VR-PMS: a new approach for performance measurement and management of industrial systems

A new performance measurement and management framework based on value and risk is proposed. The proposed framework is applied to the modelling and evaluation of the a priori performance evaluation of manufacturing processes and to deciding on their alternatives. For this reason, it consistently integrates concepts relevant to objectives, activity, and risk in a single framework comprising a conceptual value/risk model, and it conceptualises the idea of value- and risk based performance management in a process context. In addition, a methodological framework is developed to provide guidelines for the decision-makers or performance evaluators of the processes. To facilitate the performance measurement and management process, this latter framework is organized in four phases: context establishment, performance modelling, performance assessment, and decision-making. Each phase of the framework is then instrumented with state of-the-art quantitative analysis tools and methods. For process design and evaluation, the deliverable of the value- and risk-based performance measurement and management system (VR-PMS) is a set of ranked solutions (i.e. alternative business processes) evaluated against the developed value and risk indicators. The proposed VR-PMS is illustrated with a case study from discrete parts manufacturing but is indeed applicable to a wide range of processes or systems

A Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Framework for Food-Borne Pathogens

To lower the incidence of human food-borne disease, experts and stakeholders have urged the development of a science- and risk-based management system in which food-borne hazards are analyzed and prioritized. A literature review shows that most approaches to risk prioritization developed to date are based on measures of health outcomes and do not systematically account for other factors that may be important to decision making. The Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Framework developed here considers four factors that may be important to risk managers: public health, consumer risk perceptions and acceptance, market-level impacts, and social sensitivity. The framework is based on the systematic organization and analysis of data on these multiple factors. The basic building block of the information structure is a three-dimensional cube based on pathogen-food-factor relationships. Each cell of the cube has an information card associated with it and data from the cube can be aggregated along different dimensions. The framework is operationalized in three stages, with each stage adding another dimension to decision-making capacity. The first stage is the information cards themselves that provide systematic information that is not pre-processed or aggregated across factors. The second stage maps the information on the various information cards into cobweb diagrams that create a graphical profile of, for example, a food-pathogen combination with respect to each of the four risk prioritization factors. The third stage is formal multi-criteria decision analysis in which decision makers place explicit values on different criteria in order to develop risk priorities. The process outlined above produces a ‘List A’ of priority food-pathogen combinations according to some aggregate of the four risk prioritization factors. This list is further vetted to produce ‘List B’, which brings in feasibility analysis by ranking those combinations where practical actions that have a significant impact are feasible. Food-pathogen combinations where not enough is known to identify any or few feasible interventions are included in ‘List C’. ‘List C’ highlights areas with significant uncertainty where further research may be needed to enhance the precision of the risk prioritization process. The separation of feasibility and uncertainty issues through the use of ‘Lists A, B, and C’ allows risk managers to focus separately on distinct dimensions of the overall prioritization. The Multi-Factorial Risk Prioritization Framework provides a flexible instrument that compares and contrasts risks along four dimensions. Use of the framework is an iterative process. It can be used to establish priorities across pathogens for a particular food, across foods for a particular pathogen and/or across specific food-pathogen combinations. This report provides a comprehensive conceptual paper that forms the basis for a wider process of consultation and for case studies applying the framework.risk analysis, risk prioritization, food-borne pathogens, benefits and costs

Climate Vulnerability of the Supply-Chain: Literature and Methodological review

The increasing complexity of the present economic system and the strong interdependencies existing between production activities taking place in different world areas make modern societies vulnerable to crisis. The global supply-chain is a paradigmatic example of economic structures on which the impacts of unexpected events propagate rapidly through the system. Climate change, which affects societies all over the world, is one of the most important factors influencing the efficiency of the present economic networks. During the last decades a large set of studies have been oriented to investigate the direct impacts generated on specific geographical areas or productions. However, a smaller number of analyses have been oriented to quantify the cascading economic effects generated all over the world. The great complexity of the global economic system, coupled with methodological and data gaps makes it difficult to estimate the domino effects of unexpected events. A clear understanding of the possible consequences generated all over the world is, however, a fundamental step to build socio-economic resilience and to plan effective adaptation strategies. Within this context, the main objective of the present report is to provide an overview of the main studies, methodologies and databases used to investigate the climate vulnerability of the global supply chain. This information can be useful to i) support further studies, ii) to build consistent quantification methodologies, and iii) to fill the possible data gap.JRC.H.7-Climate Risk Managemen

Best Practices and Methodological Guidelines for Conducting Gas Risk Assessments

The EC Regulation concerning measures to safeguard security of gas supply (EC/994/2010) requires member states to make a full assessment of the risks affecting the security of gas supply. According to Article 9, this risk assessment must: (a) use the infrastructure and supply standards (articles 6 and 8); (b) take into account all relevant national and regional circumstances; (c) run various disruption scenarios; (d) identify the interaction and correlation of risks with other Member States. (e) take into account the maximal interconnection capacity of each border entry and exit point. The objective of this report is to provide guidance and advice for performing risk assessments. It will do so by first providing a literature review, and then by proposing a basic structure for undertaking a gas security risk assessment, in accordance with best practices and standard procedures found in risk management.JRC.F.3-Energy securit

The VESP Model: A Conceptual Model of Supply Chain Vulnerability

International audienceDuring the last decade, researchers and practitioners became more interested in the domain of vulnerability analysis. It is considered as a key element in defining and managing supply chain risks. The great complexity of a global supply chain and of its environment, coupled with managerial trends, makes such a chain more vulnerable to disruptive events. A clear understanding of the possible consequences generated of this combination is a fundamental step to build an effective risk management plan and strategies. However, more studies are needed in order to develop the understanding of supply chain vulnerability. This article provides an explorative framework in order to analyze and quantify vulnerability within supply chains. Based on the existent literature, this article explores the factors that affect the level of Supply Chain Vulnerability (SCV). Four key components of SCV are identified (i.e. Exposure, Sensitivity, Susceptibility and Preparedness level). Based on these four categories of SCV, a conceptual model is developed. Such a model enables the definition of clear metrics and can further be used by researchers and practitioners to build consistent quantification methodologies

Tracing Pathways of Resource Use in the World Economy: An Analysis of National and Sectoral Influence across the Global Water-Energy-Land System

A research and policy agenda has emerged in recent years to understand the interconnected risks natural resource systems face and their exploitation drives. The so-called Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus has served as a focal point for the conceptual, theoretical and empirical development of this agenda. However, boundaries for WEF nexus assessment are usually established without a foundational understanding of major interactions and risks across the water-energy-land (WEL) system. Consequently, priorities drawn from nexus studies might simply be an artefact of the partial scope of nexus assessment rather than a reflection of major risks to the WEL system and the activities which it supports. This thesis demonstrates how macro-economic methods of resource accounting can be used to broaden nexus assessment, sectorally and spatially, to identify and compare different sources of water, energy and land use, in individual countries and globally. A study of water and land use embodied in international soybean trade (Chapter 3) reveals that while single commodities can be analysed in this way, data and time constraints involved in using Material Flow Analysis (MFA) data make global assessment of water, energy and land use pathways across different production and consumption systems challenging. However, Multi-Regional Input-Output Analysis (MRIOA) is found to offer a practical approach to this end. By combining economic and environmental accounts from the Eora MRIO database, resource risk indices, and techniques for production source decomposition, this thesis examines thewater, energy and land footprints of 189 countries. Chapter 4 evaluates the scale of national water, energy and land use embodied in domestic production and international trade; Chapter 5 compares the contribution of food and non-food related sectors within this context; and, Chapter 6 reveals how these impacts are distributed across supply networks. Linking national consumption to resource origins reveals that countries are often highly exposed to over-exploited, insecure, and degraded water, energy, and land resources. These risks are found to originate from multiple sectors, including food, textiles and construction, and are primarily indirect, stemming from international trade and production up-stream national supply networks. These findings highlight the partiality of studying the WEL system within a single sector, across a limited supply chain scope, and at a sub-global scale. Policy interventions within this context need to reflect how resource pressures are transmitted through consumption and production systems between local, national, and global scales. However, further research is also needed to expose the links between inequality, ideology, overconsumption and environmental exploitation which drive decisions in relation to water, energy and land resources.Cambridge Commonwealth Trust: Vice Chancellor's Awar

Strategies for sustainable socio-economic development and mechanisms their implementation in the global dimension

The authors of the book have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to effectively use modern approaches to developing and implementation strategies of sustainable socio-economic development in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness of economic entities. Basic research focuses on economic diagnostics of socio-economic potential and financial results of economic entities, transition period in the economy of individual countries and ensuring their competitiveness, assessment of educational processes and knowledge management. The research results have been implemented in the different models and strategies of supply and logistics management, development of non-profit organizations, competitiveness of tourism and transport, financing strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises, cross-border cooperation. The results of the study can be used in decision-making at the level the economic entities in different areas of activity and organizational-legal forms of ownership, ministries and departments that promote of development the economic entities on the basis of models and strategies for sustainable socio-economic development. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in modern concepts and mechanisms for management of sustainable socio-economic development of economic entities in the condition of global economic transformations and challenges