Efficient building management with IP-based wireless sensor network

Existing Building/Energy Management Systems (BMS/EMS) fail to convey holistic performance to the building manager. A 20% reduction in energy consumption can be achieved by efficiently operated buildings compared with current practice. However, in the majority of buildings, occupant comfort and energy consumption analysis is primarily restricted by available sensor and meter data. Installation of a continuous monitoring process can significantly improve the building systems’ performance. We present WSN-BMDS, an IP-based wireless sensor network building monitoring and diagnostic system. The main focus of WSN-BMDS is to obtain much higher degree of information about the building operation then current BMSs are able to provide. Our system integrates a heterogeneous set of wireless sensor nodes with IEEE 802.11 backbone routers and the Global Sensor Network (GSN) web server. Sensing data is stored in a database at the back office via UDP protocol and can be access over the Internet using GSN. Through this demonstration, we show that WSN-BMDS provides accurate measurements of air-temperature, air-humidity, light, and energy consumption for particular rooms in our target building. Our interactive graphical user interface provides a user-friendly environment showing live network topology, monitor network statistics, and run-time management actions on the network. We also demonstrate actuation by changing the artificial light level in one of the rooms.

A knowledge management system to optimise comfort throughout the building life-cycle

Comfort is, in essence, satisfaction with the environment, and with respect to the indoor environment it is primarily satisfaction with the thermal conditions and air quality. Improving comfort has social, health and economic benefits, and is more financially significant than any other building cost. Despite this, comfort is not strictly managed throughout the building lifecycle. This is mainly due to the lack of an appropriate system to adequately manage comfort knowledge through the construction process into operation. Previous proposals to improve knowledge management have not been successfully adopted by the construction industry. To address this, the BabySteps approach was devised. BabySteps is an approach, proposed by this research, which states that for an innovation to be adopted into the industry it must be implementable through a number of small changes. This research proposes that improving the management of comfort knowledge will improve comfort. ComMet is a new methodology proposed by this research that manages comfort knowledge. It enables comfort knowledge to be captured, stored and accessed throughout the building life-cycle and so allowing it to be re-used in future stages of the building project and in future projects. It does this using the following: Comfort Performances – These are simplified numerical representations of the comfort of the indoor environment. Comfort Performances quantify the comfort at each stage of the building life-cycle using standard comfort metrics. Comfort Ratings - These are a means of classifying the comfort conditions of the indoor environment according to an appropriate standard. Comfort Ratings are generated by comparing different Comfort Performances. Comfort Ratings provide additional information relating to the comfort conditions of the indoor environment, which is not readily determined from the individual Comfort Performances. Comfort History – This is a continuous descriptive record of the comfort throughout the project, with a focus on documenting the items and activities, proposed and implemented, which could potentially affect comfort. Each aspect of the Comfort History is linked to the relevant comfort entity it references. These three components create a comprehensive record of the comfort throughout the building lifecycle. They are then stored and made available in a common format in a central location which allows them to be re-used ad infinitum. The LCMS System was developed to implement the ComMet methodology. It uses current and emerging technologies to capture, store and allow easy access to comfort knowledge as specified by ComMet. LCMS is an IT system that is a combination of the following six components: Building Standards; Modelling & Simulation; Physical Measurement through the specially developed Egg-Whisk (Wireless Sensor) Network; Data Manipulation; Information Recording; Knowledge Storage and Access.Results from a test case application of the LCMS system - an existing office room at a research facility - highlighted that while some aspects of comfort were being maintained, the building’s environment was not in compliance with the acceptable levels as stipulated by the relevant building standards. The implementation of ComMet, through LCMS, demonstrates how comfort, typically only considered during early design, can be measured and managed appropriately through systematic application of the methodology as means of ensuring a healthy internal environment in the building.

Evolution of Organisational Structure and Capabilities in Internationalising Banks: The CEE Operations of UniCredit's Vienna Office

Cross-border integration is the central management issue for banks that expand internationally, and this is especially true in Central and Eastern Europe, where the pace of internationalisation through mergers and acquisitions has been rapid. A critical challenge in cross-border integration is aligning a multinational company's formal organizational structure with the distribution of capabilities across its subsidiary units, and this issue is explored by tracking the co-evolution of organizational structure and capabilities during the internationalisation of a large banking network into this region. Our focus is the Vienna head office of Bank Austria Creditanstalt, which was acquired first by HypoVereinsbank (Germany) and then UniCredit (Italy). Despite its formal role being downgraded during these changes, the unit continued to develop its distinctive capabilities. The key insight our article offers is that managing cross-border integration is not simply about recognizing the value of the distinctive capabilities of individual units and designing formal structures that successfully align with them. It is also about understanding the need for dynamic interaction between formal corporate structure and individual units' desires to retain power and influence, which have significant implications for the development of their organizational capabilities.

General practitioners' habits and knowledge in relation to the management of H. pylori-associated dyspepsia and their views about a locally available 13-carbon urea breath test

We report the results of general practitioners' views on Helicobacter pylori-associated dyspepsia and use of screening tests in the community. The use of office serology tests in screening is of concern as independent validation in specialist units has been disappointing.

Organizational Attributes of Practices Successful at a Disease Management Program

Objective: To assess the contribution of organizational factors to implementation of 3 asthma quality measures: enrollment in a disease management program, development of a written treatment plan, and prescription of severity-appropriate anti-inflammatory therapy. Study design: A total of 138 pediatric clinicians and 247 office staff in 13 urban clinics and 23 nonurban private practices completed questionnaires about their practice's organizational characteristics (eg, leadership, communication, perceived effectiveness, job satisfaction). Results: 94% of the clinicians and 92% of the office staff completed questionnaires. When adjusted for confounders, greater practice activity and perceived effectiveness in meeting family needs were associated with higher rates of enrollment in the Easy Breathing program, whereas higher scores for 3 organizational characteristics-communication timeliness, decision authority, and job satisfaction-were associated with both higher enrollment and a greater number of written treatment plans. None of the organizational characteristics was associated with greater use of anti-inflammatory therapy. Conclusions: Three organizational characteristics predicted 2 quality asthma measures: use of a disease management program and creation of a written asthma treatment plan. If these organizational characteristics were amenable to change, then our findings could help focus interventions in areas of effective and acceptable organizational change. © 2009 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Aplicação da metodologia de “lean management��� no processo de desenvolvimento de produto

O presente trabalho de dissertação teve como objetivo a implementação de metodologias de Lean Management e avaliação do seu impacto no processo de Desenvolvimento de Produto. A abordagem utilizada consistiu em efetuar uma revisão da literatura e levantamento do Estado da Arte para obter a fundamentação teórica necessária à implementação de metodologias Lean. Prosseguiu com o levantamento da situação inicial da organização em estudo ao nível das atividades de desenvolvimento de produto, práticas de gestão documental e operacional e ainda de atividades de suporte através da realização de inquéritos e medições experimentais. Este conhecimento permitiu criar um modelo de referência para a implementação de Lean Management nesta área específica do desenvolvimento de produto. Após implementado, este modelo foi validado pela sua experimentação prática e recolha de indicadores. A implementação deste modelo de referência permitiu introduzir na Unidade de Desenvolvimento de Produto e Sistemas (DPS) da organização INEGI, as bases do pensamento Lean, contribuindo para a criação de um ambiente de Respeito pela Humanidade e de Melhoria Contínua. Neste ambiente foi possível obter ganhos qualitativos e quantitativos nas várias áreas em estudo, contribuindo de forma global para um aumento da eficiência e eficácia da DPS. Prevê-se que este aumento de eficiência represente um aumento da capacidade instalada na Organização, pela redução anual de 2290 horas de desperdício (6.5% da capacidade total da unidade) e pela redução significativa em custos operacionais. Algumas das implementações de melhoria propostas no decorrer deste trabalho, após verificado o seu sucesso, extravasaram a unidade em estudo e foram aplicadas transversalmente à da organização. Foram também obtidos ganhos qualitativos, tais como a normalização de práticas de gestão documental e a centralização e agilização de fluxos de informação. Isso permitiu um aumento de qualidade dos serviços prestados pela redução de correções e retrabalho. Adicionalmente, com o desenvolvimento de uma nova ferramenta que permite a monitorização do estado atual dos projetos a nível da sua percentagem de execução (cumprimento de objetivos), prazos e custos, bem como a estimação das datas de conclusão dos projetos possibilitando o replaneamento do projeto bem como a detecção atempada de desvios. A ferramenta permite também a criação de um histórico que identifica o esforço horário associado à realização das atividades/tarefas das várias áreas de Desenvolvimento de Produto e desta forma pode ser usada como suporte à orçamentação futura de atividades similares. No decorrer do projeto, foram também criados os mecanismos que permitem o cálculo de indicadores das competências técnicas e motivações intrínsecas individuais da equipa DPS. Estes indicadores podem ser usados na definição por parte dos gestores dos projetos da composição das equipas de trabalho, dos executantes de tarefas individuais do projeto e dos destinatários de ações de formação. Com esta informação é expectável que se consiga um maior aproveitamento do potencial humano e como consequência um aumento do desempenho e da satisfação pessoal dos recursos humanos da organização. Este caso de estudo veio demonstrar que o potencial de melhoria dos processos associados ao desenvolvimento de produto através de metodologias de Lean Management é muito significativo, e que estes resultam em ganhos visíveis para a organização bem como para os seus elementos individualmente.

Strategic supply lead time management. Case Nokia Networks, Hardware Services

Teollisuuden palveluiden on huomattu olevan potentiaalinen lisätulojen lähde. Teollisuuden palveluiden dynaamisessa maailmassa räätälöinti ja kyky toimia nopeasti ovat kriittisiä asiakastyytyväisyyden ja kilpailuedun luomisprosessin osia. Toimitusketjussa käytetyn ajan lyhentämisellä voidaan saavuttaa sekä paremmat vasteajat, että alhaisemmat kokonaiskustannukset. Tutkielman tavoitteena on kuvata teollisuuden palveluiden dynaamista ympäristöä: asiakastarvetta, sekä mahdollisuuksia kaventaa pyydetyn ja saavutetun toimitusajan välistä eroa. Tämä toteutetaan pääosin strategisen toimitusajan hallinnan keinoin. Langattomien tietoliikenneverkkojen operaattorit haluavat vähentää ydinosaamiseensa kuulumatomiin toimintoihin, kuten ylläpitoon sitoutuneita pääomia. Tutkielman case osiossa varaosapalvelujen toimitusketjun kysyntä-, materiaali- ja informaatiovirtoja analysoidaan niin kvalitatiivisten haastatteluiden, sisäisten dokumenttien, kuin kvantitatiivisten tilastollisten menetelmienkin avulla. Löydöksiä peilataan vallitsevaa toimitusketjun ja ajanhallinnan paradigmaa vasten. Tulokset osoittavat, että vahvan palvelukulttuurin omaksuminen ja kokonaisvaltainen toimitusketjun tehokkuuden mittaaminen ovat ajanhallinnan lähtökohtia teollisuuden palveluissa.

Supporting co-operative work in apron control and resource management offices on airports

A high demand exists to increase the efficiency of present airport ground facilities and the co-ordination of traffic and services. The Traffic Office plays a crucial role in managing the airport. The main tasks of the Traffic Office is management of equipment, services, and ressources based on the flight schedule and resolving conflicts arising from deviations from the schedule. A new tool will support information exchange between Traffic Office and other facilities on the airport.

"Thematically Analysing Social Network Content During Disasters Through the Lens of the Disaster Management Lifecycle" & "Investigating Similarity Between Privacy Policies of Social Networking Sites as a Precursor for Standardization"

Abstract 1: Social Networks such as Twitter are often used for disseminating and collecting information during natural disasters. The potential for its use in Disaster Management has been acknowledged. However, more nuanced understanding of the communications that take place on social networks are required to more effectively integrate this information into the processes within disaster management. The type and value of information shared should be assessed, determining the benefits and issues, with credibility and reliability as known concerns. Mapping the tweets in relation to the modelled stages of a disaster can be a useful evaluation for determining the benefits/drawbacks of using data from social networks, such as Twitter, in disaster management.A thematic analysis of tweets’ content, language and tone during the UK Storms and Floods 2013/14 was conducted. Manual scripting was used to determine the official sequence of events, and classify the stages of the disaster into the phases of the Disaster Management Lifecycle, to produce a timeline. Twenty- five topics discussed on Twitter emerged, and three key types of tweets, based on the language and tone, were identified. The timeline represents the events of the disaster, according to the Met Office reports, classed into B. Faulkner’s Disaster Management Lifecycle framework. Context is provided when observing the analysed tweets against the timeline. This illustrates a potential basis and benefit for mapping tweets into the Disaster Management Lifecycle phases. Comparing the number of tweets submitted in each month with the timeline, suggests users tweet more as an event heightens and persists. Furthermore, users generally express greater emotion and urgency in their tweets.This paper concludes that the thematic analysis of content on social networks, such as Twitter, can be useful in gaining additional perspectives for disaster management. It demonstrates that mapping tweets into the phases of a Disaster Management Lifecycle model can have benefits in the recovery phase, not just in the response phase, to potentially improve future policies and activities. Abstract2: The current execution of privacy policies, as a mode of communicating information to users, is unsatisfactory. Social networking sites (SNS) exemplify this issue, attracting growing concerns regarding their use of personal data and its effect on user privacy. This demonstrates the need for more informative policies. However, SNS lack the incentives required to improve policies, which is exacerbated by the difficulties of creating a policy that is both concise and compliant. Standardization addresses many of these issues, providing benefits for users and SNS, although it is only possible if policies share attributes which can be standardized. This investigation used thematic analysis and cross- document structure theory, to assess the similarity of attributes between the privacy policies (as available in August 2014), of the six most frequently visited SNS globally. Using the Jaccard similarity coefficient, two types of attribute were measured; the clauses used by SNS and the coverage of forty recommendations made by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office. Analysis showed that whilst similarity in the clauses used was low, similarity in the recommendations covered was high, indicating that SNS use different clauses, but to convey similar information. The analysis also showed that low similarity in the clauses was largely due to differences in semantics, elaboration and functionality between SNS. Therefore, this paper proposes that the policies of SNS already share attributes, indicating the feasibility of standardization and five recommendations are made to begin facilitating this, based on the findings of the investigation.

Definition of an it project portfolio management methodology for a pharmaceutical company

Con la creciente popularidad de las soluciones de IT como factor clave para aumentar la competitividad y la creación de valor para las empresas, la necesidad de invertir en proyectos de IT se incrementa considerablemente. La limitación de los recursos como un obstáculo para invertir ha obligado a las empresas a buscar metodologías para seleccionar y priorizar proyectos, asegurándose de que las decisiones que se toman son aquellas que van alineadas con las estrategias corporativas para asegurar la creación de valor y la maximización de los beneficios. Esta tesis proporciona los fundamentos para la implementación del Portafolio de dirección de Proyectos de IT (IT PPM) como una metodología eficaz para la gestión de proyectos basados en IT, y una herramienta para proporcionar criterios claros para los directores ejecutivos para la toma de decisiones. El documento proporciona la información acerca de cómo implementar el IT PPM en siete pasos, el análisis de los procesos y las funciones necesarias para su ejecución exitosa. Además, proporciona diferentes métodos y criterios para la selección y priorización de proyectos. Después de la parte teórica donde se describe el IT PPM, la tesis aporta un análisis del estudio de caso de una empresa farmacéutica. La empresa ya cuenta con un departamento de gestión de proyectos, pero se encontró la necesidad de implementar el IT PPM debido a su amplia cobertura de procesos End-to-End en Proyectos de IT, y la manera de asegurar la maximización de los beneficios. Con la investigación teórica y el análisis del estudio de caso, la tesis concluye con una definición práctica de un modelo aproximado IT PPM como una recomendación para su implementación en el Departamento de Gestión de Proyectos.