The quality of demographic data in 1804 comparing Paraíba do Norte (Brazil), Angola and Goa

O estudo da população do Império Português conta com um vasto corpus de dados estatísticos, desde meados do século xviii. No entanto, estas fontes revelam uma grande diversidade de conteúdos, devido à organização de dados e a realidades sociais diferentes. Esta circunstância pressupõe a necessidade de se proceder a uma análise muito cuidadosa da qualidade das fontes, antes de identificar e reconstruir os principais indicadores emográficos da população colonial. É nosso objetivo proceder, de forma exploratória, a uma crítica interna das fontes e analisar, sempre que possível, a qualidade dos dados através de métodos testados, em mapas de 1804 de Goa, Angola e Paraíba do Norte (Brasil).The study of the Portuguese empire population has a vast corpus of statistical data since middle eighteenth century. However, these sources reveal a great diversity in contents, due to the data organization and different social realities. This circumstance presupposes the need to proceed to a very careful analysis of sources quality, before identifying and rebuild the main demographic indicators of the colonial population. It is our goal to proceed in an exploratory manner, and to do an internal critique analysis of the sources, and analyze always as possible the quality of data by tested methods, in 1804 charts of Goa, Angola and Paraíba do Norte (Brazil).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Improvement in the flow of materials in the painting section of an industrial company

This research was undertaken in the Painting section at the company Preh Portugal, which is currently increasing its capacity. The plastic components are painted and engraved, and then supplied to internal customers so that they can then be assembled on the final line. The main purpose of the study resides in analyzing the value flow. The methodology used consisted of the case study itself, in association with the use of lean tools. The objective was to reduce the changeovers generated by activities which, in the customer’s perspective, are of no added value. To this end, one studied the possibility of altering the configuration of the FIFO supermarket, as well as optimizing laser production in the section. The changes proposed resulted in gains of 74,02% and 74,4% regarding the distance of the routes covered by material and operators, respectively. Additional studies were carried out in the Painting section, more specifically in the new section of Painting. Here, one analyzed the layout projected by the company and subsequently carried out some changes which will enable gains of 48 and 43% in the distance of the routes covered by material and operators, respectively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysis and improvement of internal logistic flows at an industrial company

Undertaken at Preh Portugal, Ltd., the main objective of this study project resided in defining the system of supply to a new assembly line, the Ford B479. Supply to the assembly lines is a crucial activity in internal logistics since the entire production system relies on the supply of materials required for the line. It is, therefore, extremely important to study solutions which will facilitate these activities, thus enhancing productivity and guaranteeing the on-time availability of products, in suitable quantities and at the best cost. The initial phase consisted of studying the type of supply system used by the company for the remaining lines, as well as gaining a detailed understanding of the entire assembly line production process. One was then able to create a database to include all of this information. Once all the required information had been gathered, one proceeded to define the supermarket for the Ford B479 line, and calculated the number of positions required. With the purpose of building a more effective and efficient supermarket, one analyzed the possibility of building the supermarket next to line instead of resorting to the existing solution where the shelves for all lines are in the same location. When the site for the supermarket was defined, one proceeded with its construction and determined the supply system of both the supermarket as well as the line sides. Due to the proposed changes, one was able to reduce the distance covered by raw materials by 55% as well as to decrease handling.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Picture from a National Reference Center for Molecular Pathology

Introduction: The Portuguese healthcare system had to adapt at short notice to the COVID-19 pandemic. We implemented workflow changes to our molecular pathology laboratory, a national reference center, to maximize safety and productivity. We assess the impact this situation had on our caseload and what conclusions can be drawn about the wider impact of the pandemic in oncological therapy in Portugal. Material and Methods. We reviewed our database for all oncological molecular tests requested between March and April of 2019 and 2020. For each case, we recorded age, sex, region of the country, requesting institution, sample type, testing method, and turnaround time (TAT). A comparison between years was made. Results: The total number of tests decreased from 421 in 2019 to 319 in 2020 (p = 0.0027). The greatest reduction was in clinical trial-related cases. Routine cases were similar between years (267 vs. 256). TAT was higher in 2019 (mean 15 days vs. 12.3 days; p = 0.0003). Medium- to large-sized public hospitals in the north of the country were mostly responsible for the reduction in cases (p = 0.0153). Conclusions: Case reduction was observed at hospitals that have mostly been involved in the treatment of COVID-19 and in the north of the country, the region worst-hit by the pandemic. Similar to other studies, our TAT decreased, even with a similar number of routine cases. Thus, we conclude that it is possible to successfully adapt the workflow of a molecular pathology laboratory to new safety standards without losing efficiency.publishersversionpublishe

The impact of safety politics in the current globalization context

The globalization is a process of economical, social, cultural and political integration motivated by the needs generated by a consumption-orientated society and a set of factors that have led to its development, such as reducing transport costs, the technological advancement and the development of communication networks. However, the phenomenon of globalization has been accompanied by increasing levels of insecurity as a result of various types of threats and transnational crimes that the International Community seeks to control and minimize. Throughout this work, we examined how the globalization process has been developing and how nations are able to maintain security levels consistent with their economical status and social development, without disturbing the normal course of organizations’ economical activity and the well-being of people. From the investigation developed we concluded that, besides the confirmation that economic integration and the opening of markets have influence on internal consumption, market globalization and migrations have been causing modifications in the consumption habits. We also concluded that the security measures implemented by States or by the International Community affect international trade, but do not imply disproportionate costs or significant delays in transactions. Likewise, we concluded that the control measures implemented in international trade are sufficient to ensure the safety of the people and nations, enabling us to confirm two of the three conjectures raised in this study

A Novel Rework Costing Methodology Applied To a Bus Manufacturing Company

This paper focuses on the quality costs analysis in the automotive industry, specifically a bus manufacturing company. The main goal was to improve the quality costs indicator, by providing means to evaluate the failure cost within the productive process. Kaizen-lean principles were used as methodology. A quality cost analysis was made based on literature review and in an ISO standard in quality costs. Process analysis was made based on the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle. As the main achievements of this article, the quality costs were identified as well as its sources. Then, by collecting a very significant amount of data, from various departments, regarding each of the identified costs, it was possible to measure these costs and create a database to scorecard them – including rework costs. Due to the lack of rework costs information, a great part of this analysis focused on data collection and estimating/calculating these associated costs. Thus, it was possible to develop associated KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to support decision making and a graphic indicator to show the overall balance between quality costs and non-quality costs. In this process, some difficulties were found as well as some opportunities for improvement. The critical ones were implemented during this project, while the others are scheduled for future work. In terms of a more technological approach to these studies, some autonomous systems can exist, although it comes at a great cost. However, the 4.0 Industry concept is evolving and fits perfectly in the quality costs monitorization context: an integrated information system with a global data network allows for a quick check-up of all the quality costs, by category, while freeing employees from doing this work manually.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A codification system roadmap: case study in a metalworking company

Decision-making and control of operational areas in industrial companies are key issues in their sustainability and resilience in markets that are more and more challenging and competitive. In this way, production management and information management software are becoming mandatory. The codification of information, namely products codification, is a subject, without being the main purpose in everyday companies’ work, must be a subject that enables a proper functioning of everyday companies’ activity. This project proposes a roadmap for internal product codification in a company working in the metalworking industry. This guide shows good practices that highlight formal basic rules whose could add value to internal processes of the organization and so to provide a solid system where the company can rely on providing more time to its workers to spend in other tasks. At last it is provided a generic conceptual model to serve as an approach to develop a codification system in any given organization.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analysis and optimisation of a logistic warehouse in the automotive industry

The automotive industry is one of the most competitive sectors, in which rigour, flexibility, quality and agility constitute the critical factors of success. Warehouse activities and their associated costs play a vital role in logistic functions. Their optimisation and performance assessment may result in substantial value gains for the company. This study was developed at Continental Mabor, with the purpose of developing a proposal to restructure and optimise the company’s warehouse. An analysis of the existing warehouse was carried out and the respective proposals were subsequently presented. The main goal of these proposals was to improve the efficiency of warehouse functions, reduce stock quantities and enhance the capacity to meet customer’s demand. A warehouse management system (WMS) was installed and a suitable bin management solution was defined. This system consisted of a basic WMS to support stock inventory and its location. In addition, this system envisaged warehouse performance and included elements such as the inventory management Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and warehouse productivity.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio