Inventory Maintenance Research Articles

Ringling School of Art and Design Builds a CASTLE

The CASTLE (Computer Automated Software for the Total Library Environment) System was developed and installed in the Ringling School of Art and Design Library from March, 1983 through September, 1983. The System is divided into six main areas: Circulation, On‐Line Catalog, Inventory and File Maintenance, Audio/Visual Equipment, Accounting, and Information and Management Reporting. Written from the distinct points of view of both programmer and librarian, this article describes the project's beginning phases, then how it developed as a unified effort and, finally, became a reality. The capabilities, flexibility, and completeness of the system are demonstrated.

Adult immunization

A three-year prospective chart audit of a family practice residency program was performed to measure physician compliance in following the recommendations of an adult immunization program. Despite curriculum changes, performance self-evaluation, and reminders by faculty members to residents about the need for adult immunization, physician compliance was poor in the second year of the study. It was thought that components of the medical record might be improved to facilitate physician compliance in the adult immunization program. At the beginning of the third year of the audit, tetanus and pneumococcal vaccines were preprinted on the health maintenance inventory (HMI), but influenza was not. The chart design also was changed to put the HMI in a more prominent place. In the third year of the audit, physician compliance with tetanus and pneumococcus immunization improved significantly. The results of the chart review suggest that physician compliance with adult immunization programs can be improved with appropriate chart design.

Work-Sampling Evaluation of an Upgraded Outpatient Pharmacy Computer System

The effect of an upgraded outpatient pharmacy computer system on routine dispensing activities was studied. A computer system that previously generated patient bills, prescription labels, and management reports was upgraded to provide patient profiles, allergy and drug-drug interaction monitoring, auxiliary-label notification, and prescription prices. Four months after the upgraded system was implemented, dispensing activities were analyzed using a work-sampling technique. The percent of time spent in prescription processing, inventory maintenance, problem solving, or miscellaneous activities was determined. These data were compared with data obtained in a study of the old system. A total of 5897 observations of the upgraded system was compared with 5632 observations in the previous study. There were significantly different changes among the four activity groups for the total staff and for pharmacists, technicians, and the data-entry operator. Under the modified system, pharmacists spent more time in prescription coding and less time on patient counseling. The data-entry operator had less computer-entry time. It could not be stated conclusively that overall efficiency was improved by the new system.

The Remote Link Unit---An Advanced Remote Terminal Concept

Remote terminal units are extensively used in digital automation systems to interface a central processing unit (CPU) to remotely located sensors and actuators. This paper presents a conceptual description of the remote link unit (RLU) which overcomes inherent limitations of remote terminal units. The RLU utilizes a single type of interface card to support most process I/O interfaces. The RLU identifies sensors, actuators, and subsystems through the use of electronic nameplates. Each nameplate provides information regarding device function, location, interface parameters, and calibration status. In addition it stores programs for device handling, engineering unit conversion, and device diagnosis. The RLU allows sensors and actuators to be relocated or substituted without requiring changes in the CPU software to correct device addresses or conversion constants. The electronic nameplate may also be used for inventory control, automatic calibration, and maintenance of devices.

The International Scene: News and Abstracts

The International Scene: News and Abstracts

The International Scene: News and Abstracts

The International Scene: News and Abstracts

Price Controls and Shortages: A Note

It has long been argued that price controls can create shortages. In perfectly competitive markets, this proposition is almost self-evident. If price is held below the equilibrium level, firms will continually supply less than consumers demand. On the other hand, under monopolistic conditions, controls could theoretically improve welfare and increase output. A monopolistic firm in equilibrium charges a price above marginal cost. If a ceiling price is imposed which is below equilibrium but at or above the point where demand intersects marginal cost, monopoly power is nullified (or reduced) and consumers benefit through increased output at a lower price. In other words, the textbook models suggest that monopolists could be regulated to behave like perfect competitors. The purpose of this note is to demonstrate the inadequacies of these simple approaches and to add to the analysis of economic shortages. Normally, economists think of a shortage as a gap between supply and demand where consumers are unable to buy as much as they desire at the quoted price. However, in imperfect markets, the concept of a shortage can be expanded. In the real world, suppliers expect that orders will arrive in a random, erratic fashion. In order to increase demand, suppliers may attempt to establish reputations for reliability of prompt delivery. To do so, they must maintain sufficient inventories to meet sudden peaks in orders. Such inventory maintenance, which represents a service to their customers because it reduces the necessity for them to maintain inventories or wait for delivery, is costly. It is easy to cite examples in which enterprises subject to price ceilings cut back on incidental services in order to raise effective prices.' To the extent that such service reductions are feasible, they represent a partial avoidance of price ceilings. In the same way, firms can avoid part of the effects of controls by reducing their delivery reliability, thus shifting the costs of inventory maintenance to consumers, who must either maintain (or expand) their own inventories or otherwise deal with delays in delivery.2 This analysis suggests that, during a period of price controls, sporadic can be expected to develop even in monopolistic markets. These shortages reflect an increased lack of synchronization between orders and delivery rather than a chronic gap between demand and supply. The

Pharmacy Management and Inventory Maintenance

Pharmacy Management and Inventory Maintenance

MAINTENANCE CAPACITY PREDICTION AND VARIABLE INVENTORY CONTROL IN THE TRANSPORT INDUSTRY

SUMMARY SUMMARY This paper is concerned with a “variable input output” system of inventory control in which both the inventory level and maintenance capacity are intimately connected to arrive at a minimum cost solution. The characteristic of the situation is the closed system formed by an organisation in which specific items which require periodic maintenance are at any time being used, reconditioned and stored. A bus engine inventory network of a transport industry was studied and the optimum cost condition obtained for the total number o spare engines and maintenance channels,