How do I account the difference in worker hours for two processes with different outputs?

Question

Hello, 

I have two questions adressing the topics 1) working hours and 2) impact category. FYI, I'm using PSILCA V2 via openLCA 1.10.3 for a social hotspot analysis. 

1) In the third version of the PSILCA documentation is written that the worker hours are related to 1 USD output for each process (or sector). This means, as I have already tried myself, that the worker hours remain the same regardless of the output. But how do I account the difference in worker hours for a sector A that has twice the relevance in terms of weight/economic value compared to a second sector B, if the worker hours do not adjust to the output. I had assumed that a higher output is also accompanied by a higher worker hours, or am i wrong with this assumption? 

2) As I have seen in several screenshots from PSILCA, the social indicators are always categorized by stakeholder and impact categories. In my version, this categorization is not present. This means that in the impact assessment, for example, I can only evaluate the social contributions of each flow, but not by impact categories. Does this depend on the database type (Starter, Professional or Developer)?

I am grateful for your help. Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi, I will try ->

1),

the worker hours are related to 1 USD output for each process

correct (you easily see this in each process)

This means, as I have already tried myself, that the worker hours remain the same regardless of the output

no that is not correct; obviously you need to spend more or less time on producing something, depending on the product, you also see this when you compare different processes

how do I account the difference in worker hours for a sector A that has twice the relevance in terms of weight/economic value compared to a second sector B

Your system will buy more from a process / sector that contributes more to your system (e.g. for 2 USD and not 0.5 USD), this scales the process and its supply chain (and the worker hours)

2) Maybe you did not apply the LCIA method?

Best wishes,

Andreas

Answer 2

Hi Andreas, 

thank you very much for your reply. 

1)

no that is not correct; obviously you need to spend more or less time on producing something, depending on the product, you also see this when you compare different processes

I see this as you, however I don't understand why in openLCA the output (worker hours) of the processes doesn't adjust with an increased monetary output. Please see the screenshots (process 1.1 with 1 USD output; process 1.2. with 1000 USD output; both are saved). Or am I misunderstanding something here in openLCA and is it that the worker hours only adjust to the adjusted output when I create and calculate the product system? 

2) Maybe you did not apply the LCIA method?

You're right. The impact assessment method is not even imported and here I come to the next problem: In the PSILCA manuals, the LCIA "Social impacts weighting method" is used, but not further discussed. I therefore assumed that this method is available in the method package "EcoSpold01", since it is the only social method package proposed by openlca. However, the import of "EcoSpold01" into openlca does not work. The bottom line is: How do I get the impact assessment method as used in the manuals imported/integrated into my system? 

I hope we find a solution.

Best Regards

Comments

I notice that the resolution of the screenshots is very bad. I just want to show you, that worker hours remain the same regardless of the output (top: 1000 USD, bottom: 1 USD)