Uncertainty of Thermographic Temperature Measurement of Electric Units Contained in Switchgear

The result of the works presented is the uncertainty budget of a thermographic temperature measurement taken through an IR window. The type B uncertainty determination method has been employed. Publication of European Accreditation EA-4/02 has been patterned. Conditions prevailing in course of the thermographic temperature measurement of low-voltage electric units contained in the switchgear were recreated as part of the works. The measurement system has been presented. Components of the infrared radiation reaching the camera lens in case when an IR window was used and when an IR window was not used have been discussed. Uncertainties estimated for the measurement done with an IR window and without an IR window have been compared.

Uncertainty of Thermographic Temperature Measurement with an Additional close-up Lens

The thermographic temperature measurement is burdened with uncertainty. This non-contact temperature measurement method makes it possible to measure the temperature of the electrical device under load. When the observed object is small (a few square millimeters) the spatial resolution of the thermographic cameras is often insufficient. In this case, the use of the additional macro lens is needed. After using an additional lens, the uncertainty of the thermographic measurement is different from the uncertainty of thermographic measurement without an additional lens. The values of the uncertainty contributions depend on the conditions during the measurement and the used methodology. The authors constructed an uncertainty budget of thermographic temperature measurement with an additional macro lens, based on EA-4/02 (European Accreditation publications). The uncertainty contributions were also calculated. On the basis of the calculated values of the uncertainty contributions, it was determined which factor had the greatest impact on the value of the thermographic temperature measurement with an additional lens.

Lack of Thermogram Sharpness as Component of Thermographic Temperature Measurement Uncertainty Budget

The number of components of a thermographic temperature measurement uncertainty budget and their ultimate contribution depend on the conditions in which the measurement is performed. The acquired data determine the accuracy with which the uncertainty component is estimated. Unfortunately, when some factors have to be taken into account, it is difficult to determine the value of the uncertainty component caused by the occurrence of this factor. In the case of a thermographic temperature measurement, such a factor is the lack of sharpness of the registered thermogram. This problem intensifies when an additional macro lens must be used. Therefore, it is decided to commence research to prepare an uncertainty budget of thermographic measurement with an additional macro lens based on the B method described in EA-4/02 (European Accreditation publications). As a result, the contribution of factors in the uncertainty budget of thermographic measurement with additional macro lens and the value of expanded uncertainty were obtained.

Accreditation in Europe: benchmarking the operations of European accreditation bodies using an innovative management tool

Accreditation is one of the pillars of a national Quality Infrastructure, as the competence of conformity assessment bodies is assured through accreditation performed by accreditation bodies. To compare the operation of accreditation bodies in Europe and to identify best practices, a management tool, the Process Maturity Benchmarking Tool, was developed and validated by applying it to European accreditation bodies. The benchmarking project comprised two major phases: in the first phase, the processes of accreditation bodies were systematically analyzed. A process map was developed, and processes of special relevance were identified and underpinned by indicators. In the second phase, the practical applicability of the theoretical model was demonstrated by analyzing the processes of eight European accreditation bodies. The results of this comparative assessment were subsequently discussed in a workshop with experts from those accreditation bodies, giving the opportunity to identify best practices. This article has a twofold objective. First, to present a method to benchmark European accreditation bodies, based on the European Foundation for Quality Management excellence model. The successful application of the Process Maturity Benchmarking Tool gives evidence that it is a suitable and capable management tool to assess the processes of the European accreditation bodies and to benchmark them. Second, the article presents the results of the first adaption of the Process Maturity Benchmarking Tool. A general trend of process maturity was identified: while processes based on stakeholder involvement tend to have an overall lower maturity on average, internal processes are more mature.

EUROPEAN ACCREDITATION AGENCY’S VIEW ON KAZAKHSTAN’S ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY HIGHER EDUCATION

In the era of digital economy, there is an urgent need in highly qualified engineering and Information Technology (IT) specialists in Kazakhstan. The aim of the research is to analyse the needs of higher education in the field of engineering and IT in Kazakhstan underpinning elaboration of implications for higher education in the field of engineering and IT in Kazakhstan. The empirical study was carried out in October 2019. Exploratory study was implemented. Interpretive paradigm was employed in the present work. Non-structured interview served as the basis for data collection. Content analysis was performed for data analysis. Findings of theoretical analysis allow extending three-component model on needs analysis, namely experts’ perspective, educators’ perspective, and students’ perspective by the fourth component, namely community perspective. Implications for higher education in Kazakhstan are formulated as following: universities delivering higher education in the field of engineering and IT in Kazakhstan need to balance academic and practical components in their study programmes; interaction between educators and students, on the one side, as well as enterprises, companies and industry, on the other side, should be enhanced in higher education in the field of engineering and IT in Kazakhstan. Directions of future work are proposed.

FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGERIAL INNOVATIONS OF THE PLEKHANOV RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS

The article describes the five-year experience of the company established at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics in 2015. The programs of the department for the preparation of masters and bachelors have Russian and European accreditation, confirming their quality both to Russian professional and international standards. In the educational process, the latest educational technologies are used, the department ensures the active participation of students in research activities and international cooperation. An indicator of the high quality of knowledge and skills of graduates is a high rate of their employment.

A program for conformity assessment of the calibration results with the specification

This paper describes the procedure for calculating the conformance probability of the results of the calibration with therequirements or specifications (standards or manufactures), including borderline cases. An original program created in Excel waspresented, which makes it easy to calculate in a Metrology Laboratory. During the development of this program, the recommendationsof the European Accreditation Team (EA), as well as the requirements of ISO / IEC 17025: 2017, were taken into account. The goal ofthis program is to provide the customer with a certificate of calibration with the declared uncertainty as well as the compliance of theresults of the calibration with the requirements or specifications. The program was developed for the needs of the MetrologyLaboratory, which is located in the company ORAO a.d. Bijeljina. The accreditation body at the accreditation examination of theMetrology Laboratory checked the results of the program. The international standard ISO 10576-1: 2003 describes the procedure forcalculating the conformance probability of the calibration results with the specification. According to the described procedure, eachcalibration result must first be graphically presented according to normal PDF (Gaussian distribution). Then, in order to determine theprobability of occurrence of any measured value, use the z-value and the standard surface tables below with normal PDF. In metrologylaboratories, this is a difficult and long-lasting process because the digital multimeter can be calibrated at even a hundred measuringpoints.

Vision 2030 for the optimal approach to cancer research and care in Europe: A mission or a network of networks?

Introduction: A mission-oriented approach to cancer care in Europe was proposed by Julio Celis and Dainius Pavalkis in 2017. The major proposed objective is to achieve long-term survival of 3 out of 4 cancer patients by 2030. Background: The authors are president or president-elect of Organization of European Cancer Institutes (OECI) EU Life or European Cancer Community Organization (ECCO). Results: The goal is laudable and ambitious. However, it can only be successful if it is coordinated with active involvement of all stakeholders and interacts with an already well-organized, recognized, and certified European Accreditation and Designation quality approach to identify and select the potential candidates to participate in such a virtual network. Conclusions: The building of a virtual European Cancer Institute based on coordinated networks should refer to unquestioned criteria using a solid and proven methodology operated by an independent arbitration body. The cancer community must share a fundamental responsibility to act collectively and in today’s era of the World Wide Web, it is time to think out of the box and consider the possibility of establishing networks of networks.

Σύσταση και λειτουργία πανευρωπαϊκού δικτύου κέντρων αριστείας (centers of excellence) στη βαριατρική χειρουργική

Παρά τη μεγάλη διάδοση και εφαρμογή προτύπων διαπίστευσης και πιστοποίησης της ποιότητας και την παγκόσμια αποδοχή τους, η εισαγωγή συστημάτων διαχείρισης της ποιότητας στους δημόσιους και ιδιωτικούς οργανισμούς παροχής υπηρεσιών υγείας ως προς τις παρεχόμενες ιατρικές υπηρεσίες τους δεν έχει έως και σήμερα επαρκώς κωδικοποιηθεί και διαδοθεί. Αντικείμενο της διπλωματικής εργασίας είναι η διερεύνηση των συνεπειών της σύστασης και λειτουργίας ενός Πανευρωπαϊκού δικτύου Κέντρων Αριστείας στην Βαριατρική Χειρουργική ως προς τη διάδοση προτύπων πιστοποίησής της ποιότητας σε οργανισμούς παροχής υπηρεσιών υγείας, και ως προς την αποδοχή της αναγκαιότητας διαπίστευσης των υπηρεσιών υγείας. Δευτερευόντως, εξετάζονται ζητήματα που αφορούν τη διαθεσιμότητα και διάδοση προτύπων πιστοποίησής της ποιότητας στην υγεία και των ωφελημάτων που εισπράττουν οι ασθενείς, τα νοσηλευτικά ιδρύματα και τα συστήματα υγείας από την πιστοποίηση των υπηρεσιών υγείας. Στην αρχή της εργασίας γίνεται μια εισαγωγή για την έννοια και τον ορισμό της ποιότητας στην υγεία καθώς και για τα ποιο διαδεδομένα συστήματα διαχείρισης ποιότητας στις υπηρεσίες υγείας. Εν συνεχεία η εργασία επικεντρώνεται στη διαπίστευση της ποιότητας στη Βαριατρική Χειρουργική, καθώς στο πεδίο της Βαριατρική Χειρουργικής υφίσταται πρότυπο διαπίστευσης της ποιότητας των παρεχόμενων ιατρικών υπηρεσιών σε Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες Αμερικής (ΗΠΑ), Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση (ΕΕ), Αραβικές Χώρες και Αφρική. Η μελέτη εστιάζει στην διερεύνηση του προτύπου «Κέντρα Αριστείας» που παρέχεται από το European Accreditation Council for Bariatric Surgery (EAC-BS) στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, Αφρική και τις Αραβικές Χώρες. Παρουσιάζεται η δομή του προτύπου ενώ γίνεται και περιληπτική αναφορά στις απαιτήσεις του προτύπου. Επιπλέον, περιγράφεται η διαδικασία που πρέπει να ακολουθήσουν τα νοσηλευτικά ιδρύματα και οι ιατροί για να πιστοποιηθούν. Ακολούθως, αξιολογούνται συγκριτικά τα στοιχεία του αρχείου του EAC-BS για δύο βασικές τεχνικές βαριατρικής χειρουργικής την επιμήκη γαστρεκτομή (sleeve gastrectomy) και την γαστρική παράκαμψη (gastric bypass). Από την συγκριτική αξιολόγηση των αποτελεσμάτων της επιμήκους γαστρεκτομής (sleeve gastrectomy) και της γαστρικής παράκαμψης (gastric bypass) αποδεικνύεται αφενός ότι τα νοσηλευτικά ιδρύματα και οι χειρουργοί που πληρούν τα κριτήρια ασφάλειας του International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO) και έχουν πιστοποιηθεί από τον EAC-BS για την εφαρμογή Συστήματος Διαχείρισης Ποιότητας (ΣΔΠ) στη Βαριατρική Χειρουργική, εφαρμόζουν τις δύο παραπάνω βασικές τεχνικές βαριατρικής χειρουργικής με τη μέγιστη δυνατή ασφάλεια και το βέλτιστο δυνατό αποτέλεσμα για τον ασθενή. Επιπρόσθετα, προκύπτει η βέλτιστη συγκριτικά τεχνική σε σχέση με την ικανοποίηση των απαιτήσεων των ασθενών και την βελτίωση της ποιότητας της ζωής τους.