This report presents an independent thesis corresponding 15hp and was carried out on Högskolan in Halmstad during the spring of 2014. The thesis is the final course which ends a three-year mechanical engineering program with focus on technical design.The thesis started in an operation which electricians are exposed to every day. The operation in question is cable laying or wiring. The tool they use is called a tension spring and is a long and stiff wire, usually made out of nylon or fiberglass. The tension spring is fed through pipes in the walls and brings the desired cables with it on the way back.

Lundbergs Plåt AB is a small company situated in Jönköping. Their main task is to process different kinds of steel such as stainless steel. Lately, they have shown an interest in Lean production.On the basis of the situation mentioned above, we developed the purpose to find and decrease the non value-added Wastes in the production at Lundbergs Plåt AB. Out of this, we also developed and answered two questions: Which Wastes can be found with help from a value stream mapping (VSM)? In what way can these Wastes be reduced and how can these reductions contribute to an improved production? VSM is the method used to find the non value-added Wastes.

Over the past decade, the fashion industry has experienced a relatively high rate of consumption with material and clothing becoming increasingly subject to Waste and disposal. As a result of the increased awareness within the industry the interest in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) amongst retailers has increased substantially in an attempt to shy away from the critically amplified media attention. In addition the underlying demand from external stakeholders has forced companies to ensure they focus and act upon each stage of the product life cycle.This study provides a further in depth analysis of the fashion industry and conveys the key messages and steps that firms are taking in response to the external pressures and requirements based on four different merged process areas. This research paper examines the impact of CSR on two Swedish fashion retailers Åhléns and JC and shows how accountability relates to the external expectations and norms that prevail in society. The result shows that the firms do meet the demands within each sub category as a response to market demands.

I Sverige ökar förbränningen av avfall som inte är ett helt definierbart bränsle. Detta är i mångt och mycket ekonomiskt och miljömässigt försvarbart genom den höga kvalitén på rökasreningen, som garanterar att en mycket liten del av föroreningar når atmosfären, utan dessa koncentreras i askorna. Avfallsaskor går till stor del till deponier och används där för sluttäckning eller för att deponeras, samt att en stor mängd flygaska transporteras till Langöya. Inom en tioårsperiod kommer deponierna vara sluttäckta och Langöya uppfyllt, samtidigt som mängden avfallsaskor ökar, vilket innebär krav på nya lösningar. Orsaken till att framförallt flygaskan klassas som farligt avfall är koncentrationen av tungmetaller och föroreningar som härrör från bränslet.

Bravida is one of Scandinavia's leading suppliers of technical installations and services. According to Bravida an installer loses around 35 per cent of their daily work. It?s the time aspect that?s going to be examined in this thesis. The purpose of this thesis is that the student in question is to investigate the activities of the installers that works with this project, identifying where and how time losses occur and come up with suggestions for improvement.Methods used in this work is literature studies, observational studies and interviews.

The development of productivity in the construction industry has long been at a steady state compared to the manufacturing industry. Studies have shown that, amongst other things, Waste on construction sites can reach up to one third of the total production cost. This has been observed from different aspects, and change is forthcoming.This thesis aims to provide a foundation for an increased productivity at production sites of building bridges. It is primarily based on a field study at Skanska, at a bridge construction site near Grängesberg. Via continuous interviews with the whole production crew, construction workers and management, information on interference and possibilities of improvement at the work site has been documented.

The main goal of this project was to develop some sort of a diverter for pipestransporting Waste in a vacuum system. This unit was supposed to be both cheap andeasy to serve/exchange worn out parts. With a limited space to install the pipeexchanger, the challenge was to keep it as compact as possible without constructingbends with to small radius or to sharp angles as this would wear out the system a lotfaster than planned. The system was also supposed to be able to handle clothes andscrubs from hospitals. Having too much sharp edges or angles would tear the clothesapart.

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between non-audited and audited sustainability reports and in that way indicate the significance of auditing to the contents of a sustainability report. The study was delimited to include three companies that create sustainability reports according to GRI guidelines, and also have changed from non-audited to audited reports.The study is an exploratory study where we started from companies that follow GRI's standard and who have changed from being non-assured to assured and certified. In order to examine any differences we have started out from corporate sustainability reports and with the basis of these latter gather those changes which may have occurred during the changeover. We therefore chose to conduct a literature review on each company's non-audited sustainability reports and compare them with each company's audited and certified sustainability reports. Furthermore our study has been made on the basis of an assessment model based on the concepts of materiality, completeness and comparability.The study showed that the audited sustainability reports in all companies were more focused and more detailed about the aspects GRI established for the performance indicators.

Today many industrial companies invest a lot of resources on research and development to resist the tough competition on the global market. This leads to a high risk game when the companies start many development projects, with uncertain outcome where some of the projects have to be terminated prematurely. The main purpose with this study is to identify factors, both internal and external, that influence the decision to terminate projects prematurely in Swedish development projects. Factors mentioned in the literature will be compared with case studies on three Swedish industrial companies to demonstrate the most important ones when taking such decisions. First a literature study was made to identify basic terms, a general project model and factors affecting the decision.

In the next few years the pollutants loading at the Slottshagen Wastewater treatment plant in Norrköping is going to increase due to the reason that one of the Waste water treatment plant in the district will be shut down.A survey of how these different pollutants are divided in the treatment process is therefore necessary for mapping out both the loading and treatment efficiency.This can be achieved by studying mass balances.Mass balances were carried out for the water treatment process for the mechanical/chemical,biological and the chemical stage.The mass balance studies show that the treatment efficiency was very good. However in order for the mass balances to be quite consistent and to ensure complete coverage of results and conclusions i.e. more reliable results, sludge samples should be collected and taken at different times per day and the influent rate should be investigated.In this work mass balance has been set up in order to illustrate and identify the factors that should be considered and taken care of for further estimation using mass balances in the future. Furthermore this survey results in a calculating model for the mass balances at thisplant.This calculating model is used as a tool to facilitate future calculations for mass balances for the water treatment process at Slottshagens Wastewater treatment plant.Moreover it provides a basis for carrying out further estimation of the treatment process in the near future.In this project the importance of some operating parameters was also taken in consideration.This calculating model can be modified so that calculations of such operating parameters i.e. sludge loading and sludge age can be easily performed.Such information can be used further to evaluate different operation alternative in order to ensure an optimal use of the treatment process with in the plant..

The contact company, LRF Konsult, is a consulting firm specialized in areas of law, real estate, finance and taxation. Discussions on the subject of agricultural improvement in the area of Lean, has primarily been driven by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, where LRF Konsult also participated. This thesis can be seen as a preliminary study of how Lean can work within agricultural enterprises.The thesis primarily focuses on the possibilities dairy farms have to improve operations. What practical benefits they can obtain through the implementation of Lean. And how an implementation could take place.By visits to two dairy companies, and through interviewing their respective business leaders, an image of the companies activity for improvement, in connection to this thesis was established.

Safe retrieval of nutrients from human excreta to fertilize crops in order to gain adequate yields will increase food security and sustainability in agriculture areas with nutrient-poor fields. Safe and nutritious food will meet the dietary needs of the individual which promotes public health and the ability of an active life. Human excreta should be considered as a resource instead of being assumed as Waste. Human faeces and urine is excellent fertilizers which may close the nutrient loop if utilized properly. However, sanitation of the excreta is required to prevent disease transmission by reducing the content of gastrointestinal pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and parasites. The objective of this study was to in small scale evaluate the sanitation in a combined liquid compost and urea treatment by monitor the inactivation of bacteria and viruses at the combination three start temperatures, 45, 40 and 35 °C, and three additions of urea, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 % and reference, 0 % urea addition.

With the climate change issues growing in importance on the social agenda, the field of urban masterplanning is of no exception when it comes to minimizing the carbon footprint in a variety of projects. The aim of this thesis has been to prepare the Carbon Critical Masterplanning tool, a software plugin for carbon dioxide emissions assessment developed by Atkins, to be used in Swedish conditions. The main targets were to improve the areas of the tool associated with energy conversion and renewable energy sources, and to test the tool in a real case. A planned construction of a new campus in Albano, Stockholm was chosen for the pilot study. A 3D model was built in the tool and the carbon footprint was calculated for a variety of combinations for energy supply to the future area.

Fjärrvärmen utgör idag ungefär 12 % (48 TWh) av Sveriges totala energianvändning. Starka argument att använda fjärrvärme för att tillgodose bostäders och lokalers värmebehov är möjligheten att använda olika bränslen av skiftande pris och kvalitet, den goda verkningsgraden en centraliserad värmeanläggning erhåller samt fördelen med att kombinera produktionen av el och värme.Halmstad energi och miljö (HEM), förser Halmstad och närområdet med fjärrvärme och total mängd producerad energi uppgick 2009 till 596 GWh. Avfall och biobränsle utgör den största produktionsandelen men även industriell spillvärme samt mindre mängder olja och naturgas används för att framställa värme.Konkurrenssituationen för fjärrvärme är på många orter i det närmsta monopolistisk där en stor aktör äger hela marknaden. Det är viktigt att förbättra fjärrvärmesystemet för att i framtiden behålla dess konkurrenskraft. Följande rapport utreder och beskriver åtgärder för att göra ett redan befintligt fjärrvärmesystem mer effektivt.Utifrån möten med personal på HEM har tio punkter presenterats, vilka utvärderar olika delmoment i Halmstads fjärrvärmesystem.

For most pupils homework is a natural part of school and their education and there are several providers of homework assistance: the pupil's parents, sibblings, friends, Internet forums, hired private tutoring, non-profit organisations and at times even the pupil's school. This study has investigated the use of the school-based homework assistance programme at the Upper Secondary School of Psychology in Stockholm and why the programme is not more frequently used by its pupils. The school offers homework assistance two hours each Thursday afternoon, with at least two teachers being present to tender for the school's 127 pupils. The cost of the programme has been estimated to approximately 12 500 Swedish kronor per week. Through the main use of a questionnaire given to both the school's students and teachers, as well as an interview with the school's headmaster, this study will show that despite receiving the opportunity few pupils take part of the programme on a regular basis.