Value Analysis Research Articles

Behavior Patterns in Consuming and Disseminating News and Information in Uinsu Male and Female Students

The objective of this study is to examine and determine how male and female students at the State Islamic University of North Sumatra (UINSU) behave differently in terms of how they consume and share news and information. A quantitative survey with 100 participants from 8 faculties is the methodology employed. SPSS version 25 was used to process the data, and one-way ANOVA was used for data analysis. A questionnaire intended to assess news and information consumption and dissemination was used to gather data. The one-way ANOVA analysis's value of 0.401, which is greater than 0.05, indicates that there is no discernible difference between male and female UINSU students' news and information consumption and dissemination behavior patterns.

Predictive value of serum βHCG level in ectopic pregnancy: A cross sectional study.

Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is a potentially life-threatening emergency. We investigate the predictive value of serum βHCG level and it's changes from the baseline to the 4th and 7th days after single dose (SD) methotrexate (MTX) treatment in successful treatment of tubal EP. It is important for early diagnosis of EP. In this cross-sectional study, 690 women with tubal EP and under treatment with SD MTX were evaluated. Successful and failed groups were analyzed on the baseline, 4th and 7th days of MTX treatment. Data were analyzed using SPSS22 software. All p values of less than 0/05 were considered satistically significant. SD MTX treatment was successful in 584 (84.7%) patients. The mean baseline ßHCG value was 882.35 ± 430.76 in the successful group and 1083.99 ± 1080.25 in the failed group. There was a 19.53% decrease in ßHCG values between the baseline and 4th days in the successful group and a 12.94% increase in the failed group (p < 0.001). On days baseline, 4 and 7; receiver operating characteristic curve analysis's value was 504.5, 429, 279 for cut off; 58%, 73%, 81% for sensitivity and 51%, 52%, 55% for specificity, respectively. A decrease in the ßHCG value and/or a cut-off decrease of 59.9% on the baseline, 4th day and 81.6% between the baseline and 7th days, can predict the successful treatment of tubal EP with SD MTX.

The importance of β-hCG values in prediction of the effectiveness of single dose methotrexate therapy in tubal ectopic pregnancy.

To investigate the importance of β-hCG values on the day of onset and on the fourth and seventh day after treatment in the effectiveness of treatment in tubal ectopic pregnancies treated with a single dose of methotrexate (MTX). One hundred sixty-two patients with tubal ectopic pregnancy treated with a single dose MTX treatment were retrospectively evaluated. β-hCG values and changes on Days 0, 4 and 7 of the MTX treatment successful group and the unsuccessful group were analyzed. MTX treatment was successful in 125 (77.2%) and unsuccessful in 37. When the β-hCG values on Days 0, 4 and 7 were compared in pairs, the differences between groups were statistically significant (p < 0.001). The mean β-hCG value was 783.0 in the MTX successful group and 1802.0 in unsuccessful group (p < 0.001). There was a 21.6% decrease in β-hCG values between Days 0 and day 4 in the MTX successful group and a 25.7% increase in the MTX unsuccessful group (p < 0.001). On Days 0, 4 and 7, ROC curve analysis's values are , respectively; 755/939/486 for cut off, 86.49/83.78/94.59% for sensitivity and 48.80/69.60/72.36% for specificity. Success rates of single-dose MTX treatment increase in tubal ectopic pregnancies with low initial β-hCG value. Patients with a decrease in β-hCG value and/or a cut-off decrease of 20% or more on the fourth day of treatment can be called for weekly β-hCG monitoring without the need for close follow-up. The change in β-hCG between Day 0 and Day 4 can be used to predict the efficacy of treatment.

Analiza vrednosti kao mehanizam za redukovanje kompleksnosti izbora sistema resursa za agilna/virtuelna preduzeća u kontekstu iIndustrije 4.0

The selection of the resources system (SRS) is an important element in the integration/project of Agile/Virtual Enterprises (A/V E) because its performance is dependent of this selection, and even of its creation. However, it remains a difficult matter to solve because is still a very complex and uncertain problem. We propose that using Value Analysis (VA) in the pre-selection of resources phase represents a significant improvement of the SRS process. The current literature fails to formally address the pre-selection phase and none of the resource selection models incorporate the resources value and its consequence in the complexity of the selection process. Whereby, ours developed model with VA constitutes an innovative approach towards greater sustainability in the configuration of A/V E in the context of Industry 4.0, where a massive interconnection among enterprises is expected and consequently the increase of the selection process complexity. After the construction of a demonstrator tool for a set of the problem formulations, this paper verifies by computational results the thesis regarding the benefits of applying VA to the SRS process: VA reduces the complexity of the SRS process, even ensuring that the final system of resources achieve higher quality/value grade.

Value Analysis of the Machine-Building Enterprise Repair Facilities Activities

This article is devoted to the problems of the organizational structure optimization by the method of Value Analysis (VA). The analysis of the control system is of particular relevance in modern conditions. The purpose of this article is to adapt the Value Analysis to the management structure with the possibility of increasing efficiency. VA is a universal and highly effective method for optimizing parameters and other design, technological, organizational, economic characteristics of products, works and services. The hypothesis of the possibility of applying the Value Analysis to the organization of the enterprise subdivision work is considered. The article examines the VA tools using the example of an enterprise's repair service. An organizational structural-element model of the object is being built. Decomposition of functions is carried out. According to the level criterion, the functions are classified into main and auxiliary ones. The significance and functional costs are determined. A functional-cost diagram is constructed, which allows highlighting the functions with the greatest deviations that need to be improved. The VA stages are accompanied by graphical illustrations and tables which allow us to clearly demonstrate the logic of the method application to the work of the enterprise division. As a result, the optimal concept of the organization of the machine-building enterprise structural unit is formed.

Function analysis: going forward in value analysis

Stakeholders are key elements of complex technical projects. They can determine orientation, evolution and success of the project. They can cause uncertainties, changes in objectives and lead the project to failure. In this context, it is always more important to involve them in project decisions. Value Analysis (VA) is a means to introduce management and decision-making in design of complex projects, based on stakeholder needs. A method named Function Analysis aims at identifying and treating functions that the system has to complete. However, this functional approach does not allow some non-functional attributes to be included in the design phases. This is a lack identified by some engineering companies. The proposed paper aims at identifying the challenges encountered by the Stakeholder approaches to translate their needs into nonfunctional dimensions to deal with VA practices to design technical solutions. The research methodology combines a classical bibliographical analysis on VA that led us to show FA limits. Thus, we propose a Stakeholder-based “Non-Functional Analysis” to determine the non-functional attributes to characterize for the design of complex projects, and an industrial company’s feedback practices on a case study. This will allow practitioners to have a systems approach to Value in the context of a VA but it will also allow scientists to compare theory and lack of practice around the identification and characterization of the needs of a set of stakeholders.

Value Analysis and Quality Function Deployment of Some Competing Food Products

In today’s world, and for virtually any product or service; the customer is the king. The world is now different no doubt. Companies must ensure that their products continue to satisfy the consumer while remaining profitable. Most times, companies are faced with competitor(s), thriving to get a larger share of the market, or even sink their competitors, with strategies set in place. Four of the top competitive food products facing this problem in Nigeria were selected for the research work. The study is aimed at the utilization of Value Analysis (VA) and Quality Function Deployment (QFD) to critically analyze selected products with the intent of identifying ways of improvement, reducing the risk of shrinking market share, scheduling improvements and presenting these proposed improvements for implementation. The product ingredients as well as their functions were identified. Consumer needs were determined using questionnaires. Analysis involved combining Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences and Microsoft Excel and utilization of the principles of value analysis. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) was adopted at the creative stage of Value Analysis to further analyze consumer needs by linking them to the ingredients that meet such needs. The results indicate that for each competitive pair of products analyzed, a particular product seemed to be gradually taking the other off the market with a larger percentage of consumers being drawn to the superior product. With the focus on improving the less preferred products, using the House of Quality (HoQ) development and the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) process, implementation strategies were reviewed. From the study, it can be deduced that for the products to be successful in the market. The ingredients with the higher relative weights are to be given more emphasis. Also, it is essential that the voice of the customer is obtained at intervals to ensure that the products satisfy them at any point in time. Methods for enhancing the products based on the need of consumers were recommended.

The Role of Integration QFDVA in New Product Design to Achieve World-Class Manufacturing

In the competitive economy of today, those companies are to succeed that can design efficiently and produce productions that would be preferred by its customers over those of their competitors and Those companies which desire to find for their performance a position in world-class should have the capability to quickly, efficiently and effectively respond to changes in global markets. So plans must be come up with which may satisfy customers’ needs and lead to highquality products that can compete with other companies. This paper aims at developing the way we can use QFD(quality function deployment) and VA(value analysis) tools both theoretically and in case study. Out of Iranian cars, Pride was chosen because of quality drawbacks it suffers from and then the combining process of QFDVA was applied to its bodywork. Finally, the research hypothesis was analyzed by developing and distributing a questionnaire. SPSS software was used for analyzing the data. Combining QFD and VA in product design obviated one of the executive problems in QFD, i.e., inability of the latter in recognizing all customer needs. The optimal value of the features of product design can be assessed by using the above-mentioned tools. Assessment of these features provides for allocating resources optimally to the recognized functions. One other finding of the research is that using QFDVA in new product design (NPD) improves the competitive status of the company in relation to its competitors in global market through improving designing and, consequently, decreasing the cost, increasing the quality and boosting sales. This paper provides some information for car industry and has some implications for defeating the competitors in the competition ridden market of today.

A prototype/demonstrator tool to perform the resources selection in distributed/agile/virtual enterprises

In the context of a distributed/agile/virtual enterprise (D/A/VE) and due to the large number of potential candidate resources, it is important to make a selection of those that will give more guarantees in terms of success of this cooperation and bring better performance to D/A/VE. There are several projects of D/A/VE with different approaches to the selection process. Considering the functionalities of the resources selection model of our project, the main objective of this paper is to present the development of a prototype/demonstrator tool to support it. As result a tool, named Selec_E A/V_V0, was developed and providing following features: pre-selection of resources with and without integration of the value analysis (VA), and final selection of resources. This tool supports the development of BM_VEARM selection model and permits the validation of the importance of VA integration in the final performance of the resources system selected.

VALUE ANALYSIS: Going into a Further Dimension

Value Analysis (VA), as it was originally conceived, was defined and applied as a cost cutting tool, in order to make products more competitive. That short scope was early identified as limiting further developments and applications of the concept, by its initial pathfinder, if no extra effort was made to take the concept into other levels of management and, consequently, of business. The many different and alternative applications of the concept and of its original methodology have taken many professional practitioners and scholars to theorize and apply new concepts and methods. We can find a tremendous number of different learning exercises and theoretical evolution from that work, but that has not yet answered many aspirations regarding the initial concept of value and value analysis. This paper aims at bringing a new and more comprehensive understanding to professional practitioners, scholars, trainers and students, about some major concepts and applied methodologies in the disciplines of Value Management (VM), Value Analysis (VA) and Value Engineering (VE).

Towards a Rigorous Approach to Designing a TemporoMandibular Joint Prosthesis. From Clinical Challenge to Numerical Prototype

The primary objective when designing an innovative medical device (MD) is to improve the patient's condition and autonomy. Normally, therefore, there must be a strong focus on continuous interaction with the human element. Despite this interaction, value analysis (VA) tools are in fact used very little at the design stage.We describe the procedure we have devised and the characterization studies that result when applying VA to the design of a radically innovative temporomandibular joint (TMJ) prosthesis.From needs analysis to general availability of the device, there are three main phases in developing an MD: design, clinical validation and production/marketing. In the design phase, functional and technical specifications are defined from which digital and/or physical prototypes are created.Our multidisciplinary team defined and prioritized service functions after first analyzing clinical need. Next it specified the performances of a healthy TMJ which had to be reproduced, and then devised the experimental methods to achieve this characterization.A finite element (FE) model of the jaw was created and validated. Using simulations, the FE model compared strains and displacements in the healthy and the implanted mandibles. We then considered the influence of the implant geometry, the connections between implant and bone tissue to guide our decisions when creating innovative technical solutions. A new patent is currently under analysis and registration.

The Design on Thermostatic Oil Tank of the Forming Equipment on Pressing and Spinning

Based on the isothermal forming technology of pressing and spinning, designed the thermostatic fuel tank structure through the heat conduction computation, the heat conductivity value's analysis and working theory. It implements high-precision automatic control system by fuzzy--PID hybrid control technology in SCM. The results show that tank run stable, system temperature fluctuation less than ± 0.06, accuracy to meet the design requirements.

미끄럼저항성능을 고려한 바닥재 시공법의 성능평가방안

현대사회는 대도시의 구조물 설계 시 협소한 공간제약을 극복하기 위해 옥상 및 지하공간을 활용하고 있으며, 이에 따라 바닥재의 시공도 증가하고 있다. 바닥재의 미끄럼저항성능은 보행자 및 운전자의 안전성 및 쾌적성 관점에서 대단히 중요한 성능임에도 불구하고, 바닥재의 미끄럼저항성능에 대한 뚜렷한 기준이 없어 개선이 되고 있지 않은 실정이다. 본 논문에서는 국토해양부의 도로안전시설 설치 및 관리지침과 서울시의 서울형 보도포장 미끄럼 저항 기준에 기초하여 미끄럼저항성능의 평가방안을 제시하였다. 세 가지의 우레탄 바닥재 시공법을 선정하여 실험적인 연구를 통해 각 바닥재의 미끄럼저항성능을 분석하고, 제시된 평가 방안에 따라 평가하였으며, VE분석을 통해 세 가지 바닥재 시공법의 성능을 종합적으로 평가함으로써 미끄럼저항성능이 우수한 바닥재가 시공될 수 있도록 독려하였다. 본 논문에서 제시된 평가방법에 따른 VE분석 결과, 미끄럼저항성능이 최대 4배 이상 향상되었던 파티클재료를 첨가한 공법이 83.86의 성능지수를 보임으로써 기타 비교안에 비해 가장 우수한 성능을 나타내었다. In modern society, rooftops and underground spaces are utilized for overcoming a confined space limitation of metropolitan areas. Therefore, floor covering construction is also increasing steadily. From the user's viewpoint, skid resistance performance of floor covering methods is a very important performance criterion for safety and amenity, but an appropriate design and assessment criteria for skid resistance performance are not available. This study presents the skid resistance performance assessment method of floor covering methods considering the sidewalk skid resistance standard of Seoul city and the guideline of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs(MLTM) of Korea for road safety facilities'installation and maintenance. For this research, three alternatives among urethane floor covering methods are selected and their skid resistance performance is analyzed through an experimental study. The analyzed performance is also evaluated by the skid resistance performance assessment method. Finally, the comprehensive performance assessment including the results of skid resistance performance assessment is conducted by Value Analysis(VA) in order to encourage the construction methods of floor covering which have a high skid resistance performance. As a result of VA, the particle method which the skid resistance performance is improved up to four times more than other alternatives shows the highest performance index of 83.86.

From cleaner production and value management to sustainable value

Being part of an institution, where the main objective is research and its application to support enterprises in their challenges to improve competitiveness, innovation and sustainable development, leads to the dialogue between different research teams about the tools used and the results obtained. When the results of applications of cleaner production (CP) and value analysis (VA) were confronted, the possible synergies between them, the benefits of a joint approach and the complementarities seemed apparent and worth a research work, where these aspects could be developed. Bringing together the different experiences in the application of CP and VA and the state of the art of those methodologies, a new approach – sustainable value (SV) – was developed, materialised in a manual and tested in several companies. The results show the great potentiality of using this approach within companies namely in what concerns the reduction of useless and unnecessary efforts (and resources), and encourage the orientation of limited resources towards areas, where they can lead to SV increase and to attain sustainability.

Value Analysis Using Performance Attributes Matrix for Highway Rehabilitation Projects

Since 1997, when FHWA made value analysis (VA) a federal policy, the VA procedure has become necessary for improving pavement quality and reducing life-cycle and road user costs for highway projects, especially large-scale ones. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has moved beyond simple compliance with the policy and implemented a new VA procedure in the planning and design stage of the Interstate 80 (I-80) Sacramento rehabilitation (planned to begin in 2011). This I-80 case study demonstrates an efficient new VA procedure and presents its results for three alternatives by using a performance attributes matrix (PAM) approach and Construction Analysis for Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies (CA4PRS) software. The PAM was used to quantify performance attributes, and CA4PRS was used to calculate the construction schedule and to estimate agency and user costs for each of the construction activities for a 60-year life cycle. The VA results show quantitative changes in performance and life-cycle costs for each alternative. On the basis of the VA team's recommendation, Caltrans adopted two of the three alternatives even though they required an increase of $6.99 million in initial construction costs; however, the chosen combination of alternatives will provide a total savings of $7.66 million in agency and user costs over the life-cycle period (60 years) and improve highway performance by 8%. The combined VA effect allows for improvement of the overall maintainability, enhancement of ride quality, and better phase-ability with the high-occupancy vehicle lanes project planned for this stretch of highway in the future.

The empirical relationship between quality management and the speed of new product development

Quality management philosophy and tools have been widely used to improve and control product quality. However, there is a lack of literature on the relationship between quality management and new product development (NPD). People even worry whether quality management may hinder new product development. This paper reports a study that aims to investigate the influence of quality management on the speed of NPD. The research is based on the survey data from 700 manufacturing companies in 20 countries. The research reveals that TQM, teamwork, value analysis (VA) and quality function deployment (QFD) are all positively correlated with the speed of NPD, which means quality management philosophy and tools have a positive influence on the speed of NPD. This implies that companies which have implemented TQM and other quality tools will have a better basis for implementing new NPD approaches like concurrent engineering (CE) and design for manufacturing and assembly. This is especially encouraging for those OEM (original equipment manufacturing) firms that would like to change from OEM to ODM/OBM (original design manufacturing/original brand manufacturing). OEM companies normally implement TQM but very little in NPD.

The relationship between quality management and the speed of new product development

PurposeThe speed of new product development (NPD) has been a key factor in a firm's degree of competitiveness. The tools and philosophy of quality management have been widely used to improve and control product quality. However, there is a lack of literature on the relationship between quality management and NPD. This paper aims to report on a study that investigates the influence of quality management on the speed of NPD.Design/methodology/approachThe philosophy of quality management refers to total quality management (TQM). Tools for quality management include teamwork, continuous improvement (CI), value analysis (VA) and quality function deployment (QFD). This study begins by comparing literature in concurrent engineering (CE) and TQM, which leads to several common principles and five hypotheses. The hypotheses are tested using survey data from 700 manufacturing companies in 20 countries.FindingsThe research reveals that TQM, Team, VA and QFD are positively correlated with the speed of NPD, meaning that the tools and philosophy of quality management have a positive influence on the speed of NPD. However, no relationship is found between CI and the speed of NPD.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper tests hypotheses using survey data. It reveals the empirical relationship between quality management and the speed of NPD but does not provide details regarding the mechanism of influence between the two. Consequently, case studies should be conducted in the future to probe into the details. Additionally, new quality methods like Six Sigma can also be included in a future study, since Six Sigma covers both quality and NPD.Practical implicationsThis study proposes that companies that have implemented TQM and other quality management tools will have a better foundation for implementing new NPD approaches like CE and design for manufacturing and assembly. This is especially encouraging for those original engineering manufacturing (OEM) firms that would like to change from OEM to original design manufacturing/original brand manufacturing (ODM/OBM). OEM companies typically implement TQM but invest very little in NPD.Originality/valueThis paper fills the gap in research exploring the links between quality management and NPD. It addresses the concern over whether quality management may hinder NPD. The critical issues for implementing quality management such as culture change, learning, change management, and team building can all be applied to implementing NPD methods such as CE. The result also supports the concept of “design the quality into products”. It is beneficial for employees in quality and NPD to share and work together.

Probabilistic value analysis methodology for public water supply systems

The value of a design alternative for constructed facilities is determined based on life cycle cost (LCC) and non-economic performance such as constructability and environmental impacts. Unfortunately, the level of consensus on the results of life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is low due to the uncertainty associated with cost and timing data for construction, operation, maintenance and disposal of facilities with very long life cycles. Non-economic performance of design alternatives is also evaluated subjectively by the stakeholders of construction projects. Therefore, it is very important to properly manage the uncertainty and the variability of input data for value analysis (VA) of design alternatives. This paper presents a probabilistic VA methodology for public water supply systems. An LCC model and a cost classification structure for public water supply systems were developed to cover the initial and the follow-on cost of public water supply systems that come from the various mechanical systems and the pipeline systems of the collecting/treating/distributing facilities. The proposed VA methodology incorporates the probabilistic results of LCCA and the non-economic performance evaluation based on reliability concept for rational decision making. The model and the procedure presented in this study can greatly contribute to the value-oriented design alternative selection and the allocation of budget for public water supply system construction projects.

Application of QFD and VA tools in the design of an automobile

Quality function deployment (QFD) and value analysis (VA) tools are applied to the design of an automobile in order to reduce wastes in manufacturing through an optimal design that satisfies customers' most important needs. Significant improvement was obtained with this application, which leads to cuts in manufacturing cost. In this paper, da Silva et al.'s (2004) methodology in the product design process is applied to determine the level of comfort enjoyed by users of automobiles. We analysed the components of the vehicle that relates to the determination of quality of an automobile. The result shows that a few numbers of components strongly determine the level of comfort enjoyed by the customer while using the automobile.

Combined application of QFD and VA tools in the product design process

The aim of both value analysis (VA) and quality function deployment (QFD) is to reduce waste by avoiding redesign and providing optimal location of costs in general. To satisfy the consumer's most important needs, the VA prioritizes the increase in the cost of the product and not the subsequent price rise. QFD aims at generating clear engineering needs from consumer requirements thus, minimizing the reprojecting cost (“cost” should read “waste”) and changes in the products. The existing common concepts between two design tools, QFD (the project tool) and VA (the product optimization tool) motivated this study. QFD establishes a link among parameters such as the consumer needs, engineering requirements and a comparative analysis of the consumer perception against that of rival companies. The VA prioritizes a rise in the aggregate value (perceived by the consumer) by optimization development and production costs. The proposed methodology is capable of integrating these two tools, integrating costs with product development (“for the consumer”) for a joint analysis. This way it is possible to establish optimum cost values for each engineering requirement. It is also possible to evaluate the cost of each product function. Furthermore, the methodology provides a tool that supports decision making in product development and projects. This work evaluates the integrated use of the QFD and VA tools. Employing a survey that was carried out which intended to reveal the young male consumers’ requirements concerning a sports bicycle.