Related Performance Indicators Research Articles

Philippines Diagnostic Pathology Laboratory Benchmarking

Introduction To ensure continuous quality improvement, laboratories need to obtain data about best practice from peers. Data about analytical EQA is available but far less is available about other important aspects of laboratory performance. There is a Roche Diagnostics Survey of laboratories which provides benchmarking in key areas of laboratory performance. Methodology The Roche Diagnostics Survey included 1058 laboratories from 14 countries in the Asia Pacific Region with both developing and developed nations. The data were collected in 2017 but the survey has been collecting data each second year since 2011. Data was collected in the areas of quality, speed and cost. Results The results for the Philippines was compared with other countries in the Asia Pacific Region. Broadly it was found that 42% of all laboratories in the Region were accredited to ISO 15189 or ISO 9001 and that 50% of laboratories were in an External Quality Assurance (EQA) program. Compared to other countries in the survey, the Philippines laboratories had fewer sites with ISO 15189 and with Lean Six Sigma improvement deployment. There are six laboratories in the Philippines that are accredited to ISO 15189. There was a greater emphasis on customer satisfaction related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as turnaround time monitoring, cost reduction and employee productivity. Conclusion Benchmarking can highlight the differences in the apparent quality of laboratory services compared to their peers and may lead to improvement. The benchmarking comparison has identified opportunities for Philippine laboratories to improve including obtaining ISO 15189 accreditation, implementing laboratory information systems and concentrating on Lean practices to improve productivity. The Roche scheme provides an ongoing (growing) large sample of benchmarks that can be used by participants to improve their performance and the performance of individual countries.

Identification of Potential Performance-Related Predictors in Young Competitive Athletes.

IntroductionSystematic training is an essential demand for the individual success of an athlete. However, similar training modalities cause individual responses, and finally, decide on athletes’ success or failure. To predict performance development, potential influencing parameters should be known. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify performance-related parameters in young competitive athletes.MethodsIndividual performance developments of 146 young athletes (m: n = 96, f: n = 50, age V1: 14.7 ± 1.7 years) of four different sports (soccer: n = 45, cycling: n = 48, swimming: n = 18, cross-country skiing: n = 35) were evaluated by analysis of 356 visits in total (exercise intervention periods, 289 ± 112 d). At V1 and V2 several performance parameters were determined. Based on the relative performance progress (Δ), potential influencing predictors were analyzed: training load, health sense, stress level, clinical complaints, hemoglobin, vitamin D, hs-CRP and EBV serostatus. Data were collected within a controlled, prospective study on young athletes, which was conducted between 2010 and 2014.ResultsAthletes improved their performance by 4.7 ± 10.7%. In total, 66.3% of all athletes represented a positive performance progress. This group demonstrated, despite similar training loads (p = 0.207), enhanced health senses (p = 0.001) and lower stress levels (p = 0.002). In contrast, compared to athletes with an impaired performance progress, no differences in hemoglobin values (m: p = 0.926, f: p = 0.578), vitamin D levels (0.787) and EBV serostatus (p = 0.842) were found. Performance progress was dependent on extents of health senses (p = 0.040) and stress levels (p = 0.045). Furthermore, the combination of declined health senses and rised stress levels was associated with an impaired performance development (p = 0.018) and higher prevalences of clinical complaints (p < 0.001) above all, in contrast to hs-CRP (p = 0.168).DiscussionAthletes with an improved performance progress reported less pronounced subjective sensations and complaints. In contrast, objective known performance-related indicators, offered no differences. Therefore, subjective self-reported data, reflecting health and stress status, should be additionally considered to regulate training, modify intensities, and finally, predict and ensure an optimal performance advance.

How “big” should government be?

We assess how “big” government should reasonably be in a number of advanced countries. First, we will link the recent findings of Data Envelope Analysis on efficient public expenditure with the question of the size of the government. Second, we report descriptive analysis of various government performance indicators in relation to public expenditure to provide indications of overall “optimal” spending across spending categories. In principle, the highest savings potential is in the biggest expenditure categories, public consumption and social expenditure.

Evaluasi Kesintasan dan Pertumbuhan Beberapa Jenis Pohon Lokal di Area Restorasi Cagar Biosfer Cibodas

One of the threats faced with Cibodas Biosphere Reserve area is the changes of forest area into plantation. Various efforts were made by Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park (TNGP) management to restore the area to its original function. One of the efforts is planting trees in the ex-plantation area that has been abandoned by the farmers. In 2016, Cibodas Botanics Garden was collaborated with TNGP to plant native trees species that had potency of high carbon sequestration. Six hundreds seedlings from 12 native trees species were planted ie, Altingia excelsa Noronha , Castanopsis argentea (Blume) A.DC ., Castanopsis javanica (Blume) A.DC. , Castanopsis tunggurut (Blume) A.DC , Dacrycarpus imbricatus (Blume) de Laub. , Euonymus indicus B. Heyne ex Wall ., Lithocarpus indutus (Blume) Rehder , Magnolia blumei Prantl, Persea rimosa Zoll. ex Meisn ., Syzygium acuminatissimum (Blume) DC., Sloanea sigun (Blume) K. Schum ., and Schima wallichii Choisy . The observations of evaluation done by January, February and July 2016. Parameters were observed are plant height, root collar diameter and crown width. Then, the data were analyzed by RGR (Relative Growth Rate) and RPI (Relative Performance Index). The results of observation during six months after planting shown that the average survival rate was 60.56%, with the largest survival rates were Altingia excelsa and Castanopsis javanica (80%). Castanopsis tunggurut was the lowest survival rate than the other plants (33,33%). The best growth rate is shown by Schima wallichii. In this case, obstructed plant growth is caused by the high density of weeds and shrubs so that seedlings are less exposed to sunlight and nutritional deficiencies, and also the damage that caused by humans, especially for Castanopsis tunggurut and Sloanea sigun.

Seed freeze sensitivity and ex situ longevity of 295 species in the native Hawaiian flora.

PremiseEx situ seed banking is critical for plant conservation globally, especially for threatened floras in tropical ecosystems like Hawai‘i. Seed bank managers must maximize longevity, and species managers must plan restoration before seeds lose viability. Previous observations suggested some native Hawaiian seeds lost viability in frozen storage (−18°C). We investigated seed storage behavior in the Hawaiian flora to optimize storage conditions and recommend re‐collection intervals (RCI) to maximize viability of stored seeds.MethodsUsing 20+ years of real‐time seed storage viability data, we tested freeze sensitivity for 197 species and calculated RCIs for 295 species. Using paired tests of accessions stored >2 yr at 5°C and −18°C, we developed an index of relative performance to determine freeze sensitivity. We calculated RCIs at 70% of highest germination (P70).ResultsWe identified four families (Campanulaceae, Cyperaceae, Rubiaceae, and Urticaceae) and four genera with seed freeze sensitivity and six additional genera with likely freeze sensitivity. Storage longevity was variable, but 195 species had viability >70% at the most recent tests (1 to 20+ yr), 123 species had RCIs >10 yr, and 45 species had RCIs <5 yr.ConclusionsFreeze sensitive storage behavior is more widely observed in Hawai‘i than any other regional flora, perhaps due to insufficient testing elsewhere. We present a new protocol to test seed freeze sensitivity, which is often not evident until 2–5 years of storage. Re‐collection intervals will guide restoration practices in Hawai‘i, and results inform seed conservation efforts globally, especially tropical and subtropical regions.

Factors Associated with Practice-Level Performance Indicators in Primary Health Care in Hungary: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

The performance of general practitioners (GPs) is frequently assessed without considering the factors causing variability among general medical practices (GMPs). Our cross-sectional national-based study was performed in Hungary to evaluate the influence of GMP characteristics on performance indicators. The relationship between patient’s characteristics (age, gender, education) and GMP-specific parameters (practice size, vacancy of GP’s position, settlement type, and county of GMP) and the quality of care was assessed by multilevel logistic regression models. The variations attributable to physicians were small (from 0.77% to 17.95%). The education of patients was associated with 10 performance indicators. Practicing in an urban settlement mostly increased the quality of care for hypertension and diabetes care related performance indicators, while the county was identified as one of the major determinants of variability among GPs’ performance. Only a few indicators were affected by the vacancy and practice size. Thus, the observed variability in performance between GPs partially arose from demographic characteristics and education of patients, settlement type, and regional location of GMPs. Considering the real effect of these factors in evaluation would reflect better the personal performance of GPs.

Heat demand peak shaving in urban integrated energy systems by demand side management - A techno-economic and environmental approach

The integration of variable renewable resources and decentralized energy technologies generates the need for a larger flexibility of the energy demand. In order to fully deploy a demand side management approach, synergies between interconnected energy systems have to be systematically implemented.By taking this standpoint, this study proposes a new approach to explore the potential of multi-energy integrated energy systems. This approach is constituted by two main steps, which are (1) the performance simulation of selected energy infrastructures and (2) the estimation of related techno-economic performance indicators. Step (1) expands the work presented in previous literature, by including a novel co-simulation feature. In step (2), the levelized cost of energy and location-dependent emission factors are used as key performance indicators.In this paper, the presented approach is demonstrated by implementing two demand side management options for heat peak demand shaving. A Swedish residential neighborhood is considered as a case study. The first option explores the potential of storing heat in the thermal mass of residential buildings. The proposed strategies lead to a decrease of up to 70% of primary energy consumption, depending on the indoor comfort requirements. The second option estimates the techno-economic feasibility of a new set of scenarios based on the integration of geothermal distributed heat pumps within a district heating network. The district heating scenario is found to be the most techno-economical convenient. Nevertheless, a moderate penetration of distributed heat pumps (around 20%) is shown to have a good trade-off with the reduction of CO2 emissions.

Why health policies should be transnational: A case for East Asia Pacific countries

This paper argues that health policies should transcend national boundaries yet should not reach the supranational level. Along with multinational global health efforts, such cross-national health policies are essential to leverage joint efforts by countries learning from their peers that experience similar health system challenges. In our analysis, we used World Bank Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) data from 1995 to 2014 for East Asia Pacific (EAP) countries to explore health system comparability across member nations. We applied a hierarchical cluster analysis using Ward's method and a squared Euclidean distance approach to classify 24 EAP countries into four relatively stable clusters based on their (dis)similarities over nine selected health expenditure and health system performance related indicators. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the discreteness of the formed clusters. Each cluster had unique characteristics based on the included indicators and health system performance of the member countries. We present transnational health policy recommendations for the EAP region based on both our use of robust methodology and the resulting comparative clusters.

A combined control strategy using tuned liquid dampers to reduce displacement demands of base-isolated structures: a probabilistic approach

This paper investigates a hybrid structural control system using tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) and lead-rubber bearing (LRB) systems for mitigating earthquake-induced vibrations. Furthermore, a new approach for taking into account the uncertainties associated with the steel shear buildings is proposed. In the proposed approach, the probabilistic distributions of the stiffness and yield properties of stories of a set of reference steel moment frame structures are derived through Monte-Carlo sampling. The approach is applied to steel shear buildings isolated with LRB systems. The base isolation systems are designed for different target base displacements by minimizing a relative performance index using Genetic Algorithm. Thereafter, the base-isolated structures are equipped with TLDs and a combination of the base and TLD properties is sought by which the maximum reduction occurs in the base displacement without compromising the performance of the system. In addition, the effects of TLD properties on the performance of the system are studied through a parametric study. Based on the analyses results, the base displacement can be reduced 23% by average, however, the maximum reduction can go beyond 30%.

An empirical investigation of supply chain operations reference model practices and supply chain performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a scale measurement of supply chain operations reference (SCOR)-related performance indicators and proposed constructs, SCOR-related performance indicators as practices within the Indian manufacturing sector.Design/methodology/approachA literature-based model on SCOR processes with five constructs and respective performance indicators was empirically validated by using a structured questionnaire. A total of 155 respondents among Indian manufacturing sector participated in this research, and the returned questionnaires were analyzed by using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe study established a relationship among the SCOR-related performance indicators and overall supply chain performance indicators (OSCPI). The moderation effect of demographic characteristics, namely, employee size, company age and type of company showed significant differences between SCOR-related performance indicators and overall supply chain indicators.Research limitations/implicationsThe scope of the study is limited to specific Indian manufacturing firms. The survey could not represent whole population of manufacturing sector.Practical implicationsThe findings assist managers/supply chain practitioners in improving the performance measures identified using the standard framework, i.e., SCOR processes, overall supply chain performance measures as standard practices for Indian manufacturing sector for a profitable and sustainable business growth in global environment.Originality/valueThis research holds a value for suggested practices under SCOR processes and the proposed model for OSCPI, a path finder/performance measurement tool for supply chain professionals in the Indian context.

Optimal design for high-performance passive dynamic vibration absorbers under random vibration

This work is motivated to determinate the optimal design for various types of Dynamic Vibration Absorbers (DVAs) under the effect of random loads. These devices are the following: DVAs connected in parallel or series; two degree-of-freedom traditional dynamic vibration absorber (2dof-TVA) with translational and rotational motion; and inerter-based DVAs (IDVA-C6, C4, and C3). These types of DVAs were selected by their high effectiveness for suppressing vibration however a comparative study on their dynamic performance has not yet been performed. Two different excitation sources of random loads are studied in this paper which are random ground motion and force excitation. An optimum design for majority of these devices has not yet been computed when subjected to random ground motion excitation, and therefore in this paper are computed. For random force excitation, some numerical solutions for the optimal design of these devices have not yet reported which in this paper are computed in order to compare the dynamic performance for each device with respect to that of the classic DVA. For both random excitation cases, the H2 optimization criteria is used to analytically compute the variance of squared modulus of frequency response of the undamped primary structure, and then nonlinear unconstrained optimization problems are formulated in order to obtain the optimal design. Numerical solutions revealed that the IDVA-C6, C3, and DVAs connected in series presents more than 13% and 10% improvement with respect to the classic DVA for random ground motion and force excitation cases, respectively. These devices can widen the suppression band (SB) from 30% to 40% for mass ratios values from 1% to 10%. It means that devices are more effective and robust for mitigating vibration than the classic DVA. In addition, the rotational inertial double tuned mass damper (IDVA-C6) has the same relative dynamic performance (RDP) and suppression band index (SB) than the double-mass dynamic vibration absorber arranged in series. For practical application where the mounting space of the DVA is extremely reduced, the DVAs connected in series could be more convenient to use than IDVA-C6. The concept of equivalent mass ratio is introduced in order to explain the superiority of these devices with respect to the classic DVA. Finally, in H∞ optimization criteria, the IDVA-C6 presents the same vibration amplitudes at all excitation frequency range and suppression band than DVAs connected in series.

Study on Active Heat Dissipation Performance of Cellular Sandwich Materials with Variable Thickness of Cell Wall

The influence of the thickness variation of the cell wall on the active heat dissipation of the cellular sandwich was studied by deducing the thermal performance index of the cellular sandwich with variable thickness. The relationship between the relative density and the thermal performance index of the cellular sandwich with different cell structures was analyzed. Then, the maximum thermal performance index and the optimum relative density of the cellular sandwich with different cell structures were obtained. The relationship between the maximum thermal performance index and the optimal relative density and the variable thickness parameter was given by using linear fitting. The influence of the thickness of cell wall thickness on the optimal relative density and maximum thermal performance index of different cell structures was analyzed. It was concluded that the change in cell wall thickness has the slight effect on the hexagon, and the effect on the triangle and square is big.

Concurrent monitoring of global-local performance indicators for large-scale process

Abstract Multiblock methods with decision fusion are common schemes for performance indicator monitoring in large-scale process. However, single sub-block is insufficient for interpreting global performance indicator, thus the final fusion may cause inaccurate result. Besides, it is imperative to consider safety related local performance indicators (LPI) in each sub-block and important to model the correlation between each sub-block. In this paper, concurrent global-local performance indicator monitoring method is proposed. For more purposeful monitoring, this study constructs two feature subspaces, the local performance indicator related subspace (LPIRS) and the global performance indicator related subspace (GPIRS), with different significances. In LPIRS, LPI related variables in each sub-block are monitored. In GPIRS, considering the dynamic interactions between each sub-block, improved dynamic Canonical Correlation Analysis method is proposed for feature extraction. Moreover, the features are furtherly selected based on a novel selection criterion and the orthogonal decomposition on regression coefficients is employed to construct GPIRS. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated via two cases.

The Influence of the Kaolin Content on the Thermal Protection Property of Double-Layer Coating of Flexible Composites

The comparison and analysis for the preparation of related performance indicators of the thermal protection such as the ablation resistance performance, thermal stability at high temperature and reflection ability of the heat ray of kaolin double-layer coated flexible composites were carried on. Because of the 2 d stratified structure of kaolin, and at the same time it processes the higher refractoriness, excellent resistance to the elevated temperature, the certain heat insulation and the reflection performance of the heat ray, the adequate padding of kaolin can improve the prepared thermal protection ability of double-layer coating of flexible composites.

A cognitive approach for improving built environment and users’ safety in emergency conditions

Cognitive Systems can be applied in architectural spaces to improve Built Environment performances basing on users’ needs. They can: 1) jointly monitor environmental conditions and human behaviours through Cognitive Built Environment (CBE) components; 2) use human-environment interaction models and related Key Performance Indicators to detect critical situations; 3) adapt CBE devices status to inform users on how to properly behave. This approach is applied to safety performances of outdoor (earthquake) and indoor (fire) scenarios, by proposing and testing solutions to support evacuees while reaching safe areas and rescuers’ support.

Evolution of game-play characteristics within-season for the National Basketball Association

The aim of this study was to explore the (dis)similarity of game-play characteristics throughout an in-season period within the National Basketball Association. Thirteen performance-related indicators of all 1230 games of the regular 2016–2017 season in the National Basketball Association were analysed. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to examine (dis)similarity of team profiles. The two-dimensional multivariate matrix showed that team profiles generally presented similarity, while the beginning and ending of the season (October and April) showed relative dissimilarity. Although each team presented unique paths throughout the in-season period, the dominant teams in the National Basketball Association presented similar game styles. In addition, the game-play of the teams evolved into effective interactions in terms of offence and defence as the competition progressed while presenting an increased trend in the number of three-point field-goals made (p &lt; 0.000, small effect size (η2) = 0.011) throughout the in-season period. The analytics performed in this study could be used practically to evaluate temporal changes of game-play characteristics in basketball as well as inform strategic periodization plans within season periods.

Clustering tennis players’ anthropometric and individual features helps to reveal performance fingerprints

The study was aimed to explore distinct players’ groups according to their anthropometric and individual features, and to identify the key performance indicators that discriminate player groups. Match statistics, anthropometric and personal features of 1188 male players competing during 2015–2017 main draw Grand Slam singles events were collected. Height, weight, experience, handedness and backhand style were used to automatically classify players into different clusters through unsupervised learning model. Afterwards, 29 match variables were analysed through MANOVA and discriminant analysis in order to evaluate the different match performance among player groups and to identify the key performance indicators that best differentiate player clusters in each Grand Slam. The analysis revealed the existence of four clusters, they were classified as Big-sized Right Two-handed Players (n = 387), Medium-sized Right One-handed Players (n = 265), Small-sized Right Two-handed Players (n = 414), and Left Two-handed Players (n = 122). Serve, winner, net and physical performance-related indicators (Structure Coefficient ≥ |0.30|) were showed to be the maximum contributors to the group separation. Left-handed players were the most homogenous group in performance. Taller players outperformed their peers in all Slams except for Roland Garros, where left-handed players demonstrated certain advantage playing on slow-pace surface. In Wimbledon and US Open, Medium-sized Right One-handed Players showed better net and physical performance. The advantage of left-handed player is over-represented at elite level. Current findings promote a better understanding of match-play from distinct player groups and offer information on evaluating contextual variability for achieving better performances.

A framework to predict energy related key performance indicators of manufacturing systems at early design phase

Increasing energy prices, growing market competition, strict environmental legislations, concerns over global climate change and customer interaction incentivise manufacturing firms to improve their production efficiency and minimise bad impacts to environment. As a result, production processes are required to be investigated from energy efficiency perspective at early design phase where most benefits can be attained at low cost, time and risk. This article proposes a framework to predict energy-related key performance indicators (e-KPIs) of manufacturing systems at early design and prior to physical build. The proposed framework is based on the utilisation and incorporation of virtual models within VueOne virtual engineering (VE) tool and WITNESS discrete event simulation (DES) to predict e-KPIs at three distinct levels: production line, individual workstations and the components as individual energy consumption units (ECU). In this framework, alternative designs and configurations can be investigated and benchmarked in order to implement and build the best energy-efficient system. This ensures realising energy-efficient production system design while maintaining predefined production system targets such as cycle-time and throughput rate. The proposed framework is exemplified by a use case of a battery module assembly system. The results reveal that the proposed framework results meaningful e-KPIs capable of supporting manufacturing system designers in decision making in terms of component selection and process design towards an improved sustainability and productivity.

Competitiveness of Rice Industry in Hunan Province—A Diamond Model

Hunan Province is the main rice producing area in China, in which the rice industry is the pillar agricultural industry. And the promotion of rice industry competitiveness in Hunan Province is the key way to promote the development of rice industry in China, which is beneficial to increase farmers' income and promote social harmony and stability. On the basis of understanding the present situation of rice industry development in Hunan Province, this paper chooses the index of commodity export market share and relative export performance to calculate the rice industry competitiveness in Hunan Province, and combines the Porter Diamond model to analyze the main factors affecting the rice industry competitiveness in Hunan Province, Finally, several policy suggestions are recommended to enhance the competitiveness of rice industry in Hunan Province.

Analysis of winning determinant performance indicators according to teams level in Chinese women’s volleyball

ABSTRACTThe goal of the study was to identify the performance indicators in relation to set outcome regarding quality of opposition in elite women volleyball. The sample comprised 377 sets played in 100 matches by 12 teams participating in the Chinese Women’s Volleyball Association League (2016–2017). Teams were divided as high, middle and low level according to their ranking at the end of the season. Twelve performance indicators (points and errors in scoring and continuity actions) were chosen and analysed in terms of set outcome (win or lose) and type of confrontation. The results demonstrate that the quality of opposition has a clear influence on team performance. The spike and block, both in points and errors, were the mainly performance indicators related to set outcome. Serve points, serve-reception errors and excellent defences were also significant indicators. This study provides new insights into training and research, and it may be useful to coaches, physical trainers and match analysts for assessing performance and training their teams.