ABSTRACT
Many steam turbine modernizations projects evaluated today are viewed by operators with focus to mitigate risk, minimize outage time, and maintain reliability, while getting the best cost-benefit possible. This technical paper will take you through the steps on how the owner/operator, Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), began evaluating traditional modernization approaches for their JR Kelly Unit 8, reevaluating alternatives from multiple suppliers, and eventually selecting a Brownfield Steam Turbine Generator Exchange (BEX) as the most technically viable and economic solution to support their current and future power plant needs. Utilizing a brownfield exchange concept, known most typically to be associated with gas turbines, this approach involved removal of the entire original steam turbine-generator unit and replacement with new latest technology steam turbine-generator components, while re-using the turbine building, condenser cooling, and electrical connections. Siemens Energy Inc. (Siemens Energy) provided this Florida utility with a comprehensive package which included demolition of the existing turbine-generator equipment, integration engineering services, supply and delivery of a new steam turbine-generator set, gear box, field installation components, technical field assistance services, field installation services, start up and commissioning services, and performance testing services. Major components were skid mounted and installed onto existing turbine deck. The project was implemented in Spring 2021 during the height of the Covid pandemic, which presented additional challenges to the stakeholders and will be discussed. Authors include GRU Project Manager, GRU Manager of Outage Planning & Major Maintenance, and Siemens Energy Steam Turbine Modernization Project Lead, who will share their critical perspectives of the project. Copyright © 2022 by Siemens Energy.
ABSTRACT
Software engineer is one of the highest in-demand manpower jobs in the world. As the prolonged COVID19 pandemic crisis, more and more people throughout the world became unemployed. There arises an incoming demand for reskilling and career shifting to software engineer. Online learning through MOOCs is, therefore, a viable and practical solution. However, reskilling to be a software engineer requires specific platform support that is able to develop both technical and non-technical skills, including management, communication, and teamwork, that traditional MOOCs cannot fulfill the challenges. This research aims to augment the traditional MOOCs with the additional use of personalization, collaboration, and gamification theory in the name of 'CareerVio MOOCs Platform'. The distinct supports and services provided by the platform comprise team composition, team recomposition, team learning, and team assessments. CareerVio enables learners to master the necessary skills required in software engineer career, enhances the interaction between learners, and allows them to take what they have learned off the page and put it into practice. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Covid-19 is having a huge impact on Portuguese companies, causing a decrease in the revenue of many and the insolvency of some. To recuperate, e-commerce emerges as a viable solution for entrepreneurs to recover the reins of their business and move towards profit. However, e-commerce has harmful effects on the environment, generating large CO2 emissions and an extraordinary volume of packaging and plastics. Hence, this study will provide: an action plan for companies to make e-commerce more sustainable;a detailed action plan for the electrification of a company’s fleet;thus, proposing a circular business approach. Our solutions include the adjustment of the size of the packaging, using ecological transport (electric vehicles, cargo bicycles, drones, delivery droids), companies taking the initiative in the reuse and recycling of waste delivered to the consumer, the contribution to consumer awareness, and establishing direct communication with consumers through ICT. To support this research, fieldwork was carried out: an online survey with 409 responses to know the opinion of national residents on the environmental impact of e-commerce;an interview with the Director of Projects and Circular Economics of SONAE MC who added the vision of an expert in retail sustainability;and some purchases at online stores to observe the market practices in terms of packaging. The study follows a scientific methodology, which includes hypotheses tests (Chi-square) with a confidence margin of 95%. There is evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic is to have lasting effects on consumer preferences for sustainable companies. In an age where everything seems to be getting smarter, e-commerce firms will have to follow this trend. Hence, marketing and strategy will have to change for the better and for the long term. We hope, with our study, to have shown a way forward in that respect. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.