Engineering Services Research Articles

МІСЦЕ ІНЖИНІРИНГУ В ЖИТТЄВОМУ ЦИКЛІ ПРОМИСЛОВИХ ВИРОБІВ

In undertaking the exploration, the authors endeavored to disseminate to the readership a developed comprehension of the essence of engineering as a distinct form of economic endeavor and its positioning within the lifecycle of generating consumer value. Emphasis is placed on shipbuilding artifacts, considering their pivotal role in both the global and, by extension, national economies increasingly enmeshed within the international economic milieu. It is discerned that the upsurge in demand for Engineering services is attributable to the steep ascension in fleet size, notably within its most robust segment - the commercial sector. The doubling of the fleet size for transporting various types of cargo over the past twenty years has been confirmed by visualized statistics. This phenomenon is not merely a result of a surge in maritime freight transportation, which has increased by nearly three hundred percent over the analyzed period. Simultaneously, there is a growing interest among shipowners in extending the operational lifespan of vessels. In this context, they place hopes on vessel repair, modernization, and conversion. Furthermore, even the disposal of these complex engineering structures, in accordance with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization and the standards of the European Union and participating countries, should occur without causing harm to the personnel of specialized shipyards and the environment. It has been demonstrated that solving this problem is also impossible without engineering support. A model has been provided, defining the role of Engineering in the life cycle of industrial products (using shipbuilding as an example). It confirmed the working hypothesis regarding the parallel-sequential organization of relationships between Engineering and other stages of the life cycle of mechanical engineering products. Attention is focused on the fact that addressing the challenges that arise at each stage is facilitated by digital twins of physical objects. The "lives" of both are completely synchronized, as events occurring during the real-time operation of the offline object and their consequences are automatically reflected in the virtual "twin". This conclusion is of particular significance in the context of applying the concept and corresponding tools of Product Lifecycle Management in practice.

ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЕ ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИОННОЙ НАДЕЖНОСТИ СЕЛЬСКОХОЗЯЙСТВЕННОЙ ТЕХНИКИ С УЧЕТОМ РЕГИОНАЛЬНЫХ ОСОБЕННОСТЕЙ

The technical equipment of agricultural production in Russia is characterized by a low level of energy supply. In the regions of the country, where a sharp decrease in technical equipment has been stabilized, there is a decrease in the number of machines that have developed a standard service life. (Research purpose) The research purpose is assessing the operational reliability of agricultural machinery taking into account the regional features of the maintenance system, capital repairs and modernization of machinery. (Materials and methods) It was noted that in the Republic of Bashkortostan, a program is being implemented to subsidize the costs of agricultural producers for capital repairs and modernization of equipment, which has significantly increased the availability factor of tractors and combines while increasing their standard service life. (Results and discussion) It was established that the operational reliability of agricultural machinery is largely ensured taking into account the regional characteristics of the maintenance and repair system, which is determined by the leading and coordinating role of the regional Ministry of Agriculture in the field of state support for the technical service system of agricultural machinery, scientific, technical and personnel policy. The directions of activity of the engineering service of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Bashkortostan have been identified: subsidizing technical service enterprises; development of tools and technologies for maintenance and repair (import substitution); coordination of work for the serial production of new types of equipment; organization of interaction with industrial enterprises; search and development of constructive solutions to improve the design of components and assemblies; creation of zonal service centers by dealers in the territory of supervised regions; advanced training and retraining of engineering personnel; creation of a systematic catalog database data on tractor parts and mobile agricultural machinery; the development of the secondary market and the trade-in system of agricultural machinery. (Conclusions) Measures of influence on the system of maintenance and repair were determined, taking into account regional peculiarities in the field of state support for the system of technical service of agricultural machinery, scientific, technical and personnel policy of the region.

Technical support system for energy-installed agricultural equipment in the agricultural industry

Agricultural production in Russia solves the most important national problems - food security and import substitution. The conducted research substantiates the need to improve the engineering service of the agro-industrial complex through the introduction of modern innovative technologies. The article outlines the basic principles and technical means that determine the system of maintenance and repair of machines in the agro-industrial complex, as well as the mechanism of relations between manufacturers and consumers of technical means. Current issues of individual subsystems of the repair and maintenance base in the engineering service of the agro-industrial complex and the main groups of repair and maintenance impacts on domestic agricultural machinery were considered, and a relationship was established for foreign-made machines with all elements of maintenance, repair, modernization and disposal. Information is presented on depreciation rates and recommended distributions of the volume of repair and maintenance work by facility.

Damage mechanisms of masonry structures: an observation after 19 November Erzurum-Köprüköy Earthquake

On November 21, 2021, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred with its epicenter in Erzurum-Köprüköy. In the eastern part of our country, most of the building stock in rural areas and certain parts of city center is made up of masonry structures. Most of the masonry structures consist of rubble stone walls with very low tensile strength. These load bearing elements, which are exposed to out-of-plane and in-plane displacements due to earthquakes, can be easily damaged due to their low tensile strength and poor manufacturing. In this study, the damage mechanisms of the masonry structures in the villages of Alaca, Kayabaşı, Marifet, and Sarıtaş have been reported. As a result of field studies, damages are quite prevalent due to inadequate connections between load-bearing walls and roof. Additionally, the weak connection between the leaves of load-bearing walls and lack of connection in the junctions of the walls have contributed to the damages. he observed damages can be generally classified as the quality of workmanship/construction, inadequate material characteristics, weak load bearing walls, lack of proper connections, failure of unconfined or high gable walls, heavy earth roof. Many of the damaged structures have not adhered to regulatory recommendations and are buildings that did not receive engineering services.

The Role of Job Satisfaction on the Effect of Work Environment to the Performance of Manufacturing Company Employees

The purpose of this study is to provide recommendations for companies to improve the performance of their employees by analyzing the relationship between the variables in this study, namely work environment and job satisfaction with performance. This research was conducted at PT. Faco Global Engineering is a steel fabrication company that will continue to support the needs of steel construction manufacturing and engineering services. This research is quantitative research with a survey approach. The number of samples used in the study was 81 people who were employees of PT Faco Global Engineering. The method for processing and analyzing data uses Partial Least Square (PLS) with SmartPLS software. The results of the study show that there is a positive and significant direct effect of the work environment on employee performance. There is a positive and significant direct effect of job satisfaction on employee performance. There is a positive and significant direct effect of the work environment on job satisfaction. There is a positive and significant indirect effect of the work environment on employee performance. Through job satisfaction. This study shows the effective role of the intervening variable, namely job satisfaction.

The Effect of Data Security Procedures and Big Data Analytics on Engineering Performance: A Case Study of Lagos (Iganmu) Industrial Layout

The purpose of this research is to comprehend how big data analytics affect engineering performance. The industrial part especially the engineering practice is among the most significant and delicate in the world. Gathering and manufacturing have a huge social impact on the economies of the nations and, consequently, on the lives of individuals all over the world. The potential for big data to completely alter engineering practice and enhance ongoing engineering projects. Many organizations appear to be aware of the advantages big data can bring to their performance in engineering practice, particularly its significant possible worth, but they encounter a number of challenges when implementing it, primarily because they are having trouble figuring out how to use the derived insights for their development. The development of new strategies and services is a crucial engineering activity, and it has been demonstrated to significantly affect an organization’s viability. If these insights are monetized, Organizations aiming for an improved engineering practice can build brand-new, customer-centered, and data-driven projects or both goods and services, providing a long-lasting competitive advantage and new revenue streams. According to empirical research, companies that have engineering practice incorporated with a data-driven approach that can show how big data contributes to improved performance, while those that have not yet instilled the entire organization struggle with an absence of comprehension on how to use big data technology to create potential value and accomplish their organizational goals. Due to the enormous strategic potential of big data, this article tries to conceptualize and investigate its effects on corporate performance. It also explores the impacts of big data on engineering performance because of its high strategic potential. Finally, it explores whether and how the creation of new engineering services and projects makes use of big data and related technologies. An in-depth SWOT, binary Logistic Regression analysis, and the use of grounded theory combine previous big data studies with several enterprises in Lagos, Nigeria’s Iganmu industrial layout area. The caliber of data gathered, data availability, legal considerations of data confidentiality and safekeeping, and highly qualified individuals working with big data are additional critical factors that influence the use of a data-driven approach. Therefore, in order for companies to achieve effectiveness and efficiency, they need to reflect on and make strategic decisions utilizing a comprehensive perspective on big data.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF WATER COOLED PHOTOVOLTAIC THERMAL PANELS

The sustainability and the efficient capitalization of the solar energy are studied for a system that incorporates two different subsystems: photovoltaic panels (electricity production) and their cooling (heat production). This complex system ensures the production of electricity and thermal energy in order to satisfy the need for electricity and heating of the buildings. The two types of energy are quantitatively dependent on each other and, therefore, they must be managed in such a way that the production of either of them does not fall into the detriment of the other. In other words, the maximum efficiency is reached at the intersection of the two curves of electricity and heat production and the instrument that manages the two types of energy is the photovoltaic thermal panel. The photovoltaic thermal panels, especially if they are integrated into the buildings, are able to bring an important contribution to the concept of nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB). The amount of heat resulting from the cooling of the panels can be utilized for preheating domestic hot water, space heating or other usage in the buildings. The article presents the theoretical and analytical model that can be used to analyse the cooling of photovoltaic panels by means of a water-based system. This theoretical model was implemented in a module dedicated to the cooling of photovoltaic thermal panels, in the Cool-PV computer application developed by researchers at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Building Services in Iasi, Romania. In conclusion, the constructive variant that presents maximum efficiency, in according with input and output data (heat gained from PV/T panel) is represented by 22mm Cu diameter cooling PV/T system, on 250mm M40 concrete think. As a result of the theoretical analysis, will be materialize in a experimental set-up, using a monitoring system of the panel temperature and control solution in order to optimize the energy consumption is presented. The analysis is also aiming at determining the optimal time for using the cooling system and the calculation of the amount of heat resulted.

Implications of competitive tendering on consulting engineering services in South Africa: a thematic analysis

Purpose Competitive tendering in South Africa is often associated with procurement based on the lowest fee tendered. Previous research on this topic did not provide in-depth examinations of how pricing within consulting engineering companies was affected by competitive tendering nor did it illuminate the extent to which professional services were impacted by competitive tendering. This paper aims to examine the implications of competitive tendering on pricing and delivery of consulting engineering services in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach A survey research strategy with a questionnaire as the research instrument elicited qualitative data from 28 experienced consulting engineers in South Africa. Thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data from the questionnaires. Findings Three key themes were identified, namely: considerations when determining consulting engineering fees on competitively tendered projects; the impact of reduced fees due to competitive tendering on the delivery of consulting engineering services; and interventions to prevent unsustainably “low” professional fees. Many consulting engineers in South Africa still determine fees using fee scales, while other considerations include resources, project complexity, risk, etc. Most participants asserted that design optimisation/value engineering, training, meetings and construction monitoring were adversely impacted by “low” fees. Originality/value This paper provides in-depth qualitative feedback from experienced consulting engineers (most having more than 20 years’ experience) on a topical issue in the South African construction industry. Thematic analysis was a novel method of analysis that was not used previously in this area of study.

Car Modification Workshop Design With A High-Tech Architectural Approach In Medan City

The design of a car modification workshop in Medan is intended for car modification enthusiasts so they can develop their hobbies and are designed using a High-Tech Architectural design. Car users in the city of Medan have reached 42,397, so this figure can affect the number of car modification enthusiasts. In the city of Medan itself, there are not too many car modification workshops that provide multi-functional services with supporting facilities, so it is difficult to find a variety of modification options. The design of a car modification workshop in the city of Medan with high-tech architecture aims tobe able to meet the demand for vehicle sales services, engine servicing, modifications, and other facilities on a large scale due to the high market interest. This car modification workshop is specifically designed and has been limited according to the concept of the user, actor, type of activity, space requirements and building analysis. By using the basic High-Tech theme, the concept of structural configuration style is applied in such a way. It turns out that High-Tech Architecture is very much influenced by current scientific advances and innovations so that it has many functions that are useful for many people. This design is expected to be able to overcome the problems of the people in Medan to have the latest innovations and accommodation for technological advances because it has a futuristic impression along with the times and provides its own style to attract the attention of visitors.

INCREASING THE DURABILITY OF THE PLUNGER PUMPS OF THE HIGH PRESSURE DIESEL FUEL PUMP DUE TO THE USE OF BIOFUEL

The primary task of the engineering service has always been the control and forecasting of the resource of nodes and aggregates of any equipment. Solving such a task made it possible not to incur costs associated with the repair and downtime of equipment. The relevance of the work is due to the fact that most of the agricultural machinery is equipped with diesel engines, the power system of which contains the most complex, expensive and responsible units. The reliability of the fuel equipment determines the stability of power indicators, economic and environmental parameters of the equipment equipped with diesel engines. The smooth operation of the engine depends on the operation of the engine's fuel system, which affects its vibrations, which are harmful both to the machine as a whole and to its ergonomic characteristics. On the other hand, an increase in the amplitude of vibrations indicates a malfunction of the engine, the technical condition of which is 70% dependent on the technical condition of the fuel system. Therefore, the connection of the technical state of the system with the vibrations of the power unit, which are described by the laws of harmonic oscillatory processes, can be used for diagnostic technologies by vibration methods. The article analyses the main causes of abrasive wear of plunger pairs of high-pressure fuel pumps, including the dependence of the wear mechanism on the operating temperature of these parts. The analysis of technologies aimed at increasing the durability of friction pairs, taking into account the material of the surfaces of the friction pairs, the modes of operation of the parts and the properties of the working environment, was carried out. It is proposed to use alternative biodiesel fuel made from vegetable oils as fuel. The use of biodiesel fuel is expected to improve the lubricating properties of precision parts, which will increase their resource, an indirect indicator of which can be a reduction in vibrations. This scientific work presents the results of the initiative research work 0122U002187. Keywords: diesel, fuel equipment, plunger pairs, reliability, resource, biodiesel fuel.

The Challenges of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises in Engineering: South Africa

Abstract The small, medium and micro enterprise sector is an economic engine for many countries. Realizing the potential of small, medium, and micro enterprises, the government of the Republic of South Africa has put a burden on itself to create 90% of jobs through small, medium, and micro enterprises through the implementation of the 2030 National Development Plan. Despite these initiatives, the failure rate of these enterprises in South Africa is still high and continues to increase. This research aims to investigate the challenges of small, medium and micro enterprises that operate in the formal economy, with the focus narrowed down to small, medium and micro enterprises that provide engineering services to engineering-intensive firms in the public and private sectors in South Africa. The target is a sample of member companies of Consulting Engineers South Africa, as well as random engineering service firms that render similar services. In general, engineering services’ small, medium and micro enterprises mainly depend on owners’ limited capital, which limits growth initiatives. Moreover, the absence of adequate resources, business facilities and specialised equipment puts small, medium and micro enterprises at a competitive disadvantage and, therefore, causes stagnation. Government’s initiatives are not well publicised and, therefore, small, medium and micro enterprises are not well informed to capitalise on such initiatives.

Studies on the life, damage evolution, and crack propagation behaviors of TC18 titanium alloy under repeated impact loading

TC18 titanium alloy has been widely used as the key structure which is often subjected to repeated impacts in service in aerospace engineering. In this study, the repeated impact responses of TC18 were investigated by conducting various repeated drop hammer impact tests. Abundant microscopic characterization technologies were used to reveal the correlation between damage evolution and the impact response. The results show that the average impact fatigue life (Nf¯) of the notched three-point-bend specimen decreases exponentially with the impact energy. Microscopic observation shows that cracks nucleate at the initial 40%∼50% of Nf¯, then propagate steadily during the next 50% to 90% of Nf¯. During the last 10% of Nf¯, the cracks propagate rapidly, resulting in the failure. During crack propagation, the repeated impacts induce complex stress states in the vicinity of cracks, leading to grain refinement, phase transition, and strengthened texture. The phase transition and strengthened texture mechanisms are mainly due to the generation of the platelet-like α subgrains inside the refined grains. The results in this paper are crucial for understanding the microscopic damage and failure mechanism of TC18 under repeated impacts, which helps to establish the damage accumulation-based life prediction model in the future.

Effect of Y2O3 content on the microstructure and wear performance of plasma-sprayed Cr2O3–Y2O3 composite coatings

As the inner working surface of a diesel engine, the cylinder liner is subjected to a harsh frictional wear environment, which can lead to performance degradation and ultimately affect the engine's service life. Ceramic coatings can improve the wear resistance of the cylinder liner, thereby enhancing the reliability and stability of the diesel engine. In this study, Cr2O3–Y2O3 ceramic composite coatings were deposited on the substrate of 304 stainless steel by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The influence of Y2O3 content on the microstructure, porosity, phase composition, microhardness and wear performance of the composite coating was investigated. The results showed that the composite coatings exhibited a typical layered structure, and Y2O3 and Cr2O3 were dispersed relatively evenly. When the Y2O3 content was 10 %, the coating had the lowest porosity rate of 5.41 % and the highest hardness of 1094.6 HV1. As the Y2O3 content increased, the coating exhibited an increase in porosity and a decrease in hardness. Under dry friction conditions, the friction coefficient curve underwent a rapid increase phase, followed by stabilizing within the range of 0.29–0.40. When the Y2O3 content is 10 %, the coating exhibits the best wear resistance, including the lowest coefficient of friction, wear rate, and scratch depth. However, the composite exhibits the worst wear resistance when the Y2O3 content reaches 50 %. The wear mechanism was altered by the addition of Y2O3. At lower Y2O3 content, the predominant wear mechanism was abrasive wear resulting from particle refinement. Conversely, at higher content, adhesive wear caused by wear transfer from the milling balls became more prominent.

A Novel Approach for Day-Ahead Hourly Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Power Prediction by Using Feature Engineering and Simple Weather Forecasting Service

Although the accuracy of short-term prediction of building-integrated photovoltaics is essential to making an optimal decision on the management of the generated electricity, the weather forecasting service in many countries provides insufficient features for improving the prediction accuracy of the photovoltaics power output. This study suggests a machine learning model incorporated with feature engineering to improve the prediction performance of day-ahead hourly power outputs using a simple weather forecast service. A new synthetic feature, the modified sky condition, is derived to infer onsite sky condition and solar irradiation, which is not supported by the typical weather forecasting services. It evaluated the prediction performance with different training and hyper-parameter conditions for 60 days. By using the derived modified sky condition, the model outperformed other predictor configurations in most daily sky conditions; particularly, the accuracy improved by more than 50% on overcast days compared to when it used the original weather forecasting service data. The result demonstrates the feasibility and ability of the model to enable more efficient energy management of building-integrated photovoltaic power output in buildings without an onsite weather station, thus contributing toward the optimized dispatch of the integrated electricity energy storage system and other distributed energy resources.

The Effectual Design Method for Internationalizing Architectural and Engineering Services: Insights from Swiss Design Entrepreneurs

This research explores the use of effectual and causal design logic in architectural and engineering design internationalization. Specifically, it aims to understand how individual design entrepreneurs act across three international opportunity design problem spaces: (a) formation, (b) evaluation, and (c) exploitation. This qualitative multiple-case study employed phenomenographic, semi-structured interviews with 17 Swiss architectural and engineering design entrepreneurs.
 The findings indicate that international opportunity formation is created via the dominant effectual design logic principle; international opportunity evaluation mainly applies causal design logic; and international opportunity exploitation primarily uses actions combining effectual and causal design logic principles. This research contributes to the architectural and engineering design internationalization literature, which focuses only on causal design logic and provides a practical integrative model for successful international architectural and engineering design services.

Analysis and Design of Asset and Non-Asset Lending Information Systems in the Informatics Engineering Service Unit at Astra Polytechnic

The development of information technology is developing rapidly and has a positive impact on organizational, one of which is Astra Polytechnic, especially at UPT Informatics, which supports the operational activities of inventory lending in the form of assets and non-assets which are considered inefficient. The process of recording, submitting, and approving inventory loans is still done manually, so it takes a lot of time and is prone to errors. The process of recording inventory data is still using excel, loan applications are still made using hardcopy forms and there are no asset and non-asset reports. The aim of research is to analyze needs and design of a system for lending assets and non-assets at UPT Informatics based on Web Applications in order to overcome these problems. The design uses System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) based on Prototyping methodology until design stage. The process of analysis and design is explained using Unified Modeling Language (UML) approach. Analysis of system requirements is carried out on ongoing business processes, which are then outlined in design of asset and non-asset lending information systems, especially in documentation process to produce reports according to company needs.

Carbon Emission of Global Construction Sector Using Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) Method

Construction industry is wide products of scale creates, and more companies equally different. However, involved in on-site construction most companies smaller and local. Globalization and internationalism balance of construction department despite that, construction most of the activities are carried out by local companies. Required in the manufacturing process goods and services outsource in construction of the doing (among other companies like businesses) a there is a trend. Construction materials, plant and equipment usually from other companies purchased or purchased hired. Special services by subcontractors are provided, and labor by labor agents. Design and engineering services are separate professional provided by companies. Construction industry in india by 2025 it would reach $ 1.4 tn expected. Cities driving growth - total 75% of domestic production% urban people to contribute to the contributing amount (63% currently), and 68 cities more than 1 mn contains the population. Construction industry in india market 250 sub-sectors with links to departments works. Environment and substantial in society global for outcomes the construction industry is responsible. Of our built environment construction and use global greenhouse gas 39% of emissions. Built environment year global co2 makes 40% of emissions. In those total emissions, building activities annually 27% cause, same building and infrastructure at the time materials and construction (generally packed carbon) they are referred to as 13% of the year's addition responsible. Working in the country about 16 percent of the population for people to live for its livelihood depends on construction. Indian construction industry 30 more than millions use people and ₹ 200 billion makes more assets. This is the country's gdp for 5 percent of the product, for total capital formation contributes more than 78 percent. Gray related analysis related to ash calculation degree and measurement or between computer factors the main behavior of the organization the level of contribution influence decides to be once. Between factors or between action for two systems of relationship two gray contact size called. G.mr. The basic of a method the principle is that, selected alternative in a positive-body solution from “large-scale ash relationship” and “small gray” of the relationship must have negative- the physical solution. Gray related huashong analysis science and technology deng of the university created by julang. This gray system theory very widely used one of the models. G.mr.a a specific information concept uses. It's black no information as situations and proper those who contain information defines white. Alternative taken as Unrenewable, Renewable, Nonenergy. Evaluation preference taken as China, European, India, Russia, US. From the result it is seen that US is got the first rank where as is the Russia is having the lowest rank. US is ranked first and Russia is ranked lowest.

Joint Impact of Agents and Services in Enhancing Software Requirements Engineering

Requirements engineering (RE) is a significant aspect of system development stages in generating reliable software (SW). Despite RE’s decisive impact on project success, SW systems still fail since there is a perplexity in sorting out requirements correctly. Researchers have tried several paradigms to deal with the specified challenges, such as agent-oriented RE (AORE), model-based RE, and service-oriented RE (SORE). By investigating the limitations of the independent use of these paradigms, this research sets an objective that proposes a framework which integrates the two paradigms (agent and service) on top of social media to enhance the SW RE processes. Thus, the research addresses challenges in gathering adequate requirements, detecting alignment between business requirements and SW products, prioritizing requirements, and recommending innovative ideas. The research has mainly adopted an empirical research methodology for SW engineering. Accordingly, two distinct expert groups have been formed based on their previous experience in AORE and SORE, respectively. The experts have been selected from enterprises and academic institutions, and they participated in our case study. After performing the necessary assessment based on specified criteria, those experts in the first group have reported that CASCRE (Collaboration of Agents and Services for Crowd-based Requirements Engineering) with a score of 93.7% is found to be better than that of AORE with a score of 88.7%. Moreover, experts in the second group have declared that CASCRE, with a score of 92.3%, is better than SORE, with a score of 83.7%. In both cases, improvements have been observed, which reveals that the synergy of the CASCRE features has a better impact on the RE process than utilizing individual approaches. Moreover, in order to demonstrate the applicability of CASCRE, feedback has been gathered from a focused crowd of local pharmaceuticals using a mini-prototype. Accordingly, 250 requirements related comments have been gathered from the discussion forum, and 1400 keywords were generated. Then, after performing a sentiment analysis using NLP algorithms, the result was demonstrated to experts. Therefore, 93% of gurus strongly agreed on the applicability of CASCRE in real projects.

РИСК-ОРИЕНТИРОВАННЫЙ ПОДХОД В УПРАВЛЕНИИ МЕДИЦИНСКИМ ОБОРУДОВАНИЕМ В ОКАЗАНИИ

Introduction. The use of equipment in the provision of medical care is associated with risks of harm to health and life with the likelihood of adverse events, for this reason, a risk-based approach is a prerequisite in modern realities. The goal is to identify the risks of operating medical equipment (MO) in a cardiac surgery clinic. Material and methods. The Research Institute for Complex Problems of Cardiovascular Diseases (NII KPSSZ) used the technique of failure cause and effect analysis (FMEA) to identify risks. By the number of points of the generalized quantitative characteristic of the risk of non-compliance (priority risk number - RPR), all risks are divided into levels: low, medium, high and catastrophic. The obtained data were systematized in the "Risk Passport", including: the definition of risk, its indicator, indicator, level, source. The cause and consequences of the risk, as well as measures to manage them are indicated. The whole process is formalized within the framework of the Quality Manual and documented QMS procedures. Results. Indicators of the equipment of the Ministry of Defense and the performance of the engineering service of the Research Institute of the KPSS for the period from 2012 to 2022 indicate a high load on the management system of the Ministry of Defense, in particular, an increase in the number of units of the Ministry of Defense (from 976 units to 2520 units, the average annual (chain) growth rate was 13%), carried out Maintenance (from 555 to 2361) and repair of the Ministry of Defense (335-897). In the process, 8 risks were identified, including two high levels (purchase of low-quality spare parts, consumables and improper operation of the MO). The consequences of high risks include: violations in the operation of medical equipment, reduction of service life, deterioration of performance, downtime, unscheduled maintenance, repairs and the risk of obtaining erroneous diagnostic results, injury hazard for personnel and patients. Consequence management includes: compliance with the procedure for acceptance of consumables and spare parts, organization of claims work, timely repairs, internal investigation of cases of violations. The medium level of risk includes “improper maintenance of the MO by the outsourcer’s personnel”, the consequences of which may also be a decrease in the resource and deterioration in performance, downtime for repairs. Measures to manage the causes of this risk were the development of technical specifications for the conclusion of a contract with qualification requirements. The low level of risk includes: delay in the procedure for preparing documents for write-off, the reasons for which are the short deadlines for completing the task, the limited horizontal links with related services, difficulties in identifying by the departments allowing the write-off; violation of the requirements for the terms of delivery of MO (the reason is the violation by the supplier of the manufacturer's requirements for the conditions of storage and transportation, violation of the delivery time); lack of conditions for launching a new MO (the reason is non-compliance with the procedure for organizing the purchase of equipment); MOs requiring verification may not be included in the lists, and some of the already verified equipment may mistakenly be included in the lists of verified measuring instruments (the reason is errors made in the preparation and approval of statements according to F3.5-15, F3.5-17); refusal of the CMS to verify the MO due to a malfunction or incompleteness (the reason is a violation of the procedure for preparing equipment for verification of the measuring instruments) - the control measure is the introduction of a pre-verification control of the technical condition. Conclusion. A risk-based approach when working with MO allows medical organizations to prevent, identify and prevent risks that pose a threat to the life and health of both patients and staff, to minimize the consequences of their occurrence by improving approaches to the implementation of medical activities.

Improving relative performance evaluation process of employees within a peer group

PurposeRelative performance evaluation (RPE) is a widely practiced employee appraisal process in the services industry. In a global delivery model, teams are spread across different geographical locations. The team members work on various tasks under the guidance of different managers and at times under more than one manager for performing the same task. Such complexities make RPE of the team members quite challenging. The paper proposes a methodical step-by-step approach to simplify the evaluation process without compromising on the rigour.Design/methodology/approachRPE has followed three different approaches. First is the traditional way, wherein evaluators had a common meeting to discuss and arrive at relative evaluation and ranking of members of the peer group employees. In the second, the number of evaluators and employees in a peer group were split in to 2 subgroups. The evaluators provided independent ratings and rankings. Simple mathematical tool then derived the combined ranking. In the third approach, each evaluator evaluated each employee in the peer group and provided the relative ranking for each employee. Again, mathematical tools provided the final ranking considering inputs from all evaluators. All the three evaluation approaches were analysed through an inter-rater agreement method.FindingsAll the three approaches for evaluation provided similar results giving confidence that less time-consuming methods could be adopted by evaluators without compromising on the rigour of the evaluation. The outcome of the exercise proved effective as the complaints reaching the ombudsmen reduced as compared to the earlier years. Considerable evaluation time was also saved. The study described in this paper is carried out in a non-unionized, Indian private sector services firm. Its effectiveness in other set ups is yet to be tested.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is carried out in the Indian Engineering services firm operating in the Knowledge based sector. Though study results are encouraging, the adaptability of methodology across different sectors and geographies is yet to be tested. More broad based studies are needed to evaluate suitability across firms and regions.Practical implicationsRelative evaluation exercise is challenging for evaluators. Although openness in evaluation is desired, it also makes evaluators uncomfortable in appearing to be taking sides or being opposing a candidate's ranking. The proposed approach brings in anonymity to each evaluator without scarifying individual evaluation.Social implicationsThe proposed methodology can be deployed across different services industries as the proposed methodology is business domain agnostic. It can be easily ported and tailored to align with an individual organization's evaluation philosophy. The suitability and effectiveness of the method can be studied under various types of firms like manufacturing, private, public, NGO, labour oriented, etc. As the proposed method reduces efforts, the stake holders can focus on understanding the relation between employee performance measurement, employee engagement, and long-term outcomes related to employee performance evaluation.Originality/valueThe proposed employee evaluation method leverages inter-rater reliability and agreement tool as a consensus approach to the relative performance ranking exercise. Such an approach to relative performance ranking is original as no prior studies with such an approach are found in the existing Literature.