Strategic and Sustainable Implementation of 5S in a Beef Abattoir

In recent time workplace organization and easy information retrieval help in achieving optimum productivity through maximum utilization of the resources available, significantly reducing industrial lead-time and waste thus resulting in low production cost and increase return-on-investment (ROI). This paper is a study of the effective and efficient implementation of 5S processes in a beef abattoir. Thus, the paper employs both qualitative (case study) and quantitative (statistical analysis like 5S scorecard and 5S audit performance) methods. This research identifies and outlines 5S “best practice” issues overlooked such as unneeded items lying around, torn sign displays, labels and shelves not partitioned, bins not clearly stored in demarcated areas and storage tools not clearly shown with sign panels and labels. Furthermore, budget constraints and the abattoir unreadiness to adopt the 5S system inhibits the smooth implementation of the 5S phases required. Therefore, this research managed to map out a 5S lean-system implementation framework for the case company X beef abattoirs. Finally, the research recommended effective process on how 5S can efficiently save the industry on planning to reduce waste in processes such as lead-time in effective information retrieval system, safety issues to mitigate non-value adding activities and space utilization, for improved productivity.

NEEDS TO ADOPT PROFESSIONAL ETHICAL STANDARD IN SECRETARIAL PRACTICE IN THE ERA OF ICT FOR OPTIMUM PRODUCTIVITY IN ORGANIZATIONS

The study was designed to determine the need to adopt professional ethical standard in secretarial practice in the era of ICT for optimum productivity in organizations. The population of the study consisted of 182 respondents which is made up of Office Technology and Management lecturers programme and managers of organizations in Asaba metropolis in Delta State. A structured questionnaire which was validated by three experts guided the study. Cronbach Alpha technique was used to establish the reliability of the instrument before it was administered on the respondents. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation. Z-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. A 4 point rating scale was used as a guide for respondents. The boundary real limit was that any item with mean value of 2.50 was regarded as agreed, while any mean item with mean value of less than 2.50 was regarded as disagreed. It was concluded that respondents agreed that there is need to adopt ethical standard for secretarial practice, also that there is the need to be aware of special skills for secretarial practice in the era of ICT for optimum productivity. It was recommended among others that professional secretaries should be abreast with ethical standard and special skills required to excel in the ICT era for optimum productivity in organizations.

Rapid Truck Loading for Efficient Feedstock Logistics

A multi-bale handling unit offers an advantage for the efficient hauling of round bales. Two empty racks on trailers are left at a satellite storage location for loading while a truck tractor delivers two loaded racks to the biorefinery, thus uncoupling the loading and hauling operations and increasing the efficiency of both. The projected 10 min trailer exchange time equals the projected 10 min unload time at the biorefinery achieved by lifting off the two full racks and replacing them with two empties, a technology adapted from the container shipping industry. A concept is presented for a bale loader that latches onto the rack/trailer and loads bales into the bottom tier chambers. This machine will load 10 bales into the rack on the front trailer by attaching on to the front of the trailer and 10 bales into the rear trailer by attaching onto the rear. A telehandler removes bales from single-layer storage and places them in the bale loader to load the bottom tier compartments. The top tier compartments are loaded directly from the top. Expectations are that an experienced operator can average 9 loads in a 10 h workday, and load-out cost is estimated as 3.61 USD/Mg, assuming the average achieved load-out productivity over annual operation is 60% of optimum productivity (24 Mg/h) equal to 14.4 Mg/h. Cost increases to 4.81 USD/Mg when the productivity factor drops to 45%, and cost is 3.09 USD/Mg for a factor of 70%.

Evaluating The Relationship Between Leadership Development And Human Capital Condition Of Non-Metallic Product Manufacturing Firms In South East, Nigeria.

Failure of leadership and inefficient utilisation of human capital have continued to agitate the minds of researchers and managers alike in Nigeria. Therefore, this paper evaluated the relationship between leadership development and human capital condition of non-metallic product manufacturing firms registered with Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in South East, Nigeria. A survey research design was used for the study. A sample size of 310 was utilized and drawn from a population of 2862 personnel. Data collected were presented in tables and were further analysed using mean scores and standard deviation, and the hypotheses were tested using the F-statistic. Three major findings were made, namely: that there was significant positive relationship between leadership skills and employee output at work of non-metallic product manufacturing firms in South East, Nigeria [ F(4,20 = 13.07771), p < 0.05]; there was significant positive relationship between managers’ level of education and operational cost of non-metallic product manufacturing firms in South East, Nigeria [ F(4,20 = 19.89737), p < 0.05] and that there was a significant positive relationship between leadership training and team building and or cohesion among staff of non-metallic product manufacturing firms in South East, Nigeria [ F(4,20 = 15.98143), p < 0.05,5]. Hence, it was concluded that there was positive relationship between leadership development and human capital condition of non-metallic product manufacturing firms in South-East, Nigeria. It was therefore recommended that management of non-metallic manufacturing firms in South-East, Nigeria, should install and implement regular staff training and retraining programmes, coupled with robust staff welfare/reward packages, which motivate them for optimum productivity.

Effect of Organic Manures Application on Soil Physicochemical Properties of Coarse-textured Ultisol and Okra Productivity in Nsukka, Southeastern Nigeria

Background: The greenhouse and field studies were carried out to assess the effect of different rates of poultry manure (PM), pig slurry (PS) and the recommended NPK fertilizer on some soil physico-chemical properties and okra yield of coarse-textured Ultisols in Nsukka, southeastern Nigeria. Methods: The PM and PS were applied at three different rates (10, 20 and 40 t ha-1) as well as no amendment as control and the recommended NPK fertilizer (300 kg/ha) and replicated five times. Soil and agronomic data collected were analyzed for variance (ANOVA) using Genstat 4.0.Result: The PM and PS significantly (p less than 0.05) improved soil pH, soil organic matter, available phosphorous, total nitrogen, aggregate stability, mean weight diameter, bulk density, porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity in greenhouse and field studies. Significant improvement in CEC was obtained in the field study. The PM and PS significantly (p less than 0.05) improved agronomic parameters e.g. plant height, number of leaves, biomass weight and yield of okra than the control. Poultry manure showed its superiority over other amendments in improving soil and agronomic properties. The study recommended 20 t ha-1 of PM and 40 t ha-1 of PS for sustainable soil and optimum productivity of okra in Nsukka, southeastern Nigeria.

Optimization of water productivity in Bhagwanpur distributary command of India employing TLBO and cuckoo search algorithms

Efficient and judicious use of land and water is the need of the hour. In other words, evolving a cropping pattern, which optimizes productivity or net return considering prevailing constraints is quite useful to farmers, because such a cropping pattern is expected to be better than the existing cropping pattern in terms of yielding optimum productivity or net return. A single objective problem consisting of an objective function of optimization of water productivity with prevailing constraints was formulated and three optimization algorithms, namely (i) LINPROG, (ii) teaching learning based optimization (TLBO) and (iii) cuckoo search (CS) were employed to compute optimum water productivity corresponding to various affinity levels. It was observed that all three approaches yielded exactly the same values of water productivity at different affinity levels. TLBO showed better convergence capability as it reached the optimum value of objective function at a lower number of iterations than CS technique. Optimum water productivity at 20% affinity level seems quite practical and reasonable to be recommended in this distributary command for adoption because water productivity value is 2.57 times higher with 98.25 ha less cropped area as compared to the value of water productivity for the existing cropping pattern.

Comparative Assessment of Nutrient Composition of Aquacultured and Wild Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) in Cross Rivers State Nigeria

Aim: Aquafarming of catfish has become very popular in Nigeria recently, raising concerns about the nutritional benefits of this fish to consumers especially when compared to the wild catfish. Study Design: Fishes were obtained from Calabar Cross Rivers State Nigeria. A total of 30 catfishes were harvested, 15 aquacultured and 15 wild. The fishes weighed between 150 – 200 g at the time of harvest. Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at the central laboratory of the University of Calabar, Nigeria and lasted for a period of 6 months. Methodology: Fishes were cleaned and dried under the sun for a period of 14 days. Dried fishes were eventually ground into fine powder which was used for the nutrient analysis. The proximate, mineral and vitamin contents of aquacultured and wild catfish were investigated. The results revealed that aquacultured catfish contained significantly higher amounts of protein than the wild catfish. Conclusion: While the aquacultured fish may be preferable for children, young adults and pregnant women who require a lot of protein for body-building, growth and development, the wild catfish may be more suitable for the maintenance of general health, water and electrolyte balance and optimum productivity being richer in most minerals.

EMPLOYEE’S PRODUCTIVITY: THE MOST DOMINANT FACTORS

An employee is the most important element in the success of a company. In order to achieve the optimum productivity of goods or services, the underlying factors of employee performance are very crucial to be identified. Employers should provide a conducive working environment to ensure that the employees can perform well and satisfactorily towards the success of the company. This paper, therefore, was conducted to determine the most influencing factor of employee’s productivity. The aim is also to investigate the relationship between employee’s productivity and three identified factors which are motivation, working environment and job satisfaction. Besides, the study also aims to examine the strategies to improve the productivity of employees. The respondents were 80 staff of Elektro Serve (M) Sdn. Bhd. (ESMSB) which is based in Paka, Terengganu. In ensuring the stability of information generated, cross-sectional data was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted in analysing the data gathered. The finding shows that motivation is the most influencing factor of employee productivity followed by job satisfaction. Thus, it can be concluded that motivation and job satisfaction are the most dominant factors that contribute to the employee’s productivity.