Industrial Assurance Research Articles

An overview of the biosensing potential of organometallic compounds

Sensing technology is receiving increasing attention and improvements every day, making it a suggested component of personalized healthcare management. This is due to the capabilities of organometallic compounds supported by bioengineering. Organometallic compounds have abundant biological activity and many industrial and material science applications. Due to their unique biological targetability, they possess potential applications in drug development, diagnosis, and treatment. Organometallic compounds are emerging as promising candidates for the advancement in sensor technology as they are engineered to address some of the limitations encountered by their traditional counterparts. These compounds have distinctive characteristics that render them exceptionally responsive to alterations in their surroundings, hence enabling their use as sensors for the detection of diverse chemicals or circumstances. In addition, the adaptability of organometallic compounds allows for their incorporation into various sensor platforms, rendering them appropriate for a diverse array of applications such as environmental surveillance, medical analysis, and industrial assurance of quality. This review presents an overview of the recent progress made in the field of organometallic compounds’ design and production, specifically focusing on their potential uses as sensors. In addition, the structural modifications, functionalization procedures, integration of microfluidics, and the consequent effects on the sensing capacities of the materials are recalled. These bio-based approaches will align with sustainability objectives and make sensing more affordable, applicable, and successful.

An unambiguous cloudiness index for nonwovens

Cloudiness or formation is a concept routinely used in industry to address deviations from homogeneity in nonwovens and papers. Measuring a cloudiness index based on image data is a common task in industrial quality assurance. The two most popular ways of quantifying cloudiness are based on power spectrum or correlation function on the one hand or the Laplacian pyramid on the other hand. Here, we recall the mathematical basis of the first approach comprehensively, derive a cloudiness index, and demonstrate its practical estimation. We prove that the Laplacian pyramid as well as other quantities characterizing cloudiness like the range of interaction and the intensity of small-angle scattering are very closely related to the power spectrum. Finally, we show that the power spectrum can be measured easily by image analysis methods and carries more information than the alternatives.

A Model for Wholesale and Retail Assessment Centres in Regulated Occupational Learning in South Africa

ABSTRACTSouth Africa's new occupational and vocational qualifications require assessment centres with a national footprint to conduct national summative assessments which are convenient and cost effective for learners. This new assessment process requires specialised facilities, but few current facilities can provide these. The research project proposed a model which is able to serve the needs of the quality assurance body and industry and be appropriate to the retail sector occupational qualifications. A qualitative method was used, involving a literature review and secondary data analysis; small focus groups; semi-structured interviews; and follow-up workshops to peer review the findings. The participants included industry experts, education providers and quality assurance experts. Two models were identified and considered, namely: Model A, which involves private businesses that can be accredited to become assessment centres; and Model B, which uses Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for all national assessments. The overall finding was that Model B is more suitable.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTEGRATED MODEL OF THE AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Issues on building an integrated model of the automotive product quality assessment are studied herein basing on widely applicable methods and models of the quality assessment. A conceptual model of the automotive product quality system meeting customer requirements has been developed. Typical characteristics of modern industrial production are an increase in the production dynamism that determines the product properties; a continuous increase in the volume of information required for decision-making, an increased role of knowledge and high technologies implementing absolutely new scientific and technical ideas. To solve the problem of increasing the automotive product quality, a conceptual structural and hierarchical model is offered to ensure its quality as a closed system with feedback between the regulatory, manufacturing, and information modules, responsible for formation of the product quality at all stages of its life cycle. The three module model of the system of the industrial product quality assurance is considered to be universal and to give the opportunity to explore processes of any complexity while solving theoretical and practical problems of the quality assessment and prediction for products for various purposes, including automotive.

DNA Authentication of Raw Herbal Drugs for Industrial Quality Assurance

DNA Authentication of Raw Herbal Drugs for Industrial Quality Assurance

Decision Rules and Risk Analysis

Measurement uncertainty has important economic consequences for calibration and inspection activities and is often taken as an indication of the quality of a test laboratory. Smaller uncertainty values are generally of higher value. In industry decision rules employed in accepting and rejecting products are based on the measurement uncertainty budget of the related characteristics of the products. Conformity assessment based on the product specification and the measurement evaluation is an important part of the industrial quality assurance of manufactured products and for the stability of production processes. The aim of this paper is to describe the relationship between the conformance zone and the acceptance zone and to address the problem of determining acceptance limits that define the boundaries of the acceptance zone.

Asphalt Fume Exposure Levels in North American Asphalt Production and Roofing Manufacturing Operations

This study extends by 8 years (1998–2005) a previous survey of asphalt fume exposures within North American asphalt processing and roofing product manufacturing workers. It focuses on characterizing personal, full-shift samples and seeks to address several limitations of the previous survey. Five major roofing manufacturers with established occupational health programs submitted workplace asphalt fume sampling results to a central repository for review and analysis. A certified industrial hygienist-led quality assurance team oversaw the data collection, consolidation, and analysis efforts. The analysis dataset consisted of 1261 personal exposure samples analyzed for total particulate (TP) and benzene soluble fraction (BSF) using existing NIOSH methods. For BSF, the survey's arithmetic (0.25 mg/m3, SD = 0.62) and geometric (0.12 mg/m3, GSD = 2.88) means indicate that the industry has sustained the control levels achieved in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Similar results were found for TP. The survey-wide summary statistics are consistent with other post-1990 multi-company exposure studies. Although these findings indicate that currently available controls are capable of achieving substantial (95%) compliance with the current threshold limit value in asphalt processing and inorganic shingle and roll plants, they also show that the majority of plants are not achieving this level of exposure control, and that exposures are significantly higher in plants making other product lines, particularly organic felt products. The current retrospective survey of existing company exposure data, like its predecessor, has several important limitations. These include lack of data on smaller manufacturers and on several commercially important product lines; insufficient information on the prevalence and effectiveness of engineering controls; no standard criteria by which to define and assess exposures in non-routine operations; and a paucity of exposure data collected as part of a random sampling strategy. To improve efforts to characterize exposures and potential health risks in roofing plants, a prospective program is currently being developed and piloted with the aim of building a more complete, higher-quality database based on a common industrial hygiene protocol.

Satisfaction with Knowledge and Competencies: A Multi-Country Study of Employers and Business Graduates

This study critically discusses findings from a research project involving four European countries. The project had two main aims. The first was to develop a systematic procedure for assessing the balance between knowledge and competencies acquired in higher, further and vocational education and the specific needs of the labor market. The second aim was to develop and test a set of meta-level quality indicators aimed at evaluating the linkages between education and employment. The project was designed to address the lack of employer input concerning the requirements of business graduates for successful workplace performance and the need for more specific industry-driven feedback to guide administrative heads at universities and personnel at quality assurance agencies in curriculum development and revision. Approach: The project was distinctive in that it combined different partners from higher education, vocational training, industry and quality assurance. Project partners designed and implemented an innovative approach, based on literature review, qualitative interviews and surveys in the four countries, in order to identify and confirm key knowledge and competency requirements. This study presents this step-by-step approach, as well as survey findings from a sample of 900 business graduates and employers. In addition, it introduces two Partial Least Squares (PLS) path models for predicting satisfaction with work performance and satisfaction with business education. Results: Survey findings revealed that employers were not very confident regarding business graduates’ abilities in key knowledge areas and in key generic competencies. In subsequent analysis, these graduate abilities were tested and identified as important predictors of employers’ satisfaction with graduates’ work performance. Conclusion: The industry-driven approach introduced in this study can serve as a guide to assist different types of educational institutions to better align study programs with changing labor market requirements. Recommendations for curriculum improvement are discussed.

PRAGMATICS AND POLITICS

Using the case of industrial assurance, this paper argues that a focused concern with the pragmatics of market devices can offer a particularist politics of analysis by uncovering the material, technical and social conditions through which economic objects and persons are constituted. Industrial assurance grew exponentially in the UK after 1880 to become, through a series of political and economic twists and turns, by the 1910s the key commercial institution offering to ‘foster and protect’ the savings of the poor. Deploying a business model – based on door-to-door agents' collection of small weekly premiums – unchanged in its key particulars for more than a century, industrial assurance was extraordinarily successful. The paper argues that pragmatic description of industrial assurance as an agencement reveals how entangled emerging industrial assurance markets were with political theorising, government and law

Therapy relevant weak sites in industrial quality assurance of 106Ru eye plaques

Beta emitting 106Ru applicators manufactured by Bebig GmbH (Berlin, Germany) are widely used to treat intraocular tumors. The applicators are fixed to the bulbus and removed after several days. The following therapy relevant defects have been detected by an internal clinical acceptance test: risk of leakage and inconsistent dose-rate specifications by the manufacturer. In the meantime, components of the internal clinical acceptance test have been adopted successfully by the manufacturer of the 106Ru ophthalmic plaques. 106Ru ophthalmic plaques were tested with the following internal clinical acceptance tests: visual inspection, surface contamination, leakage, and dose-rate verification. The surface contamination test consists of a wet wipe test at moderate pressure. For the leakage test of the 106Ru ophthalmic plaques a clinically relevant scenario was developed in which the contact of the applicator with human tissue is simulated. In the course of it the applicator is inserted into Ringer's solution for several days. The certified energy dose-rate statements of the manufacturer are examined with a 1 mm3 plastic scintillator for consistency. During the internal clinically acceptance tests of 106Ru ophthalmic plaques of different size the following results were obtained: The leakage test was performed with seven applicators and yielded measurements for two 106Ru ophthalmic plaques that were significantly higher than those of a dummy sample. The highest value of a wipe test was 57 Bq (Figure 1). The highest value in Ringer's solution was 520 Bq (Figure 2). During the dosimetry consistency checks of the certified dose-rate specifications for 14 applicators, six applicators were in good agreement with a variation coefficient of 2.6%. For the other eight applicators the deviations were between -37% and +74% (Figure 3), i.e. the range of the unaccepted applicators amounts to 111%. The results were representatively verified through external assessment. Grave therapy relevant shortcomings of the industrial quality assurance of ophthalmic plaques were uncovered by experimental cross-checks. It is necessary that every radioactive device is internally examined before its use. The internal clinical acceptance test of the 106Ru ophthalmic plaques can easily be adopted by other hospitals.

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF HPLC METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF FAT-SOLUBLE VITAMINS IN CAPSULES

A very simple nonaqueous reverse phase HPLC was developed for determining retinol acetate, retinol palmitate, cholecalciferol, alpha-tocopherol acetate, alphacalcidol, and phylloquinone in capsules without the need for saponification. A reverse phase (Lichrospher C8, 4.6 mm, id.) column was used with a mobile phase of acetonitrile–methanol (95:5, v/v) and flow rate of 1 mL/min. Sample treatment consisted only of the dilution of the capsule contents with n-hexane and methanol. The range of the assay method has been set at 2.5–150% of finished product label claim. The limit of detection of each vitamin was between 0.259 μg/mL (K1) and 2.379 μg/mL (alphacalcidol). The minimum average amount recovered was 98.1% (D3). The precision (relative standard deviation of label claim among six sample preparation as repeatability was not more than 0.82% (A palmitate) and, as intermediate (N = 24), was not more than 1.76% (E acetate). The Standard Preparation (at −15°C) and Sample Preparation (at 4°C) were stable for up to 48 and 24 h, respectively. This method is suitable for routine quantification in industrial quality assurance laboratories. The principal aspects of method validation are examined and discussed, and the validation studies indicate that the method is specific, accurate, precise, and robust over the concentration range investigated.

NMR-a powerful tool for industrial process control and quality assurance

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (MR) technology has been used in analytical chemistry laboratories for several decades to analyze complex chemical compounds and bio-molecules, including foods and food constituents ("NMR Spectroscopy"), as well as in hospitals for clinical diagnosis ("Magnetic Resonance Imaging", or MRI). More recently, simple "desktop" MR instruments have become available to food processors and other manufacturers for certain laboratory-based quality assurance measurements. In this article we will explore the benefits of on-line MR in manufacturing industries, for the real-time analysis of raw materials, intermediates and finished products.

Transfusion sanguine et assurance de la qualité

Administrating safe blood products and being able to produce the evidence of procedures correctly employed, is today vital for healthcare professionals. Industrial quality assurance is an appropriate answer to this problem. Indeed, this approach allows the mastering of a processing system thanks to the combination of three elements: a detailed description of processes, control mechanisms and corrective measures. It relies on an information system and must be applied to all steps of blood transfusion.

Large-scale data processing in the Prudential, 1850–1930

Industrial assurance, which dates from the 1850s, involved the frequent collection of small Premiums for policies to meet funeral costs. The need to minimize operational and administrative expenses created major business and competitive opportunities. This paper describes the organizational and data-processing innovations in the Prudential Assurance Company that enabled it to achieve and maintain its domination of the British industrial assurance market. Some more general conclusions are drawn on the impact and take-up of office mechanization.

Assuring the Quality of Engineering Education: issues of effectiveness and the ethos of excellence

SUMMARY This paper examines the possibility of applying industrial principles of quality assurance within the sphere of engineering education. In view of the impending ‘one market Europe’ and the envisaged transnational mobility of professionals, it is important for educators to demonstrate their commitment to quality. It is suggested that to teach about quality within engineering courses is insufficient: it is time to prove the benefits of these concepts through personal commitment and action. The industrial Quality Assurance model, ISO9000 is considered in the context of education and is proposed as a suitable vehicle for the implementation of the requisite attitudinal and cultural changes embodied in Total Quality Management. The possible conflict between the industrial view of quality as fitness for purpose and the educational ethos of striving for excellence is discussed. It is concluded that there is an urgent need for engineering educators to practise what they preach and move towards a customer ce...

Industrial Branch Life Assurance in Europe

Does Industrial Branch life assurance exist on the mainland of Europe? It is probably true to say that the average insurance man in the U.K. knows more about life assurance in North America, Australasia and South Africa than in France or Germany. This is particularly true when one considers Industrial Branch business. Certainly in my own case knowledge of European I.B. was limited to a vague idea that it did exist in a minor way in one or two countries such as France, Belgium and, possibly, Italy.In fact, Industrial Branch life assurance exists in most Western European countries and the following is an attempt to summarize some of the features encountered during a tour which included visits to nine I.B. offices in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, West Germany, Austria and Italy. It does not pretend to be a technical actuarial treatise nor can it claim to be wholly representative of I.B. in these countries; rather it is a series of impressions.

The Industrial Assurance (Decimal Currency) Regulations 1970

The Industrial Assurance Commissioner pursuant to the powers conferred upon him by subsections (2) to (5) of section 6 of the Decimal Currency Act 1969 and to all other powers enabling him in that behalf hereby makes the following Regulations:—

The Remuneration of Industrial Assurance Agents

1. The level of real earnings in the insurance industry, as in most others, has increased considerably since the end of the war. The problems raised by this fact are of vital interest to the actuary, since the adequacy of his premium scales and the maintenance of bonus rates depend on expenses being contained within reasonable limits. The total amount of agency remuneration may be determined in the long run by forces outside the actuary's control, but he can have considerable influence on its structure. The purpose of this note is to set out the principal methods of remuneration at present in use and to suggest some modifications of the incentive element which might be of advantage to the offices and the policyholders without harming the interests of the agent.

Industrial Assurance and the Collecting Friendly Society Today

Although two papers on industrial assurance by K. J. Britt (T.F.A.21, 265 and 26, 200) have been submitted to the Faculty of Actuaries in recent years there have been no similar discussions of this business at Institute sessional meetings. In addition, papers by G. W. E. Allaway (J.S.S.13, 1) and by K. F. Gardner (J.S.S.13, 22) have been published by the Students' Society, but in none of these papers have the particular problems of collecting friendly societies been fully considered. The industrial assurance funds of societies represent approximately one-fifth of all such funds in this country, and this paper is therefore intended to be complementary to those above-mentioned, to introduce current actuarial problems of collecting friendly societies, and to provide a vehicle for general discussion of industrial assurance.

An Automation Plan for an Industrial Assurance Office.

This paper describes a scheme for the automation of an industrial assurance office. No advice has been sought from manufacturers and the method has not been tested on a computer. The aim is to stimulate discussion of the subject and to help students to form an opinion as to whether, and to what extent, a computer can be of use in this type of work. Those students who are unfamiliar with the terms used in discussing electronic computers or industrial assurance are recommended to read §§VII and VIII of the paper first.