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[EN] The goal of this study was to prove the feasibility of a conical spouted bed dryer for the drying of wastes of almond tree fruit. The drying operating regimes ranges in sspouted beds contactors were determined. The drying tests were conducted in the spouted bed regime under determined experimental conditions. Beds consisting of almond shells were dried at drying air temperatures ranging from room temperature to 140 ºC. The drying behaviour was assessed based on the decrease in moisture content of almond shells with the time and the effect of drying air temperature on the drying process was analyzed. ; This work was performed with financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-funded by the European Union through ERDF funds (Project CTQ2014-59312-P and Project CTQ2017-89199-P). ; San Jose, MJ.; Alvarez, S.; Lopez, R. (2018). Drying of wastes of almond shells in conical spouted beds. En IDS 2018. 21st International Drying Symposium Proceedings. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 857-864. https://doi.org/10.4995/IDS2018.2018.7490 ; OCS ; 857 ; 864

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to analyse the nature of the facilitators of continuous improvement (CI), proposing a classification of them and identifying the different profiles of companies based on them.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve this objective, first, a literature review was done in order to identify the main facilitators; second, some of them were included in a survey based on experts' opinions; third, a survey was conducted amongst people responsible for implementing CI; and finally factorial and cluster analysis were applied.FindingsBased on the results, three main factors were identified: "cultural facilitators", "tactical facilitators" and "human resources involvement facilitators". Additionally, five clusters were defined.Practical implicationsAs many companies still struggle when implementing CI, the results of this study can help all them to focus on the most important aspects in order to guarantee the sustainability of the CI system.Originality/valueFrom a theoretical point of view, this work contributes to the CI field by analysing the nature of the main facilitators companies can find when implementing these initiatives. Thus, not only does this study provide a hierarchy of the most important facilitators, but also classifies them. As far as authors are concerned, this is the first attempt to categorise CI facilitators.