Needs assessment and implementation of an employee assistance program: promoting a healthier work force

1. The functions of a continuous quality improvement tool used by Deming--the Plan, Do, Check, Act Cycle--can be applied to the assessment, implementation, and ongoing evaluation of an Employee Assistance Program (EAP). 2. Various methods are available to assess the need for an EAP. As much data as possible should be collected to qualify and quantify the need so that management can make an informed decision and develop measures to determine program effectiveness. 3. Once an EAP is implemented, it should be monitored continually against the effectiveness measures initially developed. Using a continuous quality improvement process, the occupational health nurse and the EAP provider can establish a dynamic relationship that allows for growth beyond the original design and increased effectiveness of service to employees.     

基于PDCA循环的钢板质量管理系统

根据国际通用的PDCA循环标准化体系构筑了钢板质量生产管理系统。该系统实现了生产线从订单质量设计到产品最终判定的全过程质量数字化控制和动态监控管理产品生产进程;还实现了钢板质量的全自动设计和自动判定,并可通过质量追溯、质量分析达到持续改进产品质量的目的。     

基于PDCA循环的钢板质量管理系统

根据国际通用的PDCA循环标准化体系构筑了钢板质量生产管理系统。该系统实现了生产线从订单质量设计到产品最终判定的全过程质量数字化控制和动态监控管理产品生产进程;还实现了钢板质量的全自动设计和自动判定,并可通过质量追溯、质量分析达到持续改进产品质量的目的。     

Budgeting for Facility Maintenance and Repair. II: Multicriteria Process for Model Selection

The second of two in a series, this paper presents an objective process for selecting an appropriate model for facility maintenance and repair budgeting. Three model evaluation criteria relating facility attributes to maintenance and repair costs—consideration of the facility's physical characteristics and environment, building system and component life cycles, and penalty costs brought on by deferral of maintenance—are introduced. The expense of supplying the necessary data for a model's implementation, given the model user's existing database, is presented as a fourth evaluation criterion. The relative merits of 18 available budgeting models are then assessed against these criteria using various multicriteria decision-making tools: Analysis of dominance, with results displayed via a Hasse diagram; lexicographic ordering; and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution. The results of the evaluation demonstrate how the preferred alternative can change in response to a decision-maker's priorities. Conversely, the selection process can provide considerable insight into these models with very little knowledge about the value system or philosophy of the model users and the decision makers.     

Decision Support System for Stakeholder Involvement

Stakeholder involvement is essential to the development of a total maximum daily load (TMDL) and its implementation plan. A tool, beyond a simulation model, is needed to support the decision making process that requires negotiation and compromise among stakeholders. The decision support system (DSS) described herein has a TMDL module to calculate various combinations of point and nonpoint loads that can meet the water quality criteria. Its Consensus module allows stakeholders to formulate, evaluate, modify, and vote for alternatives. The DSS displays bar charts for pollution loads from various subwatersheds and attributes the nonpoint loads to land uses. The water quality consequence of the pollution loads is output in maps, which shows sections meeting criteria in green and those not in red. The DSS requires a front end effort of site specific adaptation and model calibration. An Internet-based stakeholder process was developed to allow more concerned citizens to participate in management decisions.     

Integration of Municipal Infrastructure Asset Management Processes: Challenges and Solutions

Municipal infrastructure management decision making is inherently an integrated process that requires the assimilation of a multitude of data, processes, and software systems. Current work practices have resulted in significant process and data fragmentation, which have subsequently created much inefficiency that impedes the implementation of effective management strategies. There is a broad consensus in the industry that adopting integrated multidisciplinary approaches is a key requirement for implementing efficient, sustainable, and proactive asset management programs. This paper discusses the main challenges for implementing integrated municipal infrastructure management environments, and proposes specific solutions to address these challenges. The proposed solutions address the systematization and coordination of work processes, the development of centralized shared data repositories based on nonproprietary integrated data models, and the organization and integration of distributed software tools into a modular and extensible enterprise-wide software environment. The implementation of a prototype sewer management environment based on the proposed solutions is also presented.     

Relative Effectiveness of Project Delivery and Contract Strategies

Project delivery systems define the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in a project. They also establish an execution framework in terms of sequencing of design, procurement, and construction. The decision made in the selection of a project delivery system for a project impacts all phases of execution of the project and greatly impacts the efficiency of project execution. Such decisions should be facilitated by thorough analysis. Structured, quantitative decision analysis processes have been shown to have several benefits over the simplistic, holistic, and informal processes that typically characterize subjective evaluations. However, a dearth of quantitative values of project delivery systems established and validated through research has invariably left project managers with no alternative than to make project delivery selection decisions on the basis of subjective evaluations. Development of the needed quantitative values for application in a decision analysis process would greatly enhance the quality of the decision-making process and provide a defensible rationale for selection of project delivery systems for capital projects. This paper presents research findings that provide the needed quantitative values in this area. Based on the quantitative values defined here, interested parties can develop and implement quantitative evaluation of project delivery alternatives to identify the optimal solution for a given project. Multicriteria decision analysis was found to be the suitable approach for a quantitative, analytical evaluation of project delivery systems. Consequently, the quantitative values presented in this paper were developed in accordance with the requirements of the multicriteria decision analysis technique known as simple multiattribute rating technique with swing weights (SMARTS). Utilizing the quantitative values presented here and applying the analysis technique of SMARTS, a decision support tool has been developed and validated for the Construction Industry Institute. The decision support tool is presently being utilized by member companies of the Construction Industry Institute that were privy to its development. With the presentation of the quantitative values in this paper, other parties interested in developing similar tools would benefit from the research results presented here.     

烧结过程决策支持系统的设计与实现

针对某大型钢铁企业烧结生产过程的质量管理问题,提出一种基于控制图分析的烧结过程决策支持系统设计方案.首先,应用主成分分析、灰色关联分析方法,对烧结过程信息进行提取,确定影响质量的主要参数.然后,对烧结矿质量数据进行控制图分析,得到质量异常信息,并分析异常原因,为指导生产提供判断依据.实际运行结果表明该系统能够帮助决策者指导生产调整,提高烧结矿质量.     

Quality management in emergency medicine

Although the need for the implementation of a quality management concept for the German emergency medical system (EMS) has been discussed for more than 10 years, such a concept has not been realised on a broad scale. Standardised national data sheets were developed many years ago. They are used by many local agencies, but a data-gathering system on a state or national basis is still lacking. In times of reduced funds for health care expenditures, quality management could be a reliable way to ensure that the EMS provides safe services to the patient based on the current state of medical science in an efficient manner. Based on clear definitions, structure, process, and outcome quality can be analysed, and the results provide the basis for continuous quality-improvement strategies. As not all aspects of the system can be analysed continuously, one has to select areas of special importance. External and internal quality control are equally important. Quality control works on the basis that all EMS team members are motivated to perform on a professional level to ensure that each patient is treated adequately. It evaluates the system to create circumstances that enhance the achievement of this goal. Quality management is not only concerned with mishaps, because areas with documented good performance also provide important information.     

Integrated Computational Life-Cycle Assessment of Buildings

A computational tool has been developed for the environmental evaluation of building designs. Construction and operation of buildings is a major cause of resource depletion and environmental pollution. Computational performance evaluation tools can support the decision making in the area of environmentally responsive building design and play an important role in environmental impact assessment, especially when a life-cycle assessment approach is used. For comprehensive environmental impact analysis to be realized in a computational support tool for the building design domain, such tools must have the following three characteristics: (1) An analysis method that considers the life cycle of building construction, operation, and decommissioning; (2) a representation that is able to accommodate the data and computability requirements of the analysis method and tool; and (3) be integrated within a multiaspect design analysis environment that can provide data on environmentally relevant building operation criteria. This paper describes a computational tool, ECOLOGUE, developed in response to these requirements. However, limitations remain in terms of data availability and the precision of the environmental impact assessment methods.     

Incorporation of Sustainability Concepts into a Civil Engineering Curriculum

The need arises to equip engineering students with a wider horizon of concepts in terms of environmental, economic, and social attributes, for decision making of sensitive to sustainability issues. Pedagogic frameworks have to address a multidisciplinary analysis of sustainability. This paper addresses the rationale behind the recent integration of sustainability concepts into an undergraduate civil engineering curriculum in Hong Kong. Incentives and barriers for implementation of the curriculum are addressed. A team-based design project with a problem-based learning approach is highlighted. The initial results of stakeholder evaluations suggested that multidisciplinary skills developed during the learning process might contribute significantly to pertinent knowledge on sustainability.     

兴澄公司产销信息系统的质量子系统

主要介绍了兴澄公司计算机信息系统的质量管理子系统的设计和应用。运用信息系统对生产、销售全过程进行有效地质量管理,优化企业质量管理流程,提高产品的生产全过程控制能力。     

Quality Management System for Design Consultants: Development and Application on Projects in the Middle East

In this paper, the development and implementation processes of a quality management system (QMS) for design consultants in the Middle East are presented. The current design practices are first reviewed through the conduct of multiple interviews. The development of the QMS for designing residential and commercial buildings is also based on quality standards from the literature. The practical implementation of the model is conducted using actual design projects in a real design environment. The model implementation consists of three stages, the first stage is awareness; the second stage is benchmarking of existing practice, which is carried out on 20 projects; and finally, the validation of the model is verified using data from 11 projects. The benchmarking of existing performance and the validation of the model are carried out utilizing statistical approaches. The implementation of the QMS model improves the efficiency of the designs and the production process distributions.     

Web-Based Decision Support Systems: Case Study inProject Delivery

The decentralized nature of the construction industry contributes to difficulties in the implementation and dissemination of project management-based decision tools. The majority of decision support systems (DSS) are contained in-house with private developers and users, or on researchers stand-alone computers and academic journals. Current World Wide Web technologies provide the appropriate means for large-scale implementation and continued development of DSS for the architectural, engineering, and construction community. This paper documents a DSS developed specifically for design∕build project selection among United States public sector agencies. The system, the Design∕Build Selector (DBS), is Web enabled, allowing for easy access and large-scale dissemination. Design∕build project procurement is rapidly expanding throughout public sector agencies in the United States construction industry. As public agencies turn to design∕build, appropriate project selection is a primary consideration affecting successful delivery. Prior to the implementation of DBS, there was no systematic or formalized method for selecting projects appropriate for design∕build. Since 1997, the Web site that houses the DBS has been visited by over 4,000 people, and the DBS tool has been used on 102 projects representing over $4.8 billion in construction. This paper reports on the application and potential for Web-based DSS in civil engineering. The architecture of the program, data collection, model weighting, and output interface are explained.     

Framework for Measuring the Rationale Clarity of AEC Design Decisions

Current architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) design processes often rely on precedent to resolve complex decisions. However, changes to stakeholder concerns, design methods, and building products devalue much of this precedent knowledge. Project teams need to clearly communicate their decision rationale to develop consensus about design decisions. This study reviews a broad range of relevant theory from decision-based design, decision analysis, decision theory, linguistics, logic, organization theory, and social welfare. Rationale is defined as a set of assertions regarding distinct components (i.e., managers, stakeholders, designers, gatekeepers, goals, constraints, alternatives, and analysis) that support design decisions. Conditions of clarity (i.e., coherent, concrete, connected, consistent, credible, certain, and correct) are also defined. These definitions are used to measure the clarity of assertions, components, and the rationale as a whole. Taken together, this rationale clarity framework (RCF) provides a structured view that enables an objective evaluation of design decision methods.     

Benchmarking System for Evaluating Management Practices in the Construction Industry

This paper presents the results obtained for the initial application of a management evaluation system whose objective is to provide a continuous improvement tool for construction companies through benchmarking management practices. The outlined system seeks to support a benchmarking system that has been recently established in the Chilean construction industry by incorporating qualitative management aspects in addition to performance indicators. Different analyses were made to determine trends in the sector and to establish correlations between qualitative aspects coming from surveys and quantitative aspects coming from performance indicators. Thirteen construction companies participated in the initial application of the benchmarking system. A correlation analysis found that safety performance was strongly related to companies having superior planning and control, quality management, cost control, and subcontractor management policies. A factor analysis found that central office priorities focus on strategic management policies having longer-term competitive impact, while site management emphasizes tactical management dimensions having short-term impact. There is scope to elevate the profile of continuous improvement initiatives to strategic significance at the central office level.     

基于GIS的矿山重大安全隐患决策支持系统探讨

分析矿山重大安全隐患决策支持系统的应用前景,从该系统的总体设计、系统功能结构、数据库建库、系统实现等方面进行探讨,为矿山安全管理信息化设计提供相关参考.     

Structured care methodologies: tools for standardization and outcomes measurement

In today's healthcare environment, institutions are striving to streamline processes, reduce costs of healthcare, and establish best practice patterns while maintaining and improving the quality of care provided. Various healthcare delivery models are in use including case management and outcomes management. Various tools or structured-care methodologies (SCMs) are incorporated into these different models to support cost reduction and streamline processes while enhancing quality of care. This article discusses the tools frequently used, such as critical pathways, algorithms, and guidelines, as well as how these tools can be used in combination to support each other. This article also addresses the benefits of SCMs, how these tools are developed, and how the data obtained can be used in quality enhancement programs.