Date                   May 28, 2009Level                  Bachelor thesis in Business Administration/Information TechnologyAuthors             Jennie Andersson, Niklas Fridell, Visar HoxhaTutor                  Marie MörndalDepartment    HSTTitle                    ERP-solutions in small to medium sized enterprises ? possibilities and problemsSummary          ERP-solutions have penetrated the market for SME: s, offering the same advantages larger enterprises have enjoyed for years. For a significantly cheaper price, SME: s can nowadays acquire ERP-solutions and become more effective and increase their profit.  The authors have examined five SME: s in both the production and service company segment and have come to the conclusion that an ERP-solution would indeed benefit these companies in many levels but also induce certain obstacles the examined companies must overcome, both financial and organizational.Purpose            The purpose of this thesis is to examine if and how SME: s can become more efficient and developed and increase their profit by implementing an ERP-solution. Further, the purpose is to discuss which conditions that exists for the examined SME: s in order to implement an ERP-solution.Method            The thesis consists of a qualitative research where the authors have interviewed either the owner or employees at management level by using semi-structured interviews.

A persistent problem in the construction industry is its low margins of profit. It is often difficult to earn money due to low efficiency and high costs. Logistics on the construction site answers for a large amount of these costs and it is therefore of interest to find new, more efficient logistic solutions. The purpose of this thesis is to compare two different logistic systems and further to evaluate which one that is the most efficient and profitable. A comparison is made between the traditional logistic systems used for years and a new logistic system developed by an industry association called BEAst.

Seabased Industry AB develops system for extracting electrical energy from ocean waves with a Wave Energy Converter (WEC). The components is bought from subcontractors and then assembled into wave energy converters, buoys and marine substations by Seabased. In the future Seabased will produce more of the components themselves to reduce costs and to have better control over tolerances. The production line will also include the painting of the WECs and substations, which is performed in a painting line.The purpose of this thesis work is to study what is required to build a painting line, regarding the types of stations, transporting types and the space needed. This will result in layouts for the painting line.To receive the necessary information about production theory and corrosion and surface treatment, literature concerning this area has been studied.

The gas turbines in the Swedish secondary reserve are reaching the end of their technical lifetime, hence alternative solutions need to be considered. One of the solutions thought to have the greatest potential is the use of so called consumptionreduction. By entering contracts with large consumers, agreements are made to reduce consumption in the event of major disturbances in the power system and thus being used as a secondary reserve. This thesis investigates the feasibility of consumption reduction as part of the secondary reserve. This has been achieved by developing a requirement specification for the disturbance reserve and by studying the technical and economic potential for consumption reduction among a range of consumers.The technical potential for consumption reduction that fulfils the requirements for participating in the secondary reserve are on average 750 MW in SE 3 and 98 MW in SE 4.

This thesis describes a further development of an existing prototype named Automatic pin bone remover. The further development was requested from the Swedish consulting firm ATM AB. The request of automatic pin bone removers is high and has the potential to be a worldwide leading product.The goal with the thesis work is to further develop an existing prototype. In order to achieve the goal a pre-study of the prototype had to be made in order to define a customer demand specification. The thesis work is then continued by a function analysis which differs from a conservative one.

In Sweden and in the rest of the world we face the problem how to create a sustainable development. At the same time the Swedish million program, a housing program made in the 1960:s and 1970:s, is facing a renewal due to lack of maintenance during many years. An attempt to join these two interests has been made in the residential area of Gårdsten north of Gothenburg. This paper is a case study to review the project and its approach to the sustainability concept. The purpose is to spread knowledge about the problems that can arise. By studying documentation about the reconstruction I have analyzed the approach that has been used. The housing company?s starting point was user participation and an intention to make the changes visible.

Background: Due to an increasing globalization the competition has increased and this has lead to overcapacity and falling prices on markets today. The subject field logistics has during the last decades been given increasingly significance and has become a way to handle the competition. Theories clearly point outthe importance that a concordance exists between logistics and superior strategy but few, if any, authors give further details about how this adjustment should be made. Purpose: The aim of this thesis is with a case study approach survey if the subject field, which describe the importance that logistical solutions correspond with the superior strategy, is known and implemented in a company. We aim to develop the subject field through our empirical findings.

Prevention of lion predation towards African livestock is of great importance due to the economical losses farmers have because of this. Predation is also one of the main reasons for human-wildlife conflicts and lions often get killed because of it. Therefore, a pilot study using camera traps was conducted to monitor movements of lions and other wildlife through a wildlife corridor in Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The results were compared with a previous study that counted prints in the soil in front of the corridor. Due to theft risk the cameras had to be taken down and pictures were only collected from nine days.

The trend towards increasingly large farming units raises questions regarding how to better monitor production. Larger units make the impact from possible errors more severe, which increases the pressure on management supervision. To cope with management issues, prevent errors and handle increased demands on traceability and documentation, the Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) concept is making its way into various parts of agriculture. In sectors outside agriculture, RTLS are already being used successfully to track and locate items through nodes at different levels of accuracy, such as room level or the relative or absolute position. Empirical data can be received in real time from the nodes.

VBG Produkter AB is a process-orientated company that develops, manufactures and markets trailer couplings with belonging coupling equipment, protection equipment against skidding and stands for wagon-bridge for heavy vehicles. The company feels that their set-up time in production for couplings is not at an acceptable level. Due to high demands of customer oriented production the intermediate stock level of included products within the assembly of couplings has gradually increased which has resulted in high inventory holding costs. VBG Produkter applies Kanban in their production, therefore it is important to produce exactly the necessary amount and avoid overproduction. The objective of this project is to suggest appropriate solutions so that VBG Produkter is able to reduce their set-up time in assembly of couplings, by identifying internal and external set-up time for the chosen process bushing cell.

AbstractTitle: Environmental demand solutions - a study within real-estate business.Problem statement:Today, the society stands before a permanent accelerated environmental threat. Companiesbecome increasingly over the environmental problems and more companies look over theiractivity and how it influences the environment. Historical the environmental issue has been forgotten and it is first during the end of 1990 the environmental issue intensive has been noticed. Earlier the environmental work?s high costs was the cause, but now the companies realized the weight and the importance of imposing focus on environment commitments and sees it, as an investment.

The gas turbines in the Swedish secondary reserve are reaching the end of their technical lifetime, hence alternative solutions need to be considered. One of the solutions thought to have the greatest potential is the use of so called consumptionreduction. By entering contracts with large consumers, agreements are made to reduce consumption in the event of major disturbances in the power system and thus being used as a secondary reserve. This thesis investigates the feasibility of consumption reduction as part of the secondary reserve. This has been achieved by developing a requirement specification for the disturbance reserve and by studying the technical and economic potential for consumption reduction among a range of consumers.The technical potential for consumption reduction that fulfils the requirements for participating in the secondary reserve are on average 750 MW in SE 3 and 98 MW in SE 4.

This report is introduced with a presentation of fundamental electromagnetic theories, which have helped a lot in the achievement of methods for calculation and design of microstrip transmission lines and circulators. The used software for the work is also based on these theories. General considerations when designing microstrip solutions, such as different types of transmission lines and circulators, are then presented. Especially the design steps for microstrip lines, which have been used in this project, are described. Discontinuities, like bends of microstrip lines, are treated and simulated.

Preservation of cells and tissues by freezing at temperatures below 70°C has led to new possibilities for the storage of germ cells for fertility preservation. During the freezing process problems might occur, the greatest being ice crystallization which can cause membrane destruction and thus cell death. To minimize this risk, solutions that reduce the freezing point can be added to reduce crystallization and increase survival rates. These solutions are called cryoprotectants. The best method for freezing is still not known.The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of various parameters on the survival rate of human semen frozen with liquid nitrogen.

Theatre is often seen as an act to entertain or provoke, however the main argument of this paper is that theatre also can be seen as a process to build peace. This study focuses on and explores how artistic processes, such as Forum Theatre developed by Augusto Boal, can be used as a method to promote psychosocial reconciliation in war-shattered areas. With the use of Forum Theatre the spectators becomes the spect-actors, the subjects that act and not the objects that are acted upon. Subjects that are encouraged to try and find solutions to social problems by acting out possible solutions and evaluating them. By analyzing how a number of organizations have worked with Forum Theater on the Balkans and with a theoretical approach combining Homi K.