Developing an Improved System for Allocating Support Unit Costs to Business Units

The objective of this study is to develop an improved support unit cost allocation system for a medium-sized technology company, and to examine which options for overhead cost accounting exist. The study begins with presenting the terminology and methods associated with overhead cost accounting and responsibility accounting. Also the most common challenges and resulting benefits of overhead cost allocation system development are brought up. As one research method two case studies were conducted for benchmarking purposes. These external cases are compared with the principal company’s cost allocation system and reflected against the theoretical background. In the empirical section interviews were used as the primary source of information alongside self studying principal company’s old cost allocation method. Interviews revealed the main weaknesses of the old system and proposals for a new one, which were utilized in setting targets for developing the new system. As a result of the development process an improved support unit cost allocation system was realized for year 2009. The new system is able to handle support unit costs in more detail enhancing the transparency and fairness of resulting cost allocations. Parts of support unit costs are now seen as business units’ own costs rather than group-level overhead. Also recommendations for further development are made after analyzing how well the targets were reached.

Tuotannonohjauksen kehittäminen piensarjatuotannossa

Tämä diplomityö käsittelee teollisen yrityksen tuotannonohjauksen kehittämistä piensarjatuotannossa. Työn kohteena on ABB Oy:n Tuulivoimageneraattorit-tulosyksikkö, joka valmistaa vakiotuotteita asiakasohjautuvasti. Työssä esitellään aluksi tuotannon ja tuotannonohjauksen teoriaa. Lävitse käydään perusasioiden kuten määritelmien, tavoitteiden ja tehtävien lisäksi tuotannonohjausprosessia sekä tuotannonohjauksen tietotekniikkaa. Teorian jälkeisessä empiriaosuudessa esitellään työssä kehitettyjä keinoja tuotannonohjauksen parantamiseksi. Tutkimus on toteutettu teoreettisen ja empiirisen tutkimustyön avulla. Teoreettiseen tutkimustyöhön sisältyi suomalaisiin ja ulkomaalaisiin kirjallisuuslähteisiin perehtyminen. Empiirinen tutkimustyö suoritettiin itsenäisen ongelman ratkaisutyön avulla. Tämä sisälsi kehittämiskohteiden analysoinnin, tarkempien kehittämistarpeiden määrityksen sekä kokeilujen kautta tapahtuneen kehittämistyön. Tutkimuksen päätavoitteena oli selvittää, miten tuotannonohjauksen kehittämisellä voidaan parantaa kohteena olevan tulosyksikön tuottavuutta ja kannattavuutta. Päätavoitteen pohjalta muodostettiin kuusi osatavoitetta: toimitusvarmuuden parantaminen, kapasiteetin kuormitusasteen nostaminen, kapasiteetin suunnittelun kehittäminen, läpäisyaikojen lyhentäminen, uuden ERP-järjestelmän vaatimusmäärittely sekä tuotannonohjausprosessin määrittäminen. Työssä rakennettiin neljään ensiksi mainittuun osatavoitteeseen tietotekniset sovellukset, jotka mahdollistavat osatavoitteiden suunnittelun ja ohjaamisen. Sovelluksia varten kullekin tuotteelle määriteltiin esimerkiksi työnvaiheketjut läpäisyaikoineen, kuormitusryhmät, kuormitusryhmien kapasiteetit, tuotteiden kuormittavuudet sekä kriittiset työvälineet. Työ osoitti, että tietotekniikka auttaa suuresti tuotannonohjauksessa. Lisääntynyt läpinäkyvyys, parantunut tiedonkulku, simulointimahdollisuudet sekä graafinen esitystapa helpottavat erilaisten suunnitelmien teossa ja parantavat siten päätöksenteon laatua. Tietotekniikan hyväksikäytön pohjana toimii tuotannon perus- ja tapahtumatietojen kurinalainen päivitys. Tämän vuoksi tietojärjestelmistä kannattaa rakentaa mahdollisimman yksinkertaisia.

Welding of Sheet metal using Modified short arc MIG/MAG welding process

In this research work, the results of an investigation dealing with welding of sheet metals with diverse air gap using FastROOT modified short arc welding method and short circuit MAG welding processes have been presented. Welding runs were made under different conditions and, during each run, the different process parameters were continuously monitored. It was found that maximum welding speed and less HAZ are reached under specific welding conditions with FastROOT method with the emphasis on arc stability. Welding results show that modified short arc exhibits a higher electrode melting coefficient and with virtually spatter free droplet transition. By adjusting the short circuit duration the penetration can be controlled with only a small change in electrode deposition. Furthermore, by mixing pulsed MIG welding with modified arc welding the working envelope of the process is greatly extended allowing thicker material sections to be welded with improved weld bead aesthetics. FastROOT is a modified short arc welding process using mechanized or automated welding process based on dip transfer welding, characterized by controlled material deposition during the short circuit of the wire electrode to the workpiece.

Development of IT Service Management in a Large International Company

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to examine the IT Service Management (ITSM) capabilities of a large international company and develop a design for the IT Service Management of the company. The thesis consists of two parts: a literature review and a case study. The first part is the literature review. It examines different aspects of IT Service Management. The purpose of the literature review is to increase the credibility of the case study. In the case study, the IT Service Management of a large industrial company is assessed, and an improved design for IT Service Management is created. The services are limited to common IT services, and management is limited to operative management. To assess and develop the case company’s IT Service Management, the IT organization and its ITSM capabilities are analyzed, and on the basis of the analyses, an improved IT Service Management model is created. As a result of the analyses, it was found out that the management of the IT organization is function-oriented. Therefore, the organization needs a management model that breaks the functional borders and brings services to the center of management. The designed model aspires to achieve this by defining IT services and modeling management processes from the service perspective.

Water circulations for effective bleaching of high-brightness mechanical pulps

The amount of water available is usually restricted, which leads to a situation where a complete understanding of the process, including water circulations and the influence of water components, is essential. The main aim of this thesis was to clarify the possibilities for the efficient use of residual peroxide by means of water circulation rearrangements. Rearranging water circulations and the reduction of water usage may cause new problems, such as metal induced peroxide decomposition that needs to be addressed. This thesis introduces theoretical methods of water circulations to combine two variables; effective utilization of residual peroxide and avoiding manganese in the alkaline peroxide bleaching stage. Results are mainly based on laboratory and mill site experiments concerning the utilization of residual peroxide. A simulation model (BALAS) was used to evaluate the manganese contents and residual peroxide doses. It was shown that with optimum recirculation of residual peroxide the brightness can be improved or chemical costs can be decreased. From the scientific perspective, it was also very important to discover that recycled peroxide was more effective pre-bleaching agent compared to fresh peroxide. This can be due to the organic acids i.e. per acetic acid in wash press filtrate that have been formed in alkaline bleaching stage. Even short retention time was adequate and the activation of residual peroxide using sodium hydroxide was not necessary. There are several possibilities for using residual peroxide in practice regarding bleaching. A typical modern mechanical pulping process line consist of defibering, screening, a disc filter, a bleach press, high consistency (HC) peroxide bleaching and a wash press. Furthermore there usually is not a particular medium consistency (MC) pre-bleaching stage that includes additional thickening equipment. The most advisable way to utilize residual peroxide in this kind of process is to recycle the wash press filtrate to the dilution of disc filter pulp (low MC pre-bleaching stage). An arrangement such as this would be beneficial in terms of the reduced convection of manganese to the alkaline bleaching stage. Manganese originates from wood material and will be removed to the water phase already in the early stages of the process. Recycling residual peroxide prior to the disc filter is not recommended because of low consistencies. Regarding water circulations, the novel point of view is that, it would be beneficial to divide water circulations into two sections and the critical location for the division is the disc filter. Both of these two sections have their own priority. Section one before the disc filter: manganese removal. Section two after the disc filter: brightening of pulp. This division can be carried out if the disc filter pulp is diluted only by wash press filtrate before the MC storage tower. The situation is even better if there is an additional press after the disc filter, which will improve the consistency of the pulp. This has a significant effect on the peroxide concentration in the MC pre-bleaching stage. In terms of manganese content, it is essential to avoid the use of disc filter filtrate in the bleach press and wash press showers. An additional cut-off press would also be beneficial for manganese removal. As a combination of higher initial brightness and lower manganese content, the typical brightness increase varies between approximately 0.5 and 1% ISO units after the alkaline peroxide bleaching stage. This improvement does not seem to be remarkable, but as it is generally known, the final brightness unit is the most expensive and difficult to achieve. The estimation of cost savings is not unambiguous. For example in GW/TMP mill case 0.6% ISO units higher final brightness gave 10% savings in the costs of bleaching chemicals. With an hypothetical 200 000 ton annual production, this means that the mill could save in the costs of bleaching chemicals more than 400 000 euros per year. In general, it can be said that there were no differences between the behavior of different types of processes (GW, PGW, TMP and BCTMP). The enhancement of recycling gave a similar response in all cases. However, we have to remember that the utilization of residual peroxide in older mills depends a great deal on the process equipment, the amount of water available and existing pipeline connections. In summary, it can be said that processes are individual and the same solutions cannot be applied to all cases.

Teollisuusvaihteen kokoonpanoprosessin laadun parantaminen

Paperikoneen telalle integroitujen mekaanisten käyttölaitteiden valmistuksen siirtoprojektin yhteydessä on raportoitu huomattavan paljon valmistuksen aikaisia poikkeamia. Poikkeamien juurisyyn hahmottamiseksi tehtiin kvantitatiivinen analyysi raportoiduista poikkeamista ja kvalitatiivinen analyysi kokoonpanon nykytilasta. Kokoonpanotyöstä suuri osa on tällä hetkellä arvoa jalostamatonta työtä. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin valmistusprosessissa kaikkia kokoonpanon poikkeamien perustyyppejä ja näitä poikkeamia olivat aiheuttaneet kaikki mahdolliset aiheuttajat. Etenkin hankittavien osien laatua tulisi käsitellä poikkeamien aiheuttamien kokonaiskustannusten kautta. Kokoonpanon tarvitsema tieto on olemassa täsmällisessä muodossa, mutta sen luoksepäästävyys on huono. Prosessin kuvauksella, hiljaisen tiedon kirjaamisella ja täsmällisen tiedon julkistamisella voidaan parantaa tuotannon laatua tuotetuntemuksen parantuessa. Käyttökohteen tunteminen parantaa vaatimusten ymmärtämistä. Tutkimuksessa havaittujen poikkeamien analysoinnin perusteella erityistä huomiota tulisi kiinnittää tarkastusvaiheiden olemassa oloon, sijoitukseen ja niiden laatuun. Suuri osa poikkeamista oli edennyt kokoonpanoon jonkin tarkastusvaiheen läpi. Tarkastusvaiheiden laatutason tulee parantua, jotta moninkertaisesta tarkastuksesta voidaan luopua.

Challenges and Means for the Front End Activities of Software Development

The front end of innovation is regarded as one of the most important steps in building new software products or services, and the most significant benefits in software development can be achieved through improvements in the front end activities. Problems in the front end phase have an impact on customer dissatisfaction with delivered software, and on the effectiveness of the entire software development process. When these processes are improved, the likelihood of delivering high quality software and business success increases. This thesis highlights the challenges and problems related to the early phases of software development, and provides new methods and tools for improving performance in the front end activities of software development. The theoretical framework of this study comprises two fields of research. The first section belongs to the field of innovation management, and especially to the management of the early phases of the innovation process, i.e. the front end of innovation. The second section of the framework is closely linked to the processes of software engineering, especially to the early phases of the software development process, i.e. the practice of requirements engineering. Thus, this study extends the theoretical knowledge and discloses the differences and similarities in these two fields of research. In addition, this study opens up a new strand for academic discussion by connecting these research directions. Several qualitative business research methodologies have been utilized in the individual publications to solve the research questions. The theoretical and managerial contribution of the study can be divided into three areas: 1) processes and concepts, 2) challenges and development needs, and 3) means and methods for the front end activities of software development. First, the study discloses the difference and similarities between the concepts of the front end of innovation and requirements engineering, and proposes a new framework for managing the front end of the software innovation process, bringing business and innovation perspectives into software development. Furthermore, the study discloses managerial perceptions of the similarities and differences in the concept of the front end of innovation between the software industry and the traditional industrial sector. Second, the study highlights the challenges and development needs in the front end phase of software development, especially challenges in communication, such as linguistic problems, ineffective communication channels, a communication gap between users/customers and software developers, and participation of multiple persons in software development. Third, the study proposes new group methods for improving the front end activities of software development, especially customer need assessment, and the elicitation of software requirements.

Interleukin-4 induced leukocyte differentiation

Monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) are important mediators of innate immune system, whereas T lymphocytes are the effector cells of adaptive immune responses. DCs play a crucial role in bridging innate and adaptive immunity. Naïve CD4+ Th progenitors (Thp) differentiate to functionally distinct effector T cell subsets including Th1, Th2 and Th17 cells, which while being responsible for specific immune functions have also been implicated in pathological responses, such as autoimmunity, asthma and allergy. The main objective of this thesis is to dissect the signalling networks involved in the IL-4 induced differentiation of two important leukocyte subtypes, Th2 cells and DCs. Gene expression profiling lead to identification of over 200 genes which are differentially expressed during cytokine induced differentiation of human monocytes to DCs or macrophages and which are likely to be essential for the proper biological functions of these cell types. Transcriptome analysis demonstrated the dynamic regulation of gene expression by IL-12 and IL-4 during the initiation of Th cell differentiation, which was partly counteracted by an immunosuppressive cytokine, TGFβ, present in the culture media. Results from RNAi mediated gene knockdown experiments and global gene expression analysis elucidated that SATB1 regulates multiple genes important for Th cell polarization or function as well as may compete with GATA3 for the reciprocal regulation of IL-5 transcription. In conclusion, the results obtained have extended our system-level understanding of the immune cell differentiation processes and provide an excellent basis for the further functional studies which could lead to development of improved therapeutic approaches for a range of immunological conditions.

Wet oxidation of recalcitrant lignin waters: Experimental and kinetic studies

The dissertation is based on four articles dealing with recalcitrant lignin water purification. Lignin, a complicated substance and recalcitrant to most treatment technologies, inhibits seriously pulp and paper industry waste management. Therefore, lignin is studied, using WO as a process method for its degradation. A special attention is paid to the improvement in biodegradability and the reduction of lignin content, since they have special importance for any following biological treatment. In most cases wet oxidation is not used as a complete ' mineralization method but as a pre treatment in order to eliminate toxic components and to reduce the high level of organics produced. The combination of wet oxidation with a biological treatment can be a good option due to its effectiveness and its relatively low technology cost. The literature part gives an overview of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). A hot oxidation process, wet oxidation (WO), is investigated in detail and is the AOP process used in the research. The background and main principles of wet oxidation, its industrial applications, the combination of wet oxidation with other water treatment technologies, principal reactions in WO, and key aspects of modelling and reaction kinetics are presented. There is also given a wood composition and lignin characterization (chemical composition, structure and origin), lignin containing waters, lignin degradation and reuse possibilities, and purification practices for lignin containing waters. The aim of the research was to investigate the effect of the operating conditions of WO, such as temperature, partial pressure of oxygen, pH and initial concentration of wastewater, on the efficiency, and to enhance the process and estimate optimal conditions for WO of recalcitrant lignin waters. Two different waters are studied (a lignin water model solution and debarking water from paper industry) to give as appropriate conditions as possible. Due to the great importance of re using and minimizing the residues of industries, further research is carried out using residual ash of an Estonian power plant as a catalyst in wet oxidation of lignin-containing water. Developing a kinetic model that includes in the prediction such parameters as TOC gives the opportunity to estimate the amount of emerging inorganic substances (degradation rate of waste) and not only the decrease of COD and BOD. The degradation target compound, lignin is included into the model through its COD value (CODligning). Such a kinetic model can be valuable in developing WO treatment processes for lignin containing waters, or other wastewaters containing one or more target compounds. In the first article, wet oxidation of "pure" lignin water was investigated as a model case with the aim of degrading lignin and enhancing water biodegradability. The experiments were performed at various temperatures (110 -190°C), partial oxygen pressures (0.5 -1.5 MPa) and pH (5, 9 and 12). The experiments showed that increasing the temperature notably improved the processes efficiency. 75% lignin reduction was detected at the lowest temperature tested and lignin removal improved to 100% at 190°C. The effect of temperature on the COD removal rate was lower, but clearly detectable. 53% of organics were oxidized at 190°C. The effect of pH occurred mostly on lignin removal. Increasing the pH enhanced the lignin removal efficiency from 60% to nearly 100%. A good biodegradability ratio (over 0.5) was generally achieved. The aim of the second article was to develop a mathematical model for "pure" lignin wet oxidation using lumped characteristics of water (COD, BOD, TOC) and lignin concentration. The model agreed well with the experimental data (R2 = 0.93 at pH 5 and 12) and concentration changes during wet oxidation followed adequately the experimental results. The model also showed correctly the trend of biodegradability (BOD/COD) changes. In the third article, the purpose of the research was to estimate optimal conditions for wet oxidation (WO) of debarking water from the paper industry. The WO experiments were' performed at various temperatures, partial oxygen pressures and pH. The experiments showed that lignin degradation and organics removal are affected remarkably by temperature and pH. 78-97% lignin reduction was detected at different WO conditions. Initial pH 12 caused faster removal of tannins/lignin content; but initial pH 5 was more effective for removal of total organics, represented by COD and TOC. Most of the decrease in organic substances concentrations occurred in the first 60 minutes. The aim of the fourth article was to compare the behaviour of two reaction kinetic models, based on experiments of wet oxidation of industrial debarking water under different conditions. The simpler model took into account only the changes in COD, BOD and TOC; the advanced model was similar to the model used in the second article. Comparing the results of the models, the second model was found to be more suitable for describing the kinetics of wet oxidation of debarking water. The significance of the reactions involved was compared on the basis of the model: for instance, lignin degraded first to other chemically oxidizable compounds rather than directly to biodegradable products. Catalytic wet oxidation of lignin containing waters is briefly presented at the end of the dissertation. Two completely different catalysts were used: a commercial Pt catalyst and waste power plant ash. CWO showed good performance using 1 g/L of residual ash gave lignin removal of 86% and COD removal of 39% at 150°C (a lower temperature and pressure than with WO). It was noted that the ash catalyst caused a remarkable removal rate for lignin degradation already during the pre heating for `zero' time, 58% of lignin was degraded. In general, wet oxidation is not recommended for use as a complete mineralization method, but as a pre treatment phase to eliminate toxic or difficultly biodegradable components and to reduce the high level of organics. Biological treatment is an appropriate post treatment method since easily biodegradable organic matter remains after the WO process. The combination of wet oxidation with subsequent biological treatment can be an effective option for the treatment of lignin containing waters.