The Role of Maintenance and Facility Management in Logistics: A Literature Review

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review on the different ways of carrying out Facility Management and related topics in order to uncover that there is limited research regarding the impact of Facility Management on the logistics and operational performance of warehouses. Design/methodology/approach - Four different focus areas have been identified and for each one different methodologies and streams of research have been studied. Findings - The study underlines the importance of Facility Management for the logistics operations; therefore it supports the notion that investments aiming at preserving the status of the building and service components of warehouses are crucial. Originality/value - This paper aims to suggest to Facility Management managers that they can contribute to enhance business performance by designing effective Facility Management strategie

A Framework to Use Public-Private Partnership for Smart City Projects

The concept of Smart City has been emerging as a strategic set of integrated initiatives encompassing infrastructures, technology and digital services for the purpose of enhancing the quality of life of citizens. However, the development and implementation of Smart City projects require considerable investments that are difficult to fund with traditional public finance. In this context, Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP) appear to be suitable solutions to overcome the shortage of public finance and cuts on public spending. However, the adoption of PPP forms for Smart City projects has not been fully explored and only experimentally applied so far. In order to promote the usage of PPP to finance Smart City initiatives, this paper proposes some PPP financial instruments and discusses the associated strengths and weaknesses. In particular, the use of Project Finance, Revenue Sharing and Social Impact Bonds are suggested as sound alternatives and suitable sources of financing for Smart City project

Risk factors influencing the debt leverage of project financing initiatives in the energy industry

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to understanding the crucial influence of risks on the capital structure of project financing (PF) initiatives in the energy sector. Design/methodology/approach – The debt leverage of a capital investment is selected as the response variable, and its relation with select identified risk factors is examined using a regression analysis on a data set of 72 projects carried out all over the world in the energy industry. Findings – Results have highlighted that the debt leverage is significantly influenced by several sources of risk measured through specific indicators, namely, country stability index, the construction duration, the concession period and the average size of partners. Therefore, country, project and special purpose vehiclerelated risks have been shown to have an impact on the debt leverage of a PF scheme. Research limitations/implications – The results could support both investors and lenders to better define the financial leverage of projects delivered under a PF mechanism. In particular, the study could help to have a better understanding of the main factors that influence the debt leverage in PF initiatives. Originality/value – This paper contributes to filling the lack of works addressing the relationship between risk factors and capital structure in PF projects. In this way, this research leads to a better understanding of the risk factors that influence the capital structure of a PF initiative, and they have, therefore, been proposed as a basis for the establishment of improved methods to design refined capital structures

Sialendoscopic management of autoimmune sialadenitis: a review of literature

Autoimmune diseases of major salivary glands include Sjögren's syndrome and a complex of disorders classified as immunoglobulin G4-related diseases. These pathologies are characterised by an autoimmune reaction mediated by T-helper lymphocytes that targets the ducts of exocrine glands in Sjögren's syndrome and glandular parenchyma in immunoglobulin G4-related diseases. Immunoglobulin G4-related diseases represent recently introduced multi-organ diseases that also involve the salivary glands. However, the morbid conditions once known as Mikulicz's disease and Kuttner's tumour were recently considered as two variants of immunoglobulin G4-related diseases affecting the major salivary glands ( immunoglobulin G4-related sialadenitis). This review briefly summarises the pathogenesis and clinical features of autoimmune diseases of the major salivary glands, focusing on the diagnostic and therapeutic role of sialendoscopy

Evaluation of Project Management Practices in the Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers

Abstract This paper aims at understanding the current perceptions related to the Project Management (PM) practices in the automotive sector. To this end, a questionnaire is administrated to professionals and data are analyzed via the Kruskal-Wallis test. Results show that the ICT function is poorly oriented to PM, especially for professionals with longer experience. On the contrary, the logistics function might exploit the benefits of PM tools. PM is also considered a lever for increasing the firm's reputation. This work demonstrates that PM is a challenge for future developments of organizations and it shows its importance in the automotive industry that involves increasingly complex projects

Digital Dashboards for Smart City Governance: a Case Project to Develop an Urban Safety Indicator Model

This paper illustrates a case project to design a digital dashboard for governing the urban safety of an Italian city and proposes a methodology for the definition of a set of safety measurement indi- cators. Results show that the method is easy to be used to identify the most crucial areas of the city, in several domains of application that have been identified. The study can substantially support policy makers in the development of their strategies and in the measurement of the effectiveness of their decisions

Myringotomy and ventilation tube insertion with endoscopic or microscopic technique in adults: a pilot study

The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of endoscopic-assisted myringotomy and ventilation tube insertion in adults affected by chronic otitis media with effusion, comparing the outcomes of this approach with those obtained with the traditional microscopic technique. Twenty-four patients were enrolled in this trial and alternately assigned to 2 groups of 12 subjects each. In group A, patients underwent myringotomy and ventilation tube insertion under endoscopic view, whereas in group B, the same procedure was performed traditionally using a microscope. All cases were evaluated 1 week after surgery and then monthly until tube extrusion. Type A tympanogram was achieved in 10 of 13 ears in both groups (76.92%). No significant difference in operative times or complication rates was observed (P > .05). Endoscopic technique could be a viable alternative to the microscopic approach for myringotomy and ventilation tube positioning in adults affected by chronic otitis media with effusion

Analysis of the spatial and dynamical properties of a multiscale model of intestinal crypts

The preliminary analyses on a multiscale model of intestinal crypt dynamics are here presented. The model combines a morphological model, based on the Cellular Potts Model (CPM), and a gene regulatory network model, based on Noisy Random Boolean Networks (NRBNs). Simulations suggest that the stochastic differentiation process is itself sufficient to ensure the general homeostasis in the asymptotic states, as proven by several measures