Getting to zero: evidence-based healthcare risk management is key.

In this article we call for a new approach to patient safety improvement, one based on the emerging field of evidence-based healthcare risk management (EBHRM). We explore EBHRM in the broader context of the evidence-based healthcare movement, assess the benefits and challenges that might arise in adopting an evidence-based approach, and make recommendations for meeting those challenges and realizing the benefits of a more scientific approach.

Key principles for developing industrially relevant strategic technology management toolkits

When considering the potential uptake and utilization of technology management tools by industry, it must be recognized that companies face the difficult challenges of selecting, adopting and integrating individual tools into a toolkit that must be implemented within their current organizational processes and systems. This situation is compounded by the lack of sound advice on integrating well-founded individual tools into a robust toolkit that has the necessary degree of flexibility such that they can be tailored for application to specific problems faced by individual organizations. As an initial stepping stone to offering a toolkit with empirically proven utility, this paper provides a conceptual foundation to the development of toolkits by outlining an underlying philosophical position based on observations from multiple research and commercial collaborations with industry. This stance is underpinned by a set of operationalized principles that can offer guidance to organizations when deciding upon the appropriate form, functions and features that should be embodied by any potential tool/toolkit. For example, a key objective of any tool is to aid decision-making and a core set of powerful, flexible, scaleable and modular tools should be sufficient to allow users to generate, explore, shape and implement possible solutions across a wide array of strategic issues. From our philosophical stance, the preferred mode of engagement is facilitated workshops with a participatory process that enables multiple perspectives and structures the conversation through visual representations in order to manage the cognitive load in the collaborative environment. The generic form of the tools should be configurable for the given context and utilized in a lightweight manner based on the premise of 'start small and iterate fast'. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Technology management - Structuring the strategic dialogue

Successful innovation requires effective communication within and between technical and nontechnical communities, which can be challenging due to different educational backgrounds, experience, perceptions, and attitudes. Roadmapping has emerged as a method that can enable effective dialogue between these groups, and the way in which information is structured is a key feature that enables this communication. This is an area that has not received much attention in the literature, and this article seeks to address this gap by describing in detail the structures that have been successfully applied in roadmapping workshops and processes, from which key learning points and future research directions are identified.

A philosophical stance on developing industrially relevant strategic technology management toolkits

When considering the potential uptake and utilization of technology management tools by industry, it must be recognized that companies face the difficult challenges of selecting, adopting and integrating individual tools into a toolkit that must be implemented within their current organizational processes and systems. This situation is compounded by the lack of sound advice on integrating well-founded individual tools into a robust toolkit that has the necessary degree of flexibility such that they can be tailored for application to specific problems faced by individual organizations. As an initial stepping stone to offering a toolkit with empirically proven utility, this paper provides a conceptual foundation to the development of toolkits by outlining an underlying philosophical position based on observations from multiple research and commercial collaborations with industry. This stance is underpinned by a set of operationalized principles that can offer guidance to organizations when deciding upon the appropriate form, functions and features that should be embodied by any potential tool/toolkit. For example, a key objective of any tool is to aid decision-making and a core set of powerful, flexible, scaleable and modular tools should be sufficient to allow users to generate, explore, shape and implement possible solutions across a wide array of strategic issues. From our philosophical stance, the preferred mode of engagement is facilitated workshops with a participatory process that enables multiple perspectives and structures the conversation through visual representations in order to manage the cognitive load in the collaborative environment. The generic form of the tools should be configurable for the given context and utilized in a lightweight manner based on the premise of start small and iterate fast. © 2011 IEEE.

Performance plumbing: Installing performance management systems to deliver lasting value

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of performance plumbing, arguing that too often performance management systems in organisations are not correctly installed. Without the appropriate plumbing, performance management systems do not drive organisational change and improvement. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on the consultancy experiences of two of the authors, as well as the research of the third. Specific case examples are provided throughout the paper to illustrate the points being made. Findings - The paper argues that the key elements of a plumbed-in performance management system are: performance architecture; performance insights; performance focus; and performance action. Taken together, these four elements provide the necessary plumbing to enable performance management systems to deliver real value. Research limitations/implications - The paper draws on the experience of the authors, rather than a formally designed piece of research. The ideas presented in the paper would therefore benefit from further investigation and testing. Originality/value - The paper will be valuable to scholars and practitioners interested in ensuring that performance management systems deliver lasting value. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Globally Unique Product Identifiers - Requirements and Solutions to Product Lifecycle Management

Managing product information for product items during their whole lifetime is challenging, especially during their usage and end-of-life phases. A major challenge is how to keep a link between the product item and its associated information that may be stored in backend systems of different organizations. This chapter analyses and compares three approaches for addressing this task-that is, the electronic product code (EPC) Network, DIALOG, and World Wide Article Information (WWAI). The EPC network has three key strengths with respect to Product lifecycle management (PLM): First, it is an internationally accepted standard that is supported by a world-wide standards body (GSI). Second, the lookup mechanism helps to insulate the data on the tag from change. Third, because it is becoming widespread and that this tag can also be used for PLM. WWAI is more technically sophisticated than the other approaches. The DIALOG approach might be the most general purpose one of the three because it places few restrictions on the format of the data on the tag. © 2006 Copyright © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An exploration of risk management in global industrial investment

This article explores risk management in global industrial investment by identifying linkages and gaps between theories and practices. It identifies opportunities for further development of the field. Three related bodies of literature have been reviewed: risk management, global manufacturing and investment. The review suggests that risk management in global manufacturing is overlooked in the literature; that existing theoretical risk management processes are not well developed in the global manufacturing context and that the investment literature applies mainly to financial risk assessment rather than investment risk management structures. Further, there appears to be a serious lack of systematic industrial risk management in investment decision making. This article highlights the opportunities to deploy current good practices more effectively as well as the need to develop more robust theories of industrial investment risk management. The approach adopted to investigate this multidisciplinary topic included a historical review of literature to understand the diverse background of theoretical development. A case study research approach was adopted to collect data, involving four global manufacturing companies and one risk management advisory company to observe the patterns and rationale of current practices. Supporting arguments from secondary data sources reinforced the findings. The research focuses risk management in global industrial investment. It links theories with practice to understand the existing knowledge gap and proposes key research themes for further research. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1460-3799 Risk Management.

Classifying data quality problems in asset management

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015. Making sound asset management decisions, such as whether to replace or maintain an ageing underground water pipe, are critical to ensure that organisations maximise the performance of their assets. These decisions are only as good as the data that supports them, and hence many asset management organisations are in desperate need to improve the quality of their data. This chapter reviews the key academic research on data quality (DQ) and Information Quality (IQ) (used interchangeably in this chapter) in asset management, combines this with the current DQ problems faced by asset management organisations in various business sectors, and presents a classification of the most important DQ problems that need to be tackled by asset management organisations. In this research, eleven semi structured interviews were carried out with asset management professionals in a range of business sectors in the UK. The problems described in the academic literature were cross checked against the problems found in industry. In order to support asset management professionals in solving these problems, we categorised them into seven different DQ dimensions, used in the academic literature, so that it is clear how these problems fit within the standard frameworks for assessing and improving data quality. Asset management professionals can therefore now use these frameworks to underpin their DQ improvement initiatives while focussing on the most critical DQ problems.