The Netherlands : PhD Systematic design of automated sustainable horticultural production systems

Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture

Wageningen, (Gelderland), 36 hours per week

Job description

• With an average of 27%, labour costs ranks number 1 on the list of production costs in Dutch greenhouse crop production. Improving labour efficiency will be one of the critical success factors in the Netherlands as well as in Western-Europe the next decades. Besides the absolute costs, following trends emphasize focus on labour issues: Increasing size of production facilities, Increasing labour costs, Increasing problems with the availability of skilled and motivated labour, Specialisation of crop production and individualisation of plant treatment, Health problems of the workers, Product quality, food safety, Growing competition on the national and international market.
• The objective of this research is to develop systematic, preferably quantitative methods to analyse, design, simulate and optimize greenhouse crop production systems focused on company layout, scheduling in place and time of human labour as well as (potential) mechanization taking into account product and information flows at company level.
• Analysis of traditional stationary production systems and analysis of mobile production systems of two example crops. The analysis will include a time analysis of existing production systems and quantification of most important system measures. Choice of a suitable simulation platform will be part of this project. Verification and validation of the model with real data.
• Based on the new model a (re-)design of alternative production systems will be carried out based on the guidelines of systems engineering, business process re-engineering or other methodical design procedures. Definition of requirements, systems analysis and definition of required functions, derivation of alternative working principles for each function, concept derivation, concept evaluation and concept implementation will usual process steps in these methodologies to come to new automated sustainable horticultural production systems.

Requirements
Required education/skills:University Graduate

• MSc graduate in systems engineering, industrial engineering, agricultural engineering, operations research or other relevant study;
• High-quality knowledge in the field of systems analysis, modelling, simulation and optimization of discrete event systems;
• Experience with Arena, Enterprise Dynamics or other relevant simulation tools is an advantage;
• Affinity with greenhouse technology, interested in challenges of the horticultural sector;
• An autonomously working creative, young researcher with good communicative skills who is open-minded and sociable.

Job type: Research / Advising
Workfield(s):
- Teaching & Research(Scientific discipline: Agriculture)

Organization
Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture
Wageningen University and Research Centre
Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR) provides education and generates knowledge in the field of life sciences and natural resources. Wageningen UR aims to make a real contribution to our quality of life. To us, quality of life means both an adequate supply of safe and healthy food and drink, on the one hand, and the chance to live, work and play in a balanced ecosystem with a large variety of plants and animals.

Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture
The business unit Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture within PSG has about 100 employees and four research teams:

• Crop Protection
• Crop Management, Physiology and Modelling
• Greenhouse Technology
• Farm and Crop Systems

Customers are growers, horticultural industry, ministries, public authorities and other horticultural organisations.

Team Greenhouse Technology
The team has about. 20 employees with expertises in the fields of greenhouse energy management, greenhouse climate, physical modelling, sensor- and control technology, material technology, light, computer vision, industrial production and robotics. The activities aim at the integral design of new concepts or components of sustainable horticultural production systems.

Wageningen University - Farm Technology Group
The Farm Technology Group provides education and generates knowledge in the field of bio-systems engineering. Our mission is to fulfill the needs of both mankind and nature in a sustainable way by exploiting the potential of technology. Systems engineering is one of the instruments we use. Emphasis lies on high-tech solutions using advanced sensing systems, systems optimization and control, mechanization and robotics.

Conditions of employment
Employment basis: Temporary for specified period
Duration of the contract: 4 years.
Maximum hours per week: 36
Additional conditions of employment:
Duration: 4 years, 36 hours per week.
Gross salary: € 2001,- a month in the first year rising up to € 2560,- a month in the fourth year (based on a fulltime employment)

Additional Information
Additional information about the vacancy can be obtained from:

Dr. S. Hemming, Team leader Greenhouse Technology
Telephone number: 31 317 486921
E-mail address: silke.hemming@wur.nl

Or Prof. E.J. van Henten
Telephone number: 31 317 483328
E-mail address: eldert.vanhenten@wur.nl

Application
You can apply for this job before 20-08-2008 (dd-mm-yyyy) by sending your application to:

Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture
HRM Department Plant Sciences Group
N.G. Wondergem-Bakker
P.O. Box 16
6700 AA Wageningen
The Netherlands
E-mail: vacaturemeldingen.psg@wur.nl

When applying for this job always mention the vacancynumber AT: 08.Glas.06.

Further Details