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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the green energy generation potential of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) through anaerobic digestion (AD) route in India and its benefits.

In this study, performances of some AD plants presently operating successfully in India have been studied in the field (Section 3.1). Primary data collected from this study has been used to evaluate the biogas generation potential of OFMSW in Indian condition (Section 4). To ensure the validity, this gas generation potential has been compared with the gas yield data observed by the other researchers and with the gas yields of AD plants of some technology providers at some parts of the world (Section 4.1). From the future population projection (year 2030) and the future per capita waste generation rate obtained from the literature survey, estimation has been made for future quantity of municipal solid waste (MSW) (year 2030) (Section 2.3). Based on these data, the green energy generation potential from the bio-degradable portion of MSW through AD route, in India, has been evaluated (Section 4.2), and its economic and environmental benefits have been analyzed (Section 5) .

This secondary research work reveals that from the bio-degradable portion of MSW, India can generate about 583 MW of green energy daily and produce about 5.1 mil MT of bio fertilizer per annum presently, and these may go up to 2,273 MW and 19.5 mil MT, respectively, in the year 2030. Generation of green energy from OFMSW, in India, may save coal consumption of about 3.04 mil MT and reduce 35.42 mil MT of CO₂ emissions per annum presently. Moreover, utilization of the bio-degradable portion of the MSW stream may save about 550 acres (2.23 sq. km) of landfill area per year presently and in total may save about 8,182 hectare (82.5 sq. km) of landfill area during the period of 15 years time.

The population growth and future per capita waste generation rate are based on census report of Govt of India and survey report of World Bank, respectively. Separate collection of bio-degradable portion of MSW has not yet been developed properly in India.

This study reveals that in India, the high-moisture-content, low-calorific-value bio-degradable waste in India can be used for the generation of substantial amount of green energy in India, which in addition to financial gains would reduce the waste quantity at landfill site, conserve natural resources, save land, reduce green house gas emission, generate employment and help to protect environment. Considering these benefits and advantages, evaluated in this study, policy makers and city managers may review their approaches toward solid waste management system of their cities to meet the challenges of huge increase of MSW in the years to come in India. More research works may be initiated to improve the AD system of organic waste, and more capital may be employed in waste management business in India.

Numbers of research works have been carried out by other researchers for estimation of energy generation potential through AD of OFMSW for different countries; but no such work could be found to identify such potential and its benefits in India. This research work demonstrates how MSW can be used as a wealth for green energy production in India. The originality of this paper is the analysis of green energy generation potential from the low calorific value MSW in India.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a criterion for selection of critical sub‐processes when all the sub‐processes cannot be taken up simultaneously for improvement. There exist various methods but the practitioners get utterly confused because of the existence of these multiple options. In this paper, the goal is to assist practitioners in the selection of the critical sub‐processes.

The authors discuss various statistical methods such as correlation and regression, simulation, basic statistics such as average, standard deviation, coefficient of variation % (C.V.%), etc. for the selection and identification of the critical sub‐processes. The strengths and weaknesses of these methods have been compared through empirical analysis based on real‐life case examples.

The stepwise regression and simulation have been found to yield identical results. However, from the perspective of application, stepwise regression has been found to be a preferred option.

The roadmap thus evolved for the selection of the critical sub‐processes will be of great value to the practitioner, as it will help them understand the ground reality in an unambiguous manner, resulting in a superior strategy for process improvement.

In the service sector, reduction of cycle time is one of the key issues. Among various approaches, Lean Six Sigma became very popular as it provides the organisation the desired speed with quality. The purpose of this paper is to present a Lean Six Sigma case study for reducing cycle time in the claim settlement process in insurance or financial services.

This paper presents an application of Lean Six Sigma methodology for claim settlement cycle time reduction in the insurance sector.

Lean Six Sigma is found to work very well in the insurance sector for reducing process cycle time by carrying out process changes. Mixing statistical and analytical techniques helps to improve the process speed and is very well demonstrated by Lean Six Sigma approach for service organizations.

This paper utilizes Lean and Six Sigma approaches in process improvement and presents an application. The main idea behind this paper is to demonstrate how combining Lean concepts/techniques with Six‐Sigma methodology can speed up problem‐solving approaches. Apart from the paper's value for managers, it can also help researchers to extend this for other areas of business processes.

Practitioners often face challenges in model development when establishing a relationship between the input and output variables and their optimization and control. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate, with the help of a real life case example, the procedure for model development between a key process output variable, called the multi-stage flash evaporator efficiency, and the associated input process variables and their optimization using appropriate statistical and analytical techniques.

This paper uses a case study approach showing how multiple regression methodology has been put into practice. The case study was executed in a leading Indian viscose fiber plant.

The desired settings of the relevant process parameters for achieving improved efficiency have been established by appropriately using the tools and techniques from the Lean Six Sigma tool kit. The process efficiency, as measured by M3 of water evaporated per ton of steam, has improved from 3.28 to 3.48 resulting in satisfactory performance.

This paper will be valuable to many practitioners of Six Sigma/Lean Six Sigma and researchers in terms of understanding the systematic application of quality and optimization tools in a real world situation.

The purpose of the study is to measure the current or baseline institutional performance level of the Government and private engineering colleges in the state of West Bengal.

The study has been conducted on the basis of a survey. The feedback for this survey questionnaire has been considered independently for service providers such as administrators, faculties, other supporting staff as well as students who receive these services and are direct customers. A total of 2,168 persons have been surveyed from the 30 randomly selected colleges out of 70 colleges. The baseline or current performance level of the engineering colleges has been assessed based on the sigma level through quantification of the survey questionnaire consisting of eight enablers. Each enabler contains several questions or drivers. A total of 75 drivers have been arrived at for eight enablers. A seven‐point scale has been designed for each driver ranging from “Unsatisfactory” to “Outstanding”. To identify the weak areas for a college, the vital few drivers that correspond to “Unsatisfactory” performance have been made to take necessary remedial measures for attaining the new benchmark sigma level under the present techno‐economic set‐up.

The overall ratings (sigma levels) of engineering colleges in West Bengal range from 0.11 to 2.7, which is far away from the sigma level (4σ) of an average organization in the USA.

The paper is a purely original work. Instead of going by the popular perception of the Selection, Engineering and Technology, West Bengal, it is much better to categorize the colleges based on the class intervals of baseline sigma levels as demonstrated.

In implementing Six Sigma and/or Lean Six Sigma, a practitioner often faces a dilemma of how to select the subset of root causes from a superset of all possible potential causes, popularly known as root cause analysis (RCA). Generally one resorts to the cause and effect diagram for this purpose. However, the practice adopted for identification of root causes is in many situations quite arbitrary and lacks a systematic, structured approach based on the rigorous data driven statistical analysis. This paper aims at developing a methodology for validation of potential causes to root causes to aid practitioners.

Discussion has been made on various methods for identification and validation of potential causes to root causes with the help of a few real life examples for effective Lean Six Sigma implementation.

The cause and effect diagram is the frequently adopted method for identifying potential causes out of a host of methods available for such identification. The method of validation depends on the practitioners’ knowledge on the relationship between cause and effect and controllability of the causes.

The roadmap thus evolved for the validation of root causes will be of great value to the practitioners as it is expected to help them understand the ground reality in an unambiguous manner resulting in a superior strategy for cause validation and corrective actions.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a guideline of the control procedure and tools depending on dominance pattern. In Lean Six Sigma (LSS) implementation, the control phase plays a vital role in sustaining the gains achieved from the improvement phase. The process control schemes should be developed by studying the process dominance pattern as suggested by Juran.

Discussion has been made on identification of various methods with the help of a few real life examples for effective LSS implementation.

The dominance pattern helps in identifying the control mechanism. However, with the advent of new business processes, the dominance pattern needs a little bit of modification.

The case studies mainly are from the manufacturing sector and one from the service sector, where authors have studied the control mechanism. There exists scope of future research in service sector for adequate representation.

The treatise provides a road map to the practitioners for an effective implementation of the control phase in LSS. It is also expected to provide the scope of future work in this direction for both researchers and practitioners.

The purpose of this paper is to study and analyze the effects of fly ash (FA) as a mineral admixture on compressive strength (CS), carbonation resistance and corrosion resistance of reinforced concrete (RC). In addition, the utilization of inexpensive and abundantly available FA as a cement replacement in concrete has several benefits including reduced OPC usage and elimination of the FA disposal problem.

Reinforcement corrosion and carbonation significantly affect the strength and durability of the RC structures. Also, the utilization of FA as green corrosion inhibitors, which are nontoxic and environmentally friendly alternatives. This review discusses the effects of FA on the mechanical characteristics of concrete. Also, this review analyzes the impact of FA as a partial replacement of cement in concrete and its effect on the depth of carbonation in concrete elements and the corrosion rate of embedded steel as well as the chemical composition and microstructure (X-ray diffraction analysis and scanning electron microscopy) of FA concrete were also reviewed.

This review provides a clear analysis of the available study, providing a thorough overview of the current state of knowledge on this topic. Regarding concrete CS, the findings indicate that the incorporation of FA often leads to a loss in early-age strength. However, as the curing period increased, the strength of fly ash concrete (FAC) increased with or even surpassed that of conventional concrete. Analysis of the accelerated carbonation test revealed that incorporating FA into the concrete mix led to a shallower carbonation depth and slower diffusion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the concrete. Furthermore, the half-cell potential test shows that the inclusion of FA increases the durability of RC by slowing the rate of steel-reinforcement corrosion.

This systematic review analyzes a wide range of existing studies on the topic, providing a comprehensive overview of the research conducted so far. This review intends to critically assess the enhancements in mechanical and durability attributes (such as CS, carbonation and corrosion resistance) of FAC and FA-RC. This systematic review has practical implications for the construction and engineering industries. This can support engineers and designers in making informed decisions regarding the use of FA in concrete mixtures, considering both its benefits and potential drawbacks.

Literature reviews in the field of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) are often substantially less stringently portrayed than other empirical research. The purpose of this paper is to lucubrate on clarifying emerging aspects, trends and importance of LSS through reviewing the published literature over multiple parameters for a ameliorating and trenchant view.

In the present study, a literature review of LSS articles is carried out over the time horizon of 14 years from referred peer-reviewed journals in business and management disciplines, information systems and computer science, engineering, healthcare, etc. While carrying out the literature review, various distinct dimensions are considered, such as publication years and journals, countries, research design, research type and application sector within industries. A descriptive evaluation of the literature body is followed by gap identification and future research opportunities.

LSS research is growing rapidly, covering various disciplines and domains with a great focus on LSS tools and techniques; empirical research is dominant with more emphasis on case study approach; and growing gap between manufacturing- and service-focused articles implies return of LSS to manufacturing as its initial base.

The review analysis entirely focuses on descriptive statistics of empirical research in LSS. The sample size includes 189 shortlisted articles in 58 journals published over a time span of 14 years (2001-2014). The paper provides both academicians and practitioners a better panorama to understand the present status of LSS for pursuing rigorous LSS research through explicating chronological emergence, challenging themes, dominating research types and application areas in LSS.