process improvement montreal: Topics by WorldWideScience.org

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Applicability of Montreal Process Criterion 1 - conservation of biological diversity - to rangeland sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis H. Flather; Carolyn Hull Sieg

2000-01-01

Nine indicators of biodiversity conservation have been defined by the nations participating in the Montreal Process for assessing sustainability of temperate and boreal forests. Five of these indicators address compositional and spatial diversity of ecosystems; two address species diversity; and two are indirect measures of genetic diversity. Our objective was to...
The metro area of Montreal.

Science.gov (United States)

1986-10-01

Montreal, one of the most civilized and cosmopolitan of North American cities, is the 2nd city in Canada in size and the largest French-speaking city. Of the 2.8 million people who lived there at census time in 1981, 45% chose both French and English as their official language, 41% chose French, and 1% used some other language. Fully 68% of Montreal residents said their mother tongue was French, and 68% also said they spoke French at home. The importance of bilingualism to the business culture of Montreal cannot be overemphasized. In the last decade, French-Canadians have taken an increasingly stronger role in business. Upper-middle-class suburbs that as little as 10 years ago had only 10% of their residents who were of French-Canadian descent now have as many as 50-60% of their residents who are French-Canadians. Most residents of Montreal willingly learn 2 languages. US firms should assume that all representatives who are sent to Montreal should be fluent in both French and English. Montreal's 2,828,349 people create a population density of 1004.9 persons per square kilometer. Montreal has 665 census tracts, which are described in the Metropolitan Atlas Series. Nearly 62% of Montreal's population fall between the ages of 20 and 64--the prime working ages. Although Montreal is 79% Catholic, it does not have the high fertility levels often associated with Catholic areas. There were 1,026,920 households in Montreal in 1981 with an average of 2.7 persons per household. 71% of these were census family households. Montreal had 1,026,895 occupied dwellings in 1985 with an average of 5 rooms each. About 71% of the population aged 15 and over that were not in school were in the labor force; 41% of the labor force was female. The largest employment category for men was manufacturing (16%) and the largest for women was clerical work (39%).
Acquisition and Processing of High Resolution Hyperspectral Imageries for the 3d Mapping of Urban Heat Islands and Microparticles of Montreal

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Mongeau, R.; Baudouin, Y.; Cavayas, F.

2017-10-01

Ville de Montreal wanted to develop a system to identify heat islands and microparticles at the urban scale and to study their formation. UQAM and UdeM universities have joined their expertise under the framework "Observatoire Spatial Urbain" to create a representative geospatial database of thermal and atmospheric parameters collected during the summer months. They innovated in the development of a methodology for processing high resolution hyperspectral images (1-2 m). In partnership with Ville de Montreal, they integrated 3D geospatial data (topography, transportation and meteorology) in the process. The 3D mapping of intraurban heat islands as well as air micro-particles makes it possible, initially, to identify the problematic situations for future civil protection interventions during extreme heat. Moreover, it will be used as a reference for the Ville de Montreal to establish a strategy for public domain tree planting and in the analysis of urban development projects.
Montreal Modern: Retro Culture and the Modern Past in Montreal

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Kristian Handberg

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Through analyses of the retro scenes in Montreal, Canada, the article discusses retro culture's role as cultural memory. It is shown how Montreal's cultural identity is formed by memories of modern culture such as the Red-light and Sin City reputation of the illicit nightlife of the 1940s and 1950s, and the space age modernism of the 1960s following the Expo 67 and Quebec's Quiet Revolution. This is reflected in the city's thriving retro culture through the study of two groups of retro shops. In circulating specific memories and objects in a specific context, retro is an important negotiation of the past in the present. Especially, it is stated that the retro culture displays "local accents" and a new focus on the specificities of modern culture giving a revaluation to a previously overlooked identity such as the Quebecit.
The impact of the petrochemical industry in the economic development framework of the Montreal region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danis, M.

1992-01-01

A brief overview of the petrochemical industry in Canada was presented. The industry, which employs approximately 100,000 Canadians, has an annual production estimated to be in excess of 20 billion dollars. Similarly, in the province of Quebec, the petrochemical industry makes a very significant contribution to the economy of the province, especially to that of the Montreal region. Recent initiatives and investments by the Canadian Government in the petrochemical sector were summarized. Among these, subsidies to Petromont to improve and modernize its plant facilities in Varennes, to Himont Canada, also of Varennes, to develop a new manufacturing process, to Gaz Metropolitain to establish a centre of gas technology, were highlighted. These and other government measures and initiatives provide a solid foundation for the petrochemical industry to continue to play a pre-eminent role in the economy of the Montreal region
The Montreal Protocol treaty and its illuminating history of science-policy decision-making

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Grady, C.

2017-12-01

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, hailed as one of the most effective environmental treaties of all time, has a thirty year history of science-policy decision-making. The partnership between Parties to the Montreal Protocol and its technical assessment panels serve as a basis for understanding successes and evaluating stumbles of global environmental decision-making. Real-world environmental treaty negotiations can be highly time-sensitive, politically motivated, and resource constrained thus scientists and policymakers alike are often unable to confront the uncertainties associated with the multitude of choices. The science-policy relationship built within the framework of the Montreal Protocol has helped constrain uncertainty and inform policy decisions but has also highlighted the limitations of the use of scientific understanding in political decision-making. This talk will describe the evolution of the scientist-policymaker relationship over the history of the Montreal Protocol. Examples will illustrate how the Montreal Protocol's technical panels inform decisions of the country governments and will characterize different approaches pursued by different countries with a particular focus on the recently adopted Kigali Amendment. In addition, this talk will take a deeper dive with an analysis of the historic technical panel assessments on estimating financial resources necessary to enable compliance to the Montreal Protocol compared to the political financial decisions made through the Protocol's Multilateral Fund replenishment negotiation process. Finally, this talk will describe the useful lessons and challenges from these interactions and how they may be applicable in other environmental management frameworks across multiple scales under changing climatic conditions.
1959 : Borden bails on Montreal question

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2008-01-01

In 1959, following months of hearings, the Borden Royal Commission on Oil and Gas was unwilling to grant western producers the access to the Montreal refinery market. Rather than building a pipeline to Montreal, the Commission urged a national policy supporting the export of Canadian crude without license, and encouraging the use of Canadian crude in markets that already have pipeline access to it, including the west coast, Midwest and Ontario. The Commission recommended that the Canadian oil and gas industry take measures to enlarge its share of the United States market and asked that petroleum product retailers displace 50,000 barrels per day of products refined from imported crude in Montreal and sold in Ontario with a similar volume of products refined from Canadian crude. Proponents of the Commission's report stated that exports to the United States were essential to the Canadian oil industry and that a crude oil line to Montreal was not economic. Other key events in 1959 were listed in this article. Alberta and Southern sought approval to export 460 million cubic feet of gas per day to California. Dome Petroleum Limited suggested that the Arctic Islands could hold reserves of up to 100 billion barrels, and a planned nuclear explosion to free oil from the Athabasca oil sands was called off by the federal government for political reasons. 1 tab., 1 fig
SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT IN URBAN PLANNING. A CHALLENGE FOR A METHODOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION: MONTREAL AS CASE STUDY

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María de Lourdes Flores Lucero

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper we describe the methodological process for the qualitative evaluation of the concept of sustainability and its application in the island of Montreal. At the same time we present our theoretical approach and the main results issued of the assessment. We take as analytical tools the Montreal Urban Plan of 2004 and the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development 2005. We conclude with two main points, first, that the theoretical and pragmatic aspects of urban sustainability in Montreal have been treated in an organic, complex, dynamic and flexible way, allowing social participation and the inclusion of the values of all stakeholders, which are both key elements to follow the path towards sustainability; and secondly, that the approach to an object with such features requires the construction of complex, organic and methodological processes.
Phosphorus cycling in Montreal's food and urban agriculture systems.

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Metson, Geneviève S; Bennett, Elena M

2015-01-01

Cities are a key system in anthropogenic phosphorus (P) cycling because they concentrate both P demand and waste production. Urban agriculture (UA) has been proposed as a means to improve P management by recycling cities' P-rich waste back into local food production. However, we have a limited understanding of the role UA currently plays in the P cycle of cities or its potential to recycle local P waste. Using existing data combined with surveys of local UA practitioners, we quantified the role of UA in the P cycle of Montreal, Canada to explore the potential for UA to recycle local P waste. We also used existing data to complete a substance flow analysis of P flows in the overall food system of Montreal. In 2012, Montreal imported 3.5 Gg of P in food, of which 2.63 Gg ultimately accumulated in landfills, 0.36 Gg were discharged to local waters, and only 0.09 Gg were recycled through composting. We found that UA is only a small sub-system in the overall P cycle of the city, contributing just 0.44% of the P consumed as food in the city. However, within the UA system, the rate of recycling is high: 73% of inputs applied to soil were from recycled sources. While a Quebec mandate to recycle 100% of all organic waste by 2020 might increase the role of UA in P recycling, the area of land in UA is too small to accommodate all P waste produced on the island. UA may, however, be a valuable pathway to improve urban P sustainability by acting as an activity that changes residents' relationship to, and understanding of, the food system and increases their acceptance of composting.
The Montreal Protocol for Identification of Amusia.

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Vuvan, D T; Paquette, S; Mignault Goulet, G; Royal, I; Felezeu, M; Peretz, I

2018-04-01

The Montreal Battery for the Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA; Peretz, Champod, & Hyde Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 999, 58-75, 2003) is an empirically grounded quantitative tool that is widely used to identify individuals with congenital amusia. The use of such a standardized measure ensures that the individuals tested will conform to a specific neuropsychological profile, allowing for comparisons across studies and research groups. Recently, a number of researchers have published credible critiques of the usefulness of the MBEA as a diagnostic tool for amusia. Here we argue that the MBEA and its online counterpart, the AMUSIA tests (Peretz et al. Music Perception, 25, 331-343, 2008), should be considered steps in a screening process for amusia, rather than standalone diagnostic tools. The goal of this article is to present, in detailed and easily replicable format, the full protocol through which congenital amusics should be identified. In providing information that has often gone unreported in published articles, we aim to clarify the strengths and limitations of the MBEA and to make recommendations for its continued use by the research community as part of the Montreal Protocol for Identification of Amusia.
The role of advocacy coalitions in a project implementation process: the example of the planning phase of the At Home/Chez Soi project dealing with homelessness in Montreal.

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Fleury, Marie-Josée; Grenier, Guy; Vallée, Catherine; Hurtubise, Roch; Lévesque, Paul-André

2014-08-01

This study analyzed the planning process (summer 2008 to fall 2009) of a Montreal project that offers housing and community follow-up to homeless people with mental disorders, with or without substance abuse disorders. With the help of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), advocacy groups that were able to navigate a complex intervention implementation process were identified. In all, 25 people involved in the Montreal At Home/Chez Soi project were surveyed through interviews (n=18) and a discussion group (n=7). Participant observations and documentation (minutes and correspondence) were also used for the analysis. The start-up phase of the At Home/Chez may be broken down into three separate periods qualified respectively as "honeymoon;" "clash of cultures;" and "acceptance & commitment". In each of the planning phases of the At Home/Chez Soi project in Montreal, at least two advocacy coalitions were in confrontation about their specific belief systems concerning solutions to address the recurring homelessness social problem, while a third, more moderate one contributed in rallying most key actors under specified secondary aspects. The study confirms the importance of policy brokers in achieving compromises acceptable to all advocacy coalitions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Scenarios, Climate Effects and the Montreal Protocol

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Velders, G. J. M.; Fahey, D. W.; Daniel, J. S.

2016-12-01

The Montreal Protocol has reduced the use of ozone-depleting substances by more than 95% from its peak levels in the 1980s. As a direct result the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as substitute compounds has increased significantly. National regulations to limit HFC use have been adopted recently in the European Union, Japan and USA, and four proposals have been submitted to amend the Montreal Protocol to substantially reduce growth in HFC use. The Parties of the Montreal Protocol have discussed these proposals during their meetings in 2016. The effects of the national regulations and Montreal Protocol amendment proposals on climate forcings and surface temperatures will be presented. Global scenarios of HFC emissions reach 4.0-5.3 GtCO2-eq yr-1 in 2050, which corresponds to a projected growth from 2015 to 2050 which is 9% to 29% of that for CO2 over the same time period. In 2050, in percent of global HFC emissions, China ( 30%), India and the rest of Asia ( 25%), Middle East and northern Africa ( 10%), and USA ( 10%) are the principal source regions; and refrigeration and stationary air conditioning are the major use sectors. Calculated baseline emissions are reduced by 90% in 2050 by implementing the North America Montreal Protocol amendment proposal. This corresponds to a reduction in surface temperature attributed to HFCs from 0.1 oC to 0.04 oC in 2050 and from 0.3-0.4 oC to 0.02 oC in 2100.
Montreal Protocol Benefits simulated with CCM SOCOL

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T. Egorova

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Ozone depletion is caused by the anthropogenic increase of halogen-containing species in the atmosphere, which results in the enhancement of the concentration of reactive chlorine and bromine in the stratosphere. To reduce the influence of anthropogenic ozone-depleting substances (ODS, the Montreal Protocol was agreed by Governments in 1987, with several Amendments and Adjustments adopted later. In order to assess the benefits of the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments and Adjustments (MPA on ozone and UV radiation, two different runs of the chemistry-climate model (CCM SOCOL have been carried out. The first run was driven by the emission of ozone depleting substances (ODS prescribed according to the restrictions of the MPA. For the second run we allow the ODS to grow by 3% annually. We find that the MPA would have saved up to 80% of the global annual total ozone by the end of the 21st century. Our calculations also show substantial changes of the stratospheric circulation pattern as well as in surface temperature and precipitations that could occur in the world without MPA implementations. To illustrate the changes in UV radiation at the surface and to emphasise certain features, which can only be seen for some particular regions if the influence of the cloud cover changes is accounted for, we calculate geographical distribution of the erythemally weighted irradiance (Eery. For the no Montreal Protocol simulation Eery increases by factor of 4 to 16 between the 1970s and 2100. For the scenario including the Montreal Protocol it is found that UV radiation starts to decrease in 2000, with continuous decline of 5% to 10% at middle latitudes in the both Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
UV Impacts Avoided by the Montreal Protocol

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Newman, Paul; McKenzie, Richard

2010-01-01

Temporal and geographical variabilities in the future "World Expected" UV environment are compared with the "World Avoided", which would have occurred without the Montreal Protocol on protection of the ozone layer and its subsequent amendments and adjustments. Based on calculations of clear-sky UV irradiances, the effects of the Montreal Protocol have been hugely beneficial to avoid the health risks, such as skin cancer, which are associated with high UV, while there is only a small increase in health risks, such as vitamin D deficiency, that are associated with low UV. However, interactions with climate change may lead to changes in cloud and albedo, and possibly behavioural changes which could also be important.
A Decontamination Process to Remove Metals and Stabilise Montreal Sewage Sludge

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G. Mercier

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The Montreal Urban Community (MUC treatment plant produces approximately 270 tons of dry sludge daily (tds/day during physicochemical wastewater treatment. The sludges are burned and contribute to the greenhouse effect by producing atmospheric CO2. Moreover, the sludge emanates a nauseating odour during its thermal stabilisation and retains unpleasant odours for the part (25% that is dried and granulated. To solve this particular problem, the treatment plant authorities are currently evaluating an acidic chemical leaching (sulfuric or hydrochloric acid process at a pH between 2 and 3, using an oxidizing agent such as ferric chloride or hydrogen peroxide (METIX-AC technology, patent pending; [20]. They could integrate it to a 70 tds/day granulated sludge production process. Verification of the application of METIX-AC technology was carried out in a pilot plant set up near the sludge production plant of the MUC. The tests showed that METIX-AC technology can be advantageously integrated to the process used at the MUC. The residual copper (274 ± 58 mg/kg and cadmium (5.6 ± 2.9 mg/kg concentrations in the treated sludge meet legislation standards. The results have also shown that odours have been significantly eliminated for the dewatered, decontaminated, and stabilized biosolids (> 97% compared to the non-decontaminated biosolids. A high rate of odour elimination also was obtained for the liquid leached biosolids (> 93%, compared to the untreated liquid biosolids. The fertilising value (N and P is well preserved by the METIX-AC process. Dissolved organic carbon measurements have showed that little organic matter is brought in solution during the treatment. In fact, the average concentration of dissolved organic carbon measured in the treated liquid phase is 966 ± 352 mg/l, whereas it is 1190 ± 325 mg/l in untreated sludge. The treated sludge was first conditioned with an organic polymer and a coagulant aid. It was successfully dewatered with
The Importance of the Montreal Protocol in Protecting the Earth's Hydroclimate

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Seager, R.; Wu, Y.; Polvani, L. M.

2012-12-01

The 1987 Montreal Protocol regulating emissions of ozone depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) was motivated primarily by the harm to human health and ecosystems arising from increased exposure to ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation associated with depletion from the ozone layer. It is now known that the Montreal Protocol has reduced global warming since CFCs are greenhouse gases (GHGs). In this paper we show that the Montreal Protocol also significantly protects the Earth's hydroclimate, even though this was also not a motivating factor in the decision-making that led to the Protocol. General Circulation Model (GCM) results show that in the coming decade (2020-29), under the 'World Avoided' scenario of no regulations on CFC emissions, the subtropical dry zones would in general get drier, and the middle and high latitude regions wetter. This change is similar, in both pattern and magnitude, to that in the coming decade caused by projected increases in carbon dioxide concentrations. This implies that because of the Montreal Protocol, and the ozone depletion and global warming associated with CFCs thus avoided, the hydrological cycle changes in the coming decade will be significantly less than what they otherwise would have been.
Seismic Vulnerability Assessment for Montreal -An Application of HAZUS-MH4

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Yu, Keyan

2011-12-01

Seismic loss estimation for Montreal, Canada is performed for a 2% in 50 years seismic hazard using the HAZUS-MH4 tool developed by US Federal Emergency Management. The software is manipulated to accept a Canadian setting for the Montreal study region, which includes 522 census tracts. The accuracy of loss estimations using HAZUS is dependent on the quality and quantity of data collection and preparation. The data collected for Montreal study region comprise: (1) the building inventory (2) hazard maps regarding soil amplification, liquefaction, and landslides (3) population distribution at three different times of the day (4) census demographic information and (5) synthetic ground motion contour maps using three different ground motion prediction equations. All these data are prepared and assembled into geodatabases that are compatible with the HAZUS software. The study estimated that roughly 5% of the building stock would be damaged with direct economic losses evaluated at 1.4 billion dollars for a scenario corresponding to the 2% in 50 years scenario. The maximum number of casualties associated with this scenario corresponds to a time of occurrence of 2pm and would result in approximately 500 people being injured. Epistemic uncertainty was considered by obtaining damage estimates for three attenuation functions that were developed for Eastern North America. The results indicate that loss estimates are highly sensitive to the choice of the attenuation function and suggests that epistemic uncertainty should be considered both for the definition of the hazard function and in loss estimation methodologies. The next steps in the study should be to increase the size of the survey area to the Greater Montreal which includes more than 3 million inhabitants and to perform more targeted studies for critical areas such as downtown Montreal, and the south-eastern tip of Montreal. The current study was performed mainly for the built environment; the next phase will need to
Tuberculosis and homelessness in Montreal: a retrospective cohort study

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Montreal is Canada's second-largest city, where mean annual tuberculosis (TB) incidence from 1996 to 2007 was 8.9/100,000. The objectives of this study were to describe the epidemiology of TB among homeless persons in Montreal and assess patterns of transmission and sharing of key locations. Methods We reviewed demographic, clinical, and microbiologic data for all active TB cases reported in Montreal from 1996 to 2007 and identified persons who were homeless in the year prior to TB diagnosis. We genotyped all available Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates by IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (IS6110-RFLP) and spoligotyping, and used a geographic information system to identify potential locations for transmission between persons with matching isolates. Results There were 20 cases of TB in homeless persons, out of 1823 total reported from 1996-2007. 17/20 were Canadian-born, including 5 Aboriginals. Homeless persons were more likely than non-homeless persons to have pulmonary TB (20/20), smear-positive disease (17/20, odds ratio (OR) = 5.7, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.7-20), HIV co-infection (12/20, OR = 14, 95%CI: 4.8-40), and a history of substance use. The median duration from symptom onset to diagnosis was 61 days for homeless persons vs. 28 days for non-homeless persons (P = 0.022). Eleven homeless persons with TB belonged to genotype-defined clusters (OR = 5.4, 95%CI: 2.2-13), and ten potential locations for transmission were identified, including health care facilities, homeless shelters/drop-in centres, and an Aboriginal community centre. Conclusions TB cases among homeless persons in Montreal raise concerns about delayed diagnosis and ongoing local transmission. PMID:22034944
Protocolos de Montreal e Kyoto: pontos em comum e diferenças fundamentais Montreal and Kyoto Protocols: common points and essential differences

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Darly Henriques da Silva

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Os Protocolos de Montreal e Kyoto, tratados internacionais de defesa do meio ambiente e da vida, controlam gases que provocam o buraco na camada de ozônio e o efeito estufa, respectivamente, resultantes de atividades industriais e uso da terra. O artigo enfatiza pontos comuns e diferenças entre eles, fornecendo atualização dos protocolos.Montreal and Kyoto Protocols, international treaties, aim at safeguarding the environment and life by controlling the use of gases which deplete the ozone layer and cause the greenhouse effect, respectively, due to industrial and land use activities. The article highlights common points and differences and provides an update discussion about the protocols.
Greek women and broken nerves in Montreal.

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Dunk, P

1989-05-01

In this paper, I examine the importance of class, ethnicity and gender in the causation and meaning of somatization for Greek women in Montreal. I argue that nevra--a form of psychosocial distress experienced by many of the women--is a phenomenon of the poor working conditions, low wages and gender relations in the Greek community. Data is based on interviews with 100 Greek families in Montreal and 45 patients in two different clinical settings. Comparing results with material on nervios and nerves from Latin America and the United States, I concur with Low (1985) that nerves should be viewed as a 'culturally-interpreted symptom' rather than a 'culture bound syndrome'. It is further suggested that the importance of social and material conditions and gender relations in mediating the cultural interpretation must be stressed. Failure to do so often results in the medicalization of nevra and the creation of a chronic sick role for the patient.

Nerves and Nostalgia: Expression of Loss Among Greek Immigrants in Montreal

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Lock, Margaret; Wakewich-Dunk, Pamela

1990-01-01

The authors interviewed first-generation Greek immigrant women in Montreal about nonspecific somatic symptoms. The concept of nevra (nerves), which was central to these discussions, was used to link environmental and psychosocial variables with distress and painful physical states. The authors discuss the cultural construction of female identity in Greece and analyze the negative effect of immigration on self-esteem, often manifested as attacks of nevra. Metaphorical concepts, such as nevra, can be used to improve physician understanding and to facilitate communication with, and enhance care of, immigrant patients. PMID:21234036
The Montreal Protocol's multilateral fund and sustainable development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luken, Ralph; Grof, Tamas

2006-01-01

The 1987 Montreal Protocol is widely seen as a global environmental accord that has produced tangible results in terms of reductions in ozone-depleting substances. In addition, there have been other benefits, largely unrecognized and undocumented, that can best be characterized in a sustainable development framework based on a review of 50 out of 931 projects implemented over a 13 year period by one of the four implementing agencies of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol. All investment projects have reduced ozone depleting potential and global warming potential. Some projects have reduced atmospheric emissions and contamination of groundwater. Other projects have increased the competitiveness of enterprises in domestic and international markets and have sustained and in a few cases created employment opportunities. Others, fewer in number, have potentially contributed to environmental problems, have initially created difficulties in maintaining productivity and quality standards and have decreased the number of employment opportunities because of the need to rationalize manufacturing processes. The potential contributions from Multilateral Fund investment projects to sustainable development could probably have been amplified with project design guidance for the technical staffs of all three implementing agencies executing investment projects. In thinking about other multilateral environmental agreements, one can see the need for similar guidance for Global Environment Facility funded projects supporting the focal areas of climate change, international waters, ozone depletion and persistent organic pollutants. Some of them have the potential to generate multiple beneficial impacts in addition to their stated environmental objective if designed and implemented within a sustainable development framework. (author)
The precautionary principle as a provisional instrument in environmental policy: The Montreal Protocol case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, J. Roger

2014-01-01

based. Many of these scientists act both as “honest brokers” and “issue advocates”, and through their shared interest in policy, may act to narrow the range of policy options. For example, modelled projections of low certainty are reported by Montreal Protocol contributing organisations to promote the importance of adhering to the Montreal Protocol. More comprehensive models of atmospheric chemistry incorporate more factors with interdependencies between variables. Consequently, outcomes projecting high risk and greater uncertainty are projected. As new reports of uncertain risk are propagated by studies from contributing organisations, continued application of the Precautionary Principle is required. The Montreal Protocol case suggests that when environmental studies introduce new concerns that trigger a policy response, the Precautionary Principle will act to perpetuate the research activity of contributing organisations, and extend the implementation of precautionary measures. Given the self-renewing nature this process, the precautionary measures are then not provisional
Validity of Montreal Cognitive Assessment in non-english speaking patients with Parkinson's disease.

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Krishnan, Syam; Justus, Sunitha; Meluveettil, Radhamani; Menon, Ramshekhar N; Sarma, Sankara P; Kishore, Asha

2015-01-01

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a brief and easy screening tool for accurately testing cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. We tested its validity for use in non-English (Malayalam) speaking patients with Parkinson's disease. We developed a Malayalam (a south-Indian language) version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment and applied to 70 patients with Parkinson's disease and 60 age- and education-matched healthy controls. Metric properties were assessed, and the scores were compared with the performance in validated Malayalam versions of Mini Mental Status Examination and Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Malayalam showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability and its scores correlated with Mini Mental Status Examination (patients: R = 0.70; P speaking Parkinson's disease patients for early screening and potential future interventions for cognitive dysfunction.
The importance of the Montreal Protocol in protecting climate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Velders, G.J.M.; Andersen, S.O.; Daniel, J.S.; Fahey, D.W.; McFarland, M.

2007-01-01

The 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is a landmark agreement that has successfully reduced the global production, consumption, and emissions of ozone-depleting substances (ODSs). ODSs are also greenhouse gases that contribute to the radiative forcing of climate
Estimating the health benefits of planned public transit investments in Montreal.

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Tétreault, Louis-François; Eluru, Naveen; Hatzopoulou, Marianne; Morency, Patrick; Plante, Celine; Morency, Catherine; Reynaud, Frederic; Shekarrizfard, Maryam; Shamsunnahar, Yasmin; Faghih Imani, Ahmadreza; Drouin, Louis; Pelletier, Anne; Goudreau, Sophie; Tessier, Francois; Gauvin, Lise; Smargiassi, Audrey

2018-01-01

Since public transit infrastructure affects road traffic volumes and influences transportation mode choice, which in turn impacts health, it is important to estimate the alteration of the health burden linked with transit policies. We quantified the variation in health benefits and burden between a business as usual (BAU) and a public transit (PT) scenarios in 2031 (with 8 and 19 new subway and train stations) for the greater Montreal region. Using mode choice and traffic assignment models, we predicted the transportation mode choice and traffic assignment on the road network. Subsequently, we estimated the distance travelled in each municipality by mode, the minutes spent in active transportation, as well as traffic emissions. Thereafter we estimated the health burden attributed to air pollution and road traumas and the gains associated with active transportation for both the BAU and PT scenarios. We predicted a slight decrease of overall trips and kilometers travelled by car as well as an increase of active transportation for the PT in 2031 vs the BAU. Our analysis shows that new infrastructure will reduce the overall burden of transportation by 2.5 DALYs per 100,000 persons. This decrease is caused by the reduction of road traumas occurring in the inner suburbs and central Montreal region as well as gains in active transportation in the inner suburbs. Based on the results of our study, transportation planned public transit projects for Montreal are unlikely to reduce drastically the burden of disease attributable to road vehicles and infrastructures in the Montreal region. The impact of the planned transportation infrastructures seems to be very low and localized mainly in the areas where new public transit stations are planned. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Face-offs in reproductive immunology: the Montreal forum meeting report.

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Croy, B Anne; Baines, Malcolm G

2004-10-01

The combined 12th International Congress of Immunology (ICI) and the 4th Annual Conference of the Federation of Clinical Immunological Societies (FOCIS) was held in Montreal, Canada July 18-23, 2004 and attracted over 6000 immunologists and almost 4000 abstracts. The host society, the Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI) spent many years in preparation for this large meeting and encouraged its members to propose topics for symposia and mini-symposia and to sponsor satellite meetings. With sponsorship of CSI; the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; the University of Guelph, Guelph, ON; Queen's University, Kingston, ON; McGill University, Montreal, QU, Canada; and the American Society for Reproductive Immunology, a focused, highly successful, one day satellite meeting on human uterine immunology was held. The highlights of the presentations and discussions are reported.
The Economic Value of the Greater Montreal Blue Network (Quebec, Canada: A Contingent Choice Study Using Real Projects to Estimate Non-Market Aquatic Ecosystem Services Benefits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas G Poder

Full Text Available This study used a contingent choice method to determine the economic value of improving various ecosystem services (ESs of the Blue Network of Greater Montreal (Quebec, Canada. Three real projects were used and the evaluation focused on six ESs that are related to freshwater aquatic ecosystems: biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration, recreational activities, landscape aesthetics and education services. We also estimated the value associated with the superficies of restored sites. We calculated the monetary value that a household would be willing to pay for each additional qualitative or quantitative unit of different ESs, and these marginal values range from $0.11 to $15.39 per household per unit. Thus, under certain assumptions, we determined the monetary values that all Quebec households would allocate to improve each ES in Greater Montreal by one unit. The most valued ES was water quality ($13.5 million, followed by education services ($10.7 million, recreational activities ($8.9 million, landscape aesthetics ($4.1 million, biodiversity ($1.2 million, and carbon sequestration ($0.1 million. Our results ascribe monetary values to improved (or degraded aquatic ecosystems in the Blue Network of Greater Montreal, but can also enhance economic analyses of various aquatic ecosystem restoration and management projects.
The Economic Value of the Greater Montreal Blue Network (Quebec, Canada): A Contingent Choice Study Using Real Projects to Estimate Non-Market Aquatic Ecosystem Services Benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Poder, Thomas G; Dupras, Jérôme; Fetue Ndefo, Franck; He, Jie

2016-01-01

This study used a contingent choice method to determine the economic value of improving various ecosystem services (ESs) of the Blue Network of Greater Montreal (Quebec, Canada). Three real projects were used and the evaluation focused on six ESs that are related to freshwater aquatic ecosystems: biodiversity, water quality, carbon sequestration, recreational activities, landscape aesthetics and education services. We also estimated the value associated with the superficies of restored sites. We calculated the monetary value that a household would be willing to pay for each additional qualitative or quantitative unit of different ESs, and these marginal values range from $0.11 to $15.39 per household per unit. Thus, under certain assumptions, we determined the monetary values that all Quebec households would allocate to improve each ES in Greater Montreal by one unit. The most valued ES was water quality ($13.5 million), followed by education services ($10.7 million), recreational activities ($8.9 million), landscape aesthetics ($4.1 million), biodiversity ($1.2 million), and carbon sequestration ($0.1 million). Our results ascribe monetary values to improved (or degraded) aquatic ecosystems in the Blue Network of Greater Montreal, but can also enhance economic analyses of various aquatic ecosystem restoration and management projects.
Selections from the ABC 2011 Annual Convention, Montreal, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Whalen, D. Joel; Andersen, Ken; Campbell, Gloria; Crenshaw, Cheri; Cross, Geoffrey A.; Grinols, Anne Bradstreet; Hildebrand, John; Newman, Amy; Ortiz, Lorelei A.; Paulson, Edward; Phillabaum, Melinda; Powell, Elizabeth A.; Sloan, Ryan

2012-01-01

The 12 Favorite Assignments featured in this article were presented at the 2011 Annual Convention of the Association for Business Communication (ABC), Montreal, Canada. A variety of learning objectives are featured: delivering bad news, handling difficult people, persuasion, reporting financial analysis, electronic media, face-to-face…
Identifying and Measuring Dimensions of Urban Deprivation in Montreal: An Analysis of the 1996 Census Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Langlois, Andre; Kitchen, Peter

2001-01-01

Used 1996 Canadian census data to examine the spatial structure and intensity of urban deprivation in Montreal. Analysis of 20 indicators of urban deprivation identified 6 main types of deprivation in the city and found that they were most visible on the Island of Montreal. Urban deprivation was not confined to the inner city. (SM)
The Domestic Foodscapes of Young Low-Income Women in Montreal: Cooking Practices in the Context of an Increasingly Processed Food Supply

Science.gov (United States)

Engler-Stringer, Rachel

2010-01-01

Over the course of the past century, the quantity of prepackaged, pre-prepared foods available in the North American context has increased dramatically. This study examines the shifts in food practices that are taking place through an exploration of the day-to-day cooking practices of a group of young, low-income women in Montreal and considers…
Mini‑Mental State Exam versus Montreal Cognitive Assessment in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Mini‑mental state exam (MMSE) was used several times but no study has examined cognition on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in diabetes and diabetic retinopathy (DR). In this study, we compared MMSE with MoCA in patients with DR and searched for an association between the severity of DR ...
ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF THE HIGHWAY 25 EXPANSION PROJECT ON AIR QUALITY IN MONTREAL USING GIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mioara CHIABURU

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Assessing the impact of the highway 25 expansion project on air quality in montreal using gis. The aim of the paper is to assess local air pollution implications of the Highway 25 expansion project from Montreal. The basic concept of the roadway air dispersion model consists in calculating air pollutant levels in the vicinity of a highway by considering it as a line source. To fulfill this assessment, GIS software was used in order to determine pollutant distribution around the study area based on data collected by existing air monitoring stations located in the City of Montreal. GIS interpolation methods, notably Kriging and Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW, was used to generate maps of pollutant concentrations across the study area. From the results, recommendations will be made in regards to the project and appropriate mitigatory alternatives suggested.
Climate change impacts on pollinic productivity and allergic rhinitis in Montreal between 1994 and 2002

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garneau, M.; Breton, M.; Fortier, I. [Quebec Univ., Montreal, PQ (Canada)

2005-07-01

This presentation defined the correlation between pollinic concentrations of ragweed and medical consultations for allergic rhinitis in Montreal between 1994 and 2002, taking into account meteorological variables and socio-economic factors. The spatio-temporal dynamic of pollinic, meteorological, socio-economic and epidemiological values was reconstituted from descriptive, geographical and statistical analyses. Throughout the ragweed pollinic seasons (August to October) between 1994 and 2002 in the Montreal island area, there were 7,138 consultations for allergic rhinitis. The study concluded that the lengthening of the pollinic seasons, as well as the increase in the average number of medical consultations, combined with the significant correlation linking the temperature to pollinic concentrations suggests that the population affected by pollen allergies will increase over the coming decades in Montreal, and that it will affect certain areas more than others, which is consistent with the anticipated impacts of the rise in temperatures forecasted by different models of climate scenarios.
Can life coaching improve health outcomes?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ammentorp, Jette

26. Ammentorp J, Uhrenfeldt L, Angel F, Ehrensvärd, Carlsen E, Kofoed P-E. Can life coaching improve health outcomes? – A systematic review of intervention studies. Poster presented at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare, Montreal Canada, 30 Sept 2013.......26. Ammentorp J, Uhrenfeldt L, Angel F, Ehrensvärd, Carlsen E, Kofoed P-E. Can life coaching improve health outcomes? – A systematic review of intervention studies. Poster presented at the International Conference on Communication in Healthcare, Montreal Canada, 30 Sept 2013....
Temporal Evolution of Poststroke Cognitive Impairment Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijsse, Britta; Visser-Meily, Johanna M A; van Mierlo, Maria L; Post, Marcel W M; de Kort, Paul L M; van Heugten, Caroline M

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is nowadays recommended for the screening of poststroke cognitive impairment. However, little is known about the temporal evolution of MoCA-assessed cognition after stroke. The objective of this study was to examine the temporal
Temporal Evolution of Poststroke Cognitive Impairment Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijsse, Britta; Visser-Meily, Johanna M.A.; van Mierlo, Maria L.; Post, Marcel W. M.; de Kort, Paul. L. M.; van Heugten, Caroline M.

Background and Purpose-The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is nowadays recommended for the screening of poststroke cognitive impairment. However, little is known about the temporal evolution of MoCA-assessed cognition after stroke. The objective of this study was to examine the temporal pattern
Argel, Buenos Aires, Montreal: el Comité de Cine del Tercer Mundo (1973 / 1974 / Algiers, Buenos Aires, Montreal: the Third World Cinema Committee (1973 / 1974

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariano Mestman

2017-02-01

cinema to national liberation processes, the decolonisation of Third World screens, and the fight against ‘cultural alienation’. The most important result of this meeting was the creation of the Third World Cinema Committee. Only six months after the Algiers encounter, a new gathering was held in Buenos Aires (Argentina. On the one hand, this essay shows how a cinematic-political project (a cinematic «thirdworldism» was gradually shaped during those years and highlights the role of both meetings in prompting this new cultural-political identity.On the other hand, this work also states that this account needs to incorporate another decisive encounter: the 1974 Rencontres Internationales pour un Nouveau Cinema of Montreal (Canadá. Disregarded by the bibliography on the subject, this meeting could be considered the most important event in world political cinema of sixties and seventies. Given the quantity and diverse backgrounds of the participants from Europe, US, Africa and Latin America, the Montreal conference was crucial to build up the dialogue between first world political filmmakers and the thirdworldist trend constructed between Algiers and Buenos Aires meetings.Keywords: Third World, Thirdworldism, Third Cinema, New Latin American Cinema, Panafrican Federation of Filmmakers.
Processo de adaptação da bateria Montreal de avaliação da comunicação: bateria MAC - ao português brasileiro Adaptation process to Brazilian Portuguese of the Montreal communication evaluation battery: MAC battery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rochele Paz Fonseca

2007-01-01

Full Text Available O presente estudo tem por objetivo apresentar a adaptação do "Protocole Montréal d'Évaluation de la Communication - Protocole MEC" (Bateria Montreal de Avaliação da Comunicação - Bateria MAC ao Português Brasileiro. Esta bateria canadense foi construída para avaliar quatro processamentos comunicativos de ativação do hemisfério direito: discursivo, pragmático-inferencial, léxico-semântico e prosódico. Participaram do estudo seis tradutores, três juízes especialistas, 54 juízes não-especialistas e 16 participantes dos estudos piloto. Os procedimentos gerais promovidos foram tradução, análise de critérios psicolingüísticos por juízes e aplicação do instrumento em estudos piloto. As tarefas Interpretação de metáforas, Discurso narrativo e Julgamento semântico exigiram um processo de adaptação mais complexo e rigoroso. Com base em critérios psicolingüísticos, realizaram-se algumas mudanças nos estímulos, com a finalidade principal de manutenção do objetivo de cada tarefa do instrumento original. Este instrumento neuropsicológico pode ser uma ferramenta de avaliação da comunicação de indivíduos com lesão de hemisfério direito, lesão frontal, traumatismo crânio-encefálico e demência.This research aims to present the adaptation of the "Protocole Montréal d'Évaluation de la Communication - Protocole MEC" (Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery - MAC Battery to Brazilian Portuguese, in accordance with psycholinguistics criteria. MAC Battery is a Canadian instrument constructed to evaluate right hemisphere communicative and linguistic abilities, considering four processing domains: discoursive, pragmatic-inferential, lexical-semantic and prosodic. The participants were six translators, three specialist judges, 54 non-specialist judges and 16 subjects from pilot studies. Adaptation procedures included translation, judge analysis of psycholinguistics criteria and two pilot tests. Some tasks required

The intracarotid amobarbital procedure (Wada test with two protocols combined, Montreal and Seattle Procedimentos do amobarbital intracarotideo (teste de Wada com dois protocolos combinados, Montreal e Seattle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo J. M. Leite

1997-06-01

Full Text Available The intracarotid amobarbital procedure was carried out in 8 male and 7 female candidates to temporal lobectomy, and a female candidate to frontal lesionectomy, aged 18-50 (mean 32.5 years. Language and memory were tested after injection in each hemisphere. Both were measured by the Montreal procedure. In 9 patients language and memory were evaluated with the Seattle procedure too. In 12 patients the left hemisphere was dominant for language; three had bilateral dominance. In I patient the Seattle procedure demonstrated the dominant hemisphere by relatively slowness of speech during the drug effect in the left hemisphere. Memory was defined to be in the left hemisphere in 12 patients, in the right in 2, bilateral in 1 and in another lateralization was not possible. In 1 patient memory dominance was determined by the Montreal protocol alone because of lack of cooperation. These early results indicate that the methods may be complementary for determination of language and memory dominance in epilepsy surgery candidates.O testo do amobarbital intracarotídeo foi realizado em 8 homens e 7 mulheres candidatos a lobectomia temporal e em uma mulher candidata a lesionectomia frontal, com idades de 18-50 (média 32,5 anos. Linguagem e memória foram testadas após a injeção do amobarbial em cada hemisfério cerebral. Todos os pacientes foram avaliados pelo método de Montreal e 9 também pelo método de Seattle. Em 12 pacientes o hemisfério cerebral esquerdo foi dominante para linguagem e em 3 pacientes houve dominância bilateral. Em uma paciente a linguagem foi determinada apenas através do método de Seattle, com lentificação relativa da fal a, sob ação da droga no hemisfério cerebral esquerdo. Dominância da memória à esquerda foi observada em 12 pacientes, à direita em 2, bilateral em 1 e em outro não foi lateralizada. Dominância da memória foi definida apenas através do método de Montreal em um paciente, devido à pouca coopera
Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery--Portuguese version: age and education effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, Mônica de Souza; Pagliarin, Karina Carlesso; Mineiro, Ana; Ferré, Perrine; Joanette, Yves; Fonseca, Rochele Paz

2015-01-01

To verify age and education effects on communication performance of healthy adults in the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery, Portuguese version (MAC-PT). The sample comprised 90 healthy adults from Portugal, European Portuguese speakers, divided into nine groups according to educational level (4-9, 10-13, and > 13 years of formal schooling) and age (19-40, 41-64, and 65-80 years). The influence of age and education was assessed by comparing mean scores between groups, using a two-way analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni post hoc tests (p ≤ 0.05). The results showed that participants' performance was influenced by age in pragmatic-inferential, discursive, and prosodic tasks. Education had the greatest influence on the performance in all processes evaluated by the MAC-PT. Age and education seem to influence the communicative performance and should be considered in the assessment of neurological patients.
The recommissioning of Montreal's Palais des Congres; Le recommissioning du Palais des congres de Montreal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poirier, M. [Palais des Congres, Montreal, PQ (Canada); Deschamps, J.F. [Pageau Morel et Associes, Montreal, PQ (Canada)

2006-12-15

An addition was constructed onto the Palais des Congres building in Montreal in 2002. When the energy performance of the newly recommissioned building failed to meet the expectations of the construction contractor, an Energy Savings Commission was created with a mandate was to reduce energy consumption by 25 per cent over a 3 to 5 year time period, representing a savings of $500,000 per year. The objective was to make advantageous changes that would not compromise occupant comfort or interior air quality. The Committee identified areas of possible improvements in the building's heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Improvements in lighting systems and humidity control were also investigated. The Committee identified necessary upgrades and evaluated the changes in terms of technical feasibility, financial profit and sustainability. The Committee was also responsible for acquiring the authorization needed to proceed with the investment and implement change. This paper listed the energy saving measures along with the associated savings in electricity and natural gas. It also listed the associated reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The energy saving measures undertaken by the Committee were based on 3 fundamental principles which included turning off equipment that was not being used in different areas of the building; optimizing the energy use of equipment; and, replacing or modifying inefficient equipment. In November 2005, the Palais des Congres hosted the Energy Efficiency Week, during which time it made use of CANMET's Diagnostic Agent for Building Operators (DABO) software package to achieve energy savings. A program aimed at training employees in energy efficiency was also implemented and feedback on key issues was acquired. Hydro-Quebec also contributed $25,000 towards the energy analysis performed by the Committee. The objective of saving $500,000 in energy costs over a 3 to 5 year period was met. 3 tabs., 1 fig.
New Regional and Global HFC Projections and Effects of National Regulations and Montreal Protocol Amendment Proposals

Science.gov (United States)

Velders, G. J. M.

2015-12-01

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are used as substitutes for ozone-depleting substances that are being phased out globally under Montreal Protocol regulations. New global scenarios of HFC emissions reach 4.0-5.3 GtCO2-eq yr-1 in 2050, which corresponds to a projected growth from 2015 to 2050 which is 9% to 29% of that for CO2 over the same time period. New baseline scenarios are formulated for 10 HFC compounds, 11 geographic regions, and 13 use categories. These projections are the first to comprehensively assess production and consumption of individual HFCs in multiple use sectors and geographic regions with emission estimates constrained by atmospheric observations. In 2050, in percent of global HFC emissions, China (~30%), India and the rest of Asia (~25%), Middle East and northern Africa (~10%), and USA (~10%) are the principal source regions; and refrigeration and stationary air conditioning are the major use sectors. National regulations to limit HFC use have been adopted recently in the European Union, Japan and USA, and four proposals have been submitted in 2015 to amend the Montreal Protocol to substantially reduce growth in HFC use. Calculated baseline emissions are reduced by 90% in 2050 by implementing the North America Montreal Protocol amendment proposal. Global adoption of technologies required to meet national regulations would be sufficient to reduce 2050 baseline HFC consumption by more than 50% of that achieved with the North America proposal for most developed and developing countries. The new HFC scenarios and effects of national regulations and Montreal Protocol amendment proposals will be presented.
Choix linguistiques, changements et alternances de langue: Les comportements multilingues des italophones de Montreal (Linguistic Choices, Changes, and Code Switching: The Linguistics Behaviors of Italophones of Montreal).

Science.gov (United States)

Labrie, Normand

A study of 15 fathers and their 16 sons in an italophone community in Montreal (Canada) focused on the usage of Italian, French, and English in communication between generations and in a variety of activities. Data were drawn from 45 hours of taped conversation in home and work settings, which included 4,848 instances of language contact. Of the…
Psychic centrality: reflections on two psychohistoriographic cultural therapy workshops in Montreal.

Science.gov (United States)

Hickling, Frederick W; Guzder, Jaswant; Robertson-Hickling, Hilary; Snow, Stephen; Kirmayer, Laurence J

2010-02-01

The use of psychohistoriographic cultural therapy (PCT) developed in Jamaica is described in the context of two workshops in Montreal. PCT is a form of group intervention that seeks to elicit and clarify the "psychic centrality" of a group. Psychic centrality refers to a sense of psychological containment or organization of diverse individual points of view through creating a historical map of collective experience. In PCT, this collective map is constructed and techniques borrowed from creative arts therapies are used to develop a performance. This performance provides additional containment and fosters a group process that can contain collective conflicts. The performance can also be used to engage an audience, working to contain conflict while representing diverse perspectives within the group. Factors that may contribute to the effectiveness of PCT and those that may derail the process are identified through the systematic comparison of the two workshops. PCT was demonstrated to cross successfully from a Third to a First World culture, and established potential as a method to facilitate group conflict resolution and for the promotion of pluralistic civil societies.
Historic cohort study in Montreal's fur industry.

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Guay, D; Siemiatycki, J

1987-01-01

A historic cohort mortality study was carried out among two groups of male workers in the Montreal fur industry: 263 dressers and dyers and 599 fur garment manufacturers. The first group is exposed to a very wide variety of chemicals used in tanning, cleaning, and dyeing fur, including substances considered to be carcinogenic and/or mutagenic. The second group is exposed to residue from the dressing and dyeing stage and to respirable fur dust. The cohorts consisted of all active members of two unions as of January 1, 1966. The mean age of the workers was 43.2 and the mean number of years since first employment 14.1. The follow-up period was from January 1, 1966, to December 31, 1981; 95% of the workers were successfully traced. Observed deaths were compared with those expected based on mortality rates of the population of metropolitan Montreal. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for the manufacturers were significantly low, probably because of the ethnic composition of the cohort and a healthy worker effect. SMRs for the dressers and dyers were also low, but not as low as for the manufacturers. When attention was restricted to the French Canadians in the cohort, the observed deaths were close to the expected; there was a noteworthy excess of colorectal cancer (four observed, 0.8 expected) for dressers and dyers. Apart from this weak suggestive evidence, the results did not indicate any excess mortality risks in the fur industry. However, because of the relatively small number of expected and observed deaths in the cohort and especially among the heavily exposed dressers and dyers, the confidence intervals around SMR estimates were wide and excess risks cannot be ruled out.
Cyberinfrastructure for Open Science at the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Samir; Glatard, Tristan; Rogers, Christine; Saigle, John; Paiva, Santiago; MacIntyre, Leigh; Safi-Harab, Mouna; Rousseau, Marc-Etienne; Stirling, Jordan; Khalili-Mahani, Najmeh; MacFarlane, David; Kostopoulos, Penelope; Rioux, Pierre; Madjar, Cecile; Lecours-Boucher, Xavier; Vanamala, Sandeep; Adalat, Reza; Mohaddes, Zia; Fonov, Vladimir S; Milot, Sylvain; Leppert, Ilana; Degroot, Clotilde; Durcan, Thomas M; Campbell, Tara; Moreau, Jeremy; Dagher, Alain; Collins, D Louis; Karamchandani, Jason; Bar-Or, Amit; Fon, Edward A; Hoge, Rick; Baillet, Sylvain; Rouleau, Guy; Evans, Alan C

2016-01-01

Data sharing is becoming more of a requirement as technologies mature and as global research and communications diversify. As a result, researchers are looking for practical solutions, not only to enhance scientific collaborations, but also to acquire larger amounts of data, and to access specialized datasets. In many cases, the realities of data acquisition present a significant burden, therefore gaining access to public datasets allows for more robust analyses and broadly enriched data exploration. To answer this demand, the Montreal Neurological Institute has announced its commitment to Open Science, harnessing the power of making both clinical and research data available to the world (Owens, 2016a,b). As such, the LORIS and CBRAIN (Das et al., 2016) platforms have been tasked with the technical challenges specific to the institutional-level implementation of open data sharing, including: Comprehensive linking of multimodal data (phenotypic, clinical, neuroimaging, biobanking, and genomics, etc.)Secure database encryption, specifically designed for institutional and multi-project data sharing, ensuring subject confidentiality (using multi-tiered identifiers).Querying capabilities with multiple levels of single study and institutional permissions, allowing public data sharing for all consented and de-identified subject data.Configurable pipelines and flags to facilitate acquisition and analysis, as well as access to High Performance Computing clusters for rapid data processing and sharing of software tools.Robust Workflows and Quality Control mechanisms ensuring transparency and consistency in best practices.Long term storage (and web access) of data, reducing loss of institutional data assets.Enhanced web-based visualization of imaging, genomic, and phenotypic data, allowing for real-time viewing and manipulation of data from anywhere in the world.Numerous modules for data filtering, summary statistics, and personalized and configurable dashboards. Implementing
Economics of "essential use exemptions" for metered-dose inhalers under the Montreal Protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

DeCanio, Stephen J; Norman, Catherine S

2007-10-01

The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has led to rapid reductions in the use of ozone-depleting substances worldwide. However, the Protocol provides for "essential use exemptions" (EUEs) if there are no "technically and economically feasible" alternatives. An application that might qualify as an "essential use" is CFC-powered medical metered-dose inhalers (MDIs) for the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the US and other nations have applied for exemptions in this case. One concern is that exemptions are necessary to ensure access to medications for low-income uninsureds. We examine the consequences of granting or withholding such exemptions, and conclude that government policies and private-sector programs are available that make it economically feasible to phase out chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in this application, thereby furthering the global public health objectives of the Montreal Protocol without compromising the treatment of patients who currently receive medication by means of MDIs.
Global warming potential estimates for the C1-C3 hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) included in the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol

Science.gov (United States)

Papanastasiou, Dimitrios K.; Beltrone, Allison; Marshall, Paul; Burkholder, James B.

2018-05-01

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) are ozone depleting substances and potent greenhouse gases that are controlled under the Montreal Protocol. However, the majority of the 274 HCFCs included in Annex C of the protocol do not have reported global warming potentials (GWPs) which are used to guide the phaseout of HCFCs and the future phase down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). In this study, GWPs for all C1-C3 HCFCs included in Annex C are reported based on estimated atmospheric lifetimes and theoretical methods used to calculate infrared absorption spectra. Atmospheric lifetimes were estimated from a structure activity relationship (SAR) for OH radical reactivity and estimated O(1D) reactivity and UV photolysis loss processes. The C1-C3 HCFCs display a wide range of lifetimes (0.3 to 62 years) and GWPs (5 to 5330, 100-year time horizon) dependent on their molecular structure and the H-atom content of the individual HCFC. The results from this study provide estimated policy-relevant GWP metrics for the HCFCs included in the Montreal Protocol in the absence of experimentally derived metrics.
The Montreal Lectures: 2 August - 2 October, 1944

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arsenault, J.E

2007-06-15

The Second World War began in the summer of 1939 and spurred atomic science in the direction of weapons development. The United Kingdom (U.K.) was far ahead until about the summer of 1941 at which time the United States (U.S.) began to have serious interest in atomic weapons. Seen from Europe, the U.S. was a greater distance from the theatre of war and was deemed to be a safer place to conduct atomic research. In addition to good research centres it also had greater financial, manpower, and material resources. Early attempts at full collaboration between the U.K. and the U.S. met with little success and this led to the formation of a joint British-Canadian atomic weapons effort in 1942, with research laboratories located in Montreal, which were well up and running by spring 1943. The Montreal laboratory (ML) initially was administered by the National Research Council (NRC) and scientific direction was provided by the U.K. The ML was the foundation from which the Canadian nuclear industry evolved to the present time. Interest in atomic weapons development by the U.S. had been greatly accelerated by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941. By the beginning of 1943 it was spending 10 times as much as the U.K. on atomic weapons research. From then on, the U.S. set the Allied agenda for the development of atomic weapons, in varying degrees of collaboration with the U.K. and Canada. This spending which grew to about $2B by the middle of 1945, was directed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Manhattan Project, officially established on 13 August 1942, and led by Gen. Leslie R. Groves From 17 September 1942. (author)
The Montreal Lectures: 2 August - 2 October, 1944

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arsenault, J.E.

2007-01-01

The Second World War began in the summer of 1939 and spurred atomic science in the direction of weapons development. The United Kingdom (U.K.) was far ahead until about the summer of 1941 at which time the United States (U.S.) began to have serious interest in atomic weapons. Seen from Europe, the U.S. was a greater distance from the theatre of war and was deemed to be a safer place to conduct atomic research. In addition to good research centres it also had greater financial, manpower, and material resources. Early attempts at full collaboration between the U.K. and the U.S. met with little success and this led to the formation of a joint British-Canadian atomic weapons effort in 1942, with research laboratories located in Montreal, which were well up and running by spring 1943. The Montreal laboratory (ML) initially was administered by the National Research Council (NRC) and scientific direction was provided by the U.K. The ML was the foundation from which the Canadian nuclear industry evolved to the present time. Interest in atomic weapons development by the U.S. had been greatly accelerated by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941. By the beginning of 1943 it was spending 10 times as much as the U.K. on atomic weapons research. From then on, the U.S. set the Allied agenda for the development of atomic weapons, in varying degrees of collaboration with the U.K. and Canada. This spending which grew to about $2B by the middle of 1945, was directed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under the Manhattan Project, officially established on 13 August 1942, and led by Gen. Leslie R. Groves From 17 September 1942. (author)
Beyond Vienna and Montreal: A global framework convention on greenhouse gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wirth, D.A.; Lashof, D.A.

1993-01-01

This chapter discusses the need for a framework treaty analogous to the Vienna Convention and to the Montreal Protocol for greenhouse gases. Discussed are the following topics: (1) the immediate need for multilateral greenhouse gas controls, including policy implications of scientific uncertainties; (2) recent steps toward a greenhouse gas convention; (3) an environmentally meaningful plan for a greenhouse gase conventions, including the ozone precident, CO 2 targets, resource transfers, trading emissions allocations, institutional issues
Literacy promotion at the Montreal Children’s Hospital

Science.gov (United States)

Erdos, Caroline; Ferdinand, Jae-Marie

2017-01-01

Abstract The foundations for language and literacy are set in utero when babies hear the tone of their mother’s voice (1). There is strong evidence of a positive relationship between early literacy experiences and language and academic outcomes (2). Unfortunately, many parents do not know about the benefits of reading to and with young children, and many children enter school without the basic skills needed to learn to read and succeed. Physicians who have contact with young families are in a distinctive position to promote reading, though despite its evidence base, it has not yet become a universal intervention. A short description of the projects at the Montreal Children’s Hospital is provided. PMID:29479189
The Tanenbaum Open Science Institute: Leading a Paradigm Shift at the Montreal Neurological Institute.

Science.gov (United States)

Poupon, Viviane; Seyller, Annabel; Rouleau, Guy A

2017-08-30

The Montreal Neurological Institute is adopting an Open Science Policy that will be enacted by the Tanenbaum Open Science Institute. The aim is to accelerate the generation of knowledge and novel effective treatments for brain disorders by freeing science. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Use of alumni and employer surveys for internal quality assurance of the DVM program at the University of Montreal.

Science.gov (United States)

Doucet, Michèle Y; Vrins, André

2010-01-01

Annual alumni and employer surveys, initially designed as outcomes assessment tools, were integrated into a new internal quality assurance strategy to improve the doctor of veterinary medicine program at the University of Montreal's Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire. Data collected annually from the classes of 2004-2007 indicated that alumni and their employers were generally satisfied with their level of preparation after one year of professional activity. Specific weaknesses were found in non-technical skills such as communication and resource management. These data were used in support of other forms of feedback to guide curricular reform.
Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment cut-off score to clarify improvement of mild cognitive impairment after exercise training in community-dwelling older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Nara, Marina; Sugie, Masamitsu; Takahashi, Tetsuya; Koyama, Teruyuki; Sengoku, Renpei; Fujiwara, Yoshinori; Obuchi, Shuichi; Harada, Kazumasa; Kyo, Shunei; Ito, Hideki

2018-02-02

Physical exercise improves cognitive function in people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, information about whether the degree of MCI before exercise training affects improvement in cognitive function is lacking. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the cut-off value in a MCI screening tool that predicts reversal to normal cognitive function after exercise training in older adults with MCI. Participants included 112 Japanese community-dwelling older adult outpatients (37 men, 75 women; mean age 76.3 years). We administered the Japanese version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-J) before and after exercise training. MCI was defined as a MoCA-J score cognitive function. The MoCA-J cut-off score to predict cognitive function potentially reversible to normal was 23, with receiver operating characteristic analysis showing an area under the curve of 0.80, sensitivity of 79.4% and specificity of 69.2%. Multiple logistic regression analysis to predict non-MCI after exercise training showed that MoCA-J score ≥23 (OR 6.9, P cognitive function that is potentially reversible to normal among community-dwelling Japanese older adults with MCI. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; ••: ••-••. © 2018 The Authors Geriatrics & Gerontology International published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japan Geriatrics Society.
Computer mapping as an aid in air-pollution studies: Montreal region study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Granger, J M

1972-01-01

Through the use of computer-mapping programs, an operational technique has been designed which allows an almost-instant appraisal of the intensity of atmospheric pollution in an urban region on the basis of epiphytic sensitivity. The epiphytes considered are essentially lichens and mosses growing on trees. This study was applied to the Montreal region, with 349 samplings statiions distributed nearly uniformly. Computer graphics of the findings are included in the appendix.
Relocating Precarity and Resiliency within Montreal: The Artists' Bloc of the Immigrant Workers' Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Koby Rogers; Salamanca, Manuel

2017-01-01

In this document we describe our experience relocating precarity and resiliency by way of arts activism, to denounce and make visible social injustices experienced by im/migrant communities in Montreal. Under the umbrella of the Immigrant Workers' Centre, and other allies from the im/migrant workers' movement, we combine knowledge building, action…
Organizational Strategies for Critical Transportation Infrastructure: Characteristics of Urban Resilience. The Case of Montreal.

Science.gov (United States)

Beauregard, Stéphane; Therrien, Marie-Christine; Normandin, Julie-Maude

2010-05-01

organization to adapt to conditions. Each strategy must adapt to specific conditions. Where uncertainties important, resilience is probably the most appropriate. Where conditions are stable, and where future projections are generally fair, anticipating works better, although it should be used judiciously (Fiksel, 2003). Anticipation strategies immobilize specific or tangible resources and, can eventually be costly in the long-term. On the other hand, resilient systems and organizations are those that quickly acquire information about their environments, quickly change their behaviour and their structures, even if the circumstances are chaotic. They communicate easily and openly, and largely mobilize networks of expertise and support (Perrow, 1999). We conducted qualitative research to assess different variables that positively affect the organizational resilience in the management of critical infrastructure. We preferred a methodology allowing us to retain the complexity of the phenomenon, not affecting the nature of the system studied. Our methodology allows us to create pragmatic theoretical concepts (grounded theory) (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). Our main concern is not to separate the phenomenon studied in its context. This methodology allows us to better understand the coordination between the organizations network infrastructure essential by a process of "sweeping-in" (Dewey, 1938). After conducting a literature review of various concepts of our research (Comfort, L. K., 2002; Lagadec and Michel-Kerjan, 2004; Perrow, 1999; Weick and Sutcliffe, 2001; and more) we have conducted numerous interviews and distributed a questionnaire to highlight significant indicators. For the first part of this research, we targeted the transportation critical infrastructure of Montreal area because it is crucial and also this infrastructure includes public, parapublic and private organisations. The first results of this research demonstrate the contribution of different structural and

Montreal Archive of Sleep Studies: an open-access resource for instrument benchmarking and exploratory research.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Reilly, Christian; Gosselin, Nadia; Carrier, Julie; Nielsen, Tore

2014-12-01

Manual processing of sleep recordings is extremely time-consuming. Efforts to automate this process have shown promising results, but automatic systems are generally evaluated on private databases, not allowing accurate cross-validation with other systems. In lacking a common benchmark, the relative performances of different systems are not compared easily and advances are compromised. To address this fundamental methodological impediment to sleep study, we propose an open-access database of polysomnographic biosignals. To build this database, whole-night recordings from 200 participants [97 males (aged 42.9 ± 19.8 years) and 103 females (aged 38.3 ± 18.9 years); age range: 18-76 years] were pooled from eight different research protocols performed in three different hospital-based sleep laboratories. All recordings feature a sampling frequency of 256 Hz and an electroencephalography (EEG) montage of 4-20 channels plus standard electro-oculography (EOG), electromyography (EMG), electrocardiography (ECG) and respiratory signals. Access to the database can be obtained through the Montreal Archive of Sleep Studies (MASS) website (http://www.ceams-carsm.ca/en/MASS), and requires only affiliation with a research institution and prior approval by the applicant's local ethical review board. Providing the research community with access to this free and open sleep database is expected to facilitate the development and cross-validation of sleep analysis automation systems. It is also expected that such a shared resource will be a catalyst for cross-centre collaborations on difficult topics such as improving inter-rater agreement on sleep stage scoring. © 2014 European Sleep Research Society.
Musical cognition in Alzheimer's disease: application of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia.

Science.gov (United States)

Campanelli, Alessandra; Rendace, Lidia; Parisi, Francesco; D'Antonio, Fabrizia; Imbriano, Letizia; de Lena, Carlo; Trebbastoni, Alessandro

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to assess certain musical abilities in 30 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 30 healthy controls by using the complete version of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA). This battery evaluates melodic (scale, contour, and interval) and temporal (rhythm and meter) perception of music and musical memory. We found that altered musical processing is a common feature in AD. Despite that, AD subjects show partially spared abilities for temporal organization of music, though not for melodic perception and musical memory. This peculiar dysfunctional pattern could depend on the neurodegenerative involvement of some specific areas for music perception and memory in the brains of AD patients. Further studies are needed to investigate the usefulness of additional musical tests like the MBEA on larger samples to confirm our preliminary data. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.
[Factors associated with dental consultation in children in Talca (Chile) and in Chilean immigrants in Montreal (Canada)].

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez, Loreto; Icaza, Gloria; Contreras, Violeta; Correa, Gloria; Canales, Tatiana; Mejía, Gloria; Oxman-Martínez, Jacqueline; Moreau, Jacques

2013-01-01

To identify the factors that influence the use of dental services in 4-7-year-olds and in 10-13-year-olds resident in the cities of Talca (Chile) and Montreal (Canada). A nonprobabilistic cross-sectional study was carried out in 147 boys and girls in Talca and in 94 boys and girls in Montreal between 2009 and 2011. Sociodemographic variables were recorded in parents and children, including age and sex. Data were also gathered on parental education, family composition, and proximity to health centers within neighborhoods. The data were analyzed with Fisher's exact test and the robust Cox regression model (with constant time) with a significance level of 0,05. In Talca, parental education was significantly associated with dental care visits at least twice a year. The children of parents with university education were 2.20 times more likely to consult a dentist (95% CI: 1.30-3.73). Children whose parents perceived their children's health positively were 53% (OR = 0,47; 95% CI: 0,28-0,77) less likely to consult a dentist. In Montreal, the children of parents with university education were 2.10 times more likely to consult a dentist (95%CI: 1.17-3.76), while older children (10-13 years) were 2.11 (95% CI: 1.15-3.88) times more likely to consult a dentist. In both cities, parental education level was associated with the use of dental services. Copyright © 2012 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
Strengthening the Montreal Protocol: Does it cool down the greenhouse?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Den Elzen, M.G.J.; Swart, R.J.; Rotmans, J.

1992-01-01

Strengthening of the Montreal Protocol is recently being negotiated in London in 1990 in order to achieve further reductions of the regulated CFCs and to include possibly more substances. The implications of different policies with respect to control of ozone depleting substances for climate change are analysed, including the proposed substitution by HCFCs and HFCs, carbon tetrachloride and methylchloroform. A special halocarbon module was developed within the framework of RIVM's Integrated Model to Assess the Greenhouse Effect (IMAGE). IMAGE is a parametrized science based policy model and has been developed to give policy agencies a concise overview of the quantitative aspects of the greenhouse problem, to evaluate various policy options concerning climate change and to serve as a means of communication. It is concluded, from simulations with the halocarbon module, that it is of primary importance to achieve a further reduction of the regulated CFCs compared to the Montreal Protocol with compliance by as many countries as possible. From the perspective of the greenhouse effect the inclusion of longer lived halocarbons, such as carbon tetrachloride and HCFC-22 in the protocol come second. The application of methylchloroform, halons and HCFCs and HFCs with lower global warming potentials (GWPs) than HCFC-22 contributes only marginally to the greenhouse effect in comparison with the much more important greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and nitrous oxide. Especially if further growth of the total production of HCFCs after complete replacement of the present CFCs can be avoided by using these alternatives with a lower GWP, these substances could therefore be tolerated in a transition period, from the perspective of global warming. 13 figs., 3 tabs., 29 refs
Comparison of Alternate and Original Items on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lebedeva, Elena; Huang, Mei; Koski, Lisa

2016-03-01

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a screening tool for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in elderly individuals. We hypothesized that measurement error when using the new alternate MoCA versions to monitor change over time could be related to the use of items that are not of comparable difficulty to their corresponding originals of similar content. The objective of this study was to compare the difficulty of the alternate MoCA items to the original ones. Five selected items from alternate versions of the MoCA were included with items from the original MoCA administered adaptively to geriatric outpatients (N = 78). Rasch analysis was used to estimate the difficulty level of the items. None of the five items from the alternate versions matched the difficulty level of their corresponding original items. This study demonstrates the potential benefits of a Rasch analysis-based approach for selecting items during the process of development of parallel forms. The results suggest that better match of the items from different MoCA forms by their difficulty would result in higher sensitivity to changes in cognitive function over time.
Improving Healthcare Logistics Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feibert, Diana Cordes

logistics processes in hospitals and aims to provide theoretically and empirically based evidence for improving these processes to both expand the knowledge base of healthcare logistics and provide a decision tool for hospital logistics managers to improve their processes. Case studies were conducted...... processes. Furthermore, a method for benchmarking healthcare logistics processes was developed. Finally, a theoretically and empirically founded framework was developed to support managers in making an informed decision on how to improve healthcare logistics processes. This study contributes to the limited...... literature concerned with the improvement of logistics processes in hospitals. Furthermore, the developed framework provides guidance for logistics managers in hospitals on how to improve their processes given the circumstances in which they operate....
Control and monitoring of landfill gas underground migration at the City of Montreal sanitary landfill site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heroux, M.; Turcotte, L.

1997-01-01

The proposed paper covers the various aspects of control and monitoring of potential landfill gas (LFG) migration through soil voids or rock fractures at the City of Montreal sanitary landfill site. It depicts the social, geographical and geological context and presents a brief history of the landfill site. It describes the LFG collecting system and LFG migration monitoring equipment and programs. Finally it presents monitoring data taken over last few years. The landfill site is located in a well populated urban area. Since 1968, about 33 million metric tons of domestic and commercial waste have been buried in a former limestone quarry. Because of houses and buildings in the vicinity, 100 m in some locations, LFG underground migration is a major risk. LFG could indeed infiltrate buildings and reach explosive concentrations. So it must be controlled. The City of Montreal acquired the site in 1988 and has progressively built a LFG collecting system, composed of more than 288 vertical wells, to pump out of the landfill 280 million m 3 of gas annually. To verify the efficiency of this system to minimize LFG underground migration, monitoring equipment and programs have also been designed and put into operation. The monitoring network, located all around the landfill area, is composed of 21 well nests automated to monitor presence of gas in the ground in real time. In addition, 55 individual wells, where manual measurements are made, are also available. To complete the monitoring program, some measurements are also taken in buildings, houses and underground utilities in the neighborhood of the site. Monitoring data show that LFG underground migration is well controlled. They also indicate significant decrease of migration over the years corresponding to improvements to the LFG collecting system
Making process improvement 'stick'.

Science.gov (United States)

Studer, Quint

2014-06-01

To sustain gains from a process improvement initiative, healthcare organizations should: Explain to staff why a process improvement initiative is needed. Encourage leaders within the organization to champion the process improvement, and tie their evaluations to its outcomes. Ensure that both leaders and employees have the skills to help sustain the sought-after process improvements.
Process Improvement Essentials

CERN Document Server

Persse, James R

2006-01-01

Process Improvement Essentials combines the foundation needed to understand process improvement theory with the best practices to help individuals implement process improvement initiatives in their organization. The three leading programs: ISO 9001:2000, CMMI, and Six Sigma--amidst the buzz and hype--tend to get lumped together under a common label. This book delivers a combined guide to all three programs, compares their applicability, and then sets the foundation for further exploration.
Large-Eddy Simulation of pollutant dispersion in downtown Montreal: Evaluation of the convective and turbulent mass fluxes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gousseau, P.; Blocken, B.J.E.; Stathopoulos, T.; Heijst, van G.J.F.; Seppelt, R.; Voinov, A.A.; Lange, S.; Bankamp, D.

2012-01-01

Abstract: Large-Eddy Simulation of pollutant dispersion from a stack on the roof of a low-rise building in downtown Montreal is performed. Two wind directions are considered, with different wind flow patterns and plume behaviours. The resulting mean concentration field is observed and analysed with
14 CFR 203.4 - Montreal Agreement as part of airline-passenger contract and conditions of carriage.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Montreal Agreement as part of airline-passenger contract and conditions of carriage. 203.4 Section 203.4 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) ECONOMIC REGULATIONS WAIVER OF WARSAW CONVENTION LIABILITY LIMITS AND DEFENSES § 203.4...
Process correlation analysis model for process improvement identification.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Su-jin; Kim, Dae-Kyoo; Park, Sooyong

2014-01-01

Software process improvement aims at improving the development process of software systems. It is initiated by process assessment identifying strengths and weaknesses and based on the findings, improvement plans are developed. In general, a process reference model (e.g., CMMI) is used throughout the process of software process improvement as the base. CMMI defines a set of process areas involved in software development and what to be carried out in process areas in terms of goals and practices. Process areas and their elements (goals and practices) are often correlated due to the iterative nature of software development process. However, in the current practice, correlations of process elements are often overlooked in the development of an improvement plan, which diminishes the efficiency of the plan. This is mainly attributed to significant efforts and the lack of required expertise. In this paper, we present a process correlation analysis model that helps identify correlations of process elements from the results of process assessment. This model is defined based on CMMI and empirical data of improvement practices. We evaluate the model using industrial data.
Growing Physics and Astronomy Public Outreach in Montreal

Science.gov (United States)

Simard, Gabrielle; Lepo, Kelly

2017-01-01

AstroMcGill was founded in 2011 by an enthusiastic group of undergraduate students, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. It serves as the education and public outreach (EPO) branch of the astronomy group within the Physics Department at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Over the last five years, AstroMcGill has grown from organizing sporadic visits in a couple primary schools to running a successful inquiry-based outreach programme for grade 4-6 students, the McGill Space Explorers. During the same time span, the attendance at public AstroNight lectures ramped up from attracting a few dozen people to over 500 people each month. We will highlight the recent successes of the programme and our best guesses for the reasons behind this success. We will also discuss the challenges of working in a bilingual city as we juggle our majority anglophone volunteers, a mandatory french science curriculum for primary school children and the (somewhat) overlapping English- and French-speaking communities in the city.
Clinical applications of positron emission tomography at Montreal Neurological Institute

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morgan, P.P.

1983-01-01

The Montreal Neurological Institute occupies a leading position in positron emission tomography (PET) of the brain with the help of the following three techological gains: they have acquired a 'Therascan' positron emission tomograph manufactured by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.; also, a 'Baby Cyclotron' manufactured by Japan Steel Works Ltd.; and they have written a computer program to display the results in colour. Four short-lived isotopes are used; 11 C, 15 O, 18 F, 13 N. Studies of the oxygen uptake of tumours, their glucose metabolism (as monitored by 18 F labelled 2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose), and their uptake of therapeutic agents, provide valuable research and diagnostic information. PET is also being used to study epilepsy and cerebrovascular disease
Software Process Improvement Defined

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aaen, Ivan

2002-01-01

This paper argues in favor of the development of explanatory theory on software process improvement. The last one or two decades commitment to prescriptive approaches in software process improvement theory may contribute to the emergence of a gulf dividing theorists and practitioners....... It is proposed that this divide be met by the development of theory evaluating prescriptive approaches and informing practice with a focus on the software process policymaking and process control aspects of improvement efforts...
Trade restrictions as a means of enforcing compliance with international environmental law. Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lang, W.

1996-01-01

The contribution reviews primarily Art. 4 of the Montreal Protocol and its efficiency for enforcing compliance with obligations under international environmental law and discusses aspects of possible conflicts with GATT law. (CB)
Review of plants to mitigate particulate matter, ozone as well as nitrogen dioxide air pollutants and applicable recommendations for green roofs in Montreal, Quebec.

Science.gov (United States)

Gourdji, Shannon

2018-05-28

In urbanized regions with expansive impervious surfaces and often low vegetation cover, air pollution due to motor vehicles and other combustion sources, is a problem. The poor air quality days in Montreal, Quebec are mainly due to fine particulate matter and ozone. Businesses using wood ovens are a source of particulates. Careful vegetation selection and increased green roof usage can improve air quality. This paper reviews different green roofs and the capability of plants in particulate matter (PM), ozone (O 3 ) as well as nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) level reductions. Both the recommended green roof category and plants to reduce these pollutants in Montreal's zone 5 hardiness region are provided. Green roofs with larger vegetation including shrubs and trees, or intensive green roofs, remove air pollutants to a greater extent and are advisable to implement on existing, retrofitted or new buildings. PM is most effectively captured by pines. The small Pinus strobus 'Nana', Pinus mugho var. pumilio, Pinus mugho 'Slowmound' and Pinus pumila 'Dwarf Blue' are good candidates for intensive green roofs. Drought tolerant, deciduous broadleaved trees with low biogenic volatile organic compound emissions including Japanese Maple or Acer palmatum 'Shaina' and 'Mikawa-Yatsubusa' are options to reduce O 3 levels. Magnolias are tolerant to NO 2 and it is important in their metabolic pathways. The small cold-tolerant Magnolia 'Genie' is a good option to remove NO 2 in urban settings and to indirectly reduce O 3 formation. Given the emissions by Montreal businesses' wood ovens, calculations performed based on their respective complex roof areas obtained via Google Earth Pro indicates 88% Pinus mugho var. pumilio roof coverage can annually remove 92.37 kg of PM 10 of which 35.10 kg is PM 2.5 . The removal rates are 4.00 g/m 2 and 1.52 g/m 2 for PM 10 and PM 2.5 , respectively. This paper provides insight to addressing air pollution through urban rooftop greening. Copyright �
Idaho Chemical Processing Plant Process Efficiency improvements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griebenow, B.

1996-03-01

In response to decreasing funding levels available to support activities at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) and a desire to be cost competitive, the Department of Energy Idaho Operations Office (DOE-ID) and Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company have increased their emphasis on cost-saving measures. The ICPP Effectiveness Improvement Initiative involves many activities to improve cost effectiveness and competitiveness. This report documents the methodology and results of one of those cost cutting measures, the Process Efficiency Improvement Activity. The Process Efficiency Improvement Activity performed a systematic review of major work processes at the ICPP to increase productivity and to identify nonvalue-added requirements. A two-phase approach was selected for the activity to allow for near-term implementation of relatively easy process modifications in the first phase while obtaining long-term continuous improvement in the second phase and beyond. Phase I of the initiative included a concentrated review of processes that had a high potential for cost savings with the intent of realizing savings in Fiscal Year 1996 (FY-96.) Phase II consists of implementing long-term strategies too complex for Phase I implementation and evaluation of processes not targeted for Phase I review. The Phase II effort is targeted for realizing cost savings in FY-97 and beyond
Revising the diagnosis of congenital amusia with the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia

OpenAIRE

Pfeifer, Jasmin; Hamann, Silke

2015-01-01

This article presents a critical survey of the prevalent usage of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA; Peretz et al., 2003) to assess congenital amusia, a neuro-developmental disorder that has been claimed to be present in 4% of the population (Kalmus and Fry, 1980). It reviews and discusses the current usage of the MBEA in relation to cut-off scores, number of used subtests, manner of testing, and employed statistics, as these vary in the literature. Furthermore, data are pres...
Improving Earth/Prediction Models to Improve Network Processing

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, G. S.

2017-12-01

The United States Atomic Energy Detection System (USAEDS) primaryseismic network consists of a relatively small number of arrays andthree-component stations. The relatively small number of stationsin the USAEDS primary network make it both necessary and feasibleto optimize both station and network processing.Station processing improvements include detector tuning effortsthat use Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves to helpjudiciously set acceptable Type 1 (false) vs. Type 2 (miss) errorrates. Other station processing improvements include the use ofempirical/historical observations and continuous background noisemeasurements to compute time-varying, maximum likelihood probabilityof detection thresholds.The USAEDS network processing software makes extensive use of theazimuth and slowness information provided by frequency-wavenumberanalysis at array sites, and polarization analysis at three-componentsites. Most of the improvements in USAEDS network processing aredue to improvements in the models used to predict azimuth, slowness,and probability of detection. Kriged travel-time, azimuth andslowness corrections-and associated uncertainties-are computedusing a ground truth database. Improvements in station processingand the use of improved models for azimuth, slowness, and probabilityof detection have led to significant improvements in USADES networkprocessing.

Average number of compressors in operation per day in 25 skating rinks of the City of Montreal; Nombre moyens de compresseurs par jour en fonction dans 25 arenas de la Ville de Montreal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dumas, C. [Ville de Montreal, PQ (Canada). Direction des Immeubles Gestion de l' Energie et du Genie Climatique

2002-09-30

Since the summer of 2001, 25 skating rinks from the territory of the old City of Montreal have been linked through a network to the remote management system. This initiative enables the people responsible for the skating rink to easily obtain statistics on the operation of refrigeration systems and to compile this information in the memory of a personal computer (PC). Each compressor system is equipped with a current transformer which acts as proof of monitored operation by the remote management system. Every minute, the compressors are asked in sequence to report on their status. The process by which the data is entered, filtered and analysed was explained and an example provided to better illustrate the concept. As a rule, management believes that it is possible to lower the power of existing refrigeration systems and to select new refrigeration systems according to the data acquired. Based on the results obtained so far, the power of some of the refrigeration systems has already been reduced by letting go one or two of the six refrigeration circuits of a skating rink. 2 tabs.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is superior to the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) in detection of korsakoffs syndrome

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oudman, Erik; Postma, Albert; Van Der Stigchel, Stefan; Appelhof, Britt; Wijnia, Jan W.; Nijboer, Tanja C W

2014-01-01

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) are brief screening instruments for cognitive disorders. Although these instruments have frequently been used in the detection of dementia, there is currently little knowledge on the validity to detect Korsakoffs
Whispers of the Unspeakable: New York and Montreal Newspaper Coverage of the Oscar Wilde Trials in 1895

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Greg Robinson

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Greg Robinson’s article “Whispers of the Unspeakable: New York and Montreal Newspaper Coverage of the Oscar Wilde Trials in 1895,” originally published in 2010 in the French-language journal Rue des Beaux Arts, no. 24 (2010, is here republished and—with much gratitude—translated (for the original text, please see http://www.oscholars.com/RBA/twenty-four/24.7/Articles.htm. Robinson’s transnational study focuses on how reading the specific language of newspaper reports of the Oscar Wilde case, literally from a distance, from places less emotionally attached to and nationally distinct from the scandal’s epicenter in London, England, provides insight into “the state of everyday public knowledge and discussion of (homosexuality, at least west of the Atlantic”; thus Robinson’s fascinating research, which involves numerous newspapers—from the elite New York Times to the New York Herald, from the Montreal Daily Star to the French-language papers of Quebec—concludes that the popular press, read transnationally, offers key insights into the developing attitudes toward and levels of interest in the newly forming identity of the “homosexual” across societies.
A comparison of the mini mental state exam to the Montreal cognitive assessment in identifying cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zadikoff, Cindy; Fox, Susan H.; Tang-Wai, David F.; Thomsen, Teri; de Bie, Rob M. A.; Wadia, Pettarusup; Miyasaki, Janis; Duff-Canning, Sarah; Lang, Anthony E.; Marras, Connie

2008-01-01

Dementia is an important and increasingly recognized problem in Parkinson's disease (PD). The mini-mental state examination (MMSE) often fails to detect early cognitive decline. The Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) is a brief tool developed to detect mild cognitive impairment that assesses a
Risk of lung cancer associated with six types of chlorinated solvents: results from two case-control studies in Montreal, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Methods: Two case-control studies of occupation and lung cancer were conducted in Montreal, including 2,016 cases and 2,001 population controls. Occupational exposure to a host of agents was evaluated using a combination of subject-reported job history and expert assessment. We e...
Process for improving metal production in steelmaking processes

Science.gov (United States)

Pal, Uday B.; Gazula, Gopala K. M.; Hasham, Ali

1996-01-01

A process and apparatus for improving metal production in ironmaking and steelmaking processes is disclosed. The use of an inert metallic conductor in the slag containing crucible and the addition of a transition metal oxide to the slag are the disclosed process improvements.
Model-based software process improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Zettervall, Brenda T.

1994-01-01

The activities of a field test site for the Software Engineering Institute's software process definition project are discussed. Products tested included the improvement model itself, descriptive modeling techniques, the CMM level 2 framework document, and the use of process definition guidelines and templates. The software process improvement model represents a five stage cyclic approach for organizational process improvement. The cycles consist of the initiating, diagnosing, establishing, acting, and leveraging phases.
Commissioning of the first Manicouagan--Montreal 735 line

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baril, G A; Cahill, K; Dupont, A; Roberge, G

1966-01-01

In order to meet increasing demand, Hydro-Quebec will develop seven hydro power sites on the Manicouagan and Outardes Rivers to generate a total of 5,700 MW and an additional 30 billion kWh by 1973. On August 22, 1962, it was decided that the power would be transmitted over a 650-km network, using three 735-kV lines and six stations. The wet switching surge withstand level was set at 1,350 kV, based on the results obtained with a transient network analyser. The main 735-kV equipment was purchased from several manufacturers to insure prompt delivery and continuity of service. On September 21st, 1965, the Manicouagan-Levis section of the first line was energized at 735 kV, transmitting 300 MW. A month later, the second section of the line was energized and the power generated at the Manicouagan 2 plant was thus transmitted to Montreal. So far, only two pieces of equipment have shown signs of failure without causing, however, any serious shutdown. Results of tests carried out show that operation of a 735-kV network is safe and economical.
Solar water heating at Ikea's Montreal store; Chauffage solaire de l'eau courante au magasin Ikea de Montreal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lagana, A.; Sonmor, K. [Ecovision experts-conseils inc., Montreal, PQ (Canada)

2010-01-01

The Ikea store in Montreal has integrated an energy efficient solar water heater into its building infrastructure. In June 2010, 30 fixed solar panels were installed on the roof to recuperate energy from the sun for hot water use in the restaurant and store facilities. Prior to this installation, the store was using natural gas for water heating purposes. During a sunny summer day, the solar water heater can provide 100 percent of the hot water needs of the store, even though it was designed to provide only one-third of the heating requirements. The panels are made of copper and painted with black titanium paint. A solution of water and antifreeze circulates in the panels. Digital controls are used at the pumps to control the temperature. The Ikea store uses approximately 3,100 gallons of water per day. The panels provide more than 60 MWh of energy, and represent a savings of 8440 cubic metres of natural gas, and a savings of 19.7 tons of carbon dioxide. The panels cost $1,300 and the return on investment is estimated to be 15.6 years. 3 figs.
Revitalización urbana y calidad de vida en el sector central de las ciudades de Montreal y México

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Alberto Tello Campos

2017-07-01

Full Text Available El abandono y consiguiente despoblamiento del sector central asociado a una desenfrenada expansión y poblamiento de los sectores periféricos de muchas de las grandes ciudades norteamericanas como Montreal y México, es un problema de actualidad muy difícil de resolver. Encontrar las causas que provocan dicho proceso se convierte en una necesidad crítica para mejorar el diseño de políticas urbanas que promuevan la re-utilización del espacio central, desalentando la utilización de los periféricos. En función de diversos programas urbanos tanto Canadienses como Mexicanos implementados al momento en el sector central de las dos ciudades mencionadas, ésta tesis se apoya en dos estudios de campo y los correspondientes análisis estadísticos de correlación y de regresión entre otros, para explicar el estado que el continuo revitalización urbana-calidad de vida-calidad del lugar guarda en el sector central de los casos de estudio desde la propia perspectiva de sus residentes. Los resultados informan que en revitalización urbana, los residentes Canadienses favorecen más a los atributos de calidad del lugar mientras que sus homólogos Mexicanos favorecen más a los de calidad de vida. ABSTRACT: The neglect and further depopulation in many of the large North American cities’ inner-cores such as Montreal and Mexico coupled with sprawl and repopulation in their peripheral areas is very much a today’s problem difficult to solve. Finding out the causes that incite that process becomes a critical need to improve the design of urban policies that promote the re-utilization of the central space, to discourage the equivalent in the peripherals one. Taking into account several urban Canadian and Mexican programs already implemented on those cities’ inner cores, this thesis makes use of two field surveys and the corresponding correlation and regression statistical analyses among others, to explain the current urban revitalization > quality
PROCESS VARIABILITY REDUCTION THROUGH STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B.P. Mahesh

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Quality has become one of the most important customer decision factors in the selection among the competing product and services. Consequently, understanding and improving quality is a key factor leading to business success, growth and an enhanced competitive position. Hence quality improvement program should be an integral part of the overall business strategy. According to TQM, the effective way to improve the Quality of the product or service is to improve the process used to build the product. Hence, TQM focuses on process, rather than results as the results are driven by the processes. Many techniques are available for quality improvement. Statistical Process Control (SPC is one such TQM technique which is widely accepted for analyzing quality problems and improving the performance of the production process. This article illustrates the step by step procedure adopted at a soap manufacturing company to improve the Quality by reducing process variability using Statistical Process Control.
Entropy based software processes improvement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trienekens, J.J.M.; Kusters, R.J.; Kriek, D.; Siemons, P.

2009-01-01

Actual results of software process improvement projects show different levels of success. Although many software development organisations have adopted improvement models such as CMMI, it appears to be difficult to improve software development processes in the right way, e.g. tuned to the actual
Performance improvement plan in customer technical services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lachambre, L.

1995-01-01

This presentation centred around the philosophy, goals, and initiatives associated with Gaz Metropolitain's performance improvement plan. Various aspects of the plan including customer surveys, new customer service policies, the creation of small working units, the decentralization of the Montreal service department, and customer-harmonized shift schedules were explored. Implementation of new service plans and contracts, the formation of improvement groups related to human resources, human resource and productivity management, leadership training, and the use of performance indicators were also explained
Office-Based Screening for Dementia in Parkinson Disease: The Montreal Parkinson Risk of Dementia Scale in 4 Longitudinal Cohorts.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Benjamin K; Fereshtehnejad, Seyed-Mohammad; Anang, Julius B M; Nomura, Takashi; Rios-Romenets, Silvia; Nakashima, Kenji; Gagnon, Jean-François; Postuma, Ronald B

2018-06-01

Parkinson disease dementia dramatically increases mortality rates, patient expenditures, hospitalization risk, and caregiver burden. Currently, predicting Parkinson disease dementia risk is difficult, particularly in an office-based setting, without extensive biomarker testing. To appraise the predictive validity of the Montreal Parkinson Risk of Dementia Scale, an office-based screening tool consisting of 8 items that are simply assessed. This multicenter study (Montreal, Canada; Tottori, Japan; and Parkinson Progression Markers Initiative sites) used 4 diverse Parkinson disease cohorts with a prospective 4.4-year follow-up. A total of 717 patients with Parkinson disease were recruited between May 2005 and June 2016. Of these, 607 were dementia-free at baseline and followed-up for 1 year or more and so were included. The association of individual baseline scale variables with eventual dementia risk was calculated. Participants were then randomly split into cohorts to investigate weighting and determine the scale's optimal cutoff point. Receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated and correlations with selected biomarkers were investigated. Dementia, as defined by Movement Disorder Society level I criteria. Of the 607 patients (mean [SD] age, 63.4 [10.1]; 376 men [62%]), 70 (11.5%) converted to dementia. All 8 items of the Montreal Parkinson Risk of Dementia Scale independently predicted dementia development at the 5% significance level. The annual conversion rate to dementia in the high-risk group (score, >5) was 14.9% compared with 5.8% in the intermediate group (score, 4-5) and 0.6% in the low-risk group (score, 0-3). The weighting procedure conferred no significant advantage. Overall predictive validity by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.877 (95% CI, 0.829-0.924) across all cohorts. A cutoff of 4 or greater yielded a sensitivity of 77.1% (95% CI, 65.6-86.3) and a specificity of 87.2% (95% CI, 84.1-89.9), with a
Process improvement : the creation and evaluation of process alternatives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Netjes, M.

2010-01-01

Companies continuously strive to improve their processes to increase productivity and delivered quality against lower costs. With Business Process Redesign (BPR) projects such improvement goals can be achieved. BPR involves the restructuring of business processes, stimulated by the application of
Why Process Improvement Training Fails

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Dawei; Betts, Alan

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying reasons why providing process improvement training, by itself, may not be sufficient to achieve the desired outcome of improved processes; and to attempt a conceptual framework of management training for more effective improvement. Design/methodology/approach: Two similar units within…
Indoor air quality, ventilation and energy conservation. Trip report 5th J Cartier Conference, Montreal 1992, FAGO report 92.37.K

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hensen, J.L.M.

1992-01-01

This trip report serves as a brief description of my visit to the 5th International Jacques Carrier Conference, in Montreal 1992. First some general infonnation about the conference is presented. Then there is a list of contributions. This is followed by a brief indication of my own contribution,
Evaluation of air quality in arenas on the Island of Montreal : winter 2006-2007; Evaluation de la qualite de l'air dans les arenas de l'Ile de Montreal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price, K.; Beausoleil, M.; Lefebvre, L.

2007-03-15

For the past twenty years, cases of nitrogen dioxide (NO{sub 2}) and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning have been reported in arenas in Quebec. A 1997 evaluation of air quality in 332 arenas in 9 different countries revealed that 40 per cent of arenas worldwide have high concentration of NO{sub 2}. In Quebec, an air quality review at arenas in Montreal drew similar conclusions, that 69 per cent of the arenas have high concentrations of CO and/or NO{sub 2}. In 1997, Quebec's environmental health committee established criteria of 20 ppm for CO, and 0.5 ppm for NO{sub 2} in arenas, in order to ensure that athletes and the public at large do not suffer negative effects related to the presence of combustible gases. This information was distributed to the administrative personnel in arenas in Quebec by means of an awareness and information campaign. Since then, the number of arenas that have met these criteria for air quality in arenas in Montreal has climbed from 31 per cent in 1997 to 83 per cent in 2004. The practices put into action by arena administrators include: 1) regular maintenance of ice surface cleaning machines and other equipment that use fuel, 2) judicious use of ventilation so that gases can be evacuated from the premises, and, 3) periodic measurements of CO and NO{sub 2} during peak usage times such as tournaments. Other means of lowering gas emissions have also shown to be helpful, such as replacement of ice surface cleaning machines with electrical ones, installation of CO and NO{sub 2} detectors close to the rink surface so that ventilation machines could be activated, and the measurement and constant registration of these gases. It was concluded that these measures could help maintain good air quality in arenas. 15 refs., 1 tabs., 1 fig.
El Protocolo de Montreal relativo a las sustancias que agotan la capa de ozono (1999) y la enmienda de Beijing. Un análisis de sus contenidos, alcances y sus percusiones presentes.

OpenAIRE

Zúñiga, Francisco Javier

2015-01-01

El presente ensayo consta de cuatro partes, una desarrolla de manera actualizadalos alcances del Protocolo de Montreal ysus enmiendas, la segunda examina los alcances de la Enmienda de Beijing, seguido de un análisis del impacto que hatenido el Protocolo de Montreal para el país. Finalmente se repasa la ejecución del Protocolo y sus enmiendas en nuestropaís y se agregan consideraciones que su implementación ha supuesto en el desarrollo ...
SEL's Software Process-Improvement Program

Science.gov (United States)

Basili, Victor; Zelkowitz, Marvin; McGarry, Frank; Page, Jerry; Waligora, Sharon; Pajerski, Rose

1995-01-01

The goals and operations of the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is reviewed. For nearly 20 years the SEL has worked to understand, assess, and improve software and the development process within the production environment of the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The SEL was established in 1976 with the goals of reducing: (1) the defect rate of delivered software, (2) the cost of software to support flight projects, and (3) the average time to produce mission-support software. After studying over 125 projects of FDD, the results have guided the standards, management practices, technologies, and the training within the division. The results of the studies have been a 75 percent reduction in defects, a 50 percent reduction in cost, and a 25 percent reduction in development time. Over time the goals of SEL have been clarified. The goals are now stated as: (1) Understand baseline processes and product characteristics, (2) Assess improvements that have been incorporated into the development projects, (3) Package and infuse improvements into the standard SEL process. The SEL improvement goal is to demonstrate continual improvement of the software process by carrying out analysis, measurement and feedback to projects with in the FDD environment. The SEL supports the understanding of the process by study of several processes including, the effort distribution, and error detection rates. The SEL assesses and refines the processes. Once the assessment and refinement of a process is completed, the SEL packages the process by capturing the process in standards, tools and training.

Being a Creative and an Immigrant in Montreal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diane-Gabrielle Tremblay

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Work on creative careers has focused on the main national populations, while little research has addressed the situation of artists and creators of immigrant origin or different ethnic groups to determine whether they have the same access to work and employment rights. To respond for a call for research on different ethnic groups in the cultural sector, or the ethnic consequences of the individualization of careers, we therefore undertook research on the creative careers of immigrants in Montreal. We were interested in how they emerged as an artist, how they developed their careers, the access and rights they have in terms of support to their career, as McRobbie seems to indicate that ethnicity adds its “own weight to the life chances of those who are attempting to make a living in these fields. We found that these immigrant artists consider their main difficulties to be the lack of social networks, access to various forms of support to compensate for financial risks and difficulties in finding a job. We conclude with a few suggestions: measures to facilitate networking for immigrants, more training and information on government programs, mentoring support, as well as the support from community organizations, associations, and programs.
Modeling climate effects on hip fracture rate by the multivariate GARCH model in Montreal region, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Modarres, Reza; Ouarda, Taha B. M. J.; Vanasse, Alain; Orzanco, Maria Gabriela; Gosselin, Pierre

2014-07-01

Changes in extreme meteorological variables and the demographic shift towards an older population have made it important to investigate the association of climate variables and hip fracture by advanced methods in order to determine the climate variables that most affect hip fracture incidence. The nonlinear autoregressive moving average with exogenous variable-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARMA X-GARCH) and multivariate GARCH (MGARCH) time series approaches were applied to investigate the nonlinear association between hip fracture rate in female and male patients aged 40-74 and 75+ years and climate variables in the period of 1993-2004, in Montreal, Canada. The models describe 50-56 % of daily variation in hip fracture rate and identify snow depth, air temperature, day length and air pressure as the influencing variables on the time-varying mean and variance of the hip fracture rate. The conditional covariance between climate variables and hip fracture rate is increasing exponentially, showing that the effect of climate variables on hip fracture rate is most acute when rates are high and climate conditions are at their worst. In Montreal, climate variables, particularly snow depth and air temperature, appear to be important predictors of hip fracture incidence. The association of climate variables and hip fracture does not seem to change linearly with time, but increases exponentially under harsh climate conditions. The results of this study can be used to provide an adaptive climate-related public health program and ti guide allocation of services for avoiding hip fracture risk.
Effect of phenotype on health care costs in Crohn's disease: A European study using the Montreal classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Odes, Selwyn; Vardi, Hillel; Friger, Michael; Wolters, Frank; Hoie, Ole; Moum, Bjørn; Bernklev, Tomm; Yona, Hagit; Russel, Maurice; Munkholm, Pia; Langholz, Ebbe; Riis, Lene; Politi, Patrizia; Bondini, Paolo; Tsianos, Epameinondas; Katsanos, Kostas; Clofent, Juan; Vermeire, Severine; Freitas, João; Mouzas, Iannis; Limonard, Charles; O'Morain, Colm; Monteiro, Estela; Fornaciari, Giovanni; Vatn, Morten; Stockbrugger, Reinhold

2007-12-01

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract associated with life-long high health care costs. We aimed to determine the effect of disease phenotype on cost. Clinical and economic data of a community-based CD cohort with 10-year follow-up were analyzed retrospectively in relation to Montreal classification phenotypes. In 418 patients, mean total costs of health care for the behavior phenotypes were: nonstricturing-nonpenetrating 1690, stricturing 2081, penetrating 3133 and penetrating-with-perianal-fistula 3356 €/patient-phenotype-year (P<0.001), and mean costs of surgical hospitalization 215, 751, 1293 and 1275 €/patient-phenotype-year respectively (P<0.001). Penetrating-with-perianal-fistula patients incurred significantly greater expenses than penetrating patients for total care, diagnosis and drugs, but not surgical hospitalization. Total costs were similar in the location phenotypes: ileum 1893, colon 1748, ileo-colonic 2010 and upper gastrointestinal tract 1758 €/patient-phenotype-year, but surgical hospitalization costs differed significantly, 558, 209, 492 and 542 €/patient-phenotype-year respectively (P<0.001). By multivariate analysis, the behavior phenotype significantly impacted total, medical and surgical hospitalization costs, whereas the location phenotype affected only surgical costs. Younger age at diagnosis predicted greater surgical expenses. Behavior is the dominant phenotype driving health care cost. Use of the Montreal classification permits detection of cost differences caused by perianal fistula.
Improving a Dental School's Clinic Operations Using Lean Process Improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Fonda G; Cunningham, Larry L; Turner, Sharon P; Lindroth, John; Ray, Deborah; Khan, Talib; Yates, Audrey

2016-10-01

The term "lean production," also known as "Lean," describes a process of operations management pioneered at the Toyota Motor Company that contributed significantly to the success of the company. Although developed by Toyota, the Lean process has been implemented at many other organizations, including those in health care, and should be considered by dental schools in evaluating their clinical operations. Lean combines engineering principles with operations management and improvement tools to optimize business and operating processes. One of the core concepts is relentless elimination of waste (non-value-added components of a process). Another key concept is utilization of individuals closest to the actual work to analyze and improve the process. When the medical center of the University of Kentucky adopted the Lean process for improving clinical operations, members of the College of Dentistry trained in the process applied the techniques to improve inefficient operations at the Walk-In Dental Clinic. The purpose of this project was to reduce patients' average in-the-door-to-out-the-door time from over four hours to three hours within 90 days. Achievement of this goal was realized by streamlining patient flow and strategically relocating key phases of the process. This initiative resulted in patient benefits such as shortening average in-the-door-to-out-the-door time by over an hour, improving satisfaction by 21%, and reducing negative comments by 24%, as well as providing opportunity to implement the electronic health record, improving teamwork, and enhancing educational experiences for students. These benefits were achieved while maintaining high-quality patient care with zero adverse outcomes during and two years following the process improvement project.
Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Mini-Mental State Examination reliable change indices in healthy older adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Kopecek, Miloslav; Bezdicek, Ondrej; Sulc, Zdenek; Lukavsky, Jiri; Stepankova, Hana

2017-08-01

Cognitive tests are used repeatedly to assess the treatment response or progression of cognitive disorders. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a valid screening test for mild cognitive impairment. The aim of our study was to establish 90% reliable change indices (RCI) for the MoCA together with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in cognitively healthy older adults. We analyzed 197 cognitively healthy and functional independent volunteers aged 60-94 years, who met strict inclusion criteria for four consecutive years. The RCI methods by Chelune and Hsu were used. For 1, 2, and 3 years, the 90% RCI for MoCA using Chelune's formula were -4 ≤, ≥4; -4 ≤, ≥4 and -5 ≤, ≥4 points, respectively, and -3 ≤, ≥3 for the MMSE each year. Ninety percent RCI for MoCA using Hsu's formula ranged from -6 to 0, respectively, and +3 to +8 dependent on the baseline MoCA. Our study demonstrated RCI for the MoCA and MMSE in a 3-year time period that can be used for the estimation of cognitive decline or improvement in clinical settings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Case Studies in Continuous Process Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, A.

1997-01-01

This study focuses on improving the SMT assembly process in a low-volume, high-reliability environment with emphasis on fine pitch and BGA packages. Before a process improvement is carried out, it is important to evaluate where the process stands in terms of process capability.
Evaluation of air quality in arenas on the Island of Montreal : winter 2006-2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, K.; Beausoleil, M.; Lefebvre, L.

2007-03-01

For the past twenty years, cases of nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning have been reported in arenas in Quebec. A 1997 evaluation of air quality in 332 arenas in 9 different countries revealed that 40 per cent of arenas worldwide have high concentration of NO 2 . In Quebec, an air quality review at arenas in Montreal drew similar conclusions, that 69 per cent of the arenas have high concentrations of CO and/or NO 2 . In 1997, Quebec's environmental health committee established criteria of 20 ppm for CO, and 0.5 ppm for NO 2 in arenas, in order to ensure that athletes and the public at large do not suffer negative effects related to the presence of combustible gases. This information was distributed to the administrative personnel in arenas in Quebec by means of an awareness and information campaign. Since then, the number of arenas that have met these criteria for air quality in arenas in Montreal has climbed from 31 per cent in 1997 to 83 per cent in 2004. The practices put into action by arena administrators include: 1) regular maintenance of ice surface cleaning machines and other equipment that use fuel, 2) judicious use of ventilation so that gases can be evacuated from the premises, and, 3) periodic measurements of CO and NO 2 during peak usage times such as tournaments. Other means of lowering gas emissions have also shown to be helpful, such as replacement of ice surface cleaning machines with electrical ones, installation of CO and NO 2 detectors close to the rink surface so that ventilation machines could be activated, and the measurement and constant registration of these gases. It was concluded that these measures could help maintain good air quality in arenas. 15 refs., 1 tabs., 1 fig
A Repeatable Collaboration Process for Exploring Business Process Improvement Alternatives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sol, H G; Amiyo, Mercy; Nabukenya, J.

2012-01-01

The dynamic nature of organisations has increased demand for business process agility leading to the adoption of continuous Business Process Improvement (BPI). Success of BPI projects calls for continuous process analysis and exploration of several improvement alternatives. These activities are
Process safety improvement-Quality and target zero

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Scyoc, Karl [Det Norske Veritas (U.S.A.) Inc., DNV Energy Solutions, 16340 Park Ten Place, Suite 100, Houston, TX 77084 (United States)], E-mail: karl.van.scyoc@dnv.com

2008-11-15

Process safety practitioners have adopted quality management principles in design of process safety management systems with positive effect, yet achieving safety objectives sometimes remain a distant target. Companies regularly apply tools and methods which have roots in quality and productivity improvement. The 'plan, do, check, act' improvement loop, statistical analysis of incidents (non-conformities), and performance trending popularized by Dr. Deming are now commonly used in the context of process safety. Significant advancements in HSE performance are reported after applying methods viewed as fundamental for quality management. In pursuit of continual process safety improvement, the paper examines various quality improvement methods, and explores how methods intended for product quality can be additionally applied to continual improvement of process safety. Methods such as Kaizen, Poke yoke, and TRIZ, while long established for quality improvement, are quite unfamiliar in the process safety arena. These methods are discussed for application in improving both process safety leadership and field work team performance. Practical ways to advance process safety, based on the methods, are given.
Process safety improvement-Quality and target zero

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Scyoc, Karl

2008-01-01

Process safety practitioners have adopted quality management principles in design of process safety management systems with positive effect, yet achieving safety objectives sometimes remain a distant target. Companies regularly apply tools and methods which have roots in quality and productivity improvement. The 'plan, do, check, act' improvement loop, statistical analysis of incidents (non-conformities), and performance trending popularized by Dr. Deming are now commonly used in the context of process safety. Significant advancements in HSE performance are reported after applying methods viewed as fundamental for quality management. In pursuit of continual process safety improvement, the paper examines various quality improvement methods, and explores how methods intended for product quality can be additionally applied to continual improvement of process safety. Methods such as Kaizen, Poke yoke, and TRIZ, while long established for quality improvement, are quite unfamiliar in the process safety arena. These methods are discussed for application in improving both process safety leadership and field work team performance. Practical ways to advance process safety, based on the methods, are given
Process safety improvement--quality and target zero.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Scyoc, Karl

2008-11-15

Process safety practitioners have adopted quality management principles in design of process safety management systems with positive effect, yet achieving safety objectives sometimes remain a distant target. Companies regularly apply tools and methods which have roots in quality and productivity improvement. The "plan, do, check, act" improvement loop, statistical analysis of incidents (non-conformities), and performance trending popularized by Dr. Deming are now commonly used in the context of process safety. Significant advancements in HSE performance are reported after applying methods viewed as fundamental for quality management. In pursuit of continual process safety improvement, the paper examines various quality improvement methods, and explores how methods intended for product quality can be additionally applied to continual improvement of process safety. Methods such as Kaizen, Poke yoke, and TRIZ, while long established for quality improvement, are quite unfamiliar in the process safety arena. These methods are discussed for application in improving both process safety leadership and field work team performance. Practical ways to advance process safety, based on the methods, are given.
The Montreal General Hospital Pain Centre (1974-2000: The Contributions of Ronald Melzack

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Ellen Jeans

2000-01-01

Full Text Available This paper chronicles the development of the Montreal General Hospital Pain Centre from its inception in 1974 to the present. Highlighted in particular are the contributions of Ronald Melzack to this history. Data for the article arose, in the main, from an interview with Dr Melzack carried out earlier in the year. Discussions with former and present members of the pain centre team, including former graduate students, provided additional information. The article begins with a recounting of those individuals and events that inspired Ron early in his 'pain career' to pursue his dream of a multidisciplinary pain centre, the first of its kind in Canada. The forces that helped shape the development of this centre and the challenges that had to be overcome are described.
Applications of process improvement techniques to improve workflow in abdominal imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamm, Eric Peter

2016-03-01

Major changes in the management and funding of healthcare are underway that will markedly change the way radiology studies will be reimbursed. The result will be the need to deliver radiology services in a highly efficient manner while maintaining quality. The science of process improvement provides a practical approach to improve the processes utilized in radiology. This article will address in a step-by-step manner how to implement process improvement techniques to improve workflow in abdominal imaging.
76 FR 41246 - Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee, Pesticide Registration Improvement Act Process Improvement...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-13

... Committee, Pesticide Registration Improvement Act Process Improvement Workgroup; Notice of Public Meeting...) Process Improvement Work Group. EPA plans to meet its ESA consultation obligations through the pesticide... a pesticide during the registration review process. This meeting of the PRIA Process Improvement...
Mapping social networks in software process improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tjørnehøj, Gitte; Nielsen, Peter Axel

2005-01-01

Software process improvement in small, agile organizations is often problematic. Model-based approaches seem to overlook problems. We have been seeking an alternative approach to overcome this through action research. Here we report on a piece of action research from which we developed an approach...... to map social networks and suggest how it can be used in software process improvement. We applied the mapping approach in a small software company to support the realization of new ways of improving software processes. The mapping approach was found useful in improving social networks, and thus furthers...... software process improvement....
Individual- and area-level disparities in access to the road network, subway system and a public bicycle share program on the Island of Montreal, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Daniel; Gauvin, Lise; Kestens, Yan

2013-02-01

Few studies have examined potential disparities in access to transportation infrastructures, an important determinant of population health. To examine individual- and area-level disparities in access to the road network, public transportation system, and a public bicycle share program in Montreal, Canada. Examining associations between sociodemographic variables and access to the road network, public transportation system, and a public bicycle share program, 6,495 adult respondents (mean age, 48.7 years; 59.0 % female) nested in 33 areas were included in a multilevel analysis. Individuals with lower incomes lived significantly closer to public transportation and the bicycle share program. At the area level, the interaction between low-education and low-income neighborhoods showed that these areas were significantly closer to public transportation and the bicycle share program controlling for individual and urbanicity variables. More deprived areas of the Island of Montreal have better access to transportation infrastructure than less-deprived areas.
Petro-Canada's project to add petroleum product storage tanks to the Municipality of Montreal-East

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lefebvre, G.; Joly, R.; Guay, T.

2006-01-01

This paper explored the environmental impacts associated with Petro-Canada's project to add petroleum product storage tanks to its refinery in the east-end of Montreal. The project plan is based on a 6 year horizon from 2006-2012. The additional reservoirs would store new products destined for the petrochemical industry and for consumers, thus improving the flexibility and reliability of the refinery. The products would include low sulfur diesel and ethanol gasoline. The project does not involve any increase in refining capacity, and is estimated to cost $15 million. The main issues associated with this project are ambient air quality, the protection of groundwater and soil, as well as the security of areas inhabited by neighbouring areas in risk of a major accident. Emissions of organic compounds, including benzene, are considered minimal considering the use of sealed floating roofs. Geomembranes will be installed under the storage tanks to ensure the protection of groundwater and soil. Any consequences to the population of neighbouring areas resulting from accidents inside the industrial park will be limited since the reservoirs will be located more than 1 km away from a populated area. Quebec's Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks recommended that this project be approved as long as the terms and measures of environmental regulations are respected, and that an emergency plan is submitted before the operation of the first reservoir. 1 tab
Waste Management Process Improvement Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atwood, J.; Borden, G.; Rangel, G. R.

2002-01-01

The Bechtel Hanford-led Environmental Restoration Contractor team's Waste Management Process Improvement Project is working diligently with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Richland Operations Office to improve the waste management process to meet DOE's need for an efficient, cost-effective program for the management of dangerous, low-level and mixed-low-level waste. Additionally the program must meet all applicable regulatory requirements. The need for improvement was highlighted when a change in the Groundwater/Vadose Zone Integration Project's waste management practices resulted in a larger amount of waste being generated than the waste management organization had been set up to handle
Managerial implications for improving continuous production processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Capaci, Francesca; Vanhatalo, Erik; Bergquist, Bjarne

2017-01-01

. In this article we highlight SPC and DoE implementation challenges described in the literature for managers, researchers and practitioners interested in continuous production process improvement. The results may help managers support the implementation of these methods and make researchers and practitioners aware......Data analytics remains essential for process improvement and optimization. Statistical process control and design of experiments are among the most powerful process and product improvement methods available. However, continuous process environments challenge the application of these methods...... of methodological challenges in continuous process environments...
Latent segmentation based count models: Analysis of bicycle safety in Montreal and Toronto.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasmin, Shamsunnahar; Eluru, Naveen

2016-10-01

The study contributes to literature on bicycle safety by building on the traditional count regression models to investigate factors affecting bicycle crashes at the Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ) level. TAZ is a traffic related geographic entity which is most frequently used as spatial unit for macroscopic crash risk analysis. In conventional count models, the impact of exogenous factors is restricted to be the same across the entire region. However, it is possible that the influence of exogenous factors might vary across different TAZs. To accommodate for the potential variation in the impact of exogenous factors we formulate latent segmentation based count models. Specifically, we formulate and estimate latent segmentation based Poisson (LP) and latent segmentation based Negative Binomial (LNB) models to study bicycle crash counts. In our latent segmentation approach, we allow for more than two segments and also consider a large set of variables in segmentation and segment specific models. The formulated models are estimated using bicycle-motor vehicle crash data from the Island of Montreal and City of Toronto for the years 2006 through 2010. The TAZ level variables considered in our analysis include accessibility measures, exposure measures, sociodemographic characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics, road network characteristics and built environment. A policy analysis is also conducted to illustrate the applicability of the proposed model for planning purposes. This macro-level research would assist decision makers, transportation officials and community planners to make informed decisions to proactively improve bicycle safety - a prerequisite to promoting a culture of active transportation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

‘THE BIGGEST MISTAKE GOD EVER MADE WAS TO CREATE JUNKIES’: UNSAFE INJECTION PRACTICES, HEALTH CARE DISCRIMINATION AND OVERDOSE DEATHS IN MONTREAL, CANADA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jozaghi, Ehsan

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the existence of prevention programmes in Montreal, Canada, injection drug users (IDUs continue to share their injection drug equipment. This practice has led to an increase in the incidences of HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV among IDUs since 2003. The present study was conducted to explore factors contributing to the increased risks of this morbidity. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted as drug users were actively involved in their routine activities. The participants’ narratives indicate that IDUs in Montreal are involved in risky injection behaviour that increases HIV, HCV and bacterial transmission. Moreover, IDUs in Montreal are at an increased risk of overdose and death when they are forced to inject in public washrooms or alleys. In addition, many IDUs have placed the general public at risk by discarding their used needles in public parks, sidewalks and public washrooms. Furthermore, many IDUs in Montreal have faced discrimination and are refused treatment by the health care system. Micro- environmental factors, such as a paucity of safe injection sites, inaccessibility of injection equipment and discrimination all seem to be contributing factors in recent increases in HIV and HCV in Montreal.Malgré les programmes de prévention qui existent à Montréal, Canada, les utilisateurs de drogues injectables (UDI continuent de partager leurs seringues. Cette pratique a mené à une augmentation de l’incidence du virus de l’immunodéficience humaine (VIH et du virus de l’hépatite C (VHC parmi les UDI depuis 2003. La présente étude a été menée afin d’examiner les facteurs qui contribuent à l’augmentation des risques de cette morbidité. Des entretiens qualitatifs semi-directifs ont été réalisés pendant que les utilisateurs faisaient usage de drogues. Les commentaires recueillis auprès des participants ont confirmé que les UDI de Montréal adoptent des comportements d’injection qui augmentent les
Improving the Simplified Acquisition of Base Engineering Requirements (SABER) Delivery Order Award Process: Results of a Process Improvement Plan

Science.gov (United States)

1991-09-01

putting all tasks directed towsrds achieving an outcome in aequence. The tasks can be viewed as steps in the process (39:2.3). Using this...improvement opportunity is investigated. A plan is developed, root causes are identified, and solutions are tested and implemented. The process is... solutions , check for actual improvement, and integrate the successful improvements into the process. ?UP 7. Check Improvement Performance. Finally, the
El programa de prevención de Montreal: lecciones para Colombia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique Chaux

2005-08-01

Full Text Available The Montreal Prevention Program has demonstrated a mayor world success in prevention of delinquency and violence. The most aggressive students of second and third grade participated in an intervention that had two components. First, several activities were done to develop social abilities and competencies. These activities occurred in small groups with one or two aggressive boys and other prosocial kids. Second, the families of the aggressive boys were visited several times in a two year period in order to help them develop child rearing practices such as constructive management of conflicts and crisis, handling of rewards, and monitoring the child behavior. Assessment demonstrated that the program decreased the delinquent and aggressive behavior, and also some risk behaviors such as drug use, early sexual activities, gang membership and school dropout. Some of these effects are still measurable in adulthood, almost 15 years after participating in the program. The article presents a detailed analysis of this experience, and also eight lessons for Colombia, among them, that the prevention is rewarding, especially when done early in life.
Next Generation Software Process Improvement

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Turnas, Daniel

2003-01-01

.... The application of these processes allows for an organization to mature. The software maturity level, and process improvement, of an organization can be measured with the Capability Maturity Model...
Process Improvement for Interinstitutional Research Contracting.

Science.gov (United States)

Varner, Michael; Logan, Jennifer; Bjorklund, Todd; Whitfield, Jesse; Reed, Peggy; Lesher, Laurie; Sikalis, Amy; Brown, Brent; Drollinger, Sandy; Larrabee, Kristine; Thompson, Kristie; Clark, Erin; Workman, Michael; Boi, Luca

2015-08-01

Sponsored research increasingly requires multiinstitutional collaboration. However, research contracting procedures have become more complicated and time consuming. The perinatal research units of two colocated healthcare systems sought to improve their research contracting processes. The Lean Process, a management practice that iteratively involves team members in root cause analyses and process improvement, was applied to the research contracting process, initially using Process Mapping and then developing Problem Solving Reports. Root cause analyses revealed that the longest delays were the individual contract legal negotiations. In addition, the "business entity" was the research support personnel of both healthcare systems whose "customers" were investigators attempting to conduct interinstitutional research. Development of mutually acceptable research contract templates and language, chain of custody templates, and process development and refinement formats decreased the Notice of Grant Award to Purchase Order time from a mean of 103.5 days in the year prior to Lean Process implementation to 45.8 days in the year after implementation (p = 0.004). The Lean Process can be applied to interinstitutional research contracting with significant improvement in contract implementation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Soundscape studies in Montreal's Biodome: using enclosed ecosystems to explain biodiversity to the public

Science.gov (United States)

Fisher Favret, K. E.

2016-02-01

The Biodome in Montreal is a unique public museum with over 750 species organized into five different ecosystems. We spent several weeks obtaining soundscapes from three of these: Gulf of St. Lawrence, Labrador Coast, and Sub-Antarctic Islands. The idea was to leverage the accessibility and known biodiversity of these mesocosms to calibrate instruments, evaluate methods for assessing biodiversity, and educate people ranging from the penguin keeper to the general public about soundscape ecology and biodiversity assessments. The Gulf of St. Lawrence exhibit has hundreds of fish that belong to 20 species swimming in 2.5 million gallons of seawater, with seabirds and invertebrates nearby. The Sub-Antarctic Islands exhibit, by contrast, has four species of penguins. As part of Montreal's Space for Life program, there is a searchable index of the species available to the public: http://espacepourlavie.ca/en/fauna-and-flora-biodome.The emerging field of soundscape ecology offers a new approach for effectively monitoring changes in sounds generated by communities ranging from urban centers to oceans. The entropy-based approach pioneered by Sueur et al., (2008) characterizes acoustic spectrograms based on the spectral space-filling properties of the sound producers. By calculating the complexity of the acoustic environment, we can detect cycles over various time scales. Disturbed systems can be detected by changes in the timing and frequency of sounds filling various "niches" in the soundscape that might act as early warnings of changes induced on scales from single events to climate shifts. These changes range from presence or absence of vocalizations by individual species, to changes in the higher order statistics of the daily sound structures that include sounds with physical, biological, and human origins. Here we show what we have learned so far about comparing enclosed ecosystems to the real world outside, and some of the challenges and rewards of using soundscape
L'evaluation du francais des jeunes Anglo-montrealais par leurs pairs francophones (Evaluation of the French of Young Montreal Anglophones by Their Francophone Peers).

Science.gov (United States)

Thibault, Pierrette; Sankoff, Gillian

1999-01-01

Analyzes the reactions of francophone Montrealers (n=116) to the recorded speech of English speakers using French. Particular focus is on finding out which linguistic traits of speech triggered the judgments on the speakers' competence and to what extent they met the judges expectations with regard to their job suitability. (Author/VWL)
[Rape by 2 assaillants and gang rape in Montreal].

Science.gov (United States)

Lamontagne, Y; Boyer, R; Lamontagne, C; Giroux, J

1984-11-01

A survey was conducted in 230 cases of rape and rape attempts heard in the Judicial District of Montreal between January 1975 and May 1978. Data were compiled from the 30 assaults including two or more assaillants. Results show that in cases of rape committed by two men the aggressors are older than gang rapists, meet the victim mainly in her flat or in a bar, and rape her in her own home, in a car or a hotel. In these cases, voyeurism seems to be an important factor since, most of the time, rape is committed by only one of the two aggressors. On the other hand, gang rapists are younger, meet the victim in public places, on the street or when she is hitch-hiking and attack her in one of the aggressors' house, in public places or on the street. Exhibitionism seems more present in this group of rapists. For both groups the victims are mainly single, younger than the aggressors and have diverse occupations. Finally, regarding the legal outcome half of the subjects were liberated or acquitted in both groups. Rape committed by two men had never been studied or compared with gang rape up until now. Results of this survey show dynamic and demographic differences between these two groups of sexual delinquents.
Software Engineering Program: Software Process Improvement Guidebook

Science.gov (United States)

1996-01-01

The purpose of this document is to provide experience-based guidance in implementing a software process improvement program in any NASA software development or maintenance community. This guidebook details how to define, operate, and implement a working software process improvement program. It describes the concept of the software process improvement program and its basic organizational components. It then describes the structure, organization, and operation of the software process improvement program, illustrating all these concepts with specific NASA examples. The information presented in the document is derived from the experiences of several NASA software organizations, including the SEL, the SEAL, and the SORCE. Their experiences reflect many of the elements of software process improvement within NASA. This guidebook presents lessons learned in a form usable by anyone considering establishing a software process improvement program within his or her own environment. This guidebook attempts to balance general and detailed information. It provides material general enough to be usable by NASA organizations whose characteristics do not directly match those of the sources of the information and models presented herein. It also keeps the ideas sufficiently close to the sources of the practical experiences that have generated the models and information.
NCCDS configuration management process improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Shay, Kathy

1993-01-01

By concentrating on defining and improving specific Configuration Management (CM) functions, processes, procedures, personnel selection/development, and tools, internal and external customers received improved CM services. Job performance within the section increased in both satisfaction and output. Participation in achieving major improvements has led to the delivery of consistent quality CM products as well as significant decreases in every measured CM metrics category.
Implementing a customer focused continual business improvement program to improve the maintenance process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kharshafdjian, G.; Fisher, C.; Beres, T.; Brooks, S.; Forbes, S.; Krause, M.; McAuley, K.; Wendorf, M.

2006-01-01

Global market pressures and increasing competition demands that successful companies establish a continual business improvement program as part of implementing its business strategy. Such programs must be driven by the definition of quality from the customer's perspective. This customer quality focus often requires a change in all aspects of the business including products, services, processes and culture. This paper will describe how Atomic Energy of Canada Limited implemented a Continual Business Improvement Program in their Nuclear Laboratories Business Unit. In particular, to review how the techniques were applied to improve the maintenance process and the status of the project. Customer (internal users of the processes at CRL) feedback has shown repeatedly there is dissatisfaction of the maintenance process. Customers complain about jobs not getting done to schedule or being deferred. A project has been launched with the following goals: to improve the maintenance process customer satisfaction and increase trades wrench time by 30 minutes / trade / day. DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) methodology was applied to find out the Root Cause(s) of the problem, provide solutions, and implement improvements. The expected Operational Benefits include: Executing work efficiently to quality standards and business performance of the site, improve maintenance efficiencies, reduce cycle time for maintenance process and improve process yield, and improve customer and employee satisfaction. (author)
Implementing a customer focused continual business improvement program to improve the maintenance process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kharshafdjian, G.; Fisher, C.; Beres, T.; Brooks, S.; Forbes, S.; Krause, M.; McAuley, K.; Wendorf, M. [Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Chalk River, Ontario (Canada)

2006-07-01

Global market pressures and increasing competition demands that successful companies establish a continual business improvement program as part of implementing its business strategy. Such programs must be driven by the definition of quality from the customer's perspective. This customer quality focus often requires a change in all aspects of the business including products, services, processes and culture. This paper will describe how Atomic Energy of Canada Limited implemented a Continual Business Improvement Program in their Nuclear Laboratories Business Unit. In particular, to review how the techniques were applied to improve the maintenance process and the status of the project. Customer (internal users of the processes at CRL) feedback has shown repeatedly there is dissatisfaction of the maintenance process. Customers complain about jobs not getting done to schedule or being deferred. A project has been launched with the following goals: to improve the maintenance process customer satisfaction and increase trades wrench time by 30 minutes / trade / day. DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) methodology was applied to find out the Root Cause(s) of the problem, provide solutions, and implement improvements. The expected Operational Benefits include: Executing work efficiently to quality standards and business performance of the site, improve maintenance efficiencies, reduce cycle time for maintenance process and improve process yield, and improve customer and employee satisfaction. (author)
[Sustainable process improvement with application of 'lean philosophy'].

Science.gov (United States)

Rouppe van der Voort, Marc B V; van Merode, G G Frits; Veraart, Henricus G N

2013-01-01

Process improvement is increasingly being implemented, particularly with the aid of 'lean philosophy'. This management philosophy aims to improve quality by reducing 'wastage'. Local improvements can produce negative effects elsewhere due to interdependence of processes. An 'integrated system approach' is required to prevent this. Some hospitals claim that this has been successful. Research into process improvement with the application of lean philosophy has reported many positive effects, defined as improved safety, quality and efficiency. Due to methodological shortcomings and lack of rigorous evaluations it is, however, not yet possible to determine the impact of this approach. It is, however, obvious that the investigated applications are fragmentary, with a dominant focus on the instrumental aspect of the philosophy and a lack of integration in a total system, and with insufficient attention to human aspects. Process improvement is required to achieve better and more goal-oriented healthcare. To achieve this, hospitals must develop integrated system approaches that combine methods for process design with continuous improvement of processes and with personnel management. It is crucial that doctors take the initiative to guide and improve processes in an integral manner.
Inpatient preanalytic process improvements.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagar, Elizabeth A; Phipps, Ron; Del Guidice, Robert; Middleton, Lavinia P; Bingham, John; Prejean, Cheryl; Johnson-Hamilton, Martha; Philip, Pheba; Le, Ngoc Han; Muses, Waheed

2013-12-01

Phlebotomy services are a common target for preanalytic improvements. Many new, quality engineering tools have recently been applied in clinical laboratories. However, data on relatively few projects have been published. This example describes a complete application of current, quality engineering tools to improve preanalytic phlebotomy services. To decrease the response time in the preanalytic inpatient laboratory by 25%, to reduce the number of incident reports related to preanalytic phlebotomy, and to make systematic process changes that satisfied the stakeholders. The Department of Laboratory Medicine, General Services Section, at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston) is responsible for inpatient phlebotomy in a 24-hour operation, which serves 689 inpatient beds. The study director was project director of the Division of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine's Quality Improvement Section and was assisted by 2 quality technologists and an industrial engineer from MD Anderson Office of Performance Improvement. After implementing each solution, using well-recognized, quality tools and metrics, the response time for blood collection decreased by 23%, which was close to meeting the original responsiveness goal of 25%. The response time between collection and arrival in the laboratory decreased by 8%. Applicable laboratory-related incident reports were reduced by 43%. Comprehensive application of quality tools, such as statistical control charts, Pareto diagrams, value-stream maps, process failure modes and effects analyses, fishbone diagrams, solution prioritization matrices, and customer satisfaction surveys can significantly improve preset goals for inpatient phlebotomy.
Business Processes Improvement in e-Supply Chains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dragana Rejman Petrovic

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The development of a model to improve business processes in e-supply chains involves the use of a process approach to and a methodology for information systems development and includes the definition of the requirement, logical key process modeling with the defined information flow within the logical subsystem, logical data modeling, the logical network and data distribution modeling, and the logical interface modeling in order to meet different users´ needs. In doing so, a variety of methods and techniques for the different development stages of management information systems are used, namely: the business process management, the business process performance management and the analytic hierarchy process as a method for multiple-criteria decision making. This paper analyzes business processes and different types of supply chains in the automotive industry, as the representative of complex systems. Based on the selected key business processes and key performance indicators of business processes, the analytic hierarchy process model is developed, followed by their optimization. The result is the management information system model intended to improve the key business processes in e-supply chains. The research results show that the performance improvement of business processes in e-supply chains, the application of the model to improve the key business processes and the application of Web-based information and communication solutions affect the efficiency and quality of e-supply chains.
Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): validation study for frontotemporal dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Freitas, Sandra; Simões, Mário R; Alves, Lara; Duro, Diana; Santana, Isabel

2012-09-01

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a brief instrument developed for the screening of milder forms of cognitive impairment, having surpassed the well-known limitations of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The aim of the present study was to validate the MoCA as a cognitive screening test for behavioral-variant frontotemporal dementia (bv-FTD) by examining its psychometric properties and diagnostic accuracy. Three matched subgroups of participants were considered: bv-FTD (n = 50), Alzheimer disease (n = 50), and a control group of healthy adults (n = 50). Compared with the MMSE, the MoCA demonstrated consistently superior psychometric properties and discriminant capacity, providing comprehensive information about the patients' cognitive profiles. The diagnostic accuracy of MoCA for bv-FTD was extremely high (area under the curve AUC [MoCA] = 0.934, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.866-.974; AUC [MMSE] = 0.772, 95% CI = 0.677-0.850). With a cutoff below 17 points, the MoCA results for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and classification accuracy were significantly superior to those of the MMSE. The MoCA is a sensitive and accurate instrument for screening the patients with bv-FTD and represents a better option than the MMSE.
Engaged Research in Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pries-Heje, Jan

2010-01-01

This keynote initiates from an example of engaged research; a Danish software house that made it from maturity level 1 to 5 in eight years. The organizational change implied at each step is discussed and a design theory of process improvement and change derived.......This keynote initiates from an example of engaged research; a Danish software house that made it from maturity level 1 to 5 in eight years. The organizational change implied at each step is discussed and a design theory of process improvement and change derived....
Next generation software process improvement

OpenAIRE

Turnas, Daniel

2003-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited Software is often developed under a process that can at best be described as ad hoc. While it is possible to develop quality software under an ad hoc process, formal processes can be developed to help increase the overall quality of the software under development. The application of these processes allows for an organization to mature. The software maturity level, and process improvement, of an organization can be measured with the Cap...
Competing Values in Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mûller, Sune Dueholm; Nielsen, Peter Axel

2013-01-01

Purpose The purpose of the article is to investigate the impact of organizational culture on software process improvement (SPI). Is cultural congruence between an organization and an adopted process model required? How can the level of congruence between an organizational culture and the values...... and assumptions underlying an adopted process model be assessed? How can cultural incongruence be managed to facilitate success of software process improvement? Design/methodology/approach The competing values framework and its associated assessment instrument are used in a case study to establish......-step process, SPI managers establish and compare culture profiles and decide how to address identified problems. To that end the text analysis technique is offered as a web service that allows for analysis of all text-based process models and standards, and of internal process documentation. Originality...
Manganese concentrations in the air of the Montreal (Canada) subway in relation to surface automobile traffic density

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boudia, Nacera; Gareau, Lise; Zayed, Joseph [GRIS Interdisciplinary Health Research Group, University of Montreal (Canada); Halley, Renee [Transport Montreal Society (Canada); Kennedy, Greg [Department of Engineering Physics, Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Montreal (Canada); Lambert, Jean [Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal (Canada)

2006-07-31

Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) is an organic derivative of manganese (Mn), used since 1976 in Canadian gasoline as an octane enhancer. Its combustion leads to the emission of Mn particles. Several studies carried out by our research group have established a correlation between atmospheric Mn concentrations and automobile traffic density, suggesting that MMT in gasoline could play a significant role. This study aims to measure Mn concentrations in the air of the underground subway in Montreal (Canada) and to examine the relation with nearby surface automobile traffic density and, by extension, with the use of MMT in gasoline. Three subway stations were chosen for their location in different microenvironments with different traffic densities. Respirable (MnR<5 {mu}m) and total Mn (MnT) were sampled over two weeks, 5 days/week, 12 h/day. For the station located in the lower traffic density area, relatively low levels of MnR and MnT were found, with averages of 0.018 and 0.032 {mu}g/m{sup 3}, respectively. These concentrations are within the range of the background levels in Montreal. For the other two stations, the average concentrations of MnR were twice as high and exceeded the US EPA reference concentration of 0.05 {mu}g/m{sup 3}. Although there may be several sources of Mn from different components of the subway structure and vehicles, no correlation was found between subway traffic and atmospheric Mn in the subway. Since the air in the underground subway is pumped directly from outside without filtration, our findings strongly suggest that the combustion of MMT in automobiles is an important factor. (author)

Bank of Montreal v. Dynex Petroleum Ltd.: the priority of overriding royalties and net profit interests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dearlove, F.R.

1996-01-01

The practice by the petroleum industry of granting overriding royalties (ORRs) and net profit interests (NPIs), was discussed. Some of the reasons for granting ORRs or NPIs included: (1) securing a lease, (2) obtaining geological information, (3) a condition of employment, or (4) acceptance of risk in exploration. In the recent case of Bank of Montreal versus Dynex Petroleum Ltd., it was held that in Alberta, ORRs and NPIs issuing out of a lessee's interest in an oil and gas lease cannot be a grant of interest in land. The effect of this decision is that it will make it difficult to create an ORR or NPI that is not merely a contract. An appeal is expected
Interpreting the CMMI a process improvement approach

CERN Document Server

Kulpa, Margaret K

2008-01-01

Written by experienced process improvement professionals who have developed and implemented computer based systems in organizations around the world, Interpreting the CMMI®: A Process Improvement Approach, Second Edition provides you with specific techniques for performing process improvement. Employing everyday language and supported by real world examples, the authors describe the fundamental concepts of the CMMI model, covering goals, practices, architecture, and definitions, and provide a structured approach for implementing the concepts of the CMMI into any organization. They discuss gett
Montreal Protocol meeting looks to speed up phaseout of ozone depleters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rotman, D.; Chynoweth, E.

1992-01-01

Delegates from around the world are meeting in Copenhagen this week to debate an accelerated phaseout of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), a time schedule for the eventual phaseout of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and phaseouts of methyl chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. The fate of methyl bromide will also be a hot issue. The fourth meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol is widely expected to put through a 100% CFC phaseout by Jan. 1, 1996, coming into agreement with current US and European Community rules. But debate continues over the intermediate phaseout schedule, with European members pushing for an 85% reduction - from a 1986 baseline - by Jan. 1, 1994, and others arguing for a 70% cut by 1994. Delegates are expected to agree to the final phaseout of halons on Jan. 1, 1996, with an 85% cut in carbon tet by 1995. The meeting is also expected to broadly agree on a Jan. 1, 1996 phaseout of methyl chloroform, with a 50% reduction from a 1989 baseline by Jan. 1, 1994. A critical debate for chemical producers will be on the fate of methyl bromide. Many observers expect some phaseout for the chemical, but when and how is undetermined
Process Improvement: Customer Service.

Science.gov (United States)

Cull, Donald

2015-01-01

Utilizing the comment section of patient satisfaction surveys, Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville, IN went through a thoughtful process to arrive at an experience that patients said they wanted. Two Lean Six Sigma tools were used--the Voice of the Customer (VoC) and the Affinity Diagram. Even when using these tools, a facility will not be able to accomplish everything the patient may want. Guidelines were set and rules were established for the Process Improvement Team in order to lessen frustration, increase focus, and ultimately be successful. The project's success is driven by the team members carrying its message back to their areas. It's about ensuring that everyone is striving to improve the patients' experience by listening to what they say is being done right and what they say can be done better. And then acting on it.
Problem Diagnosis in Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iversen, Jakob; Nielsen, Peter Axel; Nørbjerg, Jacob

1998-01-01

This paper addresses software process improvement. In particular it reports on action research undertaken to understand the problems with software processes of a large Danish company. It is argued that in order to understand what the specific problems are we may, on the one hand, rely on process...... to enable process improvement to effectively take place. It is argued that problem diagnosis a useful approach and that it has advantages over model-based assessment....... models like CMM or Bootstrap. On the other hand, we may also see the specific and unique features of software processes in this company through what we call problem diagnosis. Problem diagnosis deals with eliciting problems perceived by software project managers and with forming commitment structures...
A DMAIC approach for process capability improvement an engine crankshaft manufacturing process

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, G. V. S. S.; Rao, P. Srinivasa

2014-05-01

The define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) approach is a five-strata approach, namely DMAIC. This approach is the scientific approach for reducing the deviations and improving the capability levels of the manufacturing processes. The present work elaborates on DMAIC approach applied in reducing the process variations of the stub-end-hole boring operation of the manufacture of crankshaft. This statistical process control study starts with selection of the critical-to-quality (CTQ) characteristic in the define stratum. The next stratum constitutes the collection of dimensional measurement data of the CTQ characteristic identified. This is followed by the analysis and improvement strata where the various quality control tools like Ishikawa diagram, physical mechanism analysis, failure modes effects analysis and analysis of variance are applied. Finally, the process monitoring charts are deployed at the workplace for regular monitoring and control of the concerned CTQ characteristic. By adopting DMAIC approach, standard deviation is reduced from 0.003 to 0.002. The process potential capability index ( C P) values improved from 1.29 to 2.02 and the process performance capability index ( C PK) values improved from 0.32 to 1.45, respectively.
Teaching the NIATx Model of Process Improvement as an Evidence-Based Process

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, Alyson C.; Rieckmann, Traci; Fitzgerald, Maureen M.; Gustafson, David H.

2007-01-01

Process Improvement (PI) is an approach for helping organizations to identify and resolve inefficient and ineffective processes through problem solving and pilot testing change. Use of PI in improving client access, retention and outcomes in addiction treatment is on the rise through the teaching of the Network for the Improvement of Addiction…
Teacher Research as Continuous Process Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Charles; Castle, Kathryn

2010-01-01

Purpose: Teacher research (inquiry) has been characterized as practice improvement, professional development and action research, among numerous names and descriptions. The purpose of this paper is to support the case that teacher research is also a form of quality improvement known as continuous process improvement (CPI).…
Towards an Evaluation Framework for Software Process Improvement

OpenAIRE

Cheng, Chow Kian; Permadi, Rahadian Bayu

2009-01-01

Software has gained an essential role in our daily life in the last decades. This condition demands high quality software. To produce high quality software many practitioners and researchers put more attention on the software development process. Large investments are poured to improve the software development process. Software Process Improvement (SPI) is a research area which is aimed to address the assessment and improvement issues in the software development process. One of the most impor...
Social network analysis in software process improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Peter Axel; Tjørnehøj, Gitte

2010-01-01

Software process improvement in small organisation is often problematic and communication and knowledge sharing is more informal. To improve software processes we need to understand how they communicate and share knowledge. In this article have studied the company SmallSoft through action research...
Marshaling and Acquiring Resources for the Process Improvement Process

Science.gov (United States)

1993-06-01

stakeholders. ( Geber , 1990) D. IDENTIFYING SUPPLIERS Suppliers are just as crucial to setting requirements for processes as are customers. Although...output ( Geber , 1990, p. 32). Before gathering resources for process improvement, the functional manager must ensure that the relationship of internal...him patent information and clerical people process his applications. ( Geber , 1990, pp. 29-34) To get the full benefit of a white-collar worker as a
Developing a lean measurement system to enhance process improvement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lewis P.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A key ingredient to underpin process improvement is a robust, reliable, repeatable measurement system. Process improvement activity needs to be supported by accurate and precise data because effective decision making, within process improvement activity, demands the use of “hard” data. One of the oldest and most established process improvement methods is Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA cycle which is reliant on the check phase, a measurement activity where data is being gathered and evaluated. Recent expansions of the PDCA such as the Six-Sigma Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve-Control (DMAIC methodology place significant importance upon measurement. The DMAIC cycle incorporates the regimented requirement for the inclusion of measurement system analysis (MSA into the breakthrough strategy. The call for MSA within the DMAIC cycle is to provide the improvement activity with a robust measurement system that will ensure a pertinent level of data during any validation process. The Lean methodology is heavily centred on the removal of the seven Mudas (wastes from a manufacturing process: defects, overproduction, transportation, waiting, inventory, motion and processing. The application of lean, particularly within the manufacturing industry, has led to a perception that measurement is a waste within a manufacturing process because measurement processes identify defective products. The metrologists’ pursuit for measurement excellence could be construed as a hindrance by the “cost down” demands being perpetrated from the same organisation’s lean policy. So what possible benefits does enforcing the regimes of the lean and quality philosophies upon the measurement process have and how does this ultimately enhance the process improvement activity? The key fundamental to embed with any process improvement is the removal of waste. The process improvement techniques embedded within lean and quality concepts are extremely powerful practices in the
Mundialización, acción colectiva e iniciativa local en la reconversión de Montreal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan-Luis Klein

2003-05-01

Full Text Available Este texto presenta un análisis del rol que juegan las iniciativas locales de base comunitaria en los procesos de desarrollo local, en el marco de la reconversión de las economías metropolitanas impulsada por la mundialización. La reconversión lleva a las metrópolis a especializarse en sectores económicos de alto tenor científico-técnico. Esto pone en peligro la viabilidad de los sectores más tradicionales, y sobre todo, fragiliza a la dotación de los espacios intrametropolitanos (municipios, distritos, barrios en los cuales estos sectores se habían especializado, en tanto que medios de vida y de trabajo. A partir del caso de Montreal, se verá que en estos espacios tienen lugar experiencias alternativas cuyo objetivo es el de conectar a las colectividades excluidas de la reconversión que se experimenta en los sectores de alta tecnología, la cual es impulsada por las fuerzas del mercado. Esto auspicia una vía de reconversión más incluyente desde el punto de vista social, en la cual la innovación tecnológica se combina con la innovación social. Pero también muestra que esta asociatividad es el resultado de un proceso en el cual las iniciativas locales, a través de acciones colectivas, estructuran el territorio, delimitan espacios de identidad y construyen las bases de un modelo de desarrollo en el cual lo económico se inserta en lo social, y en el cual el medio territorial se construye progresivamente.This text presents an analysis of the role played by communitarian based local initiatives in the process of local development, within the frame of the metropolitan economic reconversion driven by globalization. Reconversion makes metropolis specialize in high economic sectors, both technically and scientifically developed. This fact puts in danger the viability of the more traditional sectors and overall, fragilizes the endowment of intrametropolitan spaces (municipalities, districts, neighbourhoods in wich those sectores had
From Pragmatic to Systematic Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhrmann, Marco; Méndez Fernández, Daniel

2015-01-01

Software processes improvement (SPI) is a challenging task, as many different stakeholders, project settings, and contexts and goals need to be considered. SPI projects are often operated in a complex and volatile environment and, thus, require a sound management that is resource......-intensive requiring many stakeholders to contribute to the process assessment, analysis, design, realisation, and deployment. Although there exist many valuable SPI approaches, none address the needs of both process engineers and project managers. This article presents an Artefact-based Software Process Improvement...
Report, realized on behalf of the foreign Affairs, the Defense and the Armed Forces Commission: - on the law project, carried by the Senate, authorizing the approval of the amendment for the 16 september 1987 Montreal protocol relative to the substances which impoverish the ozone layer, adopted at Montreal the 17 september 1997; - and on the law project, carried by the Senate, authorizing the approval of the amendment for the 16 september 1987 Montreal protocol relative to the substances which impoverish the ozone layer, adopted at Pekin the 3 december 1999

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guillet, J.J.

2003-07-01

The document presents the text of the law projects concerning the substances which impoverish the ozone layer. Facts of science,protection systems and the two amendments adopted at Montreal in 1997 and Pekin in 1999 are discussed. For each countries data on the substances impoverish the ozone layer, are also given. (A.L.B.)
Quality improvement tools and processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Catherine Y

2015-04-01

The Model for Improvement and the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle is a popular quality improvement (QI) tool for health care providers to successfully lead QI projects and redesign care processes. This tool has several distinct components that must be addressed in sequence to organize and critically evaluate improvement activities. Unlike other health sciences clinical research, QI projects and research are based on dynamic hypotheses that develop into observable, serial tests of change with continuous collection and feedback of performance data to stakeholders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Activating clinical trials: a process improvement approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Diego A; Tsalatsanis, Athanasios; Yalcin, Ali; Zayas-Castro, José L; Djulbegovic, Benjamin

2016-02-24

The administrative process associated with clinical trial activation has been criticized as costly, complex, and time-consuming. Prior research has concentrated on identifying administrative barriers and proposing various solutions to reduce activation time, and consequently associated costs. Here, we expand on previous research by incorporating social network analysis and discrete-event simulation to support process improvement decision-making. We searched for all operational data associated with the administrative process of activating industry-sponsored clinical trials at the Office of Clinical Research of the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. We limited the search to those trials initiated and activated between July 2011 and June 2012. We described the process using value stream mapping, studied the interactions of the various process participants using social network analysis, and modeled potential process modifications using discrete-event simulation. The administrative process comprised 5 sub-processes, 30 activities, 11 decision points, 5 loops, and 8 participants. The mean activation time was 76.6 days. Rate-limiting sub-processes were those of contract and budget development. Key participants during contract and budget development were the Office of Clinical Research, sponsors, and the principal investigator. Simulation results indicate that slight increments on the number of trials, arriving to the Office of Clinical Research, would increase activation time by 11 %. Also, incrementing the efficiency of contract and budget development would reduce the activation time by 28 %. Finally, better synchronization between contract and budget development would reduce time spent on batching documentation; however, no improvements would be attained in total activation time. The presented process improvement analytic framework not only identifies administrative barriers, but also helps to devise and evaluate potential improvement scenarios. The strength
Seasonal Difference in Postthyroidectomy Hypocalcemia: A Montreal-Based Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mascarella, Marco A; Forest, Véronique-Isabelle; Nhan, Carol; Leboeuf, Rébecca; Tamilia, Michael; Mlynarek, Alex M; Payne, Richard J

2016-02-01

Hypocalcemia following thyroidectomy often prolongs hospital stay and is potentially life-threatening. The objective of this study is to determine whether the season when thyroidectomy is performed is associated with postoperative hypocalcemia. Retrospective case series of patients undergoing thyroid surgery from 2009 to 2015. Tertiary care academic institution in Montreal, Canada. A consecutive sample of 823 patients undergoing thyroidectomy by a single high-volume otolaryngologist for a suspected or confirmed thyroid malignancy. Patient demographics, procedure type, calcium and vitamin D supplementation, and seasonal rate of hypocalcemia postthyroidectomy were calculated and compared. Average seasonal rates of postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia in the winter, spring, summer, and autumn were, respectively, 8.3% (8 of 216), 7.3% (12 of 165), 1.5% (3 of 201), and 3.5% (8 of 228; P operated in the winter were 5.6 times more likely to develop hypocalcemia as compared with those in the summer (P factoring in season when surgery was performed, procedure type, and preoperative vitamin D/calcium supplementation, surgery occurring in the winter predicted a hypocalcemia event (correlation coefficient [SE]: 0.72 [0.024], P = .026; 0.006 [0.025], P = .81; 0.004 [0.019], P = .82, respectively). In this study, patients undergoing thyroidectomy in the winter months were more likely to develop postoperative hypocalcemia when compared with those operated in the summer. Further studies are needed to understand the role of vitamin D in the observed seasonal difference in hypocalcemia rates. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2015.
Canada's hydrocarbon processing evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wise, T.H.; Horton, R.

2000-01-01

The development of petroleum refining, petrochemicals and natural gas industries in Canada are discussed together with future issues and prospects. Figures give data on (a) refined products trade 1998; (b) refining capacity; (c) product demand 1980-1999; (d) refinery crude runs and capacity; (e) refining and marketing, historical returns 1993-1999; (f) processing power index for Canada and USA; (g) ethylene capacity; (eye) Montreal petrochemical capacities; (j) Sarnia petrochemical capacities in 2000; (k) Alberta petrochemicals capacities 2001; (l) ethylene net equivalent trade; (m) ethylene costs 1999 for W. Canada and other countries. It was concluded that the hydrocarbon processing business continues to expand in Canada and natural gas processing is likely to increase. Petrochemicals may expand in W. Canada, possibly using feed stock from the Far North. Offshore developments may stimulate new processing on the E. Coast
Eco-Efficient Process Improvement at the Early Development Stage: Identifying Environmental and Economic Process Hotspots for Synergetic Improvement Potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Piccinno, Fabiano; Hischier, Roland; Seeger, Stefan; Som, Claudia

2018-05-15

We present here a new eco-efficiency process-improvement method to highlight combined environmental and costs hotspots of the production process of new material at a very early development stage. Production-specific and scaled-up results for life cycle assessment (LCA) and production costs are combined in a new analysis to identify synergetic improvement potentials and trade-offs, setting goals for the eco-design of new processes. The identified hotspots and bottlenecks will help users to focus on the relevant steps for improvements from an eco-efficiency perspective and potentially reduce their associated environmental impacts and production costs. Our method is illustrated with a case study of nanocellulose. The results indicate that the production route should start with carrot pomace, use heat and solvent recovery, and deactivate the enzymes with bleach instead of heat. To further improve the process, the results show that focus should be laid on the carrier polymer, sodium alginate, and the production of the GripX coating. Overall, the method shows that the underlying LCA scale-up framework is valuable for purposes beyond conventional LCA studies and is applicable at a very early stage to provide researchers with a better understanding of their production process.

Use of Process Improvement Tools in Radiology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rawson, James V; Kannan, Amogha; Furman, Melissa

2016-01-01

Process improvement techniques are common in manufacturing and industry. Over the past few decades these principles have been slowly introduced in select health care settings. This article reviews the Plan, Do, Study, and Act cycle, Six Sigma, the System of Profound Knowledge, Lean, and the theory of constraints. Specific process improvement tools in health care and radiology are presented in the order the radiologist is likely to encounter them in an improvement project. Copyright © 2015 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
Captive breeding of the barndoor skate (Dipturus laevis) at the Montreal Biodome, with comparison notes on two other captive-bred skate species.

Science.gov (United States)

Parent, Serge; Pépin, Serge; Genet, Jean-Pierre; Misserey, Laurent; Rojas, Salvador

2008-03-01

In 1997, the Montreal Biodome obtained five barndoor skates (Dipturus laevis) from the waters off Boston, Massachusetts. Six years later, those specimens began reproducing, and the first egg case was collected in November 2003. Since then, 73 hatchlings have been born and raised. Egg cases were observed year round, and annual fecundity was measured for the first time: one female laid 69 eggs in 2005, 85 in 2006 and 115 in 2007. Egg incubation was longer than believed previously, ranging from 342 to 494 days. Hatching occurred throughout the year. Hatchlings averaged 193 mm total length and 128 mm disk width and weighed 32 g. They were fed krill and diced fish. All but one survived the first month. A photo identification system was useful in recognizing two groups of 10 specimens during their first year, and transponders could be inserted in the wing muscles of 1-year-old skates. Total lengths at birth and at age 2 were similar to the data reported from the wild, suggesting a similar growth pattern in captivity. The reproduction characteristics of the barndoor skate were compared with those of two other skate species currently bred at the Montreal Biodome, the winter skate (Leucoraja ocellata) and the thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata). Zoo Biol 27:145-153, 2008. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Required internship in diagnostic radiology in the fifth year of medicine at Montreal University

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saint-Georges, G.; Raymond-Tremblay, D.; Danais, S.; Dussault, R.; Grignon, A.; Lafortune, M.; Saltiel, J.

1984-01-01

Problems of methodology, organization, and evaluation confronting the radiology departments of the university hospitals affiliated with the University of Montreal, the medical students, and the University itself in connection with an elective internship in radiology offered in the fifth year of medicine, resulted in the formation of a committee to reorganize the course of study. In this concise article the authors describe this and other measures taken by the University to solve these problems. The committees' main purpose was to restructure the internship which was made compulsory so that future physicians would be prepared to draw on the resources of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine. To this end, the committee formulated the objectives, content, evaluation system, and pedagogical methods to be used in those courses. The 25 self-teaching modules, together with the observation and practical interpretation of radiology sessions, proved highly useful in solving the initial problems, and were of particular interest to the students. (author)
Selecting corporate political tactics: The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Getz, K.A.

1991-01-01

This study examines factors influencing the choice of one set of tactics over others. The case of ozone depletion is used as the research context, and the data are drawn from US companies having a stake in this issue. A model is developed which suggests that a firm's choice of political tactics (dependent variable) is dependent on the targets of political activity and the nature of the issue of concern (independent variables), and a variety of organizational and industry factors (moderating variables). The paradigm of agency is used to systematically assess the relative importance of these factors. To test the relevance of the model, an empirical study was done. The case of the Montreal protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer was chosen as a setting; and 551 firms directly affected by policy intended to protect the ozone layer were surveyed. There were 151 usable responses. Generally, the findings were consistent with the model
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT MODEL AT THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS PREPARATION LEVEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dusko Pavletic

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The paper expresses base for an operational quality improvement model at the manufacturing process preparation level. A numerous appropriate related quality assurance and improvement methods and tools are identified. Main manufacturing process principles are investigated in order to scrutinize one general model of manufacturing process and to define a manufacturing process preparation level. Development and introduction of the operational quality improvement model is based on a research conducted and results of methods and tools application possibilities in real manufacturing processes shipbuilding and automotive industry. Basic model structure is described and presented by appropriate general algorithm. Operational quality improvement model developed lays down main guidelines for practical and systematic application of quality improvements methods and tools.
Conserving forest biological diversity: How the Montreal Process helps achieve sustainability

Science.gov (United States)

Mark Nelson; Guy Robertson; Kurt. Riitters

2015-01-01

Forests support a variety of ecosystems, species and genes collectively referred to as biological diversity along with important processes that tie these all together. With the growing recognition that biological diversity contributes to human welfare in a number of important ways such as providing food, medicine and fiber (provisioning services...
Software process improvement in CMS-are we different?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wellisch, J.P.

2001-01-01

One of the most challenging issues faced in HEP in recent years is the question of how to capitalise on software development and maintenance experience in a continuous manner. To capitalise in our context means to evaluate and apply new technologies as they arise, and to further evolve technologies already widely in use. It also implies the definition and adoption of standards, while ensuring reproducibility and quality of results. The CMS process improvement effort is two-pronged. It aims at continuous improvement of the ways we do Object Oriented software, as well as continuous improvement in the efficiency of the working environment. In particular the use and creation of de-facto software process standards within CMS has proven to be key to successful software process improvement program. The authors describe the successful CMS implementation of a software process improvement strategy, following ISO 15504 since three years. The authors give the current status of the most important processes families formally established in CMS, and provide the guidelines followed both for tool development, and methodology establishment
Continuous improvement: A win-win process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrence, T.M.; Wichert, A.

1992-01-01

The strategies used within PanCanadian Petroleum Limited's production division to successfully introduce the continuous improvement (CI) process are discussed. Continuous improvement is an operating philosophy and management style which allows all employees to participate in and improve the way an organization performs its day-to-day business. In the CI work environment the supervisor's traditional role changes from one of monitoring and controlling, to one of inspiring, motivating and leading people by communicating a clear vision. Employees at all levels in the work environment are organized into teams and armed with a good working knowledge of the problem-solving tools which allow them to pursue and implement improvement initiatives. The outcome of the process is an ongoing win-win situation for both PanCanadian and its people. Employees are gaining more trust, eliminating job irritants, and enjoying their work in a team environment. The company is benefiting through increased production, improved safety and reduced operating expenses, thanks to the many innovative ideas introduced by employees. 4 refs
The Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment in persons with mild subacute stroke: relationship to functional outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Toglia, Joan; Fitzgerald, Kerri A; O'Dell, Michael W; Mastrogiovanni, Andrea R; Lin, C David

2011-05-01

To compare Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) global and subscores in classifying cognitive impairment in persons with mild stroke and to explore the relationship between admission and discharge functional status and improvement. Retrospective analysis of data. Acute rehabilitation unit of a large urban university-affiliated hospital. Inpatients with stroke (N=72; mean age, 70y; median time poststroke, 8.5d) and mild neurologic (median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, 4) and cognitive deficits (median MMSE score, 25). Not applicable. Admission cognitive status was assessed by using the MMSE and MoCA. The motor subscale of the FIM instrument (mFIM) and motor relative functional efficiency was used to assess discharge functional status and improvement. The MoCA classified more persons as cognitively impaired than the MMSE (89% vs 63%, respectively; using a cutoff score of 27 on the MMSE and 26 on the MoCA). The MoCA also showed less of a ceiling effect than the MMSE, higher internal reliability (Cronbach α=.78 compared with α=.60), and marginally stronger associations with discharge functional status (r=.40; P<.001) than the MMSE (r=0.30; P<.05). The MoCA visuoexecutive subscore was the strongest predictor of functional status (P=.01) and improvement (P=.02) in global and subscores for both tests. The MoCA may be an important cognitive screening tool for persons with stroke and mild cognitive dysfunction on an acute rehabilitation unit. Lower visuoexecutive subscores may assist in identifying persons at risk for decreased functional gains in self-care and mobility (mFIM) during inpatient rehabilitation. The findings justify further validation studies of the MoCA in persons with subacute stroke. Copyright © 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Velódromo Olímpico de Montreal – Canadá

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taillibert, Roger

1976-12-01

Full Text Available This stadium is one of the most interesting ones that have been constructed lately. It has the following basic conditions: harmonious integration with the other Olympic installations; possibilities for future enlargements; total absence of supports; perfect permeability for the natural daylight; and perfect insulations in view of the hard climate of Montreal. Bearing these features in mind, the building consists of two parts: — The velodrome itself with lawn; 285.70 m long and 7.50 m wide courses with a slope varying between 18° and 48° with regard to the horizontal line; gallery for the public; auxiliary premises; dressing rooms, etc. — And the regular spheric roof the plan form of which represents three segments beginning with one buttress in the northeast end and increasing to three buttresses in the southeast end. This entirely self-supporting dome is 172 m long with a maximum height of 32 m. The total surface is 15,000 m2. The work was calculated by means of computers and was carried out with prefabricated pieces of concrete so as to achieve a better quality control of the concrete, and above all, a greater exactness of the prefabricated members. This was an indispensable factor in this case, where the maximum admissible error in most of the pieces was only 1.5 mm.Es uno de los estadios más interesantes de los últimos tiempos, con las siguientes condiciones básicas: armónica integración con las restantes instalaciones olímpicas; posibilidad de transformación para futuras aplicaciones; total ausencia de soportes; amplia permeabilidad a la luz natural; y perfecta estanquidad ante las duras condiciones climáticas de Montreal. Partiendo de estas premisas, el edificio consta de dos partes: — El velódromo propiamente dicho, con: césped; pista de carreras de 285,70 m de desarrollo, 7,50 m de anchura e inclinación variable entre 18° y 48° respecto a la horizontal; gradas para el público; locales auxiliares
IRB Process Improvements: A Machine Learning Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shoenbill, Kimberly; Song, Yiqiang; Cobb, Nichelle L; Drezner, Marc K; Mendonca, Eneida A

2017-06-01

Clinical research involving humans is critically important, but it is a lengthy and expensive process. Most studies require institutional review board (IRB) approval. Our objective is to identify predictors of delays or accelerations in the IRB review process and apply this knowledge to inform process change in an effort to improve IRB efficiency, transparency, consistency and communication. We analyzed timelines of protocol submissions to determine protocol or IRB characteristics associated with different processing times. Our evaluation included single variable analysis to identify significant predictors of IRB processing time and machine learning methods to predict processing times through the IRB review system. Based on initial identified predictors, changes to IRB workflow and staffing procedures were instituted and we repeated our analysis. Our analysis identified several predictors of delays in the IRB review process including type of IRB review to be conducted, whether a protocol falls under Veteran's Administration purview and specific staff in charge of a protocol's review. We have identified several predictors of delays in IRB protocol review processing times using statistical and machine learning methods. Application of this knowledge to process improvement efforts in two IRBs has led to increased efficiency in protocol review. The workflow and system enhancements that are being made support our four-part goal of improving IRB efficiency, consistency, transparency, and communication.
Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhrmann, Marco; Diebold, Philipp; Münch, Jürgen

2016-01-01

Software process improvement (SPI) is around for decades: frameworks are proposed, success factors are studied, and experiences have been reported. However, the sheer mass of concepts, approaches, and standards published over the years overwhelms practitioners as well as researchers. What is out...... to new specialized frameworks. New and specialized frameworks account for the majority of the contributions found (approx. 38%). Furthermore, we find a growing interest in success factors (approx. 16%) to aid companies in conducting SPI and in adapting agile principles and practices for SPI (approx. 10...
An Aspect-Oriented Framework for Business Process Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

Pourshahid, Alireza; Mussbacher, Gunter; Amyot, Daniel; Weiss, Michael

Recently, many organizations invested in Business Process Management Systems (BPMSs) in order to automate and monitor their processes. Business Activity Monitoring is one of the essential modules of a BPMS as it provides the core monitoring capabilities. Although the natural step after process monitoring is process improvement, most of the existing systems do not provide the means to help users with the improvement step. In this paper, we address this issue by proposing an aspect-oriented framework that allows the impact of changes to business processes to be explored with what-if scenarios based on the most appropriate process redesign patterns among several possibilities. As the four cornerstones of a BPMS are process, goal, performance and validation views, these views need to be aligned automatically by any approach that intends to support automated improvement of business processes. Our framework therefore provides means to reflect process changes also in the other views of the business process. A health care case study presented as a proof of concept suggests that this novel approach is feasible.
Duke Power's liquid radwaste processing improvement efforts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, R.E. Jr.; Bramblett, J.W.

1995-01-01

The rising cost of processing liquid radwaste and industry efforts to reduce offsite isotopic contributions has drawn greater attention to the liquid radwaste area. Because of economic pressures to reduce cost and simultaneously improve performance, Duke Power has undertaken a wide ranging effort to cost effectively achieve improvements in the liquid radwaste processing area. Duke Power has achieved significant reductions over recent years in the release of curies to the environment from the Liquid Radwaste Treatmentt systems at its Catawba, McGuire, and Oconee stations. System wide site curie reductions of 78% have been achieved in a 3 year period. These curie reductions have been achieved while simultaneously reducing the amount of media used to accomplish treatment. The curie and media usage reductions have been achieved at low capital cost expenditures. A large number of approaches and projects have been used to achieve these curie and media usage reductions. This paper will describe the various projects and the associated results for Duke Power's processing improvement efforts. The subjects/projects which will be described include: (1) Cooperative philosophy between stations (2) Source Control (3) Processing Improvements (4) Technology Testing
Using Unified Modelling Language (UML) as a process-modelling technique for clinical-research process improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumarapeli, P; De Lusignan, S; Ellis, T; Jones, B

2007-03-01

The Primary Care Data Quality programme (PCDQ) is a quality-improvement programme which processes routinely collected general practice computer data. Patient data collected from a wide range of different brands of clinical computer systems are aggregated, processed, and fed back to practices in an educational context to improve the quality of care. Process modelling is a well-established approach used to gain understanding and systematic appraisal, and identify areas of improvement of a business process. Unified modelling language (UML) is a general purpose modelling technique used for this purpose. We used UML to appraise the PCDQ process to see if the efficiency and predictability of the process could be improved. Activity analysis and thinking-aloud sessions were used to collect data to generate UML diagrams. The UML model highlighted the sequential nature of the current process as a barrier for efficiency gains. It also identified the uneven distribution of process controls, lack of symmetric communication channels, critical dependencies among processing stages, and failure to implement all the lessons learned in the piloting phase. It also suggested that improved structured reporting at each stage - especially from the pilot phase, parallel processing of data and correctly positioned process controls - should improve the efficiency and predictability of research projects. Process modelling provided a rational basis for the critical appraisal of a clinical data processing system; its potential maybe underutilized within health care.
Typology of sleep medication users and associated mental health and substance use from a Montreal epidemiological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Perreault, Michel; Mitchell, Emma; Touré, El Hadj; Fleury, Marie-Josée; Caron, Jean

2014-01-01

Sleep medication is often reported as one of the most highly used psychotropic drugs in terms of past-year prevalence. Since their use often varies according to the characteristics of individuals, it is important to better understand these particular utilization patterns. The study aims to develop a typology of sleep medication users' characteristics, including their associated mental health and substance use. Residents from the epidemiological area of south-west Montreal, Quebec aged 15 years and older responded to a questionnaire in 2009 and 2011. Among the 1822 people who participated at both T1 and T2, 306 (17%) reported use of medication to help them sleep. These participants were selected for cluster analysis based on five variables related to mental health. The identified clusters were then tested for association with sociodemographic, psychosocial, and service use characteristics. A three-cluster solution emerged: 1) older individuals without mental health problems, drug use or psychotropic medication use; 2) individuals with elevated psychological distress, drug use and low social support, and 3) individuals with mood and anxiety disorders, using services for mental health and taking two or more psychotropic medications. The results establish the significance of problems related to mental health in differentiating sleep medication users. Consideration of these differences may improve the ability of health professionals to provide services that are better suited for patients, including interventions that increase the ability to cope with stress (cluster 2) and more integrated services for those with concurrent disorders (cluster 3).
Continuous improvement: A win... win process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lawrence, T.; Wichert, A.

1993-01-01

Implementing a continuous improvement (CI) process within PanCanadian's oil and gas production operations might have been a simple assignment if one were not also trying to capture the hearts and imaginations of the people in a changing work environment. Meeting the challenge is resulting in big payoffs to both the organization and its people. The plan used within the Company's Production Division to successfully introduce the CI process is discussed. A brief insight is provided on the process philosophy, with emphasis placed on planning, training and coaching used to launch the process. Also reviewed at length are the impediments to change and the challenges faced when changing an organization's culture. In a CI work environment, the supervisor's traditional role changes from one of monitoring and controlling to one of inspiring, motivating and leading people by communicating a clear vision. Employees at all levels in the work environment are organized into teams and armed with a good working knowledge of the problem solving tools which allow them to pursue and implement improvement initiatives. The outcome of the process is an ongoing 'win-win' situation for both the Company and its people. Employees are gaining more trust, eliminating job irritants and enjoying their work more in a team environment. The Company is winning through increased production, improved safety and reduced operating expenses, thanks to many innovative ideas which the employees have implemented. 4 refs
Milrinone and homeostasis to treat cerebral vasospasm associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage: the Montreal Neurological Hospital protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Lannes, Marcelo; Teitelbaum, Jeanne; del Pilar Cortés, Maria; Cardoso, Mauro; Angle, Mark

2012-06-01

For the treatment of cerebral vasospasm, current therapies have focused on increasing blood flow through blood pressure augmentation, hypervolemia, the use of intra-arterial vasodilators, and angioplasty of proximal cerebral vessels. Through a large case series, we present our experience of treating cerebral vasospasm with a protocol based on maintenance of homeostasis (correction of electrolyte and glucose disturbances, prevention and treatment of hyperthermia, replacement of fluid losses), and the use of intravenous milrinone to improve microcirculation (the Montreal Neurological Hospital protocol). Our objective is to describe the use milrinone in our practice and the neurological outcomes associated with this approach. Large case series based on the review of all patients diagnosed with delayed ischemic neurologic deficits after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage between April 1999 and April 2006. 88 patients were followed for a mean time of 44.6 months. An intravenous milrinone infusion was used for a mean of 9.8 days without any significant side effects. No medical complications associated with this protocol were observed. There were five deaths; of the surviving patients, 48.9 % were able to go back to their previous baseline and 75 % had a good functional outcome (modified Rankin scale ≤ 2). A protocol using intravenous milrinone, and the maintenance of homeostasis is simple to use and requires less intensive monitoring and resources than the standard triple H therapy. Despite the obvious limitations of this study's design, we believe that it would be now appropriate to proceed with formal prospective studies of this protocol.
Quality improvement process pilot project at Gallagher station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vondielingen, D.E.

1992-01-01

A Quality Improvement Process was piloted at Gallagher station in 1990 to address issues of two Electric System Strategy Group (ESSG) goals. Darrell McElravy headed a group to address quality, productivity and prove and Judy Rushing headed a group to address innovation and recognition. These groups combined when a process was identified that could address both issues. The process was designed for PSI Energy by Business Incentives and is an incentive-based quality improvement process that seeks employee involvement to identify inhibitors t performance and to establish a method to eliminate the problem. Performance goals were also established that help focus efforts to improve performance and reward employees for their efforts
Process improvement in healthcare: Overall resource efficiency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Mast, J.; Kemper, B.; Does, R.J.M.M.; Mandjes, M.; van der Bijl, Y.

2011-01-01

This paper aims to develop a unifying and quantitative conceptual framework for healthcare processes from the viewpoint of process improvement. The work adapts standard models from operation management to the specifics of healthcare processes. We propose concepts for organizational modeling of

Improving Accuracy of Processing Through Active Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. N. Barbashov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An important task of modern mathematical statistics with its methods based on the theory of probability is a scientific estimate of measurement results. There are certain costs under control, and under ineffective control when a customer has got defective products these costs are significantly higher because of parts recall.When machining the parts, under the influence of errors a range scatter of part dimensions is offset towards the tolerance limit. To improve a processing accuracy and avoid defective products involves reducing components of error in machining, i.e. to improve the accuracy of machine and tool, tool life, rigidity of the system, accuracy of the adjustment. In a given time it is also necessary to adapt machine.To improve an accuracy and a machining rate there, currently become extensively popular various the in-process gaging devices and controlled machining that uses adaptive control systems for the process monitoring. Improving the accuracy in this case is compensation of a majority of technological errors. The in-cycle measuring sensors (sensors of active control allow processing accuracy improvement by one or two quality and provide a capability for simultaneous operation of several machines.Efficient use of in-cycle measuring sensors requires development of methods to control the accuracy through providing the appropriate adjustments. Methods based on the moving average, appear to be the most promising for accuracy control since they include data on the change in some last measured values of the parameter under control.
Performance Results of CMMI-Based Process Improvement

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gibson, Diane L; Goldenson, Dennis R; Kost, Keith

2006-01-01

.... There now is evidence that process improvement using the CMMI Product Suite can result in improvements in schedule and cost performance, product quality, return on investment and other measures of performance outcome...
Performance improvement - business excellence processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doucett, J.

2010-01-01

This presentation discusses Performance Improvement which is defined as 'the process of identifying and analyzing important organizational and individual performance gaps, planning for future performance improvement, designing and developing cost-effective and ethically justifiable intervention to close performance gaps, implementing the interventions and evaluating the financial and non-financial results', i.e. making things better. Specifically, it discusses the refurbishment outage at the Point Lepreau Power Plant that began at the end of March 2008. The business risks identified in 2008 were leadership, demographics and management system.
Design of launch systems using continuous improvement process

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Richard W.

1995-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to identify a systematic process for improving ground operations for future launch systems. This approach is based on the Total Quality Management (TQM) continuous improvement process. While the continuous improvement process is normally identified with making incremental changes to an existing system, it can be used on new systems if they use past experience as a knowledge base. In the case of the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV), the Space Shuttle operations provide many lessons. The TQM methodology used for this paper will be borrowed from the United States Air Force 'Quality Air Force' Program. There is a general overview of the continuous improvement process, with concentration on the formulation phase. During this phase critical analyses are conducted to determine the strategy and goals for the remaining development process. These analyses include analyzing the mission from the customers point of view, developing an operations concept for the future, assessing current capabilities and determining the gap to be closed between current capabilities and future needs and requirements. A brief analyses of the RLV, relative to the Space Shuttle, will be used to illustrate the concept. Using the continuous improvement design concept has many advantages. These include a customer oriented process which will develop a more marketable product and a better integration of operations and systems during the design phase. But, the use of TQM techniques will require changes, including more discipline in the design process and more emphasis on data gathering for operational systems. The benefits will far outweigh the additional effort.
Effects of diurnal variations in temperature on non-accidental mortality among the elderly population of Montreal, Québec, 1984-2007.

Science.gov (United States)

Vutcovici, Maria; Goldberg, Mark S; Valois, Marie-France

2014-07-01

The association between ambient temperature and mortality has been studied extensively. Recent data suggest an independent role of diurnal temperature variations in increasing daily mortality. Elderly adults-a growing subgroup of the population in developed countries-may be more susceptible to the effects of temperature variations. The aim of this study was to determine whether variations in diurnal temperature were associated with daily non-accidental mortality among residents of Montreal, Québec, who were 65 years of age and over during the period between 1984 and 2007. We used distributed lag non-linear Poisson models constrained over a 30-day lag period, adjusted for temporal trends, mean daily temperature, and mean daily concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and ozone to estimate changes in daily mortality with diurnal temperature. We found, over the 30 day lag period, a cumulative increase in daily mortality of 5.12% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.02-10.49%] for a change from 5.9 °C to 11.1 °C (25th to 75th percentiles) in diurnal temperature, and a 11.27% (95%CI: 2.08-21.29%) increase in mortality associated with an increase of diurnal temperature from 11.1 to 17.5 °C (75th to 99th percentiles). The results were relatively robust to adjustment for daily mean temperature. We found that, in Montreal, diurnal variations in temperature are associated with a small increase in non-accidental mortality among the elderly population. More studies are needed in different geographical locations to confirm this effect.
INNOCUOUSNESS + KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT A CONTRIBUTION TO PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

OpenAIRE

García Pulido, Yadrián Arnaldo*1, Castillo Zúñiga, Victor Javier2, Medina León, Alberto3, Medina Nogueira, Daylín4, Mayorga Villamar, Carmen Manuela5

2017-01-01

The processes improvement is inherent to the business management. In the competitive current market, the businesses adaptation capacity is fundamental. The continuous improvement becomes into the reason of being of the companies, being adapted to the clients, being more efficient and winning in flexibility in the face of an extremely unstable economy. Several tools have been developed with the objective of improving the processes, however the integration of elements of other knowledge areas h...
Improved Manufacturing Process for Pyronaridine Tetraphosphate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dong Won; Lee, Seung Kyu; Cho, Jun Ho; Yoon, Seung Soo

2014-01-01

Pyronaridine tetraphosphate (1) is a well-known antimalarial drug. However, it required a carefully optimized production process for the manufacture of pyronaridine tetraphosphate. Each step of its manufacturing process was reinvestigated. For the cyclization of 4-chloro-2-(6-methoxy-pyridin-3-yl-amino)-benzoic acid 6 to 7,10-dichloro-2-methoxybenzo[b]-1,5-naphthyridine 5, an improved process was developed to eliminated critical process impurity (BIA). By the redesign of the formation of triphosphate salt, the purity as API grade was increased. Thus, a robust manufacturing process with an acceptable process performance has been developed to produce high quality pyronaridine tetraphosphate
Product focused process improvement in the embedded systems industry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Solingen, van D.M.; Derks, P.; Hirvensalo, J.; Kusters, R.J.; Cowderoy, A.; Heemstra, F.J.; Veenendaal, E.P.W.M.

1999-01-01

Software specific problems have been handled in the software community through focusing on the software process, and continuous improvement of that software process. However, the contribution of software process improvement (SPI) to product quality has not been proven yet. The PROFES project
SNF project engineering process improvement plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DESAI, S.P.

1999-01-01

This Engineering Process Improvement Plan documents the activities and plans to be taken by the SNF Project to support its engineering process and to produce a consolidated set of engineering procedures that are fully compliant with the requirements of HNF-PRO-1819. All new procedures will be issued and implemented by September 30, 1999
Performance improvement - business excellence processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doucett, J. [NB Nuclear Power, Point Lepreau, New Brunswick (Canada)

2010-07-01

This presentation discusses Performance Improvement which is defined as 'the process of identifying and analyzing important organizational and individual performance gaps, planning for future performance improvement, designing and developing cost-effective and ethically justifiable intervention to close performance gaps, implementing the interventions and evaluating the financial and non-financial results', i.e. making things better. Specifically, it discusses the refurbishment outage at the Point Lepreau Power Plant that began at the end of March 2008. The business risks identified in 2008 were leadership, demographics and management system.
Improving engineering performance by utilizing process indicators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roberts, T.E.

1992-01-01

The purpose of the work discussed in this paper was to develop engineering performance indicators used to facilitate improvement to the technical quality, cost-effectiveness, and delivery of engineering products and service. This work was specifically tailored for engineering support products and service associated with operating Florida Power and Light Company (FP and L) nuclear plants. The engineering process for the development of plant change packages was reviewed to identify critical in-process activities. Because each engineering project usually deals with a specific component or plant system, the different tasks are usually technically unique and of varying magnitudes. Although each engineering product may employ different analytical techniques or industry code requirements, several activities in documenting the engineering design process are generic. The quality of performance in these activities can be monitored analogously to the steps in a manufacturing process. This concept builds quality concepts into the package in lieu of inspecting package quality at the end of the process. The work has resulted in a valuable self-assessment tool that serves as a basis for engineering process improvements. The indicators are published in a semi-yearly performance report for FP and L contractors as well as FP and L in-house engineering work. Contracts have been set up to base fees on meeting targets established for the performance report. The ability to meet performance targets continues to improve
Efficacy of brief motivational interviewing to improve adherence to inhaled corticosteroids among adult asthmatics: results from a randomized controlled pilot feasibility trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lavoie KL

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Kim L Lavoie,1–3 Gregory Moullec,1,2,4 Catherine Lemiere,2 Lucie Blais,2 Manon Labrecque,2 Marie-France Beauchesne,2 Veronique Pepin,2,4 André Cartier,2 Simon L Bacon1,2,41Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, 2Research Centre, Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal – A University of Montreal Affiliated Hospital, Montréal, 3Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM, Succursale Center-Ville, Montreal, 4Department of Exercise Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaPurpose: Daily adherence to inhaled corticosteroid (ICS regimens is one of the most important factors linked to achieving optimal asthma control. Motivational interviewing (MI is a client-centered communication style that focuses on enhancing intrinsic motivation to engage in appropriate self-management behaviors. MI has been shown to improve a variety of health behaviors including medication adherence in other disorders, but its efficacy for the improvement of ICS adherence in asthmatics has yet to be examined. This pilot “proof of concept” trial assessed the feasibility of MI to improve daily ICS adherence and asthma control levels in adult asthmatics.Methods: Fifty-four poorly controlled (Asthma Control Questionnaire [ACQ] score ≥1.5, highly nonadherent (filled <50% of ICS medication in the last year adult asthmatics were recruited from the outpatient asthma clinic of a university-affiliated hospital. Participants underwent baseline assessments and were randomly assigned to MI (3×30 minutes sessions within a 6-week period, n=26 or a usual care (UC control group (n=28. ICS adherence (% pharmacy refills and asthma control (ACQ, Asthma Control Test [ACT] were measured at 6 and 12 months postintervention. Mixed model repeated measure analyses for both intent-to-treat and per-protocol were used. Results were adjusted for a priori-defined covariates including baseline adherence. Patients in the MI group also reported their impressions of
Ventilation equations for improved exothermic process control.

Science.gov (United States)

McKernan, John L; Ellenbecker, Michael J

2007-04-01

Exothermic or heated processes create potentially unsafe work environments for an estimated 5-10 million American workers each year. Excessive heat and process contaminants have the potential to cause acute health effects such as heat stroke, and chronic effects such as manganism in welders. Although millions of workers are exposed to exothermic processes, insufficient attention has been given to continuously improving engineering technologies for these processes to provide effective and efficient control. Currently there is no specific occupational standard established by OSHA regarding exposure to heat from exothermic processes, therefore it is important to investigate techniques that can mitigate known and potential adverse occupational health effects. The current understanding of engineering controls for exothermic processes is primarily based on a book chapter written by W. C. L. Hemeon in 1955. Improvements in heat transfer and meteorological theory necessary to design improved process controls have occurred since this time. The research presented involved a review of the physical properties, heat transfer and meteorological theories governing buoyant air flow created by exothermic processes. These properties and theories were used to identify parameters and develop equations required for the determination of buoyant volumetric flow to assist in improving ventilation controls. Goals of this research were to develop and describe a new (i.e. proposed) flow equation, and compare it to currently accepted ones by Hemeon and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). Numerical assessments were conducted to compare solutions from the proposed equations for plume area, mean velocity and flow to those from the ACGIH and Hemeon. Parameters were varied for the dependent variables and solutions from the proposed, ACGIH, and Hemeon equations for plume area, mean velocity and flow were analyzed using a randomized complete block statistical
SOFTWARE PROCESS ASSESSMENT AND IMPROVEMENT USING MULTICRITERIA DECISION AIDING - CONSTRUCTIVIST

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonardo Ensslin

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Software process improvement and software process assessment have received special attention since the 1980s. Some models have been created, but these models rest on a normative approach, where the decision-maker’s participation in a software organization is limited to understanding which process is more relevant to each organization. The proposal of this work is to present the MCDA-C as a constructivist methodology for software process improvement and assessment. The methodology makes it possible to visualize the criteria that must be taken into account according to the decision-makers’ values in the process improvement actions, making it possible to rank actions in the light of specific organizational needs. This process helped the manager of the company studied to focus on and prioritize process improvement actions. This paper offers an empirical understanding of the application of performance evaluation to software process improvement and identifies complementary tools to the normative models presented today.
The continuous improvement process and ergonomics in ultrasound department.

Science.gov (United States)

Coffin, Carolyn T

2013-01-01

Continuous improvement processes, such as Lean, Six Sigma and Quality Control Circles, have been implemented in the manufacturing industries in an effort to increase productivity, eliminate waste, and engage employees in problem solving. These processes can be adapted to the healthcare sector as medical facilities strive to improve the patient experience, increase financial returns, and improve worker safety and morale. In the ultrasound department, productivity can be improved and the quality of patient care can be ensured by standardizing exam protocols and decreasing work related musculoskeletal disorders among sonography professionals. This article summarizes the more commonly used continuous improvement processes and provides a description of how one method might be applied to the ultrasound department.
A Measurement Approach for Process Improvement | Woherem ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

engineering project. They do so through planned rearchitecting of their processes to engender higher magnitudes of improvements. However, in almost all the organisations undertaking process re-engineering, they do so blindly without any means ...
Process capability improvement through DMAIC for aluminum alloy wheel machining

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, G. V. S. S.; Rao, P. Srinivasa; Babu, B. Surendra

2017-07-01

This paper first enlists the generic problems of alloy wheel machining and subsequently details on the process improvement of the identified critical-to-quality machining characteristic of A356 aluminum alloy wheel machining process. The causal factors are traced using the Ishikawa diagram and prioritization of corrective actions is done through process failure modes and effects analysis. Process monitoring charts are employed for improving the process capability index of the process, at the industrial benchmark of four sigma level, which is equal to the value of 1.33. The procedure adopted for improving the process capability levels is the define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) approach. By following the DMAIC approach, the C p, C pk and C pm showed signs of improvement from an initial value of 0.66, -0.24 and 0.27, to a final value of 4.19, 3.24 and 1.41, respectively.
Process improvement as an investment: Measuring its worth

Science.gov (United States)

Mcgarry, Frank; Jeletic, Kellyann

1993-01-01

This paper discusses return on investment (ROI) generated from software process improvement programs. It details the steps needed to compute ROI and compares these steps from the perspective of two process improvement approaches: the widely known Software Engineering Institute's capability maturity model and the approach employed by NASA's Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL). The paper then describes the specific investments made in the SEL over the past 18 years and discusses the improvements gained from this investment by the production organization in the SEL.
Software process improvement, quality assurance and measurement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Trienekens, J.J.M.; Kusters, R.J.; Balla, K.; Kontogiannis, K.; Zou, Y.; Di Penta, M.

2006-01-01

The aim of this workshop was to present and discuss emergent software quality improvement approaches, with an emphasis on practical applications. Different views on the improvement of software processes, software products, and their interrelations, have been addressed during the workshop.
IMPROVE MACHINING PROCESS CAPABILITY BY USING SIX-SIGMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjit Ray

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Six-Sigma is an improvement strategy for achieving customer satisfaction by reducing variation and thus producing products and services better, faster and cheaper. This study presents a Six-Sigma project of an automotive plant illustrating how the DMAIC methodology and statistical techniques were applied to resolve the issue of manufacturing process capability. This project has substantially benefit ted the organization by reducing the variation of bore size of crank case, achieving zero rejection and improving the on time delivery. By using appropriate qualitative and quantitative tools in different phases of the DMAIC methodology, the critical output, key process inputs and root causes were identified, analyzed and validated. This project methodology can be used in general to reduce process variation for any other manufacturing processes as well, which will help in improving customer satisfaction.

Status of radiation processing in the Philippines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dela Rosa, A M [Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Diliman, Quezon City (Philippines)

2001-03-01

Radiation processing, one of the well established applications of radiation and radioisotopes, has been successfully integrated into the industrial development of many countries worldwide. Environmental considerations embodied in the Montreal Protocol, the need for energy conservation brought about by escalating costs of fossil fuels, and the bright prospect of utilizing indigenous materials for value-added products have catalyzed the rapid development of radiation processing in the Asia region. This paper presents an overview of current developments in research activities and commercial applications of radiation processing in the Philippines. The areas of application include radiation sterilization of medical products, food irradiation, radiation vulcanization of natural rubber latex, radiation modification of the marine polysaccharide, carrageenan, and upgrading of cellulosic agriwaste by irradiation. (author)
Status of radiation processing in the Philippines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dela Rosa, A.M.

2001-01-01

Radiation processing, one of the well established applications of radiation and radioisotopes, has been successfully integrated into the industrial development of many countries worldwide. Environmental considerations embodied in the Montreal Protocol, the need for energy conservation brought about by escalating costs of fossil fuels, and the bright prospect of utilizing indigenous materials for value-added products have catalyzed the rapid development of radiation processing in the Asia region. This paper presents an overview of current developments in research activities and commercial applications of radiation processing in the Philippines. The areas of application include radiation sterilization of medical products, food irradiation, radiation vulcanization of natural rubber latex, radiation modification of the marine polysaccharide, carrageenan, and upgrading of cellulosic agriwaste by irradiation. (author)
A Typology of Continuous Improvement Implementation Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rijnders, Sander; Boer, Harry

2004-01-01

This article presents a typology of continuous improvement (CI) implementation processes. The typology is based on an empirical study of 26 companies engaged in the implementation of CI. The data underpinning the typology was collected through retrospective interviews guided by a semi-structured ......This article presents a typology of continuous improvement (CI) implementation processes. The typology is based on an empirical study of 26 companies engaged in the implementation of CI. The data underpinning the typology was collected through retrospective interviews guided by a semi...
The use of process mapping in healthcare quality improvement projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Antonacci, Grazia; Reed, Julie E; Lennox, Laura; Barlow, James

2018-05-01

Introduction Process mapping provides insight into systems and processes in which improvement interventions are introduced and is seen as useful in healthcare quality improvement projects. There is little empirical evidence on the use of process mapping in healthcare practice. This study advances understanding of the benefits and success factors of process mapping within quality improvement projects. Methods Eight quality improvement projects were purposively selected from different healthcare settings within the UK's National Health Service. Data were gathered from multiple data-sources, including interviews exploring participants' experience of using process mapping in their projects and perceptions of benefits and challenges related to its use. These were analysed using inductive analysis. Results Eight key benefits related to process mapping use were reported by participants (gathering a shared understanding of the reality; identifying improvement opportunities; engaging stakeholders in the project; defining project's objectives; monitoring project progress; learning; increased empathy; simplicity of the method) and five factors related to successful process mapping exercises (simple and appropriate visual representation, information gathered from multiple stakeholders, facilitator's experience and soft skills, basic training, iterative use of process mapping throughout the project). Conclusions Findings highlight benefits and versatility of process mapping and provide practical suggestions to improve its use in practice.
A Mixed-Methods Research Framework for Healthcare Process Improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Bastian, Nathaniel D; Munoz, David; Ventura, Marta

2016-01-01

The healthcare system in the United States is spiraling out of control due to ever-increasing costs without significant improvements in quality, access to care, satisfaction, and efficiency. Efficient workflow is paramount to improving healthcare value while maintaining the utmost standards of patient care and provider satisfaction in high stress environments. This article provides healthcare managers and quality engineers with a practical healthcare process improvement framework to assess, measure and improve clinical workflow processes. The proposed mixed-methods research framework integrates qualitative and quantitative tools to foster the improvement of processes and workflow in a systematic way. The framework consists of three distinct phases: 1) stakeholder analysis, 2a) survey design, 2b) time-motion study, and 3) process improvement. The proposed framework is applied to the pediatric intensive care unit of the Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. The implementation of this methodology led to identification and categorization of different workflow tasks and activities into both value-added and non-value added in an effort to provide more valuable and higher quality patient care. Based upon the lessons learned from the case study, the three-phase methodology provides a better, broader, leaner, and holistic assessment of clinical workflow. The proposed framework can be implemented in various healthcare settings to support continuous improvement efforts in which complexity is a daily element that impacts workflow. We proffer a general methodology for process improvement in a healthcare setting, providing decision makers and stakeholders with a useful framework to help their organizations improve efficiency. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Improving operational anodising process performance using simulation approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liong, Choong-Yeun; Ghazali, Syarah Syahidah

2015-01-01

The use of aluminium is very widespread, especially in transportation, electrical and electronics, architectural, automotive and engineering applications sectors. Therefore, the anodizing process is an important process for aluminium in order to make the aluminium durable, attractive and weather resistant. This research is focused on the anodizing process operations in manufacturing and supplying of aluminium extrusion. The data required for the development of the model is collected from the observations and interviews conducted in the study. To study the current system, the processes involved in the anodizing process are modeled by using Arena 14.5 simulation software. Those processes consist of five main processes, namely the degreasing process, the etching process, the desmut process, the anodizing process, the sealing process and 16 other processes. The results obtained were analyzed to identify the problems or bottlenecks that occurred and to propose improvement methods that can be implemented on the original model. Based on the comparisons that have been done between the improvement methods, the productivity could be increased by reallocating the workers and reducing loading time
Improving operational anodising process performance using simulation approach

Science.gov (United States)

Liong, Choong-Yeun; Ghazali, Syarah Syahidah

2015-10-01

The use of aluminium is very widespread, especially in transportation, electrical and electronics, architectural, automotive and engineering applications sectors. Therefore, the anodizing process is an important process for aluminium in order to make the aluminium durable, attractive and weather resistant. This research is focused on the anodizing process operations in manufacturing and supplying of aluminium extrusion. The data required for the development of the model is collected from the observations and interviews conducted in the study. To study the current system, the processes involved in the anodizing process are modeled by using Arena 14.5 simulation software. Those processes consist of five main processes, namely the degreasing process, the etching process, the desmut process, the anodizing process, the sealing process and 16 other processes. The results obtained were analyzed to identify the problems or bottlenecks that occurred and to propose improvement methods that can be implemented on the original model. Based on the comparisons that have been done between the improvement methods, the productivity could be increased by reallocating the workers and reducing loading time.
Improving operational anodising process performance using simulation approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liong, Choong-Yeun, E-mail: lg@ukm.edu.my; Ghazali, Syarah Syahidah, E-mail: syarah@gapps.kptm.edu.my [School of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor DE (Malaysia)

2015-10-22

The use of aluminium is very widespread, especially in transportation, electrical and electronics, architectural, automotive and engineering applications sectors. Therefore, the anodizing process is an important process for aluminium in order to make the aluminium durable, attractive and weather resistant. This research is focused on the anodizing process operations in manufacturing and supplying of aluminium extrusion. The data required for the development of the model is collected from the observations and interviews conducted in the study. To study the current system, the processes involved in the anodizing process are modeled by using Arena 14.5 simulation software. Those processes consist of five main processes, namely the degreasing process, the etching process, the desmut process, the anodizing process, the sealing process and 16 other processes. The results obtained were analyzed to identify the problems or bottlenecks that occurred and to propose improvement methods that can be implemented on the original model. Based on the comparisons that have been done between the improvement methods, the productivity could be increased by reallocating the workers and reducing loading time.
Optimization and Improvement of Test Processes on a Production Line

Science.gov (United States)

Sujová, Erika; Čierna, Helena

2018-06-01

The paper deals with increasing processes efficiency at a production line of cylinder heads of engines in a production company operating in the automotive industry. The goal is to achieve improvement and optimization of test processes on a production line. It analyzes options for improving capacity, availability and productivity of processes of an output test by using modern technology available on the market. We have focused on analysis of operation times before and after optimization of test processes at specific production sections. By analyzing measured results we have determined differences in time before and after improvement of the process. We have determined a coefficient of efficiency OEE and by comparing outputs we have confirmed real improvement of the process of the output test of cylinder heads.
The Akzo-Fina cold flow improvement process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Free, H.W.H.; Schockaert, T.; Sonnemans, J.W.M. (Akzo Chemicals B.V., Amersfoort (Netherlands). Hydroprocessing Catalysts)

1993-09-01

The Akzo-Fina CFI process is a very flexible process in which improvement of cold flow properties, desulfurization and hydroconversion are achieved. One of the main characteristics is the dewaxing obtained by the selective hydrocracking of normal paraffins combined with hydro-desulfurization and hydroconversion. Since its introduction in 1988, five licenses have been sold. The units currently run for heavy gasoil upgrading show an excellent performance and reach pour point improvements of over 50[degree]C, long cycle lengths and product sulfur levels well below 0.05 wt%. 2 figs., 2 tabs.
Screening of cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease: diagnostic validity of the Brazilian versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised

OpenAIRE

Emmanuelle Sobreira; Márcio A. Pena-Pereira; Alan L. Eckeli; Manoel A. Sobreira-Neto; Marcos H. N. Chagas; Maria P. Foss; Brenna Cholerton; Cyrus P. Zabetian; Ignacio F. Mata; Vitor Tumas

2015-01-01

ABSTRACTObjective The aim of the present study is to examine the accuracy of the Brazilian versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) to screen for mild cognitive impairment (PDMCI) and dementia (PDD) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).Method Both scales were administered to a final convenience sample of 79 patients with PD. Patients were evaluated by a neurologist, a psychiatrist and a neuropsychologist using UPDRS,...
An integrated approach for prioritized process improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanteddu, Gangaraju; McAllister, Charles D

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to propose an integrated framework to simultaneously identify and improve healthcare processes that are important from the healthcare provider's and patient's perspectives. A modified quality function deployment (QFD) chart is introduced to the field of healthcare quality assurance. A healthcare service example is used to demonstrate the utility of the proposed chart. The proposed framework is versatile and can be used in a wide variety of healthcare quality improvement contexts, wherein, two different perspectives are needed to be considered for identifying and improving critical healthcare processes. The modified QFD chart used in conjunction with the stacked Pareto chart will facilitate the identification of key performance metrics from the patient's and the hospital's perspectives. Subsequently, the chief contributory factors at different levels are identified in a very efficient manner. Healthcare quality improvement professionals will be able to use the proposed modified QFD chart in association with stacked Pareto chart for effective quality assurance.
A new day for CME/CPD in Canada: proceedings from the 1st Canada Regional Conference of the Global Alliance for Medical Education in Montreal, Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suzanne Murray

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The Global Alliance for Medical Education (GAME is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995, with the aim of advancing innovation in medical education. The 1st GAME Canada regional conference was held in Montreal on May 22, 2015, under the leadership of Suzanne Murray, who acted as programme chair, and GAME president Lisa Sullivan. The conference brought together a broad array of speakers and panellists, including experts from academic centres, health systems, accreditors, private organizations, and industry. Thirty-one key stakeholders participated in the event, demonstrating a strong commitment towards the improvement of best practice in continuing medical education (CME/continuing professional development (CPD. The conference included diverse presentations providing opportunities for reflection and discussion throughout the day. The participants actively took part in stimulating discussions that covered a large range of topics, including the need for enhanced networking and opportunities to learn from others, the challenges of assessment and the potential solutions, interprofessional education and competencies, and, finally, the future of a Canadian CME/CPD organization.
Software Process Improvement Using Force Field Analysis ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An improvement plan is then drawn and implemented. This paper studied the state of Nigerian software development organizations based on selected attributes. Force field analysis is used to partition the factors obtained into driving and restraining forces. An attempt was made to improve the software development process ...
Improving the medical records department processes by lean management.

Science.gov (United States)

Ajami, Sima; Ketabi, Saeedeh; Sadeghian, Akram; Saghaeinnejad-Isfahani, Sakine

2015-01-01

Lean management is a process improvement technique to identify waste actions and processes to eliminate them. The benefits of Lean for healthcare organizations are that first, the quality of the outcomes in terms of mistakes and errors improves. The second is that the amount of time taken through the whole process significantly improves. The purpose of this paper is to improve the Medical Records Department (MRD) processes at Ayatolah-Kashani Hospital in Isfahan, Iran by utilizing Lean management. This research was applied and an interventional study. The data have been collected by brainstorming, observation, interview, and workflow review. The study population included MRD staff and other expert staff within the hospital who were stakeholders and users of the MRD. The MRD were initially taught the concepts of Lean management and then formed into the MRD Lean team. The team then identified and reviewed the current processes subsequently; they identified wastes and values, and proposed solutions. The findings showed that the MRD units (Archive, Coding, Statistics, and Admission) had 17 current processes, 28 wastes, and 11 values were identified. In addition, they offered 27 comments for eliminating the wastes. The MRD is the critical department for the hospital information system and, therefore, the continuous improvement of its services and processes, through scientific methods such as Lean management, are essential. The study represents one of the few attempts trying to eliminate wastes in the MRD.
Learning and improvement in product innovation processes: Enabling behaviors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gieskes, J.F.B.; Langenberg, Ilse

2001-01-01

Product Innovation is described as a continuous and cross-functional process involving all stages in the product life cycle. This approach gives way to study product innovation processes from a continuous improvement and learning viewpoint. The Continuous Improvement in the global product MAnagement
Development and Processing Improvement of Aerospace Aluminum Alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Lisagor, W. Barry; Bales, Thomas T.

2007-01-01

This final report, in multiple presentation format, describes a comprehensive multi-tasked contract study to improve the overall property response of selected aerospace alloys, explore further a newly-developed and registered alloy, and correlate the processing, metallurgical structure, and subsequent properties achieved with particular emphasis on the crystallographic orientation texture developed. Modifications to plate processing, specifically hot rolling practices, were evaluated for Al-Li alloys 2195 and 2297, for the recently registered Al-Cu-Ag alloy, 2139, and for the Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy, 7050. For all of the alloys evaluated, the processing modifications resulted in significant improvements in mechanical properties. Analyses also resulted in an enhanced understanding of the correlation of processing, crystallographic texture, and mechanical properties.
Collaborative process improvement with examples from the software world

CERN Document Server

Yeakley, C

2007-01-01

Collaborative Process Improvement specifically addresses software companies that are interested in addressing quality in human terms. Using Collaborative Process Improvement techniques builds effective processes to deliver quality products; it helps readers relate to what quality means to the end-user and provides the essential tools and methods to integrate the face of the customer into the organization's day-to-day processes. It comes complete with real-world examples that are practical and unders andable to professionals in every role of a company.
Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia: Validity evidence and norms for adolescents in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marília Nunes-Silva

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA is a battery of tests that assesses six music processing components: scale, contour, interval, rhythm, metric, and music memory. The present study sought to verify the psychometric characteristics of the MBEA in a sample of 150 adolescents aged 14-18 years in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and to develop specific norms for this population. We used statistical procedures that explored the dimensional structure of the MBEA and its items, evaluating their adequacy from empirical data, verifying their reliability, and providing evidence of validity. The results for the difficult levels for each test indicated a trend toward higher scores, corroborating previous studies. From the analysis of the criterion groups, almost all of the items were considered discriminatory. The global score of the MBEA was shown to be valid and reliable (r K-R20=0.896 for assessing the musical ability of normal teenagers. Based on the analysis of the items, we proposed a short version of the MBEA. Further studies with larger samples and amusic individuals are necessary to provide evidence of the validity of the MBEA in the Brazilian milieu. The present study brings to the Brazilian context a tool for diagnosing deficits in musical skills and will serve as a basis for comparisons with single case studies and studies of populations with specific neuropsychological syndromes.
Design of production process main shaft process with lean manufacturing to improve productivity

Science.gov (United States)

Siregar, I.; Nasution, A. A.; Andayani, U.; Anizar; Syahputri, K.

2018-02-01

This object research is one of manufacturing companies that produce oil palm machinery parts. In the production process there is delay in the completion of the Main shaft order. Delays in the completion of the order indicate the low productivity of the company in terms of resource utilization. This study aimed to obtain a draft improvement of production processes that can improve productivity by identifying and eliminating activities that do not add value (non-value added activity). One approach that can be used to reduce and eliminate non-value added activity is Lean Manufacturing. This study focuses on the identification of non-value added activity with value stream mapping analysis tools, while the elimination of non-value added activity is done with tools 5 whys and implementation of pull demand system. Based on the research known that non-value added activity on the production process of the main shaft is 9,509.51 minutes of total lead time 10,804.59 minutes. This shows the level of efficiency (Process Cycle Efficiency) in the production process of the main shaft is still very low by 11.89%. Estimation results of improvement showed a decrease in total lead time became 4,355.08 minutes and greater process cycle efficiency that is equal to 29.73%, which indicates that the process was nearing the concept of lean production.

Emergy Evaluation of Dwelling Operation in Five Housing Units of Montreal Island, Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Enrique Vega-Azamar

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Sustainability of cities and the environmental implications of high resource utilization by the domestic sector are growing concerns related to urban regions. Well-informed urban planning decision-making is an essential tool to help in the task and, for that, an important point to consider is the influence of parameters like residential density and housing typology on the intensity of resource utilization. Emergy synthesis, a life-cycle energy analysis methodological approach that considers the interaction of natural and human-made flows, was used to evaluate the environmental support for dwelling operational stage in five typical present-day housing units on the island of Montreal. As expected, resource utilization, measured as total emergy used, was positively correlated to housing unit size both with respect to number of occupants and dwelling size. Results suggest that variables affecting notably the intensity of resource utilization are per household income and per dweller habitable space and, while a higher income increased per capita emergy in all cases, increasing space availability per resident did not result in a decrease of empower density after 50 m2/person. Future work should consider lower and higher densities and analyses at the scale of blocks, neighborhoods and urban planning zones.
Increased Arctic Deposition of Persistent Compounds as a Result of the Montreal Protocol

Science.gov (United States)

Young, C.; Pickard, H. M.; De Silva, A. O.; Spencer, C.; Criscitiello, A. S.; Muir, D.; Sharp, M. J.

2017-12-01

Perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) are among the diverse groups of compounds characterized as persistent organic pollutants. They are toxic, resistant to environmental degradation, and adversely impact human and environmental health. PFCAs with four or fewer carbons, short-chain PFCAs (scPFCAs), are of particular interest because of their increasing levels in the environment, toxicity to plants, and potential for accumulation in some aquatic ecosystems, making them an emerging environmental concern. A minor source of scPFCAs to the Arctic has been shown to be atmospheric transformation of fluoropolymer precursors, followed by deposition. Additional potential sources of scPFCAs to the Arctic are chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-replacement compounds. Through analysis of an ice core from the Canadian High Arctic, we show that Montreal Protocol-mandated introduction of CFC-replacement compounds for the heat-transfer industry has led to increasing inputs of these scPFCAs to the remote environment. Flux measurements for scPFCAs as a class of contaminants have only been reported in a couple studies to date. Here, we provide the first multi-decadal temporal record of scPFCA deposition, demonstrating a dramatic increase in deposition resulting from emission of CFC-replacements. These results bring to the forefront a need for a holistic approach to environmental risk assessment that considers impacts of replacement substances and degradation products.
SCREENING FOR POSTSTROKE COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT VIA MINI MENTAL STATE EXAMINATION AND MONTREAL COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT SCALE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirena Valkova

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of our study is to examine cognitive performance after mild stroke via Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE and Montreal cognitive assessment scale (MoCA and to compare the results.Material and methods: We examined 54 patients with mild stroke (aged 52 to 72 (mean 63.17, SD 5.96; 34 males and 20 females and 54 controls, adjusted by age, sex and education level. All subjects were tested via MMSE (Bulgarian version and MoCa (Bulgarian version. Data was collected in the single step model at the 90th day after stroke incident for patients and at the day of obtaining informed consent for controls. Results: Patients have poorer performance on both MMSE and MoCa than controls. MoCa has comparatively good discriminative validity and sensitivity.Conclusions: Although MMSE is one of the classical screening tools for cognitive impairment widely used in Bulgaria, other screening tools should not be ignored. On the basis of our results, MoCa is also a good screening instrument, especially for poststroke cognitive impairment.
Improved liquid waste processing system of PWR plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suehiro, Kazuyasu

1977-01-01

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. has engaged in the improvement and enhancement of waste-processing facilities for PWR power stations, and recently established the improved processing system. With this system, it becomes possible to contain radioactive waste gas semi-permanently within plants and to recycle waste liquid after the treatment, thus to make the release of radioactive wastes practically zero. The improved system has the following features, namely the recycling system is adopted, drain is separated and each separated drain is treated by specialized process, the reboiler type evaporator and the reverse osmosis equipment are used, and the leakless construction is adopted for the equipments. The radioactive liquid wastes in PWR power stations are classified into coolant drain, drain from general equipments, chemical drain and cleaning water. The outline of the improved processing system and the newly developed equipments such as the reboiler type evaporator and the reverse osmosis equipment are explained. With the evaporator, the concentration rate of waste liquid can be raised to about three times, and foaming waste can be treated efficiently. The decontamination performance is excellent. The reverse osmosis treatment is stable and reliable method, and is useful for the treatment of cleaning water. It is also effective for concentrating treatment. The unmanned automatic operation is possible. (Kako, I.)
On-line optimal control improves gas processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berkowitz, P.N.; Papadopoulos, M.N.

1992-01-01

This paper reports that the authors' companies jointly funded the first phase of a gas processing liquids optimization project that has the specific purposes to: Improve the return of processing natural gas liquids, Develop sets of control algorithms, Make available a low-cost solution suitable for small to medium-sized gas processing plants, Test and demonstrate the feasibility of line control. The ARCO Willard CO 2 gas recovery processing plant was chosen as the initial test site to demonstrate the application of multivariable on-line optimal control. One objective of this project is to support an R ampersand D effort to provide a standardized solution to the various types of gas processing plants in the U.S. Processes involved in these gas plants include cryogenic separations, demethanization, lean oil absorption, fractionation and gas treating. Next, the proposed solutions had to be simple yet comprehensive enough to allow an operator to maintain product specifications while operating over a wide range of gas input flow and composition. This had to be a supervisors system that remained on-line more than 95% of the time, and achieved reduced plant operating variability and improved variable cost control. It took more than a year to study various gas processes and to develop a control approach before a real application was finally exercised. An initial process for C 2 and CO 2 recoveries was chosen
Evaluating Fidelity to a Modified NIATx Process Improvement Strategy for Improving HIV Services in Correctional Facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Pankow, Jennifer; Willett, Jennifer; Yang, Yang; Swan, Holly; Dembo, Richard; Burdon, William M; Patterson, Yvonne; Pearson, Frank S; Belenko, Steven; Frisman, Linda K

2018-04-01

In a study aimed at improving the quality of HIV services for inmates, an organizational process improvement strategy using change teams was tested in 14 correctional facilities in 8 US states and Puerto Rico. Data to examine fidelity to the process improvement strategy consisted of quantitative ratings of the structural and process components of the strategy and qualitative notes that explicate challenges in maintaining fidelity to the strategy. Fidelity challenges included (1) lack of communication and leadership within change teams, (2) instability in team membership, and (3) issues with data utilization in decision-making to implement improvements to services delivery.
The phase-in and phase-out of European emissions of HCFC-141b and HCFC-142b under the Montreal Protocol: Evidence from observations at Mace Head, Ireland and Jungfraujoch, Switzerland from 1994 to 2004

Science.gov (United States)

Derwent, R. G.; Simmonds, P. G.; Greally, B. R.; O'doherty, S.; McCulloch, A.; Manning, A.; Reimann, S.; Folini, D.; Vollmer, M. K.

The mixing ratios of HCFC-141b (1,1-dichlorofluoroethane) and HCFC-142b (1-chloro-1,1-difluoroethane) have been rising steadily in baseline air at Mace Head, Ireland over the 10-year period from 1994 to 2004. These HCFCs are widely used replacements for the chlorofluorocarbons phased out under the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent amendments. Analysis of the HCFC content of regionally-polluted air arriving at Mace Head from the European continent shows that European emissions reached a peak during 2000-2001 and have declined subsequently, following the phase-out in their usage. European emissions of HCFC-141b have been further constrained by observations at the High-Alpine Jungfraujoch site. The reductions are consistent with the phase-out of HCFC production and use from the year 2001 onwards mandated by European regulations designed to exceed the requirements of the Montreal Protocol.
Improving Creativity in Collaborative Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Chunfang; Purushothaman, Aparna

2015-01-01

types of knowledge. (3) These points drive this paper to develop a knowledge creation model by discussing how CoP can be used to improve creativity in collaborative processes in organizational learning contexts. The point of departure for the learning model is the learning framework proposed......This paper aims to build a theoretical framework by a literature review that is focusing on how a learning model based on Communities of Practice (CoP) can be useful in collaborative processes in organizational learning contexts. In the light of social approach to learning theories and knowledge...... management, this paper firstly will discuss: (1) learning as a process involving knowledge conversations between different types of knowledge such as tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge, individual knowledge and collective knowledge, and (2) creativity as a driver to the conversations between the different...
Improving Reliability of a Residency Interview Process

Science.gov (United States)

Serres, Michelle L.; Gundrum, Todd E.

2013-01-01

Objective. To improve the reliability and discrimination of a pharmacy resident interview evaluation form, and thereby improve the reliability of the interview process. Methods. In phase 1 of the study, authors used a Many-Facet Rasch Measurement model to optimize an existing evaluation form for reliability and discrimination. In phase 2, interviewer pairs used the modified evaluation form within 4 separate interview stations. In phase 3, 8 interviewers individually-evaluated each candidate in one-on-one interviews. Results. In phase 1, the evaluation form had a reliability of 0.98 with person separation of 6.56; reproducibly, the form separated applicants into 6 distinct groups. Using that form in phase 2 and 3, our largest variation source was candidates, while content specificity was the next largest variation source. The phase 2 g-coefficient was 0.787, while confirmatory phase 3 was 0.922. Process reliability improved with more stations despite fewer interviewers per station—impact of content specificity was greatly reduced with more interview stations. Conclusion. A more reliable, discriminating evaluation form was developed to evaluate candidates during resident interviews, and a process was designed that reduced the impact from content specificity. PMID:24159209
Improving reliability of a residency interview process.

Science.gov (United States)

Peeters, Michael J; Serres, Michelle L; Gundrum, Todd E

2013-10-14

To improve the reliability and discrimination of a pharmacy resident interview evaluation form, and thereby improve the reliability of the interview process. In phase 1 of the study, authors used a Many-Facet Rasch Measurement model to optimize an existing evaluation form for reliability and discrimination. In phase 2, interviewer pairs used the modified evaluation form within 4 separate interview stations. In phase 3, 8 interviewers individually-evaluated each candidate in one-on-one interviews. In phase 1, the evaluation form had a reliability of 0.98 with person separation of 6.56; reproducibly, the form separated applicants into 6 distinct groups. Using that form in phase 2 and 3, our largest variation source was candidates, while content specificity was the next largest variation source. The phase 2 g-coefficient was 0.787, while confirmatory phase 3 was 0.922. Process reliability improved with more stations despite fewer interviewers per station-impact of content specificity was greatly reduced with more interview stations. A more reliable, discriminating evaluation form was developed to evaluate candidates during resident interviews, and a process was designed that reduced the impact from content specificity.
Managing Cultural Variation in Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kræmmergaard, Pernille; Müller, Sune Dueholm; Mathiassen, Lars

The scale and complexity of change in software process improvement (SPI) are considerable and managerial attention to organizational culture during SPI can therefore potentially contribute to successful outcomes. However, we know little about the impact of variations in organizational subculture ...... organizations can have important implications for SPI outcomes. Furthermore, it provides insights into how software managers can practically assess subcultures to inform decisions about and help prepare plans for SPI initiatives.......The scale and complexity of change in software process improvement (SPI) are considerable and managerial attention to organizational culture during SPI can therefore potentially contribute to successful outcomes. However, we know little about the impact of variations in organizational subculture...
Process Improvement: An Application in Special Steel Production Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tansu TÜRKAN

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Customer requests are increasingly varied with the changing of the living conditions and developing technology. In this point, customers want to be met the demands which are good quality and suitable price quickly. The trend in today’s global competitive environment is to provide high quality, reasonably priced products and respond in the required time to customer demands. In this point, organizations should review their processes continuously and improve them. In this study begin with the general information about concept of process, process management and process improvement techniques. This paper continuous with an application in a steel production company which supplies product to the customers in the automotive industry that working with just in time philosophy. In this study different techniques for process improvement (Kaizen, Cause and Effect Diagram, Poka-Yoke, 8D, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis were used in combination.
IMPROVED PROCESS OF PLUTONIUM CARRIER PRECIPITATION

Science.gov (United States)

Faris, B.F.

1959-06-30

This patent relates to an improvement in the bismuth phosphate process for separating and recovering plutonium from neutron irradiated uranium, resulting in improved decontamination even without the use of scavenging precipitates in the by-product precipitation step and subsequently more complete recovery of the plutonium in the product precipitation step. This improvement is achieved by addition of fluomolybdic acid, or a water soluble fluomolybdate, such as the ammonium, sodium, or potassium salt thereof, to the aqueous nitric acid solution containing tetravalent plutonium ions and contaminating fission products, so as to establish a fluomolybdate ion concentration of about 0.05 M. The solution is then treated to form the bismuth phosphate plutonium carrying precipitate.
Process Improvement in a Radically Changing Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Varga, Denise M.; Wilson, Barbara M.

2007-01-01

This presentation describes how the NASA Glenn Research Center planned and implemented a process improvement effort in response to a radically changing environment. As a result of a presidential decision to redefine the Agency's mission, many ongoing projects were canceled and future workload would be awarded based on relevance to the Exploration Initiative. NASA imposed a new Procedural Requirements standard on all future software development, and the Center needed to redesign its processes from CMM Level 2 objectives to meet the new standard and position itself for CMMI. The intended audience for this presentation is systems/software developers and managers in a large, research-oriented organization that may need to respond to imposed standards while also pursuing CMMI Maturity Level goals. A set of internally developed tools will be presented, including an overall Process Improvement Action Item database, a formal inspection/peer review tool, metrics collection spreadsheet, and other related technologies. The Center also found a need to charter Technical Working Groups (TWGs) to address particular Process Areas. In addition, a Marketing TWG was needed to communicate the process changes to the development community, including an innovative web site portal.
Positive affect improves working memory: implications for controlled cognitive processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hwajin; Yang, Sujin; Isen, Alice M

2013-01-01

This study examined the effects of positive affect on working memory (WM) and short-term memory (STM). Given that WM involves both storage and controlled processing and that STM primarily involves storage processing, we hypothesised that if positive affect facilitates controlled processing, it should improve WM more than STM. The results demonstrated that positive affect, compared with neutral affect, significantly enhanced WM, as measured by the operation span task. The influence of positive affect on STM, however, was weaker. These results suggest that positive affect enhances WM, a task that involves controlled processing, not just storage processing. Additional analyses of recall and processing times and accuracy further suggest that improved WM under positive affect is not attributable to motivational differences, but results instead from improved controlled cognitive processing.
Adoption of improved oil palm processing technology in Umuahia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

It was found that a large percentage of the respondents were aware of the 5 improved oil palm processing technologies with friends and relatives as major source of information. Adoption was significant for 3 out of 5 technologies under study. The major constraints to improved oil palm processing technologies were high ...
Evaluation of economic efficiency of process improvement in food packaging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jana Hron

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In general, we make gains in process by the three fundamental ways. First, we define or redefine our process in a strategic sense. Second, once defined or redefined, we commence process operations and use process control methods to target and stabilize our process. Third, we use process improvement methods, as described in this paper, along with process control to fully exploit our process management and/or technology. Process improvement is focused primarily in our subprocesses and sub-subprocesses. Process leverage is the key to process improvement initiatives. This means that small improvements of the basic manufacturing operations can have (with the assumption of mass repetition of the operation a big impact on the functioning of the whole production unit. The complexity within even small organizations, in people, products, and processes, creates significant challenges in effectively and efficiently using these initiatives tools. In this paper we are going to place process purposes in the foreground and initiatives and tools in the background as facilitator to help accomplish process purpose. Initiatives and tools are not the ends we are seeking; result/outcomes in physical, economics, timeliness, and customer service performance matter. In the paper process boundaries (in a generic sense are set by our process purpose and our process definition. Process improvement is initiated within our existing process boundaries. For example, in a fast-food restaurant, if we define our cooking process around a frying technology, then we provide process improvements within our frying technology. On the other hand, if we are considering changing to a broiling technology, then we are likely faced with extensive change, impacting our external customers, and a process redefinition may be required. The result / aim of the paper are based on the example of the process improving of a food packaging quality. Specifically, the integration of two approaches
[The Assistance maternelle de Montreal (1912-1961). An example of marginalization of philanthropic active women in the field of care for pregnants (French)].

Science.gov (United States)

Baillargeon, D

1999-01-01

This article examines the story of the Assistance maternelle de Montreal, an organization founded in 1912 by a group of bourgeois catholic women to provide material assistance and free medical services to poor pregnant mothers of the city. I want to show that even if the timid intervention of the Quebec state allowed the AM to survive during the almost 50 years, the rise of the experts in the health field--a phenomenon to which the AM has largely contributed--and in the philanthropic sector led to the marginalization of the female volunteers within the very institution they had created.
Accessibility to health care facilities in Montreal Island: an application of relative accessibility indicators from the perspective of senior and non-senior residents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morency Catherine

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Geographical access to health care facilities is known to influence health services usage. As societies age, accessibility to health care becomes an increasingly acute public health concern. It is known that seniors tend to have lower mobility levels, and it is possible that this may negatively affect their ability to reach facilities and services. Therefore, it becomes important to examine the mobility situation of seniors vis-a-vis the spatial distribution of health care facilities, to identify areas where accessibility is low and interventions may be required. Methods Accessibility is implemented using a cumulative opportunities measure. Instead of assuming a fixed bandwidth (i.e. a distance threshold for measuring accessibility, in this paper the bandwidth is defined using model-based estimates of average trip length. Average trip length is an all-purpose indicator of individual mobility and geographical reach. Adoption of a spatial modelling approach allows us to tailor these estimates of travel behaviour to specific locations and person profiles. Replacing a fixed bandwidth with these estimates permits us to calculate customized location- and person-based accessibility measures that allow inter-personal as well as geographical comparisons. Data The case study is Montreal Island. Geo-coded travel behaviour data, specifically average trip length, and relevant traveller's attributes are obtained from the Montreal Household Travel Survey. These data are complemented with information from the Census. Health care facilities, also geo-coded, are extracted from a comprehensive business point database. Health care facilities are selected based on Standard Industrial Classification codes 8011-21 (Medical Doctors and Dentists. Results Model-based estimates of average trip length show that travel behaviour varies widely across space. With the exception of seniors in the downtown area, older residents of Montreal Island tend to be
Case Study Regarding the Interests and Leisure Practices of Persons Aged 50 and over in Saint-Léonard, Suburb of Montreal: Seniors Vs. Baby Boomers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roult Romain

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Several studies have shown that leisure contributes to improving seniors’ quality of life. However, some of this research has also highlighted the fact that there are marked physical, socioeconomic, and cultural disparities in this population. Material and methods. To this end, this article presents the results of a survey conducted in 2015 in Montreal with 464 respondents aged 50 and over regarding their interests and leisure practices. Results. This study highlights the importance that persons in this age group give to physical and outdoor recreation as well as free and outdoor activities. However, this study has also confirmed that there exist, regarding the problem of leisure, more or less significant differences among seniors and baby boomers which need to be taken into account by local actors. Conclusions. The results obtained and the correlated analyses clearly indicate that the senior population is not homogeneous with respect to their practices and their leisure needs. This analytical finding confirms that leisure and community services must be planned, programmed, and promoted taking into account these generational differences, as well as physical, socioeconomic, and cultural differences.

A lean six sigma approach to improve municipal service processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Engelbert Zefaj

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This research aims to identify the current state of process management for municipal subsidies and is proposing to improve the process by reducing motion, deadlines and excessive actions and to eliminate duplication of processes and overproduction. Time spent and process effi ciency is the subject tackled in this research. Several areas of action that affect the overall process as departments, regulations, time, experts, movements, materials and procedures have been explored. Lean six sigma/DMAIC model is used as an adequate mechanism for the implementation of this project which aims to improve the quality of service. The result of the research is not limited to only one specific process, the applied model in this study can be used to improve many processes in municipalities. Currently, in order to receive a fi nal response from municipal authorities for subsidies allocation, 41hr of process time, 160 hr of calendar time and 232 hr of wait time are needed. The process effi ciency is only 10%.
Priority interventions to improve the management of chronic non-cancer pain in primary care: a participatory research of the ACCORD program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lalonde L

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Lyne Lalonde,1–4 Manon Choinière,3,5 Elisabeth Martin,3 Lise Lévesque,3 Éveline Hudon,2,3,6 Danielle Bélanger,2 Sylvie Perreault,1,7 Anaïs Lacasse,8 Marie-Claude Laliberté1,9 1Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 2Équipe de recherche en soins de première ligne, Centre de santé et de services sociaux de Laval, Laval, QC, Canada; 3Centre de recherche, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM, Montreal, QC, Canada; 4Sanofi Aventis Endowment Chair in Ambulatory Pharmaceutical Care, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal and Centre de santé et de services sociaux de Laval, QC, Canada; 5Department of Anesthesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 6Department of Family Medicine and Emergency, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 7Sanofi Aventis Endowment Chair in Drug Utilization, Faculty of Pharmacy, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 8Département des sciences de la santé, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, Canada; 9AbbVie Corporation, St-Laurent, QC, Canada Purpose: There is evidence that the management of chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP in primary care is far from being optimal. A 1-day workshop was held to explore the perceptions of key actors regarding the challenges and priority interventions to improve CNCP management in primary care. Methods: Using the Chronic Care Model as a conceptual framework, physicians (n=6, pharmacists (n=6, nurses (n=6, physiotherapists (n=6, psychologists (n=6, pain specialists (n=6, patients (n=3, family members (n=3, decision makers and managers (n=4, and pain researchers (n=7 took part in seven focus groups and five nominal groups. Results: Challenges identified in focus group discussions were related to five dimensions: knowledge gap, “work in silos”, lack of awareness that CNCP represents an important clinical problem
La acción comunitaria en la inserción social en Montreal: un estudio de caso en la colectividad haitiana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reina Victoria Vega

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This article examines contributions to the strengthening of social cohesion by community organizations for social integration in the city of Montreal, based on the Center N A Rive case. The aim is to identify the strategies used by these organizations in order to increase social cohesion on the basis of immigrant integration. The methodology used is the case study. The research made it possible to identify the social innovations the organization studied had achieved in the field of literacy among adult immigrants, as well as its contributions in terms of access to employment, civic empowerment of immigrants at risk of social exclusion, and development of social entrepreneurship among immigrants.
Elements of knowledge management in the improvement of business processes

OpenAIRE

Brajer-Marczak Renata

2016-01-01

The key role in process management is played by the systematic analysis, measurement and improvement of processes. The imperative of continuous introduction of changes in processes is the answer to the changing conditions of competition and the great dynamics in the expectations and preferences of customers. Information related to business process should be collected and formalized in order to improve the execution of processes. In connection with the above, it may be stated that the improvem...
Collaborative Engineering Environments. Two Examples of Process Improvement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spee, J.B.R.M.; Bijwaard, D.; Laan, D.J.

Companies are recognising that innovative processes are determining factors in competitiveness. Two examples from projects in aircraft development describe the introduction of collaborative engineering environments as a way to improve engineering processes. A multi-disciplinary simulation
Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhrmann, Marco; Konopka, Claudia; Nellemann, Peter

2016-01-01

directions. An analysis of 635 publications draws a big picture of SPI-related research of the past 25 years. Our study shows a high number of solution proposals, experience reports, and secondary studies, but only few theories. In particular, standard SPI models are analyzed and evaluated for applicability......Software process improvement (SPI) is around for decades: frameworks are proposed, success factors are studied, and experiences have been reported. However, the sheer mass of concepts, approaches, and standards published over the years overwhelms practitioners as well as researchers. What is out...... there? Are there new emerging approaches? What are open issues? Still, we struggle to answer the question for what is the current state of SPI and related research? We present initial results from a systematic mapping study to shed light on the field of SPI and to draw conclusions for future research...
Current concept review: quality and process improvement in orthopedics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinney SJ

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Stephen J Pinney,1 Alexandra E Page,2 David S Jevsevar,3 Kevin J Bozic4 1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, St Mary's Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA; 2Orthopaedic Surgery, AAOS Health Care Systems Committee, San Diego, CA, USA; 3Department of Orthopaedics, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth University, Hanover, NH, USA; 4Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas, Austin, TX, USAAbstract: Multiple health care stakeholders are increasingly scrutinizing musculoskeletal care to optimize quality and cost efficiency. This has led to greater emphasis on quality and process improvement. There is a robust set of business strategies that are increasingly being applied to health care delivery. These quality and process improvement tools (QPITs have specific applications to segments of, or the entire episode of, patient care. In the rapidly changing health care world, it will behoove all orthopedic surgeons to have an understanding of the manner in which care delivery processes can be evaluated and improved. Many of the commonly used QPITs, including checklist initiatives, standardized clinical care pathways, lean methodology, six sigma strategies, and total quality management, embrace basic principles of quality improvement. These principles include focusing on outcomes, optimizing communication among health care team members, increasing process standardization, and decreasing process variation. This review summarizes the common QPITs, including how and when they might be employed to improve care delivery. Keywords: clinical care pathway, musculoskeletal care, outcomes, quality management, six sigma, lean thinking
Supporting Process Improvement using Method Increments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vlaanderen, Kevin

2014-01-01

With the research described in this dissertation, we aim to shed light on the characteristics of process improvement efforts by looking at their evolution (how to change?) rather than their content (what to change?). This research is triggered by three main propositions, derived from earlier work:
Process-Improvement Cost Model for the Emergency Department.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyas, Sheila R; Greenfield, Eric; Messimer, Sherri; Thotakura, Swati; Gholston, Sampson; Doughty, Tracy; Hays, Mary; Ivey, Richard; Spalding, Joseph; Phillips, Robin

2015-01-01

The objective of this report is to present a simplified, activity-based costing approach for hospital emergency departments (EDs) to use with Lean Six Sigma cost-benefit analyses. The cost model complexity is reduced by removing diagnostic and condition-specific costs, thereby revealing the underlying process activities' cost inefficiencies. Examples are provided for evaluating the cost savings from reducing discharge delays and the cost impact of keeping patients in the ED (boarding) after the decision to admit has been made. The process-improvement cost model provides a needed tool in selecting, prioritizing, and validating Lean process-improvement projects in the ED and other areas of patient care that involve multiple dissimilar diagnoses.
The National Air Intelligence Center Software Process Improvement Effort (NAIC SPI)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Blankenship, Donald

2001-01-01

...) Software Process Improvements effort. The objective of this effort was for the contractor to provide engineering and software process improvement for NAIC/SCD to reach SEI's CMM Level 2 in process maturity...
SNF project engineering process improvement plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

KELMENSON, R.L.

1999-01-01

This Engineering Process Improvement Plan documents the activities and plans to be taken by the SNF Project (the Project) to support its engineering process and to produce a consolidated set of engineering procedures that are fully compliant with the requirements of HNF-PRO-1819 (1819). These requirements are imposed on all engineering activities performed for the Project and apply to all life-cycle stages of the Project's systems, structures and components (SSCs). This Plan describes the steps that will be taken by the Project during the transition period to ensure that new procedures are effectively integrated into the Project's work process as these procedures are issued. The consolidated procedures will be issued and implemented by September 30, 1999
Conference on Stochastic Processes and their Applications (16th) Held in Stanford, California on August 17-21, 1987.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-08-01

ESTIMATION FOR STOCHASTIC PROCESSES by C. C. Heyde Australian National University Canberra, Australia ABSTRACT Optimality is a widely and loosely used...Case 240 S. Australia 1211 Geneva 24 Switzerland Christopher C. Heyde Dept. of Statistics, IAS Patricia Jacobs . Australian National University...Universitat Regensburg USA Postfach D-8400 Regensburg Anatole Joffe W. Germany Dept. of Mathematics & Statatistics Frank Kelly Universite de Montreal
Improvement of Selected Logistics Processes Using Quality Engineering Tools

Science.gov (United States)

Zasadzień, Michał; Žarnovský, Jozef

2018-03-01

Increase in the number of orders, the increasing quality requirements and the speed of order preparation require implementation of new solutions and improvement of logistics processes. Any disruption that occurs during execution of an order often leads to customer dissatisfaction, as well as loss of his/her confidence. The article presents a case study of the use of quality engineering methods and tools to improve the e-commerce logistic process. This made it possible to identify and prioritize key issues, identify their causes, and formulate improvement and prevention measures.
Development of an equipment management model to improve effectiveness of processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, H. S.; Ju, T. Y.; Song, T. Y.

2012-01-01

The nuclear industries have developed and are trying to create a performance model to improve effectiveness of the processes implemented at nuclear plants in order to enhance performance. Most high performing nuclear stations seek to continually improve the quality of their operations by identifying and closing important performance gaps. Thus, many utilities have implemented performance models adjusted to their plant's configuration and have instituted policies for such models. KHNP is developing a standard performance model to integrate the engineering processes and to improve the inter-relation among processes. The model, called the Standard Equipment Management Model (SEMM), is under development first by focusing on engineering processes and performance improvement processes related to plant equipment used at the site. This model includes performance indicators for each process that can allow evaluating and comparing the process performance among 21 operating units. The model will later be expanded to incorporate cost and management processes. (authors)
EGS Richardson AGU Chapman NVAG3 Conference: Nonlinear Variability in Geophysics: scaling and multifractal processes

OpenAIRE

D. Schertzer; S. Lovejoy; S. Lovejoy

1994-01-01

1. The conference The third conference on "Nonlinear VAriability in Geophysics: scaling and multifractal processes" (NVAG 3) was held in Cargese, Corsica, Sept. 10-17, 1993. NVAG3 was joint American Geophysical Union Chapman and European Geophysical Society Richardson Memorial conference, the first specialist conference jointly sponsored by the two organizations. It followed NVAG1 (Montreal, Aug. 1986), NVAG2 (Paris, June 1988; Schertzer and Lovejoy, 1991), five consecutive annual ...
EGS Richardson AGU Chapman NVAG3 Conference: Nonlinear Variability in Geophysics: scaling and multifractal processes

OpenAIRE

Schertzer , D; Lovejoy , S.

1994-01-01

International audience; 1. The conference The third conference on "Nonlinear VAriability in Geophysics: scaling and multifractal processes" (NVAG 3) was held in Cargese, Corsica, Sept. 10-17, 1993. NVAG3 was joint American Geophysical Union Chapman and European Geophysical Society Richardson Memorial conference, the first specialist conference jointly sponsored by the two organizations. It followed NVAG1 (Montreal, Aug. 1986), NVAG2 (Paris, June 1988; Schertzer and Lovejoy, 1991), five conse...
On the improvement of IT process maturity: assessment, recommendation and validation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dirgahayu Teduh

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The use of information technology (IT in enterprises must be governed and managed appropriately using IT processes. The notion of IT process maturity is useful to measure the actual performance and to define the desired performance of IT processes. Improvements are necessary when there are gaps between the actual and desired performance. Most literatures focus on IT process maturity assessment. They do not address how to improve IT process maturity. This paper proposes an approach to enterprise IT process maturity improvement for COBIT processes. The approach consists of three activities, i.e. IT process maturity assessment, recommendation, and validation. Assessment is to recognise the process’ control objectives maturity. From the assessment results, recommendation identifies control objectives that must be improved and then suggests improvement actions. The prescriptive nature of the control objectives facilitates in suggesting those actions. Recommendations for managements are defined by abstracting similar actions. Validation checks whether the recommendations match with the enterprise needs and capability. It includes a scale for validation, in which enterprise’s capability is categorized into (i not capable, (ii capable with great efforts, and (iii fully capable. The paper illustrates the approach with a case study.
Software process improvement in the NASA software engineering laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Mcgarry, Frank; Pajerski, Rose; Page, Gerald; Waligora, Sharon; Basili, Victor; Zelkowitz, Marvin

1994-01-01

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) was established in 1976 for the purpose of studying and measuring software processes with the intent of identifying improvements that could be applied to the production of ground support software within the Flight Dynamics Division (FDD) at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The SEL has three member organizations: NASA/GSFC, the University of Maryland, and Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). The concept of process improvement within the SEL focuses on the continual understanding of both process and product as well as goal-driven experimentation and analysis of process change within a production environment.
Cross-Cultural Applicability of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA): A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Driscoll, Ciarán; Shaikh, Madiha

2017-01-01

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is widely used to screen for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). While there are many available versions, the cross-cultural validity of the assessment has not been explored sufficiently. We aimed to interrogate the validity of the MoCA in a cross-cultural context: in differentiating MCI from normal controls (NC); and identifying cut-offs and adjustments for age and education where possible. This review sourced a wide range of studies including case-control studies. In addition, we report findings for differentiating dementias from NC and MCI from dementias, however, these were not considered to be an appropriate use of the MoCA. The subject of the review assumes heterogeneity and therefore meta-analyses was not conducted. Quality ratings, forest plots of validated studies (sensitivity and specificity) with covariates (suggested cut-offs, age, education and country), and summary receiver operating characteristic curve are presented. The results showed a wide range in suggested cutoffs for MCI cross-culturally, with variability in levels of sensitivity and specificity ranging from low to high. Poor methodological rigor appears to have affected reported accuracy and validity of the MoCA. The review highlights the necessity for cross-cultural considerations when using the MoCA, and recognizing it as a screen and not a diagnostic tool. Appropriate cutoffs and point adjustments for education are suggested.
Tracing Impact in a Usability Improvement Process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Uldall-Espersen, Tobias; Frøkjær, Erik; Hornbæk, Kasper Anders Søren

2008-01-01

Analyzing usability improvement processes as they take place in real-life organizations is necessary to understand the practice of usability work. This paper describes a case study where the usability of an information system is improved and a relationship between the improvements...... and the evaluation efforts is established. Results show that evaluation techniques complemented each other by suggesting different kinds of usability improvement. Among the techniques applied, a combination of questionnaires and Metaphors of Human Thinking (MOT) showed the largest mean impact and MOT produced...... the largest number of impacts. Logging of real-life use of the system over 6 months indicated six aspects of improved usability, where significant differences among evaluation techniques were found. Concerning five of the six aspects Think Aloud evaluations and the above-mentioned combination of questionnaire...

RECENT PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS TO INCREASE HLW THROUGHPUT AT THE DWPF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herman, C

2007-01-01

The Savannah River Site's (SRS) Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), the world's largest operating high level waste (HLW) vitrification plant, began stabilizing about 35 million gallons of SRS liquid radioactive waste by-product in 1996. The DWPF has since filled over 2000 canisters with about 4000 pounds of radioactive glass in each canister. In the past few years there have been several process and equipment improvements at the DWPF to increase the rate at which the waste can be stabilized. These improvements have either directly increased waste processing rates or have desensitized the process and therefore minimized process upsets and thus downtime. These improvements, which include glass former optimization, increased waste loading of the glass, the melter heated bellows liner, and glass surge protection software, will be discussed in this paper
Evaluating Recall and Recognition Memory Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment: Applicability for Alzheimer's and Huntington's Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Liew, Charles; Santoro, Maya S; Goldstein, Jody; Gluhm, Shea; Gilbert, Paul E; Corey-Bloom, Jody

2016-12-01

We sought to investigate whether the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) could provide a brief assessment of recall and recognition using Huntington disease (HD) and Alzheimer disease (AD) as disorders characterized by different memory deficits. This study included 80 participants with HD, 64 participants with AD, and 183 community-dwelling control participants. Random-effects hierarchical logistic regressions were performed to assess the relative performance of the normal control (NC), participants with HD, and participants with AD on verbal free recall, cued recall, and multiple-choice recognition on the MoCA. The NC participants performed significantly better than participants with AD at all the 3 levels of assessment. No difference existed between participants with HD and NC for cued recall, but NC participants performed significantly better than participants with HD on free recall and recognition. The participants with HD performed significantly better than participants with AD at all the 3 levels of assessment. The MoCA appears to be a valuable, brief cognitive assessment capable of identifying specific memory deficits consistent with known differences in memory profiles. © The Author(s) 2016.
Significant improvement in the thermal annealing process of optical resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Salzenstein, Patrice; Zarubin, Mikhail

2017-05-01

Thermal annealing performed during process improves the quality of the roughness of optical resonators reducing stresses at the periphery of their surface thus allowing higher Q-factors. After a preliminary realization, the design of the oven and the electronic method were significantly improved thanks to nichrome resistant alloy wires and chopped basalt fibers for thermal isolation during the annealing process. Q-factors can then be improved.
Improving the Process of Student Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela Neacşu

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper we analyzed the process of student evaluation from “Spiru Haret” University. The process under consideration occurs according to a specific Procedure – Process of student evaluation from the Manual of Quality Assurance Procedures, “Spiru Haret” University, Edition 1, 2012. The goal of this procedure, mentioned in the Manual, is to present the student evaluation procedure by using the Blackboard educational platform and other evaluation techniques of quality learning, based on materials developed by teachers of “Spiru Haret” University, as well as corresponding responsibilities, in order to increase the learning process quality and the exigency degree in the examination process, as well as students’ satisfaction measured by accumulated competences. We appreciate that the purpose of this procedure is first and foremost to ensure transparency and objectivity in exam passing decision. After identifying the weaknesses with the “cause - effect” chart, we have sought to improve student evaluation process using PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act method, resulting in the design of a new assessment flowchart.
A land use regression model for ambient ultrafine particles in Montreal, Canada: A comparison of linear regression and a machine learning approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Weichenthal, Scott; Ryswyk, Keith Van; Goldstein, Alon; Bagg, Scott; Shekkarizfard, Maryam; Hatzopoulou, Marianne

2016-04-01

Existing evidence suggests that ambient ultrafine particles (UFPs) (regression model for UFPs in Montreal, Canada using mobile monitoring data collected from 414 road segments during the summer and winter months between 2011 and 2012. Two different approaches were examined for model development including standard multivariable linear regression and a machine learning approach (kernel-based regularized least squares (KRLS)) that learns the functional form of covariate impacts on ambient UFP concentrations from the data. The final models included parameters for population density, ambient temperature and wind speed, land use parameters (park space and open space), length of local roads and rail, and estimated annual average NOx emissions from traffic. The final multivariable linear regression model explained 62% of the spatial variation in ambient UFP concentrations whereas the KRLS model explained 79% of the variance. The KRLS model performed slightly better than the linear regression model when evaluated using an external dataset (R(2)=0.58 vs. 0.55) or a cross-validation procedure (R(2)=0.67 vs. 0.60). In general, our findings suggest that the KRLS approach may offer modest improvements in predictive performance compared to standard multivariable linear regression models used to estimate spatial variations in ambient UFPs. However, differences in predictive performance were not statistically significant when evaluated using the cross-validation procedure. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
A process improvement model for software verification and validation

Science.gov (United States)

Callahan, John; Sabolish, George

1994-01-01

We describe ongoing work at the NASA Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility to establish a process improvement model for software verification and validation (V&V) organizations. This model, similar to those used by some software development organizations, uses measurement-based techniques to identify problem areas and introduce incremental improvements. We seek to replicate this model for organizations involved in V&V on large-scale software development projects such as EOS and space station. At the IV&V Facility, a university research group and V&V contractors are working together to collect metrics across projects in order to determine the effectiveness of V&V and improve its application. Since V&V processes are intimately tied to development processes, this paper also examines the repercussions for development organizations in large-scale efforts.
Lean methodology for performance improvement in the trauma discharge process.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Mara, Michael Shaymus; Ramaniuk, Aliaksandr; Graymire, Vickie; Rozzell, Monica; Martin, Stacey

2014-07-01

High-volume, complex services such as trauma and acute care surgery are at risk for inefficiency. Lean process improvement can reduce health care waste. Lean allows a structured look at processes not easily amenable to analysis. We applied lean methodology to the current state of communication and discharge planning on an urban trauma service, citing areas for improvement. A lean process mapping event was held. The process map was used to identify areas for immediate analysis and intervention-defining metrics for the stakeholders. After intervention, new performance was assessed by direct data evaluation. The process was completed with an analysis of effect and plans made for addressing future focus areas. The primary area of concern identified was interservice communication. Changes centering on a standardized morning report structure reduced the number of consult questions unanswered from 67% to 34% (p = 0.0021). Physical therapy rework was reduced from 35% to 19% (p = 0.016). Patients admitted to units not designated to the trauma service had 1.6 times longer stays (p miscommunication exists around patient education at discharge. Lean process improvement is a viable means of health care analysis. When applied to a trauma service with 4,000 admissions annually, lean identifies areas ripe for improvement. Our inefficiencies surrounded communication and patient localization. Strategies arising from the input of all stakeholders led to real solutions for communication through a face-to-face morning report and identified areas for ongoing improvement. This focuses resource use and identifies areas for improvement of throughput in care delivery.
Autoverification process improvement by Six Sigma approach: Clinical chemistry & immunoassay.

Science.gov (United States)

Randell, Edward W; Short, Garry; Lee, Natasha; Beresford, Allison; Spencer, Margaret; Kennell, Marina; Moores, Zoë; Parry, David

2018-05-01

This study examines effectiveness of a project to enhance an autoverification (AV) system through application of Six Sigma (DMAIC) process improvement strategies. Similar AV systems set up at three sites underwent examination and modification to produce improved systems while monitoring proportions of samples autoverified, the time required for manual review and verification, sample processing time, and examining characteristics of tests not autoverified. This information was used to identify areas for improvement and monitor the impact of changes. Use of reference range based criteria had the greatest impact on the proportion of tests autoverified. To improve AV process, reference range based criteria was replaced with extreme value limits based on a 99.5% test result interval, delta check criteria were broadened, and new specimen consistency rules were implemented. Decision guidance tools were also developed to assist staff using the AV system. The mean proportion of tests and samples autoverified improved from 90% for samples and >95% for tests across all three sites. The new AV system significantly decreased turn-around time and total sample review time (to about a third), however, time spent for manual review of held samples almost tripled. There was no evidence of compromise to the quality of testing process and process improvement methodology was successfully applied to AV systems resulting in an increase in overall test and sample AV by >90%, improved turn-around time, reduced time for manual verification, and with no obvious compromise to quality or error detection. Copyright © 2018 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Reducing RN Vacancy Rate: A Nursing Recruitment Office Process Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Hisgen, Stephanie A; Page, Nancy E; Thornlow, Deirdre K; Merwin, Elizabeth I

2018-06-01

The aim of this study was to reduce the RN vacancy rate at an academic medical center by improving the hiring process in the Nursing Recruitment Office. Inability to fill RN positions can lead to higher vacancy rates and negatively impact staff and patient satisfaction, quality outcomes, and the organization's bottom line. The Model for Improvement was used to design and implement a process improvement project to improve the hiring process from time of interview through the position being filled. Number of days to interview and check references decreased significantly, but no change in overall time to hire and time to fill positions was noted. RN vacancy rate also decreased significantly. Nurse manager satisfaction with the hiring process increased significantly. Redesigning the recruitment process supported operational efficiencies of the organization related to RN recruitment.
The theory, practice, and future of process improvement in general thoracic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Richard K

2014-01-01

Process improvement, in its broadest sense, is the analysis of a given set of actions with the aim of elevating quality and reducing costs. The tenets of process improvement have been applied to medicine in increasing frequency for at least the last quarter century including thoracic surgery. This review outlines the theory underlying process improvement, the currently available data sources for process improvement and possible future directions of research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Improvement of Construction Project Management Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nazarko, J.

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The common denominator of the five papers published in the current edition of the Journal of Engineering, Project, and Production Management is the improvement of construction project management processes for effective use of resources. Execution of proper project management processes is widely recognized as a key success factor influencing likelihood of project success (Alleman, 2014. It is noticeable that four out of five papers in this issue of the Journal are authored or co-authored by Iranian researchers from the same Institute but their conclusions bear importance that cannot be limited to the authors’ region.
Case Study: Accelerating Process Improvement by Integrating the TSP and CMMI

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Wall, Daniel S; McHale, James; Pomeroy-Huff, Marsha

2005-01-01

.... This case study describes the process improvement efforts of both NAVAIR divisions and how they integrated the two SEI technologies to accelerate process improvement within their organizations...
Improving performance on core processes of care.

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, John Matthew; Pronovost, Peter J

2016-06-01

This article describes the recent literature on using extrinsic and intrinsic motivators to improve performance on core processes of care, highlighting literature that describes general frameworks for quality improvement work. The literature supporting the effectiveness of extrinsic motivators to improve quality is generally positive for public reporting of performance, with mixed results for pay-for-performance. A four-element quality improvement framework developed by The Armstrong Institute at Johns Hopkins Medicine was developed with intrinsic motivation in mind. The clear definition and communication of goals are important for quality improvement work. Training clinicians in improvement science, such as lean sigma, teamwork, or culture change provides clinicians with the skills they need to drive the improvement work. Peer learning communities offer the opportunity for clinicians to engage with each other and offer support in their work. The transparent reporting of performance helps ensure accountability of performance ranging from individual clinicians to governance. Quality improvement work that is led by and engages clinicians offers the opportunity for the work to be both meaningful and sustainable. The literature supports approaching quality improvement work in a systematic way, including the key elements of communication, infrastructure building, training, transparency, and accountability.
A model for ageing-home-care service process improvement

OpenAIRE

Yu, Shu-Yan; Shie, An-Jin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated model to improve service processes in ageing-home-care. According to the literature, existing service processes have potential service failures that affect service quality and efficacy. However, most previous studies have only focused on conceptual model development using New Service Development (NSD) and fail to provide a systematic model to analyse potential service failures and facilitate managers developing solutions to improve the se...
Improving Process Heating System Performance v3

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2016-04-11

Improving Process Heating System Performance: A Sourcebook for Industry is a development of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) and the Industrial Heating Equipment Association (IHEA). The AMO and IHEA undertook this project as part of an series of sourcebook publications developed by AMO on energy-consuming industrial systems, and opportunities to improve performance. Other topics in this series include compressed air systems, pumping systems, fan systems, steam systems, and motors and drives
Information Technology Process Improvement Decision-Making: An Exploratory Study from the Perspective of Process Owners and Process Managers

Science.gov (United States)

Lamp, Sandra A.

2012-01-01

There is information available in the literature that discusses information technology (IT) governance and investment decision making from an executive-level perception, yet there is little information available that offers the perspective of process owners and process managers pertaining to their role in IT process improvement and investment…
Equipment reliability improvement process; implementation in Almaraz NPP and Trillo NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Risquez Bailon, Aranzazu; Gutierrez Fernandez, Eduardo

2010-01-01

The Equipment Reliability Improvement Process (INPO AP-913) is a non-regulatory process developed by the US Nuclear Industry for improving Plants Availability. This Process integrates and coordinates a broad range of equipment reliability activities into one process, performed by the Plant in a non-centralized way. The integration and coordination of these activities will allow plant personnel to evaluate the trends of important station equipment, develop and implement long-term equipment health plans, monitor equipment performance and condition, and make adjustments to preventive maintenance tasks and frequencies based on equipment operating experience, if necessary, arbitrating operational and design improvements, to reach a Failure-free Operation. This paper describes the methodology of Equipment Reliability Improvement Process, being focused on main aspects of the implementation process, relating to the scope and establishment of an Equipment Reliability Monitoring Plan, which should include and complement the existing mechanisms and organizations in the Plant to monitor the condition and performance of the equipments, with the common aim of achieving an operation free of failures. The paper will describe the tools that Iberdrola Ingenieria has developed to support the implementation and monitoring of the Equipment Reliability Improvement Process, as well as the results and lessons learned from its implementation in Almaraz NPP and Trillo NPP. (authors)
The process of managerial control in quality improvement initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Slovensky, D J; Fottler, M D

1994-11-01

The fundamental intent of strategic management is to position an organization with in its market to exploit organizational competencies and strengths to gain competitive advantage. Competitive advantage may be achieved through such strategies as low cost, high quality, or unique services or products. For health care organizations accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, continually improving both processes and outcomes of organizational performance--quality improvement--in all operational areas of the organization is a mandated strategy. Defining and measuring quality and controlling the quality improvement strategy remain problematic. The article discusses the nature and processes of managerial control, some potential measures of quality, and related information needs.
Improving the scientific misconduct hearing process.

Science.gov (United States)

Parrish, D M

The overturning and withdrawal of several of the Office of Research Integrity's (ORI's) findings of scientific misconduct have called its role into question. The contested findings of scientific misconduct that have been tried before the hearing body have been based on lengthy and expensive ORI investigations. How could ORI have failed to prove its findings of scientific misconduct after the commitment of substantial resources that far exceed those devoted during institutional investigations? One reason may be that the current hearing process makes it difficult or impossible for ORI, institutions, or individuals to prove scientific misconduct. The hearing process has been criticized by discouraged whistleblowers who believe that their allegations of scientific misconduct should have been upheld, and by the accused for the expensive and protracted nature of the proceedings. The following article examines problems in the scientific misconduct hearing process and suggests that the process could be improved by letting administrative law judges, patent attorneys, and a scientific majority decide these cases.
IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF MAINTENANCE PROCESSES USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zora Arsovski

2008-06-01

Full Text Available In essence, process of maintaining equipment is a support process, because it indirectly contributes to operational ability of the production process necessary for the supply chain of the new value. Taking into account increased levels of automatization and quality, this proces s becomes more and more significant and for some branches of industry, even crucial. Due to the fact that the quality of the entire process is more and more dependent on the maintenance process, these processes must be carefully designed and effectively im plemented. There are various techniques and approaches at our disposal, such as technical, logistical and intensive application of the information - communication technologies. This last approach is presented in this work. It begins with organizational goa ls, especially quality objectives. Then, maintenance processes and integrated information system structures are defined. Maintenance process quality and improvement processes are defined using a set of performances, with a special emphasis placed on effectiveness and quality economics. At the end of the work, information system for improving maintenance economics is structured. Besides theoretical analysis, work also presents results authors obtained analyzing food industry, metal processing industry an d building materials industry.

Enhanced Time Out: An Improved Communication Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Patricia E

2017-06-01

An enhanced time out is an improved communication process initiated to prevent such surgical errors as wrong-site, wrong-procedure, or wrong-patient surgery. The enhanced time out at my facility mandates participation from all members of the surgical team and requires designated members to respond to specified time out elements on the surgical safety checklist. The enhanced time out incorporated at my facility expands upon the safety measures from the World Health Organization's surgical safety checklist and ensures that all personnel involved in a surgical intervention perform a final check of relevant information. Initiating the enhanced time out at my facility was intended to improve communication and teamwork among surgical team members and provide a highly reliable safety process to prevent wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-patient surgery. Copyright © 2017 AORN, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Improvement of hospital processes through business process management in Qaem Teaching Hospital: A work in progress.

Science.gov (United States)

Yarmohammadian, Mohammad H; Ebrahimipour, Hossein; Doosty, Farzaneh

2014-01-01

In a world of continuously changing business environments, organizations have no option; however, to deal with such a big level of transformation in order to adjust the consequential demands. Therefore, many companies need to continually improve and review their processes to maintain their competitive advantages in an uncertain environment. Meeting these challenges requires implementing the most efficient possible business processes, geared to the needs of the industry and market segments that the organization serves globally. In the last 10 years, total quality management, business process reengineering, and business process management (BPM) have been some of the management tools applied by organizations to increase business competiveness. This paper is an original article that presents implementation of "BPM" approach in the healthcare domain that allows an organization to improve and review its critical business processes. This project was performed in "Qaem Teaching Hospital" in Mashhad city, Iran and consists of four distinct steps; (1) identify business processes, (2) document the process, (3) analyze and measure the process, and (4) improve the process. Implementing BPM in Qaem Teaching Hospital changed the nature of management by allowing the organization to avoid the complexity of disparate, soloed systems. BPM instead enabled the organization to focus on business processes at a higher level.
Improvement of product design process by knowledge value analysis

OpenAIRE

XU, Yang; BERNARD, Alain; PERRY, Nicolas; LAROCHE, Florent

2013-01-01

Nowadays, design activities remain the core issue for global product development. As knowledge is more and more integrated, effective analysis of knowledge value becomes very useful for the improvement of product design processes. This paper aims at proposing a framework of knowledge value analysis in the context of product design process. By theoretical analysis and case study, the paper illustrates how knowledge value can be calculated and how the results can help the improvement of product...
Managing Cultural Variation in Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, Sune Dueholm; Kræmmergaard, Pernille; Mathiassen, Lars

The scale and complexity of change in software process improvement (SPI) are considerable and managerial attention to organizational culture during SPI can therefore potentially contribute to successful outcomes. However, we know little about the impact of variations in organizational subculture...... CMMI level 2 as planned, ASY struggled to implement even modest improvements. To explain these differences, we analyzed the underlying organizational culture within ISY and ASY using two different methods for subculture assessment. The study demonstrates how variations in culture across software...
The improving processes in the human resources management

OpenAIRE

Darja Holátová

2002-01-01

The quality management of the human resources management, the quality of the products, services and prosperities of the firms is among others dependent on the quality management. Managers convey a leadership and commitment necessary for creating the environment for quality improvement. The managers are responsible for their own actions, development and improvement of their own work processes.
Linking the Teacher Appraisal Process to the School Improvement Plan

Science.gov (United States)

Reddekopp, Therese

2007-01-01

If a school improvement plan includes input from all stakeholders and focuses on data-driven processes that are linked to teacher appraisal, it can be powerful in leading the school toward the common mission of achieving student success. Linking the school improvement plan to the teacher appraisal process creates a system whereby all individuals…
Efficient Adoption and Assessment of Multiple Process Improvement Reference Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Jeners

2013-06-01

Full Text Available A variety of reference models such as CMMI, COBIT or ITIL support IT organizations to improve their processes. These process improvement reference models (IRMs cover different domains such as IT development, IT Services or IT Governance but also share some similarities. As there are organizations that address multiple domains and need to coordinate their processes in their improvement we present MoSaIC, an approach to support organizations to efficiently adopt and conform to multiple IRMs. Our solution realizes a semantic integration of IRMs based on common meta-models. The resulting IRM integration model enables organizations to efficiently implement and asses multiple IRMs and to benefit from synergy effects.
Crafting a Software Process Improvement Approach - A Retrospective Systematization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhrmann, Marco

2015-01-01

Structured approaches are beneficial for successful software process improvement (SPI). However, process engineers often struggle with standardized SPI methods, such as capability maturity model integration (CMMI) or International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15504, and complain about too...... and provide a structured reflection on our experiences from creating and adopting the Artifact-based Software Process Improvement & Management (ArSPI) model. We present the steps of the construction procedure, the validation, and the dissemination of the model. Furthermore, we detail on the applied methods...... generic or voluminous approaches or methods that are alien to the organizations in which SPI is conducted. Therefore, process engineers need to customize existing SPI models or develop new approaches for company-specific SPI programs. While conducting SPI in the context of the German V-Modell XT, we faced...
Millisecond photo-thermal process on significant improvement of supercapacitor’s performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Kui; Wang, Jixiao; Wu, Ying; Zhao, Song; Wang, Zhi; Wang, Shichang

2016-01-01

Graphical abstract: A high way for charge transfer is created by a millisecond photo-thermal process which could decrease contact resistance among nanomaterials and improve the electrochemical performances. - Highlights: • Improve conductivity among nanomaterials with a millisecond photo-thermal process. • The specific capacitance can increase about 25% with an photo-thermal process. • The circle stability and rate capability can be improved above 10% with photo-thermal process. • Provide a new way that create electron path to improve electrochemical performance. - Abstract: Supercapacitors fabricated with nanomaterials usually have high specific capacitance and excellent performance. However, the small size of nanomaterials renders a considerable limitation of the contact area among nanomaterials, which is harmful to charge carrier transfer. This fact may hinder the development and application of nanomaterials in electrochemical storage systems. Here, a millisecond photo-thermal process was introduced to create a charge carries transfer path to decrease the contact resistance among nanomaterials, and enhance the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors. Polyaniline (PANI) nanowire, as a model nanomaterial, was used to modify electrodes under different photo-thermal process conditions. The modified electrodes were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the results were analysed by equivalent circuit simulation. These results demonstrate that the photo-thermal process can alter the morphology of PANI nanowires, lower the charge transfer resistances and thus improve the performance of electrodes. The specific capacitance increase of the modified electrodes is about 25%. The improvement of the circle stability and rate capability are above 10%. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt on research the effect of photo-thermal process on the conductivity
Snow-borne nanosized particles: Abundance, distribution, composition, and significance in ice nucleation processes

Science.gov (United States)

Rangel-Alvarado, Rodrigo Benjamin; Nazarenko, Yevgen; Ariya, Parisa A.

2015-11-01

Physicochemical processes of nucleation constitute a major uncertainty in understanding aerosol-cloud interactions. To improve the knowledge of the ice nucleation process, we characterized physical, chemical, and biological properties of fresh snow using a suite of state-of-the-art techniques based on mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, chromatography, and optical particle sizing. Samples were collected at two North American Arctic sites, as part of international campaigns (2006 and 2009), and in the city of Montreal, Canada, over the last decade. Particle size distribution analyses, in the range of 3 nm to 10 µm, showed that nanosized particles are the most numerous (38-71%) in fresh snow, with a significant portion (11 to 19%) less than 100 nm in size. Particles with diameters less than 200 nm consistently exhibited relatively high ice-nucleating properties (on average ranged from -19.6 ± 2.4 to -8.1 ± 2.6°C). Chemical analysis of the nanosized fraction suggests that they contain bioorganic materials, such as amino acids, as well as inorganic compounds with similar characteristics to mineral dust. The implication of nanoparticle ubiquity and abundance in diverse snow ecosystems are discussed in the context of their importance in understanding atmospheric nucleation processes.
GOCI Level-2 Processing Improvements and Cloud Motion Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Wayne D.

2015-01-01

The Ocean Biology Processing Group has been working with the Korean Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) to process geosynchronous ocean color data from the GOCI (Geostationary Ocean Color Instrument) aboard the COMS (Communications, Ocean and Meteorological Satellite). The level-2 processing program, l2gen has GOCI processing as an option. Improvements made to that processing are discussed here as well as a discussion about cloud motion effects.
Refractories for Industrial Processing. Opportunities for Improved Energy Efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hemrick, James G. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Hayden, H. Wayne [Metals Manufacture Process and Controls Technology, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Angelini, Peter [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Moore, Robert E. [R.E. Moore Associates, Maricopa, AZ (United States); Headrick, William L. [R.E. Moore Associates, Maricopa, AZ (United States)

2005-01-01

Refractories are a class of materials of critical importance to manufacturing industries with high-temperature unit processes. This study describes industrial refractory applications and identifies refractory performance barriers to energy efficiency for processing. The report provides recommendations for R&D pathways leading to improved refractories for energy-efficient manufacturing and processing.
Characteristics of Volunteer Coaches in a Clinical Process Improvement Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Morley, Katharine E; Barysauskas, Constance M; Carballo, Victoria; Kalibatas, Orinta; Rao, Sandhya K; Jacobson, Joseph O; Cummings, Brian M

The Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program provides quality improvement training for clinicians and administrators, utilizing graduates as volunteer peer coaches for mentorship. We sought to understand the factors associated with volunteer coach participation and gain insight into how to improve and sustain this program. Review of coach characteristics from course database and survey of frequent coaches. Out of 516 Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program graduates from March 2010 to June 2015, 117 (23%) individuals volunteered as coaches. Sixty-one (52%) individuals coached once, 31 (27%) coached twice, and 25 (21%) coached 3 or more times. There were statistically significant associations between coaching and occupation (P = .005), Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program course taken (P = .001), and course location (P = .007). Administrators were more likely to coach than physicians (odds ratio: 1.75, P = .04). Reasons for volunteering as a coach included further development of skills, desire to stay involved with program, and enjoying mentoring. Reasons for repeated coaching included maintaining quality improvement skills, expanding skills to a wider variety of projects, and networking. A peer graduate volunteer coach model is a viable strategy for interprofessional quality improvement mentorship. Strategies that support repeat coaching and engage clinicians should be promoted to ensure an experienced and diversified group of coaches.
Westinghouse modular grinding process - improvement for follow on processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fehrmann, Henning [Westinghouse Germany GmbH, Mannheim, State (Germany)

2013-07-01

In nuclear power plants (NPP) ion exchange (IX) resins are used in several systems for water treatment. The resins can be in bead or powdered form. For waste treatment of spent IX resins, two methods are basically used: Direct immobilization (e.g. with cement, bitumen, polymer or High Integrity Container (HIC)); Thermal treatment (e.g. drying, oxidation or pyrolysis). Bead resins have some properties (e.g. particle size and density) that can have negative impacts on following waste treatment processes. Negative impacts could be: Floatation of bead resins in cementation process; Sedimentation in pipeline during transportation; Poor compaction properties for Hot Resin Supercompaction (HRSC). Reducing the particle size of the bead resins can have beneficial effects enhancing further treatment processes and overcoming prior mentioned effects. Westinghouse Electric Company has developed a modular grinding process to crush/grind the bead resins. This modular process is designed for flexible use and enables a selective adjustment of particle size to tailor the grinding system to the customer needs. The system can be equipped with a crusher integrated in the process tank and if necessary a colloid mill. The crusher reduces the bead resins particle size and converts the bead resins to a pump able suspension with lower sedimentation properties. With the colloid mill the resins can be ground to a powder. Compared to existing grinding systems this equipment is designed to minimize radiation exposure of the worker during operation and maintenance. Using the crushed and/or ground bead resins has several beneficial effects like facilitating cementation process and recipe development, enhancing oxidation of resins, improving the Hot Resin Supercompaction volume reduction performance. (authors)
Westinghouse modular grinding process - improvement for follow on processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fehrmann, Henning

2013-01-01

In nuclear power plants (NPP) ion exchange (IX) resins are used in several systems for water treatment. The resins can be in bead or powdered form. For waste treatment of spent IX resins, two methods are basically used: Direct immobilization (e.g. with cement, bitumen, polymer or High Integrity Container (HIC)); Thermal treatment (e.g. drying, oxidation or pyrolysis). Bead resins have some properties (e.g. particle size and density) that can have negative impacts on following waste treatment processes. Negative impacts could be: Floatation of bead resins in cementation process; Sedimentation in pipeline during transportation; Poor compaction properties for Hot Resin Supercompaction (HRSC). Reducing the particle size of the bead resins can have beneficial effects enhancing further treatment processes and overcoming prior mentioned effects. Westinghouse Electric Company has developed a modular grinding process to crush/grind the bead resins. This modular process is designed for flexible use and enables a selective adjustment of particle size to tailor the grinding system to the customer needs. The system can be equipped with a crusher integrated in the process tank and if necessary a colloid mill. The crusher reduces the bead resins particle size and converts the bead resins to a pump able suspension with lower sedimentation properties. With the colloid mill the resins can be ground to a powder. Compared to existing grinding systems this equipment is designed to minimize radiation exposure of the worker during operation and maintenance. Using the crushed and/or ground bead resins has several beneficial effects like facilitating cementation process and recipe development, enhancing oxidation of resins, improving the Hot Resin Supercompaction volume reduction performance. (authors)
Evaluation of industrial engineering students’ competencies for process improvement in hospitals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukasz Maciej Mazur

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The failures to properly educate students about process improvement can be seen as major factor leading to increased risks of patient safety and increased wastes in hospital settings. The purpose of this research was two-fold: 1 to identify characteristics that explain the efficacy of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA based-tools while used by Industrial Engineering (IE students on multidisciplinary teams in hospital; 2 to identify competencies needed by IEs for effective process improvement in hospital using PDSA based-tools. Exploratory mixed method design approach with survey study, unstructured interviews, and focus group discussions was used to collect the data. A regression analysis was used to identify PDSA based-tool characteristics perceived by IE students as instrumental for process improvement. Next, the abductive inference was applied to analyze qualitative data in order to investigate competencies needed for effective process improvement using PDSA based-tools.Using regression analysis, we found the brainstorming via visualization, recognizing root-cause(s of the problem and selecting improvement measures via linking the process flow with task(s characteristics to be the significant characteristics. From qualitative data analysis, we learned that IE students strived in technical analysis but lacked competencies in analyzing qualitative data needed for change implementation efforts. There is increasing evidence that success in achieving process improvement goals is at least partially attributable to implementation processes and contexts and not just to the nature of the technical solution. Therefore, IE students interested in working in hospitals must develop new competencies related to qualitative data analysis to manage change initiatives.
2016 International Conference on Software Process Improvement

CERN Document Server

Muñoz, Mirna; Rocha, Álvaro; Feliu, Tomas; Peña, Adriana

2017-01-01

This book offers a selection of papers from the 2016 International Conference on Software Process Improvement (CIMPS’16), held between the 12th and 14th of October 2016 in Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, México. The CIMPS’16 is a global forum for researchers and practitioners to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, results, experiences and concerns in the different aspects of software engineering with a focus on, but not limited to, software processes, security in information and communication technology, and big data. The main topics covered include: organizational models, standards and methodologies, knowledge management, software systems, applications and tools, information and communication technologies and processes in non-software domains (mining, automotive, aerospace, business, health care, manufacturing, etc.) with a clear focus on software process challenges.
Design Process Improvement for Electric CAR Harness

Science.gov (United States)

Sawatdee, Thiwarat; Chutima, Parames

2017-06-01

In an automobile parts design company, the customer satisfaction is one of the most important factors for product design. Therefore, the company employs all means to focus its product design process based on the various requirements of customers resulting in high number of design changes. The objective of this research is to improve the design process of the electric car harness that effects the production scheduling by using Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) as the main tools. FTA is employed for root cause analysis and FMEA is used to ranking a High Risk Priority Number (RPN) which is shows the priority of factors in the electric car harness that have high impact to the design of the electric car harness. After the implementation, the improvements are realized significantly since the number of design change is reduced from 0.26% to 0.08%.
Is gentrification all bad? Positive association between gentrification and individual's perceived neighborhood collective efficacy in Montreal, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Steinmetz-Wood, Madeleine; Wasfi, Rania; Parker, George; Bornstein, Lisa; Caron, Jean; Kestens, Yan

2017-07-14

Collective efficacy has been associated with many health benefits at the neighborhood level. Therefore, understanding why some communities have greater collective efficacy than others is important from a public health perspective. This study examined the relationship between gentrification and collective efficacy, in Montreal Canada. A gentrification index was created using tract level median household income, proportion of the population with a bachelor's degree, average rent, proportion of the population with low income, and proportion of the population aged 30-44. Multilevel linear regression analyses were conducted to measure the association between gentrification and individual level collective efficacy. Gentrification was positively associated with collective efficacy. Gentrifiers (individuals moving into gentrifying neighborhoods) had higher collective efficacy than individuals that lived in a neighborhood that did not gentrify. Perceptions of collective efficacy of the original residents of gentrifying neighborhoods were not significantly different from the perceptions of neighborhood collective efficacy of gentrifiers. Our results indicate that gentrification was positively associated with perceived collective efficacy. This implies that gentrification could have beneficial health effects for individuals living in gentrifying neighborhoods.
The NAA method at Polytechnique Montreal. An efficient alternative way to use the k0 NAA models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chilian, C.; Kennedy, G.

2014-01-01

At Ecole Polytechnique Montreal, the philosophy in performing neutron activation analysis (NAA) is long-term and application oriented. Thinking long-term implies a good understanding of the fundamentals of the method, of the samples, of the tools, reactor and detectors, and there must be constant innovation that is experimentally validated with extensive measurements. Application oriented means a NAA method developed to provide users with fast, sensitive, accurate and reliable analyses for various types of materials. This philosophy dictates the manner in which the developments in the areas of NAA software, peak-area calculation, dead-time correction, detection efficiency model, k 0 and Q 0 values, neutron moderation and neutron self-shielding are carried out. This paper presents a survey of the Laboratory’s methodology, reviewing a few of its unique features such as detector efficiency calibration and sample related perturbations of the neutron activation. These features are used as examples to provide the reader with an understanding of the philosophy and the evolution of the NAA method at Ecole Polytechnique. (author)

Improving preanalytic processes using the principles of lean production (Toyota Production System).

Science.gov (United States)

Persoon, Thomas J; Zaleski, Sue; Frerichs, Janice

2006-01-01

The basic technologies used in preanalytic processes for chemistry tests have been mature for a long time, and improvements in preanalytic processes have lagged behind improvements in analytic and postanalytic processes. We describe our successful efforts to improve chemistry test turnaround time from a central laboratory by improving preanalytic processes, using existing resources and the principles of lean production. Our goal is to report 80% of chemistry tests in less than 1 hour and to no longer recognize a distinction between expedited and routine testing. We used principles of lean production (the Toyota Production System) to redesign preanalytic processes. The redesigned preanalytic process has fewer steps and uses 1-piece flow to move blood samples through the accessioning, centrifugation, and aliquoting processes. Median preanalytic processing time was reduced from 29 to 19 minutes, and the laboratory met the goal of reporting 80% of chemistry results in less than 1 hour for 11 consecutive months.
Does supplier evaluation impact process improvement?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shiva Prasad h c

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The research explores and examines factors for supplier evaluation and its impact on process improvement particularly aiming on a steel pipe manufacturing firm in Gujarat, India. Design/Methodology/approach: The conceptual research framework was developed and hypotheses were stated considering the analysis of literature and discussions with the managers and engineers of a steel pipe manufacturing company in Gujarat, India. Data was collected using in-depth interview. The questionnaire primarily involves the perception of evaluation of supplier. Factors influencing supplier evaluation and its influence on process improvement is also examined in this study. The model testing and validation was done using partial least square method. Outcomes signified that the factors that influence evaluation of the supplier are quality, cost, delivery and supplier relationship management. Findings: The study depicted that quality and cost factors for supplier evaluation are insignificant. The delivery and supplier relationship management have significant influence on evaluation of the supplier. The research also depicted that supplier evaluation has significant influence on process improvement. Research limitations/implications: The study has been made specifically for ABC steel pipe manufacturing industry in Gujarat, India and may not be appropriate to the other industries or any parts of the world. There is a possibility of response bias as the conclusions of this research was interpreted on survey responses taken from the employees of case study company, so it is suggested that future research can overcome this problem by employing various methodologies in addition to surveys like carrying out focus group and in-depth interviews, brainstorming sessions with the experts etc. Originality/value: Many researchers have considered quality, cost and delivery as the factors for evaluating the suppliers. But for a company it is quintessential to have good
Improving quality of care in substance abuse treatment using five key process improvement principles

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Kim A.; Green, Carla A.; Ford, James H.; Wisdom, Jennifer P.; Gustafson, David H.; McCarty, Dennis

2012-01-01

Process and quality improvement techniques have been successfully applied in health care arenas, but efforts to institute these strategies in alcohol and drug treatment are underdeveloped. The Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment (NIATx) teaches participating substance abuse treatment agencies to use process improvement strategies to increase client access to, and retention in, treatment. NIATx recommends five principles to promote organizational change: 1) Understand and involve the customer; 2) Fix key problems; 3) Pick a powerful change leader; 4) Get ideas from outside the organization; and 5) Use rapid-cycle testing. Using case studies, supplemented with cross-agency analyses of interview data, this paper profiles participating NIATx treatment agencies that illustrate application of each principle. Results suggest that the most successful organizations integrate and apply most, if not all, of the five principles as they develop and test change strategies. PMID:22282129
Improving processes in financial service organizations: where to begin?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lokkerbol, J.; Does, R.J.M.M.; de Mast, J.; Schoonhoven, M.

2012-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to create actionable knowledge, thereby supporting and stimulating practitioners to improve processes in the financial services sector. Design/methodology/approach - This paper is based on a case base of improvement projects in financial service organizations.
Organizational Change Perspectives on Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, Sune Dueholm; Mathiassen, Lars; Balshøj, Hans Henrik

Many software organizations have engaged in Software Process Improvement (SPI) and experienced the challenges related to managing such complex organizational change efforts. As a result, there is an increasing body of research investigating change management in SPI. To provide an overview of what......, and brain perspectives. Practitioners may use these articles as a guide to SPI insights relevant to their improvement initiatives. In contrast, the impact of culture, dominance, psychic prison, flux and transformation, and politics in SPI have only received scant attention. We argue that these perspectives...
Process Improvement for Next Generation Space Flight Vehicles: MSFC Lessons Learned

Science.gov (United States)

Housch, Helen

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the lessons learned from process improvement for Next Generation Space Flight Vehicles. The contents include: 1) Organizational profile; 2) Process Improvement History; 3) Appraisal Preparation; 4) The Appraisal Experience; 5) Useful Tools; and 6) Is CMMI working?
Report on the behalf of the Foreign Affairs Commission on the bill project authorizing the approval of the amendment to the Montreal protocol of 16 September 1987 related to substances which impoverish the ozone layer, and its Annexe: text of the foreign affairs Commission. Nr 415

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Pompeo, Christophe

2017-01-01

The objective of the Montreal protocol, adopted in 1987, was to banish the chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) used as refrigerants since the 1930's, as they are responsible for the impoverishment of the ozone layer. While this objective has been met (the ozone layer is progressively restored), substitutes to CFC have been developed; however some of these substitutes, hydro-fluorocarbons, have been proved to be powerful greenhouse gases. The banishment of HFCs has thus been decided, leading to the Kigali amendment to the Montreal protocol. This report explains the CFC and HFC context and issues in details, and presents its examination by the French Commission of Foreign Affairs. The full text of the report is included (in an annex) at the end of the report
Improving Construction Process through Integration and Concurrent Engineering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malik Khalfan

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In an increasingly competitive business environment, improvedtime-to-market, reduced production cost, quality of the productand customer involvement are rapidly becoming the key successfactors for any product development process. Consequently, mostorganisations are moving towards the adoption of latest technologyand new management concepts and philosophies such as totalquality management and concurrent engineering (CE to bringimprovement in their product development process. This paperdiscusses the adoption of integrated processes and CE withinthe construction industry to enable construction organisations toimprove their project development process. It also discusses aproposed integrated database model for the construction projects,which should enable the construction process to improve, becomemore effective and more efficient.
Perceptions, Preferences, and Behavior Regarding Energy and Environmental Costs: The Case of Montreal Transport Users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nayer Daher

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Providing travel-related fuel and environmental information to transport users is becoming increasingly relevant. However, the impact of providing such information on users’ travel behavior is yet to be determined. This research examined the perceptions and preferences related to the fuel consumption costs, greenhouse gas (GHG social costs, and health-related air pollution costs, and the influence such information could have on travel behavior. Examining the case of Montreal transport users, the authors conducted a survey in which the respondents were asked general and stated preference questions. The respondents were found to be unaware of the energy and environmental footprints of their travel. Approximately 85% of the respondents were not able to estimate GHG social costs and health-related air pollution costs across different modes. The respondents generally overestimated these costs and they interestingly reported higher environmental costs for public transport (metro compared to cars. They also preferred to receive such information in monetary units, and they were more comfortable in receiving the information through mobile applications over other tools/means. The research also found that fuel and environmental information influence respondents’ travel decisions especially their route choices. Finally, the respondents would be willing to pay an average of 7 Canadian dollars/month in exchange for obtaining the information.
Improvement of radiology services based on the process management approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amaral, Creusa Sayuri Tahara; Rozenfeld, Henrique; Costa, Janaina Mascarenhas Hornos; Magon, Maria de Fatima de Andrade; Mascarenhas, Yvone Maria

2011-01-01

The health sector requires continuous investments to ensure the improvement of products and services from a technological standpoint, the use of new materials, equipment and tools, and the application of process management methods. Methods associated with the process management approach, such as the development of reference models of business processes, can provide significant innovations in the health sector and respond to the current market trend for modern management in this sector (Gunderman et al. (2008) ). This article proposes a process model for diagnostic medical X-ray imaging, from which it derives a primary reference model and describes how this information leads to gains in quality and improvements.
Software process improvement: controlling developers, managers or users?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørbjerg, Jacob

1999-01-01

The paper discusses how the latest trend in the management of software development: software process improvement (SPI) may affect user-developer relations. At the outset, SPI concerns the "internal workings" of software organisations, but it may also be interpreted as one way to give the developer...... organisation more control over the development process and the relations with the user organization....
How Does Software Process Improvement Address Global Software Engineering?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuhrmann, Marco; Diebold, Philipp; Münch, Jürgen

2016-01-01

For decades, Software Process Improvement (SPI) programs have been implemented, inter alia, to improve quality and speed of software development. To set up, guide, and carry out SPI projects, and to measure SPI state, impact, and success, a multitude of different SPI approaches and considerable...
Deployment of lean six sigma in care coordination: an improved discharge process.

Science.gov (United States)

Breslin, Susan Ellen; Hamilton, Karen Marie; Paynter, Jacquelyn

2014-01-01

This article presents a quality improvement project to reduce readmissions in the Medicare population related to heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, and pneumonia. The article describes a systematic approach to the discharge process aimed at improving transitions of care from hospital to post-acute care, utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodology. Inpatient acute care hospital. A coordinated discharge process, which includes postdischarge follow-up, can reduce avoidable readmissions. Implications for The quality improvement project demonstrated the significant role case management plays in preventing costly readmissions and improving outcomes for patients through better transitions of care from the hospital to the community. By utilizing Lean Six Sigma methodology, hospitals can focus on eliminating waste in their current processes and build more sustainable improvements to deliver a safe, quality, discharge process for their patients. Case managers are leading this effort to improve care transitions and assure a smoother transition into the community postdischarge..
System Documentation AS Basis For Company Business Process Improvement

OpenAIRE

Pelawi, Dewan

2012-01-01

Business process is an activity performed together to achieve business goals. Good business process will support the achievement of the organization’s plan to make profit for the company. In order to understand the business process, the business process needs to be documented and analyzed. The purpose of research is to make the system documentation as a basis to improve or complete the ongoing business process. The research method is system documentation. System documentation is a way to desc...
Tailoring a training based on the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) Intervention Guide (IG) to Tunisia: process and relevant adaptations.

Science.gov (United States)

Spagnolo, Jessica; Champagne, François; Leduc, Nicole; Melki, Wahid; Guesmi, Imen; Bram, Nesrine; Guisset, Ann-Lise; Piat, Myra; Laporta, Marc; Charfi, Fatma

2018-01-01

In order to make mental health services more accessible, the Tunisian Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal, the World Health Organization office in Tunisia and the Montreal World Health Organization-Pan American Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research and Training in Mental Health, implemented a training programme based on the Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) Intervention Guide (IG) (version 1.0) , developed by the World Health Organization. This article describes the phase prior to the implementation of the training, which was offered to general practitioners working in primary care settings in the Greater Tunis area of Tunisia. The phase prior to implementation consisted of adapting the standard mhGAP-IG (version 1.0) to the local primary healthcare context. This adaptation process, an essential step before piloting the training, involved discussions with stakeholder groups, as well as field observations. Through the adaptation process, we were able to make changes to the standard training format and material. In addition, the process helped uncover systemic barriers to effective mental health care. Targeting these barriers in addition to implementing a training programme may help reduce the mental health treatment gap, and promote implementation that is successful and sustainable.
Improvement of hydroforming processes using tailored semi-finished tubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goebel, R.; Chatti, S.; Homberg, W.; Kleiner, M.; Shankar, R. [Dortmund Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Forming Technology and Lightweight Construction

2005-07-01

The manufacturing of curved tubular workpieces with complex geometry by hydroforming is a well known process. The formability of workpieces is limited by the overall amount of expansion, which always has to start with the smallest perimeter. Especially workpieces with a high ratio between the smallest and widest diameter are critical with regard to their manufacture. To improve the capability the hydroforming process, a new concept using tailored semi-finished tubes with a variable cross-section has been developed. Instead of only expanding a tube with the smallest diameter, the diameter of a tube with middle-sized cross-section is reduced locally by a spinning process so that only the critical regions left have to be expanded. Due to the fact that usually the pre-form has to be bent to assure that it fits into the tool, an additional specialized tube-bending process has been developed to realize the bending of tubes with variable diameter. In this article, the investigation and optimization of this process chain is presented. The capabilities of the process have been improved regarding the behavior of the workpieces in the hydroforming process by manufacturing a complex structural part originating from automotive industry. (orig.)
Process improvements for enhanced productivity of PHWR garter springs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasula Reddy, S.; Tonpe, Sunil; Saibaba, N.; Jayaraj, R.N.

2009-01-01

Full text: In Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR), Garter springs are used as spacers between the coolant tube and calandria tube. Garter springs are made from Zirconium alloy containing 2.5 % Niobium and 0.5% copper. The springs are basically manufactured by coiling a wire of cross section 1.7 mm x 1.0 mm, which is produced by series of drawing and swaging operations using hot extruded rods of 19 mm diameter. The manufacturing process also involves heat treatment and chemical cleaning operations at appropriate stages. It is required to ensure that the life of springs against parameters like hydrogen pickup, residual stresses and low stiffness is improved at the manufacturing stage itself by improving manufacturing process. The impact of above problems on spring life and process improvements is briefly discussed. The critical factor affecting the garter spring performance in PHWR Reactor is mainly hydrogen. The life limiting factors for garter springs are the problems arising out of high total hydrogen content, which depends on the hydrogen pickup during reactor operation. This phenomenon can happen during the reactor operation, as springs are prone to pick-up hydrogen in the reactor environment. Hence acceptable hydrogen content for the springs is specified as 25 ppm (max.). Garter spring is susceptible to hydrogen pick-up during various production processes, which make material brittle and difficult for fabrication process such as wire drawing and coiling. By studying and optimizing the process parameters of spring manufacturing, the hydrogen pick-up of springs is brought down from 70 ppm to a level of 20 ppm. Garter springs are provided with a hook at each end to enable its assembly to coolant tube in the reactor. The hook portion is very critical in maintaining the integrity of the spring. It is desirable to have the hook portion relieved of all residual stresses. For this purpose manufacturing process has been modified and solutionising was introduced as
DEVELOPMENT OF PERFORMANCE MODEL FOR QUALITY AND PROCESS IMPROVEMENT IN BUSINESS PROCESS SERVICE INDUSTRY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samson Oludapo

2017-06-01

Full Text Available When it comes to performance improvement process, literature abounds with lean, agile and lean-agile. Over the years, the implementation of the improvement processes of lean and agile had met with resounding success in the manufacturing, production, and construction industry. For this reason, there is an interest to develop a performance process for business process service industry incorporating the key aspect of lean and agile theory extracted from the extant literature. The researcher reviewed a total of 750 scholarly articles, grouped them according to the relationship to central theme - lean or agile, and thereafter uses factor analysis under principal component method to explain the relationship of the items. The result of this study showed that firms focusing on cost will minimize the investment of resources in business operations this, in turn, will lead to difficulties in responding to changing customer's requirements in terms of volume, delivery, and new product. The implication is that on the long run cost focus strategy negatively influence flexibility.
Improving healthcare using Lean processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, G Ross

2014-01-01

For more than a decade, healthcare organizations across Canada have been using Lean management tools to improve care processes, reduce preventable adverse events, increase patient satisfaction and create better work environments. The largest system-wide effort in Canada, and perhaps anywhere, is currently under way in Saskatchewan. The jury is still out on whether Lean efforts in that province, or elsewhere in Canada, are robust enough to transform current delivery systems and sustain new levels of performance. This issue of Healthcare Quarterly features several articles that provide a perspective on Lean methods in healthcare. Copyright © 2014 Longwoods Publishing.
CQI project improves discharge process.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-08-01

At Gibson Rehab Center in Williamsport, PA, a continuous quality improvement project to bolster the institution's discharge planning process has resulted in increased satisfaction and an award for quality. The 15-month project was spearheaded by a multidisciplinary team charged with identifying areas that had a significant impact on customer service and suggesting better ways of delivering that service. Among the changes the group suggested were establishing a weekly discharge planning group for new neuro patients, assigning a discharge coordinator for each treatment team, and creating an interdisciplinary communication sheet for the home health therapy staff.

Product focused software process improvement (P-SPI) : concepts and their application

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Solingen, van D.M.; Kusters, R.J.; Trienekens, J.J.M.; Uijtrecht, van A.

1999-01-01

Management problems in the development of software have been addressed over recent years by a focus on improvement of the development process. This paper states that software process improvement (SPI) should have an explicit product focus. The practical implementation of a method for product-focused
Potentials of Information and Organisational Process Improvement Through Trained Office Staff

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chromjaková Felicita

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the main possibilities on how to improve the production rate, total ef- ficiency and profit-cost ratio in the administrative processes of public administrative offices. The results that are realized from this research serves as an important output for public administration offices in Slovakia. Process improvements can be achieved through the efficient utilization of own-staff potentials, especially by the optimal use of training modules. Well trained own-staff can radically improve the efficiency of office works, jobs and processes and can influence the satisfaction of internal and external stakeholders.
Focused process improvement events: sustainability of impact on process and performance in an academic radiology department.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenkrantz, Andrew B; Lawson, Kirk; Ally, Rosina; Chen, David; Donno, Frank; Rittberg, Steven; Rodriguez, Joan; Recht, Michael P

2015-01-01

To evaluate sustainability of impact of rapid, focused process improvement (PI) events on process and performance within an academic radiology department. Our department conducted PI during 2011 and 2012 in CT, MRI, ultrasound, breast imaging, and research billing. PI entailed participation by all stakeholders, facilitation by the department chair, collection of baseline data, meetings during several weeks, definition of performance metrics, creation of an improvement plan, and prompt implementation. We explore common themes among PI events regarding initial impact and durability of changes. We also assess performance in each area pre-PI, immediately post-PI, and at the time of the current study. All PI events achieved an immediate improvement in performance metrics, often entailing both examination volumes and on-time performance. IT-based solutions, process standardization, and redefinition of staff responsibilities were often central in these changes, and participants consistently expressed improved internal leadership and problem-solving ability. Major environmental changes commonly occurred after PI, including a natural disaster with equipment loss, a change in location or services offered, and new enterprise-wide electronic medical record system incorporating new billing and radiology informatics systems, requiring flexibility in the PI implementation plan. Only one PI team conducted regular post-PI follow-up meetings. Sustained improvement was frequently, but not universally, observed: in the long-term following initial PI, measures of examination volume showed continued progressive improvements, whereas measures of operational efficiency remained stable or occasionally declined. Focused PI is generally effective in achieving performance improvement, although a changing environment influences the sustainability of impact. Thus, continued process evaluation and ongoing workflow modifications are warranted. Copyright © 2015 American College of Radiology
Improved process for forming a three-dimensional undersurface on a printed cantilever

Science.gov (United States)

Kanazawa, Shusuke; Kusaka, Yasuyuki; Yamamoto, Noritaka; Ushijima, Hirobumi

2018-05-01

An improvement in the lift-on offset printing process is reported as a means of enabling the structural customization of hollow structures used as moving parts of sensors and actuators. The improved process can add structures to the underside of a hollow structure by modifying the preparation of the pre-structure. As a demonstration, the mechanical displacement of a cantilever in a gravitational acceleration sensor was enhanced by the addition of a proof mass. The improved process can be expected to further produce functionalized hollow structures by an efficient manufacturing process.
Improvement of radiology services based on the process management approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Amaral, Creusa Sayuri Tahara; Rozenfeld, Henrique; Costa, Janaina Mascarenhas Hornos; Magon, Maria de Fátima de Andrade; Mascarenhas, Yvone Maria

2011-06-01

The health sector requires continuous investments to ensure the improvement of products and services from a technological standpoint, the use of new materials, equipment and tools, and the application of process management methods. Methods associated with the process management approach, such as the development of reference models of business processes, can provide significant innovations in the health sector and respond to the current market trend for modern management in this sector (Gunderman et al. (2008) [4]). This article proposes a process model for diagnostic medical X-ray imaging, from which it derives a primary reference model and describes how this information leads to gains in quality and improvements. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Electronic Timekeeping: North Dakota State University Improves Payroll Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Vetter, Ronald J.; And Others

1993-01-01

North Dakota State University has adopted automated timekeeping to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of payroll processing. The microcomputer-based system accurately records and computes employee time, tracks labor distribution, accommodates complex labor policies and company pay practices, provides automatic data processing and reporting,…
[Improving inpatient pharmacoterapeutic process by Lean Six Sigma methodology].

Science.gov (United States)

Font Noguera, I; Fernández Megía, M J; Ferrer Riquelme, A J; Balasch I Parisi, S; Edo Solsona, M D; Poveda Andres, J L

2013-01-01

Lean Six Sigma methodology has been used to improve care processes, eliminate waste, reduce costs, and increase patient satisfaction. To analyse the results obtained with Lean Six Sigma methodology in the diagnosis and improvement of the inpatient pharmacotherapy process during structural and organisational changes in a tertiary hospital. 1.000 beds tertiary hospital. prospective observational study. The define, measure, analyse, improve and control (DMAIC), were deployed from March to September 2011. An Initial Project Charter was updated as results were obtained. 131 patients with treatments prescribed within 24h after admission and with 4 drugs. safety indicators (medication errors), and efficiency indicators (complaints and time delays). Proportion of patients with a medication error was reduced from 61.0% (25/41 patients) to 55.7% (39/70 patients) in four months. Percentage of errors (regarding the opportunities for error) decreased in the different phases of the process: Prescription: from 5.1% (19/372 opportunities) to 3.3% (19/572 opportunities); Preparation: from 2.7% (14/525 opportunities) to 1.3% (11/847 opportunities); and administration: from 4.9% (16/329 opportunities) to 3.0% (13/433 opportunities). Nursing complaints decreased from 10.0% (2119/21038 patients) to 5.7% (1779/31097 patients). The estimated economic impact was 76,800 euros saved. An improvement in the pharmacotherapeutic process and a positive economic impact was observed, as well as enhancing patient safety and efficiency of the organization. Standardisation and professional training are future Lean Six Sigma candidate projects. Copyright © 2012 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
THE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OF PRIMER PACKAGING PROCESS USING SIX SIGMA METHODOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prima Ditahardiyani

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The implementation of Six Sigma has become a common theme in many organizations. This paper presents the Six Sigma methodology and its implementation in a primer packaging process of Cranberry drink. DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control approach is used to analyze and to improve the primer packaging process, which have high variability and defects output. After the improvement, the results showed that there was an increasing sigma level. However, it is not significantly and has not achieved the world standard quality, yet. Therefore, the implementation of Six Sigma in primer packaging process of Cranberry drink still has a room for doing a further research.
Improving the environmental sustainability of a waste processing plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, Tom; Watson, Stuart

2013-01-01

This paper describes how the level of environmental sustainability at the Solid Waste Processing plant at Research Sites Restoration Ltd (RSRL) Harwell was measured and improved. It provides reasons to improve environmental performance in an organisation, states best practice on how improvement should be conducted, and gives first-hand experience on how changes were implemented. In this paper sustainability is defined as 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. A baseline for environmental sustainability was created, by looking at multiple attributes. From this, a matrix was created to show how the baseline environmental performance compared to best practice, and a gap analysis was performed. Results from this analysis showed areas for potential systematic improvement, and actions were created. Nearly all actions were implemented within one year, and environmental sustainability improved significantly. Most improvements cost no money to implement, and the few that did had to pass criteria in a business case. Results from a company-wide survey showed that the vast majority of employees felt that environmental issues were important, and that they were willing to help improve performance. Environmental awareness training was given to everyone in the department, and individuals were given measurable improvement targets. A focus group was set up and met regularly to agree improvements and monitor results. Environmental performance was publicised regularly to highlight successes and seek further engagement and improvement. Improvement ideas were encouraged and managed in a transparent way which showed clear prioritisation and accountability. The culture of environmental improvement changed visibly and results at the end of the first year showed that electricity consumption had reduced by 12.5%, and gas consumption had reduced by 7.3%. In less than two years over UK Pound 60,000 was saved
Improving the environmental sustainability of a waste processing plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turner, Tom [AREVA RMC, Abingdon, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Watson, Stuart [RSRL, Harwell, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)

2013-07-01

This paper describes how the level of environmental sustainability at the Solid Waste Processing plant at Research Sites Restoration Ltd (RSRL) Harwell was measured and improved. It provides reasons to improve environmental performance in an organisation, states best practice on how improvement should be conducted, and gives first-hand experience on how changes were implemented. In this paper sustainability is defined as 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. A baseline for environmental sustainability was created, by looking at multiple attributes. From this, a matrix was created to show how the baseline environmental performance compared to best practice, and a gap analysis was performed. Results from this analysis showed areas for potential systematic improvement, and actions were created. Nearly all actions were implemented within one year, and environmental sustainability improved significantly. Most improvements cost no money to implement, and the few that did had to pass criteria in a business case. Results from a company-wide survey showed that the vast majority of employees felt that environmental issues were important, and that they were willing to help improve performance. Environmental awareness training was given to everyone in the department, and individuals were given measurable improvement targets. A focus group was set up and met regularly to agree improvements and monitor results. Environmental performance was publicised regularly to highlight successes and seek further engagement and improvement. Improvement ideas were encouraged and managed in a transparent way which showed clear prioritisation and accountability. The culture of environmental improvement changed visibly and results at the end of the first year showed that electricity consumption had reduced by 12.5%, and gas consumption had reduced by 7.3%. In less than two years over UK Pound 60,000 was saved
Quality initiatives: planning, setting up, and carrying out radiology process improvement projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Tamm, Eric P; Szklaruk, Janio; Puthooran, Leejo; Stone, Danna; Stevens, Brian L; Modaro, Cathy

2012-01-01

In the coming decades, those who provide radiologic imaging services will be increasingly challenged by the economic, demographic, and political forces affecting healthcare to improve their efficiency, enhance the value of their services, and achieve greater customer satisfaction. It is essential that radiologists master and consistently apply basic process improvement skills that have allowed professionals in many other fields to thrive in a competitive environment. The authors provide a step-by-step overview of process improvement from the perspective of a radiologic imaging practice by describing their experience in conducting a process improvement project: to increase the daily volume of body magnetic resonance imaging examinations performed at their institution. The first step in any process improvement project is to identify and prioritize opportunities for improvement in the work process. Next, an effective project team must be formed that includes representatives of all participants in the process. An achievable aim must be formulated, appropriate measures selected, and baseline data collected to determine the effects of subsequent efforts to achieve the aim. Each aspect of the process in question is then analyzed by using appropriate tools (eg, flowcharts, fishbone diagrams, Pareto diagrams) to identify opportunities for beneficial change. Plans for change are then established and implemented with regular measurements and review followed by necessary adjustments in course. These so-called PDSA (planning, doing, studying, and acting) cycles are repeated until the aim is achieved or modified and the project closed.
RECENT PROCESS AND EQUIPMENT IMPROVEMENTS TO INCREASE HIGH LEVEL WASTE THROUGHPUT AT THE DEFENSE WASTE PROCESSING FACILITY (DWPF)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, M; Allan Barnes, A; Jim Coleman, J; Robert Hopkins, R; Dan Iverson, D; Richard Odriscoll, R; David Peeler, D

2006-01-01

The Savannah River Site's (SRS) Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), the world's largest operating high level waste (HLW) vitrification plant, began stabilizing about 35 million gallons of SRS liquid radioactive waste by-product in 1996. The DWPF has since filled over 2000 canisters with about 4000 pounds of radioactive glass in each canister. In the past few years there have been several process and equipment improvements at the DWPF to increase the rate at which the waste can be stabilized. These improvements have either directly increased waste processing rates or have desensitized the process and therefore minimized process upsets and thus downtime. These improvements, which include glass former optimization, increased waste loading of the glass, the melter glass pump, the melter heated bellows liner, and glass surge protection software, will be discussed in this paper
Improvement of the operational performance of SRF cavities via in situ helium processing and waveguide vacuum processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reece, C.E.; Drury, M.; Rao, M.G.; Nguyen-Tuong, V.

1997-01-01

The useful performance range of the superconducting rf (SRF) cavities in the CEBAF accelerator at Jefferson Lab is frequently limited by electron field emission and derived phenomena. Improvements are required to support future operation of the accelerator at higher than 5 GeV. Twelve operational cryomodules have been successfully processed to higher useful operating gradients via rf-helium processing. Progress against field emission was evidenced by improved high-field Q, reduced x-ray production and greatly reduced incidence of arcing at the cold ceramic window. There was no difficulty reestablishing beamline vacuum following the processing. Cavities previously limited to 4-6 MV/m are now operating stably at 6-9 MV/m. By applying a pulsed-rf processing technique, we have also improved the pressure stability of the thermal transition region of the input waveguide for several cavities
Pre-processing by data augmentation for improved ellipse fitting.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Pankaj; Belchamber, Erika R; Miklavcic, Stanley J

2018-01-01

Ellipse fitting is a highly researched and mature topic. Surprisingly, however, no existing method has thus far considered the data point eccentricity in its ellipse fitting procedure. Here, we introduce the concept of eccentricity of a data point, in analogy with the idea of ellipse eccentricity. We then show empirically that, irrespective of ellipse fitting method used, the root mean square error (RMSE) of a fit increases with the eccentricity of the data point set. The main contribution of the paper is based on the hypothesis that if the data point set were pre-processed to strategically add additional data points in regions of high eccentricity, then the quality of a fit could be improved. Conditional validity of this hypothesis is demonstrated mathematically using a model scenario. Based on this confirmation we propose an algorithm that pre-processes the data so that data points with high eccentricity are replicated. The improvement of ellipse fitting is then demonstrated empirically in real-world application of 3D reconstruction of a plant root system for phenotypic analysis. The degree of improvement for different underlying ellipse fitting methods as a function of data noise level is also analysed. We show that almost every method tested, irrespective of whether it minimizes algebraic error or geometric error, shows improvement in the fit following data augmentation using the proposed pre-processing algorithm.
Using Quality Function Deployment To Improve Academic Advising Processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrows, Richard; Murray, Bruce

1997-01-01

Quality Function Deployment, a set of concepts and tools used in manufacturing engineering to link consumer needs with product design, can also improve academic advising systems and processes. The technique promotes structured, logical examination of students' advising needs and their relationship to advising system design, processes, methods,…
Process Improvement Tools, Commitment to Change Lead to Serious Turnaround.

Science.gov (United States)

Birznieks, Derek; Zane, Richard

2017-05-01

The ED at the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, doubling in size while also using process improvement methods to dramatically reduce wait times, eliminate ambulance diversion, and boost patient satisfaction. Throughout this period, volume has continued to increase while the cost per patient and avoidable hospital admissions have experienced steady declines. Guiding the effort has been a series of core principles, with a particular focus on making sure that all processes are patient-centered. . To begin the improvement effort, ED leaders established a leadership team, and hired a process improvement chief with no previous experience in healthcare to provide fresh, outside perspective on processes. . In addition to mandating that all processes be patient-centered, the other guiding principles included a commitment to use and track data, to speak with one voice, to value everyone's perspective, to deliver high-quality care to all patients, and to set a standard for other academic medical centers. . To get points on the board early and win approval from staff, one of the first changes administrators implemented was to hire scribes for every physician so they wouldn't be bogged down with data input. The approach has essentially paid for itself. . Among the biggest changes was the elimination of triage, a process that improvement teams found no longer added value or quality to the patient experience. . Leadership also has moved to equilibrate the size and staff of the various zones in the ED so that they are more generic and less specialized. The move has facilitated patient flow, enabling patients in zones with resuscitation bays to connect with providers quickly.
LSTM, GRU, Highway and a Bit of Attention: An Empirical Overview for Language Modeling in Speech Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-12

R. K. Srivastava, K. Greff, and J. Schmidhuber, “Training very deep networks,” in Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems (NIPS), Montreal...modeling,” in Deep Learning workshop at Conf. on Advances in Neural Infor- mation Processing Systems (NIPS), Montreal, Canada, Dec. 2014. [19] R...Language Processing (EMNLP), Lisbon, Portugal, Sep. 2015, pp. 1412–1421. [38] K. Tran, A. Bisazza, and C. Monz, “Recurrent memory network for language
Improvements of reforming performance of a nuclear heated steam reforming process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hada, Kazuhiko

1996-10-01

Performance of an energy production process by utilizing high temperature nuclear process heat was not competitive to that by utilizing non-nuclear process heat, especially fossil-fired process heat due to its less favorable chemical reaction conditions. Less favorable conditions are because a temperature of the nuclear generated heat is around 950degC and the heat transferring fluid is the helium gas pressurized at around 4 MPa. Improvements of reforming performance of nuclear heated steam reforming process were proposed in the present report. The steam reforming process, one of hydrogen production processes, has the possibility to be industrialized as a nuclear heated process as early as expected, and technical solutions to resolve issues for coupling an HTGR with the steam reforming system are applicable to other nuclear-heated hydrogen production systems. The improvements are as follows: As for the steam reformer, (1) increase in heat input to process gas by applying a bayonet type of reformer tubes and so on, (2) increase in reforming temperature by enhancing heat transfer rate by the use of combined promoters of orifice baffles, cylindrical thermal radiation pipes and other proposal, and (3) increase in conversion rate of methane to hydrogen by optimizing chemical compositions of feed process gas. Regarding system arrangement, a steam generator and superheater are set in the helium loop as downstream coolers of the steam reformer, so as to effectively utilize the residual nuclear heat for generating feed steam. The improvements are estimated to achieve the hydrogen production rate of approximately 3800 STP-m 3 /h for the heat source of 10 MW and therefore will provide the potential competitiveness to a fossil-fired steam reforming process. Those improvements also provide the compactness of reformer tubes, giving the applicability of seamless tubes. (J.P.N.)
Quality Improvement Process in a Large Intensive Care Unit: Structure and Outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Anita J; Guzman, Jorge A

2016-11-01

Quality improvement in the health care setting is a complex process, and even more so in the critical care environment. The development of intensive care unit process measures and quality improvement strategies are associated with improved outcomes, but should be individualized to each medical center as structure and culture can differ from institution to institution. The purpose of this report is to describe the structure of quality improvement processes within a large medical intensive care unit while using examples of the study institution's successes and challenges in the areas of stat antibiotic administration, reduction in blood product waste, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and medication errors. © The Author(s) 2015.
Software Process Improvement Journey: IBM Australia Application Management Services

Science.gov (United States)

2005-03-01

See Section 5.1.2) - Client Relationship Management ( CRM ) processes-specifically, Solution Design and Solution Delivery - Worldwide Project Management ...plex systems life-cycle management , rapid solutions development, custom development, package selection and implementation, maintenance, minor...CarnegieMellon ___ Software Engineering Institute Software Process Improvement Journey: IBM Australia Application Management Services Robyn Nichols

Matrix Wings: Continuous Process Improvement an Operator Can Love

Science.gov (United States)

2016-09-01

key processes in our normal operations. In addition to the almost inevitable resistance to change, one of the points of pushback is that members of...Fall 2016 | 9 Matrix Wings Continuous Process Improvement an Operator Can Love Dr. A. J. Briding, Colonel, USAF, Retired Disclaimer: The views and...Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO21), the latest comprehensive effort at finding the right ap- proach for implementing a continuous process
Improvement in Patient Transfer Process From the Operating Room to the PICU Using a Lean and Six Sigma-Based Quality Improvement Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Gleich, Stephen J; Nemergut, Michael E; Stans, Anthony A; Haile, Dawit T; Feigal, Scott A; Heinrich, Angela L; Bosley, Christopher L; Tripathi, Sandeep

2016-08-01

Ineffective and inefficient patient transfer processes can increase the chance of medical errors. Improvements in such processes are high-priority local institutional and national patient safety goals. At our institution, nonintubated postoperative pediatric patients are first admitted to the postanesthesia care unit before transfer to the PICU. This quality improvement project was designed to improve the patient transfer process from the operating room (OR) to the PICU. After direct observation of the baseline process, we introduced a structured, direct OR-PICU transfer process for orthopedic spinal fusion patients. We performed value stream mapping of the process to determine error-prone and inefficient areas. We evaluated primary outcome measures of handoff error reduction and the overall efficiency of patient transfer process time. Staff satisfaction was evaluated as a counterbalance measure. With the introduction of the new direct OR-PICU patient transfer process, the handoff communication error rate improved from 1.9 to 0.3 errors per patient handoff (P = .002). Inefficiency (patient wait time and non-value-creating activity) was reduced from 90 to 32 minutes. Handoff content was improved with fewer information omissions (P improved among nearly all PICU providers. By using quality improvement methodology to design and implement a new direct OR-PICU transfer process with a structured multidisciplinary verbal handoff, we achieved sustained improvements in patient safety and efficiency. Handoff communication was enhanced, with fewer errors and content omissions. The new process improved efficiency, with high staff satisfaction. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Setting the census household into its urban context: Visualizations from 19th-century Montreal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sherry Olson

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Organized by household, North American census data promoted research into household composition, but discouraged research into connections between urban households. Yet these constitute "communications communities" that powerfully influence demographic decisions (Szreter 1996. Objective: How can we uncover relations between urban households? From spatial cues, can we infer social connections that generate constraints on or incentives for the formation of a household, its break-up, reconstitution, or relocation? Methods: For Montreal and its suburbs, 1881‒1901, we employ double geocoding and lot-level precision to explore a dozen types of relationships. Samples for experiment are drawn from a local historical geographic information system (HGIS that integrates tax roll and directory with census data. Results: 'Family' was socially embedded at three levels. Neighbouring of kin was strategic, and kinship was a factor in employment, enterprise, and property development as well as residential choices. In managing property, family networks operated with a horizon of four generations. Conclusions: Introduction of geographic coordinates offers a critical set of neglected cues to relationships between households, such as business partnerships, credit, or use of transit or telephone. In an urban HGIS, advantageous features are lot-level precision and facilities for coding and matching addresses to accommodate alternative levels of spatial aggregation. Contribution: Geocoding is shown to be a breakthrough innovation for exploring urban connectivity. Experiments with maps and networks as tools of visual thinking invite us to rethink the 'census family' at higher levels of relatedness.
Sustaining Operational Resiliency: A Process Improvement Approach to Security Management

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Caralli, Richard A

2006-01-01

.... Coordinating these efforts to sustain operational resiliency requires a process-oriented approach that can be defined, measured, and actively managed. This report describes the fundamental elements and benefits of a process approach to security and operational resiliency and provides a notional view of a framework for process improvement.
Improving Treatment Response for Paediatric Anxiety Disorders: An Information-Processing Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Ege, Sarah; Reinholdt-Dunne, Marie Louise

2016-12-01

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is considered the treatment of choice for paediatric anxiety disorders, yet there remains substantial room for improvement in treatment outcomes. This paper examines whether theory and research into the role of information-processing in the underlying psychopathology of paediatric anxiety disorders indicate possibilities for improving treatment response. Using a critical review of recent theoretical, empirical and academic literature, the paper examines the role of information-processing biases in paediatric anxiety disorders, the extent to which CBT targets information-processing biases, and possibilities for improving treatment response. The literature reviewed indicates a role for attentional and interpretational biases in anxious psychopathology. While there is theoretical grounding and limited empirical evidence to indicate that CBT ameliorates interpretational biases, evidence regarding the effects of CBT on attentional biases is mixed. Novel treatment methods including attention bias modification training, attention feedback awareness and control training, and mindfulness-based therapy may hold potential in targeting attentional biases, and thereby in improving treatment response. The integration of novel interventions into an existing evidence-based protocol is a complex issue and faces important challenges with regard to determining the optimal treatment package. Novel interventions targeting information-processing biases may hold potential in improving response to CBT for paediatric anxiety disorders. Many important questions remain to be answered.
Academic performance and educational pathways of young allophones: A comparative multivariate analysis of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacques Ledent

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Using several local and provincial data banks enabling one to follow the school progression of the cohort of students who, in Canada’s three main immigration-destination cities, were expected to graduate secondary school in 2004, this article examines the academic performance and educational pathways of those students who at home use a language other the main language of schooling: non-French speakers in Montreal and non-English speakers in Toronto and Vancouver. First, after accounting for differences in characteristics, those students (target group are shown to succeed better than the remaining students (comparison group, especially in Vancouver. However, within the target group, there appear to be substantial differences in performance between linguistic subgroups, which are far from being similar in all three cities. Second, the individual and contextual factors that influence the academic performance of the students in the target group appear to be similar for some and different for others in the three cities, while presenting some more-or-less large discrepancies with the corresponding factors pertaining to the comparison group. The article concludes with a few policy implications.
Agreement and conversion formula between mini-mental state examination and montreal cognitive assessment in an outpatient sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Helmi, Luqman; Meagher, David; O'Mahony, Edmond; O'Neill, Donagh; Mulligan, Owen; Murthy, Sutha; McCarthy, Geraldine; Adamis, Dimitrios

2016-09-22

To explore the agreement between the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) within community dwelling older patients attending an old age psychiatry service and to derive and test a conversion formula between the two scales. Prospective study of consecutive patients attending outpatient services. Both tests were administered by the same researcher on the same day in random order. The total sample (n = 135) was randomly divided into two groups. One to derive a conversion rule (n = 70), and a second (n = 65) in which this rule was tested. The agreement (Pearson's r) of MMSE and MoCA was 0.86 (P < 0.001), and Lin's concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) was 0.57 (95%CI: 0.45-0.66). In the second sample MoCA scores were converted to MMSE scores according to a conversion rule from the first sample which achieved agreement with the original MMSE scores of 0.89 (Pearson's r, P < 0.001) and CCC of 0.88 (95%CI: 0.82-0.92). Although the two scales overlap considerably, the agreement is modest. The conversion rule derived herein demonstrated promising accuracy and warrants further testing in other populations.
Course Development Cycle Time: A Framework for Continuous Process Improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Lake, Erinn

2003-01-01

Details Edinboro University's efforts to reduce the extended cycle time required to develop new courses and programs. Describes a collaborative process improvement framework, illustrated data findings, the team's recommendations for improvement, and the outcomes of those recommendations. (EV)
Quality control process improvement of flexible printed circuit board by FMEA

Science.gov (United States)

Krasaephol, Siwaporn; Chutima, Parames

2018-02-01

This research focuses on the quality control process improvement of Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB), centred around model 7-Flex, by using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) method to decrease proportion of defective finished goods that are found at the final inspection process. Due to a number of defective units that were found at the final inspection process, high scraps may be escaped to customers. The problem comes from poor quality control process which is not efficient enough to filter defective products from in-process because there is no In-Process Quality Control (IPQC) or sampling inspection in the process. Therefore, the quality control process has to be improved by setting inspection gates and IPCQs at critical processes in order to filter the defective products. The critical processes are analysed by the FMEA method. IPQC is used for detecting defective products and reducing chances of defective finished goods escaped to the customers. Reducing proportion of defective finished goods also decreases scrap cost because finished goods incur higher scrap cost than work in-process. Moreover, defective products that are found during process can reflect the abnormal processes; therefore, engineers and operators should timely solve the problems. Improved quality control was implemented for 7-Flex production lines from July 2017 to September 2017. The result shows decreasing of the average proportion of defective finished goods and the average of Customer Manufacturers Lot Reject Rate (%LRR of CMs) equal to 4.5% and 4.1% respectively. Furthermore, cost saving of this quality control process equals to 100K Baht.
REVALUETION AND IMPROVEMENT OF NONWONEN BENEFACTION PROCESS ON THE CUSTOMER CLAIN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Gustavo dos Santos Gomes

2006-06-01

Full Text Available This study searches to understand of the process involved in product elaboration and propose improvements to satisfy the customers. From the analysis of quality management system pointers, the main problems which need preventive/corrective actions were identified, among them, the high rate of complaints from customers who acquire benefited products. In this study, a stratification of primary causes complaints were carried out to, afterwards, identify ones which need to be attacked with priority. The quality managemental tools for improvement of benefited nonwoven process were applied. The execution action that attend some items of ISO 9001:2000 and PDCA cycle were used during the development of the work. Based on pointers as the claim of customers rate, non-conformity rate quality auditorship in the service suppliers, a significant improvement in benefited nonwoven process was verified. Keywords: claim of customers, PDCA, quality tools, non-conformity, improvement.
Sustainability Assessment of the Residential Land Use in Seven Boroughs of the Island of Montreal, Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Enrique Vega-Azamar

2015-02-01

Full Text Available High resource utilization in the residential sector, and the associated environmental impacts, are central issues in the growth of urban regions. Land-use urban planning is a primary instrument for the proper development of cities; an important point is the consideration of the urban form’s influence on resource utilization intensity. Emergy synthesis, an energy-based methodological approach that allows the quantification and integration of both natural and human-generated flows interacting in urban environments, was used to assess sustainability of the residential land use of seven boroughs on the Island of Montreal. Natural resources, food, water, acquired goods and services, electricity and fuels were the main flows considered in the analysis. Results suggest that income, household size and distance to downtown are the variables affecting resource utilization intensity more noticeably and that allocation of green area coverage is an important parameter for controlling land use intensity. With the procedure used for calculating resource use intensity in the seven boroughs, it is possible to generate a tool to support urban planning decision-making for assessing sustainable development scenarios. Future research should consider urban green space potential for accommodating local waste treatment systems, acting as a greenhouse gas emissions sink and promoting human health.
Broken English, broken bones? Mechanisms linking language proficiency and occupational health in a Montreal garment factory.

Science.gov (United States)

Premji, Stéphanie; Messing, Karen; Lippel, Katherine

2008-01-01

Language barriers are often cited as a factor contributing to ethnic inequalities in occupational health; however, little information is available about the mechanisms at play. The authors describe the multiple ways in which language influences occupational health in a large garment factory employing many immigrants in Montreal. Between 2004 and 2006, individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 women and 10 men from 14 countries of birth. Interviews were conducted in French and English, Canada's official languages, as well as in non-official languages with the help of colleague-interpreters. Observation within the workplace was also carried out at various times during the project. The authors describe how proficiency in the official languages influences occupational health by affecting workers' ability to understand and communicate information, and supporting relationships that can affect work-related health. They also describe workers' strategies to address communication barriers and discuss the implications of these strategies from an occupational health standpoint. Along with the longer-term objectives of integrating immigrants into the linguistic majority and addressing structural conditions that can affect health, policies and practices need to be put in place to protect the health and well-being of those who face language barriers in the short term.
Associations between grass and weed pollen and emergency department visits for asthma among children in Montreal.

Science.gov (United States)

Héguy, Léa; Garneau, Michelle; Goldberg, Mark S; Raphoz, Marie; Guay, Frédéric; Valois, Marie-France

2008-02-01

Asthma among children is a major public health problem worldwide. There are increasing number of studies suggesting a possible association between allergenic pollen and exacerbations of asthma. In the context of global climate change, a number of future climate and air pollution scenarios predict increases in concentrations of pollen, an extension of the pollen season, and an increase in the allergenicity of pollen. The goal of the present study is to evaluate the short-term effects of exposure to grass and weed pollen on emergency department visits and readmissions for asthma among children aged 0-9 years living in Montreal between April and October, 1994-2004. Time-series analyses were carried out using parametric log-linear overdispersed Poisson models that were adjusted for temporal variations, daily weather conditions (temperature, atmospheric pressure), and gaseous air pollutants (ozone and nitrogen dioxide). We have found positive associations between emergency department visits and concentrations of grass pollen 3 days after exposure. The effect of grass pollen was higher on emergency department readmissions as compared to initial visits. Weak negative associations were found between weed pollen (including ragweed pollen) and emergency department visits 2 days after exposure. The data indicate that among children, emergency department visits increased with increasing concentrations of grass pollen.
Sustainability of compressive residual stress by stress improvement processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikawa, Satoru; Okita, Shigeru; Yamaguchi, Atsunori

2013-01-01

Stress improvement processes are countermeasures against stress corrosion cracking in nuclear power plant components. It is necessary to confirm whether compressive residual stress induced by stress improvement processes can be sustained under operation environment. In order to evaluate stability of the compressive residual stress in 60-year operating conditions, the 0.07% cyclic strains of 200 times at 593 K were applied to the welded specimens, then a thermal aging treatment for 1.66x10 6 s at 673 K was carried out. As the result, it was confirmed that the compressive residual stresses were sustained on both surfaces of the dissimilar welds of austenitic stainless steel (SUS316L) and nickel base alloy (NCF600 and alloy 182) processed by laser peening (LP), water jet peening (WJP), ultrasonic shot peening (USP), shot peening (SP) and polishing under 60-year operating conditions. (author)
Studies on the improvement of irradiation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ki Yup; Pyun, Hyung Chick; Yoon, Byung Mok; Nho, Young Chang; Lee, Young Keun; Park, Soon Chul; Na, Bong Joo; Yoo, Young Soo

1991-01-01

On the basis of analysis and examination for efficient maintenance and operation of the facility, the method of improving irradiation process was discussed so that we may extend the applicability of irradiation technique to various materials and accelerate nation-wide propagation of radiation processing technology. Preparations have been made for transfer, installation, and operation of the irradiation facilities in radiation application building which will be completed at the headquarter site by the end of 1992. The qualification testing apparatus for nuclear power station cables was conceptually designed to investigate the degradation behavior of the cables under a simulated LOCA(Loss of Coolant Accident) environments. (Author)
Montreal Cognitive Assessment for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Daniel H J; Creavin, Sam T; Yip, Jennifer L Y; Noel-Storr, Anna H; Brayne, Carol; Cullum, Sarah

2015-10-29

Dementia is a progressive syndrome of global cognitive impairment with significant health and social care costs. Global prevalence is projected to increase, particularly in resource-limited settings. Recent policy changes in Western countries to increase detection mandates a careful examination of the diagnostic accuracy of neuropsychological tests for dementia. To determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) at various thresholds for dementia and its subtypes. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS Previews, Science Citation Index, PsycINFO and LILACS databases to August 2012. In addition, we searched specialised sources containing diagnostic studies and reviews, including MEDION (Meta-analyses van Diagnostisch Onderzoek), DARE (Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects), HTA (Health Technology Assessment Database), ARIF (Aggressive Research Intelligence Facility) and C-EBLM (International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine Committee for Evidence-based Laboratory Medicine) databases. We also searched ALOIS (Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group specialized register of diagnostic and intervention studies). We identified further relevant studies from the PubMed 'related articles' feature and by tracking key studies in Science Citation Index and Scopus. We also searched for relevant grey literature from the Web of Science Core Collection, including Science Citation Index and Conference Proceedings Citation Index (Thomson Reuters Web of Science), PhD theses and contacted researchers with potential relevant data. Cross-sectional designs where all participants were recruited from the same sample were sought; case-control studies were excluded due to high chance of bias. We searched for studies from memory clinics, hospital clinics, primary care and community populations. We excluded studies of early onset dementia, dementia from a secondary cause, or studies where participants were selected on the basis
Electrical Storm Simulation to Improve the Learning Physics Process

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez Muñoz, Miriam; Jiménez Rodríguez, María Lourdes; Gutiérrez de Mesa, José Antonio

2013-01-01

This work is part of a research project whose main objective is to understand the impact that the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has on the teaching and learning process on the subject of Physics. We will show that, with the use of a storm simulator, physics students improve their learning process on one hand they understand…
Improving work processes by making the invisible visible

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bakker, A.; Hoyles, C.; Kent, P.; Noss, R.

2012-01-01

There is a growing movement for industrial companies to modify their production practices according to methodologies collectively known as process improvement. After World War II, Japanese companies such as Toyota developed new manufacturing paradigms (e.g., lean manufacturing) under the guidance of
Improving Logistics Processes in Industry Using Web Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Jánošík, Ján; Tanuška, Pavol; Václavová, Andrea

2016-12-01

The aim of this paper is to propose the concept of a system that takes advantage of web technologies and integrates them into the management process and management of internal stocks which may relate to external applications and creates the conditions to transform a Computerized Control of Warehouse Stock (CCWS) in the company. The importance of implementing CCWS is in the elimination of the claims caused by the human factor, as well as to allow the processing of information for analytical purposes and their subsequent use to improve internal processes. Using CCWS in the company would also facilitate better use of the potential tools Business Intelligence and Data Mining.
76 FR 19976 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of EDA Grant Process Improvement

Science.gov (United States)

2011-04-11

...; Comment Request; Survey of EDA Grant Process Improvement AGENCY: Economic Development Administration.... In 2010, EDA made improvements in its grant application process. The proposed short survey of five to... improvements to the grant application process and to make any necessary adjustments. EDA would like to conduct...

Analysing and Improving the Sales Strategy and Process

OpenAIRE

Kuosa, Samuel

2017-01-01

In this thesis the intention is to identify and analyze the sales strategy and sales process of Robert Bosch Oy, which is a subsidiary of the multinational Robert Bosch GmbH. This thesis focuses on the mobility solutions business sector. The reason behind this research is to illuminate the problems the organization faces in implementing their sales strategy and sales process, and then offer improvement ideas on how they could be implemented in the Finnish market. The literature review giv...
Improving Accuracy of Processing by Adaptive Control Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. N. Barbashov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available When machining the work-pieces a range of scatter of the work-piece dimensions to the tolerance limit is displaced in response to the errors. To improve an accuracy of machining and prevent products from defects it is necessary to diminish the machining error components, i.e. to improve the accuracy of machine tool, tool life, rigidity of the system, accuracy of adjustment. It is also necessary to provide on-machine adjustment after a certain time. However, increasing number of readjustments reduces the performance and high machine and tool requirements lead to a significant increase in the machining cost.To improve the accuracy and machining rate, various devices of active control (in-process gaging devices, as well as controlled machining through adaptive systems for a technological process control now become widely used. Thus, the accuracy improvement in this case is reached by compensation of a majority of technological errors. The sensors of active control can provide improving the accuracy of processing by one or two quality classes, and simultaneous operation of several machines.For efficient use of sensors of active control it is necessary to develop the accuracy control methods by means of introducing the appropriate adjustments to solve this problem. Methods based on the moving average, appear to be the most promising for accuracy control, since they contain information on the change in the last several measured values of the parameter under control.When using the proposed method in calculation, the first three members of the sequence of deviations remain unchanged, therefore 1 1 x  x , 2 2 x  x , 3 3 x  x Then, for each i-th member of the sequence we calculate that way: , ' i i i x  x  k x , where instead of the i x values will be populated with the corresponding values ' i x calculated as an average of three previous members:3 ' 1  2  3  i i i i x x x x .As a criterion for the estimate of the control
How to improve patient satisfaction when patients are already satisfied: a continuous process-improvement approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Friesner, Dan; Neufelder, Donna; Raisor, Janet; Bozman, Carl S

2009-01-01

The authors present a methodology that measures improvement in customer satisfaction scores when those scores are already high and the production process is slow and thus does not generate a large amount of useful data in any given time period. The authors used these techniques with data from a midsized rehabilitation institute affiliated with a regional, nonprofit medical center. Thus, this article functions as a case study, the findings of which may be applicable to a large number of other healthcare providers that share both the mission and challenges faced by this facility. The methodology focused on 2 factors: use of the unique characteristics of panel data to overcome the paucity of observations and a dynamic benchmarking approach to track process variability over time. By focusing on these factors, the authors identify some additional areas for process improvement despite the institute's past operational success.
Improvement of the system of management of business processes of the bank

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pereverzev Pavel Petrovich

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The aim is to develop a scientific - methodological and scientific - methodological issues of the effective technologies for managing business processes of the bank. It is shown that the development and implementation of detailed functional models of management for all business processes of the bank, establishing a structural relationship between the functions of planning, organizing, recording, monitoring, analysis, management and improvement of the business process management object, and development of additional management information systems, will significantly increase the level of automation of the bank, to improve the existing banking information system and improve the competitiveness of the bank.
Adoption of improved technologies in soyabean processing and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

adequate information and limited understanding. To increase protein food intake, adoption of soyabean improved technologies should be encouraged. Efforts should be made by extension workers to create more awareness on the importance of these innovations and on methods of processing. This way, consumption of ...
Developing lettuce with improved quality for processed salads.

Science.gov (United States)

Lettuce is increasingly consumed as minimally processed salads. Cultivars grown for this market may require breeding for improved shelf-life and resistance to physiological defects such as tipburn (TB). Tipburn is a calcium deficiency related defect causing necrosis on the leaf margins, typically on...
Process Evaluation and Continuous Improvement in Community Youth Programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer V. Trachtenberg

2008-06-01

Full Text Available A method of using process evaluation to provide improvement plans in order to promote community youth programs is described. The core elements of this method include the following: (1 collection and analysis of baseline data, (2 feedback provided to programs describing their strengths and limitations, (3 programs provided with assistance in preparing improvement plans in regard to their baseline data, and (4 follow-up evaluation assessed program changes based on their improvement plans and baseline data. A case study of an inner-city neighborhood youth center is used to demonstrate this method.
Optical improvement for laser material processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bosman, J.; De Keijzer, M.A.; De Kok, C.J.G.M. [ECN Engineering and Services, Petten (Netherlands); Molenaar, R.; Kettelarij, H.

2010-05-15

The use of laser technology enables flexibility and new concepts for example solar cell production but also optical moulds. The reason why laser technology is used in these cases is not the laser system itself but the ability to tailor this type of energy to the demands of the production processes. To ensure the full potential of the laser technology it can be improved by adding optical elements like polarizer, cameras, lenses and sensors. Two of these extra optical elements are presented here. First laser pulse energy attenuation. This is used to increase the controllability of laser processes. And second a new camera optic that enables integrated alignment with respect to features on the product. This last option enables marking on existing features and automated compensation of scanner drift. These camera systems can be used for micro welding of polymers and repair of existing markings in moulds.
Bilinguisme et problematique des langues ethniques. Enquete sur le comportement linguistique des jeunes montrealais d'origine italienne (Bilingualism and the Problem of Ethnic Languages. A Study of the Linguistic Behavior of Young Montrealers of Italian Descent). Publication B-149.

Science.gov (United States)

Villata, Bruno

A study is reported of the language behavior of trilingual 9-to-12-year-old native Italian speakers in Montreal, some of whom were studying Italian on Saturdays and some of whom were not. The study focused on their available vocabulary in the three languages (Italian, French, and English) and on their language productivity during their various…
Process mapping as a framework for performance improvement in emergency general surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

DeGirolamo, Kristin; D'Souza, Karan; Hall, William; Joos, Emilie; Garraway, Naisan; Sing, Chad Kim; McLaughlin, Patrick; Hameed, Morad

2018-02-01

Emergency general surgery conditions are often thought of as being too acute for the development of standardized approaches to quality improvement. However, process mapping, a concept that has been applied extensively in manufacturing quality improvement, is now being used in health care. The objective of this study was to create process maps for small bowel obstruction in an effort to identify potential areas for quality improvement. We used the American College of Surgeons Emergency General Surgery Quality Improvement Program pilot database to identify patients who received nonoperative or operative management of small bowel obstruction between March 2015 and March 2016. This database, patient charts and electronic health records were used to create process maps from the time of presentation to discharge. Eighty-eight patients with small bowel obstruction (33 operative; 55 nonoperative) were identified. Patients who received surgery had a complication rate of 32%. The processes of care from the time of presentation to the time of follow-up were highly elaborate and variable in terms of duration; however, the sequences of care were found to be consistent. We used data visualization strategies to identify bottlenecks in care, and they showed substantial variability in terms of operating room access. Variability in the operative care of small bowel obstruction is high and represents an important improvement opportunity in general surgery. Process mapping can identify common themes, even in acute care, and suggest specific performance improvement measures.
A Critical Evaluation and Framework of Business Process Improvement Methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanwersch, R.J.B.; Shahzad, K.; Vanderfeesten, I.; Vanhaecht, K.; Grefen, P.; Pintelon, L.M.; Mendling, J.; van Merode, G.G.; Reijers, H.A.

2016-01-01

The redesign of business processes has a huge potential in terms of reducing costs and throughput times, as well as improving customer satisfaction. Despite rapid developments in the business process management discipline during the last decade, a comprehensive overview of the options to
A critical evaluation and framework of business process improvement methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vanwersch, R.J.B.; Shahzad, K.; Vanderfeesten, I.T.P.; Vanhaecht, K.; Grefen, P.W.P.J.; Pintelon, L.M.; Mendling, J.; Merode, van G.G.; Reijers, H.A.

2016-01-01

The redesign of business processes has a huge potential in terms of reducing costs and throughput times, as well as improving customer satisfaction. Despite rapid developments in the business process management discipline during the last decade, a comprehensive overview of the options to
4th International Conference on Software Process Improvement

CERN Document Server

Muñoz, Mirna; Rocha, Álvaro; Calvo-Manzano, Jose

2016-01-01

This book contains a selection of papers from The 2015 International Conference on Software Process Improvement (CIMPS’15), held between the 28th and 30th of October in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México. The CIMPS’15 is a global forum for researchers and practitioners that present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, results, experiences and concerns in the several perspectives of Software Engineering with clear relationship but not limited to software processes, Security in Information and Communication Technology and Big Data Field. The main topics covered are: Organizational Models, Standards and Methodologies, Knowledge Management, Software Systems, Applications and Tools, Information and Communication Technologies and Processes in non-software domains (Mining, automotive, aerospace, business, health care, manufacturing, etc.) with a demonstrated relationship to software process challenges.
IMPROVING TACONITE PROCESSING PLANT EFFICIENCY BY COMPUTER SIMULATION, Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

William M. Bond; Salih Ersayin

2007-03-30

This project involved industrial scale testing of a mineral processing simulator to improve the efficiency of a taconite processing plant, namely the Minorca mine. The Concentrator Modeling Center at the Coleraine Minerals Research Laboratory, University of Minnesota Duluth, enhanced the capabilities of available software, Usim Pac, by developing mathematical models needed for accurate simulation of taconite plants. This project provided funding for this technology to prove itself in the industrial environment. As the first step, data representing existing plant conditions were collected by sampling and sample analysis. Data were then balanced and provided a basis for assessing the efficiency of individual devices and the plant, and also for performing simulations aimed at improving plant efficiency. Performance evaluation served as a guide in developing alternative process strategies for more efficient production. A large number of computer simulations were then performed to quantify the benefits and effects of implementing these alternative schemes. Modification of makeup ball size was selected as the most feasible option for the target performance improvement. This was combined with replacement of existing hydrocyclones with more efficient ones. After plant implementation of these modifications, plant sampling surveys were carried out to validate findings of the simulation-based study. Plant data showed very good agreement with the simulated data, confirming results of simulation. After the implementation of modifications in the plant, several upstream bottlenecks became visible. Despite these bottlenecks limiting full capacity, concentrator energy improvement of 7% was obtained. Further improvements in energy efficiency are expected in the near future. The success of this project demonstrated the feasibility of a simulation-based approach. Currently, the Center provides simulation-based service to all the iron ore mining companies operating in northern
[Process management in the hospital pharmacy for the improvement of the patient safety].

Science.gov (United States)

Govindarajan, R; Perelló-Juncá, A; Parès-Marimòn, R M; Serrais-Benavente, J; Ferrandez-Martí, D; Sala-Robinat, R; Camacho-Calvente, A; Campabanal-Prats, C; Solà-Anderiu, I; Sanchez-Caparrós, S; Gonzalez-Estrada, J; Martinez-Olalla, P; Colomer-Palomo, J; Perez-Mañosas, R; Rodríguez-Gallego, D

2013-01-01

To define a process management model for a hospital pharmacy in order to measure, analyse and make continuous improvements in patient safety and healthcare quality. In order to implement process management, Igualada Hospital was divided into different processes, one of which was the Hospital Pharmacy. A multidisciplinary management team was given responsibility for each process. For each sub-process one person was identified to be responsible, and a working group was formed under his/her leadership. With the help of each working group, a risk analysis using failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) was performed, and the corresponding improvement actions were implemented. Sub-process indicators were also identified, and different process management mechanisms were introduced. The first risk analysis with FMEA produced more than thirty preventive actions to improve patient safety. Later, the weekly analysis of errors, as well as the monthly analysis of key process indicators, permitted us to monitor process results and, as each sub-process manager participated in these meetings, also to assume accountability and responsibility, thus consolidating the culture of excellence. The introduction of different process management mechanisms, with the participation of people responsible for each sub-process, introduces a participative management tool for the continuous improvement of patient safety and healthcare quality. Copyright © 2012 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
Demystifying process mapping: a key step in neurosurgical quality improvement initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

McLaughlin, Nancy; Rodstein, Jennifer; Burke, Michael A; Martin, Neil A

2014-08-01

Reliable delivery of optimal care can be challenging for care providers. Health care leaders have integrated various business tools to assist them and their teams in ensuring consistent delivery of safe and top-quality care. The cornerstone to all quality improvement strategies is the detailed understanding of the current state of a process, captured by process mapping. Process mapping empowers caregivers to audit how they are currently delivering care to subsequently strategically plan improvement initiatives. As a community, neurosurgery has clearly shown dedication to enhancing patient safety and delivering quality care. A care redesign strategy named NERVS (Neurosurgery Enhanced Recovery after surgery, Value, and Safety) is currently being developed and piloted within our department. Through this initiative, a multidisciplinary team led by a clinician neurosurgeon has process mapped the way care is currently being delivered throughout the entire episode of care. Neurosurgeons are becoming leaders in quality programs, and their education on the quality improvement strategies and tools is essential. The authors present a comprehensive review of process mapping, demystifying its planning, its building, and its analysis. The particularities of using process maps, initially a business tool, in the health care arena are discussed, and their specific use in an academic neurosurgical department is presented.
Time effectiveness of capillary effect improvement of ramie fabrics processed by RF glow discharging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhiwen; Wei Weixing; He Yanhe; Zhao Yuanqing; Pan Liyiji; Li Xuemei; Shi Shaodui; Li Guangxin

2010-01-01

The time effectiveness of capillary effect improvement of ramie fabrics processed by RF glow discharging was studied. The ramie fabrics were processed in fulfilling with different gas (O 2 , N 2 , Ar) by different parameters (such as pressure,power and time) plasma. The capillary effect of the ramie fabrics processed by RF glow discharging was tested at different time. The results indicate that the capillary effect of ramie fabrics processed by RF glow discharging has been improved, the improvement of the capillary effect firstly decrease rapidly, then slowly, and become stable after 15 day, it indicate that improvement of the ramie fabrics capillary has good time effectiveness, and the plasma parameter for the best capillary effect improvement of ramie fabric is 100 W and 40 Pa processed 20 min by oxygen plasma. (authors)
Improving Logistics Processes in Industry Using Web Technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jánošík Ján

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to propose the concept of a system that takes advantage of web technologies and integrates them into the management process and management of internal stocks which may relate to external applications and creates the conditions to transform a Computerized Control of Warehouse Stock (CCWS in the company. The importance of implementing CCWS is in the elimination of the claims caused by the human factor, as well as to allow the processing of information for analytical purposes and their subsequent use to improve internal processes. Using CCWS in the company would also facilitate better use of the potential tools Business Intelligence and Data Mining.
Processing and storage of blood components: strategies to improve patient safety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pietersz RNI

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Ruby NI Pietersz, Pieter F van der Meer Department of Product and Process Development, Sanquin Blood Bank, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Abstract: This review focuses on safety improvements of blood processing of various blood components and their respective storage. A solid quality system to ensure safe and effective blood components that are traceable from a donor to the patient is the foundation of a safe blood supply. To stimulate and guide this process, National Health Authorities should develop guidelines for blood transfusion, including establishment of a quality system. Blood component therapy enabled treatment of patients with blood constituents that were missing, only thus preventing reactions to unnecessarily transfused elements. Leukoreduction prevents many adverse reactions and also improves the quality of the blood components during storage. The safety of red cells and platelets is improved by replacement of plasma with preservative solutions, which results in the reduction of isoantibodies and plasma proteins. Automation of blood collection, separation of whole blood into components, and consecutive processing steps, such as preparation of platelet concentrate from multiple donations, improves the consistent composition of blood components. Physicians can better prescribe the number of transfusions and therewith reduce donor exposure and/or the risk of pathogen transmission. Pathogen reduction in cellular blood components is the latest development in improving the safety of blood transfusions for patients. Keywords: blood components, red cell concentrates, platelet concentrates, plasma, transfusion, safety
Awareness of cytomegalovirus and risk factors for susceptibility among pregnant women, in Montreal, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Wizman, Sarah; Lamarre, Valérie; Coic, Lena; Kakkar, Fatima; Le Meur, Jean-Baptiste; Rousseau, Céline; Boucher, Marc; Tapiero, Bruce

2016-03-15

Advances in diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection have generated a mounting interest in identifying mothers susceptible to CMV. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence and socio-demographic determinants of CMV susceptibility and CMV awareness, among pregnant women, in Montreal, Quebec. Between April and December 2012, women delivering at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte Justine were recruited for the study. Stored serum from the first trimester of pregnancy was tested for CMV IgG. Knowledge about CMV and socio-demographic characteristics were collected via standardized questionnaire. Four hundred and ninety one women were enrolled in the study. Overall, 225 mothers (46%) were seronegative for CMV, and 85% (n = 415) were unaware of CMV or the associated risks in pregnancy. Significant risk factors for CMV seronegative status included Canadian vs. foreign born (aOR 6.88, 95% CI 4.33-10.94), and high vs. low family income (aOR 4.68, 95% CI 2.09-10.48). Maternal employment status was the only significant predictor of CMV unawareness, with unemployed mothers at the highest risk (aOR 85.6, 95% CI 17.3-421.3). Nearly half of pregnant women studied were at risk of primary infection, and yet, the majority was unaware of potential risks associated with CMV. Canadian born mothers and those with a high socioeconomic status were more likely to be CMV seronegative. Increased education about CMV infection, through public health interventions and obstetrician/pediatric counseling, is needed for all pregnant women.

Work improvement by computerizing the process of shielding block production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Dong Hyuk; Jeong, Do Hyeong; Kang, Dong Yoon; Jeon, Young Gung; Hwang, Jae Woong

2013-01-01

Introducing CR (Computed Radiography) system created a process of printing therapy irradiation images and converting the degree of enlargement. This is to increase job efficiency and contribute to work improvement using a computerized method with home grown software to simplify this process, work efficiency. Microsoft EXCEL (ver. 2007) and VISUAL BASIC (ver. 6.0) have been used to make the software. A window for each shield block was designed to enter patients' treatment information. Distances on the digital images were measured, the measured data were entered to the Excel program to calculate the degree of enlargement, and printouts were produced to manufacture shield blocks. By computerizing the existing method with this program, the degree of enlargement can easily be calculated and patients' treatment information can be entered into the printouts by using macro function. As a result, errors in calculation which may occur during the process of production or errors that the treatment information may be delivered wrongly can be reduced. In addition, with the simplification of the conversion process of the degree of enlargement, no copy machine was needed, which resulted in the reduction of use of paper. Works have been improved by computerizing the process of block production and applying it to practice which would simplify the existing method. This software can apply to and improve the actual conditions of each hospital in various ways using various features of EXCEL and VISUAL BASIC which has already been proven and used widely
Work improvement by computerizing the process of shielding block production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Dong Hyuk; Jeong, Do Hyeong; Kang, Dong Yoon; Jeon, Young Gung; Hwang, Jae Woong [Proton Therapy Center, National Cancer Center, Goyang (Korea, Republic of)

2013-09-15

Introducing CR (Computed Radiography) system created a process of printing therapy irradiation images and converting the degree of enlargement. This is to increase job efficiency and contribute to work improvement using a computerized method with home grown software to simplify this process, work efficiency. Microsoft EXCEL (ver. 2007) and VISUAL BASIC (ver. 6.0) have been used to make the software. A window for each shield block was designed to enter patients' treatment information. Distances on the digital images were measured, the measured data were entered to the Excel program to calculate the degree of enlargement, and printouts were produced to manufacture shield blocks. By computerizing the existing method with this program, the degree of enlargement can easily be calculated and patients' treatment information can be entered into the printouts by using macro function. As a result, errors in calculation which may occur during the process of production or errors that the treatment information may be delivered wrongly can be reduced. In addition, with the simplification of the conversion process of the degree of enlargement, no copy machine was needed, which resulted in the reduction of use of paper. Works have been improved by computerizing the process of block production and applying it to practice which would simplify the existing method. This software can apply to and improve the actual conditions of each hospital in various ways using various features of EXCEL and VISUAL BASIC which has already been proven and used widely.
Applying Process Improvement Methods to Clinical and Translational Research: Conceptual Framework and Case Examples.

Science.gov (United States)

Daudelin, Denise H; Selker, Harry P; Leslie, Laurel K

2015-12-01

There is growing appreciation that process improvement holds promise for improving quality and efficiency across the translational research continuum but frameworks for such programs are not often described. The purpose of this paper is to present a framework and case examples of a Research Process Improvement Program implemented at Tufts CTSI. To promote research process improvement, we developed online training seminars, workshops, and in-person consultation models to describe core process improvement principles and methods, demonstrate the use of improvement tools, and illustrate the application of these methods in case examples. We implemented these methods, as well as relational coordination theory, with junior researchers, pilot funding awardees, our CTRC, and CTSI resource and service providers. The program focuses on capacity building to address common process problems and quality gaps that threaten the efficient, timely and successful completion of clinical and translational studies. © 2015 The Authors. Clinical and Translational Science published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Intelligent process mapping through systematic improvement of heuristics

Science.gov (United States)

Ieumwananonthachai, Arthur; Aizawa, Akiko N.; Schwartz, Steven R.; Wah, Benjamin W.; Yan, Jerry C.

1992-01-01

The present system for automatic learning/evaluation of novel heuristic methods applicable to the mapping of communication-process sets on a computer network has its basis in the testing of a population of competing heuristic methods within a fixed time-constraint. The TEACHER 4.1 prototype learning system implemented or learning new postgame analysis heuristic methods iteratively generates and refines the mappings of a set of communicating processes on a computer network. A systematic exploration of the space of possible heuristic methods is shown to promise significant improvement.
Control Improvement for Jump-Diffusion Processes with Applications to Finance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bäuerle, Nicole; Rieder, Ulrich

2012-01-01

We consider stochastic control problems with jump-diffusion processes and formulate an algorithm which produces, starting from a given admissible control π, a new control with a better value. If no improvement is possible, then π is optimal. Such an algorithm is well-known for discrete-time Markov Decision Problems under the name Howard’s policy improvement algorithm. The idea can be traced back to Bellman. Here we show with the help of martingale techniques that such an algorithm can also be formulated for stochastic control problems with jump-diffusion processes. As an application we derive some interesting results in financial portfolio optimization.
The Data-to-Action Framework: A Rapid Program Improvement Process

Science.gov (United States)

Zakocs, Ronda; Hill, Jessica A.; Brown, Pamela; Wheaton, Jocelyn; Freire, Kimberley E.

2015-01-01

Although health education programs may benefit from quality improvement methods, scant resources exist to help practitioners apply these methods for program improvement. The purpose of this article is to describe the Data-to-Action framework, a process that guides practitioners through rapid-feedback cycles in order to generate actionable data to…
Process benchmarking for improvement of environmental restoration activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celorie, J.A.; Selman, J.R.; Larson, N.B.

1995-01-01

A process benchmarking study was initiated by the Office of Environmental Management (EM) of the US Department of Energy (DOE) to analyze and improve the department's environmental assessment and environmental restoration (ER) processes. The purpose of this study was to identify specific differences in the processes and implementation procedures used at comparable remediation sites to determine best practices which had the greatest potential to minimize the cost and time required to conduct remedial investigation/ feasibility study (RI/FS) activities. Technical criteria were identified and used to select four DOE, two Department of Defense (DOD), and two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) restoration sites that exhibited comparable characteristics and regulatory environments. By comparing the process elements and activities executed at the different sites for similar endpoints, best practices were identified for streamlining process elements and minimizing non-value-added activities. Critical measures that influenced process performance were identified and characterized for the sites. This benchmarking study focused on two processes and the internal/external review of documents and the development of the initial evaluation and data collection plan (IEDCP)--since these had a great potential for savings, a high impact on other processes, and a high probability for implementation
A Study on Improving Information Processing Abilities Based on PBL

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Du Gyu; Lee, JaeMu

2014-01-01

This study examined an instruction method for the improvement of information processing abilities in elementary school students. Current elementary students are required to develop information processing abilities to create new knowledge for this digital age. There is, however, a shortage of instruction strategies for these information processing…
Improvements of sensorimotor processes during action cascading associated with changes in sensory processing architecture-insights from sensory deprivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gohil, Krutika; Hahne, Anja; Beste, Christian

2016-06-20

In most everyday situations sensorimotor processes are quite complex because situations often require to carry out several actions in a specific temporal order; i.e. one has to cascade different actions. While it is known that changes to stimuli affect action cascading mechanisms, it is unknown whether action cascading changes when sensory stimuli are not manipulated, but the neural architecture to process these stimuli is altered. In the current study we test this hypothesis using prelingually deaf subjects as a model to answer this question. We use a system neurophysiological approach using event-related potentials (ERPs) and source localization techniques. We show that prelingually deaf subjects show improvements in action cascading. However, this improvement is most likely not due to changes at the perceptual (P1-ERP) and attentional processing level (N1-ERP), but due to changes at the response selection level (P3-ERP). It seems that the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is important for these effects to occur, because the TPJ comprises overlapping networks important for the processing of sensory information and the selection of responses. Sensory deprivation thus affects cognitive processes downstream of sensory processing and only these seem to be important for behavioral improvements in situations requiring complex sensorimotor processes and action cascading.
Test Automation Process Improvement A case study of BroadSoft

OpenAIRE

Gummadi, Jalendar

2016-01-01

This master thesis research is about improvement of test automation process at BroadSoft Finland as a case study. Test automation project recently started at BroadSoft but the project is not properly integrated in to existing process. Project is about converting manual test cases to automation test cases. The aim of this thesis is about studying existing BroadSoft test process and studying different test automation frameworks. In this thesis different test automation process are studied ...
From Osler's Library to the Osler Library of the History of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal: an overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyons, Christopher

2007-01-01

The Osler Library of the History of Medicine was opened in 1929 at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Sir William Osler (1849-1919), arguably McGill's and Canada's most famous doctor at the time, had bequeathed his magnificent library of almost 8,000 historical works in medicine and, to a lesser extent, science and literature to the university. Under the 30-year reign of its first librarian, Dr. W W. Francis, the Osler Library became famous for its rare books and for its connection with Sir William. Since the 1950s, however, the library has pursued an active collection development policy for both primary and secondary material that has taken it far beyond Osler's original gift. The library has grown in both the size and scope of its holdings and the services it offers to scholars and students of the history of medicine. These have made the Osler Library a major resource centre for studies in the history of the health sciences. This article looks at the Osler Library today in the hopes of making the range of its collections and services better known to the Canadian and international communities.
Analyse des attitudes envers les sciences chez des eleves du secondaire d'origine haitienne de milieux defavorises de la region de Montreal

Science.gov (United States)

Fils-Aime, Nestor

Having in perspective the slight representativeness of students, from Haitian background, from the most unprivileged sections of the great region of Montreal in the scientific fields in High School and in the choices of career, this study intends to examine the effect of the individual characteristics as well as the associated factors related to the familial, scholastic, socio-economic, and cultural environment upon the attitudes of those students toward sciences. The analysis of the datum is based on the results of a questionnaire focusing on the socio-demographic profile of a group of students from fourth and fifth year attending two multiethnic High Schools of the North-Crown of Montreal as well as on the interviews with fifteen of those students who are from a haitian background. There were also interviews with some parents, a member of a community organism, some staff members of some schools as well as some Haitian-Quebecer professionals and scientists, in order to have a critical viewpoint upon the different positions expressed by the fifteen students. The Bronfenbrenner's ecosystemic model (1979, 1986) has been used as scope of reference allowing to draw the prominent aspects from the attitudes toward science in the students, from haitian background. The synthesis of ideas expressed by different interviewee reveals the existence of a environment not much enhancing the value of sciences around of students, from Haitian background. The socio-economic conditions, the familial practices, the ethnocultural status as well as some individual representations of sciences contribute to create and maintain some attitudes very little committed to sciences in those students. The study shows how much it is urgent to demystify the sciences by breaking with some stereotypes that prevent some categories of students from acceding to sciences. It also commands to politicians, concerning education, to be more open to ethnocultural differences and to explore some dynamic ways in
The use of discrete-event simulation modelling to improve radiation therapy planning processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Werker, Greg; Sauré, Antoine; French, John; Shechter, Steven

2009-07-01

The planning portion of the radiation therapy treatment process at the British Columbia Cancer Agency is efficient but nevertheless contains room for improvement. The purpose of this study is to show how a discrete-event simulation (DES) model can be used to represent this complex process and to suggest improvements that may reduce the planning time and ultimately reduce overall waiting times. A simulation model of the radiation therapy (RT) planning process was constructed using the Arena simulation software, representing the complexities of the system. Several types of inputs feed into the model; these inputs come from historical data, a staff survey, and interviews with planners. The simulation model was validated against historical data and then used to test various scenarios to identify and quantify potential improvements to the RT planning process. Simulation modelling is an attractive tool for describing complex systems, and can be used to identify improvements to the processes involved. It is possible to use this technique in the area of radiation therapy planning with the intent of reducing process times and subsequent delays for patient treatment. In this particular system, reducing the variability and length of oncologist-related delays contributes most to improving the planning time.
Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Mini-Mental State Examination are both valid cognitive tools in stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Cumming, T B; Churilov, L; Linden, T; Bernhardt, J

2013-08-01

To determine the validity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) as screening tools for cognitive impairment after stroke. Cognitive assessments were administered over 2 sessions (1 week apart) at 3 months post-stroke. Scores on the MoCA and MMSE were evaluated against a diagnosis of cognitive impairment derived from a comprehensive neuropsychological battery (the criterion standard). Sixty patients participated in the study [mean age 72.1 years (SD = 13.9), mean education 10.5 years (SD = 3.9), median acute NIHSS score 5 (IQR 3-7)]. The MoCA yielded lower scores (median = 21, IQR = 17-24; mean = 20.0, SD = 5.4) than the MMSE (median = 26, IQR = 22-27; mean = 24.2, SD = 4.5). MMSE data were more skewed towards ceiling than MoCA data (skewness = -1.09 vs -0.73). Area under the receiver operator curve was higher for MoCA than for MMSE (0.87 vs 0.84), although this difference was not significant (χ(2) = 0.48, P = 0.49). At their optimal cut-offs, the MoCA had better sensitivity than the MMSE (0.92 vs 0.82) but poorer specificity (0.67 vs 0.76). The MoCA is a valid screening tool for post-stroke cognitive impairment; it is more sensitive but less specific than the MMSE. Contrary to the prevailing view, the MMSE also exhibited acceptable validity in this setting. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Interrupted Time Series Versus Statistical Process Control in Quality Improvement Projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersson Hagiwara, Magnus; Andersson Gäre, Boel; Elg, Mattias

2016-01-01

To measure the effect of quality improvement interventions, it is appropriate to use analysis methods that measure data over time. Examples of such methods include statistical process control analysis and interrupted time series with segmented regression analysis. This article compares the use of statistical process control analysis and interrupted time series with segmented regression analysis for evaluating the longitudinal effects of quality improvement interventions, using an example study on an evaluation of a computerized decision support system.
Software Process Improvement for SMEs using OMM

OpenAIRE

Rodríguez, Jessica

2010-01-01

Software Process Improvement initiatives have been implemented by many companies in order to achieve quality of products and practices. Many models like CMMI and IDEAL have been adopted as a means to gain competitive advantages among competitors and trustworthiness of customers. Although these models have proved successful results, the inherent characteristics of SMEs make it difficult and in many cases unfeasible to implement such models, without meaning that those companies are less capable...
Managing Cultural Variation in Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kræmmergaard, Pernille; Müller, Sune Dueholm; Mathiassen, Lars

The scale and complexity of change in software process improvement (SPI) are considerable and managerial attention to organizational culture during SPI can therefore potentially contribute to successful outcomes. However, we know little about the impact of variations in organizational subculture...... on SPI initiatives. On this backdrop, we report from a large scale SPI project in a Danish high-tech company, Terma. Two of its business units - Integrated Systems (ISY) and Airborne Systems (ASY) - followed similar approaches over a two year period, but with quite different outcomes. While ISY reached...... CMMI level 2 as planned, ASY struggled to implement even modest improvements. To explain these differences, we analyzed the underlying organizational culture within ISY and ASY using two different methods for subculture assessment. The study demonstrates how variations in culture across software...
Improving Work Processes by Making the Invisible Visible

Science.gov (United States)

Bakker, Arthur; Hoyles, Celia; Kent, Phillip; Noss, Richard

2006-01-01

Increasingly, companies are taking part in process improvement programmes, which brings about a growing need for employees to interpret and act on data representations. We have carried out case studies in a range of companies to identify the existence and need of what we call "techno-mathematical literacies" (TmL): functional mathematical…
Sociology in Global Environmental Governance? Neoliberalism, Protectionism and the Methyl Bromide Controversy in the Montreal Protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian J. Gareau

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Sociological studies of global agriculture need to pay close attention to the protectionist aspects of neoliberalism at the global scale of environmental governance. With agri-food studies in the social sciences broadening interrogations of the impact of neoliberalism on agri-food systems and their alternatives, investigating global environmental governance (GEG will help reveal its impacts on the global environment, global science/knowledge, and the potential emergence of ecologically sensible alternatives. It is argued here that as agri-food studies of neoliberalism sharpen the focus on these dimensions the widespread consequences of protectionism of US agri-industry in GEG will become better understood, and the solutions more readily identifiable. This paper illustrates how the delayed phase out of the toxic substance methyl bromide in the Montreal Protocol exemplifies the degree to which the US agri-industry may be protected at the global scale of environmental governance, thus prolonging the transition to ozone-friendly alternatives. Additionally, it is clear that protectionism has had a significant impact on the dissemination and interpretation of science/knowledge of methyl bromide and its alternatives. Revealing the role that protectionism plays more broadly in the agriculture/environmental governance interface, and its oftentimes negative impacts on science and potential alternatives, can shed light on how protectionism can be made to serve ends that are at odds with environmental protection.
Ontario's emergency department process improvement program: the experience of implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rotteau, Leahora; Webster, Fiona; Salkeld, Erin; Hellings, Chelsea; Guttmann, Astrid; Vermeulen, Marian J; Bell, Robert S; Zwarenstein, Merrick; Rowe, Brian H; Nigam, Amit; Schull, Michael J

2015-06-01

In recent years, Lean manufacturing principles have been applied to health care quality improvement efforts to improve wait times. In Ontario, an emergency department (ED) process improvement program based on Lean principles was introduced by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care as part of a strategy to reduce ED length of stay (LOS) and to improve patient flow. This article aims to describe the hospital-based teams' experiences during the ED process improvement program implementation and the teams' perceptions of the key factors that influenced the program's success or failure. A qualitative evaluation was conducted based on semistructured interviews with hospital implementation team members, such as team leads, medical leads, and executive sponsors, at 10 purposively selected hospitals in Ontario, Canada. Sites were selected based, in part, on their changes in median ED LOS following the implementation period. A thematic framework approach as used for interviews, and a standard thematic coding framework was developed. Twenty-four interviews were coded and analyzed. The results are organized according to participants' experience and are grouped into four themes that were identified as significantly affecting the implementation experience: local contextual factors, relationship between improvement team and support players, staff engagement, and success and sustainability. The results demonstrate the importance of the context of implementation, establishing strong relationships and communication strategies, and preparing for implementation and sustainability prior to the start of the project. Several key factors were identified as important to the success of the program, such as preparing for implementation, ensuring strong executive support, creation of implementation teams based on the tasks and outcomes of the initiative, and using multiple communication strategies throughout the implementation process. Explicit incorporation of these factors into the

Women-focused treatment agencies and process improvement: Strategies to increase client engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Wisdom, Jennifer P.; Hoffman, Kim; Rechberger, Elke; Seim, Kay; Owens, Betta

2009-01-01

Behavioral health treatment agencies often struggle to keep clients engaged in treatment. Women clients often have additional factors such as family responsibilities, financial difficulties, or abuse histories that provide extra challenges to remaining in care. As part of a national initiative, four women-focused drug treatment agencies used process improvement to address treatment engagement. Interviews and focus groups with staff assessed the nature and extent of interventions. Women-focused drug treatment agencies selected relational-based interventions to engage clients in treatment and improved four-week treatment retention from 66% to 76%. Process improvement interventions in women-focused treatment may be useful to improve engagement. PMID:20046914
Methods and Conditions for Achieving Continuous Improvement of Processes

OpenAIRE

Florica BADEA; Catalina RADU; Ana-Maria GRIGORE

2010-01-01

In the early twentieth century, the Taylor model improved, in a spectacular maner the efficiency of the production processes. This allowed obtaining high productivity by low-skilled workers, but used in large number in the execution of production. Currently this model is questioned by experts and was replaced by the concept of "continuous improvement". The first signs of change date from the '80s, with the apparition of quality circles and groups of operators on quality issues, principles whi...
Statistical process control methods allow the analysis and improvement of anesthesia care.

Science.gov (United States)

Fasting, Sigurd; Gisvold, Sven E

2003-10-01

Quality aspects of the anesthetic process are reflected in the rate of intraoperative adverse events. The purpose of this report is to illustrate how the quality of the anesthesia process can be analyzed using statistical process control methods, and exemplify how this analysis can be used for quality improvement. We prospectively recorded anesthesia-related data from all anesthetics for five years. The data included intraoperative adverse events, which were graded into four levels, according to severity. We selected four adverse events, representing important quality and safety aspects, for statistical process control analysis. These were: inadequate regional anesthesia, difficult emergence from general anesthesia, intubation difficulties and drug errors. We analyzed the underlying process using 'p-charts' for statistical process control. In 65,170 anesthetics we recorded adverse events in 18.3%; mostly of lesser severity. Control charts were used to define statistically the predictable normal variation in problem rate, and then used as a basis for analysis of the selected problems with the following results: Inadequate plexus anesthesia: stable process, but unacceptably high failure rate; Difficult emergence: unstable process, because of quality improvement efforts; Intubation difficulties: stable process, rate acceptable; Medication errors: methodology not suited because of low rate of errors. By applying statistical process control methods to the analysis of adverse events, we have exemplified how this allows us to determine if a process is stable, whether an intervention is required, and if quality improvement efforts have the desired effect.
IMPROVEMENT OF FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION PROCESS AND THEIR MANAGEMENT MECHANISM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. V. Martsenyuk

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose. For Ukraine as for a post-socialist state there is an objective need of reforming on railway transport. In order to meet the requirements of consumers both within the country and outside of it, it is necessary to solve transport problems in time and to introduce new technologies, without lagging behind the developed European states. The purpose of this article is identification of problems in the process of freight transportations and development of ways of their overcoming, formation of the principles of economic efficiency increase for the use of freight cars using the improvement of management mechanism of freight transportations in the conditions of reforming. Methodology. Methods of strategic planning, system approach for research on improvement of the management mechanism of freight transportations, as well as the organizational-administrative method for structure of management construction were used in this research. Findings. Authors have explored the problems arising in the process of transportation of goods and measures, which will increase the efficiency of goods transportation. Advanced mechanism of freight transportation management for its application in the conditions of the railway transport reforming was developed. It is based on management centralization. Originality. The major factors, which slow down process of cargo transportations, are investigated in the article. The principles of management mechanism improvement of freight transportations are stated. They are based on association of commercial and car-repair activity of depots. All this will allow reducing considerably a car turn by decrease in duration of idle times on railway transport, increasing the speed of freight delivery and cutting down a transport component in the price of delivered production. Practical value. The offered measures will improve the efficiency of rolling stock use and increase cargo volumes turnover, promote links of Ukraine with
Processes for Quality Improvements in Radiation Oncology Clinical Trials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

FitzGerald, T.J.; Urie, Marcia; Ulin, Kenneth; Laurie, Fran; Yorty, Jeffrey C.; Hanusik, Richard; Kessel, Sandy; Jodoin, Maryann Bishop; Osagie, Gani; Cicchetti, M. Giulia; Pieters, Richard; McCarten, Kathleen; Rosen, Nancy

2008-01-01

Quality assurance in radiotherapy (RT) has been an integral aspect of cooperative group clinical trials since 1970. In early clinical trials, data acquisition was nonuniform and inconsistent and computational models for radiation dose calculation varied significantly. Process improvements developed for data acquisition, credentialing, and data management have provided the necessary infrastructure for uniform data. With continued improvement in the technology and delivery of RT, evaluation processes for target definition, RT planning, and execution undergo constant review. As we move to multimodality image-based definitions of target volumes for protocols, future clinical trials will require near real-time image analysis and feedback to field investigators. The ability of quality assurance centers to meet these real-time challenges with robust electronic interaction platforms for imaging acquisition, review, archiving, and quantitative review of volumetric RT plans will be the primary challenge for future successful clinical trials
Improving Process Writing with the Use Authentic Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

bin Abdul Aziz, Muhammad Noor; Yusoff, Nurahimah Mohd

2016-01-01

The paper discusses on how process writing is improved with the use of authentic assessment in an English Language classroom. Eleven primary school children from Year 4 in a rural school in Sabah are the participants of the study. Data were collected by observing them during the English Language lessons and at the end of the series of…
Signal Processing for Improved Wireless Receiver Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Lars P.B.

2007-01-01

This thesis is concerned with signal processing for improving the performance of wireless communication receivers for well-established cellular networks such as the GSM/EDGE and WCDMA/HSPA systems. The goal of doing so, is to improve the end-user experience and/or provide a higher system capacity...... by allowing an increased reuse of network resources. To achieve this goal, one must first understand the nature of the problem and an introduction is therefore provided. In addition, the concept of graph-based models and approximations for wireless communications is introduced along with various Belief...... Propagation (BP) methods for detecting the transmitted information, including the Turbo principle. Having established a framework for the research, various approximate detection schemes are discussed. First, the general form of linear detection is presented and it is argued that this may be preferable...
Process improvement in SUS as a nearest proposal of changes: pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Luiz Affonso Fonseca

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Among the possibilities of organizational changes in the SUS, as the model of Galbraith, which includes the strategy (system directions, structure (hierarchy and decision- making flow, processes (workflows, People (skills and Reward ( motivation, those related to the processes are, in the view of this article, among the closest of success. In the case of Basic Health Units (BHU, receiving a very large flow of people, with spontaneous demand and schedules, it is important to take care of the logistics of care, avoiding unnecessary presence in BHU. Teams of Sorocaba's BHU, through the Continuing Education Strategy, were encouraged to discussions and find ways for customer service improvements. The sheer volume of people daily in units seen as a problem which compromised the quality of care is what motivated the analysis and improvement of processes. Using methods of process modeling, indicators and change management, have improved two processes related to the flow of people in UBS, the patients with multiple schedules in the same month and the patients who seek continuous use drugs.
Bridging cognitive screening tests in neurologic disorders: A crosswalk between the short Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Mini-Mental State Examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Roalf, David R; Moore, Tyler M; Mechanic-Hamilton, Dawn; Wolk, David A; Arnold, Steven E; Weintraub, Daniel A; Moberg, Paul J

2017-08-01

To provide a crosswalk between the recently proposed short Montreal Cognitive Assessment (s-MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) within a clinical cohort. A total of 791 participants, with and without neurologic conditions, received both the MMSE and the MoCA at the same visit. s-MoCA scores were calculated and equipercentile equating was used to create a crosswalk between the s-MoCA and MMSE. As expected, s-MoCA scores were highly correlated (Pearson r = 0.82, P < .001) with MMSE scores. s-MoCA scores correctly classified 85% of healthy older adults and 91% of individuals with neurologic conditions that impair cognition. In addition, we provide an easy to use table that enables the conversion of s-MoCA score to MMSE score. The s-MoCA is quick to administer, provides high sensitivity and specificity for cognitive impairment, and now can be compared directly with the MMSE. Copyright © 2017 the Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
On the Role of Software Quality Management in Software Process Improvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiedemann Jacobsen, Jan; Kuhrmann, Marco; Münch, Jürgen

2016-01-01

Software Process Improvement (SPI) programs have been implemented, inter alia, to improve quality and speed of software development. SPI addresses many aspects ranging from individual developer skills to entire organizations. It comprises, for instance, the optimization of specific activities...... and a strong focus on custom review, testing, and documentation techniques, whereas a set of five selected improvement measures is almost equally addressed....
Socio-economic status and time trends associated with early ART initiation following primary HIV infection in Montreal, Canada: 1996 to 2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehraj, Vikram; Cox, Joseph; Lebouché, Bertrand; Costiniuk, Cecilia; Cao, Wei; Li, Taisheng; Ponte, Rosalie; Thomas, Réjean; Szabo, Jason; Baril, Jean-Guy; Trottier, Benoit; Côté, Pierre; LeBlanc, Roger; Bruneau, Julie; Tremblay, Cécile; Routy, Jean-Pierre

2018-02-01

Guidelines regarding antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in HIV infection have varied over time, with the 2015 World Health Organization recommendation suggesting ART initiation at the time of diagnosis regardless of CD4 T-cell counts. Herein, we investigated the influence of socio-demographic and clinical factors in addition to time trends on early ART initiation among participants of the Montreal Primary HIV Infection Study. The Montreal Primary HIV Infection Study is a prospective cohort established in three community medical centres (CMCs) and two university medical centres (UMCs). Recently diagnosed HIV-infected adults were categorized as receiving early (vs. delayed) ART if ART was initiated within 180 days of the baseline visit. Associations between early ART initiation and socio-demographic, socio-economic and behavioural information were examined. Independent associations of factors linked with early ART initiation were determined using multivariable binary logistic regression analysis. A total of 348 participants had a documented date of HIV acquisition of age of participants was 35 (28; 42) years and the majority were male (96%), having paid employment (63%), men who have sex with men (MSM) (78%) and one to four sexual partners in the last three months (70%). Participants presented with a median IQR HIV plasma viral load of 4.6 (3.7; 5.3) log 10 copies/ml, CD4 count of 510 (387; 660) cells/μl and were recruited in CMCs (52%) or UMCs (48%). Early ART initiation was observed in 47% of the participants and the trend followed a V-shaped curve with peaks in 1996 to 1997 (89%) and 2013 to 2015 (88%) with a dip in 2007 to 2009 (22%). Multivariable analyses showed that having a paid employment adjusted odds ratio (aOR: 2.43; 95% CI: 1.19, 4.95), lower CD4 count (aOR per 50 cell increase: 0.93; 95% CI: 0.87, 0.99) and care at UMCs (aOR: 2.03; 95% CI: 1.06 to 3.90) were independently associated with early ART initiation. Early ART initiation during primary
Knowledge management as a tool for improving business processes: an action research approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurora Martínez-Martínez

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the importance of Knowledge Management as a tool for improving business processes in a different context from the industrial organizations, as an archaeological museum. Design/methodology/approach: Using data collected from the National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman in Muscat, a methodology for analysis and improvement of processes (the Business Cycle Management Process, CMP is designed and validated. This application is described as an eight phases process based on Six Sigma DMAIC. The model has a characteristic "P" shape. Findings: As the results obtained by the process improvement initiative show, we highlight the relevance of the improvement in all aspects regarding the security in showcases in that context. Research limitations/implications: The complexity of implementing indicators and the partial vision of the project as data were only obtained from a part of one of the companies involved in the construction of the museum. An important implication of this paper is in order to present a methodology to improve the museum processes focusing on the reduction of errors and also adding value for the visitors. Practical implications: The relevance to intervene on certain relevant variables at different levels of management performance is verified. Social implications: Improving the quality of leisure services in order to the identification of certain challenges regarding the nature and competitiveness of cultural services. Originality/value: The current work has served as a repository of knowledge applicable to new similar projects, in which to take into account the peculiarities of each case and in particular the level of quality demanded by the client in a cultural context. It is important to take into account the degree of avoidable dissatisfaction (number of solvable problems that would lead to dissatisfaction, the opportunity for improvement, the reduction of operational waste and the need
Effect of lean process improvement techniques on a university hospital inpatient pharmacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hintzen, Barbara L; Knoer, Scott J; Van Dyke, Christie J; Milavitz, Brian S

2009-11-15

The effect of lean process improvement on an inpatient university hospital pharmacy was evaluated. The University of Minnesota Medical Center (UMMC), Fairview, implemented lean techniques in its inpatient pharmacy to improve workflow, reduce waste, and achieve substantial cost savings. The sterile products area (SPA) and the inventory area were prospectively identified as locations for improvement due to their potential to realize cost savings. Process-improvement goals for the SPA included the reduction of missing doses, errors, and patient-specific waste by 30%, 50%, and 30%, respectively, and the reallocation of two technician full-time equivalents (FTEs). Reductions in pharmaceutical inventory and returns due to outdating were also anticipated. Work-flow in the SPA was improved through the creation of accountability, standard work, and movement toward one-piece flow. Increasing the number of i.v. batches decreased pharmaceutical waste by 40%. Through SPA environment improvements and enhanced workload sharing, two FTE technicians from the SPA were redistributed within the department. SPA waste reduction yielded an annual saving of $275,500. Quality and safety were also improved, as measured by reductions in missing doses, expired products, and production errors. In the inventory area, visual control was improved through the use of a double-bin system, the number of outdated drugs decreased by 20%, and medication inventory was reduced by $50,000. Lean methodology was successfully implemented in the SPA and inventory area at the UMMC, Fairview, inpatient pharmacy. Benefits of this process included an estimated annual cost saving of $289,256 due to waste reduction, improvements in workflow, and decreased staffing requirements.
Usage of information safety requirements in improving tube bending process

Science.gov (United States)

Livshitz, I. I.; Kunakov, E.; Lontsikh, P. A.

2018-05-01

This article is devoted to an improvement of the technological process's analysis with the information security requirements implementation. The aim of this research is the competition increase analysis in aircraft industry enterprises due to the information technology implementation by the example of the tube bending technological process. The article analyzes tube bending kinds and current technique. In addition, a potential risks analysis in a tube bending technological process is carried out in terms of information security.
Revising the diagnosis of congenital amusia with the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeifer, Jasmin; Hamann, Silke

2015-01-01

This article presents a critical survey of the prevalent usage of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA; Peretz et al., 2003) to assess congenital amusia, a neuro-developmental disorder that has been claimed to be present in 4% of the population (Kalmus and Fry, 1980). It reviews and discusses the current usage of the MBEA in relation to cut-off scores, number of used subtests, manner of testing, and employed statistics, as these vary in the literature. Furthermore, data are presented from a large-scale experiment with 228 German undergraduate students who were assessed with the MBEA and a comprehensive questionnaire. This experiment tested the difference between scores that were obtained in a web-based study (at participants' homes) and those obtained under laboratory conditions with a computerized version of the MBEA. In addition to traditional statistical procedures, the data were evaluated using Signal Detection Theory (SDT; Green and Swets, 1966), taking into consideration the individual's ability to discriminate and their response bias. Results show that using SDT for scoring instead of proportion correct offers a bias-free and normally distributed measure of discrimination ability. It is also demonstrated that a diagnosis based on an average score leads to cases of misdiagnosis. The prevalence of congenital amusia is shown to depend highly on the statistical criterion that is applied as cut-off score and on the number of subtests that is considered for the diagnosis. In addition, three different subtypes of amusics were found in our sample. Lastly, significant differences between the web-based and the laboratory group were found, giving rise to questions about the validity of web-based experimentation.
Revising the diagnosis of congenital amusia with the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasmin ePfeifer

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This article presents a critical survey of the prevalent usage of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA; Peretz et al., 2003 to assess congenital amusia, a neuro-developmental disorder that has been claimed to be present in 4% of the population (Kalmus and Fry, 1980. It reviews and discusses the current usage of the MBEA in relation to cut-off scores, number of used subtests, manner of testing, and employed statistics, as these vary in the literature. Furthermore, data are presented from a large-scale experiment with 228 German undergraduate students who were assessed with the MBEA and a comprehensive questionnaire. This experiment tested the difference between scores that were obtained in a web-based study (at participants’ homes and those obtained under laboratory conditions with a computerized version of the MBEA. In addition to traditional statistical procedures, the data were evaluated using Signal Detection Theory (SDT; Green and Swets, 1966, taking into consideration the individual’s ability to discriminate and their response bias. Results show that using SDT for scoring instead of proportion correct offers a bias-free and normally distributed measure of discrimination ability. In addition it is also demonstrated that a diagnosis based on an average score leads to cases of misdiagnosis. The prevalence of congenital amusia is shown to depend highly on the statistical criterion that is applied as cut-off score and on the number of subtests that is considered for the diagnosis. In addition, three different subtypes of amusics were found in our sample. Lastly, significant differences between the web-based and the laboratory group were found, giving rise to questions about the validity of web-based experimentation.
Revising the diagnosis of congenital amusia with the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeifer, Jasmin; Hamann, Silke

2015-01-01

This article presents a critical survey of the prevalent usage of the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA; Peretz et al., 2003) to assess congenital amusia, a neuro-developmental disorder that has been claimed to be present in 4% of the population (Kalmus and Fry, 1980). It reviews and discusses the current usage of the MBEA in relation to cut-off scores, number of used subtests, manner of testing, and employed statistics, as these vary in the literature. Furthermore, data are presented from a large-scale experiment with 228 German undergraduate students who were assessed with the MBEA and a comprehensive questionnaire. This experiment tested the difference between scores that were obtained in a web-based study (at participants’ homes) and those obtained under laboratory conditions with a computerized version of the MBEA. In addition to traditional statistical procedures, the data were evaluated using Signal Detection Theory (SDT; Green and Swets, 1966), taking into consideration the individual’s ability to discriminate and their response bias. Results show that using SDT for scoring instead of proportion correct offers a bias-free and normally distributed measure of discrimination ability. It is also demonstrated that a diagnosis based on an average score leads to cases of misdiagnosis. The prevalence of congenital amusia is shown to depend highly on the statistical criterion that is applied as cut-off score and on the number of subtests that is considered for the diagnosis. In addition, three different subtypes of amusics were found in our sample. Lastly, significant differences between the web-based and the laboratory group were found, giving rise to questions about the validity of web-based experimentation. PMID:25883562
25 CFR 170.501 - What happens when the review process identifies areas for improvement?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... identifies areas for improvement? When the review process identifies areas for improvement: (a) The regional... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What happens when the review process identifies areas for improvement? 170.501 Section 170.501 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND...
Improving performances of the knee replacement surgery process by applying DMAIC principles.

Science.gov (United States)

Improta, Giovanni; Balato, Giovanni; Romano, Maria; Ponsiglione, Alfonso Maria; Raiola, Eliana; Russo, Mario Alessandro; Cuccaro, Patrizia; Santillo, Liberatina Carmela; Cesarelli, Mario

2017-12-01

The work is a part of a project about the application of the Lean Six Sigma to improve health care processes. A previously published work regarding the hip replacement surgery has shown promising results. Here, we propose an application of the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, and Control) cycle to improve quality and reduce costs related to the prosthetic knee replacement surgery by decreasing patients' length of hospital stay (LOS) METHODS: The DMAIC cycle has been adopted to decrease the patients' LOS. The University Hospital "Federico II" of Naples, one of the most important university hospitals in Southern Italy, participated in this study. Data on 148 patients who underwent prosthetic knee replacement between 2010 and 2013 were used. Process mapping, statistical measures, brainstorming activities, and comparative analysis were performed to identify factors influencing LOS and improvement strategies. The study allowed the identification of variables influencing the prolongation of the LOS and the implementation of corrective actions to improve the process of care. The adopted actions reduced the LOS by 42%, from a mean value of 14.2 to 8.3 days (standard deviation also decreased from 5.2 to 2.3 days). The DMAIC approach has proven to be a helpful strategy ensuring a significant decreasing of the LOS. Furthermore, through its implementation, a significant reduction of the average costs of hospital stay can be achieved. Such a versatile approach could be applied to improve a wide range of health care processes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effects of combined physical and cognitive training on fitness and neuropsychological outcomes in healthy older adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Desjardins-Crépeau L

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Laurence Desjardins-Crépeau,1,2 Nicolas Berryman,2,3 Sarah A Fraser,4 Thien Tuong Minh Vu,5,6 Marie-Jeanne Kergoat,2,6 Karen ZH Li,7 Laurent Bosquet,8 Louis Bherer2,7 1Department of Psychology, University of Quebec at Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 2Research Center, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 3Department of Sports Studies, Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada; 4Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada; 5Research Center, Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 6Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada; 7Department of Psychology and PERFORM Centre, Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada; 8Faculté des sciences du sport, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France Purpose: Physical exercise and cognitive training have been shown to enhance cognition among older adults. However, few studies have looked at the potential synergetic effects of combining physical and cognitive training in a single study. Prior trials on combined training have led to interesting yet equivocal results. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of combined physical and cognitive interventions on physical fitness and neuropsychological performance in healthy older adults.Methods: Seventy-six participants were randomly assigned to one of four training combinations using a 2×2 factorial design. The physical intervention was a mixed aerobic and resistance training program, and the cognitive intervention was a dual-task (DT training program. Stretching and toning exercises and computer lessons were used as active control conditions. Physical and cognitive measures were collected pre- and postintervention.Results: All groups showed equivalent improvements in measures of functional mobility. The aerobic–strength condition led to larger effect size in lower body strength, independently of cognitive training

Less severe processing improves carbon nanotube photovoltaic performance

Science.gov (United States)

Shea, Matthew J.; Wang, Jialiang; Flach, Jessica T.; Zanni, Martin T.; Arnold, Michael S.

2018-05-01

Thin film semiconducting single walled carbon nanotube (s-SWCNT) photovoltaics suffer losses due to trapping and quenching of excitons by defects induced when dispersing s-SWCNTs into solution. We study these aspects by preparing photovoltaic devices from (6,5) carbon nanotubes isolated by different processes: extended ultrasonication, brief ultrasonication, and shear force mixing. Peak quantum efficiency increases from 28% to 38% to 49% as the processing harshness decreases and is attributed to both increasing s-SWCNT length and reducing sidewall defects. Fill-factor and open-circuit voltage also improve with shear force mixing, highlighting the importance of obtaining long, defect-free s-SWCNTs for efficient photoconversion devices.
TECHNICAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS OF PACKAGING PRODUCTION PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Rudawska

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Due to customer driven economies, today’s world markets are characterized by high fluctuations in market demand and the frequent arrival of new technologies and new products. To stay competitive in such markets manufacturing companies require continuous improvements both in technical and organizational areas of their activity. The paper presents results of the diagnosis provided in the manufacturing area of the company producing cardboard packages and recommendations to make the production process more efficient. Especially, among the proposed technical and organizational recommendations the most important ones are: automation of certain elements of the production process and changes in production plant layout.
Brad Patterson, Tom Brooking, and Jim McAloon, Unpacking the Kist: The Scots in New Zealand. McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History Series, No. 2.33. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013. Pp. 412. ISBN 978-0-7735-4190-0. CAD $100.00.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seán Gerard Brosnahan

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Brad Patterson, Tom Brooking, and Jim McAloon, Unpacking the Kist: The Scots in New Zealand. McGill-Queen's Studies in Ethnic History Series, No. 2.33. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2013. Pp. 412. ISBN 978-0-7735-4190-0. CAD $100.00.
Harness cavitation to improve processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pandit, A.G.; Moholkar, V.S. [Univ. of Bombay (India)

1996-07-01

Mention cavitation to most chemical engineers, and they undoubtedly think of it as an operational problem. Indeed, the rapid creation and then collapse of bubbles, which is after all what cavitation involves, can destroy pumps and erode other equipment. Cavitation, however, also can have a positive side--presuming it is designed for and not unplanned. In this article, the authors look at how cavitation can be harnessed to improve processes, and the mechanisms for inducing cavitation--ultrasonics and hydrodynamics--and their likely roles. Sonication, that is, the use of ultrasound, is the conventional approach for creating cavitation, and so they turn to it first. Over the past few years, a number of groups have attempted to solve the problem of scale-up and design of ultrasonic reactors. The authors review the systems that already exist and also explore a simpler and efficient alternative to the ultrasonic reactor, the hydrodynamic cavitation reactor.
[Improving the continuous care process in primary care during weekends and holidays: redesigning and FMEA].

Science.gov (United States)

Cañada Dorado, A; Cárdenas Valladolid, J; Espejo Matorrales, F; García Ferradal, I; Sastre Páez, S; Vicente Martín, I

2010-01-01

To describe a project carried out in order to improve the process of Continuous Health Care (CHC) on Saturdays and bank holidays in Primary Care, area number 4, Madrid. The aim of this project was to guarantee a safe and error-free service to patients receiving home health care on weekends. The urgent need for improving CHC process was identified by the Risk Management Functional Unit (RMFU) of the area. In addition, some complaints had been received from the nurses involved in the process as well as from their patients. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis performed in 2009 highlighted a number of problems with the process. As a result, a project for improvement was drawn up, to be implemented in the following stages: 1. Redesigning and improving the existing process. 2. Application of failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) to the new process. 3. Follow up, managing and leading the project. 4. Nurse training. 5. Implementing the process in the whole area. 6. CHC nurse satisfaction surveys. After carrying out this project, the efficiency and level of automation improved considerably. Since implementation of the process enhancement measures, no complaints have been received from patients and surveys show that CHC nurse satisfaction has improved. By using FMEA, errors were given priority and enhancement steps were taken in order to: Inform professionals, back-up personnel and patients about the process. Improve the specialist follow-up report. Provide training in ulcer patient care. The process enhancement, and especially its automation, has resulted in a significant step forward toward achieving greater patient safety. FMEA was a useful tool, which helped in taking some important actions. Finally, CHC nurse satisfaction has clearly improved. Copyright © 2009 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.
Liquid radioactive waste processing system in Improved OPR-1000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Soonmin; Kim, Kiljung; Park, Jungsu

2008-01-01

The design goal of liquid rad waste system is to minimize the release of radioactive materials to the environment, the occupational radiation exposure to workers, and the solid rad waste volume generated from LRS operation. In 1998, KOPEC in conjunction with KHNP (Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co.) started a special task study which had been focused on the worldwide advanced technologies in the liquid rad waste process area by considering the design goals above. As a result of this task, KOPEC and KHNP finally decided to adopt a reverse osmosis processing method for Improved OPR-1000 in Korea. The advanced LRS design incorporating the R/O process has been introduced into Shin-Wolsong 1 and 2 (SWN 1 and 2) as well as Shin-Kori 1 and 2 (SKN 1 and 2), which are recently under construction, and also is adopted for Shin-Kori 3 and 4 (SKN 3 and 4) and Shin-Ulchin 1 and 2 (SUN 1 and 2), which are planned for the near future construction as the first APR-1400 type of Korean reactors. The LRS shop performance test for SKN 1 and 2 (Improved OPR-1000 R/O package system) was conducted by DOOSAN and DTS (Diversified Technologies Services, Inc) in January, 2008. The purpose of the test was to demonstrate the performance of actual R/O system to be installed in SKN 1 and 2 site. In this paper, overall system configuration and the shop performance test result is presented based on Improved OPR-1000 LRS R/O Package system
Coping with transition: improving the management process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Griffin, J.; McAlister, J.

1985-01-01

It goes without saying that the industry is indeed in transition. Not only do expectations from regulators and the public continue to grow in intensity and complexity, but out ability to make appropriate responses seems to be becoming exceedingly more difficult as well. At AP and L, the energy supply department has some 2,000 employees and operates (in addition to providing general office engineering, technical, and administrative support) all of AP and L's power plants. These include two nuclear units and four coal units as well as hydro, oil and gas plants. In January 1984 the company began an effort with our senior departmental management to try and improve the management process itself. The ultimate goal is to create a climate conductive to improved productivity and quality without the initial (and sometimes risky) across-the-board implementation of techniques such as quality circles
Applying industrial process improvement techniques to increase efficiency in a surgical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Reznick, David; Niazov, Lora; Holizna, Eric; Siperstein, Allan

2014-10-01

The goal of this study was to examine how industrial process improvement techniques could help streamline the preoperative workup. Lean process improvement was used to streamline patient workup at an endocrine surgery service at a tertiary medical center utilizing multidisciplinary collaboration. The program consisted of several major changes in how patients are processed in the department. The goal was to shorten the wait time between initial call and consult visit and between consult and surgery. We enrolled 1,438 patients enrolled in the program. The wait time from the initial call until consult was reduced from 18.3 ± 0.7 to 15.4 ± 0.9 days. Wait time from consult until operation was reduced from 39.9 ± 1.5 to 33.9 ± 1.3 days for the overall practice and to 15.0 ± 4.8 days for low-risk patients. Patient cancellations were reduced from 27.9 ± 2.4% to 17.3 ± 2.5%. Overall patient flow increased from 30.9 ± 5.1 to 52.4 ± 5.8 consults per month (all P process improvement methodology, surgery patients can benefit from an improved, streamlined process with significant reduction in wait time from call to initial consult and initial consult to surgery, with reduced cancellations. This generalized process has resulted in increased practice throughput and efficiency and is applicable to any surgery practice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Improving photometric redshift estimation using GPZ: size information, post processing, and improved photometry

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, Zahra; Jarvis, Matt J.; Almosallam, Ibrahim A.; Roberts, Stephen J.

2018-03-01

The next generation of large-scale imaging surveys (such as those conducted with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and Euclid) will require accurate photometric redshifts in order to optimally extract cosmological information. Gaussian Process for photometric redshift estimation (GPZ) is a promising new method that has been proven to provide efficient, accurate photometric redshift estimations with reliable variance predictions. In this paper, we investigate a number of methods for improving the photometric redshift estimations obtained using GPZ (but which are also applicable to others). We use spectroscopy from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly Data Release 2 with a limiting magnitude of r Program Data Release 1 and find that it produces significant improvements in accuracy, similar to the effect of including additional features.
Cryogenic Dark Matter Search detector fabrication process and recent improvements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jastram, A., E-mail: akjastram@tamu.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Harris, H.R.; Mahapatra, R.; Phillips, J.; Platt, M.; Prasad, K. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Sander, J. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Department of Physics, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069 (United States); Upadhyayula, S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States)

2015-02-01

A dedicated facility has been commissioned for Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) detector fabrication at Texas A and M University (TAMU). The fabrication process has been carefully tuned using this facility and its equipment. Production of successfully tested detectors has been demonstrated. Significant improvements in detector performance have been made using new fabrication methods/equipment and tuning of process parameters.
A facilitated process towards finding options for improved livestock ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A participatory multi-stakeholder process of finding options for improving livestock production in the severely degraded communal grazing area of Sterkspruit in South Africa was conducted. Interviews were conducted with individual livestock keepers from two sites to gather data on their demographic characteristics, ...
Performance improvements of binary diffractive structures via optimization of the photolithography and dry etch processes

Science.gov (United States)

Welch, Kevin; Leonard, Jerry; Jones, Richard D.

2010-08-01

Increasingly stringent requirements on the performance of diffractive optical elements (DOEs) used in wafer scanner illumination systems are driving continuous improvements in their associated manufacturing processes. Specifically, these processes are designed to improve the output pattern uniformity of off-axis illumination systems to minimize degradation in the ultimate imaging performance of a lithographic tool. In this paper, we discuss performance improvements in both photolithographic patterning and RIE etching of fused silica diffractive optical structures. In summary, optimized photolithographic processes were developed to increase critical dimension uniformity and featuresize linearity across the substrate. The photoresist film thickness was also optimized for integration with an improved etch process. This etch process was itself optimized for pattern transfer fidelity, sidewall profile (wall angle, trench bottom flatness), and across-wafer etch depth uniformity. Improvements observed with these processes on idealized test structures (for ease of analysis) led to their implementation in product flows, with comparable increases in performance and yield on customer designs.
Improving Video Game Development: Facilitating Heterogeneous Team Collaboration through Flexible Software Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Musil, Juergen; Schweda, Angelika; Winkler, Dietmar; Biffl, Stefan

Based on our observations of Austrian video game software development (VGSD) practices we identified a lack of systematic processes/method support and inefficient collaboration between various involved disciplines, i.e. engineers and artists. VGSD includes heterogeneous disciplines, e.g. creative arts, game/content design, and software. Nevertheless, improving team collaboration and process support is an ongoing challenge to enable a comprehensive view on game development projects. Lessons learned from software engineering practices can help game developers to increase game development processes within a heterogeneous environment. Based on a state of the practice survey in the Austrian games industry, this paper presents (a) first results with focus on process/method support and (b) suggests a candidate flexible process approach based on Scrum to improve VGSD and team collaboration. Results showed (a) a trend to highly flexible software processes involving various disciplines and (b) identified the suggested flexible process approach as feasible and useful for project application.
Independent assessment to continue improvement: Implementing statistical process control at the Hanford Site

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, T.A.; Lo, J.C.

1994-11-01

A Quality Assurance independent assessment has brought about continued improvement in the PUREX Plant surveillance program at the Department of Energy's Hanford Site. After the independent assessment, Quality Assurance personnel were closely involved in improving the surveillance program, specifically regarding storage tank monitoring. The independent assessment activities included reviewing procedures, analyzing surveillance data, conducting personnel interviews, and communicating with management. Process improvement efforts included: (1) designing data collection methods; (2) gaining concurrence between engineering and management, (3) revising procedures; and (4) interfacing with shift surveillance crews. Through this process, Statistical Process Control (SPC) was successfully implemented and surveillance management was improved. The independent assessment identified several deficiencies within the surveillance system. These deficiencies can be grouped into two areas: (1) data recording and analysis and (2) handling off-normal conditions. By using several independent assessment techniques, Quality Assurance was able to point out program weakness to senior management and present suggestions for improvements. SPC charting, as implemented by Quality Assurance, is an excellent tool for diagnosing the process, improving communication between the team members, and providing a scientific database for management decisions. In addition, the surveillance procedure was substantially revised. The goals of this revision were to (1) strengthen the role of surveillance management, engineering and operators and (2) emphasize the importance of teamwork for each individual who performs a task. In this instance we believe that the value independent assessment adds to the system is the continuous improvement activities that follow the independent assessment. Excellence in teamwork between the independent assessment organization and the auditee is the key to continuing improvement
Criterion and convergent validity of the Montreal cognitive assessment with screening and standardized neuropsychological testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Benjamin; Middleton, Laura E; Masellis, Mario; Stuss, Donald T; Harry, Robin D; Kiss, Alex; Black, Sandra E

2013-12-01

To compare the validity of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) with the criterion standard of standardized neuropsychological testing and to compare the convergent validity of the MoCA with that of existing screening tools and global measures of cognition. Cross-sectional observational study. Tertiary care hospital-based cognitive neurology subspecialty clinic. A convenience sample of 107 individuals with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD, n=75) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n=32) from the Sunnybrook Dementia Study. In addition to the MoCA, all participants completed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS), and detailed neuropsychological testing. Convergent validity was supported, with MoCA scores correlating well with the MMSE (correlation coefficient (r)=0.66, Pvalidity was supported, with MoCA subscores according to cognitive domain correlating well with analogous neuropsychological tests and, in the case of memory (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)=0.86), executive (AUC=0.79), and visuospatial function (AUC=0.79), being reasonably sensitive to impairment in those domains. The MoCA is a valid assessment of cognition that shows good agreement with existing screening tools and global measures (convergent validity) and was superior to the MMSE in this regard. The MoCA domain-specific subscores align with performance on more-detailed neuropsychological tests, suggesting not only good criterion validity for the MoCA, but also that it may be useful in guiding further neuropsychological testing. © 2013, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2013, The American Geriatrics Society.
Application of process improvement principles to increase the frequency of complete airway management documentation.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarty, L Kelsey; Saddawi-Konefka, Daniel; Gargan, Lauren M; Driscoll, William D; Walsh, John L; Peterfreund, Robert A

2014-12-01

Process improvement in healthcare delivery settings can be difficult, even when there is consensus among clinicians about a clinical practice or desired outcome. Airway management is a medical intervention fundamental to the delivery of anesthesia care. Like other medical interventions, a detailed description of the management methods should be documented. Despite this expectation, airway documentation is often insufficient. The authors hypothesized that formal adoption of process improvement methods could be used to increase the rate of "complete" airway management documentation. The authors defined a set of criteria as a local practice standard of "complete" airway management documentation. The authors then employed selected process improvement methodologies over 13 months in three iterative and escalating phases to increase the percentage of records with complete documentation. The criteria were applied retrospectively to determine the baseline frequency of complete records, and prospectively to measure the impact of process improvements efforts over the three phases of implementation. Immediately before the initial intervention, a retrospective review of 23,011 general anesthesia cases over 6 months showed that 13.2% of patient records included complete documentation. At the conclusion of the 13-month improvement effort, documentation improved to a completion rate of 91.6% (Pprocess improvement methodologies can improve airway documentation and may be similarly effective in improving other areas of anesthesia clinical practice.
Improved Processing and Marketing of Healthy Fish Products in ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Improved Processing and Marketing of Healthy Fish Products in Inland Fisheries in Malawi (CultiAF). This project aims ... They will test different pre-drying methods: -no pre-drying treatment -parboiling -smoking -brining Solar dryer and business model testing Researchers will assess the solar dryers' economic performance.
Effects of Montreal municipal sewage effluents on immune responses of juvenile female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salo, Harri M. [INRS-institut Armand-Frappier, 245 Hymus Boul., Pointe-Claire, Que. H9R 1G6 (Canada)], E-mail: harri.salo@ktl.fi; Hebert, Nancy; Dautremepuits, Claire [INRS-institut Armand-Frappier, 245 Hymus Boul., Pointe-Claire, Que. H9R 1G6 (Canada); Cejka, Patrick [Montreal Wastewater Treatment Plant, 12 001 Maurice-Duplessis, Montreal, Que. H1C 1V3 (Canada); Cyr, Daniel G.; Fournier, Michel [INRS-institut Armand-Frappier, 245 Hymus Boul., Pointe-Claire, Que. H9R 1G6 (Canada)

2007-10-30

The objective of this study was to examine the immunotoxicity of treated Montreal sewage effluents on juvenile female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). A comprehensive panel of immunological assays was used to evaluate the effects of exposure for 1 and 4 weeks to 1, 3, 10 and 20% sewage effluent. Phagocytic ingestion of fluorescent latex beads by head kidney macrophages and granulocytes was suppressed following 1-week of exposure, with the highest exposure concentration being the most suppressive. Phagocytic activity returned to control levels after 4 weeks of exposure. The cytotoxic activity of head kidney derived non-specific cytotoxic cells was enhanced after a 1-week exposure, especially at the lowest exposure concentration, and returned to control levels after 4 weeks of exposure. In vitro lymphocyte proliferation in response to LPS and ConA activation was not affected following sewage effluent exposure, but nonactivated, spontaneous proliferation of lymphocytes was suppressed in a dose-dependent manner after 4 weeks of exposure. Plasma lysozyme activity was elevated at lowest exposure concentration after 4 weeks. No changes were noted in either the blood leukocyte/erythrocyte ratio or in the proportion of circulating lymphocytes and thrombocytes. The proportion of circulating granulocytes increased following exposure for 4 weeks to the low effluent concentration. Plasma cortisol levels were not affected by effluent exposure suggesting that mechanisms other than stress influenced the observed immunomodulation. In summary, this study demonstrates that sewage effluent can alter the immune functions of rainbow trout.
Effects of Montreal municipal sewage effluents on immune responses of juvenile female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salo, Harri M.; Hebert, Nancy; Dautremepuits, Claire; Cejka, Patrick; Cyr, Daniel G.; Fournier, Michel

2007-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine the immunotoxicity of treated Montreal sewage effluents on juvenile female rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). A comprehensive panel of immunological assays was used to evaluate the effects of exposure for 1 and 4 weeks to 1, 3, 10 and 20% sewage effluent. Phagocytic ingestion of fluorescent latex beads by head kidney macrophages and granulocytes was suppressed following 1-week of exposure, with the highest exposure concentration being the most suppressive. Phagocytic activity returned to control levels after 4 weeks of exposure. The cytotoxic activity of head kidney derived non-specific cytotoxic cells was enhanced after a 1-week exposure, especially at the lowest exposure concentration, and returned to control levels after 4 weeks of exposure. In vitro lymphocyte proliferation in response to LPS and ConA activation was not affected following sewage effluent exposure, but nonactivated, spontaneous proliferation of lymphocytes was suppressed in a dose-dependent manner after 4 weeks of exposure. Plasma lysozyme activity was elevated at lowest exposure concentration after 4 weeks. No changes were noted in either the blood leukocyte/erythrocyte ratio or in the proportion of circulating lymphocytes and thrombocytes. The proportion of circulating granulocytes increased following exposure for 4 weeks to the low effluent concentration. Plasma cortisol levels were not affected by effluent exposure suggesting that mechanisms other than stress influenced the observed immunomodulation. In summary, this study demonstrates that sewage effluent can alter the immune functions of rainbow trout
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT USING STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL TOOLS IN GLASS BOTTLES MANUFACTURING COMPANY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yonatan Mengesha Awaj

2013-03-01

Full Text Available In order to survive in a competitive market, improving quality and productivity of product or process is a must for any company. This study is about to apply the statistical process control (SPC tools in the production processing line and on final product in order to reduce defects by identifying where the highest waste is occur at and to give suggestion for improvement. The approach used in this study is direct observation, thorough examination of production process lines, brain storming session, fishbone diagram, and information has been collected from potential customers and company's workers through interview and questionnaire, Pareto chart/analysis and control chart (p-chart was constructed. It has been found that the company has many problems; specifically there is high rejection or waste in the production processing line. The highest waste occurs in melting process line which causes loss due to trickle and in the forming process line which causes loss due to defective product rejection. The vital few problems were identified, it was found that the blisters, double seam, stone, pressure failure and overweight are the vital few problems. The principal aim of the study is to create awareness to quality team how to use SPC tools in the problem analysis, especially to train quality team on how to held an effective brainstorming session, and exploit these data in cause-and-effect diagram construction, Pareto analysis and control chart construction. The major causes of non-conformities and root causes of the quality problems were specified, and possible remedies were proposed. Although the company has many constraints to implement all suggestion for improvement within short period of time, the company recognized that the suggestion will provide significant productivity improvement in the long run.

Improvement Of Search Process In Electronic Catalogues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Titas Savickas

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The paper presents investigation on search in electronic catalogues. The chosen problem domain is the search system in the electronic catalogue of Lithuanian Academic Libraries. The catalogue uses ALEPH system with MARC21 bibliographic format. The article presents analysis of problems pertaining to the current search engine and user expectations related to the search system of the electronic catalogue of academic libraries. Subsequent to analysis, the research paper presents the architecture for a semantic search system in the electronic catalogue that uses search process designed to improve search results for users.
The Role of Evaluation in the School Improvement Process

Science.gov (United States)

Lindahl, Ronald A.; Beach, Robert H.

2013-01-01

Although evaluation serves many purposes in education, there is virtually unanimous agreement that evaluation is a critical component of all school improvement processes. Hamilton et al. (2003) asserted that "assessment and evaluation should be built into reform programs from the outset" (p. 26). Kimball, Lander, and Thorn (2010)…
Software quality and process improvement in scientific simulation codes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ambrosiano, J.; Webster, R. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

1997-11-01

This report contains viewgraphs on the quest to develope better simulation code quality through process modeling and improvement. This study is based on the experience of the authors and interviews with ten subjects chosen from simulation code development teams at LANL. This study is descriptive rather than scientific.
Development of Six Sigma methodology for CNC milling process improvements

Science.gov (United States)

Ismail, M. N.; Rose, A. N. M.; Mohammed, N. Z.; Rashid, M. F. F. Ab

2017-10-01

Quality and productivity have been identified as an important role in any organization, especially for manufacturing sectors to gain more profit that leads to success of a company. This paper reports a work improvement project in Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA Kuantan. It involves problem identification in production of “Khufi” product and proposing an effective framework to improve the current situation effectively. Based on the observation and data collection on the work in progress (WIP) product, the major problem has been identified related to function of the product which is the parts can’t assemble properly due to dimension of the product is out of specification. The six sigma has been used as a methodology to study and improve of the problems identified. Six Sigma is a highly statistical and data driven approach to solving complex business problems. It uses a methodical five phase approach define, measure, analysis, improve and control (DMAIC) to help understand the process and the variables that affect it so that can be optimized the processes. Finally, the root cause and solution for the production of “Khufi” problem has been identified and implemented then the result for this product was successfully followed the specification of fitting.
Improvement of ballistocardiogram processing by inclusion of respiration information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tavakolian, Kouhyar; Vaseghi, Ali; Kaminska, Bozena

2008-01-01

In this paper a novel methodology for processing of a ballistocardiogram (BCG) is proposed in which the respiration signal is utilized to improve the averaging of the BCG signal and ultimately the annotation and interpretation of the signal. Previous research works filtered out the respiration signal while the novelty of the current research is that, rather than removing the respiration effect from the signal, we utilize the respiration information to improve the averaging and thus analysis and interpretation of the BCG signal in diagnosis of cardiac malfunctions. This methodology is based on our investigation that BCG cycles corresponding to the inspiration and expiration phases of the respiration cycle are different in morphology. BCG cycles corresponding to the expiration phase of respiration have been proved to be more closely related to each other when compared to cycles corresponding to inspiration, and therefore expiration cycles are better candidates to be selected for the calculation of the averaged BCG signal. The new BCG average calculated based on this methodology is then considered as the representative and a template of the BCG signal for further processing. This template can be considered as the output of a clinical BCG instrument with higher reliability and accuracy compared to the previous processing methods
CM Process Improvement and the International Space Station Program (ISSP)

Science.gov (United States)

Stephenson, Ginny

2007-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the Configuration Management (CM) process improvements planned and undertaken for the International Space Station Program (ISSP). It reviews the 2004 findings and recommendations and the progress towards their implementation.
Improvement for enhancing effectiveness of universal power system (UPS) continuous testing process

Science.gov (United States)

Sriratana, Lerdlekha

2018-01-01

This experiment aims to enhance the effectiveness of the Universal Power System (UPS) continuous testing process of the Electrical and Electronic Institute by applying work scheduling and time study methods. Initially, the standard time of testing process has not been considered that results of unaccurate testing target and also time wasting has been observed. As monitoring and reducing waste time for improving the efficiency of testing process, Yamazumi chart and job scheduling theory (North West Corner Rule) were applied to develop new work process. After the improvements, the overall efficiency of the process possibly increased from 52.8% to 65.6% or 12.7%. Moreover, the waste time could reduce from 828.3 minutes to 653.6 minutes or 21%, while testing units per batch could increase from 3 to 4 units. Therefore, the number of testing units would increase from 12 units up to 20 units per month that also contribute to increase of net income of UPS testing process by 72%.
Improving content marketing processes with the approaches by artificial intelligence

OpenAIRE

Kose, Utku; Sert, Selcuk

2017-01-01

Content marketing is todays one of the most remarkable approaches in the context of marketing processes of companies. Value of this kind of marketing has improved in time, thanks to the latest developments regarding to computer and communication technologies. Nowadays, especially social media based platforms have a great importance on enabling companies to design multimedia oriented, interactive content. But on the other hand, there is still something more to do for improved content marketing...
Validation of fatty acid intakes estimated by a food frequency questionnaire using erythrocyte fatty acid profiling in the Montreal Heart Institute Biobank.

Science.gov (United States)

Turcot, V; Brunet, J; Daneault, C; Tardif, J C; Des Rosiers, C; Lettre, G

2015-12-01

To improve the prevention, treatment and risk prediction of cardiovascular diseases, genetic markers and gene-diet interactions are currently being investigated. The Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) Biobank is suitable for such studies because of its large sample size (currently, n = 17 000), the availability of biospecimens, and the collection of data on dietary intakes of saturated (SFAs) and n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated (PUFAs) fatty acids estimated from a 14-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). We tested the validity of the FFQ by correlating dietary intakes of these fatty acids with their red blood cell (RBC) content in MHI Biobank participants. Seventy-five men and 75 women were selected from the Biobank. We successfully obtained RBC fatty acids for 142 subjects using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to test whether SFA scores and daily intakes (g day(-1)) of n-3 and n-6 PUFAs correlate with their RBC content. Based on covariate-adjusted analyses, intakes of n-3 PUFAs from vegetable sources were significantly correlated with RBC α-linolenic acid levels (ρ = 0.23, P = 0.007), whereas n-3 PUFA intakes from marine sources correlated significantly with RBC eicosapentaenoic acid (ρ = 0.29, P = 0.0008) and docosahexaenoic acid (ρ = 0.41, P = 9.2 × 10(-7)) levels. Intakes of n-6 PUFAs from vegetable sources correlated with RBC linoleic acid (ρ = 0.18, P = 0.04). SFA scores were not correlated with RBC total SFAs. The MHI Biobank 14-item FFQ can appropriately estimate daily intakes of n-3 PUFAs from vegetable and marine sources, as well as vegetable n-6 PUFAs, which enables the possibility of using these data in future studies. © 2014 The British Dietetic Association Ltd.
A Knowledge Management Approach to Support Software Process Improvement Implementation Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Montoni, Mariano Angel; Cerdeiral, Cristina; Zanetti, David; Cavalcanti da Rocha, Ana Regina

The success of software process improvement (SPI) implementation initiatives depends fundamentally of the strategies adopted to support the execution of such initiatives. Therefore, it is essential to define adequate SPI implementation strategies aiming to facilitate the achievement of organizational business goals and to increase the benefits of process improvements. The objective of this work is to present an approach to support the execution of SPI implementation initiatives. We also describe a methodology applied to capture knowledge related to critical success factors that influence SPI initiatives. This knowledge was used to define effective SPI strategies aiming to increase the success of SPI initiatives coordinated by a specific SPI consultancy organization. This work also presents the functionalities of a set of tools integrated in a process-centered knowledge management environment, named CORE-KM, customized to support the presented approach.
Application of agent-based system for bioprocess description and process improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Ying; Kipling, Katie; Glassey, Jarka; Willis, Mark; Montague, Gary; Zhou, Yuhong; Titchener-Hooker, Nigel J

2010-01-01

Modeling plays an important role in bioprocess development for design and scale-up. Predictive models can also be used in biopharmaceutical manufacturing to assist decision-making either to maintain process consistency or to identify optimal operating conditions. To predict the whole bioprocess performance, the strong interactions present in a processing sequence must be adequately modeled. Traditionally, bioprocess modeling considers process units separately, which makes it difficult to capture the interactions between units. In this work, a systematic framework is developed to analyze the bioprocesses based on a whole process understanding and considering the interactions between process operations. An agent-based approach is adopted to provide a flexible infrastructure for the necessary integration of process models. This enables the prediction of overall process behavior, which can then be applied during process development or once manufacturing has commenced, in both cases leading to the capacity for fast evaluation of process improvement options. The multi-agent system comprises a process knowledge base, process models, and a group of functional agents. In this system, agent components co-operate with each other in performing their tasks. These include the description of the whole process behavior, evaluating process operating conditions, monitoring of the operating processes, predicting critical process performance, and providing guidance to decision-making when coping with process deviations. During process development, the system can be used to evaluate the design space for process operation. During manufacture, the system can be applied to identify abnormal process operation events and then to provide suggestions as to how best to cope with the deviations. In all cases, the function of the system is to ensure an efficient manufacturing process. The implementation of the agent-based approach is illustrated via selected application scenarios, which
Remediation plans in family medicine residency

Science.gov (United States)

Audétat, Marie-Claude; Voirol, Christian; Béland, Normand; Fernandez, Nicolas; Sanche, Gilbert

2015-01-01

Abstract Objective To assess use of the remediation instrument that has been implemented in training sites at the University of Montreal in Quebec to support faculty in diagnosing and remediating resident academic difficulties, to examine whether and how this particular remediation instrument improves the remediation process, and to determine its effects on the residents’ subsequent rotation assessments. Design A multimethods approach in which data were collected from different sources: remediation plans developed by faculty, program statistics for the corresponding academic years, and students’ academic records and rotation assessment results. Setting Family medicine residency program at the University of Montreal. Participants Family medicine residents in academic difficulty. Main outcome measures Assessment of the content, process, and quality of remediation plans, and students’ academic and rotation assessment results (successful, below expectations, or failure) both before and after the remediation period. Results The framework that was developed for assessing remediation plans was used to analyze 23 plans produced by 10 teaching sites for 21 residents. All plans documented cognitive problems and implemented numerous remediation measures. Although only 48% of the plans were of good quality, implementation of a remediation plan was positively associated with the resident’s success in rotations following the remediation period. Conclusion The use of remediation plans is well embedded in training sites at the University of Montreal. The residents’ difficulties were mainly cognitive in nature, but this generally related to deficits in clinical reasoning rather than knowledge gaps. The reflection and analysis required to produce a remediation plan helps to correct many academic difficulties and normalize the academic career of most residents in difficulty. Further effort is still needed to improve the quality of plans and to support teachers.
Strategy for 90% autoverification of clinical chemistry and immunoassay test results using six sigma process improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Randell, Edward W; Short, Garry; Lee, Natasha; Beresford, Allison; Spencer, Margaret; Kennell, Marina; Moores, Zoë; Parry, David

2018-06-01

Six Sigma involves a structured process improvement strategy that places processes on a pathway to continued improvement. The data presented here summarizes a project that took three clinical laboratories from autoverification processes that allowed between about 40% to 60% of tests being auto-verified to more than 90% of tests and samples auto-verified. The project schedule, metrics and targets, a description of the previous system and detailed information on the changes made to achieve greater than 90% auto-verification is presented for this Six Sigma DMAIC (Design, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) process improvement project.
Toyota A3 report: a tool for process improvement in healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Te-Shu; Kuo, Mu-Hsing

2009-01-01

It is proposed that the A3 problem solving process be used by hospital staff to improve its healthcare workflow. A hypothetical case study is given to demonstrate the applicability and benefits of the methodology. The research results show that A3 is a useful tool for healthcare organizations seeking to continuously improve their healthcare service quality.
An evaluation approach for alarm processing improvement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jung-Taek; Lee, Dong-Young; Hwang, In-Koo; Park, Jae-Chang

1997-01-01

In light of the need to improve MMIS of NPPs, the advanced I and C research team of KAERI has embarked on developing an Alarm and Diagnosis-Integrated Operator Support System, called ADIOS, to filter or suppress unnecessary or nuisance alarms and diagnose abnormality of the plant process. ADIOS has been built in an object-oriented AI environment of G-2 expert system software tool, as presented in a companion paper. ADIOS then is evaluated according to the plan in three steps; (1) preliminary tests to refine the knowledge base and inference structure of ADIOS in such a dynamic environment, and also to evaluate the appropriateness of alarm-processing algorithms; (2) to ensure correctness, consistency, and completeness in the knowledge base using COKEP (Checker Of Knowledge base using Extended Petri net); and (3) the cognitive performance evaluation using the Simulation Analyzer with a Cognitive Operator Model (SACOM) in the KAERI's Integrated Test Facility (ITF). (author). 5 figs, 1 tab
Beyond Condoms: Risk Reduction Strategies Among Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men Receiving Rapid HIV Testing in Montreal, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Otis, Joanne; McFadyen, Amélie; Haig, Thomas; Blais, Martin; Cox, Joseph; Brenner, Bluma; Rousseau, Robert; Émond, Gilbert; Roger, Michel; Wainberg, Mark

2016-12-01

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) have adapted their sexual practices over the course of the HIV/AIDS epidemic based on available data and knowledge about HIV. This study sought to identify and compare patterns in condom use among gay, bisexual, and other MSM who were tested for HIV at a community-based testing site in Montreal, Canada. Results showed that while study participants use condoms to a certain extent with HIV-positive partners and partners of unknown HIV status, they also make use of various other strategies such as adjusting to a partner's presumed or known HIV status and viral load, avoiding certain types of partners, taking PEP, and getting tested for HIV. These findings suggest that MSM who use condoms less systematically are not necessarily taking fewer precautions but may instead be combining or replacing condom use with other approaches to risk reduction.
Improving Multi Access Interference Suppression in Optical CDMA by using all-Optical Signal Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. B. Osadola

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the study of a novel all-optical method for processing optical CDMA signals towards improving suppression of multi access interference. The main focus is on incoherent OCDMA systems using multiwavelength 2D-WH/TS codes generated using FBG based encoders and decoders. The MAI suppression capabilities based on its ability to eliminate selective wavelength pulse processing have been shown. A novel transmitter architecture that achieves up to 3dB power saving was also presented. As a result of hardware savings, processing cost will be significantly reduced and power budget improvement resulted in improved performance.
Reaming process improvement and control: An application of statistical engineering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, Pavel; Genta, G.; Barbato, G.

2012-01-01

A reaming operation had to be performed within given technological and economical constraints. Process improvement under realistic conditions was the goal of a statistical engineering project, supported by a comprehensive experimental investigation providing detailed information on single...
Improvements of the Swarm Accelerometer Data Processing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Siemes, Christian; Grunwaldt, Ludwig; Peresty, Radek

, the most prominent being slow temperature-induced bias variations and sudden bias changes. These disturbances have caused a significant delay of the accelerometer data release.In this presentation, we describe the new, improved four-stage processing that is required for transforming the disturbed...... acceleration measurements into scientifically valuable thermospheric neutral densities. In the first stage, the sudden bias changes in the acceleration measurements are manually removed using a dedicated software tool. The second stage is the calibration of the accelerometer measurements against the non...... in each stage, highlight the difficulties encountered, and comment on the quality of the thermospheric neutral density data set....
Using Group Projects to Teach Process Improvement in a Quality Class

Science.gov (United States)

Neidigh, Robert O.

2016-01-01

This paper provides a description of a teaching approach that uses experiential learning to teach process improvement. The teaching approach uses student groups to perform and gather process data in a senior-level quality management class that focuses on Lean Six Sigma. A strategy to link the experiential learning in the group projects to the…

Process Reengineering for Quality Improvement in ICU Based on Taylor's Management Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Ziqi

2015-06-01

Using methods including questionnaire-based surveys and control analysis, we analyzed the improvements in the efficiency of ICU rescue, service quality, and patients' satisfaction, in Xuzhou Central Hospital after the implementation of fine management, with an attempt to further introduce the concept of fine management and implement the brand construction. Originating in Taylor's "Theory of Scientific Management" (1982), fine management uses programmed, standardized, digitalized, and informational approaches to ensure each unit of an organization is running with great accuracy, high efficiency, strong coordination, and at sustained duration (Wang et al., Fine Management, 2007). The nature of fine management is a process that breaks up the strategy and goal, and executes it. Strategic planning takes place at every part of the process. Fine management demonstrates that everybody has a role to play in the management process, every area must be examined through the management process, and everything has to be managed (Zhang et al., The Experience of Hospital Nursing Precise Management, 2006). In other words, this kind of management theory demands all people to be involved in the entire process (Liu and Chen, Med Inf, 2007). As public hospital reform is becoming more widespread, it becomes imperative to "build a unified and efficient public hospital management system" and "improve the quality of medical services" (Guidelines on the Pilot Reform of Public Hospitals, 2010). The execution of fine management is of importance in optimizing the medical process, improving medical services and building a prestigious hospital brand.
Problems of improving the investing process management in NPP construction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denisov, G.A.

1986-01-01

Problems of development of the optimal system for the investing process management in NPP construction are discussed. It includes 3 steps: design construction ( including building structure and equipment production ), and achievement of designed technical and economical indices, during reactor start-up. The method for estimating the interest of each participator of the intensing process and developing the optimal solution, that is capable to approach these interests, is suggested. The conclusion is made that it is necessary to develop and confirm the branch standard, which should include a complex amalgamated network of works to improve the organization of the investing process
Music perception by cochlear implant and normal hearing listeners as measured by the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, William B; Tobey, Emily; Loizou, Philipos C

2008-08-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the utility/possibility of using the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) test (Peretz, et al., Ann N Y Acad Sci, 999, 58-75) to assess the music perception abilities of cochlear implant (CI) users. The MBEA was used to measure six different aspects of music perception (Scale, Contour, Interval, Rhythm, Meter, and Melody Memory) by CI users and normal-hearing (NH) listeners presented with stimuli processed via CI simulations. The spectral resolution (number of channels) was varied in the CI simulations to determine: (a) the number of channels (4, 6, 8, 12, and 16) needed to achieve the highest levels of music perception and (b) the number of channels needed to produce levels of music perception performance comparable with that of CI users. CI users and NH listeners performed higher on temporal-based tests (Rhythm and Meter) than on pitch-based tests (Scale, Contour, and Interval)--a finding that is consistent with previous research studies. The CI users' scores on pitch-based tests were near chance. The CI users' (but not NH listeners') scores for the Memory test, a test that incorporates an integration of both temporal-based and pitch-based aspects of music, were significantly higher than the scores obtained for the pitch-based Scale test and significantly lower than the temporal-based Rhythm and Meter tests. The data from NH listeners indicated that 16 channels of stimulation did not provide the highest music perception scores and performance was as good as that obtained with 12 channels. This outcome is consistent with other studies showing that NH listeners listening to vocoded speech are not able to use effectively F0 cues present in the envelopes, even when the stimuli are processed with a large number (16) of channels. The CI user data seem to most closely match with the 4- and 6-channel NH listener conditions for the pitch-based tasks. Consistent with previous studies, both CI users and NH listeners
Music Perception by Cochlear Implant and Normal Hearing Listeners as Measured by the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, William B.; Tobey, Emily; Loizou, Philipos C.

2009-01-01

Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the utility/possibility of using the Montreal Battery for Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) test (Peretz, Champod, & Hyde, 2003) to assess the music perception abilities of cochlear implant (CI) users. Design The MBEA was used to measure six different aspects of music perception (Scale, Contour, Interval, Rhythm, Meter, and Melody Memory) by CI users and normal hearing (NH) listeners presented with stimuli processed via CI simulations. The spectral resolution (number of channels) was varied in the CI simulations to determine: (a) the number of channels (4, 6, 8, 12, 16) needed to achieve the highest levels of music perception and (b) the number of channels needed to produce levels of music perception performance comparable to that of CI users. Results CI users and NH listeners performed higher on temporal-based tests (Rhythm and Meter) than on pitch-based tests (Scale, Contour, and Interval) – a finding that is consistent with previous research studies. The CI users' scores on pitch-based tests were near chance. The CI users' (but not NH listeners') scores for the Memory test, a test that incorporates an integration of both temporal-based and pitch-based aspects of music, were significantly higher than the scores obtained for the pitch-based Scale test and significantly lower than the temporal-based Rhythm and Meter tests. The data from NH listeners indicated that 16 channels of stimulation did not provide the highest music perception scores and performance was as good as that obtained with 12 channels. This outcome is consistent with other studies showing that NH listeners listening to vocoded speech are not able to utilize effectively F0 cues present in the envelopes, even when the stimuli are processed with a large number (16) of channels. The CI user data appear to most closely match with the 4- and 6- channel NH listener conditions for the pitch-based tasks. Conclusions Consistent with previous studies, both CI
Results of the Software Process Improvement Efforts of the Early Adopters in NAVAIR 4.0

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Saint-Amand, David C; Hodgins, Bradley

2007-01-01

.... The process improvement efforts described in this paper began in the 1990s and early 2000s. Their process improvement tool sets included the Capability Maturity Model, the Capability Maturity Model (CMM...
EMPRESS: A European Project to Enhance Process Control Through Improved Temperature Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Pearce, J. V.; Edler, F.; Elliott, C. J.; Rosso, L.; Sutton, G.; Andreu, A.; Machin, G.

2017-08-01

A new European project called EMPRESS, funded by the EURAMET program `European Metrology Program for Innovation and Research,' is described. The 3 year project, which started in the summer of 2015, is intended to substantially augment the efficiency of high-value manufacturing processes by improving temperature measurement techniques at the point of use. The project consortium has 18 partners and 5 external collaborators, from the metrology sector, high-value manufacturing, sensor manufacturing, and academia. Accurate control of temperature is key to ensuring process efficiency and product consistency and is often not achieved to the level required for modern processes. Enhanced efficiency of processes may take several forms including reduced product rejection/waste; improved energy efficiency; increased intervals between sensor recalibration/maintenance; and increased sensor reliability, i.e., reduced amount of operator intervention. Traceability of temperature measurements to the International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90) is a critical factor in establishing low measurement uncertainty and reproducible, consistent process control. Introducing such traceability in situ (i.e., within the industrial process) is a theme running through this project.
Improved processes of molybdenum-99 production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dadachova, K.; La Riviere, K.; Anderon, P.

1997-01-01

Two improved processes of Molybdenum-99 production have been developed at ANSTO on laboratory scale. The first one allows to purify Mo of natural isotopic composition from tungsten impurities by using preferential adsorption of tungsten on hydrated tin(IV) oxide SnO 2 x nH 2 O before irradiation in the nuclear reactor. Mo-99 obtained via this route can be used for production of i nstant Tc-99m. As the starting material MoO 3 contains considerable amounts of tungsten impurity (W > 60 ppm), 5-7 days irradiation results in generation of W-188 in amounts sufficient to contaminate the final Tc-99m product with rhenium-188 (Re-188, 16.8 h half-life) - radioactive daughter of W-188. To overcome this problem, a method of MoO 3 purification from W, based on preferential adsorption of W by hydrated tin (IV) oxide has been developed. The contents of W in MoO 3 purified by this technique became 3 and retaining of Mo-99 on a large alumina column. Mo-99 is stripped off the column with 200 mL 1M NH 4 OH followed by loading this solution onto the AG 1x8 column. The next steps are different for each version of separation process
Initiating statistical process control to improve quality outcomes in colorectal surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Deborah S; Stulberg, Jonah J; Lawrence, Justin K; Samia, Hoda; Delaney, Conor P

2015-12-01

Unexpected variations in postoperative length of stay (LOS) negatively impact resources and patient outcomes. Statistical process control (SPC) measures performance, evaluates productivity, and modifies processes for optimal performance. The goal of this study was to initiate SPC to identify LOS outliers and evaluate its feasibility to improve outcomes in colorectal surgery. Review of a prospective database identified colorectal procedures performed by a single surgeon. Patients were grouped into elective and emergent categories and then stratified by laparoscopic and open approaches. All followed a standardized enhanced recovery protocol. SPC was applied to identify outliers and evaluate causes within each group. A total of 1294 cases were analyzed--83% elective (n = 1074) and 17% emergent (n = 220). Emergent cases were 70.5% open and 29.5% laparoscopic; elective cases were 36.8% open and 63.2% laparoscopic. All groups had a wide range in LOS. LOS outliers ranged from 8.6% (elective laparoscopic) to 10.8% (emergent laparoscopic). Evaluation of outliers demonstrated patient characteristics of higher ASA scores, longer operating times, ICU requirement, and temporary nursing at discharge. Outliers had higher postoperative complication rates in elective open (57.1 vs. 20.0%) and elective lap groups (77.6 vs. 26.1%). Outliers also had higher readmission rates for emergent open (11.4 vs. 5.4%), emergent lap (14.3 vs. 9.2%), and elective lap (32.8 vs. 6.9%). Elective open outliers did not follow trends of longer LOS or higher reoperation rates. SPC is feasible and promising for improving colorectal surgery outcomes. SPC identified patient and process characteristics associated with increased LOS. SPC may allow real-time outlier identification, during quality improvement efforts, and reevaluation of outcomes after introducing process change. SPC has clinical implications for improving patient outcomes and resource utilization.
Leveraging health information exchange to improve population health reporting processes: lessons in using a collaborative-participatory design process.

Science.gov (United States)

Revere, Debra; Dixon, Brian E; Hills, Rebecca; Williams, Jennifer L; Grannis, Shaun J

2014-01-01

Surveillance, or the systematic monitoring of disease within a population, is a cornerstone function of public health. Despite significant investment in information technologies (IT) to improve the public's health, health care providers continue to rely on manual, spontaneous reporting processes that can result in incomplete and delayed surveillance activities. Participatory design principles advocate including real users and stakeholders when designing an information system to ensure high ecological validity of the product, incorporate relevance and context into the design, reduce misconceptions designers can make due to insufficient domain expertise, and ultimately reduce barriers to adoption of the system. This paper focuses on the collaborative and informal participatory design process used to develop enhanced, IT-enabled reporting processes that leverage available electronic health records in a health information exchange to prepopulate notifiable-conditions report forms used by public health authorities. Over nine months, public health stakeholders, technical staff, and informatics researchers were engaged in a multiphase participatory design process that included public health stakeholder focus groups, investigator-engineering team meetings, public health survey and census regarding high-priority data elements, and codesign of exploratory prototypes and final form mock-ups. A number of state-mandated report fields that are not highly used or desirable for disease investigation were eliminated, which allowed engineers to repurpose form space for desired and high-priority data elements and improve the usability of the forms. Our participatory design process ensured that IT development was driven by end user expertise and needs, resulting in significant improvements to the layout and functionality of the reporting forms. In addition to informing report form development, engaging with public health end users and stakeholders through the participatory design
Managerial process improvement: a lean approach to eliminating medication delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Aftab; Stewart, LaShonda M; Rivers, Patrick A; Munchus, George

2015-01-01

Statistical evidence shows that medication errors are a major cause of injuries that concerns all health care oganizations. Despite all the efforts to improve the quality of care, the lack of understanding and inability of management to design a robust system that will strategically target those factors is a major cause of distress. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Achieving optimum organizational performance requires two key variables; work process factors and human performance factors. The approach is that healthcare administrators must take in account both variables in designing a strategy to reduce medication errors. However, strategies that will combat such phenomena require that managers and administrators understand the key factors that are causing medication delivery errors. The authors recommend that healthcare organizations implement the Toyota Production System (TPS) combined with human performance improvement (HPI) methodologies to eliminate medication delivery errors in hospitals. Despite all the efforts to improve the quality of care, there continues to be a lack of understanding and the ability of management to design a robust system that will strategically target those factors associated with medication errors. This paper proposes a solution to an ambiguous workflow process using the TPS combined with the HPI system.
Plasma nitrocarburizing process - a solution to improve wear and corrosion resistance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Joseph, Alphonsa J.; Ghanshyam, J.; Mukherjee, S.

2015-01-01

To prevent wear and corrosion problems in steam turbines, coatings have proved to have an advantage of isolating the component substrate from the corrosive environment with minimal changes in turbine material and design. Diffusion based coatings like plasma nitriding and plasma nitrocarburizing have been used for improving the wear and corrosion resistance of components undergoing wear during their operation. In this study plasma nitrocarburizing process was carried out on ferritic alloys like ASTM A182 Grade F22 and ATM A105 alloy steels and austenitic stainless steels like AISI 304 and AISI 316 which are used to make trim parts of control valves used for high pressure and high temperature steam lines to enhance their wear and corrosion resistance properties. The corrosion rate was measured by a potentiodynamic set up and salt spray unit in two different environments viz., tap water and 5% NaCl solutions. The Tafel plots of ferritic alloys and austenitic stainless steels show that plasma nitrocarburizing process show better corrosion resistance compared to that of the untreated steel. It was found that after plasma nitrocarburizing process the hardness of the alloy steels increased by a factor of two. The corrosion resistance of all the steels mentioned above improved in comparison to the untreated steels. This improvement can be attributed to the nitrogen and carbon incorporation in the surface of the material. This process can be also applied to components used in nuclear industries to cater to the wear and corrosion problems. (author)
Developing a Quality Improvement Process to Optimize Faculty Success

Science.gov (United States)

Merillat, Linda; Scheibmeir, Monica

2016-01-01

As part of a major shift to embed quality improvement processes within a School of Nursing at a medium-sized Midwestern university, a faculty enrichment program using a Plan-Do-Act-Study design was implemented. A central focus for the program was the development and maintenance of an online faculty resource center identified as "My Faculty…
Health care managers' views on and approaches to implementing models for improving care processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreasson, Jörgen; Eriksson, Andrea; Dellve, Lotta

2016-03-01

To develop a deeper understanding of health-care managers' views on and approaches to the implementation of models for improving care processes. In health care, there are difficulties in implementing models for improving care processes that have been decided on by upper management. Leadership approaches to this implementation can affect the outcome. In-depth interviews with first- and second-line managers in Swedish hospitals were conducted and analysed using grounded theory. 'Coaching for participation' emerged as a central theme for managers in handling top-down initiated process development. The vertical approach in this coaching addresses how managers attempt to sustain unit integrity through adapting and translating orders from top management. The horizontal approach in the coaching refers to managers' strategies for motivating and engaging their employees in implementation work. Implementation models for improving care processes require a coaching leadership built on close manager-employee interaction, mindfulness regarding the pace of change at the unit level, managers with the competence to share responsibility with their teams and engaged employees with the competence to share responsibility for improving the care processes, and organisational structures that support process-oriented work. Implications for nursing management are the importance of giving nurse managers knowledge of change management. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Improving the Process of Education: Total Quality Management for the College Classroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, James P.; And Others

1993-01-01

A systematic, institutional approach to continuous improvement in college instruction is outlined, based on the four main elements of Total Quality Management: quality defined by customer; top leadership responsibility; systematic analysis of work processes; and continuous quality improvement throughout the organization. Definitions and dimensions…
Extension of ERIM multispectral data processing capabilities through improved data handling techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Kriegler, F. J.

1973-01-01

The improvement and extension of the capabilities of the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan processing facility in handling multispectral data are discussed. Improvements consisted of implementing hardware modifications which permitted more rapid access to the recorded data through improved numbering and indexing of such data. In addition, techniques are discussed for handling data from sources other than the ERIM M-5 and M-7 scanner systems.
A combined disease management and process modeling approach for assessing and improving care processes: a fall management case-study.

Science.gov (United States)

Askari, Marjan; Westerhof, Richard; Eslami, Saied; Medlock, Stephanie; de Rooij, Sophia E; Abu-Hanna, Ameen

2013-10-01

To propose a combined disease management and process modeling approach for evaluating and improving care processes, and demonstrate its usability and usefulness in a real-world fall management case study. We identified essential disease management related concepts and mapped them into explicit questions meant to expose areas for improvement in the respective care processes. We applied the disease management oriented questions to a process model of a comprehensive real world fall prevention and treatment program covering primary and secondary care. We relied on interviews and observations to complete the process models, which were captured in UML activity diagrams. A preliminary evaluation of the usability of our approach by gauging the experience of the modeler and an external validator was conducted, and the usefulness of the method was evaluated by gathering feedback from stakeholders at an invitational conference of 75 attendees. The process model of the fall management program was organized around the clinical tasks of case finding, risk profiling, decision making, coordination and interventions. Applying the disease management questions to the process models exposed weaknesses in the process including: absence of program ownership, under-detection of falls in primary care, and lack of efficient communication among stakeholders due to missing awareness about other stakeholders' workflow. The modelers experienced the approach as usable and the attendees of the invitational conference found the analysis results to be valid. The proposed disease management view of process modeling was usable and useful for systematically identifying areas of improvement in a fall management program. Although specifically applied to fall management, we believe our case study is characteristic of various disease management settings, suggesting the wider applicability of the approach. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Process improvement of knives production in a small scale industry

Science.gov (United States)

Ananto, Gamawan; Muktasim, Irfan

2017-06-01

Small scale industry that produces several kinds of knive should increase its capacity due to the demand from the market. Qualitatively, this case study consisted of formulating the problems, collecting and analyzing the necessary data, and determining the possible recommendations for the improvement. While the current capacity is only 9 (nine), it is expected that 20 units of knife will produced per month. The processes sequence are: profiling (a), truing (b), beveling (c), heat treatment (d), polishing (e), assembly (f), sharpening (g) and finishing (h). The first process (a) is held by out-house vendor company while other steps from (b) to (g) are executed by in-house vendor. However, there is a high dependency upon the high skilled operator who executes the in -house processes that are mostly held manually with several unbalance successive tasks, where the processing time of one or two tasks require longer duration than others since the operation is merely relied on the operator's skill. The idea is the improvement or change of the profiling and beveling process. Due to the poor surface quality and suboptimal hardness resulted from the laser cut machine for profiling, it is considered to subst itute this kind of process with wire cut that is capable to obtain good surface quality with certain range levels of roughness. Through simple cutting experiments on the samples, it is expected that the generated surface quality is adequate to omit the truing process (b). In addition, the cutting experiments on one, two, and four test samples resulted the shortest time that was obtained through four pieces in one cut. The technical parameters were set according to the recommendation of machine standard as referred to samples condition such as thickness and path length that affect ed the rate of wear. Meanwhile, in order to guarantee the uniformity of knife angles that are formed through beveling process (c), a grinding fixture was created. This kind of tool diminishes the
Event (error and near-miss) reporting and learning system for process improvement in radiation oncology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mutic, Sasa; Brame, R Scott; Oddiraju, Swetha; Parikh, Parag; Westfall, Melisa A; Hopkins, Merilee L; Medina, Angel D; Danieley, Jonathan C; Michalski, Jeff M; El Naqa, Issam M; Low, Daniel A; Wu, Bin

2010-09-01

The value of near-miss and error reporting processes in many industries is well appreciated and typically can be supported with data that have been collected over time. While it is generally accepted that such processes are important in the radiation therapy (RT) setting, studies analyzing the effects of organized reporting and process improvement systems on operation and patient safety in individual clinics remain scarce. The purpose of this work is to report on the design and long-term use of an electronic reporting system in a RT department and compare it to the paper-based reporting system it replaced. A specifically designed web-based system was designed for reporting of individual events in RT and clinically implemented in 2007. An event was defined as any occurrence that could have, or had, resulted in a deviation in the delivery of patient care. The aim of the system was to support process improvement in patient care and safety. The reporting tool was designed so individual events could be quickly and easily reported without disrupting clinical work. This was very important because the system use was voluntary. The spectrum of reported deviations extended from minor workflow issues (e.g., scheduling) to errors in treatment delivery. Reports were categorized based on functional area, type, and severity of an event. The events were processed and analyzed by a formal process improvement group that used the data and the statistics collected through the web-based tool for guidance in reengineering clinical processes. The reporting trends for the first 24 months with the electronic system were compared to the events that were reported in the same clinic with a paper-based system over a seven-year period. The reporting system and the process improvement structure resulted in increased event reporting, improved event communication, and improved identification of clinical areas which needed process and safety improvements. The reported data were also useful for the
Mental Health Status, Health Care Utilisation, and Service Satisfaction among Immigrants in Montreal: An Epidemiological Comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitley, Rob; Wang, JiaWei; Fleury, Marie-Josee; Liu, Aihua; Caron, Jean

2017-08-01

To examine variations between immigrants and nonimmigrants in 1) prevalence of common mental disorders and other mental health variables; 2) health service utilisation for emotional problems, mental disorders, and addictions, and 3) health service satisfaction. This article is based on a longitudinal cohort study conducted from May 2007 to the present: the Epidemiological Catchment Area Study of Montreal South-West (ZEPSOM). Participants were followed up at 4 time points (T1, n = 2433; T4, n = 1095). Core exposure variables include immigrant status (immigrant vs. nonimmigrant), duration of residence, and region of origin. Key outcome variables included mental health status, health service utilisation, and health service satisfaction. Data were analysed both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Immigrants had been in Canada for 20 years on average. Immigrants had significantly lower rates of high psychological distress (32.6% vs. 39.1%, P = 0.016), alcohol dependence (1.4% vs. 3.9%, P =0.010), depression (5.2% vs. 9.2%, P = 0.008), and various other mental disorders. They had significantly higher scores of mental well-being (48.9 vs. 47.1 score, P = 0.014) and satisfaction with social (34.0 vs. 33.4 score, P = 0.021) and personal relationships (16.7 vs. 15.6 score, P Immigrants had significantly lower rates of health service utilisation for emotional problems, mental disorders, and addictions and significantly higher rates of health service satisfaction at all time points. Asian and African immigrants had particularly low rates of utilisation and high rates of satisfaction. Immigrants had better overall mental health than nonimmigrants.
Advanced statistics to improve the physical interpretation of atomization processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panão, Miguel R.O.; Radu, Lucian

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Finite pdf mixtures improves physical interpretation of sprays. ► Bayesian approach using MCMC algorithm is used to find the best finite mixture. ► Statistical method identifies multiple droplet clusters in a spray. ► Multiple drop clusters eventually associated with multiple atomization mechanisms. ► Spray described by drop size distribution and not only its moments. -- Abstract: This paper reports an analysis of the physics of atomization processes using advanced statistical tools. Namely, finite mixtures of probability density functions, which best fitting is found using a Bayesian approach based on a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. This approach takes into account eventual multimodality and heterogeneities in drop size distributions. Therefore, it provides information about the complete probability density function of multimodal drop size distributions and allows the identification of subgroups in the heterogeneous data. This allows improving the physical interpretation of atomization processes. Moreover, it also overcomes the limitations induced by analyzing the spray droplets characteristics through moments alone, particularly, the hindering of different natures of droplet formation. Finally, the method is applied to physically interpret a case-study based on multijet atomization processes

A symbolic methodology to improve disassembly process design.

Science.gov (United States)

Rios, Pedro; Blyler, Leslie; Tieman, Lisa; Stuart, Julie Ann; Grant, Ed

2003-12-01

Millions of end-of-life electronic components are retired annually due to the proliferation of new models and their rapid obsolescence. The recovery of resources such as plastics from these goods requires their disassembly. The time required for each disassembly and its associated cost is defined by the operator's familiarity with the product design and its complexity. Since model proliferation serves to complicate an operator's learning curve, it is worthwhile to investigate the benefits to be gained in a disassembly operator's preplanning process. Effective disassembly process design demands the application of green engineering principles, such as those developed by Anastas and Zimmerman (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 94A-101A), which include regard for product complexity, structural commonality, separation energy, material value, and waste prevention. This paper introduces the concept of design symbolsto help the operator more efficiently survey product complexity with respect to location and number of fasteners to remove a structure that is common to all electronics: the housing. With a sample of 71 different computers, printers, and monitors, we demonstrate that appropriate symbols reduce the total disassembly planning time by 13.2 min. Such an improvement could well make efficient the separation of plastic that would otherwise be destined for waste-to-energy or landfill. The symbolic methodology presented may also improve Design for Recycling and Design for Maintenance and Support.
Contractor Work Preparation Process Improvement Using Lean Six Sigma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asana Kusnadi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available To ensure the health and safety of their workforce and protection of their assets and the environment, a global oil and gas company operating in Indonesia requires comprehensive identification and evaluation of job hazards that were included in work permitting process prior work execution in the field. Based on 20 data points obtained in August 2013, start-working time for contractors who worked for Capital Project Management (CPM Team in Facility B was in average at 09.05 a.m. The aim of this paper is to present how the firm implemented Lean Six Sigma to reduce non-added value activities while fulfilling to its safety requirements and to share lessons learned from practical and theory testing perspective. The methodology used is Lean Six Sigma’s DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control as mandated by the corporate policy of the firm. This research adopts a mix-methods approach, by using both qualitative and quantitative data. This study was a one year longitudinal study of the Lean Six Sigma implementation to improve contractors’ work preparation process. The improvement resulted in reduction of non-value added activities and successfully increased the available working time per day by 59.3 minutes in average. The results of this case study reconfirm Lean Six Sigma as a good management theory since it shows a consistency between the theory and the real practice in a global oil and gas company in Indonesia.
Detection and Differentiation of Frontotemporal Dementia and Related Disorders From Alzheimer Disease Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Coleman, Kristy K L; Coleman, Brenda L; MacKinley, Julia D; Pasternak, Stephen H; Finger, Elizabeth C

2016-01-01

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a cognitive screening tool used by practitioners worldwide. The efficacy of the MoCA for screening frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and related disorders is unknown. The objectives were: (1) to determine whether the MoCA detects cognitive impairment (CI) in FTD subjects; (2) to determine whether Alzheimer disease (AD) and FTD subtypes and related disorders can be parsed using the MoCA; and (3) describe longitudinal MoCA performance by subtype. We extracted demographic and testing data from a database of patients referred to a cognitive neurology clinic who met criteria for probable AD or FTD (N=192). Logistic regression was used to determine whether dementia subtypes were associated with overall scores, subscores, or combinations of subscores on the MoCA. Initial MoCA results demonstrated CI in the majority of FTD subjects (87%). FTD subjects (N=94) performed better than AD subjects (N=98) on the MoCA (mean scores: 18.1 vs. 16.3; P=0.02). Subscores parsed many, but not all subtypes. FTD subjects had a larger decline on the MoCA within 13 to 36 months than AD subjects (P=0.02). The results indicate that the MoCA is a useful tool to identify and track progression of CI in FTD. Further, the data informs future research on scoring models for the MoCA to enhance cognitive screening and detection of FTD patients.
Application of ultrasound to improve lees ageing processes in red wines.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Fresno, Juan Manuel; Loira, Iris; Morata, Antonio; González, Carmen; Suárez-Lepe, Jose Antonio; Cuerda, Rafael

2018-09-30

Ageing on lees (AOL) is a technique that increases volatile compounds, promotes colour stability, improves mouthfeel and reduces astringency in red wines. The main drawback is that it is a slow process. Several months are necessary to obtain perceptible effects in wines. Different authors have studied the application of new techniques to accelerate the AOL process. Ultrasound (US) has been used to improve different food industry processes; it could be interesting to accelerate the yeast autolysis during AOL. This work evaluates the use of the US technique together with AOL and oak chips for this purpose studying the effects of different oenological parameters of red wines. The results obtained indicate an increase of polysaccharides content when US is applied in wine AOL. In addition, total polyphenol index (TPI) and volatile acidity were not affected. However, this treatment increases the dissolved oxygen affecting the volatile compounds and total anthocyanins. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Improvement of the Zircaloy fuel can manufacturing process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-01-01

The following work has been performed in order to ensure more reliable supply of start material for the manufacture of Zy-2 and Zy-4 fuel cans, and to improve the processing techniques and product quality: 1) Two complete production campaigns with the ingot suppliers Western Zirconium and Ugine Aciers. 2) Development of new ingot dimensions (rolling tests). 3) Development of a mechanized washing and cleansing procedure. 4) Development of a new abrasive treatment technique (wet sand blasting). (orig./HP) [de
Process Improvements: Aerobic Food Waste Composting at ISF Academy

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Y. K.

2015-12-01

ISF Academy, a school with 1500 students in Hong Kong, installed an aerobic food waste composting system in November of 2013. The system has been operational for over seven months; we will be making improvements to the system to ensure the continued operational viability and quality of the compost. As a school we are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and the amount of waste we send to the local landfill. Over an academic year we produce approximately 27 metric tons of food waste. Our system processes the food waste to compost in 14 days and the compost is used by our primary school students in a organic farming project.There are two areas of improvement: a) if the composting system becomes anaerobic, there is an odor problem that is noticed by the school community; we will be testing the use of a bio-filter to eliminate the odor problem and, b) we will be working with an equipment vendor from Australia to install an improved grease trap system. The grease and oil that is collected will be sold to a local company here in Hong Kong that processes used cooking oil for making biofuels. This system will include a two stage filtration system and a heated vessel for separating the oil from the waste water.The third project will be to evaluate biodegradable cutlery for the compositing in the system. Currently, we use a significant quantity of non-biodegradable cutlery that is then thrown away after one use. Several local HK companies are selling biodegradable cutlery, but we need to evaluate the different products to determine which ones will work with our composting system. The food waste composting project at ISF Academy demonstrates the commitment of the school community to a greener environment for HK, the above listed projects will improve the operation of the system.
Process control upgrades yield huge operational improvements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fitzgerald, W.V.

2001-01-01

Most nuclear plants in North America were designed and built in the late 60 and 70. The regulatory nature of this industry over the years has made design changes at the plant level difficult, if not impossible, to implement. As a result, many plants in this world region have been getting by on technology that is over 40 years behind the times. What this translates into is that the plants have not been able to take advantage of the huge technology gains that have been made in process control during this period. As a result, most of these plants are much less efficient and productive than they could be. One particular area of the plant that is receiving a lot of attention is the feedwater heaters. These systems were put in place to improve efficiency, but most are not operating correctly. This paper will present a case study where one progressive mid-western utility decided that enough was enough and implemented a process control audit of their heater systems. The audit clearly pointed out the existing problems with the current process control system. It resulted in a proposal for the implementation of a state of the art, digital distributed process control system for the heaters along with a complete upgrade of the level controls and field devices that will stabilize heater levels, resulting in significant efficiency gains and lower maintenance bills. Overall the payback period for this investment should be less than 6 months and the plant is now looking for more opportunities that can provide even bigger gains. (author)
Improving occupational health care for construction workers: a process evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boschman, Julitta S.; van der Molen, Henk F.; Sluiter, Judith K.; Frings-Dresen, Monique H. W.

2013-01-01

To evaluate the process of a job-specific workers' health surveillance (WHS) in improving occupational health care for construction workers. From January to July 2012 were 899 bricklayers and supervisors invited for the job-specific WHS at three locations of one occupational health service
Improving the Learning Process in the Latest Prefabricated School Buildings

Science.gov (United States)

Pons, Oriol; Oliva, Josep-Manuel; Maas, Sandra-Ruth

2010-01-01

Since 2000 hundreds of school centers have been constructed in Catalonia using industrialized technologies. These centers are modern, useful, educational edifices built using advantageous prefabricated technologies that improve the building process and reduce the environmental impact of the building. This article analyses whether these…
Improvement of landfill leachate biodegradability with ultrasonic process.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Hossein Mahvi

Full Text Available Landfills leachates are known to contain recalcitrant and/or non-biodegradable organic substances and biological processes are not efficient in these cases. A promising alternative to complete oxidation of biorecalcitrant leachate is the use of ultrasonic process as pre-treatment to convert initially biorecalcitrant compounds to more readily biodegradable intermediates. The objectives of this study are to investigate the effect of ultrasonic process on biodegradability improvement. After the optimization by factorial design, the ultrasonic were applied in the treatment of raw leachates using a batch wise mode. For this, different scenarios were tested with regard to power intensities of 70 and 110 W, frequencies of 30, 45 and 60 KHz, reaction times of 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes and pH of 3, 7 and 10. For determining the effects of catalysts on sonication efficiencies, 5 mg/l of TiO(2 and ZnO have been also used. Results showed that when applied as relatively brief pre-treatment systems, the sonocatalysis processes induce several modifications of the matrix, which results in significant enhancement of its biodegradability. For this reason, the integrated chemical-biological systems proposed here represent a suitable solution for the treatment of landfill leachate samples.
Use of osmotic dehydration to improve fruits and vegetables quality during processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Maftoonazad, Neda

2010-11-01

Osmotic treatment describes a preparation step to further processing of foods involving simultaneous transient moisture loss and solids gain when immersing in osmotic solutions, resulting in partial drying and improving the overall quality of food products. The different aspects of the osmotic dehydration (OD) technology namely the solutes employed, solutions characteristics used, process variables influence, as well as, the quality characteristics of the osmodehydrated products will be discussed in this review. As the process is carried out at mild temperatures and the moisture is removed by a liquid diffusion process, phase change that would be present in the other drying processes will be avoided, resulting in high quality products and may also lead to substantial energy savings. To optimize this process, modeling of the mass transfer phenomenon can improve high product quality. Several techniques such as microwave heating, vacuum, high pressure, pulsed electric field, etc. may be employed during or after osmotic treatment to enhance performance of the osmotic dehydration. Moreover new technologies used in osmotic dehydration will be discussed. Patents on osmotic dehydration of fruits and vegetables are also discussed in this article.
Gemstone Grinding Process Improvement by using Impedance Force Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamprommarat Chumpol

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Chula Automatic Faceting Machine has been developed by The Advance Manufacturing Research Lab, Chulalongkorn University to support Thailand Gems-Industry. The machine has high precision motion control by using position and force control. A contact stiffness model is used to estimate grinding force. Although polished gems from the Faceting Machine have uniform size and acceptable shape, the force of the grinding and polishing process cannot be maintain constant and has some fluctuation due to indirect force control. Therefor this research work propose a new controller for this process based on an impedance direct force control to improve the gemstone grinding performance during polishing process. The grinding force can be measured through motor current. The results show that the polished gems by using impedance direct force control can maintain uniform size as well as good shape and high quality surface.
Development of an improved two-cycle process for recovering uranium from wet-process phosphoric acid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, H.M.; Chen, H.J.; Tsai, Y.M.; Lee, T.W.; Ting, G.

1987-01-01

An improved two-cycle separation process for the recovery of uranium from wet-process phosphoric acid by extraction with bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) plus dibutyl butylphosphonate (DBBP) in kerosene has been developed and demonstrated successfully in bench-scale, continuous mixer-settler tests. The sulfuric acid and water scrubbing steps for the recycled extraction in the second cycle solve the problems of the contamination and dilution of the phosphoric acid by the ammonium ion and water and also avoid the formation of undesirable phosphatic precipitates during the subsequent extraction of uranium by recycled organic extractant
Improving Histopathology Laboratory Productivity: Process Consultancy and A3 Problem Solving

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kutsal YÖRÜKOĞLU

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: The ISO 17020 quality program has been run in our pathology laboratory for four years to establish an action plan for correction and prevention of identified errors. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the errors that we could not identify through ISO 17020 and/or solve by means of process consulting. Process consulting is carefully intervening in a group or team to help it to accomplish its goals. Material and Method: The A3 problem solving process was run under the leadership of a ‘workflow, IT and consultancy manager’. An action team was established consisting of technical staff. A root cause analysis was applied for target conditions, and the 6-S method was implemented for solution proposals. Applicable proposals were activated and the results were rated by six-sigma analysis. Non-applicable proposals were reported to the laboratory administrator. Results: A mislabelling error was the most complained issue triggering all pre-analytical errors. There were 21 non-value added steps grouped in 8 main targets on the fish bone graphic (transporting, recording, moving, individual, waiting, over-processing, over-transaction and errors. Unnecessary redundant requests, missing slides, archiving issues, redundant activities, and mislabelling errors were proposed to be solved by improving visibility and fixing spaghetti problems. Spatial re-organization, organizational marking, re-defining some operations, and labeling activities raised the six sigma score from 24% to 68% for all phases. Operational transactions such as implementation of a pathology laboratory system was suggested for long-term improvement. Conclusion: Laboratory management is a complex process. Quality control is an effective method to improve productivity. Systematic checking in a quality program may not always find and/or solve the problems. External observation may reveal crucial indicators about the system failures providing very simple solutions.
Improving Histopathology Laboratory Productivity: Process Consultancy and A3 Problem Solving.

Science.gov (United States)

Yörükoğlu, Kutsal; Özer, Erdener; Alptekin, Birsen; Öcal, Cem

2017-01-01

The ISO 17020 quality program has been run in our pathology laboratory for four years to establish an action plan for correction and prevention of identified errors. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the errors that we could not identify through ISO 17020 and/or solve by means of process consulting. Process consulting is carefully intervening in a group or team to help it to accomplish its goals. The A3 problem solving process was run under the leadership of a 'workflow, IT and consultancy manager'. An action team was established consisting of technical staff. A root cause analysis was applied for target conditions, and the 6-S method was implemented for solution proposals. Applicable proposals were activated and the results were rated by six-sigma analysis. Non-applicable proposals were reported to the laboratory administrator. A mislabelling error was the most complained issue triggering all pre-analytical errors. There were 21 non-value added steps grouped in 8 main targets on the fish bone graphic (transporting, recording, moving, individual, waiting, over-processing, over-transaction and errors). Unnecessary redundant requests, missing slides, archiving issues, redundant activities, and mislabelling errors were proposed to be solved by improving visibility and fixing spaghetti problems. Spatial re-organization, organizational marking, re-defining some operations, and labeling activities raised the six sigma score from 24% to 68% for all phases. Operational transactions such as implementation of a pathology laboratory system was suggested for long-term improvement. Laboratory management is a complex process. Quality control is an effective method to improve productivity. Systematic checking in a quality program may not always find and/or solve the problems. External observation may reveal crucial indicators about the system failures providing very simple solutions.
Process Improvement Should Link to Security: SEPG 2007 Security Track Recap

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Woody, Carol

2007-01-01

...; organizations must support an expensive unending update-and-upgrade cycle. Process improvement has been proposed as a mechanism for addressing security challenges, but the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI[registered name...
Process Improvement to Enhance Quality in a Large Volume Labor and Birth Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Ashley M; Bohannon, Jessica; Porthouse, Lisa; Thompson, Heather; Vago, Tony

The goal of the perinatal team at Mercy Hospital St. Louis is to provide a quality patient experience during labor and birth. After the move to a new labor and birth unit in 2013, the team recognized many of the routines and practices needed to be modified based on different demands. The Lean process was used to plan and implement required changes. This technique was chosen because it is based on feedback from clinicians, teamwork, strategizing, and immediate evaluation and implementation of common sense solutions. Through rapid improvement events, presence of leaders in the work environment, and daily huddles, team member engagement and communication were enhanced. The process allowed for team members to offer ideas, test these ideas, and evaluate results, all within a rapid time frame. For 9 months, frontline clinicians met monthly for a weeklong rapid improvement event to create better experiences for childbearing women and those who provide their care, using Lean concepts. At the end of each week, an implementation plan and metrics were developed to help ensure sustainment. The issues that were the focus of these process improvements included on-time initiation of scheduled cases such as induction of labor and cesarean birth, timely and efficient assessment and triage disposition, postanesthesia care and immediate newborn care completed within approximately 2 hours, transfer from the labor unit to the mother baby unit, and emergency transfers to the main operating room and intensive care unit. On-time case initiation for labor induction and cesarean birth improved, length of stay in obstetric triage decreased, postanesthesia recovery care was reorganized to be completed within the expected 2-hour standard time frame, and emergency transfers to the main hospital operating room and intensive care units were standardized and enhanced for efficiency and safety. Participants were pleased with the process improvements and quality outcomes. Working together as a team
Improvements on heap leaching process for a refractory uranium ore and yellow cake precipitation process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Jianke

2013-01-01

Some problems such as formed harden matrix, ore heap compaction, poor permeability, and agglomeration of absorption resin occur during extracting uranium from a refractory uranium ore by heap leaching process. After some measures were taken, i.e. spraying a new ore heap by low concentration acid, two or more ore heaps in series leaching, turning ores in ore heap, the permeability was improved, acid consumption was reduced. Through precipitate circulation and aging, the yellow cake slurry in amorphous or microlite form was transformed to crystal precipitate, thus uranium content in yellow cake was improved, and water content in yellow cake was lowered with good economic benefits. (author)
Improvement for waste water treatment process of a uranium deposite and its effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Jimao

2013-01-01

Uranium was recovered from alkaline uranium ores by heap leaching and traditional agitation leaching methods at a uranium mine, and the waste water (including waste water produced in hydrometallurgy process and mine drainage) was treated by using chemical precipitation method and chemical precipitation loading method. It was found that the removal rate of uranium by the waste water treatment process was not satisfactory after one year's run. So, the waste water treatment process was improved. After the improvement, removal rate of CO 3 2- ,HCO 3 - , U and Ra was enhanced and the treated waste water reached the standard of discharge. (author)
Infrared pre-drying and dry-dehulling of walnuts for improved processing efficiency and product quality

Science.gov (United States)

The walnut industry is faced with an urgent need to improve post-harvest processing efficiency, particularly drying and dehulling operations. This research investigated the feasibility of dry-dehulling and infrared (IR) pre-drying of walnuts for improved processing efficiency and dried product quali...

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