Organic coffee under perspective of energy efficiency

The energy analysis development in this study contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of the organic coffee productive system, in particular to assess the independence of this system with respect to the use of industrialized input products. Thus, it provides information about the sustainability of that production system. Technical itineraries used in this study consist of energy expenditure made with coffee cultivation, according to the type, source and form of energy inputs, agricultural machines, equipment and labor force used in that production system. The energy expenditure, converted into energy units, quantified the input energy. And the organic coffee production, measured in kilograms of processed coffee beans, was the output energy. Primary data used in this study were obtained from organic coffee producers in the Southern region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil, in 2011. Energy balance identified was positive, since the estimated output energy was 626.465 MJ/ha and the energy expenditure was 112.998 MJ/ha, during the useful life of the crop.

Custo energético da produção do maracujá amarelo na região de Marília-SP

The study evaluated the energy balance of the yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) production system in the region of Marilia-SP. There were analyzed the "inputs" of energy originated from biological, fossil, and industrial sources, and the "output" of energy in the form of fruits produced per unit area, as well as five energy indicators. The phytotechnical indices considered were: planting in February (seedling in tubes), production cycle: 18 months, and yield: 20 t/ha. The input energy totaled 173,707.86 MJ/ha. The most representative items corresponded to industrial indirect energy (38%) and to biological (34%). Chemical fertilizers and pesticides accounted for 65% and 31% of indirect energy industry, respectively. The activity generated 391,800.00 MJ per cycle/ha, and the culture productivity, 0.12 MJ/kg. The efficiency of the culture was 2.26. The net cultural energy totaled 218,092.15 MJ/ha. The energy balance was positive (126,050.23 MJ/ha). Energy efficiency was favorable, with a value of 3.64. The direct power consumption of fossil origin is significant in the system evaluated, but it still allows the production of the yellow passion fruit in an environmentally sustainable way.

Eficiência econômica no sistema de café orgânico: estudo de caso dos cooperados da COOPFAM

Aimed at satisfying a market niche, organic coffee production is a competitiveness-oriented system because it has less input costs and higher income. This study estimates the system’s economic efficiency, using production costs end gross income as economic input and output. This model was designed from original survey data, reported by a sample of producers in different stages of production, which enabled the development of average technical coefficients. Results show that annual gross income exceeds operating costs by 21%, pointing therefore to an economically efficient system.

Produção e qualidade de silagens de sorgo em sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária no cerrado de baixa altitude

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Gestão energética nos setores transversais para redução do consumo de energia em uma empresa automobilística

Pós-graduação em Engenharia de Produção - FEG

Atributos do solo e modalidade de semeadura na consorciação de milho com forrageiras e desempenho agronômico do feijoeiro em sucessão

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Redução de tempos de setup: aplicação de troca rápida de ferramentas em indústria de bebidas

The current competitive market requires companies to adapt so that they can meet the needs of customers in an agile manner and aimed at the lowest possible cost in their manufacture, be it a product or service. The Toyota Production System is aimed at higher profits through lean manufacturing practices with reduced spending, smaller lots and inventories, generated by market demand. The variety of products makes the setup of the equipment a critical point and it should be reduced as much as possible so it does not affect productivity. The rapid exchange of tools allows with few actions and a modification that time does not exceed one digit on your total time. In this study, a case study showed that only with standardization and use of cheap improvements made it possible to reduce setup time in bottle labeling machine by 98 minutes for a final time of approximately 10 minutes with little investment, demonstrating the feasibility the displayed and a monthly gain tool in bottles at approximately 120,000, generating a performance gain and budget of approximately R$ 94,000.00 per month

Análise envoltória de dados combinada com a lógica fuzzy em problemas de avaliação de eficiência de máquinas de consumo: um estudo em empresa do segmento farmacêutico

The pharmaceutical industry was consolidated in Brazil in the 1930s, and since then has become increasingly competitive. Therefore the implementation of the Toyota Production System, which aims to lean production, has become common among companies in the segment. The main efficiency indicator currently used is the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). This paper intends to, using the fuzzy model DEA-BCC, analyze the efficiency of the production lines of a pharmaceutical company in the Paraíba Valley, compare the values obtained by the model with those calculated by the OEE, identify the most sensitive machines to variation in the data input and develop a ranking of effectiveness between the consumer machinery. After the development, it is shown that the accuracy of the relationship between the two methods is approximately 57% and the line considered the most effective by the Toyota Production System is not the same as the one found by this paper

Redução de tempos de setup: aplicação de troca rápida de ferramentas em indústria de bebidas

The current competitive market requires companies to adapt so that they can meet the needs of customers in an agile manner and aimed at the lowest possible cost in their manufacture, be it a product or service. The Toyota Production System is aimed at higher profits through lean manufacturing practices with reduced spending, smaller lots and inventories, generated by market demand. The variety of products makes the setup of the equipment a critical point and it should be reduced as much as possible so it does not affect productivity. The rapid exchange of tools allows with few actions and a modification that time does not exceed one digit on your total time. In this study, a case study showed that only with standardization and use of cheap improvements made it possible to reduce setup time in bottle labeling machine by 98 minutes for a final time of approximately 10 minutes with little investment, demonstrating the feasibility the displayed and a monthly gain tool in bottles at approximately 120,000, generating a performance gain and budget of approximately R$ 94,000.00 per month

Análise envoltória de dados combinada com a lógica fuzzy em problemas de avaliação de eficiência de máquinas de consumo: um estudo em empresa do segmento farmacêutico

The pharmaceutical industry was consolidated in Brazil in the 1930s, and since then has become increasingly competitive. Therefore the implementation of the Toyota Production System, which aims to lean production, has become common among companies in the segment. The main efficiency indicator currently used is the Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). This paper intends to, using the fuzzy model DEA-BCC, analyze the efficiency of the production lines of a pharmaceutical company in the Paraíba Valley, compare the values obtained by the model with those calculated by the OEE, identify the most sensitive machines to variation in the data input and develop a ranking of effectiveness between the consumer machinery. After the development, it is shown that the accuracy of the relationship between the two methods is approximately 57% and the line considered the most effective by the Toyota Production System is not the same as the one found by this paper

Active crop sensor to detect variability of nitrogen supply and biomass on sugarcane fields

Nitrogen management has been intensively studied on several crops and recently associated with variable rate on-the-go application based on crop sensors. Such studies are scarce for sugarcane and as a biofuel crop the energy input matters, seeking high positive energy balance production and low carbon emission on the whole production system. This article presents the procedure and shows the first results obtained using a nitrogen and biomass sensor (N-Sensor (TM) ALS, Yara International ASA) to indicate the nitrogen application demands of commercial sugarcane fields. Eight commercial fields from one sugar mill in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, varying from 15 to 25 ha in size, were monitored. Conditions varied from sandy to heavy soils and the previous harvesting occurred in May and October 2009, including first, second, and third ratoon stages. Each field was scanned with the sensor three times during the season (at 0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 m stem height), followed by tissue sampling for biomass and nitrogen uptake at ten spots inside the area, guided by the different values shown by the sensor. The results showed a high correlation between sensor values and sugarcane biomass and nitrogen uptake, thereby supporting the potential use of this technology to develop algorithms to manage variable rate application of nitrogen for sugarcane.

Three time-based scale formulations for the two-stage lot sizing and scheduling in process industries

In this paper, we propose three novel mathematical models for the two-stage lot-sizing and scheduling problems present in many process industries. The problem shares a continuous or quasi-continuous production feature upstream and a discrete manufacturing feature downstream, which must be synchronized. Different time-based scale representations are discussed. The first formulation encompasses a discrete-time representation. The second one is a hybrid continuous-discrete model. The last formulation is based on a continuous-time model representation. Computational tests with state-of-the-art MIP solver show that the discrete-time representation provides better feasible solutions in short running time. On the other hand, the hybrid model achieves better solutions for longer computational times and was able to prove optimality more often. The continuous-type model is the most flexible of the three for incorporating additional operational requirements, at a cost of having the worst computational performance. Journal of the Operational Research Society (2012) 63, 1613-1630. doi:10.1057/jors.2011.159 published online 7 March 2012

Tillering dynamics in pastures of guinea grass subjected to grazing severities under intermittent stocking

This experiment was carried out to analyze the tillering dynamics of the species Panicum maximum cv. Mombaca subjected to three post-grazing heights: residue of 30 cm (30); residue of 50 cm (50); and residue of 50 cm during spring and summer, lowered to 40 cm in the first fall season grazing and to 30 cm in the following grazing cycle, resuming to 50 cm after the first grazing of the following spring season (50-30). Grazings were initiated whenever the swards intercepted 95% of the incident light. The post-grazing heights were allocated in the experimental units in a completely randomized block design with three replications. The density of basal tillers did not vary between the residual heights evaluated. Swards managed with variable residual height (50-30) presented higher rates of appearance and mortality of basal tillers during the summer of 2007, indicating high tiller renovation. Regardless of the post-grazing height evaluated, lower rates of appearance of basal tillers were found in the spring of 2006. The stability index of guinea grass cv. Mombaca was close to 1.0 throughout the experimental period. Swards managed with variable post-grazing present structural changes able to improve the regrowth vigor, which may be important to maximize the use of the forage species in the production system.

Safety illusion and error trap in a collectively-operated machine accident

Workplace accidents involving machines are relevant for their magnitude and their impacts on worker health. Despite consolidated critical statements, explanation centered on errors of operators remains predominant with industry professionals, hampering preventive measures and the improvement of production-system reliability. Several initiatives were adopted by enforcement agencies in partnership with universities to stimulate production and diffusion of analysis methodologies with a systemic approach. Starting from one accident case that occurred with a worker who operated a brake-clutch type mechanical press, the article explores cognitive aspects and the existence of traps in the operation of this machine. It deals with a large-sized press that, despite being endowed with a light curtain in areas of access to the pressing zone, did not meet legal requirements. The safety devices gave rise to an illusion of safety, permitting activation of the machine when a worker was still found within the operational zone. Preventive interventions must stimulate the tailoring of systems to the characteristics of workers, minimizing the creation of traps and encouraging safety policies and practices that replace judgments of behaviors that participate in accidents by analyses of reasons that lead workers to act in that manner.

Qualifying instrument for evaluation of food and nutritional care in hospital

Establishing criteria for hospital nutrition care ensures that quality care is delivered to patients. The responsibility of the Hospital Food and Nutrition Service (HFNS) is not always well defined, despite efforts to establish guidelines for patient clinical nutrition practice. This study describes the elaboration of an Instrument for Evaluation of Food and Nutritional Care (IEFNC) aimed at directing the actions of the Hospital Food and Nutrition Service. This instrument was qualified by means of a comparative analysis of the categories related to hospital food and nutritional care, published in the literature. Elaboration of the IEFNC comprised the following stages: (a) a survey of databases and documents for selection of the categories to be used in nutrition care evaluation, (b) a study of the institutional procedures for nutrition practice at two Brazilian hospitals, in order to provide a description of the sequence of actions that should be taken by the HFNS as well as other services participating in nutrition care, (c) design of the IEFNC based on the categories published in the literature, adapted to the sequence of actions observed in the routines of the hospitals under study, (d) application of the questionnaire at two different hospitals that was mentioned in the item (b), in order to assess the time spent on its application, the difficulties in phrasing the questions, and the coverage of the instrument, and (e) finalization of the instrument. The IEFNC consists of 50 open and closed questions on two areas of food and nutritional care in hospital: inpatient nutritional care and food service quality. It deals with the characterization and structure of hospitals and their HFNS, the actions concerning the patients' nutritional evaluation and monitoring, the meal production system, and the hospital diets. "This questionnaire is a tool that can be seen as a portrait of the structure and characteristics of the HFNS and its performance in clinical and meal management dietitian activities." (Nutr Hosp. 2012;27:1170-1177) DOI:10.3305/nh.2012.27.4.5868