scholarly journals Vital Factors Stimulating Development and Competitiveness of Design and Construction Enterprises of Photovoltaic Farms

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3399
Author(s):  
Robert Kuceba ◽  
Grzegorz Chmielarz ◽  
Marcin Soltysiak

The underlying objective of the paper is to identify and evaluate in the research process vital factors that impact the development of design and construction enterprises of photovoltaic farms on the energy markets, in particular narrowed down to renewable energy sources (RES) markets, including energy coming from photovoltaic sources. The first part of the paper, the epistemological one, introduces a scientific discourse pertaining to conditionings and restrictions related to RES markets in the dimensions of sustainable development. This has been done with the use of literature query, legislative and administrative acts, and reports drawn up for the European Commission. In this reference, we summarized the EU’s essential measures aimed at promoting the idea of sustainability. The second part of the paper, the empirical one, presents a summary of the results obtained within the research pertaining to “opportunities and threats in managing projects of photovoltaic farms in production enterprises of energy appliances”. The research was conducted in a group of 24 design and construction enterprises of photovoltaic farms. The concentration of the research, in the context of the underlying objective of this paper, pertained to the aggregation and evaluation of selected factors that stimulate the development and competitiveness of construction projects and the implementation of photovoltaic farms. We considered the hierarchy of strategic objectives of the investigated enterprises and selected threats to their market position. Two primary criteria were adopted to aggregate and evaluate vital factors that impact the development of design and construction enterprises of PV farms. The first of them is the qualitative one—top scores, weighted averages of respondent evaluations on the five-point Likert scale. The second one is the quantitative criterion—number of indications N ≥ 22 of the respondents (over 90%). A measurable value of the paper is the scientific discourse pertaining to dimensions of competitiveness of the investigated and analyzed enterprises on the RES market, in particular narrowed down to photovoltaic farms.

Author(s):  
Tobias WEBER ◽  
Mia KLEE

In recent times, the trend of aiming for objectivity and reproducibility in science has arrived in linguistic discourse. A critical point in this debate is the agency in speakers’ language use and, simultaneously, in the researchers’ description and interpretation. The aim of objectivity demotes, by default, the role of the subjects, often by imposing structures to limit agency. We can see various scenarios where researchers can purposefully bend rules, thus exerting their agentive stance in the research endeavour. This paper aims to address issues pertaining to agency as opposed to the goal of reproducibility, where the researchers’ and consultants’ agency on different aspects of the research process shape its outcomes. Training early career researchers and students in using


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 28-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Keys ◽  
Susan R. Silverman ◽  
Jennie Evans

The purpose of this study was to collect the perceptions of design professionals and clinicians regarding design process success strategies and elements of interprofessional engagement and communication during healthcare design and construction projects. Additional objectives were to gather best practices to maximize clinician engagement and provide tools and techniques to improve interdisciplinary collaboration for future projects. Strategies are needed to enhance the design and construction process and create interactions that benefit not only the project but the individuals working to see its completion. Meaningful interprofessional collaboration is essential to any healthcare design project and making sure the various players communicate is a critical element. This was a qualitative study conducted via an online survey. Respondents included architects, construction managers, interior designers, and healthcare personnel who had recently been involved in a building renovation or new construction project for a healthcare facility. Responses to open-ended questions were analyzed for themes, and descriptive statistics were used to provide insight into participant demographics. Information on the impressions, perceptions, and opportunities related to clinician involvement in design projects was collected from nurses, architects, interior designers, and construction managers. Qualitative analysis revealed themes of clinician input, organizational dynamics, and a variety of communication strategies to be the most frequently mentioned elements of successful interprofessional collaboration. This study validates the need to include clinician input in the design process, to consider the importance of organizational dynamics on design team functioning, and to incorporate effective communication strategies during design and construction projects.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 914-935 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heiko Gebauer ◽  
Mirella Haldimann ◽  
Caroline Jennings Saul

Purpose Despite the opportunities provided by pay-per-use (PPU) services, product companies in business-to-business sectors often fail to compete systematically by using them. The purpose of this paper is to explain how companies can avoid failures when it comes to PPU services. The paper describes the “seizing” capabilities needed to achieve the strategic objectives of PPU services. Design/methodology/approach The research process is divided into a pilot and an in-depth study. Altogether, 17 companies participated in the study. Findings The findings reveal that the seizing capabilities depend on the strategic objectives of PPU services. To expand the market share with PPU services, companies need to broaden the customer portfolio for PPU services, to align individual services within the entire service portfolio and to balance profits made by PPU services and other business lines. For strategic objectives such as rapid sales growth early in the market development and new market creation other seizing capabilities are required. Research limitations/implications The findings are not generalizable, due to the use of a qualitative study. The study is restricted to product companies in the business-to-business sector. Practical implications Managers often believe that extending and modularizing the service portfolio is beneficial. When achieving sales growth during the market development phase, these capabilities are in fact sometimes counterproductive. Practitioners have to look into the costs and benefits of setting-up their own financing company and working with banks. Social implications PPU services contribute to a more sustainable consumption and make product design more resource-efficient. Originality/value The study is original by virtue of systematically studying PPU services, providing a microfoundation for seizing capabilities and developing testable propositions for future research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 11047
Author(s):  
Alexey Efimiev ◽  
Olga Kutsygina ◽  
Margarita Agafonova ◽  
Andrei Chugunov

The paper assesses the relevant problems of the global energy paradigm, with emphasis on ensuring energy security. To solve this problem, the state and prospects of world energy markets and the forecast for their development are analyzed. The paper substantiates the importance of improving energy efficiency in Russia. It also analyzes and displays the most important aspects of global energy problems, highlights the dynamics of the global balance of energy consumption, analyzes the development of renewable energy sources. The study determined the place of fuel and energy sector in the global economy. Forecasts of global electricity consumption are presented. The paper focuses on the need for measures that contribute to overcoming energy threats in the global energy market.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 282-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Tomczak

AbstractOne of the key problems in managing the realization of a construction project is the selection of appropriate working crews and coordinating their activities in a way that ensures the highest degree of implementation of defined goals (minimizing the project duration and/or reducing downtime and related costs). Most of the existing methods of work harmonization used in construction industry allow obtaining the desired results only in relation to the organization of the processes realization in repetitive linear projects. In case of realization of non-linear construction objects or construction units, it is usually necessary to choose between the reduction of the project implementation time and maintaining the continuity of crews work on the units. It was found that there is a lack in the literature of developed method enabling harmonization of crews’ work, while minimizing the downtime at work and the duration of the entire project taking into account additional constraints, e.g. the need to not exceed the deadlines for the realization of the project stages.The article presents the concept of a multi-criteria optimization method of harmonizing the execution of non-linear processes of a multi-unit construction project in deterministic conditions. It will enable the reduction of realization time and downtimes in work, taking into account the preferences of the decision maker regarding the relevance of the optimization criteria. A mathematical model for optimizing the selection of crews and order of completion of units in multi-unit construction projects was also developed. In order to present the possibility of usage of the developed concept, an example of the optimal selection of crews and their work schedule was solved and presented. The proposed method may allow for better use of the existing production potential of construction enterprises and ensure synchronization of the crews employed during the work, especially in the case of difficulties in acquiring qualified staff in construction industry.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godwin Iroroakpo Idoro

This study compares the levels of planning and the outcome of projects procured by direct labour and traditional contract procurement options. For this comparison, a survey of 130 projects was carried out. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analysed using percentage, mean and t-test. The study discovers that whereas the levels of conception and overall planning done in projects procured by the two options are the same, the levels of design and construction planning done in DBB and DL projects differ. The study also discovers that the time-overruns of projects procured by the two methods differ but their cost-overruns are the same. The study concludes that projects procured by DBB and DL options differ in planning and time-overrun and suggests improved planning at the design stage when DL option is adopted and improved planning at the construction stage when DBB option is adopted. Santrauka Šiame darbe lyginami planavimo lygiai ir projektų rezultatai, kai naudojamas tiesioginis darbas ir taikomas tradicinis pirkimų metodas (projektavimas–konkursas–statyba; angl. Design-Bid-Build, D-B-B). Palyginimui atlikta 130 projektų apklausa. Duomenys surinkti naudojant tam tikros struktūros anketas ir išanalizuoti pagal procentus, vidurkius ir t testą. Atliekant tyrimą nustatyta, kad abiem paslaugų pirkimo atvejais projektų sumanymo etapas ir bendras planavimas yra vienodo lygio, tačiau tradicinį pirkimų metodą pasirinkusiuose projektuose projektavimo ir statybų planavimo etapų lygis skiriasi nuo tiesioginį darbą pasirinkusių projektų etapų lygio. Atliekant tyrimą paaiškėjo, kad abiem atvejais laikas viršijimas skirtingai, tačiau sąnaudos viršijamos vienodai. Daroma išvada, kad projektams taikant skirtingus pirkimo būdus (tradicinį metodą arba tiesioginio darbo variantą) skiriasi planavimas ir vėlavimas; taip pat siūloma, kaip pagerinti projektavimo etapo planavimą, kai naudojamas tiesioginio darbo variantas, ir kaip pagerinti statybų etapo planavimą, kai taikomas tradicinis metodas.


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