Authorize certain USDA employees to bear firearms [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, on H.R. 2035, March 4, 1982.

"Serial no. 97-DDD."

Extension service oversight [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, February 17, March 9 and 10, 1982.

"Serial no. 97-EEE."

Sustainable agricultural systems [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, April 16, 1982, Ontario, Calif., April 22 and 27, 1982, Washington, D.C.

"Serial no. 97-PPP."

Review of OIG operations [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, July 28, 1982.

"Serial no. 97-IIII."

Agricultural development in the Caribbean and Central America : joint hearings before the Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, July 20 and 22, 1982.

"Serial No. 97-ZZZ."

EPA pesticide regulatory program study [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session, December 17, 1982.

"Serial no. 97-NNNN."

Implementation plan for a national nutrition status monitoring system [microform] : joint hearing before the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology of the Committee on Science and Technology and the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Research, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, first session, June 24, 1981.

"Serial no. 97-N."

Executive decisions and operations research.

Mode of access: Internet.

Models of adding relations to an organization structure of a complete K-ary tree

This paper proposes three models of adding relations to an organization structure which is a complete K-ary tree of height H: (i) a model of adding an edge between two nodes with the same depth N, (ii) a model of adding edges between every pair of nodes with the same depth N and (iii) a model of adding edges between every pair of siblings with the same depth N. For each of the three models, an optimal depth N* is obtained by maximizing the total shortening path length which is the sum of shortening lengths of shortest paths between every pair of all nodes. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimal periodic preventive maintenance policy for leased equipment

For leased equipment the lessor incurs penalty costs for failures occurring over the lease period and for not rectifying such failures within a specified time limit. Through preventive maintenance actions the penalty costs can be reduced but this is achieved at the expense of increased maintenance costs. The paper looks at a periodic preventive maintenance policy which achieves a tradeoff between the penalty and maintenance costs. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Product performance and specification in new product development

This paper deals with product performance and specification in new product development. There are many different definitions of performance and specification in the literature. These are reviewed and a new classification scheme for product performance is proposed. The link between performance and specification is discussed in detail using a new model for the new product development process. The new model involves two stages, with each containing three main phases, and is useful for making decisions with regards to product performance and specification.

Product warranty and reliability

Product warranty is an important part of new product marketing and sales. Offering warranty implies additional costs in the form of warranty servicing cost. Product reliability has a serious impact on the warranty servicing cost. As such, effective management of product reliability must take into account the link between warranty and reliability. This paper deals with this topic and develops a framework needed for effective management of product reliability. It reviews the relevant literature and defines topics for future research.

Maintenance Strategies for used equipment under lease

Abstract: Purpose – The aim of this research is to determine the optimal upgrade and preventive maintenance actions that minimize the total expected cost (maintenance costs+penalty costs). Design/methodology/approach – The problem is a four-parameter optimization with two parameters being k-dimensional. The optimal solution is obtained by using a four-stage approach where at each stage a one-parameter optimization is solved. Findings – Upgrading action is an extra option before the lease of used equipment, in addition to preventive maintenance action. Upgrading action makes equipment younger and preventive maintenance action lowers the ROCOF. Practical implications – There is a growing trend towards leasing equipment rather than owning it. The lease contract contains penalties if the equipment fails often and repairs are done within reasonable time period. This implies that the lessor needs to look at optimal preventive maintenance strategies in the case of new equipment lease, and upgrade actions plus preventive maintenance in the case of used equipment lease. The paper deals with this topic and is of great significant to business involved with leasing equipment. Originality/value – Nowadays many organizations are interested in leasing equipment and outsourcing maintenance. The model in this paper addresses the preventive maintenance problem for leased equipment. It provides an approach to dealing with this problem.