Using Risk Based Maintenance Optimization RBMO to Save Costs

Maintenance is a crucial pillar in plant integrity and availability. Saving money in maintenance should be established without affecting the asset's integrity. Based on this, the core of work is to maximize the maintenance return on investment (ROI). Maintenance ROI is the ratio between invested money in maintenance to mitigated risks due to maintenance actions. The objective is to minimize maintenance cost while maximizing assets integrity and availability. RBMO starts with ‘Maintenance Criticality Assessment’ (MCA) at unit/system level to define high (20 % of systems that represent 80% of risks), medium (20% of systems that represent 15% of risks), and low critical systems (60% of systems that represent only 5% of risks). Based on system criticality, a dedicated risk assessment is implemented to evaluate risks at tag level to define the worst maintenance action/s. High critical systems’ maintenance programs are developed using ‘Reliability-Centered Maintenance’ (RCM). Medium critical system maintenance program is developed using ‘Failure Mode, Effects and criticality analysis’ (FMECA). "Maintenance strategy for Low Critical item" guideline document is developed to define the best maintenance strategy for low critical units. All risks are evaluated using the standard ADNOC risk matrix. The risk is converted to monetary value in $ to evaluate maintenance actions using a formula. A special program was developed to facilitate MCA evaluation for each system and represent risk as monetary value using ADNOC Risk Matrix taking into consideration the redundancy and demand on a system during operation. MCAs were completed for all ADNOC Onshore Assets, see results below. Optimization starts by evaluating maintenance programs for low critical systems to save costs where low critical systems represent 50% to 60% of total systems in ADNOC Onshore. Based on this the total number of work orders has decreased by 6856, which is equivalent to saving $1M annually. In parallel, RCMs are conducted on high critical systems. Risk mitigation calculator in $ value was developed and embedded in the RCM information sheet to calculate cost benefit from implementing maintenance programs that were developed. RBMO is a systematic and traceable methodology to minimize maintenance cost and at the same time maximize system integrity and availability. This work showed the importance of reviewing the low critical systems’ maintenance program, as a first step in RBMO after implementing MCA, where low critical systems represent 50% to 60% of total assets and only 5% of total risks. ADNOC Onshore developed a dedicated guideline document "Maintenance Strategy for Low Critical Item" to facilitate decision making for proper maintenance strategy for low critical systems. Adding RCM risk mitigation calculator to RCM to calculate RCM cost benefit.

Quantitative Evaluation of Advanced Traffic Management Systems using Analytic Hierarchy Process

With technological advancements in recent years, a series of intelligent transportation system (ITS) products have now become available to the transportation agencies to collect data and manage traffic conditions on the roadway network. Among ITS products, the advanced traffic management system (ATMS) has been effectively serving as the central nervous system of a traffic management center. ATMS serves as an integrated application for a wide variety of purposes ranging from data collection to implementing traffic management strategies. Owing to commercial popularity, a series of ATMS products are now available to transportation agencies and there is no consensus on selecting the best-suited product based on tailored requirements. Making a decision for a decision-critical item such as ATMS products on qualitative evidence can add risk to the decision-makers to justify their decision of choice. In this study, a multi-criteria decision analysis framework was proposed for quantitative evaluation of ATMS alternatives that can consider multiple and conflicting decision-making criteria using a real-world example. Moreover, the proposed framework was evaluated for different scenarios related to different applications of ATMS products to provide flexibility to the user in evaluating the ATMS alternatives. Results indicated that the proposed method can be considered as a viable alternative in contrast to a qualitative evidence-based decision-making strategy to minimize the risk associated with the decision-makers. Using the proposed quantitative framework, decision-makers can examine the weights of different criteria under consideration and evaluate multiple ATMS alternatives based on their jurisdiction-specific requirements. The proposed framework can be easily applied to other ITS technology selection processes.

Development of a Thai gaming disorder scale for children and adolescents

PurposeThis study aimed to develop the Thai gaming disorder scale (T-GDS) in children and adolescents to serve medical staff and investigate the effectiveness of the scale.Design/methodology/approachThis is a research and development study. In total, 217 participants were children and adolescents between 8–18 years, then classified into four groups according to Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). The T-GDS was developed; its content validity was then investigated by three experts. Mock assessment was conducted on 15 individuals replicating the actual sample group before the assessment was tested on the sample group by two medical staff. The quality of the scale is assessed through reliability, validity and cut-off point analysis.FindingsExploratory factor analysis (EFA) extracted four components with 18 items meeting the criteria and have Cronbach's alpha of 0.95. The analysis of ROC curve, to determine the cut-off point, associated the mild game addiction group with T-GDS score = 14; moderate group score = 28; and severe group score = 42.Research limitations/implicationsInvestigation of cut-off point by practitioners is vital to compare whether it aligns with the point determined by doctors in game addiction diagnosis. Future research should select critical item in order to reduce the number of questions and construct validity should be examined using confirmatory factor analysis.Originality/valueThis paper provides a comprehensive insight regarding severity of game addiction based on related criteria. As a result, treatment appropriate for each type of severity could be enhanced.

Manipulations of List Type in the DRM Paradigm: A Review of How Structural and Conceptual Similarity Affect False Memory

The use of list-learning paradigms to explore false memory has revealed several critical findings about the contributions of similarity and relatedness in memory phenomena more broadly. Characterizing the nature of “similarity and relatedness” can inform researchers about factors contributing to memory distortions and about the underlying associative and semantic networks that support veridical memory. Similarity can be defined in terms of semantic properties (e.g., shared conceptual and taxonomic features), lexical/associative properties (e.g., shared connections in associative networks), or structural properties (e.g., shared orthographic or phonological features). By manipulating the type of list and its relationship to a non-studied critical item, we review the effects of these types of similarity on veridical and false memory. All forms of similarity reviewed here result in reliable error rates and the effects on veridical memory are variable. The results across a variety of paradigms and tests provide partial support for a number of theoretical explanations of false memory phenomena, but none of the theories readily account for all results.

A Comparative Study of Over-Current Sensing for Traction Inverters

The over-current condition for a traction inverter can indicate flaws on control algorithms, interference on logic signals, hardware aging, or hardware misconduct. Thus, proper detection of over-current conditions during inverter operation is a critical item for inverter development and product validation. This paper reviews several widely used over-current detection methods and a few theoretically approved over-current detection methods. The main focus of this review includes the sensing bandwidth, sensing accuracy, and implementation complexity of the studied over-current detection methods. The advantages of those widely used methods and the application requirements for the theoretically and prototypingly approved methods are concluded by this review.

Use of Critical Items in Determining Point-of-Care Ultrasound Competence

We previously developed a workplace-based tool for assessing point of care ultrasound (POCUS) skills and used a modified Delphi technique to identify critical items (those that learners must successfully complete to be considered competent). We performed a standard setting procedure to determine cut scores for the full tool and a focused critical item tool. This study compared ratings by 24 experts on the two checklists versus a global entrustability rating. All experts assessed three videos showing an actor performing a POCUS exam on a patient. The performances were designed to show a range of competences and one included potentially critical errors. Interrater reliability for the critical item tool was higher than for the full tool (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.84 [95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42–0.99] vs. 0.78 [95% CI 0.25–0.99]). Agreement with global ratings of competence was higher for the critical item tool (κ = 0.71 [95% CI 0.55–0.88] vs 0.48 [95% CI 0.30–0.67]). Although sensitivity was higher for the full tool (85.4% [95% CI 72.2–93.9%] vs. 81.3% [95% CI 67.5–91.1%]), specificity was higher for the critical item tool (70.8% [95% CI 48.9–87.4%] vs. 29.2% [95% CI 12.6–51.1%]). We recommend the use of critical item checklists for the assessment of POCUS competence.

Mapping the time course of semantic activation in mediated false memory: Immediate classification, naming, and recognition

We evaluated the time course of persistent automatic spreading activation from a mediated list of indirect associates (e.g., meow, day, and basement) that all converged upon a non-presented critical item (CI; e.g., black). Mediated lists were related to CIs through non-presented mediators (e.g., cat, night, and bottom). Three speeded tasks were used to evaluate the time course of semantic activation of the CI: a continuous semantic classification task (concrete/abstract decisions), a naming task (reading words aloud), or a recognition test (old/new memory decisions). Test lists were presented immediately following the mediated lists, and CIs were presented in the first, third, or eighth positions. The results revealed that in both the classification and naming tasks, CI priming was greatest in the first test position and declined across the remaining test positions. Importantly, priming was statistically reliable in the late test positions, providing evidence for long-term semantic priming (i.e., across positions on immediate tasks). False recognition, however, was stable across test positions. Collectively, these patterns suggest that spreading-activation processes decline, consistent with implicit spreading activation, and these processes may contribute to long-term false recognition.