Integrating smart maintenance analysis in luxury printing factory

LAUREA MAGISTRALELa creazione di questa tesi di master è stata effettuata durante uno stage studentesco presso il Laboratorio di Gestione Industriale. L'esperienza è stata svolta in collaborazione sia con il Politecnico di Milano che con la società Gpack S.p.A., e il lavoro è stato svolto in loco in uno stabilimento produttivo a Truccazzano, in Italia. Il progetto si è concentrato sul miglioramento della disponibilità del reparto chiave denominato OFFSET, utilizzando strumenti snelli come 5s e manutenzione basata sulle condizioni. Gli strumenti sono stati selezionati dopo un'analisi approfondita della letteratura su idee e concetti simili. La risoluzione del problema è stata organizzata utilizzando la metodologia A3, in cui il problema è stato prima analizzato da una prospettiva ampia e poi scomposto, dopodiché sono stati selezionati gli obiettivi. Le contromisure sono state sviluppate, implementate e valutate per vedere i risultati finali. Gli obiettivi specifici sono stati discussi con l’azienda e le contromisure sono state sviluppate solo dopo che le parti interessate hanno concordato tutta la semantica e hanno visto la visione del progetto. I dati e i risultati sono stati entrambi analizzati attraverso specifici indicatori chiave di prestazione selezionati dall'azienda, in questo caso i KPI erano l'efficacia complessiva delle apparecchiature standard del settore con le componenti principali di disponibilità, prestazioni e qualità. Lo scopo della tesi era fornire all'azienda idee e lavori rilevanti per il futuro processo decisionale utilizzando principalmente metodologie snelle. I loro concetti attuali sono stati aggiornati e applicati specificamente ai reparti con colli di bottiglia. Il processo è stato standardizzato per un ulteriore utilizzo. Sebbene i limiti del progetto fossero immensi, soprattutto in termini di mezzi finanziari, sono stati raccomandati possibili miglioramenti futuri quando i vincoli finanziari non fossero più un problema.Creation of this master thesis was done as a student internship for Industrial Management Laboratory. The experience was done in partnership with both Politecnico di Milano and Gpack S.p.A. company, and the work was done on site in a production plant in Truccazzano, Italy. The project focused on improving the Availability of the key department named OFFSET, by utilizing lean tools such as 5s and Condition based maintenance. The Tools were selected after thorough literature review of similar ideas and concepts. The problem solving was organized utilizing the A3 methodology, in which the problem was first analyzed from a broad perspective then broken down, after which goals were selected. The countermeasures were developed and implemented and evaluated to see results. The specific goals were discussed with the company, and countermeasures were developed only after the stakeholders agreed on all semantics and saw the vision of the project. The data and results were both analyzed through specific Key Performance Indicators selected by the company, in this case the KPI were the industry standard Overall Equipment Effectiveness with main components of Availability, Performance and Quality. The aim of the thesis was to provide the company with relevant ideas and roadworks to future decision making by utilizing mainly lean methodologies. Their current concepts were updated and specifically applied to bottleneck departments. The process was standardized for further use. While the limitations of the project were immense, mainly through financial means, future possible improvements were recommended when financial constraints were no longer an issue

The German Bundesländer as Laboratories of Democracy

The German commitment to federalism is one of the strongest in the world today. This essay explores the significance of German federalism and its strong subnational legislatures on policy development since the end of World War II, through reunification, and up through the present day. It finds that the German federal government has consistently looked to the Bundesländer for inspiration, with them acting as laboratories of democracy to aid in policy development. This article will also provide a literature review, analyzing the recent works of prominent political scientists to illustrate how subnational legislatures have assisted in producing national policy in the education, climate, and healthcare fields

From Crisis to Convergence: The Rise of Europe's New Party Family

This thesis examines the emergence and consolidation of a new Social Nativist party family within European politics, driven by socio-economic crises and cultural shifts. Utilizing data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey (CHES) and detailed case studies, the research highlights the ideological convergence of Social Nativist parties on key dimensions such as economic distribution, governance, and polity membership. Despite diverse origins, these parties share common themes of national sovereignty, exclusionary migration policies, and welfare chauvinism. The findings challenge traditional political classifications and call for a re-evaluation of existing frameworks to better capture the evolving political landscape. This study contributes to the understanding of contemporary European political dynamics and the rising influence of Social Nativist parties, offering insights into their implications for European democracy and policy-making.Master of Art

The State of Populism in the Post-Industrial Democracies of the Global North: Fading Out, Growing Ever Stronger, or Preparing to Unveil a New Face?

As it is new to the political realm, there are still a lot of questions to be asked and research to do with regards to right wing populism: how it functions, why it exists, what it is, and where we go from here. This essay will answer these questions, as well as investigate recent wins and losses for major far-right parties and movements across the globe. In seeking to answer these questions, I find that right-populism is not, in fact, the political fad many expect it to be and if it is to ever lose popularity, will likely only be pushed into obscurity by a major large-scale global event, or eclipsed by a more powerful political movement. In the short term, the COVID-19 pandemic and left-wing populism are right-wing populism’s biggest challengers, but neither have seemed to make a big enough dent in the power of right-populism for it to be considered a loss for the far-right just yet

Opinion: Eliminating aircraft soot emissions

Soot from aircraft engines deteriorates air quality around airports and can contribute to climate change primarily by influencing cloud processes and contrail formation. Simultaneously, aircraft engines emit carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and other pollutants which also negatively affect human health and the environment. While urgent action is needed to reduce all pollutants, strategies to reduce one pollutant may increase another, calling for a need to decrease, for example, the uncertainty associated with soot's contribution to net radiative forcing (RF) in order to design targeted policies that minimize the formation and release of all pollutants. Aircraft soot is characterized by rather small median mobility diameters, dm=8–60 nm, and at high thrust, low (&lt; 25 %) organic carbon to total carbon (OC/TC) ratios, while at low thrust, the OC/TC can be quite high (&gt; 75 %). Computational models could aid in the design of new aircraft combustors to reduce emissions, but current models struggle to capture the soot, dm, and volume fraction, fv, measured experimentally. This may partly be due to the oversimplification of soot's irregular morphology in models and a still poor understanding of soot inception. Nonetheless, combustor design can significantly reduce soot emissions through extensive oxidation or lean, near-premixed combustion. For example, lean, premixed prevaporized combustors significantly reduce emissions at high thrust by allowing injected fuel to fully vaporize before ignition, while low temperatures from very lean jet fuel combustion limit the formation of NOx. Alternative fuels can be used alongside improved combustor technologies to reduce soot emissions. However, current policies and low supply promote the blending of alternative fuels at low ratios (∼ 1 %) for all flights, rather than using high ratios (&gt; 30 %) in a few flights which could meaningfully reduce soot emissions. Here, existing technologies for reducing such emissions through combustor and fuel design will be reviewed to identify strategies that eliminate them.</p

Characterization of the effects of fuel and entrained salt on soot morphology

Soot is an important contributor to climate change and has negative effects on human health. These impacts depend on the morphological properties which influence the optical properties, mobility and surface area available to adsorb other contaminants. Different combustion sources may produce soot with different morphologies and thus, different environmental and health impacts. Three soot sources were studied: a dual-fuel natural gas marine engine and two laboratory gas flares. The ship studied operated on its normal route during the measurement campaign and was run both in dual-fuel mode, and diesel-only mode to serve as a comparison. Dual-fuel mode produced substantially less soot, ~96% less, than diesel-only mode at all loads except idle. Soot morphology appeared to be independent of operating load but did vary slightly based on fuelling mode. Dual-fuel mode produced on average smaller aggregates than diesel-only mode however, the small dual-fuel mode aggregates tended to have slightly larger primary particles when compared to diesel-only generated aggregates. Overall the differences in morphology are small compared to the reduction in the amount of soot produced. Gas flaring is used in the oil and gas industry to dispose of gas. The laboratory flares studied were designed to simulate conditions which would be found in the upstream oil and gas industry. Raman spectroscopy showed that the heavier fuels had more graphitic nanostructures and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and mobility size distributions showed that the aggregates tended to be larger. The relationship between the primary particle size and the aggregate size, did not depend on the fuel. During hydraulic fracturing operations, it is likely that the flowback fluids become entrained in the flare fuels resulting in liquids with inorganic salts becoming part of the combustion process. The morphology of the soot did not change due to the salt however, most of the soot particles became internally mixed with the salt. Unlike soot, salt tends to be an effective cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) and the large number of salt particles will likely influence local cloud formation. Furthermore, the salt particles which attach to the soot may turn the soot itself into an effective CCN.Applied Science, Faculty ofMechanical Engineering, Department ofGraduat

Sexual Violence in the Night-Time Economy: Exploring the Determinants and Health Impacts

Concerns about violent and disorderly behaviour in town and city centres are often associated with what is known as the 'night-time economy' which consists of bars, pubs, and nightclubs. Over recent years sexual violence against women has been recognised as a major public health issue within these settings. Many studies and scholars have found that street harassment is a global social problem, one that has been faced by women for many decades (Kearl 2013). According to the findings, many women, regardless of their demographics, experience public sexual harassment (Kearl and Sharma 2014). Overall, sexual violence in the night economy is considered a normalised part of society which dehumanises the freedom of women’s health and safety. Such behaviours are expected to negatively impact women’s self-worth leading to tragic outcomes. Frequent exposure to sexual harassment is linked to an increased risk of certain mental and physical disorders, however there is a gap in research when examining the long-term effects of sexual violence. The findings emphasise the need of intervening to prevent sexual violence in the night-time economy to improve women's safety and comfort in social spaces. As women continue to experience violence due to their gender, their mental and physical health have significant implications. Although there are laws in place to protect women against sexual violence, the prevalence of sexual harassment against women is still high, meaning more needs to be done to see a difference. Introducing laws which directly tackle men’s behaviours can be a future opportunity for public health researchers to implement, it reflects the importance of prioritising women’s health and safety in the night-time economy. The aim of this research is to explore the determinants and health impacts of sexual violence in the night-time economy. The literature will provide a critical analysis on the current social norms across society from a public health perspective and will allow a greater insight into the problem, furthermore it will aim to evaluate the health and social impacts of unwanted sexual attention; to critically analyse how ‘laddish’ behaviours influence sexual objectification of women; to identify the mental and physical outcomes of sexual violence; and to examine relevant interventions that help to tackle the issue. This study concluded that sexual violence in the night-time economy remains a substantial part of a night out for most women