X-ray fluorescence (XRF) detection of heavy metals is a cost- and time-effective method for investigation of polluted areas. Compared to laboratory analysis, XRF analysis is limited by high detection limits and uncertainties in some situations. Preparation of samples is known to affect the results of measurements.The purpose of this thesis is to bring a deeper understanding of how different factors affect the results of XRF-analysis. A large number of measurements have been made with the instruments Niton XLt 700 and Niton Xli 700. Results from measurements of lead, zinc and copper have been analysed.This study has shown that a greater moisture content will give a lower measured concentration for the same sample.

In Sweden the real estate sector accounts for 33 % of energy consumption and just below 10 % of the emission of carbon dioxide. As a consequence of the external pressure from climate change it?s in everybody?s interest to reduce the energy consumption and thus reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. An additional incentive to reduce the energy consumption is the substantial increase of the energy price since the deregulation of the electricity market in 1996.In this study the techniques that exist to build multi-storey residential buildings with high energy performance will be investigated. Further the study intends to investigate the optimal energy performance from a real estate economic perspective.In order to investigate the optimal energy performance a model has been created with the parameters investment cost, rental revenues, operation and maintenance cost, discount rate and investment horizon.The result shows a relationship between a high investment cost and a high energy performance for newly constructed multi-storey residential buildings.

At ABB LV Motors in Västerås the shaft is assembled into the rotor with a shrink fit. After athorough investigation of the assembly method, several factors that make the insertion of theshaft more difficult has been discovered. Some affect the assembly directly while others onlyhave an indirect influence. The investigation has shown that the radial play between the shaftsouter radius and the rotors inner radius might be too small which could lead to anunsuccessful assembly. For the larger rotors, the condition is the opposite, and the rotor mightmove compared to the shaft direct after the assembly when the rotor still is warm.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and propose improvements to the current procedure for cost estimations of purchased maintenance work at Banverket, the Swedish rail administration. This governmental institution is responsible for the procurement of maintenance services for the country?s railroad network through open tenders. Due to the generally low number of contractors, it is particularly necessary to establish accurate cost estimates in order to assess the offers and ensure that a fair price is being paid to the suppliers. Several flaws associated with the current practice are identified and analyzed according to cost accounting theories.

This paper studies the research foundations created in 1994 from the former wage earners? funds out of a portfolio management point of view. Firstly it describes the seven largest foundations and their different portfolio management structures. Secondly it analyses the performance of these foundations measured as the intercept, Jensen?s a, in a linear regression of the excess returns of a portfolio versus a proxy for the market, as well as the Sharpe-ratio.

The Armed Forces is looking to improve control of where articles are and the monitoring of their condition within its clothing supply. That is why Försvarets Materielverk is working on a motion to tag the Armed Forces clothing with passive RFID-tags. A cost/benefit analysis has been made in this report in order to find out whether the investment is economical justifiable and what costs and benefits arose. The analysis tool that was used is based on the PENG-model. The analysis had three scenarios with the difference that each scenario included various amounts of clothing to tag.  There has also been made an analysis where only the benefits regarding decreasing amount of lost clothes and simplified inventory were included.The result of the first analysis was that none of the scenarios was profitable during the first year.

At a manufacturing company, due to the competition the price is reducedtowards the manufacturing cost. Therefore it is important to maintain control ofones costs and keep calculations up-to-date.This thesis deals with cost accounting at a aluminium-processing company. The report focuses on calculating machine cost per hour since the manufacturing costs are the major part of the total product cost.Managers on the company believe that the costs they use in calculations todayneither is up-to-date nor advantageous in a market aspect and due to that their calculations need to be revised. The machines cost per hour is a major part in the manufacturing calculation. The company wants to provide a competitive price that also covers their costs.

This essay addresses and treats the employer's obligation to work adaptation for people with a physical disability according to discrimination law and the work environment law. Furthermore it also treats the employer's obligation to rehabilitation of employees that has a reduced working ability as consequence of their work. The essay also intends to investigate if there are any differences in the employer?s obligation to work adaptation when recruiting and the employer?s obligation to work adaption for an existing employment. In this work, there is a background chapter which describes the UN and the European Union's approach to work reduction ability and disability. Furthermore, there is a detailed description of the work environment law, the discrimination law, the social insurance code and the employment protection legislation.

During the last couple of years many sectors and markets have had an increase in the competitive situation, this has meant that being cost effective have become more essential if organizations want to stay in business and be competitive. Thus, one crucial issue has become how to utilize the resources already available within the organization. Organizations can thoroughly plan and control personnel resources in order to become more efficient. But to become more cost effective also means taking into consideration several key figures, productivity being one of the more important figures.Onninen, a wholesaler which has one of its two central warehouses in Örebro has experienced this issue, i.e. an increase in competitive situation in their market.

Dampness in the indoor environment have been a major issue of discussion the last decades since more and more people complain about their indoor environment. In the present situation there are difficulties to find what causes people?s discomfort in a damp environment even though there is a strong connection between dampness and human health.The aim of the thesis was to contribute to the work done today to achieve a better indoor environment in damp buildings. The purpose of the work was to evaluate whether the measures issued for dampness in the indoor environment contributes to the improvement of health and environment for those who are living or working in that space. Through a literature review, interview and survey the following three questions were answered to achieve the aim and purpose:How are people affected by the indoor environment in damp buildings?Which are the measures issued to prevent dampness in the indoor environment?Do these interventions contribute to a better indoor environment?How people are affected by the indoor environment in damp buildings and how these problems are prevented were the foundation for the continued work with the survey.

Silviculture in young stands in Sweden is below the mark concerning what has to be done in the forest, and it is time to solve the problem. The problem will not be solved only by the private forest owners, professional help is needed. Skogsägarna Mellanskog is one of four forest unions in Sweden who wants to play a role and take responsibility for forestry in the middle of Sweden. This academic essay is based on a market survey sent to 350 forest owners in the Örebro district. 186 of them answered the questions, giving a response frequence of 53 percentage. The purpose of the essay is to find the determining factors which will make a forest owner to find a collaborator when planning and carrying out the silviculture measures in young stands. The result of the survey shows that the forest owners are anxious about the price and the costs. The costs have a severe effect if the silviculture measures in young stands will be carried out or not.

Abstract Title: Total Cost of Ownership ? Revealing the true cost of owning and operating equipment. Authors: Anna Bladh Anna Ström Tutors: Michaela Boye, Parts and Service, PTD, Alfa Laval Göran Berg, Parts and Service, PTD, Alfa LavalCharlotta Johnsson, Department of Automatic Control, LTH, Lund UniversityBertil I. Nilsson, Department of Industrial Management and Logistics, LTH, Lund UniversityCarl-Henric Nilsson, Department of Business Administration, Lund University Core issue: ?Which costs should be included in a general Total Cost of Ownership model regarding centrifuges, and what input variables are needed in order to calculate those costs in a user-friendly way and with a maintained level of accuracy?? Purpose: The theoretical purpose of the thesis is to identify the cost items that have the greatest impact on a TCO calculation for a centrifuge.

This thesis approaches the problem of estimating the arm angles of an industrial robot with flexibilities in joints and links. Due to cost-cutting efforts in the industrial robots industry, weaker components and more cost-effective structures have been introduced which in turn has led to problems with flexibilities, nonlinearities and friction. In order to handle these challenging dynamic problems and achieve high accuracy this study introduces state observers to estimate the tool position.The observers use measurements of the motor angles and an accelerometer and the different evaluated observers are based on an Extended Kalman Filter and a deterministic variant. They have been evaluated in experiments on an industrial robot with two degrees of freedom. The experimental verification shows that the state estimates can be highly accurate for medium frequency motions, ranging from 3-30Hz.

The payment for produced grain is constantly going down in price. It is important for farmers to become more effective in cultivating more land in a shorter time perspective. At the same time we have to calculate with the risk of getting lowered subsidies from the EU. This is why I would like to find out the possibilities for establishing winter wheat without ploughing. I hope to find a difference in the number of plants due to different soil preparations. With this experiment I expect to find out whether I can establish winter wheat at a lower cost, with the same numbers of plants per square meter.

The purpose of this degree project is to obtain a greater understanding of how the support for abused immigrant women is designed and if these measures respond to the women?s own wishes and needs. I also want to investigate the possible advantages and disadvantages, there are under the social ser­vi­ces and voluntary organizations (NGOs) and women themselves when it comes to spe­cific sup­port measures for immigrant women. On which basis have these support measures been designed and what experience or research starting points are based on? To what extent do they answer to women?s needs according to the staff, and to the women's own view?The study is based on qualitative data consisting of five interviews and one case report of an abused woman.