Staff Assignment Research Articles

Consistent Staff Assignment in Alzheimer’s Special Care Units

Consistent Staff Assignment in Alzheimer’s Special Care Units

Using system dynamics in warehouse management: a fast‐fashion case study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of how different sourcing policies and resource usage affect the operational performance dynamics of warehouse processes.Design/methodology/approachThe system dynamics (SD) methodology is used to model warehouse operations at the distribution centre of a leading fast‐fashion vertical retailer. This case study includes a detailed analysis of the relationships between the flow of items through the warehouse, the assignment of staff, the inventory management policy, and the order processing tasks.FindingsCase scenario simulations are provided to define warehouse policies enabling increased efficiency, cost savings, reduced inventory, and shorter lead‐times.Practical implicationsThe case study reaffirms that a flexible usage of human resources, outsourcing of selected warehouse operations, and sourcing from reliable manufacturers may result in important performance improvements for centralised warehousing.Originality/valueIt is proved that SD is a valuable tool in the field of operations management, not only to support strategic evaluations but also to execute a detailed analysis of logistical processes and make scenario‐based dynamic decisions at the operational level.

Review of medical provision in English ice hockey

Ice hockey is the world's fastest sport played on two feet, with players reaching in excess of 35 mph forwards, and 15 mph travelling backwards. The high intensity intermittent skating, combined with rapid changes in velocity and frequent body contact, indicate a high injury potential. English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA) and Ice Hockey UK organise and regulate the sport, including the implementation of medical procedures. The aim of this study was to investigate the current level of provision of first aid in English Ice Hockey from grass roots to semiprofessional level. A total of 18 medical staff completed a questionnaire regarding their role as first aiders in an EIHA registered team. A second questionnaire was issued to 116 players and parents competing in an EIHA recognised league regarding their perception of medical provision in the sport. Results show that 88% of medical staff and 55% of players/parents believed the current medical provision to be insufficient. Of the 18 medical staff, half were graduate sports therapists, two were physiotherapists and nine had attended the EIHA Ice Hockey First Aid course. None of the medical staff had a written job description and only 78% had attended relevant continuing professional development in the last 12 months. 94% of home fixtures were attended by medical staff, compared to 77% of away fixtures. Regarding medical staff appointments, “personal contact” was the most popular method of appointment with interviews or adverts for job vacancies the least popular. In conclusion, evidence suggests the affiliated medical person are sufficiently qualified to provide first aid for ice hockey, but the regularity and methods by which the medical staff are appointed needs to be reviewed. The EIHA Ice Hockey First Aid course has influenced the number of first aiders working in the sport with 50% of staff questioned possessing the qualification.

University Autonomy in a Third‐Generation University in Nigeria

The study examined the level of autonomy in one of Nigeria’s third‐generation universities. Findings indicated that generally government intervention was rated as not unreasonable. Specifically, the study discovered that government never exerts any influence on the appointment, discipline, tenure and dismissal of staff; entry standards and pass and failure rates of students; curriculum and teaching; research and publication; and membership and control of senate, academic boards and staff. However, from time to time, government exerts its influence on the appointment and dismissal of vice chancellors; pay and conditions of service of staff; admissions quotas for minority groups; introduction of new teaching fields; membership and control of governing councils; standards in particular subjects and accreditation of courses; number of students to be admitted; closure and amalgamation of courses; and duration of academic years. Often, government exerts its influence on the control of governing councils and qua...

Structure, Governance, and Organizational Dynamics of University Medical Centers in the Netherlands

The Netherlands, a country of 16 million people, is home to eight university medical centers (UMCs), institutions that are closely analogous to U.S. academic health centers and play in important role in Dutch society. The authors' purpose was to test the extent to which an analytical framework developed in one setting can be transferred to another and to yield fresh insights into the value and limitations of different theoretical perspectives on organizational design in the specific context of the academic-clinical enterprise. The authors applied a conceptual framework originally developed in the U.S. context to analyze UMC structure, governance, and organizational dynamics. Three UMCs, selected for their differences, were used as case studies, and data were gathered through interviews and document review. A multilevel approach is used to present the data. At the highest level, an overview of the composition, functions, and accountabilities of UMC boards is provided. Below this, the authors describe how functional integration for delivery of the tripartite mission is achieved at the sub-board level. Finally, the authors describe some of the detailed mechanisms used to bind together different interest groups within the UMCs. The authors found that the U.S.-derived framework for analysis required modification for the context of the Netherlands, but that the study validates the view that many challenges involved in the management of the academic-clinical enterprise are international.

Bi-objective project portfolio selection and staff assignment under uncertainty

We formulate a project portfolio selection problem under uncertainty with two optimization criteria: a weighted average of economic and strategic gains, and a risk measure expressed as the expected total overtime cost. The optimal assignment of personnel with given skills to the tasks of the selected projects is incorporated as a subproblem. Searching for Pareto-optimal portfolios satisfying the given constraints amounts to a stochastic multi-objective combinatorial optimization problem, a problem type for which only a few general solution approaches are available at present. We apply a recently developed technique called adaptive Pareto sampling, solve a linear subproblem with an LP solver and use the NSGA-II algorithm for deterministic multi-objective optimization as an auxiliary procedure. A convergence result applicable in a more general context is also shown. To obtain objective function estimates, importance sampling is applied. The technique is tested on a benchmark derived from a real-world application case provided by the E-Commerce Competence Center Austria.

Nursing Home Environment and Organizational Performance

Work environment attributes--job design, teamwork, and work effectiveness--are thought to influence nursing home (NH) quality of care. However, few studies tested these relationships empirically. We investigated the relationship between these work environment attributes and quality of care measured by facility-level regulatory deficiencies. Data on work environment were derived from survey responses obtained (in 2006-2007) from 7418 direct care workers in 162 NHs in New York State. Data on facility deficiencies and characteristics came from the Online Survey, Certification and Reporting database. We fit multivariate linear and logistic regressions, with random effects and probability weights, to models with the following dependent variables: presence/absence of quality of life deficiencies, number of quality of care (QC) deficiencies, and presence/absence of high severity G-L deficiencies (causing actual harm/immediate jeopardy). Key independent variables included work effectiveness (a 5-point Likert scale score); percent staff in daily care teams and primary assignment. The work effectiveness measure has been demonstrated to be psychometrically reliable and valid. Other variables included staffing, size, facility case-mix, and ownership. In support of the proposed hypotheses, we found work effectiveness to be a statistically significant predictor of all 3 measures of deficiencies. Primary assignment of staff to residents was significantly associated with fewer QC and high severity deficiencies. Greater penetration of self-managed teams was associated with fewer QC deficiencies. Work environment attributes impact quality of care in NHs. These findings provide important insights for NH administrators and regulators in their efforts to improve quality of care for residents.

REPORT OF QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY FOR THE PHYSICAL, INTELLECTUAL, SEVERE MOTOR AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES FACILITIES

This paper aims to report on the result of the questionnaire survey for Physical, Intellectual, Severe Motor and Intellectual Disabilities Facilities. It organize general condition of three kinds of facilities, Compendium of Residents’ Attribute and Activities, spatial composition and staff assignment. Moreover, the unit scale and the spatial composition were classified into some patterns. As a result, There was no clear relation between the type and the satisfaction rating. It is inferred that the concept of “Fine living environments” cannot be shared in facility for the disabled. The study approach that leads to sharing consideration is important.

An algorithm of workforce scheduling for maintenance optimization

Workforce scheduling for maintenance and personal assignment concept are very important for all manufacturers. Most of them have to ensure that their staffs are to be fitted to their jobs and responsibilities. Especially, the maintenance approach may require amount appropriate workforce or manpower for doing both of preventive and corrective maintenance activities, whilst the maintenance scheduling and algorithm concept are useful for solving and fitting the personal assignment, with neither of overstaffing nor understaffing. Our concept and algorithm have developed from previous research studies and fulfilled the niches of those studies such as the complying to the labor law (the consecutive day work and day off), the mixture policy of preventive and corrective maintenance, probabilistic failure rate and deterministic of staff assignment, cyclic shift working and equality of staffs’ day off on weekend. However, we did not avoid minimizing labour cost, and utilized worker activities. So, our algorithm will be a new managerial solution for all manufacturers who have a problem with their maintainability about staff assignment. Especially, the manufacturers who have continuously worked 24 hours and 7 days, without any vacations such as airport, mass rapid transit, Just-In-Time manufacturer and so on. Most of them might be gotten the benefit and taken an advantage from this research study. Furthermore, our concept and algorithm of staff assignment can be applied to the service sector’s personal required for each shift and each day which is conformed to the probabilistic of customers’ demand for each period.

The Hospital for Special Surgery 1955 to 1972: T. Campbell Thompson Serves as Sixth Surgeon-in-Chief 1955-1963 Followed by Robert Lee Patterson, Jr. the Seventh Surgeon-in-Chief 1963-1972.

After two decades as the fifth Surgeon-in-Chief (1935-1955) of The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), Philip Duncan Wilson, MD (1886-1969) retired, having implemented, during his administration, major changes in the hospital. The first most important accomplishment was finalizing a formal affiliation with New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center in 1955 and moving adjacent to the medical campus at 535 East 70th Street. The second was changing the name of the Hospital in 1940 from The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled to The Hospital for Special Surgery. During the two decades as Surgeon-in-Chief, Dr. Wilson was able to reestablish the hospital as a foremost hospital in the orthopedic world. The Board of Managers of the New York Society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled appointed T. Campbell Thompson, MD (1902-1986), as the sixth Surgeon-in-Chief of The Hospital for Special Surgery. He assumed that office on July 1, 1955. During the previous year, Dr. Thompson served as President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Philip D. Wilson, upon his retirement as Surgeon-in-Chief, took on a newly created role as Director of Research at HSS. In 1962, adverse relations between The Hospital for Special Surgery and New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center seriously threatened the continued affiliation agreement between the two hospitals. Because of difficulties over a faculty and staff appointment, Dr. Thompson resigned from the office of Surgeon-in-Chief. He was replaced in1963 by Robert Lee Patterson, Jr., MD (1907-1994), who had first joined the staff of The Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled in 1936 as a Visiting Surgeon.

Does the Journal Impact Factor Help Make a Good Indicator of Academic Performance?

Is journal impact factor a good measure of research merit? This question has assumed a great importance after the notification of the University Grants Commission (Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education) Regulations, 2009 on September 23rd 2009. Now publication of research papers/articles in reputed journals has become an important factor in assessment of the academic performance of teachers in colleges and universities in India. One of the measures of reputation and academic standard (rank or importance) of a journal is the so-called ‘Impact Factor.’ This study makes a detailed statistical analysis of Journal Impact Factors across the disciplines. It finds that if journal impact factor is used to assess the academic performance of individuals (for the purpose of selection, promotion, etc) and it is not borne in mind that due to vast differences in the nature of distribution of impact factors across the disciplines they are not justifiably comparable, a below average scholar in the one discipline will rank higher and will be honored (and benefitted) more than another scholar in some other discipline (wherein the journal impact factor is adversely skewed). It may be noted that in the university departments there are specializations with low impact factor journals and other specializations with very high impact factor journals. But the teachers/researchers of different specializations in the departments compete with each other for promotion. In this milieu, the researchers with an unfortunate specialization (wherein the journal impact factor is mingy or adversely skewed) would receive injustice is plainly predetermined. Therefore, a measure such as the hindex which quantifies the quality as well as productivity of an individual author/scholar would be more appropriate than the journal impact factor. The h-index may be fine-tuned and hence the g-index or Tol’s index may be used. Nevertheless, even the h-index and the Tol’s index would not be appropriate to the purpose of interdisciplinary or inter-specialization comparisons. A more informed and balanced judgment of the expert committee for selection, appointment and promotion purposes will continue to be extremely important.

Improving Emergency Department Door-to-Electrocardiogram Time in ST Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

For patients presenting to emergency departments (ED) with a suspected acute coronary syndrome, time of arrival until an electrocardiogram is performed is an important quality metric. In our ED routine quality monitoring found that mean door-to-electrocardiogram (D2ECG) time did not meet our goal and national benchmark of 10 minutes. We describe the use of quality improvement tools to assess and decrease our D2ECG time. The ED quality improvement committee identified 2 main causes of D2ECG >10 minutes: (1) priority delay (eg, completing triage and registration data entry tasks before ECG), and (2) failure to recognize patients with nonchest pain ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) symptoms. Interventions included are-designed patient prioritization process for triage, staff assignment to provide immediate ECG testing, continuous feedback and a triage staff educational initiative to identify high risk patients. Mean time to ECG before intervention was 21.28 +/- 5.49 minutes. After the intervention period, the mean D2ECG for STEMI decreased to 9.47 +/- 2.48 minutes representing a 55% improvement. A D2ECG time of less than 10 minutes time can be achieved by the implementation of patient prioritization triage process changes, assigning specific personnel to obtain the ECG, continuous feedback by reviewing cases that fall outside the 10-minute goal and by ED staff education regarding STEMI symptoms other than chest pain.

Medical Staff Organization in Nursing Homes: Scale Development and Validation

To construct a multidimensional self-report scale to measure nursing home (NH) medical staff organization (NHMSO) dimensions and then pilot the scale using a national survey of medical directors to provide data on its psychometric properties. Instrument development process consisting of the proceedings from the Nursing Home Physician Workforce Conference and focus groups followed by cognitive interviews, which culminated in a survey of a random sample of American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) affiliated medical directors. Analyses were conducted on surveys matched to Online Survey Certification and Reporting (OSCAR) data from freestanding nonpediatric nursing homes. A total of 202 surveys were available for analysis and comprised the final sample. Dimensions were identified that measured the extent of medical staff organization in nursing homes and included staff composition, appointment process, commitment (physiciancohesion; leadership turnover/capability), departmentalization (physician supervision, autonomy and interdisciplinary involvement), documentation, and informal dynamics. The items developed to measure each dimension were reliable (Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.81 to 0.65).Intercorrelations among the scale dimensions provided preliminary evidence of the construct validity of the scale. This report, for the first time ever, defines and validates NH medical staff organization dimensions, a critical first step in determining the relationship between physician practice and the quality of care delivered in the NH.

The White House Office of Public Liaison

The Office of Public Liaison has been a specialized unit of the White House staff since the Gerald Ford administration, though the basic features of the staff assignment can be traced to Franklin D. Roosevelt. The OPL has helped presidents achieve their goals in multiple ways: to mobilize public support for presidential initiatives in order to sell programs to Congress; to factor groups' views into White House policy making; and to serve as an adjunct to the reelection campaign. The unit also has provided symbolic representation for groups in the White House, helping them with “casework” and interpreting their policy positions and internal group politics to administration decision makers. Within the White House, the OPL staff has operated within different systems of reporting and coordination, but the generic roles played by the staff members tend to be similar across administrations, as are the strategic design choices that administrations must make.

Evaluating the Capability and Cost of a Mass Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination Clinic via Computer Simulation

To determine if a mass influenza/pneumococcal vaccination clinic could vaccinate 15,000 clients in 17 h; optimize personnel configuration to maximize number of clients vaccinated; and estimate costs (opportunity and clinic) and revenue. The author used a discrete event simulation model to estimate the throughput of the vaccination clinic as the number of clients (arrival intensity) increased and as staff members were reassigned to different workflows. We represented workflows for 3 client types: "Medicare,'' "Special,'' and "Cash,'' where "Special'' designates Medicare clients who needed assistance moving through the clinic. The costs of supplies, staff sal-aries, and client waiting time were included in the model. We compared the "original'' model based on the staffing and performance of an actual clinic to an ;;optimized'' model in which staff were reassigned to optimize number of clients vaccinated. A maximum of 13,138 and 15,094 clients in the original and optimized models, respectively, were vaccinated. At the original arrival rate (8300 clients vaccinated in 17 h), supplies cost about $191,000 and were the most expensive component of the clinic operation in both models. However, as the arrival intensity increased to 140%, the "Medicare'' client opportunity cost increased from $23,887 and $21,474 to $743,510 and $740,760 for the simulated original and optimized models, respectively. The clinic could reach their target of 15,000 vaccinees with 2 fewer staff members by rearranging staff assignments from "Special" to "Medicare'' and "Cash'' stations. Computer simulation can help public health officials determine the most efficient use of staff, machinery, supplies, and time.

Teaching - Intensive Appointments in Law Schools: Is this the Way to Recognise and Value Excellence in Teaching?

The intense focus by government and universities on research has been pressed most often at the expense of quality learning and teaching in universities. There is some irony here. The core purpose of universities is the provision of both research and education, such purpose being identified in all the universities’ statutes. For example s6 of the University of New South Wales Act 1989 (NSW), the objects section, provides that both education and research are principal functions. Nowhere in this objects provision (or in any of the other university statutes) is there any suggestion of subservience of one function to another. Further, one only has to ask graduates what they remember and value from their years at law school to realise that it is the teaching which informs their view – both the excellent and the abysmal. Research, on the other hand, is often equated with a closed door and sign indicating that the occupant is on leave. The suggestion, therefore, of the appointment of certain staff to teaching-intensive, or teaching-only, positions is somewhat curious. If the objective of the exercise is to recognise and value excellence in teaching, then the models proposed do not satisfy that objective. This paper examines the ways in which universities value education and whether excellence in legal education can be advanced by the appointment of teaching-intensive academic staff.

Legislation on school governors' power to appoint educators : friend or foe?

The establishment of school governing bodies represents a significant decentralisation of power in the South African school system. The South African Schools Act (Act 84 of 1996) plays an important role in encouraging the principle of partnership in and mutual responsibility for education. With the institution of school governing bodies (SGBs), SASA was aimed to give effect to the principle of the democratisation of schooling by affording meaningful power over their schools to the school-level stakeholders including the governors serving on SGBs. While such decentralisation could well be expected to mean an increase in democratic participation in the governance of schools, this is not necessarily the case. The picture that emerges from the analysis made in this article is that of the state encouraging participation but cautioning against too much involvement and even taking steps to limit the involvement and powers of stakeholders in the appointment of staff. Governors may well view what has happened since 1994 as a promise first fulfilled but later disappointed and frustrated.

Project-Based Transplant Management as a Research Statistical Support

This paper proposes a transplant management method based on project management concepts applied to organ transplantation processes in all phases to provide statistical support for evidence based medicine (EBM) research. The transplant is viewed as a project composed by phases: (1) Initiation starts with the acknowledgement of transplant necessity. Also, the restrictions and hypothesis are determined thereby defining the medical protocols, the psychosocial attendance strategies, and performance criteria. (2) Planning formulates and revises transplant protocols that contain schedules, activities, risk identification, staff assignment, medication, examinations, evaluations, and operative interventions. Transplant requirements and stakeholders are identified to establish a resource management plan and transplant control. (3) Executing includes committing resources and coordinating implementation of transplant protocols and plans. The patient's progress is constantly evaluated in relation to quality assurance procedures. (4) Controlling performance measures and parameters with limits are used to take corrective actions subject to effectiveness evaluations that monitor transplant activities. (5) The closing reviews the collected documentation to avert potential problems with future transplants. Software was developed for transplant management based on the proposed methodology with a database and functional that statistically support primary and secondary studies, which provide parameters and definite variables for research focused on treatment, diagnoses, tracking, prognoses, and causality. The proposed methodology for transplant management gives statistical support for EBM research in the form of randomized clinical trials, cohort, case-controlled, transverse studies, and case reports. The software may be improved to provide a national/international database and research tool.

Competence-driven project portfolio selection, scheduling and staff assignment

This paper presents a new model for project portfolio selection, paying specific attention to competence development. The model seeks to maximize a weighted average of economic gains from projects and strategic gains from the increment of desirable competencies. As a sub-problem, scheduling and staff assignment for a candidate set of selected projects must also be optimized. We provide a nonlinear mixed-integer program formulation for the overall problem, and then propose heuristic solution techniques composed of (1) a greedy heuristic for the scheduling and staff assignment part, and (2) two (alternative) metaheuristics for the project selection part. The paper outlines experimental results on a real-world application provided by the E-Commerce Competence Center Austria and, for a slightly simplified instance, presents comparisons with the exact solution computed by CPLEX.

Staff Assignment Using Network Flow Techniques

Staff scheduling, also known as timetabling, is a task to be done in any organization with several employees. In this paper, we revisit its modeling as a minimum cost maximum flow problem in a network, which has the decisive advantage to be solvable with a polynomial time algorithm. Besides the usual availability and skills constraints, we consider additional constraints: targeted workload, satisfaction of employees seen as rotation constraints, tasks requiring several employees, pairs of employees which can not be assigned to a same task. We consider several cost specifications: types of employees, overtime, delayed tasks, profit associated with the execution of a task. We also analyze the limits of our model, showing types of constraints that transform the problem into an NP-hard problem.