Using Satisfaction Ratings to Minimize Risk

Warranties in the construction industry have become more prevalent in the last couple of decades. Moreover buyers in the construction industry rely heavily on the length of the warranties for the purchase of any product or service. The warranty is an agreement between the buyer and the manufacturer and has inclusions that if altered voids the warranty. Hence the length of the warranty has no correlation to the actual performance of the product or service being purchased. One of the manufacturers in the construction industry, in order to differentiate themselves from other manufacturers, approached the researchers to implement a system that can better assist and serve their end users beyond just providing a warranty. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the warranty tracking program that tracks the installed roofing projects for the manufacturers providing an overall snapshot of the performance of all the installed projects. The warranty tracking program provides the manufacturer the risky projects (leaks, blisters, end-user dissatisfied) with the use of end-user customer satisfaction every year. The researchers also implemented the high performance roofing program and a performance-based licensure process to attract high performing applicators. Since the inception of the warranty tracking program the manufacturer has been able to resolve 69 out of 70 (98%) risky projects. In conclusion, the warranty tracking program provided the manufacturer a better way to assist and serve their end users through proactive resolution of risky projects.

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Hail Study on a 15 Year Old Sprayed Polyurethane Foam Roofing System

Journal for the Advancement of Performance Information and Value ◽

10.37265/japiv.v8i1.47 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Dean Kashiwagi ◽

Dhaval Gajjar ◽

Jacob Kashiwagi ◽

Kenneth Sullivan

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Actual Performance ◽

Independent School District ◽

High Performing ◽

Dallas Independent School District ◽

Hail Damage ◽

Service Period ◽

Procurement System ◽

The Cost

The Dallas Independent School District (DISD) has utilized Alpha sprayed polyurethane (SPF) roof systems since the 1980s. Alpha SPF roof systems are high performing roof systems if installed properly and are very resistant to hail damage (hail damage is significant in the Dallas area). However, DISD, due to their low bid award procurement system, have had some poor performing roof systems installed by contractors who did not utilize performing materials and processes. The Alpha SPF roof system is now being questioned by designers who are not aware of their high performance and wanted to tear-off one of the oldest SPF roofing systems after a hail storm. This case study is on one of DISD roofs which were studied to determine the actual and potential service period based on actual performance. It was concluded that the roof is capable of lasting another 15 more years with a simple recoat (resulting in 38 years of performance at a fraction of the cost of a traditional modified roof).

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A Performing Manufacturer Mitigates Risk by Using Performance Information Systems

Journal for the Advancement of Performance Information and Value ◽

10.37265/japiv.v12i1.39 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 10-20

Author(s):

Dhaval Gajjar ◽

Isaac Kashiwagi

Keyword(s):

School District ◽

Construction Industry ◽

High Performance ◽

Industry Structure ◽

Economic Downturn ◽

Test Case ◽

Coating System ◽

Performance Information ◽

High Performing ◽

And Performance

A manufacturer initially approached the researchers to identify how to use the performance information of their high-performance urethane coating system to increase quality. The research project used the construction industry structure to identify owners who understood the high risk and transactions caused by low bid practices. Intelligent owners understood that value was delivered by expert contractors using high performance products rather than warranties. However, during the economic downturn, high performing contractors reverted to the low bid practices of using warranties to win work rather than performance. To create a high-performance environment, the manufacturer again approached the researchers to mitigate the risk caused by their warranties. The research identified that risk was not mitigated by warranties, but by transparency and performance information. A structure was developed that mitigated risk caused by a change in paradigm that resulted in a "win-win" result in a test case that involved the school district. As the system was installed, the performance of contractors increased, and the sprayed urethane foam contractors became the only roofing contractors at the school district to consistently maintain their installed roofs and mitigate the risk to the client at their own cost without using the manufacturer's warranty.

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High-Performance Annotation Tagging over Solr Full-text Indexes

Information Technology and Libraries ◽

10.6017/ital.v33i3.4633 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 22 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Paolo Manghi ◽

Michele Artini ◽

Alessia Bardi ◽

Claudio Atzori ◽

Sandro La Bruzzo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Full Text ◽

Functional Annotation ◽

High Performance ◽

End Users ◽

Font Size ◽

End User ◽

Temporary Work ◽

Large Sets ◽

Object Properties

In this work, we focus on the problem of “annotation tagging” over Information Spaces of objects stored in a full-text index. In such a scenario, tags are assigned to objects by “data curator” users with the purpose of classification, while generic end-users will perceive tags as searchable and browsable object properties. To carry out their activities, data curators need “annotation tagging tools” which allow them to “bulk” tag or untag large sets of objects in temporary work sessions, where they can “virtually” and in “real-time” experiment the effect of their actions before making the changes visible to end-users. The implementation of these tools over full-text indexes is a challenge, since bulk object updates in this context are far from being real-time and in critical cases may slow down index performance. We devised TagTick, a tool which offers to data curators a fully functional annotation tagging environment over the full-text index Apache Solr, regarded as a “de-facto standard” in this area. TagTick consists of a TagTick Virtualizer module, which extends the APIs of Solr to support real-time, virtual, bulk-tagging operations, and a TagTick User Interface module, which offers end-user functionalities for annotation tagging. The tool scales optimally with the number and size of bulk tag operations, without compromising index performance.

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Supplemental Material for Making Stronger Causal Inferences: Accounting for Selection Bias in Associations Between High Performance Work Systems, Leadership, and Employee and Customer Satisfaction

Journal of Applied Psychology ◽

10.1037/apl0000315.supp ◽

2018 ◽

Keyword(s):

Customer Satisfaction ◽

Selection Bias ◽

High Performance ◽

Causal Inferences ◽

Work Systems ◽

High Performance Work Systems ◽

Systems Leadership

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Analysis of the Importance Degree and Performance of Internet Service Providers in Makassar City

Digital Zone Jurnal Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi ◽

10.31849/digitalzone.v10i2.3247 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 168-177

Author(s):

Haerdiansyah Syahnur ◽

Jafar Basalamah

Keyword(s):

Customer Satisfaction ◽

Gap Analysis ◽

Service Providers ◽

Customer Management ◽

Quadrant Analysis ◽

Internet Service Providers ◽

Internet Service ◽

Actual Performance ◽

Satisfaction Index ◽

Customer Satisfaction Index

This study aimed to analyze the customer experience seen from the level of actual performance and the level of importance of services provided by internet service providers PT. XYZ in Makassar City. Variables and attributes issued by TM Forum GB 912 consisting of Customer Management, Fulfillment, Assurance, and Billing, are used to analyze the performance provided by customer service in the field. The analysis technique will be carried out using the Importance Performance Analysis and Customer Satisfaction Index consisting of quadrant analysis and gap analysis used to investigate customer satisfaction and identify variables whose performance is deemed to need improvement. Data were collected using a platform-based questionnaire application from 100 respondents selected using random sampling techniques. The results showed that customers were satisfied with the performance and quality of services provided. The customer satisfaction index value obtained by CSI analysis shows a value of 82.006%. In conclusion, that the Fulfillment variable is a service variable that is considered the most important customer and requires improvement because its performance is still relatively low. While the variables considered good and need to be maintained are the Billing variable. Other service variables are sorted based on priority of improvement in a row, namely Fulfillment, Customer Management, and Assurance.

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Use of activated carbon to remove undesirable residual amylase from refinery streams

Sugar Industry ◽

10.36961/si18170 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 96-103 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gillian Eggleston ◽

Isabel Lima ◽

Emmanuel Sarir ◽

Jack Thompson ◽

John Zatlokovicz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Activated Carbon ◽

High Temperature ◽

High Performance ◽

Activated Carbons ◽

Amylase Activity ◽

Sugar Industry ◽

End User ◽

Customer Complaints ◽

Carry Over ◽

Very High

In recent years, there has been increased world-wide concern over residual (carry-over) activity of mostly high temperature (HT) and very high temperature (VHT) stable amylases in white, refined sugars from refineries to various food and end-user industries. HT and VHT stable amylases were developed for much larger markets than the sugar industry with harsher processing conditions. There is an urgent need in the sugar industry to be able to remove or inactivate residual, active amylases either in factory or refinery streams or both. A survey of refineries that used amylase and had activated carbon systems for decolorizing, revealed they did not have any customer complaints for residual amylase. The use of high performance activated carbons to remove residual amylase activity was investigated using a Phadebas® method created for the sugar industry to measure residual amylase in syrups. Ability to remove residual amylase protein was dependent on the surface area of the powdered activated carbons as well as mixing (retention) time. The activated carbon also had the additional benefit of removing color and insoluble starch.

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The impact of end-userś participation (cancer patients) during the optimization process

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.1437 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

S Houwaart

Keyword(s):

End Users ◽

Public Health Care ◽

Optimization Process ◽

Patient Organization ◽

End User ◽

The Public ◽

Patient Organizations ◽

Crucial Information ◽

The Individual ◽

The Impact

Abstract End-user (e.g. patients or the public) testing of information material is becoming more common in the German public health care system. However, including the end-user (in this case patients) in an optimisation process and thus enabling a close collaboration while developing PIMs is still rare. This is surprising, given the fact that patients provide the exact perspective one is trying to address. Within the isPO project, a patient organization is included as a legal project partner to act as the patient representative and provide the patient's perspective. As such, the patient organization was included in the PHR approach as part of the PIM-optimisation team. During the optimisation process, the patients gave practical insights into the procedures of diagnosing and treating different types of cancer as well as into the patient's changing priorities and challenges at different time points. This was crucial information for the envisioned application of the individual PIMs and their hierarchical overview. Moreover, the developed PIM-checklist enabled the patients to give detailed feedback to the PIMs. With their experience of being in the exact situation in which the PIMs will be applied, their recommendations, especially on the wording and layout of the materials, have been a valuable contribution to the PIM optimisation process. In this part of the seminar, we will take a closer look at the following skill building aspects: What is gained from including patients as end-users in the development and optimization of PIM?How can we reach patients to contribute to a PIM optimization process? Which requirements and prerequisites do patients have to provide to successfully work on an optimisation team?How to compromise and weigh opinions when different ideas occur? Altogether, this part will construct a structured path of productive patient involvement and help to overcome uncertainties regarding a collaboration with patient organizations.

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SERS Biosensor Based on Engineered 2D-Aperiodic Nanostructure for In-Situ Detection of Viable Brucella Bacterium in Complex Matrix

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11040886 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 886

Author(s):

Massimo Rippa ◽

Riccardo Castagna ◽

Domenico Sagnelli ◽

Ambra Vestri ◽

Giorgia Borriello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Foodborne Pathogen ◽

Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy ◽

High Performing ◽

Sensing Platform ◽

Food Detection ◽

Raman Enhancement ◽

Surface Enhanced ◽

Surface Enhanced Raman ◽

In Situ Detection

Brucella is a foodborne pathogen globally affecting both the economy and healthcare. Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) nano-biosensing can be a promising strategy for its detection. We combined high-performance quasi-crystal patterned nanocavities for Raman enhancement with the use of covalently immobilized Tbilisi bacteriophages as high-performing bio-receptors. We coupled our efficient SERS nano-biosensor to a Raman system to develop an on-field phage-based bio-sensing platform capable of monitoring the target bacteria. The developed biosensor allowed us to identify Brucella abortus in milk by our portable SERS device. Upon bacterial capture from samples (104 cells), a signal related to the pathogen recognition was observed, proving the concrete applicability of our system for on-site and in-food detection.

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Decoupling electron and phonon transport in single-nanowire hybrid materials for high-performance thermoelectrics

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.abe6000 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (20) ◽

pp. eabe6000

Author(s):

Lin Yang ◽

Madeleine P. Gordon ◽

Akanksha K. Menon ◽

Alexandra Bruefach ◽

Kyle Haas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Conductivity ◽

Thermal Transport ◽

Electrical Transport ◽

High Performance ◽

Figure Of Merit ◽

Phonon Transport ◽

Core Shell ◽

Nanowire Diameter ◽

High Performing ◽

Polycrystalline Thin Films

Organic-inorganic hybrids have recently emerged as a class of high-performing thermoelectric materials that are lightweight and mechanically flexible. However, the fundamental electrical and thermal transport in these materials has remained elusive due to the heterogeneity of bulk, polycrystalline, thin films reported thus far. Here, we systematically investigate a model hybrid comprising a single core/shell nanowire of Te-PEDOT:PSS. We show that as the nanowire diameter is reduced, the electrical conductivity increases and the thermal conductivity decreases, while the Seebeck coefficient remains nearly constant—this collectively results in a figure of merit, ZT, of 0.54 at 400 K. The origin of the decoupling of charge and heat transport lies in the fact that electrical transport occurs through the organic shell, while thermal transport is driven by the inorganic core. This study establishes design principles for high-performing thermoelectrics that leverage the unique interactions occurring at the interfaces of hybrid nanowires.

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Integrating high-performing electrochemical transducers in lateral flow assay

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry ◽

10.1007/s00216-021-03301-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Antonia Perju ◽

Nongnoot Wongkaew

Keyword(s):

High Performance ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Low Cost ◽

High Sensitivity ◽

Lateral Flow ◽

Analytical Performance ◽

Label Free ◽

High Performing ◽

Lateral Flow Assays ◽

Electrochemical Transducers

AbstractLateral flow assays (LFAs) are the best-performing and best-known point-of-care tests worldwide. Over the last decade, they have experienced an increasing interest by researchers towards improving their analytical performance while maintaining their robust assay platform. Commercially, visual and optical detection strategies dominate, but it is especially the research on integrating electrochemical (EC) approaches that may have a chance to significantly improve an LFA’s performance that is needed in order to detect analytes reliably at lower concentrations than currently possible. In fact, EC-LFAs offer advantages in terms of quantitative determination, low-cost, high sensitivity, and even simple, label-free strategies. Here, the various configurations of EC-LFAs published are summarized and critically evaluated. In short, most of them rely on applying conventional transducers, e.g., screen-printed electrode, to ensure reliability of the assay, and additional advances are afforded by the beneficial features of nanomaterials. It is predicted that these will be further implemented in EC-LFAs as high-performance transducers. Considering the low cost of point-of-care devices, it becomes even more important to also identify strategies that efficiently integrate nanomaterials into EC-LFAs in a high-throughput manner while maintaining their favorable analytical performance.

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