Modelling the disability severity score in motor insurance claims: an application to the Spanish case

Bodily injury claims have the greatest impact on the claim costs of motor insurance companies. The disability severity of motor claims is assessed in numerous European countries by means of score systems. In this paper a zero inflated generalized Poisson regression model is implemented to estimate the disability severity score of victims in-volved in motor accidents on Spanish roads. We show that the injury severity estimates may be automatically converted into financial terms by insurers at any point of the claim handling process. As such, the methodology described may be used by motor insurers operating in the Spanish market to monitor the size of bodily injury claims. By using insurance data, various applications are presented in which the score estimate of disability severity is of value to insurers, either for computing the claim compensation or for claim reserve purposes.

Empirical analysis of solid management waste costs: Some evidence from Galicia, Spain

This paper analyses the factors that determine solid waste service costs. The empirical analysis is based on information derived from a survey conducted in a sample of Galician municipalities. The results reveal economies of scale in municipalities of fewer than 50,000 inhabitants, such that cooperation between these municipalities could lead to cost savings. It also appears that private delivery is not cheaper than public delivery. Finally, designating a larger proportion of the total waste volume to recycling does not imply greater costs.

Defining a framework model to determine total costs of managed desktops using ITIL best practices

In modern day organizations there are an increasing number of IT devices such as computers, mobile phones and printers. These devices can be located and maintained by using specialized IT management applications. Costs related to a single device accumulate from various sources and are normally categorized as direct costs like hardware costs and indirect costs such as labor costs. These costs can be saved in a configuration management database and presented to users using web based development tools such as ASP.NET. The overall costs of IT devices during their lifecycle can be ten times higher than the actual purchase price of the product and ability to define and reduce these costs can save organizations noticeable amount of money. This Master’s Thesis introduces the research field of IT management and defines a custom framework model based on Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) best practices which is designed to be implemented as part of an existing IT management application for defining and presenting IT costs.

Public and Private Production in a Mixed Delivery System: Regulation, Competition and Costs

Academics and policy makers are increasingly shifting the debate concerning the best form of public service provision beyond the traditional dilemma between pure public and pure private delivery modes, because, among other reasons, there is a growing body of evidence that casts doubt on the existence of systematic cost savings from privatization, while any competition seems to be eroded over time. In this paper we compare the relative merits of public and private delivery within a mixed delivery system. We study the role played by ownership, transaction costs, and competition on local public service delivery within the same jurisdiction. Using a stochastic cost frontier, we analyze the public-private urban bus system in the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. Our results suggest that private firms tendering the service have higher delivery costs than those incurred by the public firm, especially when transaction costs are taken into account. Tenders, therefore, do not help to reduce delivery costs. Our results suggest that under a mixed delivery scheme, which permits the co-existence of public and private production, the metropolitan government and the regulator can use private delivery to contain costs in the public firm and, at the same time, benefit from the greater flexibility of private firms for dealing with events not provided for under contract.

Driver costs in small firms: Empirical analysis for farms

The agricultural sector has always been characterized by a predominance of small firms. International competition and the consequent need for restraining costs are permanent challenges for farms. This paper performs an empirical investigation of cost behavior in agriculture using panel data analysis. Our results show that transactions caused by complexity influence farm costs with opposite effects for specific and indirect costs. While transactions allow economies of scale in specific costs, they significantly increase indirect costs. However, the main driver for farm costs is volume. In addition, important differences exist for small and big farms, since transactional variables significantly influence the former but not the latter. While sophisticated management tools, such ABC, could provide only limited complementary useful information but no essential allocation bases for farms, they seem inappropriate for small farms

Driver costs in small firms: Empirical analysis for farms

The agricultural sector has always been characterized by a predominance of small firms. International competition and the consequent need for restraining costs are permanent challenges for farms. This paper performs an empirical investigation of cost behavior in agriculture using panel data analysis. Our results show that transactions caused by complexity influence farm costs with opposite effects for specific and indirect costs. While transactions allow economies of scale in specific costs, they significantly increase indirect costs. However, the main driver for farm costs is volume. In addition, important differences exist for small and big farms, since transactional variables significantly influence the former but not the latter. While sophisticated management tools, such ABC, could provide only limited complementary useful information but no essential allocation bases for farms, they seem inappropriate for small farms

Seisokkien aiheuttamat kustannukset ja tulonmenetykset ongelma- ja yhdyskuntajätteen termisessä käsittelyssä

Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää seisokkitunnista aiheutuvat kustannukset ja tulonmenetykset eri polttolinjoille ja niiden kombinaatioille Ekokem Oy Ab:n jätteenpolttolaitoksessa. Työ suoritettiin tarkastelemalla prosessitietokantaan tallentunutta tietoa sekä keräämällä tietoa haastatteluilla. Jätetulon menetyksen määrittelytavalla oli keskeinen vaikutus tulonmenetysten muodostumiseen. Muita kustannuksiin ja tulonmenetyksiin vaikuttavia tekijöitä olivat vuodenaika, seisokin pituus ja energiantoimituksen sopimukset. Kaikissa seisokeissa ei välttämättä aiheudu välitöntä jätetulon menetystä, mutta käsittelemättä jäävän jätteen voidaan silti nähdä aiheuttavan tilapäisvarastoinnin tarvetta, josta aiheutuu kustannuksia. Tämän vuoksi eri polttolinjojen jätetulon menetys laskettiin kahdella tavalla olettaen ensin kaiken polttamatta jäävän jätteen aiheuttavan jätetulon menetystä sekä siten, että jätetulon menetys ja mahdollisesta varastoinnista aiheutuvat kustannukset arvioitiin kokemusperäisesti. Jätetulon todellisten menetysten määräytyminen voi tapahtua kummalla tavalla hyvänsä riippuen seisokkihetkellä vallitsevista olosuhteista. Kustannukset ja tulonmenetykset laskettiin kolmelle eripituiselle ajanjaksolle ja jaettiin tuntihinnoiksi. Työssä käsitellyille eri seisokkitilanteille saatiin 131 eri tuntihintaa kun muuttujia vaihdeltiin. Suurimmat kustannukset ja tulonmenetykset muodostuivat jätevoimalan seisokista lämmityskaudella. Tämä johtui siitä, että jätevoimalassa poltettavaa yhdyskuntajätettä ei pystytä varastoimaan toisin kuin ongelmajätteitä. Jätevoimalan seisokkitunti voi lämmityskaudella maksaa enimmillään 2600 €/h, josta menetetyn jätetulon osuus on liki puolet. Lisäksi jätevoimalan höyryntuotanto on yli puolet kokonaistuotannosta.

Lähiverkkotuotteen palveluprosessien kehittäminen, Case: Elisa

Diplomityön aiheena oli tutkia case-yrityksen prosessikehitystä, prosessijohtamista sekä lähiverkkopalveluketjua prosessinäkökulman kannalta. Tutkimuksen päätavoitteina oli selvittää, kuinka lähiverkkopalveluketjun toimintaa voisi tehostaa, ja minkälaisia kertakustannuksia yhdestä keskiverotoimituksesta syntyy. Tavoitteina oli myös selvittää yrityksen prosessikehittämisen tila sekä minkälaisia prosessijohtamismalleja yrityksessä käytetään ja millä tavoin sen pääprosesseja johdetaan. Tutkimus oli case-tyyppinen, eli siinä tutkittiin yhden yrityksen toimintaa ja prosesseja. Teoreettinen pohja tutkimukselle luotiin käsittelemällä liiketoimintaprosesseihin liittyviä ydinmääritelmiä, erilaisia prosessijohtamismalleja ja liiketoimintaprosessien mittaamista. Tutkimuksen peruselementit tiedon hankintaan olivat kirjallisuus ja haastattelut. Lisäksi tutkimus pohjasi vahvasti tutkijan tekemiin omiin havaintoihin yrityksessä ja sen toimintaympäristössä. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisessä vaiheessa kartoitettiin lähiverkkopalveluketjun senhetkinen tilanne, analysoitiin palveluketjun sisältämiä prosesseja ja kirjattiin ylös havaitut ongelmakohdat. Haastatteluista kerättyjen tietojen perusteella laskettiin yhdestä keskivertolähiverkkotoimituksesta case-yritykselle syntyvät kertakustannukset. Tämän lisäksi analysoitiin yrityksen senhetkistä prosessijohtamis- ja prosessikehitystasoa sekä peilattiin niitä yrityksen tulevaisuuden prosessikehittämistoimiin. Lopuksi johtopäätöksien kautta esitettiin kaksi toimintaehdotusta, joilla palveluketjun toimintaa voitaisiin parantaa. Ensimmäinen ehdotus oli radikaalimpi, ja siinä siirryttäisiin kokonaan pois palveluketjumallista tiimipohjaiseen malliin. Toisessa ehdotuksessa keskityttiin korjaamaan palveluketjun ongelmakohtia.

Cumulative Costs of Caries Prevention and Treatment in Children - with Special Reference to Work Division and Cohort Effect

Lapsen karieshoidon kustannuskertymän muutokset ja karieshoidon toimintakäytäntöjen yhteys kustannuksiin Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli mitata terveyskeskuksessa hoidettavien lasten karieshoidon kumulatiivisia kustannuksia ja verrata niitä kahden erilaisen toimintatavan välillä. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin lasten hampaiden terveyttä. Tutkimus tehtiin julkisen palvelutuottajan näkökulmasta. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin Kemin ja Tornion terveyskeskusten suun terveydenhuollon potilaskertomuksista. Kemin kohortit 1980, 1983 ja 1986 (n = 600) ja Tornion kohortit 1980 ja 1992 (n = 400) edustivat perinteistä ja Kemin kohortit 1989, 1992 ja 1995 (n = 600) uutta toimintatapaa työnjaon ja ehkäisyn ajoituksen suhteen. Kohortteja ja kaupunkeja verrattiin hampaiden terveyden (dmft/DMFT = 0 ja dmft ja DMFT keskiarvot 5 ja 12 vuoden iässä) ja voimavarojen käytön suhteen. Panoskäyttö johdettiin käyntimäärien avulla laskennallisen työajan kautta. Kustannuskertymät muodostettiin käyttämällä henkilöstömenoista laskettuja suorittajakohtaisia yksikkökustannuksia. Panoskäytön ja yksikkökustannusten kautta muodostettiin kustannuskertymät. Kustannusten ja terveysvaikutusten suhteita arvioitiin kustannus-vaikuttavuusanalyysissä. Suuhygienistien työpanosta hyödyntävällä varhaisen ehkäisyn toimintamallilla saavutettiin vähäisemmin kustannuksin alle kouluiässä parempi ja kouluiässä yhtä hyvä hammasterveys kuin perinteisellä, enemmän hammaslääkärien työpanokseen perustuvalla tavalla. Karieksen hoitoon liittyvien käyntien määrä oli nuorimmissa syntymävuosikohorteissa pienempi kuin vanhimmissa kohorteissa. Käynnit hammaslääkärissä vähenivät eniten. Toimintatavalla oli merkittävä vaikutus lapsen karieshoidon kokonaiskustannuksiin. Herkkyysanalyysin mukaan karieshoidon kustannukset olivat työnjakoa hyödyntämällä kolmanneksen pienemmät, kuin jos hoidon suorittajana olisi ollut ainoastaan hammaslääkäri-hoitaja työpari. Lasten karieshoidon kustannusvaikuttavuus kohentui molemmissa terveyskeskuksissa nuoremmissa kohorteissa vanhempiin verrattuna. Suun terveydenhuollon potilaskertomuksia olisi hyödynnettävä toiminnan kehittämisessä. Varhaisen ehkäisyn avulla voitaisiin kaikkien suun terveydenhuollon ammattihenkilöiden työpanos kohdentaa kustannustehokkaasti.

Local privatization, intermunicipal cooperation, transaction costs and political interests: Evidence from Spain

Several empirical studies have analyzed the factors that influence local privatization. Variables related to fiscal stress, cost reduction, political processes and ideological attitudes are the most common explanatory variables used in these studies. In this paper, we add to this literature by examining the influence of transaction costs and political factors on local governments’ choices through new variables. In addition to this, we consider the role of additional aspects, such as intermunicipal cooperation as a potential alternative to privatization in order to exploit scale economies or scope economies. We consider two relevant services: solid waste collection and water distribution. Results from our estimates show that privatization (that is, contracting out to a private firm) is less common for water distribution than for solid waste collection. Higher transaction costs in water distribution are consistent with this finding. Furthermore, we find that municipalities with a conservative ruling party privatize more often regardless of the ideological orientation of the constituency. This shows that those political interests able to influence local elections are more important in determining the form of delivery than is the basic ideological stance of the constituency. Finally, we find that intermunicipal cooperation is an alternative to local privatization.

A comparative study of difficulties in accounting preparation and judgement in agriculture using fair value and historical cost accounting for biological assets valuation

This paper presents empirical research comparing the accounting difficulties that arise from the use of two valuation methods for biological assets, fair value (FV) and historical cost (HC) accounting, in the agricultural sector. It also compares how reliable each valuation method is in the decision-making process of agents within the sector. By conducting an experiment with students, farmers, and accountants operating in the agricultural sector, we find that they have more difficulties, make larger miscalculations and make poorer judgements with HC accounting than with FV accounting. In-depth interviews uncover flawed accounting practices in the agricultural sector in Spain in order to meet HC accounting requirements. Given the complexities of cost calculation for biological assets and the predominance of small family business units in advanced Western countries, the study concludes that accounting can be more easily applied in the agricultural sector under FV than HC accounting, and that HC conveys a less accurate grasp of the real situation of a farm.

The effects of real time control of welding parameters on weld quality in plasma arc keyhole welding

Joints intended for welding frequently show variations in geometry and position, for which it is unfortunately not possible to apply a single set of operating parameters to ensure constant quality. The cause of this difficulty lies in a number of factors, including inaccurate joint preparation and joint fit up, tack welds, as well as thermal distortion of the workpiece. In plasma arc keyhole welding of butt joints, deviations in the gap width may cause weld defects such as an incomplete weld bead, excessive penetration and burn through. Manual adjustment of welding parameters to compensate for variations in the gap width is very difficult, and unsatisfactory weld quality is often obtained. In this study a control system for plasma arc keyhole welding has been developed and used to study the effects of the real time control of welding parameters on gap tolerance during welding of austenitic stainless steel AISI 304L. The welding tests demonstrated the beneficial effect of real time control on weld quality. Compared with welding using constant parameters, the maximum tolerable gap width with an acceptable weld quality was 47% higher when using the real time controlled parameters for a plate thickness of 5 mm. In addition, burn through occurred with significantly larger gap widths when parameters were controlled in real time. Increased gap tolerance enables joints to be prepared and fit up less accurately, saving time and preparation costs for welding. In addition to the control system, a novel technique for back face monitoring is described in this study. The test results showed that the technique could be successfully applied for penetration monitoring when welding non magnetic materials. The results also imply that it is possible to measure the dimensions of the plasma efflux or weld root, and use this information in a feedback control system and, thus, maintain the required weld quality.

Private micro-irrigation costs using reclaimed water

The cost of reusing water in micro-irrigation at the field level has not been studied in depth although the use of effluents in agriculture is a viable alternative in areas where water is scarce or there is intense competition for its use. The aim of the present study is to analyse the private costs of water reuse in micro-irrigation in an experimental plot. This analysis is intended to provide information about the decision a farmer would make when the choice to use conventional or reclaimed water is guided by cost criteria. The components of the total costs of different combinations of four types of filters and five emitters that can be installed in micro-irrigation systems using reclaimed water have been studied with the data obtained from an experimental plot in conditions similar to those of fruit orchards. Different scenarios that compared the costs of using conventional or reclaimed water in terms of water price and nutrient content were also studied. The results show that a proper combination of filters and emitters can save up to 33% in irrigation costs. Capital costs and maintenance costs were the most variable among the different combinations. Scenario analysis showed that the greater price of reclaimed water could be compensated by high nutrient contents, which would reduce fertilizer costs

Developing an Improved System for Allocating Support Unit Costs to Business Units

The objective of this study is to develop an improved support unit cost allocation system for a medium-sized technology company, and to examine which options for overhead cost accounting exist. The study begins with presenting the terminology and methods associated with overhead cost accounting and responsibility accounting. Also the most common challenges and resulting benefits of overhead cost allocation system development are brought up. As one research method two case studies were conducted for benchmarking purposes. These external cases are compared with the principal company’s cost allocation system and reflected against the theoretical background. In the empirical section interviews were used as the primary source of information alongside self studying principal company’s old cost allocation method. Interviews revealed the main weaknesses of the old system and proposals for a new one, which were utilized in setting targets for developing the new system. As a result of the development process an improved support unit cost allocation system was realized for year 2009. The new system is able to handle support unit costs in more detail enhancing the transparency and fairness of resulting cost allocations. Parts of support unit costs are now seen as business units’ own costs rather than group-level overhead. Also recommendations for further development are made after analyzing how well the targets were reached.