Oil Transportation in the Gulf of Finland in 2020 and 2030

This study is part of the Minimizing risks of maritime oil transport by holistic safety strategies (MIMIC) project. The purpose of this study is to provide a current state analysis of oil transportation volumes in the Baltic Sea and to create scenarios for oil transportation in the Gulf of Finland for the years 2020 and 2030. Future scenarios and information about oil transportation will be utilized in the modelling of oil transportation risks, which will be carried out as part of the MIMIC project. Approximately 290 million tons of oil and oil products were transported in the Baltic Sea in 2009, of which 55% (160 million tons) via the Gulf of Finland. Oil transportation volumes in the Gulf of Finland have increased from 40 million to almost 160 million tonnes over the last ten years. In Russia and Estonia, oil transportation mainly consists of export transports of the Russian oil industry. In Finnish ports in the Gulf of Finland, the majority of oil traffic is concentrated to the port of Sköldvik, while the remainder mainly consists of different oil products for domestic use. Transit transports to/from Russia make up small volumes of oil transportation. The largest oil ports in the Gulf of Finland are Primorsk, Tallinn, St. Petersburg and Sköldvik. The basis for the scenarios for the years 2020 and 2030 is formed by national energy strategies, the EU`s climate and energy strategies as well other energy and transportation forecasts for the years 2020 and 2030. Three alternative scenarios were produced for both 2020 and 2030. The oil volumes are based on the expert estimates of nine specialists. The specialists gave three volumes for each scenario: the expected oil transport volumes, and the minimum and maximum volumes. Variations in the volumes between the scenarios are not large, but each scenario tends to have rather a large difference between the figures for minimum and maximum volumes. This variation between the minimum and maximum volumes ranges around 30 to 40 million tonnes depending on the scenario. On the basis of this study, no a dramatic increase in oil transportation volumes in the Gulf of Finland is to be expected. Most of the scenarios only forecasted a moderate growth in maritime oil transportation compared to the current levels. The effects of the European energy policy favouring renewable energy sources can be seen in the 2030 scenarios, in which the transported oil volumes are smaller than in the 2020 scenarios. In the Slow development 2020 scenario, oil transport volumes for 2020 are expected to be 170.6 Mt (million tonnes), in the Average development 2020 187.1 Mt and in the Strong development 2020 201.5 Mt. The corresponding oil volumes for the 2030 scenarios were 165 Mt for the Stagnating development 2030 scenario, 177.5 Mt for the Towards a greener society 2030 scenario and 169.5 Mt in the Decarbonising society 2030 scenario.

Supply chain performance management system

The purpose of the study is to determine general features of the supply chain performance management system, to assess the current state of performance management in the case company mills and to make proposals for improvement – how the future state of performance management system would look like. The study covers four phases which consist of theory and case company parts. Theoretical review gives understanding about performance management and measurement. Current state analysis assesses the current state of performance management in the mills. Results and proposals for improvement are derived from current state analysis and finally the conclusions with answers to research questions are presented. Supply chain performance management system consists of five areas: perfor-mance measurement and metrics, action plans, performance tracking, performance dialogue and rewards, consequences and actions. The result of the study revealed that all mills were quite average level in performance management and there is a room for improvement. Created performance improvement matrix served as a tool in assessing current performance management and could work also as a tool in the future in mapping the current state after transformation process. Limited harmonization was revealed as there were different ways to work and manage performance in the mills. Lots of good ideas existed though actions are needed to make a progress. There is also need to harmonize KPI structure.

Asiantuntijapalveluiden kehittäminen isännöintialan yrityksessä

Isännöintiala on tämän päivän Suomessa yhä suurempien haasteiden edessä asiakkaiden ja yhteiskunnan asettamien vaatimusten kasvaessa mutta samalla käytössä olevien resurssien niukentuessa. Tämä työ toimii osana kokonaisvaltaisempaa asiantuntijapalveluprosessien kehittämiseen keskittyvää projektia, jonka keskipisteessä ovat isännöintipalvelut ja niiden kehittäminen kohdeyrityksen tarpeiden mukaisesti. Diplomityössä keskitytään isännöintipalveluiden kehittämiseen palveluiden paketoimisen ja hinnoittelun sekä asiakassegmentoinnin näkökulmasta. Työn tavoitteena oli löytää uusia ratkaisumalleja vastaamaan kohdeyrityksen tulevaisuuden tavoitteisiin samalla huomioiden toimintaympäristön muuttuvat tarpeet. Projekti jakautui kahteen osaan; nykytila-analyysiin ja sen pohjalta rakennettaviin ratkaisuehdotuksiin. Nykytila-analyysin avulla haluttiin löytää nykyisen toiminnan keskeisimmät ongelmakohdat, joihin haettiin sittemmin ratkaisua palveluiden uudelleenpaketoimisen myötä. Merkittävimpiä havaittuja ongelmatekijöitä olivat työn kuormittavuuden epätasainen jakautuminen ja se, ettei kuormittavuutta huomioitu tavassa tuottaa tai hinnoitella palveluita. Kuormittavuuden epätasainen jakautuminen otettiin lähtökohdaksi asiakassegmentoinnin ja palveluiden uudelleenpaketoinnin toteuttamisessa.

Tuotannonohjauksen kehittäminen sähkömoottoreiden huoltotoiminnassa

Diplomityön kohdeyrityksen liiketoiminta on kokenut viime aikoina merkittäviä muutoksia lisääntyneen volyymin, vaihtuneiden toimitilojen ja konsernin taloudellisesti haastavan tilanteen johdosta. Olosuhteiden muuttuessa ja taloudellisten vaikeuksien kasvaessa on tuotannonohjauksen kehittäminen jäänyt yksikössä takaa-alalle, mikä näkyy pitkittyneinä toimitusaikoina ja laskutusviiveenä, heikkona ohjattavuutena ja täten myös kannattavuuden huonontumisena. Työn tavoitteena onkin tutkia sähkömoottorihuoltotoiminnan nykytilaa ja löytää käytännönläheisiä ja nopeasti toteutettavissa olevia ratkaisuja tuotannonohjauksen kehittämiseksi. Työn teoreettisena viitekehyksenä käytettiin tuotannonohjauksen perusproblema-tiikkaa käsitteleviä teoksia, kuten myös tuotannonohjauksen kehityshankkeisiin liittyvää materiaalia. Tämän lisäksi työhön on pyritty saamaan lisänäkemystä suo-rittamalla benchmarking -vierailuja yhteistyöyrityksiin, jossa on hiljattain suoritettu vastaavan kaltaisia, onnistuneita tuotannonohjauksen kehityshankkeita. Työn empiirinen osuus jaoteltiin kahteen teemaan; nykytila-analyysiin ja toimenpide-ehdotuksiin. Nykytila-analyysi pyrittiin luomaan mahdollisimman kattavaksi sisällyttämällä siihen näkökulmia niin tuotannollisten lukujen kuin henkilöstön nä-kemysten perusteella. Analyysin pohjalta yritykselle laadittiin ehdotuksia käytän-nönläheisistä, nopeasti toteutettavissa olevista toimenpiteistä kuten myös ehdotuksia tuotannon jatkokehityksestä.

Hankinnan prosessien systemaattinen kehittäminen

Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tavoitteena oli standardoida ja kehittää hankinnan prosesseja systemaattisesti. Prosessien standardoiminen edesauttaa organisaation itseohjautuvuutta ja parantaa organisaation kyvykkyyttä. Tämä tutkielma tuottaa uutta tutkimustietoa tutkimusaukkoon hankinnan prosessien systemaattisesta kehittämisestä. Tutkielman teoriaosassa käsitellään prosessiajattelua, ISO 9001 standardin vaikutusta hankintatoimintaan, tunnistetaan hankinnan prosesseja ja esitetään erilaisia hankinnan prosesseihin soveltuvia LEAN Six Sigma kehitystyökaluja. Tutkielman empiirinen osio on toteutettu toimeksiantona suurelle teollisuusyritykselle. Tämän tutkielman empiirisessä osiossa on yhdistelty kvalitatiiviselle ja kvantitatiiviselle tutkimukselle ominaisia tutkimusmetodologioita. Tutkimusmetodologioiden yhdisteleminen tuottaa lisäarvoa tutkielman toteutukselle ja parantaa työn luotettavuutta. Tässä tutkielmassa käytetyt tutkimusmenetelmät koostuvat kvantitatiiviselle tutkimukselle ominaisesta kyselystä hankinnan prosessien nykytilan selvittämiseksi sekä kvalitatiivisen tutkimuksen tutkimusmenetelmille ominaisesta tapaustutkimuksesta. Kyselyn avulla muodostettiin analyysi hankinnan prosessien nykytilasta, jonka pohjalta toimeksiantajayritykselle ehdotettiin kehitettäviä hankinnan prosesseja. Lopulliseksi kehityskohteeksi valittu prosessi määriteltiin aivoriihessä kerätyn tiedon perusteella kehityspotentiaalin esille tuovasta nelikentästä. Kehitettävä prosessi asemoitui samalla tapaustutkimuksella tutkittavaksi tapaukseksi. Kehitettäväksi prosessiksi valittiin saapuvan tavaran vastaanotto ja visuaalinen tarkastaminen. Prosessia kehitettiin mallintamalla ja LEAN Six Sigma menetelmiä hyödyntäen. Prosessimallinnuksen sekä LEAN Six Sigma menetelmien tueksi kerättiin tietoa aivoriihistä ja teemahaastatteluista. Tutkielman tuloksena toimeksiantajayritys sai kokonaiskuvan hankinnan prosessien nykytilasta, kehitetyn tavoiteprosessin ja työohjeen saapuvan tavaran vastaanotolle ja visuaaliselle tarkastukselle sekä jatkossa hankinnan prosessien standardoimista ja kehittämistä helpottavan hankinnan prosessin systemaattisen kehittämismallin. Hankinnan prosessin systemaattinen kehittämismalli on uutta tutkimustietoa, joka asemoituu hankinnan prosessien kehittämisen tutkimusaukkoon. Hankinnan prosessin systemaattista kehittämismallia ei tämän tutkielman pohjalta voida yleistää, koska tutkielma on toteutettu toimeksiantajayrityksen lähtökohdista. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että toimeksiantajayritys, muut organisaatiot sekä tutkimuskenttä tarvitsevat lisää tietoa hankinnan prosessien kehittämisestä. Hankinnan prosessien kehittämistä tulisi tutkia enemmän ja erityisesti tässä tutkielmassa esitettyä kehittämismallia tulisi jatkossa testata niin, että kehittämismallin toimivuus voitaisiin yleistää.

Helsinki hub – new traffic flows and business networks

This thesis is the Logistics Development Forum's assignment and the work dealing with the development of the Port of Helsinki as part of Helsinki hub. The Forum aims to develop logistics efficiency through public-private co-operation and development of the port is clearly dependent on both factors. Freight volumes in the Port of Helsinki are the biggest single factor in hub and, therefore, the role of the port of the entire hub development is strong. The aim is to look at how the port will develop as a result of changes in the foreign trade of Finland and the Northern European logistics trends in 25 years time period. Work includes the current state analysis and scenario work. The analyses are intended to find out, which trends are the most important in the port volume development. The change and effect of trends is examined through scenarios based on current state. Based on the work, the structure of Finnish export industry and international demand are in the key role in the port volume development. There is significant difference between demands of Finnish exporting products in different export markets and the development between the markets has different impacts on the port volumes by mass and cargo type. On the other hand, the Finnish economy is stuck in a prolonged recession and competition between ports has become a significant factor in the individual port's volume development. Ecological valuesand regulations have changed the competitive landscape and maritime transport emissions reductions has become an important competitive factor for short routes in the Baltic Sea, such as in the link between Helsinki and Tallinn.

Developing Supply Chain Process Management and Measurement in Global Manufacturing Company

The objective of this research is to create a current state analysis of pulp supply chain processes from production planning to deliveries to customers. A cross-functional flowchart is being used to model these processes. These models help finding key performance indicators (KPIs) which enable examinations of the supply chain efficiency. Supply chain measures in different processes reveal the changes need processes that affect the whole supply chain and its efficiency and competitiveness. Structure of pulp supply chain differs from most of the other supply chains. The fact that there are big volumes of bulk products, small product variations and supply forecasts are made for the year ahead make the difference. This factor brings different benefits but also challenges when developing supply chain. This thesis divides pulp supply chain in three different main categories: production planning, warehousing and transportation. It provides tools for estimating the functionality of supply chain as well as developing the efficiency for different functions of supply chain. By having a better understanding of supply chain processes and measurement the whole supply chain structure can be developed significantly.

Development of a process model for the automatic miniload warehouse expansion

This paper provides an insight to the development of a process model for the essential expansion of the automatic miniload warehouse. The model is based on the literature research and covers four phases of a warehouse expansion: the preparatory phase, the current state analysis, the design phase and the decision making phase. In addition to the literature research, the presented model is based on a reliable data set and can be applicable with a reasonable effort to ensure the informed decision on the warehouse layout. The model is addressed to users who are usually employees of logistics department, and is oriented on the improvement of the daily business organization combined with the warehouse expansion planning.

OPM3® Portugal project: information systems and technologies organizations: outcome analysis

Increasing the maturity in Project Management (PM) has become a goal for many organizations, leading them to adopt maturity models to assess the current state of its PM practices and compare them with the best practices in the industry where the organization is inserted. One of the main PM maturity models is the Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3®), developed by the Project Management Institute. This paper presents the Information Systems and Technologies organizations outcome analysis, of the assesses made by the OPM3® Portugal Project, identifying the PM processes that are “best” implemented in this particular industry and those in which it is urgent to improve. Additionally, a comparison between the different organizations’ size analyzed is presented.

Automated analysis of background EEG and reactivity during therapeutic hypothermia in comatose patients after cardiac arrest.

Visual analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) background and reactivity during therapeutic hypothermia provides important outcome information, but is time-consuming and not always consistent between reviewers. Automated EEG analysis may help quantify the brain damage. Forty-six comatose patients in therapeutic hypothermia, after cardiac arrest, were included in the study. EEG background was quantified with burst-suppression ratio (BSR) and approximate entropy, both used to monitor anesthesia. Reactivity was detected through change in the power spectrum of signal before and after stimulation. Automatic results obtained almost perfect agreement (discontinuity) to substantial agreement (background reactivity) with a visual score from EEG-certified neurologists. Burst-suppression ratio was more suited to distinguish continuous EEG background from burst-suppression than approximate entropy in this specific population. Automatic EEG background and reactivity measures were significantly related to good and poor outcome. We conclude that quantitative EEG measurements can provide promising information regarding current state of the patient and clinical outcome, but further work is needed before routine application in a clinical setting.

Topics, techniques and applications in urban and regional science in the nineties: a bibliometric analysis

The current state of regional and urban science has been much discussed and a number of studies have speculated on possible future trends in the development of the discipline. However, there has been little empirical analysis of current publication patterns in regional and urban journals. This paper studies the kinds of topics, techniques and data used in articles published in nine top international journals during the 1990s with the aim of identifying current trends in this research field

Topics, techniques and applications in urban and regional science in the nineties: a bibliometric analysis

The current state of regional and urban science has been much discussed and a number of studies have speculated on possible future trends in the development of the discipline. However, there has been little empirical analysis of current publication patterns in regional and urban journals. This paper studies the kinds of topics, techniques and data used in articles published in nine top international journals during the 1990s with the aim of identifying current trends in this research field

Concrete Pavement Mixture Design and Analysis (MDA) Guide Specification for Highway Concrete Pavements: Commentary, TPF-5(205), 2012

This guide specification and commentary for concrete pavements presents current state-of-the art thinking with respect to materials and mixture selection, proportioning, and acceptance. This document takes into account the different environments, practices, and materials in use across the United States and allows optional inputs for local application. The following concrete pavement types are considered: jointed plain concrete pavement, the most commonly used pavement type and may be doweled or non-doweled at transverse joints; and continuously reinforced concrete pavement, typically constructed without any transverse joints, typically used for locations with high truck traffic loads and/or poor support conditions.

Concrete Pavement Mixture Design and Analysis (MDA) Guide Specification for Highway Concrete Pavements, TPF-5(205), 2012

A guide specification and commentary have been prepared that lay out current state-of-the art thinking with respect to materials and mixture selection, proportioning, and acceptance. These documents take into account the different environments, practices, and materials in use across the US and allow optional inputs for local application.

GSVA: gene set variation analysis for microarray and RNA-seq data

Gene set enrichment (GSE) analysis is a popular framework for condensing information from gene expression profiles into a pathway or signature summary. The strengths of this approach over single gene analysis include noise and dimension reduction, as well as greater biological interpretability. As molecular profiling experiments move beyond simple case-control studies, robust and flexible GSE methodologies are needed that can model pathway activity within highly heterogeneous data sets. To address this challenge, we introduce Gene Set Variation Analysis (GSVA), a GSE method that estimates variation of pathway activity over a sample population in an unsupervised manner. We demonstrate the robustness of GSVA in a comparison with current state of the art sample-wise enrichment methods. Further, we provide examples of its utility in differential pathway activity and survival analysis. Lastly, we show how GSVA works analogously with data from both microarray and RNA-seq experiments. GSVA provides increased power to detect subtle pathway activity changes over a sample population in comparison to corresponding methods. While GSE methods are generally regarded as end points of a bioinformatic analysis, GSVA constitutes a starting point to build pathway-centric models of biology. Moreover, GSVA contributes to the current need of GSE methods for RNA-seq data. GSVA is an open source software package for R which forms part of the Bioconductor project and can be downloaded at http://www.bioconductor.org.