
    • /
    • pp.667-674
    • /
    • 2008
  • In this paper, operational problems of Busan Port and competitiveness deciding factors are analyzed by field data research and interview with employees in shipping companies and terminal operation companies. In the analysis, the problems Busan Port currently has are identified as follows: 1) low price competitiveness, 2) Lack of new port back facilities and connecting transportion system 3) Lack of operation ability of container terminal 4) Inefficient pour labor supply system. In order to strengthen the competitiveness and leap up to a hub port in North East Asia, Busan port is investigated to enhance below requirements. 1) Hiring more equipment and increase productivity in terminal 2) Integrating terminal operation companies to react maximization of vessel 3) Maintaining cost advantages 4)Proactively inviting global carriers to participate in the terminal operation 5)Making business environment for Global Terminal Operator to participate in the terminal operation in order to take advantage of their global marketing power.

Changes in the Soil Physical Properties of Vineyard Converted from Paddy Field (논에서 전환한 포도원의 토양물리적 특성변화)

  • Yun, Eul-Soo;Jung, Ki-Youl;Park, Ki-Do;Ko, Jee-Yeon;Lee, Jae-Saeng;Park, Sung-Tae
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
    • /
    • v.42 no.3
    • /
    • pp.145-151
    • /
    • 2009
  • This study was conducted to develop rational soil management and enhance the productivity of lands converted from paddy soils. Specifically, the changes in the soil physical properties brought about by the change in land usage from paddy soil were evaluated. This was carried out from 1999 to 2001 at 50 site in large-scale converted paddy fields of Kimcheon, Youngcheon, Gyeongsan and Milyang in the Youngnam region, categorized according to soil texture and drainage class. The ridge height of converted paddy soils was higher in coarse-textured and poorly-drained soils than in fine-textured and well-drained soils. The gray color of the surface soil was of lesser degree in converted soils than paddy soils and more notable in welldrained soils. The porosity ratio and the formation of aggregate structure were higher, and the appearance of soil mottling was deeper in converted paddy fields than in paddy soils. The glaying layer "g" of surface soil degraded with time. The porosity and amount of water stable aggregate was found to increase with time after conversion. The penetration resistance of the converted paddy soil was lower and deeper with time after conversion. The soil aeration of the converted paddy soil was lower in sandy loam than in loamy soil. Furthermore, soil aeration was influenced by ridge height and drainage class in poorly-drained soils.

Comparative Analysis on Concentration and Uptake Amount of Mineral Nutrients in Different Growth Stages and Temperatures of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer Grown with Hydroponic Culture (수경재배 인삼의 온도와 생육시기별 무기영양성분 함량과 흡수량 변이 양상 비교)

  • Lee, Gyeong-A;Chang, Yoon-Kee;Park, Seong-Yong;Kim, Gyeong-Ae;Kim, Sun-Ho;Park, Kee-Choon;Kim, Young-Bum;Cha, Seon-Woo;Song, Beom-Heon
    • Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
    • /
    • v.20 no.4
    • /
    • pp.251-258
    • /
    • 2012
  • The management and control of mineral nutrients is one of most important techniques to increase the productivity and the quality of Korean ginseng. The mineral nutrients are measured with different plant tissues and different growth stages of 2-year-old ginseng grown under hydroponic culture with two different temperatures. The content of N, P, Ca, and Mg were higher at low temperature in both leaves and roots than those at high temperature. However, the content of K was high in leaves at low temperature compared to that of high temperature, while it was not significantly different in roots. The uptake amounts of N and K was higher throughout the experimental period at low temperature in both leaves and roots than those at high temperature. However, the uptake amount of P was not clearly different between two different temperatures and among six different growth stages. The uptake amount of N, P, K was generally decreased in leaves from June to August, while it was increased in roots. The relationship between dry weight and mineral nutrients in leaves was appeared positive with N, K, Ca, and Mg, but negative P. In roots, N, K, Ca, and Mg were negative, showing that was positive with only P. Comparing the correlation coefficients among mineral nutrients in leaves, N and K were significantly positive correlation each other. P was significantly positive correlation with Na and Zn. In case of roots, N was highly significant positive correlation with K, Mg, and Mn, but P was negatively correlated with Ca, Cu, Na, Fe, and Zn.

Design of Vision Based Punching Machine having Serial Communication

  • Lee, Young-Choon;Lee, Seong-Cheol;Kim, Seong-Min
    • 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
    • /
    • 2005.06a
    • /
    • pp.2430-2434
    • /
    • 2005
  • Automatic FPC punching instrument for the improvement of working condition and cost saving is introduced in this paper. FPC(flexible printed circuit) is used to detect the contact position of K/B and button like a cellular phone. Depending on the quality of the printed ink and position of reference punching point to the FPC, the resistance and current are varied to the malfunctioning values. The size of reference punching point is 2mm and the above. Because the punching operation is done manually, the accuracy of the punching degree is varied with operator's condition. Recently, The punching accuracy has deteriorated severely to the 2mm punching reference hall so that assembly of the K/B has hardly done. To improve this manual punching operation to the FPC, automatic FPC punching system is introduced. Precise mechanical parts like a 5-step stepping motor and ball screw mechanism are designed and tested and low cost PC camera is used for the sake of cost down instead of using high quality vision systems for the FA. 3D Mechanical design tool(Pro/E) is used to manage the exact tolerance circumstances and avoid design failures. Simulation is performed to make the complete vision based punching machine before assembly, and this procedure led to the manufacturing cost saving. As the image processing algorithms, dilation, erosion, and threshold calculation is applied to obtain an exact center position from the FPC print marks. These image processing algorithms made the original images having various noises have clean binary pixels which is easy to calculate the center position of print marks. Moment and Least square method are used to calculate the center position of objects. In this development circumstance, Moment method was superior to the Least square one at the calculation of speed and against noise. Main control panel is programmed by Visual C++ and graphical Active X for the whole management of vision based automatic punching machine. Operating modes like manual, calibration, and automatic mode are added to the main control panel for the compensation of bad FPC print conditions and mechanical tolerance occurring in the case of punch and die reassembly. Test algorithms and programs showed good results to the designed automatic punching system and led to the increase of productivity and huge cost down to law material like FPC by avoiding bad quality.

  • PDF

A Study on the Differences of the School Foodservice Cooks' Job Satisfactions between Dietitian and Cooks in Gyeonggi Province (경기도 일부 학교급식 조리원의 직무만족도에 관한 영양사와 조리원의 인식 비교)

  • Lee, Ok-Sun;Lee, Yeong-Mi;O, Yu-Jin
    • Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association
    • /
    • v.13 no.2
    • /
    • pp.183-193
    • /
    • 2007
  • School foodservice employees are involved with every aspect of ensuring that high quality meals are prepared and they influence student satisfaction. The objective of this study was to identify whether job satisfaction of cooks is affected by their relationships with management. Survey forms that were developed for foodservice dietitians and employees were interviewed. Questionnaires to measure job satisfaction were distributed to 30 schools in the Gyeonggi province and completed by 30 dietitians and 323 cooks. Foodservice cooks' job satisfaction was evaluated by measuring attitudes towards aspects of their job using the modified Smith method(1969). All items in the scales were coded by 4 Likert scale(1: nerver satisfied, 4: very satisfied), then grouped by using factor analyses. Statistical methods used in this study were a $x^2$-test, t-test with SPSS software(version 12.0). The study results were as follows; 1) The demographic data showed that 65.3% of respondents were in their 40s, 96% were married, 68.8% were high school graduates, and 93.5% were contracted employees. Regarding overall experience in their current workplace, 27.9% had been in their position over 5 years and 25.7% said less than 2 years. 2) Most of the school lunches was served in the classroom(73.3%). The cook working was rotated among the employees(90%). Most employees did not use a day's leave of absence per month because they were averse to burdening their coworkers. 3) There were no significant differences in job satisfaction between the cooks' self-evaluation scores(2.92) and those of the dietitians(2.92). Among the factors influencing job satisfaction, dietitians(2.10) perceived that cooks(1.99) were more satisfied with their salaries than was actually the case. The cooks(3.19) rated their level of work satisfaction higher than the dietitians(3.03) perceived it to be. Employees rated their relationship satisfaction as 3.50, but dietitians on the other hand rated it 3.37. Most of the cook respondents want a higher salary and a some kind of employment guarantee. This study provides foodservice managers information useful for design positions that will increase productivity. Future study is needed to determine the factors that will improve job satisfaction and satisfy the employees' needs, which in turn will improve school food service quality.

  • PDF

A Study on the Operating Efficiency of Parcel Delivery Sub-terminal Agency focus on A company (택배서브터미널 대리점 운영효율성에 관한 연구 (A사를 중심으로))

  • Yoon, Sung-Goo;Park, Sung-Hoon;Ma, Hye-Min;Yeo, Gi-Tae
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
    • /
    • v.15 no.10
    • /
    • pp.31-43
    • /
    • 2017
  • This study was aimed at analyzing the operational efficiency of DPAs(the delivery and pickup agents), which serve as sub-terminals in parcel delivery services, using CCR/BCC models in DEA. The input variables included the number of employees, and the amount of equipment and the operating expenses. The output variable was revenue value. The efficiency for the period from 2014 to 2016 was analyzed. The results revealed that the operational efficiency improved in 2016, compared with 2014, in both CCR and BCC models. According to the benchmarking analysis, DMU 1 and DMU 7 showed higher efficiency in 2016. The inefficiency analysis based on the BCC model showed increased efficiency of all factors in 2016 when compared with 2014. The Malmquist productivity index (MPI) dropped slightly as a result of technical changes and indicated a declining technical efficiency in all DMUs. This study suggests the need for government-led systematic improvement and support for DPAs by providing current insight into the parcel delivery industry and analyzing DPAs' operational efficiency in Korea for the first time. This research performed efficiency analysis of DPAs located in new town of paju and gimpo cities. In future research, comparative study on efficiency analysis including new town, old town area, and other cities are needed.

A Study on the Development Methodology for User-Friendly Interactive Chatbot (사용자 친화적인 대화형 챗봇 구축을 위한 개발방법론에 관한 연구)

  • Hyun, Young Geun;Lim, Jung Teak;Han, Jeong Hyeon;Chae, Uri;Lee, Gi-Hyun;Ko, Jin Deuk;Cho, Young Hee;Lee, Joo Yeoun
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
    • /
    • v.18 no.11
    • /
    • pp.215-226
    • /
    • 2020
  • Chatbot is emerging as an important interface window for business. This change is due to the continued development of chatbot-related research from NLP to NLU and NLG. However, the reality is that the methodological study of drawing domain knowledge and developing it into a user-friendly interactive interface is weak in the process of developing chatbot. In this paper, in order to present the process criteria of chatbot development, we applied it to the actual project based on the methodology presented in the previous paper and improved the development methodology. In conclusion, the productivity of the test phase, which is the most important step, was improved by 33.3%, and the number of iterations was reduced to 37.5%. Based on these results, the "3 Phase and 17 Tasks Development Methodology" was presented, which is expected to dramatically improve the trial and error of the chatbot development.

A Study on Policy and Movement to Strengthen the Competitiveness of U.S. Textile and Apparel Industries (미국 의류직물산업의 경쟁력 강화정책 고찰)

  • 황춘섭
    • Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
    • /
    • v.27 no.2
    • /
    • pp.21-30
    • /
    • 1989
  • The U.S. response to increased international competition was examined in the present study in order to have more comprehensive understanding of the U.S. textile and clothing market. The method employed to conduct the study was the analysis of the written materials, interview with professionals, and the survey of the actual situations of the U.S. textile and apparel industries. The results are summarized as follows; 1. Official U.S. textile and apparel trade policy has been quite has been quite protective since 1950's. The protective trend has been embodied in Japan Cotton Textile Export Control (reciprocal trade agreement signed by the U.S. and Japan in 1957), Short Term Arrangement Regarding International Trade in Cotton Textiles, Long Term Cotton Textile Arrangement (1962∼1973), and Multi-fiber Arrangement (1974∼). Other governmental programs designed to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. textile and apparel industries include Long-term Textile and Apparel Products Export-expansion Program, and 807 Trade to take labor cost advantage. 2. Along with the quite protective governmental trade policy, the corporate responses have been made such as new sourcing mixes, investment in technology, specialization in the textile and apparel industries, and recent strategies pursued by retailer's. The apparel industry was subject to pressure from imports that increased at moderate levels, and the U.S. textile and apparel industries have made extensive efforts to adjust to the increasing competition from abroad. The textile and apparel industries have taken steps to increase labor productivity through automation, to speed management to create and introduce new products and new methods, and have lowered indirect overhead costs. Several industrywide promotion campaigns have attempted to establish a greater public awareness of international competition and to develop a preference for apparel produced in the United States. 3. Regarding these response of the U.S. and other situations of world textile and apparel trade market, much of the sense of crisis that pervades Korean textile and apparel industries has to do with the problem of adjusting government and corporate policy. Textile and apparel industry of Korea faces on going pressure to reduce costs, improve quality, increase service, develop new markets, diversify, and differentiate itself from its foreign competitors. The strategies that have been adopted in the past have generally worked in the past, but the time has come to adopt strategies that reflect present conditions. If this is not done, then we stand to lose large segments of these industries, which once lost will not easily be regenerated.

  • PDF

A Development of SCM Model in Chemical Industry Including Batch Mode Operations (회분식 공정이 포함된 화학산업에서의 공급사슬 관리 모델 개발)

  • Park, Jeung Min;Ha, Jin-Kuk;Lee, Euy Soo
    • Korean Chemical Engineering Research
    • /
    • v.46 no.2
    • /
    • pp.316-329
    • /
    • 2008
  • Recently the increased attention pays on the processing of multiple, relatively low quantity, high value-added products resulted in adoption of batch process in the chemical process industry such as pharmaceuticals, polymers, bio-chemicals and foods. As there are more possibilities of the improvement of operations in batch process than continuous processes, a lot of effort has been made to enhance the productivity and operability of batch processes. But the chemical process industry faces a range of uncertainties factors such as demands for products, prices of product, lead time for the supply of raw materials and in the production, and the distribution of product. And global competition has made it imperative for the process industries to manage their supply chains optimally. Supply chain management aims to integrate plants with their supplier and customers so that they can be managed as a single entity and coordinate all input/output flows (of materials, information) so that products are produced and distributed in the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time.The objective of this study is to solve the purchase, distribution, production planning and scheduling problem, which minimizes the total costs of production, inventory, and transportation under uncertainty. And development of SCM model in chemical industry including batch mode operations. Through that, the enterprise can respond to uncertainty. Also integrated process optimal planning and scheduling model for manufacturing supply chain. The result shows that, the advantage of supply chain integration are quality matters seen by customers and suppliers, order schedules, flexibility, cost reduction, and increase in sales and profits. Also, an integration of supply chain (production and distribution system) generates significant savings by trading off the costs associated with the whole, rather than minimizing supply chain costs separately.