Operations incentives

Many companies operate incentive schemes, ranging from competitions among departments or factories for an award (e.g., a certificate or trophy) to... 

Model structure is shown in Figure 5. Process variables, unit constants (such as heat transfer coefficients), and feed streams are described on input or as selected by the optimization routine. Then, heat and material balances are performed using an assumed alkylate yield and isobutane consunq>tion. These results form a set of reaction conditions irtiich are used in correlations to calculate reactor performance. The heat and material balance calculations are repeated if reactor performance differs significantly from that used in the previous calculation. Operating incentives are then conqmted and may be used in the optimization routine to select new values of the optimization variables. 

The operational incentives for recycling of most consumer batteries are regulatory rather than economic. Wallis and Wolslw (20) cite estimates of US 0.80/lb for the recycling cost of batteries, exclusive of any credits for recovered materials, and US 0.l0/lb for their disposal in hazardous waste landfills. Clearly the economics favor disposal, not recycling. The recycling of batteries will be driven, therefore, primarily by regulatory pressures. 

Clearly, the potential hazard from runaway reactions is reduced by reducing the inventory of material in the reactor. Batch operation requires a larger inventory than the corresponding continuous reactor. Thus there may be a safety incentive to change from batch to continuous operation. Alternatively, the batch operation can be... 

The increase in the oil-change interval has already been a strong incentive for improving lubricant formulations. The increase in engine operating temperatures and the development of catalytic converters are without doubt two orientations that will have consequences on lubricant additives. 

One of the most cost effective forms of maintenance is to train the operators to visually Inspect the equipment on a daily basis. Careful selection of staff, appropriate training and incentives will help to improve what is often called first-line maintenance. 

The commercial production of shale oil as an alternative energy source has not been economically feasible. As of 1995, all commercial oil shale operations in the world (Petrobras, Bra2il PAMA, Israel The Chinese Petroleum Corporation, Fushun and Maoming, China KivioH Oil Shale Processing Plant, Kohda-Jarve, Estonia) receive some sort of economic incentives or assistance from the countries in which they are operating. 

Cake filters are used when the desired product of the operation is the solids, the filtrate, or both. When the filtrate is the product, the degree of removal from the cake by washing or blowing with air or gas becomes an economic optimization. When the cake is the desired produc t, the incentive is to obtain the desired degree of cake purity by washing, blowing, and sometimes mechanical expression oi residu liquid. 

Problems can also arise when the results of safety audits are used in a competitive manner, for example, to compare two plants. Such use is obviously closely linked to the operation of incentive schemes. However, as was pointed out earlier, there is no evidence that giving an award to the "best plant" produces any lasting improvement in safety. The problem here is that the competitive aspect may be a diversion from the aim of safety audits, which... 

To counter the elevated emissions associated with enrichment, the EPA has adopted supplemental federal test procedures. The new laboratory test procedures contain higher speeds, higher acceleration and deceleration rates, rapid speed changes, and a test that requires the air conditioning to be in operation. These tests increase the probability that vehicles will go into enrichment under laboratory test conditions. Hence, manufacturers have an incentive to reduce the frequency of enrichment occurrence in the real world. Future catalytic converters and emissions control systems will be resistant to the high-temperature conditions associated with engine load, and will be less likely to require enrichment for protection. Thus, enrichment contributions to emissions will continue to decline. 

The problems with this cost-of-seivice approach are the incentives and opportunities given to electric utilities. They are not the type of incentives that characterize an efficient market and that balance the additional risk of operating in an efficient market. 

Industry restructuring advocates believe that a competitive market will create incentives to operate more efficiently and make better economic investments in utility plant and equipment. In contrast to a competitive market, cost-based ratemakmg does not generally reward utilities with a higher return for making an especially good investment in plant and equipment, or penalize them for making an especially bad investment. The return that a utility... 

Businesses, operating in a market economy, have little incentive to implement demand management strategics on their own. They pay for the costs of shipment delays associated with moving goods and services to the marketplace (these costs are incorporated into the selling price of the goods and semces). 

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