Philosophy, theory, and practice of green operations management

This paper proposes a more profound discussion of the philosophical underpins of sustainability than currently exists in the MOT literature and considers their influence on the construction of the theories on green operations and technology management. Ultimately, it also debates the link between theory and practice on this subject area. The paper is derived from insights gained in three research projects completed during the past twelve years, primarily involving the first author. From 2000 to 2002, an investigation using scenario analysis, aimed at reducing atmospheric pollution in urban centres by substituting natural gas for petrol and diesel, provided the first set of insights about public policy, environmental impacts, investment analysis, and technological feasibility. The second research project, from 2003 to 2005, using a survey questionnaire, was aimed at improving environmental performance in livestock farming and explored the issues of green supply chain scope, environmental strategy and priorities. Finally, the third project, from 2006 to 2011, investigated environmental decisions in manufacturing organisations through case study research and examined the underlying sustainability drivers and decision-making processes. By integrating the findings and conclusions from these projects, the link between philosophy, theory, and practice of green operations and technology management is debated. The findings from all these studies show that the philosophical debate seems to have little influence on theory building so far. For instance, although ‘sustainable development’ emphasises ‘meeting the needs of current and future generation’, no theory links essentiality and environmental impacts. Likewise, there is a weak link between theory and the practical issues of green operations and technology management. For example, the well-known ‘life-cycle analysis’ has little application in many cases because the life cycle of products these days is dispersed within global production and consumption systems and there are different stakeholders for each life cycle stage. The results from this paper are relevant to public policy making and corporate environmental strategy and decision making. Most of the past and current studies in the subject of green operations and sustainability management deal with only a single sustainability dimension at any one time. Here the value and originality of this paper lies in its integration between philosophy, theory, and practice of green technology and operations management.

Effects of engine cooling water temperature on performance and exhaust emission characteristics of a multi-cylinder CI engine operated with Jatropha-Butanol blend

Renewable alternatives such as biofuels and optimisation of the engine operating parameters can enhance engine performance and reduce emissions. The temperature of the engine coolant is known to have significant influence on engine performance and emissions. Whereas much existing literature describes the effects of coolant temperature in engines using fossil derived fuels, very few studies have investigated these effects when biofuel is used as an alternative fuel. Jatropha oil is a non-edible biofuel which can substitute fossil diesel for compression ignition (CI) engine use. However, due to the high viscosity of Jatropha oil, technique such as transesterification, preheating the oil, mixing with other fuel is recommended for improved combustion and reduced emissions. In this study, Jatropha oil was blended separately with ethanol and butanol, at ratios of 80:20 and 70:30. The fuel properties of all four blends were measured and compared with diesel and jatropha oil. It was found that the 80% jatropha oil + 20% butanol blend was the most suitable alternative, as its properties were closest to that of diesel. A 2 cylinder Yanmar engine was used; the cooling water temperature was varied between 50°C and 95°C. In general, it was found that when the temperature of the cooling water was increased, the combustion process enhanced for both diesel and Jatropha-Butanol blend. The CO2 emissions for both diesel and biofuel blend were observed to increase with temperature. As a result CO, O2 and lambda values were observed to decrease when cooling water temperature increased. When the engine was operated using diesel, NOX emissions correlated in an opposite manner to smoke opacity; however, when the biofuel blend was used, NOX emissions and smoke opacity correlated in an identical manner. The brake thermal efficiencies were found to increase slightly as the temperature was increased. In contrast, for all fuels, the volumetric efficiency was observed to decrease as the coolant temperature was increased. Brake specific fuel consumption was observed to decrease as the temperature was increased and was higher on average when the biofuel was used, in comparison to diesel. The study concludes that the effects of engine coolant temperature on engine performance and emission characteristics differ between biofuel blend and fossil diesel operation. The coolant temperature needs to be optimised depending on the type of biofuel for optimum engine performance and reduced emissions.

Data envelopment analysis model for the appraisal and relative performance evaluation of nurses at an intensive care unit

The appraisal and relative performance evaluation of nurses are very important and beneficial for both nurses and employers in an era of clinical governance, increased accountability and high standards of health care services. They enhance and consolidate the knowledge and practical skills of nurses by identification of training and career development plans as well as improvement in health care quality services, increase in job satisfaction and use of cost-effective resources. In this paper, a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is proposed for the appraisal and relative performance evaluation of nurses. The model is validated on thirty-two nurses working at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at one of the most recognized hospitals in Lebanon. The DEA was able to classify nurses into efficient and inefficient ones. The set of efficient nurses was used to establish an internal best practice benchmark to project career development plans for improving the performance of other inefficient nurses. The DEA result confirmed the ranking of some nurses and highlighted injustice in other cases that were produced by the currently practiced appraisal system. Further, the DEA model is shown to be an effective talent management and motivational tool as it can provide clear managerial plans related to promoting, training and development activities from the perspective of nurses, hence increasing their satisfaction, motivation and acceptance of appraisal results. Due to such features, the model is currently being considered for implementation at ICU. Finally, the ratio of the number DEA units to the number of input/output measures is revisited with new suggested values on its upper and lower limits depending on the type of DEA models and the desired number of efficient units from a managerial perspective.

A micro industry with closed energy and water cycles for sustainable rural development

Sustainable development requires combining economic viability with energy and environment conservation and ensuring social benefits. It is conceptualized that for designing a micro industry for sustainable rural industrialization, all these aspects should be integrated right up front. The concept includes; (a) utilization of local produce for value addition in a cluster of villages and enhancing income of the target population; (b) use of renewable energy and total utilization of energy generated by co and trigeneration (combining electric power production with heat utilization for heating and cooling); (c) conservation of water and complete recycling of effluents; (d) total utilization of all wastes for achieving closure towards a zero waste system. Enhanced economic viability and sustainability is achieved by integration of appropriate technologies into the industrial complex. To prove the concept, a model Micro Industrial Complex (MIC) has been set up in a semi arid desert region in Rajasthan, India at village Malunga in Jodhpur district. A biomass powered boiler and steam turbine system is used to generate 100-200 KVA of electric power and high energy steam for heating and cooling processes downstream. The unique feature of the equipment is a 100-150 kW back-pressure steam turbine, utilizing 3-4 tph (tonnes per hour) steam, developed by M/s IB Turbo. The biomass boiler raises steam at about 20 barg 3 tph, which is passed through a turbine to yield about 150 kW of electrical power. The steam let out at a back pressure of 1-3 barg has high exergy and this is passed on as thermal energy (about 2 MW), for use in various applications depending on the local produce and resources. The biomass fuel requirement for the boiler is 0.5-0.75 tph depending on its calorific value. In the current model, the electricity produced is used for running an oil expeller to extract castor oil and the castor cake is used as fuel in the boiler. The steam is used in a Multi Effect Distillation (MED) unit for drinking water production and in a Vapour Absorption Machine (VAM) for cooling, for banana ripening application. Additional steam is available for extraction of herbs such as mint and processing local vegetables. In this paper, we discuss the financial and economic viability of the system and show how the energy, water and materials are completely recycled and how the benefits are directed to the weaker sections of the community.

Handbook of research on strategic performance management and measurement using data envelopment analysis

Organizations can use the valuable tool of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to make informed decisions on developing successful strategies, setting specific goals, and identifying underperforming activities to improve the output or outcome of performance measurement. The Handbook of Research on Strategic Performance Management and Measurement Using Data Envelopment Analysis highlights the advantages of using DEA as a tool to improve business performance and identify sources of inefficiency in public and private organizations. These recently developed theories and applications of DEA will be useful for policymakers, managers, and practitioners in the areas of sustainable development of our society including environment, agriculture, finance, and higher education sectors. All rights reserved.

On the role of surface roughness in the aerodynamic performance and energy conversion of horizontal wind turbine blades:a review

Summary: Renewable energy is one of the main pillars of sustainable development, especially in developing economies. Increasing energy demand and the limitation of fossil fuel reserves make the use of renewable energy essential for sustainable development. Wind energy is considered to be one of the most important resources of renewable energy. In North African countries, such as Egypt, wind energy has an enormous potential; however, it faces quite a number of technical challenges related to the performance of wind turbines in the Saharan environment. Seasonal sand storms affect the performance of wind turbines in many ways, one of which is increasing the wind turbine aerodynamic resistance through the increase of blade surface roughness. The power loss because of blade surface deterioration is significant in wind turbines. The surface roughness of wind turbine blades deteriorates because of several environmental conditions such as ice or sand. This paper is the first review on the topic of surface roughness effects on the performance of horizontal-axis wind turbines. The review covers the numerical simulation and experimental studies as well as discussing the present research trends to develop a roadmap for better understanding and improvement of wind turbine performance in deleterious environments.

Effects of engine cooling water temperature on performance and emission characteristics of a CI engine operated with biofuel blend

The temperature of the coolant is known to have significant influence on engine performance and emissions. Whereas existing literature describes the effects of coolant temperature in engines using fossil derived fuels, very few studies have investigated these effects when biofuel is used. In this study, Jatropha oil was blended separately with ethanol and butanol. It was found that the 80% jatropha oil + 20% butanol blend was the most suitable alternative, as its properties were closest to that of fossil diesel. The coolant temperature was varied between 50°C and 95°C. The combustion process enhanced for both diesel and biofuel blend, when the coolant temperature was increased. The carbon dioxide emissions for both diesel and biofuel blend were observed to increase with temperature. The carbon monoxide, oxygen and lambda values were observed to decrease with temperature. When the engine was operated using diesel, nitrogen oxides emissions correlated in an opposite manner to smoke opacity; however, nitrogen oxides emissions and smoke opacity correlated in an identical manner for biofuel blend. Brake specific fuel consumption was observed to decrease as the temperature was increased and was higher on average when the biofuel was used. The study concludes that both biofuel blend and fossil diesel produced identical correlations between coolant temperature and engine performance. The trends of nitrogen oxides and smoke emissions with cooling temperatures were not identical to fossil diesel when biofuel blend was used in the engine.