Operational Supervision Research Articles

Analysis of Operational Management Functions of MSMEs in Indonesia

The purpose of this research is to analyze: a) the value of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) Product “Bata Merah (Red brick), the creation of new products “Bata Merah”, and the development system that has been carried out by MSMEs actors; and b) the organizing system for the development of “Bata Merah”, and the design of processes (transformation) for making “Bata Merah”. The method used is a case study, with a qualitative approach. research conducted in MSMEs Lampung Province Indonesia. Based on the results of the analysis it can be concluded: 1) The product development system can be done by increasing the quality of raw materials, quality of the dough, and so on. 2) Organizing product development starts from organizing workforce and division of tasks according to their respective roles. The operational management function in the MSMEs has been well implemented, ranging from operational planning, operational scheduling, to operational supervision.

A success-oriented analysis technique for operational risk supervision in sea-borne nuclear power plants

Abstract The paper presents a success-oriented analysis technique for operational risk supervision in sea-borne nuclear power plants. The feasibility and acceptability evaluation of operational sequence is demonstrated through two hierarchical case studies: (1) high-level operational risk evaluation of an emergency operating procedure for small-break LOCA; (2) low-level reliability monitoring of an example residual heat removal system with due consideration of human actions. It shows that the success-oriented analysis technique is applicable for operational risk supervision and reliability monitoring of sequence of integration operator actions. Human error or system malfunction can be identified and avoided through reliability and performance-based pre-assessment and comparison.

China’s pension system: achievements, challenges and future developments

This study focuses on the framework and achievements of China’s pension system, and analyses the long-term risk and institutional dilemmas. Because the existing pension system does not clearly define the responsibilities among the government, the market and the individuals, the main challenge facing China’s current pension system is the huge future fund gap and the difficulty in coping with the risk of an ageing population. The proposal for China’s pension scheme reformation is to establish a three-pillar pension system: transfer the social pooling account into a public pension as the first pillar; merge the refilled personal account by transferring the state-owned assets and the enterprise annuity into the occupational pension as the second pillar; and promote the tax deferral individual pension plan as the third pillar. The roles and functions of the government in the three-pillar pension system are different: for the first pillar, it is fully responsible for the system construction, management and funding security; for the second and the third pillar, it is responsible for system construction and operational supervision.

Factors Associated With Community Health Worker Performance Differ by Task in a Multi-Tasked Setting in Rural Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe, like most low-income countries, faces health worker shortages. Community health workers (CHWs) bridge this gap by delivering essential health services and nutrition interventions to communities. However, as workloads increase, CHWs' ability to provide quality services may be compromised. We studied influences upon CHWs' performance related to pregnancy surveillance and nutrition and hygiene education in rural Zimbabwe. In the context of a cluster-randomized trial conducted in 2 rural districts between November 2012 and March 2015, 342 government-employed CHWs identified and referred pregnant women for early antenatal care and delivered household-level behavior change lessons about infant feeding and hygiene to more than 5,000 women. In 2013, we conducted a survey among 322 of the CHWs to assess the association between demographic and work characteristics and task performance. Exploratory factor analyses of the Likert-type survey questions produced 8 distinct and reliable constructs of job satisfaction and motivation, supervision, peer support, and feedback (Cronbach α range, 0.68 to 0.92). Pregnancy surveillance performance was assessed from pregnancy referrals, and nutrition and hygiene education performance was assessed by taking the average summative score (range, 5 to 30) of lesson delivery observations completed by a nurse supervisor using a 6-item Likert-type checklist. Poisson and multiple linear regressions were used to test associations between CHW demographic and work characteristics and performance. CHWs who referred more pregnant women were female, unmarried, under 40 years old, from larger households, and of longer tenure. They also perceived work resources to be adequate and received positive feedback from supervisors and the community, but they were less satisfied with remuneration. CHWs with high scores on behavior change lesson delivery were from smaller households, and they received more supportive supervision but less operational supervision. Measures of job satisfaction and motivation were not associated with either task. Among CHWs responsible for multiple tasks in rural Zimbabwe, factors associated with performance of one task were not the same as those associated with performance of another task. Our methods and findings illustrate ways to examine heterogeneity in CHW performance and to identify organizational factors associated with quality of program delivery.

ELASTIC DEFORMATIONS IMPACT IN ELEMENTS OF THE RAIL FASTENING, TYPE КПП-5 ON A SIZE OF PRESSING FORCE OF THE RAIL TO THE SUBRAIL BASIS

Purpose. The railway transport is one of the most important links in economy of Ukraine, and it is a basis of its transport system. As the majority of freight transportation of coal and metallurgical industry is conducted by railway transport, its effective use is a necessary condition of stabilization and development in economy of Ukraine. One of the strategic works connected with implementation of high-speed train service in Ukraine is the reliable work ensuring of connection of intermediate rail fastening during operation. For engineering works, according to the contents and repair of fastenings the considerable share of labor expenses during operation of a way is necessary. One of domestic intermediate fastenings which after long operational supervision has implemented into continuous operation is the fastening, type КПП-5. This fastening is a prototype of the Polish rail fastening type SB-3. After the long operation in fastenings, type KПП-5, a number of the shortcomings connected with premature refusal of its elements was revealed. This in generally is connected with intensive reduction of size of pressing force of a rail to the subrail basis. Therefore the purpose is the development of a technique and practical control devices concerning a condition of work of a rail fastening knot, type KПП-5 at operation. Methodology. The assessment of various factors impact at a size of pressing force of a rail to the subrail basis in the knot of a rail fastening, type KПП-5 at operation is the foundation of the research method. Findings. By means of the developed technique and practical control devices it was established: the general reduction of pressing force of a rail to the subrail basis during one mill. tons gross., taking into account influence of various factors, may constitute kN. Originality. Accordingly to the obtained results the author firstly described and expressed by empirical dependence the process of change of pressing force of a rail to a subrail basis in a fastening, type KПП-5 after the admission of T, one mill. tons gross. Practical value. The device design is developed for control of elastic properties and a numerical assessment of pressing force decrease of the terminal to a rail depending on the passed tonnage.

Line of duty deaths among U.S. firefighters: an analysis of fatality investigations

Firefighting is a high hazard occupation. In the U.S. alone, over 100 firefighters die in the line-of-duty each year and over 80 000 are injured. In this presentation, we summarise...

Controlling the cavitation phenomenon of evolution on a butterfly valve

Development of the phenomenon of cavitation in cavitation behavior requires knowledge of both plant and equipment working in the facility. This paper presents a diagram of cavitational behavior for a butterfly valve with a diameter of 100 mm at various openings, which was experimentally built. We proposed seven stages of evolution of the phenomenon of cavitation in the case of a butterfly valve. All these phases are characterized by pressure drop, noise and vibration at various flow rates and flow sections through the valve. The level of noise and vibration for the seven stages of development of the phenomenon of cavitation were measured simultaneously. The experimental measurements were comprised in a knowledge database used in training of a neural network of a neural flow controller that maintains flow rate constantly in the facility by changing the opening butterfly valve. A fuzzy position controller is used to access the valve open. This is the method proposed to provide operational supervision outside the cavitation for a butterfly valve.

Evaluation, Verification and Operational Supervision of Corona Losses in Sweden

This paper presents the operational supervision of corona losses in the load dispatching system of Svenska Kraftnaumlt, the Swedish National Transmission System Operator. The aim of this supervision is to decrease the total active losses in the 220-400 kV national grid during the winter period, when the corona losses can be high. These losses are calculated from measured quantities on the inservice transmission lines and the voltage dependence of these losses are also taken into account during voltage optimization, when operational mitigation is planned against corona losses. The calculation method used has been verified by a year-long field measurement during 2003-2004. The evaluation of the measured data contains very interesting relations between the weather parameters and the corona losses. Both this measurement and the conclusions are also described in this paper

Protecting The Big Easy From the Next Big One

The US Army Corps of Engineers holds the primary responsibility for the construction, maintenance, and operational supervision of the New Orleans levee system. After hurricane Katrina, Congress told the corps to restore the system to at least pre-Katrina levels. But now comes the hard part. Congress has told the corps that its next task is to build up the New Orleans hurricane protection system to shield the city from all but a 100-year storm - a hurricane of a ferocity that would be expected, statistically, to occur only once in a century

Moving down the Line? The Shifting Boundary between Middle and First-Line Management

Much of the recent debate about changes to middle and first-line management treats these changes in isolation, rather than as inter-connected aspects of wider changes to management as a whole. This paper reports evidence from a survey of the first-line manager role in 135 organisations in the UK which shows how first-line managers have acquired some business management responsibilities previously associated with middle managers, but that these have supplemented, rather than replaced, first-line managers' core responsibility for performance-oriented supervision. Consequently, as well as first-line managers who remain primarily supervisors, there are those who are, additionally, performance managers, customer/client service managers and budget holders. On the basis of this evidence, it is argued that there has been re-distribution of managerial work and responsibilities, with a re-drawing of the traditional boundary between middle and first-line managers. Whilst some business management tasks are now shared between middle and first-line managers, routine operational supervision is increasingly concentrated in the first-line manager role. The implications for how organisations recruit, train, develop and reward first-line managers in this new, expanded role and how first-line managers themselves handle its demands and pressures are discussed.

THE STUDY OF HEALTH REINFORCED CONCRETE SLAB THE BALLASTLESS BRIDGE DECK ON THE BELARUSIAN RAILWAY

The article represents results of inspections of reinforced concrete plates of ballastless bridge surfacing on Byelorussian Railway. Special forms of recording the observable parameters in operational supervision have been proposed. Measures have been suggested on increasing the service life and operational reliability of the plates.

Operational supervision and inspection of airworthiness preservation as an object of control at a national level

Given is the systematic description and hierarchical structuring of levels of control for the processes of operation supervision and inspection of airworthiness preservation at a national level. On this basis some problems of control are considered and the actual directions of perfecting of these processes are chosen

Zoning: A system for managing case work and targeting resources in community mental health teams

The principles of robust operational management and clinical supervision have been identified in the literature as significant challenges for multi-disciplinary community mental health teams (CMHTs). This paper presents the findings of a descriptive study into a system of 'zoning' employed by one CMHT to enhance operational management and ensure the effective targeting of case management services. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with service staff to elicit information on the structure and process of 'zoning' and on their perceptions of the degree to which it contributes to the delivery of an effective service. The findings indicate that 'zoning' promotes adherence to operational policies, provides a forum in which the staff can receive support from colleagues, and facilitates the sharing of clinical knowledge within and between disciplines. The necessary requirements for an effective 'zoning' system are also presented and its limitations explored. In conclusion 'zoning' is considered to be of value in promoting the delivery of a highly targeted and proactive community mental health service.

Knowledge-based fault detection and diagnosis in flow-injection analysis

The reliable operation of flow-injection analysis systems (FI systems) demands a high degree of knowledge and experience. This a priori knowledge is of great importance, especially for a fast detection and diagnosis of faults. Transferring it into the form of a knowledge-based system and combining it with information and received on-line from the recorded detector signal enables automatic operational supervision of FI systems. This contribution presents a real-time knowledge-based system for the supervision of FI systems applied in on-line bioprocess monitoring. The special conditions of real-time systems are explained and the basic structure of the knowledge base is illustrated. Examples of typical faults of the FI system are given to explain how symbolic knowledge processing can be combined with numerical analysis of data to perform a fast and reliable fault detection and fault diagnosis.

Effect of full-time, specialized physician supervision on the success of a large, urban emergency medical services system

Despite the universal proliferation of emergency medical services programs throughout the United States since 1970, only a few have ever documented a valid lifesaving effect, particularly in large, urban centers. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the effect of specialized physician supervision on the effectiveness of an emergency medical services system. Prospective, cohort study. Large, urban municipality (population 2 million). Evaluation of victims of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac death cases, before (n = 152) and after (n = 200) the introduction of specialized physician supervision for the emergency medical services system. The hiring of a full-time, salaried emergency medical services system physician whose principal duties would be to provide intensive individualized training, direct operational supervision, and continuous system monitoring, including frequent on-scene oversight of emergency medical services personnel. Comparison of existing hospital discharge rates for out-of-hospital sudden cardiac death cases to those rates achieved 5 yrs after recruitment of the specialized emergency medical services system physician. A dramatic increase in hospital discharge rates was demonstrated for sudden death patients presenting with ventricular fibrillation, from zero at year 0 (0 of 152 patients survived), to 21% (42 of 200 patients) by year 5 (p < .001). This result was achieved despite the fact that all other related factors (budget, paramedic numbers, response times) significantly worsened during the comparison periods. The introduction of the new factor into the emergency medical services system (specialized physician supervision) was associated with significantly improved patient outcome. In view of current suboptimal outcome statistics found in most municipal emergency medical services programs across the United States, future goals of medical community leaders should be directed at efforts to properly train, certify, and establish appropriate positions for physicians who specialize in emergency medical services system supervision.

Japanese regulatory practices on licensing, inspection, operational supervision and related standards

Japanese view on the safety of nuclear power plants is based on the concept that the primary responsibility for securing safety lies on electric power companies, installers of reactors. Under this concept, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), in the course of designing and construction, has been performed an examination of the basic design and the detailed design of nuclear power plants, and in each stage of construction, a pre-operational inspection process. In addition, MITI, in operating stage, has been made throughgoing investigations on the causes of troubles and incidents as well as accidents that may affect operation, forcing utilities to take measures to prevent recurrence, and implementing safety regulation based on the “preventive maintenance” including elaborate checkings and overhaulings at the periodical inspections conducted for a period of three to four months after every 12-month operation cycle under the laws and regulations. This paper discusses the current status of nuclear power development in Japan, safety regulatory systems, views on safety and future prospects of securing safety.

The Impact of LSI Technology on the Modern Concept of Automation and its Application to the Tele-Control of Industrial Systems

Modern industry requires the use of automatic control and operational supervision systems. These functions are becoming more and more frequently remote controlled, and LSI technology, by the miniaturization of instruments, transforms these systems into primary Components, which results in the modification of the very composition of the automation systems. The authors will therefore discuss the evolution of the automation concept, in relation to the under standing of this newand particularly advanced technology. In part two, it will be shown how the installation of MOS/LSI circuits permit the creation of multiple functions, whose disposition by programmation allows the adaptation of the new component to the process itself. Finally, in part three, the authors de scribe an example demonstrating the application of tele-control to complex processes.

The Application of a Digital Computer to the Control and Monitoring of a Proton Linear Accelerator

Preliminary design studies have been carried out on the control system for an 800-Mev proton linear accelerator based on the use of an on-line digital computer as the main controlling element. The accelerator system is divided into fifty-two subsections or modules. A module has complete control of all the equipment associated with it. Selected data and monitoring signals are transmitted on a time-shared basis to a central control computer. The functions which the computer performs in the control of the accelerator may be classified into Operational Control, Operational Supervision, and Data Monitoring and Handling. The operator gives instructions to the computer through interrupt lines. Commands to the modules and displays for the operator time-share a common channel in the computer output system. Synchronization of the input and output data flow is controlled by the computer through a timing unit. A comparison has been made of the computer-based control system with a possible alternate system which does not use a computer. The computer replaces much of the control and data handling equipment required by the alternate system. As a result, the costs of the two systems are comparable. However, the computer-based system is preferable since it has many functional advantages over the alternate system.