Operational risk management in high-mix, low-volume production

Abstract. The objective of this Master’s thesis is to study operational risk management in High-Mix, Low-Volume production, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. This objective is achieved through answering three research questions regarding previous literature, current state in a case company, and improving practises in the case company. This thesis is conducted as a qualitative research utilizing a literature review and a single case study. The literature review is utilized to form the theoretical foundation for the thesis, and to answer the first research question, providing the state of previous literature. The case study is utilized to obtain the current state in the case company, which answers the second research question. Case study data includes documentary data, observations, and interviews. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the observations were obtained with participatory observing. The third research question is answered by comparing the empirical study and literature to provide improvement recommendations to the case company. The findings of this study include the empirical results of operational risk management in a single case example, as well as the proposed improvements for the case company. The empirical observations are described in detail, and guidance for future studies is given. The development proposals are directly applicable to the case company and are expected to result in a higher operational risk management capability. The literature review and empirical observations may be useful to other researchers or organizations, but the recommendations have limited generalizability outside the case company. However, some of the recommendations might be applicable to a company with similar practises or organizational context.Operatiivisten riskien hallinta korkean vaihtuvuuden ja matalan volyymin tuotantoympäristöissä. Tiivistelmä. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena on tutkia operatiivisten riskien hallintaa korkean vaihtuvuuden ja matalan volyymin (High-Mix, Low-Volume) tuotantoympäristöissä, pienissä ja keskisuurissa yrityksissä. Työn tavoite saavutetaan vastaamalla kolmeen tutkimuskysymykseen liittyen aiempaan kirjallisuuteen, case-yrityksen nykytilaan ja case-yrityksen toiminnan parantamiseen. Diplomityö toteutetaan laadullisena tutkimuksena, jossa hyödynnetään kirjallisuuskatsausta ja case-tutkimusta. Kirjallisuuskatsaus muodostaa tutkimuksen teoreettisen viitekehyksen ja vastaa ensimmäiseen tutkimuskysymykseen esittelemällä aiempaa tutkimusta. Case-tutkimusta hyödynnetään case-yrityksen nykytilan kuvaamiseen, mikä antaa vastauksen toiseen tutkimuskysymykseen. Case-tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu case-yrityksen riskienhallintaan liittyvistä dokumenteista, havainnoista ja haastatteluista. Tutkimuksen osana suoritettiin kolme puolistrukturoitua haastattelua ja havainnot kerättiin osallistuvalla havainnoinnilla. Kolmanteen tutkimuskysymykseen vastataan empiirisen tutkimuksen ja kirjallisuuden vertailulla, jonka tuloksena saadaan ehdotuksia case-yrityksen toiminnan parantamiseen. Tutkimuksen tuloksia ovat empiiriset havainnot yksittäisestä case-yrityksestä sekä parannusehdotukset case-yrityksen operatiivisten riskien hallintaan. Tarkkaan kuvattujen empiiristen havaintojen lisäksi työssä ohjeistetaan aiheeseen liittyvää jatkotutkimusta. Annetut parannusehdotukset ovat suoraan sovellettavissa case-yritykseen ja niiden odotetaan johtavan korkeampaan operatiivisten riskien hallinnan kyvykkyyteen. Toiset organisaatiot ja tutkimukset voivat hyötyä kirjallisuuskatsauksesta ja empiirisistä havainnoista, mutta parannusehdotuksilla on rajallinen yleistettävyys case-yrityksen ulkopuolelle. Jotkin parannusehdotukset voivat kuitenkin olla sovellettavissa yrityksiin, joilla on samankaltaisia käytänteitä tai piirteitä

Track-Induced Clustering in Position Sensitive Detector Characterization

Peer reviewe

Factors associated with decision-making on prophylactic hysterectomy and attitudes towards gynecological surveillance among women with Lynch syndrome (LS) : a descriptive study

To prevent endometrial carcinoma in Lynch syndrome (LS), regular gynecological surveillance visits and prophylactic surgery are recommended. Previous data have shown that prophylactic hysterectomy is an effective means of cancer prevention, while the advantages and disadvantages of surveillance are somewhat unclear. We aimed to evaluate female LS carriers' attitudes towards regular gynecological surveillance and factors influencing their decision-making on prophylactic surgery that have not been well documented. Pain experienced during endometrial biopsies was also evaluated. Postal questionnaires were sent to LS carriers undergoing regular gynecological surveillance. Questionnaires were sent to 112 women with LS, of whom 76 responded (68%). Forty-two (55%) had undergone prophylactic hysterectomy by the time of the study. The majority of responders (64/76; 84.2%) considered surveillance appointments beneficial. Pain level during endometrial biopsy was not associated with the decision to undergo prophylactic surgery. The level of satisfaction the women had with the information and advice provided during surveillance was significantly associated with the history of prophylactic hysterectomy (satisfaction rate of 73.2% versus 31.8% of nonoperated women, p = 0.003). The women who had undergone prophylactic surgery were older than the nonoperated women both at mutation testing (median of 42.3 years versus 31.6 years, p <0.001) and at the time of the study (median of 56.9 years versus 46.0 years, respectively, p <0.001). Women with LS pathogenic variants have positive experiences with gynecological surveillance visits, and their perception of the quality of the information and advice obtained plays an important role in their decision-making concerning prophylactic surgery.Peer reviewe

Finnish CMS-TOB cosmic rack

Peer reviewe

SCOTROC 2B: feasibility of carboplatin followed by docetaxel or docetaxel–irinotecan as first-line therapy for ovarian cancer

The feasibility of combination irinotecan, carboplatin and docetaxel chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma was assessed. One hundred patients were randomised to receive four 3-weekly cycles of carboplatin (area under the curve (AUC) 7) followed by four 3-weekly cycles of docetaxel 100 mg m−2 (arm A, n=51) or docetaxel 60 mg m−2 with irinotecan 200 mg m−2 (arm B, n=49). Neither arm met the formal feasibility criterion of an eight-cycle treatment completion rate that was statistically greater than 60% (arm A 71% (90% confidence interval (CI) 58–81%; P=0.079; arm B 67% (90% CI 55–78%; P=0.184)). Median-dose intensities were >85% of planned dose for all agents. In arms A and B, 15.6 and 12.2% of patients, respectively, withdrew owing to treatment-related toxicity. Grade 3–4 sensory neurotoxicity was more common in arm A (1.9 vs 0%) and grade 3–4 diarrhoea was more common in arm B (0.6 vs 3.5%). Of patients with radiologically evaluable disease at baseline, 50 and 48% responded to therapy in arms A and B, respectively; at median 17.1 months' follow-up, median progression-free survival was 17.1 and 15.9 months, respectively. Although both arms just failed to meet the formal statistical feasibility criteria, the observed completion rates of around 70% were reasonable. The addition of irinotecan to first-line carboplatin and docetaxel chemotherapy was generally well tolerated although associated with increased gastrointestinal toxicity. Further exploratory studies of topoisomerase-I inhibitors in this setting may be warranted

Reliability of preoperative evaluation of postmenopausal ovarian tumors

BioMed Central open acces

Kivessyövän hoito

Kivessyöpä on tavallisin nuorten miesten syöpä. Sen ilmaantuvuus lisääntyy. Taudin varhainen toteaminen perusterveydenhuollossa on tärkeää, vaikka levinneenkin syövän ennuste on hyvä. Hoidot on keskitetty yliopistosairaaloihin. Seuranta jatkuu erikoissairaanhoidossa yleensä viiden vuoden ajan. Myöhäisuusiutumat ovat erittäin harvinaisia. Hoidoilla on myöhäishaittoja, esimerkiksi sydän- ja verisuonitauteja sekä sekundaarisia syöpiä, joten terveet elämäntavat ovat tärkeitä

Commissioning and Performance of the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker with Cosmic Ray Muons

Peer reviewe

Commissioning of the CMS High-Level Trigger with Cosmic Rays

Peer reviewe