Performance Investigation Based on Vital Factors of Agricultural Feeder Supported by Solar Photovoltaic Power Plant

Solar photovoltaic (SPV) installations are growing in the distribution network due to the continuously decreasing prices of solar photovoltaic panels. Installing the SPV Plant on the distribution feeder supplying to the agricultural pumps is a challenging task due to the varying agricultural load pattern of the Agricultural Feeder (AG Feeder). Supply of power and demand creates potential challenges in the low voltage (LV) distribution system. This paper presents a case study of a 2 MW SPV connected to an agricultural feeder in India. Performance analysis has been carried out using field measurement data. The key parameters such as PV Penetration and Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) are calculated for analysis. Parameters such as Grid Dependency of the load and PV Contribution have been introduced in this paper, which relates to the SPV system behavior more aptly. It is recommended that the Time of Day (ToD) metering with the lowest cost during the solar generation hours will make agricultural consumers shift their demand matching with solar generation hours. Extensive analysis of agricultural feeder connected SPV power plant indicates that the power supply has improved for the feeder during winter and summer months.

The impact of seasonality on efficient airport capacity utilization

The major cause of under-capacity or overcapacity at smaller airports is seasonality. Such airports are finding it difficult to determine the capacity to meet the demand and adequately handle passengers in both high and low season. If the capacity is not optimally defined, excessive congestions and waiting times occur, resulting in lower service quality. Airports greatly benefit from capacity utilization analysis in terms of more accurate planning, designing, and adjusting capacity to the current demand in order to encourage further development as well as to reduce additional costs. Using queuing theory, this paper aims to answer the following question: is the passenger capacity at Rijeka International Airport (Croatia) optimally determined to meet the demand promptly, both in high and low season, without causing excessive congestions and waiting times. The results obtained indicate the occurrence of overcapacity since high season demand can be well served, even with reduced capacity used in the low season when demand is significantly lower.

Manufacturing Export Performance: A Trend Analysis Approach

The study examined the export performance using a trend analysis approach. A graphical demonstration showing the trend of export performance in Nigeria over time was displayed. It also identifies the major determinants of manufacture exports in Nigeria using ordinary least square approach which shows that an increase in the average tariff rate would lead to a decline in the manufacturing exports and its statistically significant at the 5% level of significance. Capacity utilization has a negative and insignificant with manufactured exports. Also, there is a positive and significant relationship between exchange rate and trade openness at 1 and 5% level of significance respectively.

Amtek Auto – financing under distress

Learning outcomes The primary teaching objective is to discuss the capital raising efforts of a firm under financial distress. It also provides supporting data to calculate cost of capital, DuPont/modified DuPont values and Altman’s Z-Score that can appropriately be incorporated into the discussion. Case-B provides information and data of the company’s recent performance and to changes in bankruptcy law in India. Overall, this case study provides ample scope to discuss, understand and provide the solution to the following key corporate finance themes as follows: 1. Analyzing accounting statements and examine potential earnings quality issue. 2. Predicting default and bankruptcy using qualitative analysis, financial ratios, traditional and modified DuPont models and Altman’s Z score model. 3. Examining the capital raising efforts of a distressed firm, which has already defaulted on borrowings. 4. To explore the impact of changes in regulation on the turnaround efforts of the firm as well as on the promoters of the firm. Case overview/synopsis Since 2005, Amtek Auto moved at a breathtaking speed with the goal of reaching $10bn in sales, from the current level of about $1.2bn. The group had acquired more than a dozen companies spending about Rs.5,000cr. ($850m) during this period primarily through borrowed funds. However, the market and business expansion was not happening as expected. The company’s capacity utilization was just about 40% (approx.) during much of this period. The mounting fixed costs of operation and debt servicing grew to the level of unsustainability, led the firm to default on its borrowing. Now the company had to quickly recapitalize itself to run its operations and retain the premier position in auto component industry. The company and its promoters were considering various methods of debt restructuring, asset sale and further equity infusion. Complexity academic level Introductory and elective level corporate finance. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

Taxi Utilization Rate Maximization by Dynamic Demand Prediction: A Case Study in the City of Chicago

The explosive popularity of transportation network companies (TNCs) in the last decade has imposed dramatic disruptions on the taxi industry, but not all the impacts are beneficial. For instance, studies have shown taxi capacity utilization rate is lower than 50% in five major U.S. cities. With the availability of taxi data, this study finds the taxi utilization rate is around 40% in June 2019 (normal scenario) and 35% in June 2020 (COVID 19 scenario) in the city of Chicago, U.S. Powered by recent advances in the deep learning of capturing non-linear relationships and the availability of datasets, a real-time taxi trip optimization strategy with dynamic demand prediction was designed using long short-term memory (LSTM) architecture to maximize the taxi utilization rate. The algorithms are tested in both scenarios—normal time and COVID 19 time—and promising results have been shown by implementing the strategy, with around 19% improvement in mileage utilization rate in June 2019 and 74% in June 2020 compared with the baseline without any optimizations. Additionally, this study investigated the impacts of COVID 19 on the taxi service in Chicago.

TAKT TIME E BALANCEAMENTO NO FORMATO DA PROGRAMAÇÃO DE LINHA DE PRODUÇÃO

Produzir mais, empregando menos tempo e menos recursos, é o sonho de qualquer empresa. Diante disso, este estudo busca resolver problemas de utilização da capacidade e de desnivelamentos de produção. Dessa maneira, o objetivo consiste em propor um formato de programação que otimize a utilização dos recursos e resulte em maior equilíbrio na produção de uma empresa do ramo metalúrgico, produtora de implementos rodoviários e localizada na região Sul do Brasil. Por meio de um estudo de caso, identificaram-se a forma de trabalho e a situação da programação da empresa. A partir disso, criou-se um modelo de um novo formato de produção, voltado à minimização das variações de volumes e fundamentado, basicamente, na utilização dos conceitos de takt time e de balanceamento das linhas. Conclui-se que o modelo proposto permitirá um ritmo continuado na produção, sendo capaz de estabilizá-la. Ademais, conforme for aplicado nas linhas da empresa, evidenciará os pontos ao longo do fluxo que precisam de melhoria, identificando gargalos e ociosidades. A soma de tais fatores proporcionará o aprimoramento contínuo dos processos da empresa e a otimização dos recursos disponíveis para a produção. Palavras-Chave: Linha de produção. Programação de produção. Takt time. Balanceamento de linha. Capacidade produtiva. Abstract: Producing more, using less time and fewer resources, is the dream of any company. Therefore, this study seeks to solve problems of capacity utilization and production unevenness. Thus, the objective is to propose a programming format that optimizes the use of resources and results in greater balance in the production of a company in the metallurgical sector, producer of road implements and located in the southern region of Brazil. Through a case study, the way of working and the situation of the company's programming were identified. From this, a model of a new production format was created, aimed at minimizing volume variations and basically based on the use of the concepts of takt time and line balancing. It is concluded that the proposed model will allow a continued pace in production, being able to stabilize it. Furthermore, as applied to the company's lines, it will highlight the points along the flow that need improvement, identifying bottlenecks and idleness. The sum of these factors will provide the continuous improvement of the company's processes and the optimization of the resources available for production. Keywords: Production line. Production schedule. Takt time. Line balancing. Productive capacity.

The Impact of E-Commerce Sales on Capacity Utilization

This study aims to examine the relationship between e-commerce sales and capacity utilization in China, with process innovation being the mediator and product focus being the moderator. A mediated moderation model was developed and tested using data from 804 Chinese manufacturing firms as well as two-stage least squares regression analysis. The results reveal that the relationship between e-commerce sales and capacity utilization is negative; while process innovation mediates this relationship. Furthermore, product focus not only moderates the relationship between e-commerce sales and capacity utilization, but also moderates the relationship between process innovation and capacity utilization. These findings are useful for decision-makers when formulating e-commerce sales strategies and focusing on process innovation that will help them achieve higher capacity utilization. This paper contributes to existing research by validating process innovation as mediator and product focus as moderator between e-commerce sales and capacity utilization.

Evaluating Fishing Capacity Based on DEA and Regression Analysis of China’s Offshore Fishery

The analysis of offshore fishing capacity is of great significance and practical value to the sustainable utilization and conservation of marine fishery resources. Based on the 2004–2020 China Fishery Statistical Yearbook, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was applied for measuring fishing capacity using a number of fishing vessels, total power, total tonnage, and the number of professional fishermen as the input measures and the annual catch as the output measure. Capacity utilization had a calculated range from 80.7 to 100%, and its average is 93.5%. In the first four years of 2003–2007, the excess investment rate of fishing vessels, total tonnage, total power, and fishermen was low (<5%). There was a consistent sharp upward trend in 2007, a gradual downward trend from 2007 to 2015, and an upward trend after reaching a low point in 2015, with the highest gross tonnage of fishing vessels reaching 25.5%. Four regression models that incorporate machine learning algorithms are used, including Lasso, Ridge, KNN, and Polynomial Features. The goodness of fit for the four models was used as the evaluation index, and the offshore annual catch based on the evaluation index was proposed. The forecasting annual catch of the polynomial model can reach 0.98. Furthermore, a comparative simulation of the DEA incorporating the polynomial model was carried out. The results show that DEA can evaluate input factors under the conditions of a given range, and the polynomial model has more advantages in forecasting annual catches. Furthermore, the combined application of DEA and polynomial model was used to analyze and discuss the management policies of China’s offshore fishery, which can provide help and reference for future management.