Manufacturing Support Research Articles

An Enterprise Rights Management System for On-the-Field Maintenance Facilities

On-the-field maintenance of complex equipments, that may involve multiple subjects and stakeholders, is one of most challenging scenarios for Enterprise Rights Management (ERM). In this paper, we present an ERM system that guarantees the “on-site” protection of information confidentiality. In particular, our system features local data encryption and minimal data transfers. A secure key management protocol is executed by the devices operating on-site and the remote manufacturer's support center and guarantees an efficient and dynamic enforcement of arbitrary data-provider-defined access policies. Operator identities are verified by means of strong multi-biometric verification schemes whilst protecting their biometries by means of cancelable biometries. To this end, we provide the first experimental evaluation of cancelable biometrics based on the fusion of face and voice biometries, that may be of independent interest.

Therapeutically relevant features of botulinum toxin drugs

Botulinum toxin (BT) drugs were introduced in the late 1980s. They are now used worldwide in a large number of indications. This huge market and its future opportunities have attracted a number of companies about to enter the competition with projects to develop new BT drugs. We want to outline features of BT drugs that are relevant for their therapeutic use and - with that - are also relevant to compare and to evaluate new BT drugs and to guide their further development.BT drugs may vary in their content of botulinum neurotoxin, complexing proteins and excipients. Their manufacturing is complex and directly influences core features of the final drug. It includes breeding, purification, botulinum neurotoxin activation, stabilisation, potency control, labelling and testing, specific biological activity and packaging. The manufacturer's support concerning product documentation and support, reliability of drug supply, counterfeit protection and - last but not least - competitive pricing is also important. Further developments include the indication spectrum, the market penetration, the drug's duration of action, liquid preparations, transdermal applications, improving antigenicity and a bio-similarity registration process. Most projects, however, will try to produce Botox® analogs at reduced sale prices.

Valuable strategy and firm performance in the O2O competition

When the manufacturer opens an online channel to compete with its traditional retailer, what valuable strategy can be utilized to alleviate the O2O (online to offline) competition and conflict and improve the performances of all channel members? Our research addresses this important question by initiating an innovative strategy considering the retailer's sales effort and the manufacturer's support in local advertising simultaneously in a manufacturer – retailer O2O supply chain. Our results show that although the retailer's sales effort helps improve the channel coordination and leads to a win-win solution for both the manufacturer and the retailer, investing in both the retailer's sales effort and manufacturer's support in local advertising is a more effective strategy to be employed to coordinate the O2O distribution and achieve higher profits for all parties in the manufacturer - retailer supply chain. In addition, our results also show that compared to the simultaneous mode, the Stackelberg leader-follower mode provides no competitive advantage to the manufacturer or the retailer when the retailer's sales effort and manufacturer's support in local advertising strategy is implemented to coordinate the O2O distributions.

Development of a collaborative drug therapy management protocol for extended-release intramuscular naltrexone

The Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs (CDAP) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) focuses on research and clinical services for substance use disorders. CDAP is comprised of both inpatient and outpatient services. Outpatient services include an intensive program with daily group meetings and an individualized treatment program where patients are able to take part in one-on-one counseling. Approximately 1200 outpatients are seen in the CDAP clinics annually, 300 of which are in the intensive outpatient program. The patients seen in CDAP have a range of substance use disorders which include alcohol and opioid dependence, among others. Given the patient population, there is a significant demand for extended-release intramuscular naltrexone (ERIN), but the CDAP clinics are neither staffed nor structured for medication administration or storage. A previously established pharmacist-run clinic exists at MUSC for the purpose of administering long-acting injectable antipsychotics and monitoring the patients who receive them. An explanation of the financial impact of the antipsychotic injection clinic to our institution is described by Phan and Vandenberg. With the increasing patient and physician demand, a protocol was developed to allow pharmacists to administer ERIN in the pharmacist-run clinic.

Web-Based Diagnosis Tool for Customers to Self-Solve Print Quality Issues

Print quality is an important factor for customer satisfaction. Resolving print quality issues poses special challenges for a manufacturer's support organization. The authors have developed a troubleshooting website to enable customers to self-solve many of their print quality issues. The diagnosis is based on images of printed test pages that contain highly accurate simulations of potential print quality defects. The authors review the process for developing the website, the organization of its content, a validation framework to efficiently verify its correctness, and the steps to simulate print quality issues. The tool has been deployed for more than a dozen color laser printers and used by hundreds of thousands of customers.

235 Quality ART Scale Up Through Regionalization of Laboratory Services In Nigeria

Issues: Setting up of standard lab infrastructure and provision of free laboratory tests by PEPFAR has improved health care delivery system and services to PLWHAs in Nigeria. We here describe the challenges and successes of the tier laboratory infrastructure established by the Institute of Human Virology - University of Maryland PEPFAR funded AIDS Care and Treatment in Nigeria (ACTION) program to support the diagnosis, care and treatment of HIV infected Nigerians. Description: The ACTION program currently treats over 80,000 and cares for another 150,000 HIV-infected Nigerians; also, about 300,000 are screened. To support this, the laboratory infrastructure expanded from 12 to a regionalized tier system with 22 tertiary, 25 secondary and 12 primary laboratories all linked with appropriate oversight and referral system. Choice of laboratory equipment was based on ease of use, in country vendor/service provider, ease of purchase of reagents, and overall manufacturer's support. Implementation included: 1) Decentralization of laboratory field services into regions with central oversight 2) Detailed site assessments/renovations 3) Step wise site activation in HIV Rapid Testing, Pregnancy Testing, Manual CD4 Count, HbAg screening, CyFlow SL (tertiary) or Counter (secondary) for CD4, Sysmex KX 21N for Hematology, Vitros V250 (tertiary) DT 60 II (tert/sec) or Reflotron (sec/prim) for Chemistry assays. 4) Monitoring and mentoring of site personnel through an aggressive QA/QC program. 5) Hub and spoke linkage between comprehensive and satellite sites. Lessons learned: Tier lab network with adequate mentoring and referral led to a successful lab expansion to 59 (22 tertiary, 25 secondary and 12 primary) sites performing HIV Serology, CD4, Pregnancy, Hematology, Chemistry, Hepatitis B, Cryptococcus, and TB tests. Also, 57 HCT/PMTCT sites performing HIV Serology Tests. Improved proficiency at sites from 40-60% to 80-95%. Recommendations: Regionalization and tier lab system is critical for scale up. Defined roles for lab personnel creates a good network to support rapid scale up. QA/QC program involving site monitoring is critical for sustained high quality lab results.

A web-based self-diagnosis tool to solve print quality issues

Print quality is an important factor for customer satisfaction. Resolving print quality issues poses special challenges for a manufacturer's support organization. We have developed a troubleshooting web site to enable customers to self-diagnose many of their print quality issues. The diagnosis is based on images of the printed test pages that contain highly accurate simulations of potential print quality defects. We discuss the development process of the website, the results of usability experiments conducted to improve the tool, the general characteristics of the web site, and the web site navigation and diagnosis process.

Machine Tool Industry Adoption of Software Certification Processes

The quality built into machine tool equipment is a function of rigorous controls and attention to detail by manufacturers. Quality measures taken by the manufacturers often include the implementation of quality assurance programs. The physical production quality measures of their equipment are well known; however, measuring software quality is only just beginning to be of interest to both manufacturers and users. Several machine tool controller manufacturers were interviewed to gain a better understanding of what, if any, embedded software quality assurance measures are being used by the machine tools industry. Additionally, interviews were conducted with several major machine tool users to get their perspectives. It was determined that while manufacturer's support ISO 9000 certification for their manufacturing processes, they do not certify the controller software component. Furthermore, it was consistent among those users interviewed that a strategic advantage existed for the manufacturer that offers certification of the controller software/firmware.

Satisfying and Retaining Customers through Independent Service Representatives

ABSTRACTThe degree of leverage possessed by manufacturers who outsource their customer service function to channel partners over customer satisfaction and loyalty is assessed empirically. Data provided by independent service representatives are linked with data from their customers. Results indicate that a manufacturer's support of its representatives increases their job satisfaction which, in turn, is indirectly linked to the customer satisfaction through shared perceptions of service performance and quality. However, the strength of the effects is modest, suggesting that manufacturers may need to consider direct customer contact strategies or contractual means of assuring customer satisfaction when independent service representatives “own the customer.” Conceptually, the hypothesized shared mindset model is tested against the competing affect transfer model, resulting in support for the former. Job satisfaction moderates the degree of agreement between representatives' and customers' perceptions of service performance and quality such that greater agreement occurs when job satisfaction is high.

New Product Adoption Processes of UK Retailers in the Wines and Spirits Product Field

This article describes a study which is being undertaken by the authors of the adoption processes used by UK retailers in the case of new wine and spirit products. Following a literature review they outline the work of earlier researchers in deducing the factors which retailers, in general, consider in deciding whether or not to stock a new product. The principal factors are found to be consumer demand, compatibility with existing merchandise, financial criteria and manufacturer's support for the product The article also highlights the increasing concentration of buyer power in the UK grocery market.

Static starting system replacement at Mt. Elbert pumped storage powerplant

This paper describes the replacement of a static starting system at the US Bureau of Reclamation's Mt. Elbert pumped-storage power plant, near Leadville, Colorado, USA. Problems with the previous static starter are described and design criteria for the replacement system are discussed. Installation issues and testing experience are included. Operating experience, training and manufacturer's support are also discussed.

Microcomputers in laboratory testing and the assessment of site investigation data

Summary Microcomputers can be used in laboratory testing either for data logging alone or for both data logging and controlling a test. For such applications a microcomputer should possess a larger memory than may be envisaged at the planning stage and incorporate a real-time clock. A full range of interfaces and peripherals should be available. Consideration should be given to built-in obsolescence and the manufacturer's support of the microcomputer. Soil testing with the aid of a microcomputer is a real-time activity; a stable power supply, appropriate software and physical protection are essential. A database program to aid the selection of design parameters is described; basic field and laboratory data can be stored and subjected to simple manipulations. Both the stored and manipulated data can be selectively plotted. An example of its use in assessing the undrained shear strength of a glacial clay is described. Single entry of the data and a less biased assessment based on all possibly useful data combinations are advantages of the microcomputer approach. Significant time and cost savings can result.