Optimization Management of Industrial Organizations Based on Performance Indicators

This paper proposes an intelligent management system (IMS) to help managers in their delicate and tedious task of exploiting the plethora of data (indicators) contained in management dashboards. This system is based on intelligent agents, ontologies and data mining. It is implemented by PASSI (Process for Agent Societies Specification and Implementation) methods for agent design and implementation, the Methodology for Knowledge Modeling and Hot-Winters for data prediction. Intelligent agents not only track indicators but also store the knowledge of managers within the company. Ontologies are used to manage the representation and presentation aspects of knowledge. Data mining makes it possible to: make the most of all available data;model the industrial process of data selection, exploration and modeling;and transform behaviors into predictive indicators. An instance of the IMS named SYGISS, currently in operation within a large brewery organization, allows us to observe very interesting results: the extraction of indicators is done in less than 5 minutes whereas manual extraction used to take 14 days;the generation of dashboards is instantaneous whereas it used to take 12 hours;the interpretation of indicators is instantaneous whereas it used to take a day;forecasts are possible and are done in less than 5 minutes whereas they did not exist with the old management. These important contributions help to optimize the management of this organization.

The Impact of Health Information Technology on Hospital Performance: A Systematic Integrative Literature Review

Objective: To review, categorise, and synthesise findings from literature on health information technology (HIT) functionalities, HIT use, and the impact of HIT on hospital performance. Materials and Methods: We conducted a systematic integrative literature review based on a compre-hensive database search. To organise, categorise and synthesise the ex-isting literature, we adopted the affordance actualization theory. To align the literature with our research framework, we used four categories: 1) the functionalities of HIT and how these functionalities are measured;2) use and immediate outcomes of HIT functionalities;3) different perfor-mance indicators and how HIT functionalities affect them;and 4) what hospital characteristics influence the outcome of hospital performance. Results: Fifty-two studies were included. We identified four types of HIT. Only ten studies (19.2%) define the use of HIT by explicitly meas-uring the use rate of HIT. We identified five dimensions of hospital per-formance indicators. Every dimension showed mixed results;however, in general, HIT has a positive impact on mortality and patient readmis-sions. We found several hospital characteristics that may affect the rela-tionship between HIT and hospital-level outcomes. Discussion: Further efforts should focus on embedded research on HIT functionalities, use and effects of HIT implementations with more performance indicators and adjusted for hospital characteristics. Conclusion: The proposed framework could help hospitals and researchers make decisions regard-ing the functionalities, use and effects of HIT implementation in hospi-tals. Given our research outcomes, we suggest future research opportuni-ties to improve understanding of how HIT affects hospital performance. .

From EBIT to SEBIT(Sustainable EBIT):Sustainable Performance Accounting(SPA)Using the Example of CO_(2) Accounting

Corporate sustainability reporting has become increasingly important in recent years.However,conventional approaches reach their limits when it comes to quantifying and measuring the actual sustainability performance of a company.This article presents a new approach:Sustainable Performance Accounting(SPA),which is based on an extension of bookkeeping by including ESG bookkeeping.SPA enables companies to systematically measure and manage their sustainability performance.The article provides an overview of the basics of SPA methodology and uses a comprehensive example showing how SPA can be implemented in practice.The article is aimed at interested readers from science and practice as well as decision-makers who are interested in future-oriented sustainability reporting.

Effect of Dietary Supplementation with Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten on Growth Performance, Cell Immunity and Serum Biochemical Indices of Weaned Piglets (Sus scrofa)

To investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with hydrolyzed wheat gluten （HWG） on growth performance, cell immunity and serum biochemical indices of weaned piglets, 160 crossed （Large White×andrace） and weaned piglets were randomly divided into 4 treatments with 4 replicates of 10 piglets each. The piglets in each treatment were fed an experimental diet containing either 0 g kg-1 HWG （control group）, 30 g kg-1 HWG （3% HWG group）, 50 g kg-1 HWG （5% HWG group）, or 2.5 g kg-1 glycyl-L-glutamine （0.25% Gly-Gln group）. The results showed that the diarrhea rates in 3% HWG and 5% HWG groups were significantly lower than in control group from d 1 to 14 （P〈0.05）, while the average daily gain （ADG） in each of two groups was increased （P〉0.05）. When compared with control group, dietary supplementation with 3% HWG increased the ratio of CD4＋：CD8＋ and the ratio of serum albumin and globulin concentrations （A：G） on d 14 and 28, as well as the proliferation of T- and B-lymphocytes （P〉0.05） on d 28. In addition, on d 14 and 28, the A：G ratio in 5% HWG group was significantly higher than in control group （P〈0.05）, while the ratio of CD4＋：CD8＋ increased slightly （P〉0.05）. Interestingly, 0.25% Gly-Gln group had higher proportion of CD3＋ （P〉0.05） and CD4＋ （P〈0.05） on d 14 than control group, but growth performances of 0.25% Gly-Gln group were negatively affected at all experiment stages. These results suggested that HWG might improve the growth performance of piglets by strengthening cell immunity and decreasing the occurrence of diarrhea during the prophase after weaning.

Green Infrastructure Practice and a Sustainability Key Performance Indicators Framework for Neighbourhood-Level Construction of Sponge City Programme

In recent years, the Sponge City program (SCP) of China, as a sustainable stormwater management approach, has been strengthened as a national strategic level program. The Green Infrastructure (GI), due to its multi-objective and multi-benefits, has been adopted as an important measure of this new nationwide initiative. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive quantitative evaluation system for neighbourhood scale SCP. Hence, in the process of GI plan optimization, selection of implementation methods to balance its multi-benefits has become one of the key obstacles in the practice of SCP. To support robust decision making on multi-objective GI planning and comprehensive assessment, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been used as a structural and systematic technique. In addition, a set of sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) including requisite dimensions is the foundation for neighbourhood scale sustainability. Hence, AHP-based evaluation system including selection, weighting and ranking of the KPIs, is defined as a key performance indicator framework (KPIF), which is still in need for further development. Taking the GI planning for the Liangnong, Siming Lake sponge node restoration as an example, this paper develops KPIF with a comprehensive evaluation system for high-quality “Sponge Node” transitional construction. This KPIF consists of three basic criteria: “Environmental Performance”, “Economic and Adaptability Performance”, and “Social-cultural Performance and Wellbeing Performance”. In addition, 15 weighted KPIs are concluded and amongst them, the followings were relatively high: weight of the ATRCR, the promotion of biodiversity, the construction cost saving, the maintenance cost saving, and the level of recreational and wellbeing improvements for all people. In addition, the developed KPIF provides a reference for similar program’s decision-making, not only for the Jiangnan area of China, but also for quantitatively comprehensive evaluations of SCP in other regions.

Effects of Dietary Concentrate to Forage Ratios on Production Performance and Serum Biochemical Indicators in Post-fattening Hainan Yellow Cattle

[Objective]The paper was to investigate the effects of dietary concentrate to forage ratios on production performance and serum bio-chemical indicators of post-fattening Hainan Yellow Cattle.[Method]Sixteen Hainan Yellow Cattles with the same genetic backgrounds and similar initial weight of(242.22 ±0.71 kg) were randomly divided into four treatments.Cattles were fed with diets of different concentrate to forage ratios(20:80, group Ⅰ;30:70, Group Ⅱ;40:60, group Ⅲ;50:50, group Ⅳ).The trial lasted 62 d.[Result]The daily gain in experimental group Ⅳ was significantly higher than that in experimental group Ⅱ(P<0.05), but the feed gain ratio in experimental group Ⅳ was lower than those in other ex-perimental groups(P>0.05).The feed intake in experimental group Ⅳ was also markedly higher than those in experimental groups Ⅰ and Ⅱ(P<0.05).Compared with the experimental group Ⅱ, the gross profit of experimental group Ⅳ was significantly promoted(P<0.05).The alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities in experimental group Ⅱ were markedly higher than those in experimental groups Ⅰ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ.[Conclusion]When the dietary concentrate to forage ratios was 50∶50, the production performance of post-fattening Hainan Yellow Cattle was better.

Exploring Enterprise Performance Indicators Network： A Case Study of China Telecommunication Industry

Performance indicators play some important roles in enterprise operation.Both researchers and managers have recently pointed out that the identification of correlation between different performance indicators may lead to a better understanding of business.However,it is becoming more and more difficult to measure and analyze these indicators since the fast growing number of performance indicators and the complex relationships between them.The existing categories failed to reflect these changes in an adequate way,and the quantitative analysis methods for identifying the characters of those performance indicators are still worthy of investigation.The main objective of this paper is to propose a practical methodology for managing and analyzing performance indicators in enterprises,which focuses on building up a performance indicator system and discovering the characters of those performance indicators by applying complex network methods.The empirical results of a telecommunication enterprise show that the proposed method can be effective in understanding the correlations between performance indicators.

The Effects of Growth Performance and Organosomatic Indices of Atlantic Salmon Juvenile by Using Different Carbohydrate-to-Lipid Ratios in Feeds

The effect of different carbohydrate-to-lipid ratios in feeds on the growth performance and organosomatic indices of Atlantic salmon, Salmon salar, was determined in this experiment. Four iso- energetic feeds were manufactured with increasing carbohydrate level (18%, 21%, 14%, 26%). Lipid level was decreasing from 14% to 11% for each diet for energetic balance. Fish were reared in triplicate tanks for each diet treatment for 49 days. The diet which contained 26% carbohydrate and 11% lipid provided the highest specific growth rate (SGR = 0.66% ± 0.04% per day) to the fish. However, the feed efficiency (FER) ranked from 0.71 to 0.91 had no significant differences between diets. Similarly, the values of condition index (K), relative gut length (RGL) and hepatosomatic index (HSI) had no significant differences between groups. The relationship between liver and carcass weight showed that with the increasing of fish carcass weight, the liver weight increased. According to this experiment, it suggests that based on an optimum level of carbohydrate in diet, the juvenile salmon has a better growth fed by a diet with a higher carbohydrate-to-lipid ratio.

Providing Performance Evaluation Indicators for Intelligent Transportation Systems (The Case Study of Tehran-Karaj Freeway Located in Iran)

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) play a fundamental role in reducing traffic congestion and increasing safety during daily transportation. These systems can also be useful in improving social welfare leading to general satisfaction. Proper performance evaluation can be efficient in improving the performance of these systems, and providing a scientific assessment index system can assist decision-makers in smart communities to plan for the development of ITS. However, the evaluation of these systems requires identifying appropriate indicators of performance evaluation that are consistent with the views of the beneficiaries of these systems. In this paper, performance evaluation indicators of ITS have been identified, and three indicators entitled “environmental and safety”, “assistance in reducing traffic congestion” and “attractive public transport” are presented to evaluate the performance of these systems. Moreover, the intelligent transport systems of the Tehran-Karaj Freeway in Iran are studied, and inferential statistical methods are employed to test the research hypotheses. It is worth noticing that in this study, a one-sample T-test method is used for hypotheses assessment and the SPSS software was used to analyze the findings. Also, the results demonstrated that the performance of ITS in the Tehran-Karaj Freeway regarding the indicators, such as “Declaration of route blocking information due to maintenance or reconstruction” and “Declaration of path geometry conditions” has not been acceptable.

Analysis of the Performance Indicators of the PV Power System

The energy assessment of the PV power systems is carried out by using different types of performance indicators that benchmark the output of these systems against the PV panel maximum output at hypothetical operation conditions. In this paper, a comparative analysis of six types of performance indicators is conducted and a new performance indicator which considers PV panel slope and orientation is proposed. The proposed indicator is benchmarking the PV system actual output against the maximum output of the same system if it would operate in two axis tracking mode. The proposed performance indicator is used to develop a friendly user calculator of PV system output that can be used by, energy providers and PV system installers to evaluate the output of the PV grid connect network. The advantage of the developed calculator is high-lighted by a case study that estimates energy capacity of different residential rooftop PV systems installed in a residential suburb in Sydney.

Loon Nest Viability Model: A Performance Indicator for Improving Water-Level Regulation of Large Water Bodies

Rule curves dictating target water levels for management have been implemented in several water bodies in North America over the last 70 years or more. Anthropogenic alterations of water levels are known to affect several components of wetland ecosystems. Evaluating the influence of rule curves on biological components with simple performance indicators could help harmonize water level management with wetland integrity. We assessed the potential of using the probability of common loon nest viability as a performance indicator of long-term impacts of rule curves on nesting wetland birds. We analyzed the outcome of rule curves on the probability of loon nest viability in Rainy Lake and Namakan Reservoir, 2 regulated water bodies located along the Ontario-Minnesota border. The analysis was focused on 4 hydrological time series between 1950 and 2013: 2 sets of time series simulating rule curves used to manage the water bodies in the past decades (referred to as the 1970RC and 2000RC), one of the historical measured water levels, and one of computed natural water levels. The probability of loon nest viability under the 1970RC was 2× higher than under natural conditions in both water bodies. The probability was also 2× higher under the 2000RC than under the 1970RC in the Namakan Reservoir but not in Rainy Lake. The rule curves generally improved conditions for nesting loons in both water bodies. The presented performance indicator can be used to evaluate future rule curves before they are implemented in the Rainy-Namakan or other similar systems.

Construction and Research of Evaluation Indicator System for Technological Innovation Performance

In view of sci-tech innovation and innovation-driving requirements of Chinese President Xi Jinping,it is necessary to establish a complete evaluation indicator system for technological innovation performance in Guizhou Province,to accurately evaluate development situation of technological innovation in Guizhou Province,promote close connection of science and technology with economy,and boost rapid development of national economy. In Guizhou Province,there is still no complete evaluation indicator system for technological innovation performance, so it is impossible to comprehensively reflect its technological innovation situation. On the basis of analyzing regional technological innovation and development of Guizhou Province,this paper presents evaluation principles,analysis framework and evaluation methods and gives countermeasures and recommendations for evaluation indicator system for technological innovation performance in Guizhou Province.

Research Performance Assessment Based on T-Indicator

A novel indicator named after Tianjin University (TJU)-T-indicator-was investigated as an effective supplement of established Article Assessment System of Tianjin University, aiming to correct differences among fields. Based on normalized citation counts, T-indicator could give the order of research performance of researchers or groups in different disciplines. Weighted citation analysis was also introduced in this method to judge the contribution of researchers to their research outcomes. A given example was used to thoroughly discuss this evaluation method, via the application of derivative indices, including Tyear, Taverage, Ttotal and weighted-Ttotal.

Difference among the quality indices,chemical composition and frying performance of galangal flavored sunflower oil prepared by three methods

Flavored vegetable oils have attracted more and more attentions from consumers and researchers due to their high oxidative stability and sensory quality.In the present study,the quality indices,chemical composition and frying performance of galangal flavored sunflower oil prepared by infusion method(GFSO-I),combination pressing method(GFSO-C)and direct addition method(GFSO-A)were investigated.The results displayed that the preparation time,the levels for the acid value(AV),peroxide value(PV),p-anisidine value(AnV),total oxidation value(TOTOX),and the values for total polar compounds(TPC),thiobarbituric acid(TBA),K232 and K268 of GFSO-C were prominently low(P<0.05),compared with that of GFSO-I and GFSO-A,while the fatty acid composition of them were similar.In the frying of Chinese Maye(tradional Chinese food,fried dough stick)at 180°C for 30 h,the values for TPC,TBA,K232 and K268,polymer,viscosity and b*of GFSO-C were obviously low(P<0.05),while the value for L*was obviously high(P<0.05),compared with that of GFSO-I and GFSO-A.In the sensory evaluation,the flavor,taste,crispness and overall acceptance of Chinese Maye fried by GFSO-C were better than that of Chinese Maye fried by GFSO-I and GFSO-A.Consequently,GFSO-C is more suitable for cooking,and the combination pressing method is optimal for industrial production of GFSO.