Personnel Task Research Articles

A constraint-based approach for the shift design personnel task scheduling problem with equity

This paper presents an industrial problem which arises in a company specialized in drug evaluation and pharmacology research. The aim is to build employee timetables covering the demand given by a set of fixed tasks. The optimality criterion concerns the equity of the workload sharing. A solution to this problem is the assignment of all tasks whose resulting working shifts respect tasks requirements as well as legal and organizational constraints. Scheduling problems usually consider a fixed set of shifts which have to be assigned to a given number of employees whereas in our problem shifts are not fixed and are deduced from the task assignment. In the following, we refer to this problem as the shift-design personnel task scheduling problem with an equity criterion (SDPTSP-E), in reference to the shift minimization personnel task scheduling problem (SMPTSP). Even if the SDPTSP-E is related to several problems, none of them allow to grasp its full complexity. Consequently, we propose a dedicated method based on constraint programming. Several branching and exploration strategies are proposed and tested.

GRP-081 Health Information Technology and Stressors: How to Measure and Eliminate Them

BackgroundThe daily tasks of hospital personnel are regularly interrupted. Unexpected breaks in work patterns act as supplementary cognitive burdens on health workers (hence the term stressors) and can lead to...

Network flow models for intraday personnel scheduling problems

Personnel scheduling problems can be decomposed into two stages. In the first stage for each employee the working days have to be fixed. In the second stage for each day of the planning period an intraday scheduling problem has to be solved. It consists of the assignment of shifts to the employees who have to work on the day and for each working period of an employee a task assignment such that the demand of all tasks for personnel is covered. In Robinson et al. (Burke and Trick (Eds.), Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on the Practice and Theory of Automated Timetabling, 18th August–20th August 2004, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, pp. 561–566, 2005), the intraday problem has been formulated as a maximum flow problem. The assumptions are that, employees are qualified for all tasks, their shifts are given, and they are allowed to change tasks during the day. In this work, we extend the network flow model to cover the case where not all employees are qualified to perform all tasks. The model is further extended to be able to calculate shifts of employees for the given day, assuming that an earliest starting time, a latest finishing time, and a minimal working time are given. Labour cost can be also taken into account by solving a minimum cost network flow problem.

An ergonomic evaluation of tasks of healthcare unit personnel in different shifts in General Hospitals in West Bengal

Background: The job challenges faced by healthcare unit personnel are psychological, temporal and physically demanding. Studies on psychological stress on nurses are available but unfortunately studies on physiological load or temporal analysis of tasks of nurses or attendants in general hospitals in India have not been reported so far. Objective: The study aims at evaluating the perception of workload in different shifts among healthcare unit personnel and to develop better ergonomic management protocols. Participants: The study population comprised 150 staff nurses and 175 attendants working in three government hospitals in West Bengal, India. Method: The amount of time spent by nurses and attendants performing different tasks were recorded throughout the shifts using an activity analysis chart along with perceived exertion rating and heart rate throughout the shifts. Results: About 26.8% of the total working time throughout the day was spent in “direct care”. In case of general duty attendants 24.4% of the duty time was spent in indirect care. Time spent in different tasks differed by shifts. More leisure time occurs in the night shift compared to the morning and afternoon shifts but duration of shift was longer (11 to 12 hours). Perceived exertion rating of healthcare unit personnel in night shift was more compared to other shifts but physiological response did not reflect that. Conclusion: There were temporal variations of job demand in healthcare units. So, ergonomic orientation of layouts of departments, arrangement of activities, ergonomic way of keeping the records and use of proper communication system, recommended reducing the stress of healthcare unit personnel.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijosh.v2i2.6566 International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, Vol 2. No 2 (2012) 14-22

Suboptimal perception of illness due to self-realization constraints impairs psychological welfare in surgical patients

Recognizing patients' psychological problems and understanding their social needs constitute important tasks for medical personnel, because these issues substantially contribute to overall outcome of treatment. People afflicted with surgical diseases need to determine the sense of everyday pursuits and activities and balance it against the therapeutic process. The aim of the study was to assess the relationships between the perception of illness, satisfaction with life and meaning of life among surgical patients. A total of 225 patients undergoing surgical treatment in the thoracic surgery department were enrolled in the questionnaire study using Multidimensional Essence of Disease and Illness Scale (MEDIS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and Life Meaningfulness Scale (LMS). Relationships between variables were assessed with Pearson's correlation. The analysis disclosed negative correlations between the perception of the disease in the light of self-realization constraints and the feeling of satisfaction with one's life (R = -0.25; P < 0.01), an affective component of the LMS (R = -0.29; P < 0.001) and the total result of the LMS (R = -0.21; P < 0.01). Similar relationships were observed between the MEDIS dimension describing a disease as a social withdrawal and the total result of the SWLS (R = -0.21; P < 0.05) and the affective component of the LMS (R = -0.23; P < 0.01). Suboptimal hospitalization-related perception of the disease due to self-realization constraints profoundly impairs psychological welfare of patients and may exert negative impact on the overall outcome of treatment. We believe that surgical patients require early psychological, social and spiritual support to prevent these harmful psycho-social consequences of illness and hospital stay. Preoperative clinical application of presented scales may be useful to select patients who require more psychological attention in providing information about planned surgical treatment and expected outcomes.

Algorithms for large scale Shift Minimisation Personnel Task Scheduling Problems

In this paper we introduce the Personnel Task Scheduling Problem (PTSP) and provide solution algorithms for a variant of this problem known as the Shift Minimisation Personnel Task Scheduling Problem (SMPTSP). The PTSP is a problem in which a set of tasks with fixed start and finish times have to be allocated to a heterogenous workforce. Personnel work in shifts with fixed start and end times and have skills that enable them to perform some, but not all tasks. In other words, some personnel are qualified to only perform a subset of all tasks. The objective is to minimise the overall cost of personnel required to perform the given set of tasks. In this paper we introduce a special case in which the only cost incurred is due to the number of personnel (shifts) that are used. This variant of the PTSP is referred to as the Shift Minimisation Personnel Task Scheduling Problem (SMPTSP). While our motivation is a real-life Personnel Task Scheduling Problem, the formulation may also be applied to machine shop scheduling. We review the existing literature, provide mathematical formulations, and develop a heuristic approach for the SMPTSP.

The Emerging Roles of Coaches in the Malaysian Dual Training System

This paper discusses the new task of industry personnel as coaches in the National Dual Training System (NDTS), a newly introduced training initiative for producing k-workers in Malaysia. The decision to introduce this initiative was made by the Malaysian Cabinet on the 19th May 2004 with the hope that it will resolve the issue of skilled workers being produced, but not meeting the needs of the industry. The initiative began in 2005 for four skill sets, i.e., manufacturing tools (tool and dies), automatic control process, automotive mechanics and plant operations. In this new system, the industry plays an important role to ensure 70 percent of the training is carried out at the workplace and the rest 30 percent of the training will be carried out at the training institution premises. After completion of the four semester program, apprentices are awarded the NDTS k-Worker Certificate. Since the industry personnel plays a greater role than before through the newly introduced system, the understanding of new tasks of industry personnel as coaches to the apprentices is explored. The analysis of literature shows that different levels of personnel, i.e., executive, supervisory and senior technician require different skill sets in carrying out the coaching tasks. Based on this requirement, therefore, the potential enhancement programs required to equip these personnel with necessary skills can be developed.

ASHA Will Roll Out Associates Program in 2011

ASHA Will Roll Out Associates Program in 2011

Legal issues in school health services and school psychology: Guidelines for the administration of medication

AbstractThe use of psychoactive medications to augment behavioral and psychosocial interventions in schools has significantly increased within the last few decades. Yet, advising, administrating, and supervising the dispensation of medication (including psychostimulants and psychoactive substances) tend to be some of the most risky tasks of school administrators and personnel. Medication administration is not only an increasing source of civil and administrative liability for school districts, but may lead to legal questions for school counselors, psychologists, and social workers. In response to growing concerns, this article provides guidelines necessary for safe medication administration and monitoring in the school setting. Federal, state, and district guidelines are reviewed. Possible implications for school and district policy makers, principals, teachers, school nurses, school psychologists, social workers, counselors, and parents are outlined. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Technology Focus: Well Control (January 2009)

Technology Focus In the last 6 years, the rig count has more than doubled from approximately 1,600 rigs in 2002 to more than 3,500 rigs operating worldwide in 2008. This phenomenal growth has been supported by increasing oil prices that have gone from less than USD 20/bbl in January 2002 to almost USD 146/bbl in July 2008 before falling off drastically in the following weeks. Assuming normal staffing and crew-rotation requirements, more than 30,000 people were needed to operate the 1,900 rigs that were added to the fleet during this period. Experienced personnel are spread thin as new hires are brought onboard to staff the rigs. This influx of new personnel into the industry created the additional burden of needing to train the new hires in the fundamentals of well control. It also makes it necessary to train an increasing number of personnel at the supervisory level as they advance to fill new positions. Most people agree that the rig crew is the first line of defense against well-control problems. They are the "boots on the ground" that are charged with recognizing the first signs of impending trouble. On the other end of the spectrum is the increasing number of operator and service-company personnel who are focused on advancing basic well-control principles to accommodate deeper, higher-temperature wells by use of exotic oil-based drilling fluids and by use of various methods of managed-pressure drilling. The advanced well-control theories are supported by increasingly sophisticated computer models that account for numerous physical changes that become significant only at the elevated pressures and temperatures and increasing depths associated with these extraordinary wells. Interestingly enough, advanced well-control modeling is finding an increased number of uses in less-extreme wells and actually is assisting with teaching the fundamentals that apply to the broader class of wells. The monumental tasks of training new personnel, training more personnel to higher levels of competency, and developing models to handle the extraordinary drilling environments accurately are all being met with surprisingly good results. Developments in well-control modeling are providing useful insight into actual downhole conditions and fluid behavior that enables making much better decisions—both in planning and in actual well-control events. Well Control additional reading available at the SPE eLibrary: www.spe.org SPE 112761 • "Simulations Comparing Different Initial Responses to Kicks Taken During Managed-Pressure Drilling" by Asis K. Das, SPE, Blade Energy Partners, et al. SPE 115019 • "Validation of Blowout-Rate Calculations for Subsea Wells" by P. Oudeman, SPE, Shell SPE 113842 • "RFID Actuation of Self-Powered Downhole Tools" by P.M. Snider, SPE, Marathon Oil Company, et al.

Design Development and Implementation of the Human-System Interface for Lungmen Nuclear Project

The Lungmen Nuclear Power Project (LMNPP), under construction in Taiwan, consists of two GE Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) units, each with 1350 MW electrical output. Major Human-System Interfaces (HSIs) of LMNPP are different from traditional operating BWRs or ABWRs. Video display units (VDUs) are the main human-system interface for operators to manipulate and to know the status of the equipment and plant information. Based upon NUREG-0711, the applicable human factors engineering (HFE) guideline in the design of HSIs has been adopted. An important aspect of the Lungmen HFE program has been the direct involvement of the end user, Taiwan Power Company (TPC), throughout the design development and implementation to ensure that the process for the design is compliant with the HFE principles, and that the necessary displays, control, and alarms are provided to support the identified personnel tasks. This paper reviews the applicable HFE principles and the HSI design process including verification and validation (V&V) process in the design of HSIs for the LMNPP. This paper also presents three topics of interest in the LMNPP HSI design development and implementation process-validation with simulator, alarm auto reset, and VDU operational configuration strategy. The objective for developing the VDU operational configuration strategy was, after appropriate V&V, to reinforce operation discipline and optimize operator crew task assignments and workload during typical operations, and to confirm the need for an intensive training program that addresses the knowledge and skill requirements of the operators to meet the task characteristics and the responses of the plant processes. The results to date and implications for going forward from this process are also presented.

Human Factors in Space Exploration: Fitts' Law Activity for Middle School Girls

Space exploration is a demanding endeavor, filled with extremely demanding tasks for both astronauts and ground personnel, making it a natural application area for Human Factors Engineering (HFE). This paper describes on ongoing project to develop and deliver hands-on HFE activities that expose middle-school age students to concepts in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas, while leveraging the backdrop of space exploration to make the activities fun and exciting. This pilot activity focused on a well-known HFE result known as “Fitts' Law”, a function describing aimed movement time as a function of task variables. The activity included introduction to HFE, description of Fitts' Law, experimental data collection and graphing, and a design component relevant to Fitts' Law (i.e., emergency button placement on a control panel). Initial offerings of this activity indicate high potential for success and broad impact.

Development of Human Performance Measures for Human Factors Validation in the Advanced MCR of APR-1400

Main control room (MCR) man-machine interface (MMI) design of advanced nuclear power plants (NPPs) such as APR (advanced power reactor)-1400 can be validated through performance-based tests to determine whether it acceptably supports safe operation of the plant. In this paper, plant performance, personnel task performance, situation awareness, workload, teamwork, and anthropometric/physiological factor are considered for the human performance evaluation. For the development of human performance measures, attention is paid to considerations and constraints such as the changed environment in an advanced MCR, needs for a practical and economic evaluation, and suitability of evaluation criteria. Measures generally used in various industries and empirically proven to be useful are adopted as the main measures with some modifications. In addition, complementary measures are developed to overcome some of the limitations associated with the main measures. The development of the measures is addressed based on theoretical and empirical background. Finally we discuss the way in which the measures can be effectively integrated. The HUPESS (HUman Performance Evaluation Support System) which is in development is also briefly introduced.

A Training Program for Unlicensed Assistive Personnel

In many school districts, school nurses are assigned multiple schools with responsibility for the health care needs of all students at those schools. Because they cannot be physically present at all sites simultaneously, it is necessary to delegate tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP). Educating and supervising UAP are critical steps in the delegation process. This article shows how one school district developed and implemented a training program for UAP using its school nursing staff.

Úlohy zdravotníckeho pracovníka v aktívnej účasti zapojenia rodiny do liečby u pacienta s poruchami myslenia

Autorka sa zaoberá problematikou aktívneho zapojenia rodiny do liečby u pacienta s poruchami myslenia ako jednou z dôležitých a neodmysliteľných úloh zdravotníckych pracovníkov - lekárov a sestier. Analyzuje proces prekonávania zdravotnej kríze v rodine, ktorá sa stará a podporuje svojho chorého člena rodiny s poruchou myslenia, k týmto aspektom práce sestry autorka uvádza praktické návody a rady. Vzájomnou spoluprácou zdravotníckych pracovníkov a rodiny sa vytvára prostredie, ktoré obnovuje alebo zreorganizuje funkciu rodiny počas choroby a rekonvalescencie pacienta. Cieľom štúdia problematiky autorky bolo poukázať na okrajovo vnímanú problematiku ošetrovateľskej praxe o pacientov so špecifickými poruchami. Po členení porúch myslenia na dynamické poruchy myslenia, štrukturálno-formálne poruchy myslenia autorka uvádza i poruchy, pri ktorých je postihnutá celá osobnosť - mentálna retardácia u detí a dospelých, demencia. K jednotlivým poruchám myslenia uvádza praktické návody a rady ako pristupovať k pacientom s poruchami myslenia a tiež ako zmobilizovať a motivovať rodinu do tohoto procesu, do tejto spolupráce. Ďalším cieľom autorky, okrem teoretickej analýzy problematiky, bolo rozšíriť poznatky v uvedenej problematike na praktickej úrovni - poskytnutím odporučení pre klinickú prax, ktoré autorka premietla v pravidlách komunikácie s pacientmi s poruchami myslenia. V závere poukazuje na význam spolupráce lekárov a sestier pri zapojení rodiny do liečby svojho chorého rodinného príslušníka, ďalej úlohám sestry pri manažovaní tohto procesu.

신형원전 주제어실 인적요소 검증을 위한 인적수행도 평가척도 개발

Main control room(MCR) man-machine interface(MMI) design of advanced nuclear power plants(NPPs) such as APR(advanced power reactor)-1400 can be validated through performance-based tests to determine whether it acceptably supports safe operation of the plant. In this work, plant performance, personnel task, situation awareness, workload, teamwork, and anthropometric/physiological factor are considered as factors for the human performance evaluation. For development of measures in each of the factors, techniques generally used in various industries and empirically proven to be useful are adopted as main measures and some helpful techniques are developed in order to complement the main measures. Also the development of the measures is addressed based on the theoretical background. Finally we discuss the way in which the measures can be effectively integrated and then HUPESS(HUman Performance Evaluation Support System) which is in development based on the integrated way is briefly introduced.

Informing Systems in Business Environments: A Purpose-Focused View

Introduction "The purpose of Informing Science is to encourage the sharing of knowledge and collaboration among the wide variety of fields that use information technology to inform clients" (INSITE 2004). Informing systems should be cost effective. In mission critical applications, their systematic examination should be conducted from either the viewpoint of information users--the clients or information disseminators, whichever matters more. The examination should be performed for all the identified factors that are of operationally and potentially significant impact. Current MIS textbooks are deficient with regard to the role of end users and even more so about the information disseminators. The texts are overly technology laden, with oversimplified coverage of the fundamentals on data, information, and particularly the role of informing in business. A summary of research published by Huang et al., (1999 p. 4) supports this statement in the following manner: "Many best-practice reports witness that information technology alone is not the driver for knowledge management in companies today. Information and knowledge experienced by members of an organization should be the focus, not the system or technology per se.... Technology and systems are facilitators." This paper points out the lack of adequate exposure of business students to examining and analyzing informing systems that they certainly will face in their professional career. This analysis is not a technical task for IT personnel; it is a task mainly for information disseminators and informing clients. To address this gap a technology-independent rational inquiry into informing systems is presented. This inquiry focuses mainly on informing in business environments, where in more or less free-market conditions, business organizations operate. Depending on the primary concerns of the situation, informing systems need to be examined from either the viewpoint of information disseminators or information users. In Informing Science, the latter are referred to as informing clients. The clients' viewpoint is subject to extensive empirical studies within informing science and partially within the MIT Information Quality Program, where the principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) are broadly used (see the AIMQ methodology (Lee et al., 2002). This approach focuses on information products, services, users' preferences, and requirement specifications. On the other hand, the information disseminators' viewpoint is less emphasized or even ignored. This inquiry is based on an operations research approach--the modified purpose-focused framework for assessing information quality as presented at the 9th International Conference on Information Quality at MIT (Gackowski, 2004a). The paper consists of two major parts: (1) A short examination of the most popular MIS textbooks and the pertinent research in this domain, and (2) An outline of problems one encounters during examination of informing systems. It offers also a rationale for two modifications of the Informing Science Framework defined by Cohen (1999). Literature Review What do the most popular textbooks say? No author mentions the art and science of informing. The concept of informing systems is not discussed. Most authors mention some quality attributes of data/information in an eclectic manner. The best our MIS students can find are piecemeal references to some quality attributes of data/information. Usually they are discussed in a sequence with no underlying logical structure. O'Brien (2003, 2004 p. 15-16), the author of the two most popular textbooks on MIS as judged by the number of published editions, defines "Information as data placed in a meaningful and useful context" (glossary), and "Information quality as the degree to which information has content, form, and time characteristics that give it value to specific end users." He suggests an examination of 15 attributes of quality of information within a three-dimensional framework: (1) time, (2) content, and (3) form, with short comments, but with no reference to the informing processes or systems. …

Standard and alternative methods of stretcher carriage: performance, human factors, and cardiorespiratory responses

Transporting a casualty on a stretcher is a common task for medical and military personnel. Stretchers are usually carried by hand, but distributing the load to other parts of the body may have advantages. To examine alternative carriage methods, 11 soldiers walked on a treadmill at 4.8 km/h while performing two person carries of a stretcher containing an 80-kg manikin. In separate trials, soldiers carried the stretcher using: (1) hand carriage, (2) shoulder straps, (3) a specially designed harness that allowed load shifting between the hips and shoulders (hip-shoulder system), and (4) a clip that fitted on the belt of standard military load carrying equipment (LCE) and placed the stretcher mass mainly on the hips. With each system, subjects walked until volitional fatigue or 30 min. While walking, expired gases and heart rates were obtained and subjects rated their perceived exertion (Borg Scale). At the conclusion of all four trials, subjects rated each system on a number of subjective measures. Results showed that average (±SD) carriage times were 2.7±1.4, 14.5±8.3, 25.4±8.1, and 21.7±9.9 min with the hand, shoulder, hip-shoulder and LCE systems respectively (p<0.01). Hand carriage resulted in considerably more cardiorespiratory stress (higher heart rate and minute ventilation, p<0.05) than the other three systems, but there were few consistent differences among the other three systems. Perceived exertion in the upper body was less with the hip-shoulder and LCE systems than with the other two systems (p<0.05). Subjects preferred the hip-shoulder and LCE systems overall and for specific subjective characteristics such as comfort, ease of use and stability (p<0.01). These data indicate that moving the stretcher load from the hands and placing that load on the shoulders and/or hips results in improved performance, reduced cardiorespiratory stress and favourable subjective evaluations. Further developmental work should focus on the hipshoulder and LCE systems.

Recent Legal and Policy Developments in Special Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) has been instrumental in ensuring that qualified students with disabilities receive a free appro priate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment. Determining the parameters of FAPE, however, has been a daunting task for school personnel and especially for school administrators. Principals find themselves increasingly challenged by a multitude of legal and policy issues regarding special education that are often dif ficult to understand yet necessary to address.

Religión y política en Ambrosio de Milán

The article examines the figure of Ambrose of Milan in order to analyse the role assumed by the bishops in the Church-Empire relationship in the pars occidentalis. The decision of the Emperor Constantine to declare Christianity to be a licit religion and formal promulgation by his successor, Theodosius, of Christianity as the Empire's official religion meant a change of task for ecclesiastical personnel within the framework of the Empire. We can observe -from contemporary sources and historiography on the theme- how Ambrose guided various Emperors in their mission of «ruling» a Christian Empire, while marking out the patterns for this new relationship, thus setting the basic guidelines for the «complex» Church-Empire relationship for the emerging Church, and which still obtain in our own days.