Technology

Technology Commercialization

Technology deployment and outreach activities at PNNL move our science and technology out of the laboratory and into the world to be put to useful purpose in supporting DOE’s mission and solving national challenges.

The National Visualization and Analytics Center is located at PNNL and is a national and international resource providing strategic leadership and coordination for visual analytics technology and tools. NVAC supports the Department of Homeland Security’s mission to secure our homeland and protect the American people by providing innovative and effective information visualization and analysis tools for early warning of terrorist activities, vulnerability assessments, and first responders.

In this photo: Manager Ron Thomas and PNNL Scientists Bill Pike and Shawn Bohn

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The Process Structure of Multi-Site Technology Rollouts

Article by Concert Technologies

The Process Structure is the first part of the Technology Rollout System. It provides the “bird’s eye view” of the relationship and communication flow from beginning (customer) to the end (local field technicians). It also:

- Defines the facilitation of the management of multi-site nationwide and international projects

- Determines interaction between customer and technology rollout company as well as between technology rollout company and field resources

- Is used to gage the technology rollout company for delivering the agreed to process structure for each site and to maintain consistency and quality in execution

Not All Process Structures are Created Equal!To fully understand how the Process Structure works, you must know what the various options are. Our White Paper explains the primary structures used for nationwide & international, multi-site technology rollouts. These include the:

1. Centralized Single-Tier The customer uses a technology rollout company that directly manages field technicians through a direct partnership.

2. Centralized Multi-Tier The customer uses a technology rollout company that hires subcontractors in a tiered hierarchy to manage field technicians.

3. Rent-a-Tech The customer or technology rollout company uses a Rent-a-Tech company in a shared management effort of field technicians.

4. Internal Employee The customer or technology rollout company uses internal employees for project management and field technicians. In Internal Employee Process Structures, additional external local field technicians are likely to be required due to the number of sites and costs associated with employing sufficient internal field technicians to handle nationwide or global rollouts.

5. Additional Structures: Hybrid A number of variations of the four basic structures may exist as a hybrid structure. They will have associated advantages and disadvantages on an individual structure basis.

Evaluating the Process Structure

It’s important to look at the key differences between these Process Structures and the Rollout Category of the project you are deploying. How important is communication speed and accuracy? What about defined areas or responsibility or project tracking capabilities? What is the impact if a site does not deliver as expected? How do you mitigate your risk? In order to truly understand what you want, you have to know what you need and communicate it in a defined process structure for your rollout at any time.

Technology

The iPad. The Kindle. Twitter. When the Best Technology Writing series was inaugurated in 2005, these technologies did not exist. Now they define our 21st-century lives. As Julian Dibbell writes in his introduction to The Best Technology Writing 2010, “The digital is us. Yet for that reason, it is also something more, a lightning rod for our feelings about technology in general.”  Whether it is Sam Anderson’s giddy but troubled defense of online distractions, David Carr’s full-throated

The Best Technology Writing 2010

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Technology question by Manthan B: What would be the best technology for producing electricity from cattle dung?
I am planning to start up a power plant of 1 MW. I have availability of Dung of 80 Tons per day. What would be the best technology to recover energy from such dung out of following technologies:
1.Anaerobic Digestion/Biomethanation
2.Pyrolysis/Gasification
3.Combustion/Incineration
The technology should result in maximum energy in form of heat/electricity and overall operational and economic efficiency. Thanks and regards, Manthan.

Technology best answer:

Answer by dtwarwick
Well, you’ll have to do an analysis of each method and compare. Depending on your assumptions, any of these might work. For example, option 1 above doesn’t mention how the methane would be used. It might cost a lot more to set up a fuel cell network, but it will be more efficient over the long haul than say driving an internal combustion engine with the methane.

Hope that helps.