Cost Control Strategy Research Articles

Observer-Based Quadratic Guaranteed Cost Control for Linear Uncertain Systems with Control Gain Variation

This study proposes a method for designing observer-based quadratic guaranteed cost controllers for linear uncertain systems with control gain variations. In the proposed approach, an observer is designed, and then a feedback controller that ensures the upper bound on the given quadratic cost function is derived. This study shows that sufficient conditions for the existence of the observer-based quadratic guaranteed cost controller are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities. A sub-optimal quadratic guaranteed cost control strategy is also discussed. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is illustrated by a numerical example. The result shows that the proposed controller is more effective than conventional methods even if system uncertainties and control gain variations exist.

A Passive Oscillation DC Breaking Scheme Based on Enhanced Vacuum Interrupter

Due to the absence of the natural current zero-crossing point, the dc interruption has been a critical issue in the dc system. The interruption schemes currently used are based on power electronics or precharged capacitors, leading to the high cost and complicated control strategy. In this article, a passive oscillation dc load current breaking scheme based on a vacuum interrupter is proposed. The external transverse magnetic field (ETMF) is applied to the vacuum interrupter to excite the oscillation of the arc voltage. According to the spectrum analysis of the arc voltage, a passive <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">LC</i> path is designed to realize resonant oscillation with the interrupter, by which 2 kA/10 kV interruption is realized within 2 ms. The influence of the gap separation, ETMF intensity, and arcing energy on the resonant oscillation process is investigated. At last, the practicability of applying the proposed scheme in HVdc interruption is discussed.

The Relationship between Cost Reduction Techniques and Profitability

The main difficulty encountered by organizations recently is the increase in the cost of operation that could lead to inevitable cost control and reduction scheme which makes it difficult for most organizations to operate at the cost-efficient frontier. The main objective of this study is to determine the relationship between Cost reduction technique antecedents and profitability of organizations in a selected manufacturing company, Oyo state, Nigeria.&#x0D; The study adopted a descriptive research design. The targeted population was employees in the selected manufacturing company. The unit of observation was sales managers, salespersons, and employees. The sample size was 80. SPSS was used to organize code and generate a quantitative report. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.&#x0D; The study found that fleet management is positively correlated with profitability in selected manufacturing company (r = 0.564; P-value = 0.000&lt;0.05). The result reviewed that there’s a significant relationship between fleet management and profitability in selected manufacturing companies. It was also found that there is a positive relationship between management control and profitability of the selected manufacturing company. The third hypothesis also shows that there is a positive relationship between improved manpower and profitability in a selected manufacturing company.&#x0D; Moreover, the study concluded that there is a relationship between Cost reduction technique antecedents and profitability of organizations in a selected manufacturing company. The study recommended that Cost control and cost reduction scheme must be properly administered in an organization by setting a realistic standard.

Hospital unit costs in Jordan: insights from a country facing competing health demands and striving for universal health coverage

BackgroundPublic providers in Jordan are facing increasing health demands due to human crises. This study aimed to benchmark the unit costs of hospital services in public providers in Jordan to provide insights into the outlook for public health care costs.MethodsThe unit costs of hospital services per admission, inpatient days, outpatient visits, emergency visits and surgical operations were estimated using the standard average costing method (top-down) for the fiscal year 2018–2019. The unit costs per inpatient day were estimated for nine specialities and staff in Jordanian dinars (exchange rate JOD 1 = USD 1.41).ResultsThe average unit cost per admission in Jordan was JOD 782.300 (USD 1101.80), the per inpatient day cost was JOD 236.600 (USD 333.20), the per bed day cost was JOD 172.900 (USD 244.90), the per outpatient visit cost was JOD 58.400 (USD 82.30), the per operation cost was JOD 449.600 (USD 633.20) and the per emergency room visit cost was JOD 31.800 (USD 44.80). The specialities of ICU/CCU and OB/GYN presented the highest unit costs per inpatient day across providers: JOD 377.800 (USD 532.90) and JOD 362.600 (USD 510.70), respectively. The average salaried unit cost of staff depended mainly on year of employment. Nonetheless, the unit costs varied depending on the service utilization, type of service and organizational outlet.ConclusionsKnowledge of how unit costs vary across public providers in Jordan is essential to outline cost control strategies and inform future research. Institutionalization of the cost information system and high-level governmental support are necessary to generate a routine practice of collecting and sharing cost information.

Discussion on Cost Control Strategy in the Process of Engineering Project Construction

Rapid socio-economic development, promoting the development of the construction industry. Companies want to stand out from the fierce market competition, must strengthen the cost control of construction projects. This paper elaborates the importance of cost control of engineering construction projects, and then proposes that the dilemmas faced by cost control management of engineering construction projects are: inadequate market research of raw materials, lack of high-quality cost management talents, imperfect cost management system, neglected cost management work, lack of supervision and regulation of cost management work, and finally proposes that the cost control strategies in the process of engineering project construction include clarifying the cost control objectives of engineering cost, cultivating professional cost control talents, deepening the innovative cost management system, increasing the supervision and regulation of cost of the whole process of engineering, and ensuring the reasonableness of the cost budget plan. We hope to further promote construction companies' attention to cost control of engineering price construction projects.

Extracorporeal photopheresis in chronic graft-versus-host disease: clinical description and economic study

IntroductionAlthough extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a promising second-line therapy in the treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), its use is limited by its high cost. This study aims to describe the clinical evolution of patients who underwent ECP therapy for cGVHD and to perform an economic analysis of the therapy MethodsThis was a case series between 2016 and 2020 describing the clinical response to ECP and a micro-cost analysis of the therapy using time-driven activity-based costing. ResultsSix patients underwent ECP for corticosteroid-dependent cGVHD The cost per ECP session is 14,960.90 Brazilian reais (BRL), which primarily consists of the ECP kit with an activator (82.78%), followed by the hospital's physical structure (14.66%), human resources (2.48%) and exams/inputs (0.08%). The number of sessions performed ranged from 2 to 42. The total cost of the therapy per patient ranged from BRL 30,000 to 500,000. ConclusionThe response of the patient with cGVHD to treatment with ECP was variable. These micro-costing results can be used to develop remuneration and cost control strategies in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation programs, as well as in further economic studies.

How recreational farm operators use dynamic capabilities to respond to COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic has devastated economic activities around the world. The tourism industry is facing severe challenges, such as reduced tourist flow and the lack of tourist consumption at destinations. Recreational farms are one of the business types of agricultural tourism in Taiwan and have the characteristics of small and medium-sized agriculture businesses. The operator is facing an uncertain environment in the epidemic market, and the operator's dynamic capability is considered to be effective in coping with the current environment. In this study, 20 selected recreational farms were interviewed to explore how operators use dynamic capabilities to make responses. The results show that recreational farms have the three elements of dynamic capabilities: sense, seize, and transform, to change farm marketing channels and develop new products or services to respond to the new market. Recreational farm operators adopted resource optimization, computerization, and cost control strategies to respond to the market.Management implicationsA successful implementation of recreational farm offers requires-the reallocation of resources,-the planning of new products and services, and - the improvement of service processes to create new business and to address additional target groups.The COVID-19 pandemic forces a systematic positioning or repositioning of the business.

Generics and Biosimilars: Barriers and Opportunities

Generics and Biosimilars: Barriers and Opportunities

Cost Control Strategy of Engineering Economic Project Management

Cost Control Strategy of Engineering Economic Project Management

Analysis on the Whole Process Cost Control Strategy in Construction Project Management

Analysis on the Whole Process Cost Control Strategy in Construction Project Management

Guaranteed cost control for dynamic positioning of marine surface vessels with input saturation

This paper investigates the dynamic positioning (DP) control problem of marine surface vessels (MSVs) suffering from external perturbations and input saturation. The linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI) based guaranteed cost control scheme is designed to obtain the satisfaction of the preset performance indicators. Aiming towards this purpose, the mathematical model of the MSV is first translated into a novel state-and-parameter-dependent (SPD) structure under small yaw angle variation. Furthermore, the performance indicator of the control scheme is derived for robustness against disturbances. With the application of LMI analysis method, the performance function will be transformed to a matrix inequality. Then, input saturation constraints are imposed to the control input, which will also be treated as a matrix inequality. Eventually, theoretical analysis shows that asymptotic stability will be endowed to the closed-loop system and input saturation constraints are also satisfied. Numerical simulation results are presented to demonstrate the advantage and validity of the proposed controller.

DRG-based payment system and management accounting changes in an Indonesian public hospital: exploring potential roles of big data analytics

PurposeThis study aims to provide insights into management accounting changes (MACs) and potential roles of big data analytics (BDA) in accelerating the MACs in an Indonesian public hospital as a response towards the adoption of the diagnosis-related groups (DRG)-based payment system.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method approach was used to collect and analyse data from a referral public hospital in Indonesia. First, a BDA simulation was carried out to reveal its usefulness in predicting and evaluating patient costs, and finally improving the cost recovery rate (CRR) of each DRG case. This part formulated and tested the mathematical models that predict patient cost, the CRR and determinants (length of stay/LOS, severity/SEV, patient age/AGE and gender/SEX). For this purpose, data of the top ten inpatient cases of 2018 were collected and analysed. Second, semi-structured interviews with senior staff and doctors were carried out to understand cost control strategies implemented in the hospital and the management and doctors’ perceptions regarding the application of tested mathematical models for cost control. Old institutional economics and new institutional sociology were used to gain insight about how and why management accounting practices changed in the hospital.FindingsThe findings show that the absence of detailed per-case/patient cost information has not only hindered further evolvement of MACs but also stimulate tensions between managerial and medical worlds in the studied Indonesian public hospital. The simulation of BDA in this study was not only discovering the determinants of case cost recovery but also enabling the prediction of CRR of patients immediately after admission. The application of BDA and casemix accounting in the hospital will potentially become catalysts of discussion and mutual learning between managerial and medical staff in controlling patient costs.Originality/valueThis paper provides a more comprehensive picture of the potential roles of BDA in cost control practices. The study assesses the feasibility of BDA application in the hospital and evaluates the potential roles and acceptance of BDA application by both management and doctors.

Flyback Photovoltaic Micro-Inverter with a Low Cost and Simple Digital-Analog Control Scheme

The single-stage flyback Photovoltaic (PV) micro-inverter is considered as a simple and small in size topology but requires expensive digital microcontrollers such as Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to increase the system efficiency, this would increase the cost of the overall system. To solve this problem, based on a single-stage flyback structure, this paper proposed a low cost and simple analog-digital control scheme. This control scheme is implemented using a low cost ATMega microcontroller built in the Arduino Uno board and some analog operational amplifiers. First, the single-stage flyback topology is analyzed theoretically and then the design consideration is obtained. Second, a 120 W prototype was developed in the laboratory to validate the proposed control. To prove the effectiveness of this control, we compared the cost price, overall system efficiency, and THD values of the proposed results with the results obtained by the literature. So, a low system component, single power stage, cheap control scheme, and decent efficiency are achieved by the proposed system. Finally, the experimental results present that the proposed system has a maximum efficiency of 91%, with good values of the total harmonic distortion (THD) compared to the results of other authors.

Strategi Pengendalian Biaya sebagai Alat Perencana Laba

Controlling costs is one of the most important elements in the management of profit. Controlling costs is an act that was carried out continuously to control the costs to be able to generate revenue and profits in accordance with the intended purpose of management. Cost control is good and not always at a low cost. In general the company’s operations, management is always trying to achieve low cost, but it is not entirely correct. In some situations, increased costs may be the best action to improve profits. Management may take a few steps to cost control strategies to manage the company in achieving profits, as follow: control by increasing sales; controlling the cost of goods sold and gross profit; evaluate the operating costs and focus on the management of profit centres of activity

Robust guaranteed cost control for uncertain discrete-time systems with state and input quantizations

The robust guaranteed cost control problem for uncertain discrete-time systems with state and input quantizations has been studied in this paper. The polytope type uncertainties are considered in the plants. Different from previous related works, a novel guaranteed cost control strategy has been put forward in this paper. The novelty and challenge lie in that the quantized state and quantized input are included in the guaranteed cost function. Through introducing some auxiliary scalars and combining with the S-procedure, new criteria are developed for the robust stability and guaranteed cost performance for discrete-time systems with state and input quantizations. Based on a new two-step design strategy, the controller and dynamic quantizers can be easily obtained by means of linear matrix inequalities. In the end, two examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method.

Frequency Adaptive Topology to Realize Constant Output and Soft Switching for the WPT System

The main emphasis of research for battery wireless charger should be on four parts, including load-independent output to satisfy the charging requirement, zero voltage switching of power devices to increase transmission efficiency, minimum component counts to reduce cost and simple control strategy. However, the existing studies have not taken these all into account, which greatly limits the application of battery wireless charger. This paper proposes a WPT system based on the simplest S/S compensation network. By replacing the secondary compensation capacitor with an L-C branch, the same circuit structure can realize the load-independent constant current (CC) and voltage (CV) output with zero voltage switching at two different switching frequency. A current amplitude detection circuit is added in the primary side to determine the switching point of CC mode and CV mode. Compared with existing research, the component numbers in proposed circuit are less, the control strategy is easier to implement and avoids the communication between the primary and secondary sides. Finally, a wireless battery charger for 60V/3.6A is built to verify the feasibility of proposed system. And the experimental results perform well on realizing a load-independent output with ZVS operation.

Triage in the Nation's Medicine Cabinet: The Puzzling Scarcity of Vaccines and Other Drugs

For a variety of reasons, vaccines and other critical pharmaceutical products have become increasingly scarce in the last few years, and persistent shortages involving dozens of essential drugs may imperil the public health. Pressures emanating from regulatory agencies, the courts, and insurers have conspired to make some lines of the pharmaceutical business less than attractive. Although concerns about unpredictable tort liability received most of the blame in the past, two other factors may help to account for the latest round of drug shortages: stringent federal control of manufacturing facilities and aggressive cost-containment efforts that further erode profit margins. Whatever the cause, scarce supplies necessitate efforts at rationing that pose their own difficulties for health care providers. Policymakers could avoid putting physicians to such tough choices regarding patients by focusing on ways to ensure the production of adequate quantities of these highly cost-effective medical technologies. Some commentators have called for greater public sector involvement, but this Article concludes that, in addition to bolstering its emergency stockpiles, the federal government instead needs to take steps designed to encourage private manufacturers to continue supplying critical pharmaceuticals. To this end, the government should adopt more flexible regulations governing manufacturing facilities, provide companies with greater protection from the vagaries of tort liability, and avoid pursuing excessive cost-control strategies. Otherwise, patients may continue to lose access to important therapeutic products.

Dynamic Control Method and Application of Coastal Engineering Project Construction Cost Based on Rough Sets

Zhang, D. and Liu, X., 2020. Dynamic control method and application of coastal engineering project construction cost based on rough sets. In: Bai, X. and Zhou, H. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 115, pp. 7-9. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.The traditional cost analysis method of construction engineering has low operation efficiency and poor convergence performance, which leads to inaccurate cost analysis. With the increasingly fierce competition in the construction market, construction enterprises must strengthen the control and management of project costs in terms of systems and measures in order to continuously find profit space in low-cost and low-profit projects. Due to the complexity of the construction process and the uncertainty of many influencing factors, it is difficult to formulate a scientific cost control strategy, predict the degree of influence of various cost factors and reveal the correlation between them and the total cost before construction. Construction cost management of engineering project is the most concerned topic in coastal engineering project, and also the basis and key point of cost control of coastal engineering project. In order to judge the importance of cost factors and find the relationship between cost factors in coastal engineering projects so as to realize scientific cost control decision-making, it is necessary to objectively judge the main influencing factors of cost based on as many cost data as possible.

The future of airports post COVID-19

COVID-19 pandemic has hit most sectors of the world and has led to many industries coming to a standstill. It has led to restrictions of movement and travel ban. As a result of these restrictions, transport sector especially in aviation has impacted badly.With the uncertainty of further impact of the current situation, there is a likelihood of the aviation business rebounding at a slower pace bringing V-shape and U-shape recovery as per analysis of economic impacts on civil aviation by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO (2020). Currently, airline capacity is down 70 to 80 percent in April 2020 compared to April 2019, and multiple large airlines have temporarily ceased operations. Largely, almost 60 percent of the global fleet was grounded in early April 2020 as per McKinsey report (Curley et al., 2020).In order to support the sinking capacities and revenues, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) calls on the European governments to provide relief to their airlines to sustain their operations. Furthermore, this document highlights the future of airport and air transport industry based on revenue generation sources, cost control strategies and integration of innovations with respect to variable demand and capacity during and post COVID-19.

Health Care Utilization and Costs in the Year Prior to Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair.

Background:A majority of cost-control strategies in arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR) have been concentrated on the perioperative and post–acute care periods, with the preoperative health care period being largely overlooked.Purpose:To report the distribution of costs associated with health care utilization within the year prior to arthroscopic RCR.Study Design:Economic and decision analysis; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:The 2007 through 2015 (third quarter) Humana Administrative Claims database was queried using Current Procedural Terminology code 29827 to identify patients undergoing arthroscopic RCR for only degenerative rotator cuff tears. The study cohort was divided into 2 distinct groups based on insurance plan: commercial or Medicare Advantage (MA). Total 1-year costs, per-patient average reimbursements (PPARs), and trends in utilization for the following preoperative health care resource categories were studied: office visits, radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, computed tomography (CT) scans, steroid injections, hyaluronic acid (HA) injections, physical therapy, and pain medications (opioids + nonopioids).Results:A total of 18,457 MA and 6530 commercial beneficiaries undergoing arthroscopic RCR over the study period were included. Total 1-year preoperative costs (in US$) amounted to $16,923,595 ($916/patient) and $8,397,291 ($1285/patient) for MA and commercial beneficiaries, respectively. The largest proportion of total 1-year costs for both MA and commercial beneficiaries was accounted for by MRI scans (36% and 56%, respectively). PPARs for each health care resource category were as follows: office visits (MA, $240; commercial, $249), radiographs (MA, $60; commercial, $93), MRI scans (MA, $385; commercial, $813), CT scans (MA, $223; commercial, $562), steroid injections (MA, $97; commercial, $137), HA injections (MA, $422; commercial, $602), physical therapy (MA, $473; commercial, $551), and pain medications (MA, $208; commercial, $136). High health care utilization within the past 3 months before surgery was noted for radiographs, physical therapy, opioids, steroid injections, and office visits, with up to 40% to 90% of 1-year PPARs being accounted for within this time period alone.Conclusion:Approximately $900 to $1300 per patient was spent in rotator cuff–related health care resource use in the year prior to undergoing arthroscopic RCR. As we begin to implement value in shoulder surgery, judicious use of nonoperative treatment modalities among patients who would not benefit from nonoperative care will be an effective way of reducing costs.