The Early Phases of Innovation Process - Case: New Wireless E-Business Opportunities in Forest Industry

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli soveltaa innovaatioprosessiteorioita käytäntöön konteksti huomioonottaen, koska langattoman sähköisen liiketoiminnan nopeat muutokset, metsäteollisuuden erityispiirteet ja ei-kaupallisuus asettavat erityistarpeita innovoinnille. Painopiste on prosessin aikaisissa vaiheissa, koska ne ovat kriittisiä koko innovaatioprosessin menestymisen kannalta. Tähtäimenä oli löytää yrityssektorille uusia langattomia sähköisen liiketoiminnan mahdollisuuksia, jotka hyödyttävät tutkimuksessa mukanaolevaa yritystä. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin konstruktiivista tutkimusotetta ja metodeina sähköistä aivomyrskyä, tarkistuslistaa sekä GDSS- ja postikyselyä.Tutkimuksen tuloksena on esitetty innovaatioprosessin aikaiset vaiheet kirjallisuudesta, metsäteollisuuden erityispiirteet ja innovaatioprosessisovellus. Lisäksi tämä tutkimus tuotti uusia sähköisen liiketoiminnan ideoita, suoritti niille seulonnan ja kävi läpi alustavan tutkimuksen.

Maintenance process development for remote administration of network servers

Maintenance is a part of system development and it is possible to develop operation models for accomplishing maintenance tasks. These models can be applied to individual maintenance tasks, maintenance projects and version management. Beneficial operation models makes maintenance more effective and they assist in managing various changes. The purpose of this thesis was to develop a maintenance process which can be used to remote administer network servers. This consisted of defining those operation models and technical specifications which enable to set up, manage changes, maintain and monitor resources of information systems that are located in several different sites. At first in this thesis the needs of the process were determined and requirements were defined based on those needs. The meaning of processes in maintenance of information systems, maintenance workflows and challenges were studied. Then current practical problems and disadvantages of maintenance work were analyzed in order to focus the development to proper issues. Because available operation models did not cover all the recent needs, new maintenance process which fulfilled the requirements was developed.

Evaluation and implementation process for commercial elevator landing doors

Tason ovet voivat olla joko itsesuunniteltuja ja -tehtyjä, tai itse malli ja tuote voidaan ostaa myös yrityksen ulkoa. Tätä make-or-buy kysymystä pohdittaessa ilmenee monta tekijää, jotka vaikuttavat päätökseen. Jos yritys käsittää ostamisen parempana vaihtoehtona, tuote tarvitsee myösimplementointisuunnitelman. Tämän työn päätavoite oli luoda arviointi- ja implementointiprosessi kaupallisille hissin tason oville. Muut tavoitteet olivat: selvittää syyt tälle erikoiselle toiminnolle, löytää kaupallisten ovien käyttöön liittyvät edut ja haitat, sekä luoda kriteerit tason ovien arvioinnille. Lopputuloksena saatiin, että tämän prosessin suorittajan pitää sitoutua arviointi- ja implementointiprosessiin,ja että myös virtuaalitehdas tarvitaan täydentämään arviointivaihetta. Mutta tärkein havainto oli, että tulevaisuuden ovistrategia ei ole vielä täysin päätetty ja siitä syystä yrityksen omat ovimallit pitäisi testata ja verrata niitä kaupallisiin ovimalleihin käyttämällä tämän työn arviointiprosessia.

Innovation process management of complex consumer products and services in new innovation paradigm – case location based business

Innovation is the word of this decade. According to innovation definitions, without positive sales impact and meaningful market share the company’s product or service has not been an innovation. Research problem of this master thesis is to find out what is the innovation process of complex new consumer products and services in new innovation paradigm. The objective is to get answers to two research questions: 1) What are the critical success factors what company should do when it is implementing the paradigm change in mass markets consumer business with complex products and services? 2) What is the process or framework one firm could follow? The research problem is looked from one company’s innovation creation process, networking and organization change management challenges point of views. Special focus is to look the research problem from an existing company perspective which is entering new business area. Innovation process management framework of complex new consumer products and services in new innovation paradigm has been created with support of several existing innovation theories. The new process framework includes the critical innovation process elements companies should take into consideration in their daily activities when they are in their new business innovation implementing process. Case company location based business implementation activities are studied via the new innovation process framework. This case study showed how important it is to manage the process, look how the target market and the competition in it is developing during company’s own innovation process, make decisions at right time and from beginning plan and implement the organization change management as one activity in the innovation process. In the end this master thesis showed that all companies need to create their own innovation process master plan with milestones and activities. One plan does not fit all, but all companies can start their planning from the new innovation process what was introduced in this master thesis.

Business Process Reengineering - Liiketoimintaprosessin uudistaminen Helsingin ja Uudenmaan sairaanhoitopiirin laboratorioliikelaitoksessa

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää laboratoriotutkimuksien liiketoimintaprosessin uudistamisen hyödyt ja haitat Helsingin ja Uudenmaan sairaanhoitopiirin laboratorioliikelaitokselle. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään myös, kannattaako HUSLAB:n uudistaa nykyistä laboratoriotutkimuksien liiketoimintaprosessiaan sekä mitkä ovat liiketoimintaprosessin uudistamisen vaikutukset HUSLAB:lle. Tutkimuksessa mallinnetaan laboratoriotutkimuksien nykyinen liiketoimintaprosessi, jonka pohjalta muodostetaan kuvaus uudistettavasta prosessista. Prosessien välisiä eroja tutkitaan tarkemmin HUSLAB:n yhdessä toimipisteessä. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään, kuinka toimipisteen kustannusrakenne ja toimintamalli muuttuisivat prosessin uudistamisen myötä. Tutkimuksen empiiristen tulosten mukaan HUSLAB:n ei kannata uudistaa laboratoriotutkimuksien liiketoimintaprosessiaan tutkimuksessa kuvatulla tavalla. Liiketoimintaprosessin uudistaminen osoittautui kannattamattomaksi, koska uudistamisen haitat muodostuivat hyötyjä suuremmiksi. Vaikka BPR:ää ei kannatta toteuttaa tutkimuksessa esitetyllä tavalla, voi BPR kuitenkin olla tulevaisuudessa varteenotettava vaihtoehto HUSLAB:n toimintaa muutettaessa.

Regenerated cellulose ultrafiltration membranes in the treatment of pulp and paper mill process waters

Ultrafiltration (UF) is widely applied in different separation processes in the pulp and paper industry. The growing need to protect the environment, a lack of pure water and an interest in producing high-value chemicals from compounds present in process waters will probably lead to an increase in the use of UF in the pulp and paper industry. The efficiency and cost-effectiveness of a UF process depends on the applied membrane. The membrane should have a high and stable filtration capacity, a particular selectivity and a long operational lifetime. To meet these requirements a membrane should have a low fouling tendency. In addition, it should withstand the prevailing operational and chemical conditions. This thesis evaluates the performance and applicability of the regenerated cellulose (RC) membranes 00030T and C2 in the treatment of pulp and paper mill process waters based on the requirements above. The results demonstrated that both the tested RC membranes fulfilled well the requirement of high filtration capacity. In addition, in the filtration of a paper mill clear filtrate (CF) the RC membranes were not as greatly affected by variations in the CF quality as a polysulphone membrane. Furthermore, due to their extreme hydrophilicity and weak charge the fouling tendency of the membranes can be expected to be low in pulp and paper mill filtration applications. It is, however, known that fouling cannot be totally avoided even when the membrane is chosen very carefully. This study indicated that carbohydrates influenced negatively on permeability and caused fouling in the filtration of groundwood mill circulation water. Thus, a pre-treatment effectively reducing the amount of carbohydrates might help to maintain a stable capacity. However, the results of the thesis also showed that the removal of some of the possible foulants might just increase the harmful effect of others. Multivariate examination was useful in the understanding of the complicated factors causing the unstable capacity. The thesis also revealed that the 00030T and C2 membranes can be used at high pressure (max. tested pressure 12 bar). The C2 membrane, having a sponge-like substructure, was more pressure resistant, and its performance was more stable at high pressure compared to the UCO30T membrane containing macrovoids in its substructure. Both tested membranes can, according to the results, also be used at temperatures as high as 70°C in acidic, neutral and alkaline conditions. However, the use at extreme conditions might cause faster ageing of the membranes compared to ageing in neutral conditions. The thesis proved that both the tested RC membranes are very suitable for pulp and paper mill applications and that the membranes can be utilised in processes operating in challenging conditions. Thus, they could be used in more demanding applications than supposed earlier.

Facilitating coordination improvement efforts in cross-functional process development programs

Business process improvement is a common approach in increasing the effectiveness of an organization. It can be seen as an effort to increase coordination between units. Process improvement has proved to be challenging, and most management consultation firms facilitate organizations in this kind of initiatives. Cross-functional improvement is one of the main areas for internal consultants as well. However, the needs, challenges and means of cross-functional help have been rarely discussed in the literature. The objective of this thesis is on one hand to present a conceptual and descriptive framework to help understand the challenges of facilitating coordination improvement efforts in cross-functional improvement programs, and on the other hand to develop and test feasible solutions for some facilitation situations. The research questions are: 1. Why and in what kind of situations do organizations need help in developing coordination in cross-functional processes? 2. How can a facilitator help organizations in improving coordination to develop cross-functional processes? The study consists of two parts. The first part is an overview of the dissertation, and the second part comprises six research publications. The theoretical background for the study are the differentiation causing challenges in cross-functional settings, the coordination needed to improve processes, change management principles, methods and tools, and consultation practises. Three of the publications introduce tools for helping in developing prerequisites, planning responsibilities and supporting learning during the cross-functional program. The three other papers present frameworks to help understand and analyse the improvement situation. The main methodological approaches used in this study are design science research, action research and case research. The research data has been collected from ten cases representing different kinds of organizations, processes and developing situations. The data has been collected mainly by observation, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The research contributes to the rare literature combining coordination theories and process improvement practises. It also provides additional understanding of a holistic point of view in process improvement situations. The most important contribution is the addition to the theories of facilitating change in process improvement situations. From the managerial point of view, this study gives advice to managers and consultants in planning and executing cross-functional programs. The main factors increasing the need for facilitation are the challenges for differentiation, challenges of organizational change in general, and the novelty of initiatives and improvement practices concerning process development. Organizations need help in creating the prerequisites to change, in planning initiatives, easing conflict management and collaboration between groups, as well as supporting the learning of cross-functional improvement. The main challenges of facilitation are combining the different roles as a consultant, maintaining the ownership for the improvement project with the client, and supporting learning in the client organization.

Process intensification: From optimised flow patterns to microprocess technology

This thesis is focused on process intensification. Several significant problems and applications of this theme are covered. Process intensification is nowadays one of the most popular trends in chemical engineering and attempts have been made to develop a general, systematic methodology for intensification. This seems, however, to be very difficult, because intensified processes are often based on creativity and novel ideas. Monolith reactors and microreactors are successful examples of process intensification. They are usually multichannel devices in which a proper feed technique is important for creating even fluid distribution into the channels. Two different feed techniques were tested for monoliths. In the first technique a shower method was implemented by means of perforated plates. The second technique was a dispersion method using static mixers. Both techniques offered stable operation and uniform fluid distribution. The dispersion method enabled a wider operational range in terms of liquid superficial velocity. Using dispersion method, a volumetric gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient of 2 s-1 was reached. Flow patterns play a significant role in terms of the mixing performance of micromixers. Although the geometry of a T-mixer is simple, channel configurations and dimensions had a clear effect on mixing efficiency. The flow in the microchannel was laminar, but the formation of vortices promoted mixing in micro T-mixers. The generation of vortices was dependent on the channel dimensions, configurations and flow rate. Microreactors offer a high ratio of surface area to volume. Surface forces and interactions between fluids and surfaces are, therefore, often dominant factors. In certain cases, the interactions can be effectively utilised. Different wetting properties of solid materials (PTFE and stainless steel) were applied in the separation of immiscible liquid phases. A micro-scale plate coalescer with hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces was used for the continuous separation of organic and aqueous phases. Complete phase separation occurred in less than 20 seconds, whereas the separation time by settling exceeded 30 min. Fluid flows can be also intensified in suitable conditions. By adding certain additives into turbulent fluid flow, it was possible to reduce friction (drag) by 40 %. Drag reduction decreases frictional pressure drop in pipelines which leads to remarkable energy savings and decreases the size or number of pumping facilities required, e.g., in oil transport pipes. Process intensification enables operation often under more optimal conditions. The consequent cost savings from reduced use of raw materials and reduced waste lead to greater economic benefits in processing.

Small scale waste management. Composting project in selected schools in Mwanza, Tanzania

No 2/2008, sivu 8.

Development of tender information process by business intelligence in a global company unit

The purpose of this Thesis was to study what is the present situation of Business Intelligence of the company unit. This means how efficiently unit uses possibilities of modern information management systems. The aim was to resolve how operative informa-tion management of unit’s tender process could be improved by modern information technology applications. This makes it possible that tender processes could be faster and more efficiency. At the beginning it was essential to acquaint oneself with written literature of Business Intelligence. Based on Business Intelligence theory is was relatively easy but challenging to search and discern how tender business could be improved by methods of Busi-ness Intelligence. The empirical phase of this study was executed as qualitative research method. This phase includes theme and natural interviews on the company. Problems and challenges of tender process were clarified in a part an empirical phase. Group of challenges were founded when studying information management of company unit. Based on theory and interviews, group of improvements were listed which company could possible do in the future when developing its operative processes.

Offering planning process development: Bridging the Offering Gaps and Consolidating Top Priority Needs in Product Offering

The aim of this Thesis is to study how to manage the front-end of the offering planning process. This includes actual process development and methods to gather and analyze information to achieve the best outcome in customer oriented product offering. Study is carried out in two parts: theoretical part and company related part. Theoretical framework is created introducing different types of approaches to manage product planning processes. Products are seen as platforms and they are broken down to subsystems to show different parts of the development. With the help of the matrix-based approaches product platform related information is gathered and analyzed. In this kind of analysis business/market drivers and cus-tomer/competitor information are connected with product subsystems. This gives possibilities to study product gaps/needs and possible future ideas/scenarios in different customer segments. Company related part consists of offering planning process development in real company environment. Process formation includes documents and tools that guide planning from the information gathering to the prioritization and decision making.

Supplier Evaluation Using Analytical Hierarchy Process

The goal of the thesis is to make a supplier evaluation using analytical hierarchy process. Before the supplier evaluation is performed there will be introduced the principles of purchasing which gives a viewpoint to the supplier evaluation and management. The thesis will also give an overview on quality, performance and forecasts which are very important to the supplier evaluation and future improvements. The chapter which describes analytical hierarchy process will show the reader what exactly is analytical hierarchy process and how can it be utilized in supplier evaluation. In the later stages, thesis will provide information about the case company EADS Secure Networks Oy, the processes applied there towards purchasing and how the analytical hierarchy process is applied in practise. In the end of the thesis there will be an overview about each supplier’s strong and weak points as well as some comments and ideas about developing also EADS Secure Networks procedures to a direction which would benefit the whole customer–supplier–chain.

Integration of a Bioethanol Process to a Pulp Mill

Tässä diplomityössä tutkittiin puuhakkeen esihydrolyysi- ja hakkuujätteen hydrolyysiprosessien integroimista sellutehtaaseen bioetanolin tuottamiseksi. Tällaisesta ns. biojalostamosta luotiin WinGEMS-simulointiohjelmalla simulointimalli, jonka avulla tutkittiin bioetanoliprosessin vaikutusta sellutehtaan massa- ja energiataseisiin sekä alustavaa biojalostamon kannattavuutta. Simuloinnissa tarkasteltiin kolmea eri tapausta, joissa mäntysellun tuotannon ajateltiin olevan 1000 tonnia päivässä ja hakkuujätettä käytettävän 10 % tarvittavan kuitupuun määrästä: 1) Puuhakkeen esihydrolyysi ja hakkuujätteen hydrolyysi etanolin tuottamiseksi 2) Puuhakkeen esihydrolyysi, hakkuujäte kuorikattilaan poltettavaksi 3) Ei esihydrolyysiä, hakkuujäte kuorikattilaan poltettavaksi Verrattuna tapaukseen 3, puun kulutus kasvaa 16 % esihydrolysoitaessa puuhake ennen keittoa tapauksissa 1 ja 2. Kasvaneella puun kulutuksella tuotetaan tapauksessa 1 149 tonnia etanolia ja 240 MWh enemmän ylimääräsähköä päivässä. Tapauksessa 2 tuotetaan 68 tonnia etanolia ja 460 MWh enemmän ylimääräsähköä päivässä. Tämä tuottaisi vuotuista lisäkassavirtaa 18,8 miljoonaa euroa tapauksessa 1 ja 9,4 miljoonaa euroa tapauksessa 2. Hydrolyysin tuoteliuoksen, hydrolysaatin, haihduttaminen sekä hydrolyysiprosessien orgaanisten jäännöstuotteiden haihduttaminen ja polttaminen kasvattavat haihduttamon ja soodakattilan kuormitusta. Verrattuna tapaukseen 3, tapauksissa 1 ja 2 haihduttamon vaiheiden määrä on kasvatettava viidestä seitsemään ja tarvittavat lämmönsiirtopinta-alat lähes kaksinkertaistettava. Soodakattilan kuormitus kasvaa 39 % tapauksessa 1 ja 26 % tapauksessa 2.