Non-routine Processes Research Articles

Why is the risk of industrial non-routine activities high and how can it be evaluated? An integrated approach

Non-routine activities such as startup, shutdown, maintenance, and operation commissioning require increased human interaction with the corresponding process. Owing to operator or procedural violations, the risk of accidents can be high during non-routine activities, even though they are performed less frequently. To identify and evaluate the hazards of non-routine processes, an integrated method combining job hazard analysis (JHA), hazard and operability analysis (HAZOP), and deviation degrees is proposed. JHA is applied to break down an operational process into steps, which are further defined as nodes in HAZOP for hazard scenario analysis. The concept of deviation degree is defined by integrating the operational and control function deviations to quantify the deviation analysis. Finally, the heating-furnace startup process in an oil and gas gathering and transmission station was selected to illustrate the proposed integrated method. The results show that this method constitutes a systematical and intuitive approach to identify hazard scenarios and evaluate risks, as well as to establish preventive measures for non-routine processes.

Improving healthcare through process standardization: a general hospital case study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze two process standardization theoretical conceptual constructs: process variants unification; and distinction between standard, routine and non-routine processes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyze two conceptual constructs based on a single case study representing a general hospital’s (GH) process standardization, approach and results. The authors research whether process standardization implemented in a GH conforms to the process variants unification concept approach and its assumed benefits and whether implemented process standardization enables process management improvement based on distinguishing standard, routine and non-routine processes.FindingsIn accordance with the process variants unification conceptual construct, the hospital task force determined a uniform basic patient comprehensive treatment process at the hospital level, which allows synergy among departments. Uniform process activities reflect the differences between standard, routine and non-routine processes.Practical implicationsProcess standardization through unification improves performance by establishing a common framework enabling shared experience based on improved process understanding. Distinguishing standard, routine and non-routine processes is useful for analyzing process management. This distinction provides guidelines for process implementation and measurement improvement. The paper also shows that increased routinization and standardization represent levers for process improvement.Originality/valueThe authors analyze theoretical constructs based on a single case study and confirm that theoretical conceptual construct application can provide better process management, which is important for practitioners.

Why do business processes deviate? Results from a Delphi study

Despite substantial investments in business process management (BPM), every organization experiences deviant processes, i.e., processes that show different behavior than intended. Thus, process deviance is an essential topic of BPM research and practice. Today, research on process deviance is mainly driven from a computer science perspective. IT-based methods and tools (e.g., deviance mining and prediction or compliance checking) detect process deviance by comparing log data from past process instances with normative process models or execution traces of currently running instances. However, requiring process models and event logs as input, existing approaches are expensive and limited to processes executed in automated workflow environments. Further, they can only detect process deviance, not explain why it occurs. Thus, knowledge about reasons for process deviance is immature. What is missing is a systematic exploration of reasons for process deviance. Against this backdrop, we compiled and structured reasons for process deviance based on a rating-type Delphi study with more than 30 experts from industry and academia. Thereby, we chose a process manager’s perspective as analytical lens, as process managers are familiar with and responsible for business processes end-to-end. We also analyzed the reasons’ importance for causing deviance in routine and nonroutine processes, two process types that capture the nature of processes in terms of variation and variety. Our results contribute to the descriptive knowledge on process deviance and serve as foundation for prescriptive research.

Spatial primitives and knowledge organization in planning and architecture: some experimental notes

Abstract Cities and territories share structural references to a common environmental ontology, in which space perception and representation play a major role. Many human abilities deal with space management, whose ontology can be useful in building intelligent machines in which space conceptualization plays a fundamental role. Space organizing is an important human ability, in which sensorial and mental abilities intriguingly interact. The analysis of human intelligent abilities in this functional perspective helps in shedding light on aspects otherwise erroneously given for granted. Human agents conceptualize, design and organize spaces for human organizations, for example in architectural design, by using numerous routine and non-routine cognitive processes often analysed. Yet automated reasoning/design agents still provide only bad copies of human performances . Here, creativity is postulated as a non-routine sophisticated human cognitive function, a conscious and intentional process for redefining agents’ situations in the world in new ways. Even if the concept of creativity remains controversial, an increasing number of cognitive scientists considers creativity as a specific part of the ordinary cognitive equipment of the human agent, to be used in certain situations, not confined to a limited set of exceptional human agents .In this context, we assume that it is worthwhile adding spatial domain to the other domains of creativity studied in cognitive science. We also assume that space understanding and space organizing can be fruitfully analyzed and modelled by paying attention to both routine and non-routine (creative) cognitive functions. The domain of civil architecture is a relevant domain of spatial knowledge and action and of course of spatial organization. In it, aesthetics and art, based on creativity mechanisms, play an important role. Studies on architectural creativity based on self-biographies by leading architects (who usually motivate their designs with memories of other designs or spaces, or architectures, experienced by them in the past) prove that spatial memory has primary importance on creativity. The paper carries out an introductory discussion on such issues, by analysing the case studies of single-agent and multi-agent spatial organizations under the level of spatial design. The paper explores possible modelling approaches and system architectures supporting cognition-oriented activities in spatial organizations.

"The Need for Speed – Emergent Problems, Capabilities Failure, and Organizational Ad-Hoc Processes"

Emergent, ill-structured problems in organizations often require immediate attention. Organizations’ dynamic capabilities are sometimes inadequate to fully deal with such urgent issues, since they are fundamentally based on path-dependent routines. We suggest that ad-hoc problem finding and solving – as a non-routine organizational process – shows potential to resolve this gap. This paper offers insights into the limits to dynamic capabilities and identifies boundary conditions under which ad-hoc problem finding and solving in organisations is a relatively more efficacious approach. By examining organizing choices under emergent, non-routine situations we shed light on a gap in the dynamic capabilities literature. In particular, we propose a Problem Finding/Problem Solving (PF/PS) logic for understanding emergent problems in organizations. Building on prior work utilizing the PF/PS approach, and drawing on the dynamic capabilities literature, we argue that as managers pursue to identify and solve emergent problems in their organizations, they make discrete organizing choices resulting in the use of both routine and ad-hoc, non-routine processes. We unpack the logic of economizing, discriminating alignment and assert several novel, testable propositions to clarify our arguments.

Negotiating Individual Employment Relations, Evidence from four Dutch Organizations

Our purpose is to assess the actual experiences of companies in the context of individualised employment relationships. We have three questions: (1) what issues of the employment relationship can be individually negotiated in organizations? (scope); (2) what issues of the employment relationship are individually negotiated in organizations? (actual use); (3) what are the advantages and disadvantages of negotiations according to employees and managers?; We conducted four case studies in Dutch companies in different sectors (telecom, insurance, manufacturing and consultancy). The data were collected in a total of 69 semi-structured interviews with line managers, HR managers and shop floor employees. We focused on five topics of the employment relation: contract, working hours, wages, development and performance. We found that the scope for negotiation differs according to topic: there is considerable scope with regard to working hours, development and contract and little scope with regard to wages and performance goals. However, employees and supervisors use the scope for negotiating only for working hours and to a lesser extent development. On other topics negotiations hardly take place (e.g. contract) or only under specific conditions (e.g. performance goals in non-routine processes). Furthermore, we found that employees and managers perceive both advantages and disadvantages of negotiations. Considering the (dis) advantages our conclusion is that there must be an optimum in the scope and use of negotiating the employment relationship in order to serve conditions as fairness, fit, cost effectiveness and extra-role behaviour.Our paper provides empirical data on how individualised employment relations take place in practice. It offers insight in different companies on the scope for, the actual use of and the effects of individual negotiations on different aspects of the employment relationship.

Managing common and specific causes of quality problems in project-based organisations

Statistical process control (SPC) provides a methodology to distinguish quality problems due to common and specific causes. While it carries profound managerial implications, its theoretical foundations are vague. An analysis of the literature reveals that it is based on assumptions of production processes consisting of identical repetition in closed or closable systems. Where these assumptions do not hold, SPC cannot be applied directly. The applicability of SPC in non-repetitive processes and open systems, non-routine processes and project-based businesses is examined. Guidelines for adjusting the logic of common and specific causes for project-based businesses are proposed.

The Quality of Standard, Routine and Nonroutine Processes

Efforts to increase organizational effectiveness using standardization and quality techniques have been successful in repetitive production and administrative processes but less so when dealing with nonroutine processes typical of professional organizations. Routines are defined very broadly in organization theory as either mind-numbing repetition, repositories of knowledge, or effortful accomplishments. In this article, processes are analysed as systems with distinct input assessment, algorithms and output-generating action phases. These are structured differently depending on how they are set up to deal with variation (deviations from explicit targets) and variety (distinct but functionally equivalent targets). Thus processes can be classified into three types. Standard processes are set up to deal with a single variety using binary logic. Routine processes can distinguish a limited amount of variety using fuzzy logic. Nonroutine processes are open systems in which unrestricted variety is interpreted and assigned meaning. The implications of these process types are discussed in terms of the identification of quality errors and defects, change and learning.

The broom and nonroutine processes: a metaphor for understanding variability in organizations

AbstractOrganizations are challenged to be simultaneously creative and predictable, flexible and efficient. These results are achieved by standard, routine and nonroutine elements requiring different kinds of management approaches. These types are often overlapping and difficult to articulate. This paper proposes a metaphor: the Broom, that can help explore the nature and dynamics of processes with a variable level of repetition and predictability. The hard, stick‐end of the Broom illustrates repetitive processes that can be standardized, the opposite end nonroutines and chaos. The middle part represents routines, processes that are repeated in similar, but not identical ways. A task, process or organization can be positioned at the Broom depending on the level of repetition and predictability found in assessed input conditions, the mixture of tacit and explicit knowledge in the process algorithm linking assessment to action, and the degree to which targets are known and evaluated. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.