Detta examensarbete har utförts på Sandvik Mining and Construction Tools AB (SMC) och hade som uppdrag att införa arbete med statistisk processtyrning (SPS) vid en produktionscell. Innan implementering av SPS tekniker krävs det en säkerställning av mätsystemets tillförlitlighet. Målet med arbetet är att genom en mätsystemanalys (MSA) utvärdera den befintliga mätmetodens duglighet och erbjuda berörd personal vid SMC en ny mätmetodsmodell om den befintliga mätmetoden fallerar. Metoden som användes för att utföra MSA var en fallstudie. Analysen genomfördes med hjälp av olika förbättringsarbetssätt inom Sex sigmas metodik som till exempel DMAIC-förbättringscykel och fiskbensdiagram. Underlagen för studien baserades på kvantitativa- och kvalitativa data. Insamling av kvantitativa data utfördes med hjälp av strukturerade observationer medan kvalitativa data samlades in med hjälp av en nulägesanalys, individuella intervjuer, benchmarking och litteraturstudie. Arbetet består av 3 analyser utförda på två olika mätsystem. Resultatet pekade på att de befintliga mätsystemen inte var tillförlitliga nog för att kunna användas i produktionen hos SMC. Mätsystem 1 (mätmaskinen) exkluderades från vidare analyser på grund av tidsbrist för att kunna genomföra förbättringar på det. Mätsystem 2 gick igenom en förbättringsfas där flera grundorsaker till variationer i processen analyserades och förbättrades. Dessvärre blev mätsystemet fortfarande odugligt för att användning i produktionen. Med hjälp av matematiska och statistiska beräkningar fastställdes det att mätmaskinen är det lämpligaste mätsystem att använda inom produktionen hos SMC. Det kan betyda att mätsystemets acceptans är beroende av mätinstrumentet. / This essay has been carried out at Sandvik Mining and Construction Tools AB (SMC). The purpose of study was to introduce the statistical process control methodology (SPC) at the actual production cell. Before the implementation of SPC-techniques, it is required an analysis to ensure the measurement systems reliability. The objective of the work is that through a measurement system analysis (MSA) evaluate the existing measurement method capability and provide the relevant personnel at SMC with a new measurement model if the existing measurements methods fails.   The method used to perform the MSA was a case study. The analysis was performed using various improvement works within Six-Sigma methods such as DMAIC improvement cycle and fishbone diagram. The study was based on quantitative and qualitative data. Collection of quantitative data was performed using structured observations while qualitative data was assembled by means of a situation analysis, individual interviews, benchmarking and a literature review. The work consists of three studies performed on two different measurement systems.   The results indicated that the existing measurement systems were not reliable enough to be used in the SMC production. Measuring system 1 (measuring machine) were excluded from further analysis because of insufficient time to carry out improvements on it. Measuring system 2 went through a development phase where several causes of variations in the process were analyzed and improved. Unfortunately, the measurement system was still unfit for use in production.   With the help of mathematical and statistics calculations, it was determined that the measuring machine is the most appropriate measurement system to use in the SMC production process. This could mean that the measurement system acceptance is dependent on the measuring instrument

M.S. / Applied Physics / A new method of measuring the level of 8-methoxypsoralen in blood serum was developed for the reasons of speed, accuracy, and cost. This new method uses laser induced fluorescence of the psoralen to determine the concentration in serum. The fluorescence is analyzed with an optical multichannel analyzer coupled to an intensified photodiode array detector. Research was first attempted on samples with ethanol as the solvent to confirm that the method would work. Sample concentrations of 8-methoxypsoralen in serum are determined by comparing the fluorescence signal obtained from previously known concentrations. Levels down to 200ng per milliliter of serum can be measured with this technique.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 59 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-59).

There is a distinct lack of research into the concept of acute mental health crisis. Without investigating the concept of crisis itself, it is not possible to appreciate the attributes of crisis so that it can be measured. This has hampered the development of good psychometric tools for crisis. The aim of this research was to develop the first standardised, valid and reliable measure for the assessment of people presenting to Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) teams. This research utilised qualitative and quantitative research techniques to develop a crisis measure starting with a comprehensive investigation into the concept of acute mental health crisis to identify an item pool and clinically credible item rating scale. A prototype crisis measure was developed and piloted in two NHS CRHTs and data collected. This data was analysed to identify the key areas of crisis assessment (the subscales), a flexible rating scale and scoring system creating a measure named the Crisis Risk and Adaptive Functioning Tool (CRAFT). The CRAFT provides patient crisis profiles highlighting areas of strength, resilience, weakness and vulnerability. A thorough investigation of crisis was completed with CRHT staff and patients through interviews and focus groups. An initial 143 item pool and clinically credible item rating scale were identified and developed into a prototype pilot crisis measure. This measure utilised a flexible rating approach encapsulating both risk and protective factors believed to reflect clinical practice. The measure was piloted and the data analysed to assess the structure of the crisis measure’s item pool using the statistical techniques of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Rasch analysis. These analyses resulted in a 66 item measure with 8 unidimensional subscales including; 1) Crisis Recovery Indicators, 2) Adaptive Decision Making, 3) Risk of Harm to Self, 4) Mediating Factors, 5) Daily Structure, 6) Risk of Harm to Others, 7) Feelings and Affect, and 8) Basic Needs. The total variance explained by these 8 subscales was 67.6% with excellent internal reliability as indicated by a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.98 (p<0.001) and temporal reliability indicated by Spearman’s correlation of 0.971 (p<0.001, one tailed). This suggests that this measure has a strong internal structure and provides stable outcomes over time at both the subscale and global overall measurement levels. Receiver Operator Characteristic curve analysis supported the identification of cut-offs to indicate low, moderate and high levels of crisis and were shown to have good levels of sensitivity and specificity for the crude discrimination between individuals who require CRHT treatment and individuals who do not require CRHT treatment (sensitivity 0.89 and specificity 0.73) and for accurately discriminating between the basic treatment levels of low, moderate and high (sensitivity 0.80; specificity 0.69). One of the great advantages of utilising the Rasch model is that it supports the identification of key characteristics from an item pool. Application of the subscales and the overall measure to the Rasch model identified items that were most representative of underlying constructs and risk, highlighting items of essential essence for assessing crisis in the context of community treatment. These items may act as useful clinical and risk indicators for community assessment. After considering the evidence from the PCA and Rasch analysis for the underpinning construct, the measure was named the Crisis Risk and Adaptive Functioning Tool (CRAFT) to encapsulate both the risk and adaptive functioning (coping and management) aspects measured by the tool. There are a number of clinical implications resulting from the development of CRAFT for the assessment of crisis. This research clearly identifies 8 key areas for crisis assessment and the specific items that describe them. This promises to be a powerful clinical tool as it clarifies the main areas of concern and importance for crisis assessment and provides mental health professionals with a means of assessing and monitoring patients experiencing crisis. In addition to the clinical benefits offered by the CRAFT, it provides an approach to assessing and monitoring crisis to support further research in the area of acute mental health crisis. This research offers significant steps towards the development of a quality measure for crisis assessment. However, it is acknowledged that the process of measurement development is never complete. It simply evolves over time with the aim of coming closer to the valued direction.

The thesis is concerned with the aplication of the statistical process control on the new product and it provides proposals to its improvement in Plastik, s.r.o.

Diploma Thesis,The Strategic Performance Measurement of Company, is focused on creation of the vision and Balanced Scorecard management system for GRANITI, s.r.o. organization. In the theoretical part, there are explained basic vocabularies of strategic management as system INFA, methodes focused on external analysis of the organization environment (PEST analysis, Porter`s model of five forces and SWOT analysis) and internal analysis of the organization environment. In the next chapter of theoretical part, there is explained Balanced Scorecard management system.In the practical part of diploma thesis, there is introduced GRANITI, s.r.o. oraganization and its strategic analysis which is linked with creation of vision and Balanced Scorecard strategy including its strategic map.

Population-based evidence suggests that the prevalence of psychotic symptoms varies with ethnicity. However, the validity of these self-reported experiences, both as measures of psychotic symptoms per se and as measures of ethnic variation in risk for reporting these symptoms, is questionable. Cultural background and social position may affect the experience and expression of symptoms, which may in turn affect their measurement in survey research. This thesis explores these issues by assessing the psychometric properties of psychosis screening instruments as measures of ethnic differences in psychosis risk in two contexts, Great Britain and the United States. Following this, differences in risk for reporting psychotic symptoms were examined in the context of the varying social and economic conditions to which different ethnic groups and migrant generations are exposed. This was accomplished in the following way: Firstly, the prevalence of self-reported psychotic symptoms was examined across ethnic and generational groups in two large samples of British and American populations; Secondly, the construct validity of the instruments was assessed by means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of response to their symptom indicators. The concurrent validity of the symptoms with measures of self-perceived cognitive and social dysfunction was then examined in a structural equation modeling framework; Thirdly, the cross-ethnic and cross-generational validity of response to these screening instruments was assessed in a multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis framework in which in which the psychometric characteristics of the instruments were compared; And finally, ethnic and generational differences in risk for reporting psychotic symptoms were examined in the context of differential exposure to racial discrimination. Both instruments had construct validity in their measurement of psychotic symptoms, with the exception of one item in the British instrument, as well as concurrent validity with measures of self-perceived cognitive or social dysfunction. The British instrument performed adequately in the measurement of psychotic symptoms across ethnic groups, but did not across migrant generations. The American instrument performed adequately in the measurement of psychotic symptoms across generations, but not across ethnic groups. The effect of measurement noninvariance on the estimation of risk across groups was, however, modest in size. Finally, there was evidence for risk of reporting psychotic symptoms being raised among those who were exposed to racial discrimination. These findings suggest that these self-reported psychotic symptoms constitute clinically relevant phenomena which appear phenotypically similar to the clinical symptoms in diagnosed psychotic disorder. Risk is distributed unevenly over ethnic groups in Britain and the US, is higher among minorities who were exposed to social adversity, and higher among the second generation (in most cases). These patterns are, therefore, highly suggestive of social causation in the aetiology of these self-reported symptoms.

As battery manufacturing is enclosed with multiple quality and safety requirements, the batteryindustry needs adequate Measurement Systems (MS) to provide high product quality and ensure a safe working environment. The study purpose was to improve the performance of an MS for battery production by utilizing MSA and Six Sigma methodology, and to make appropriate recommendations for improvement and future control. The study included 28 measurement instruments which were evaluated by the utilization of a framework consisting of five different errors identified in the literature, namely bias, linearity, stability, reproducibility and repeatability. This framework is considered as the theoretical contribution of this study. The improvement methodology DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) was used to perform the case study. The results indicate an overall improved MS and generated improvement suggestions of three recurrent scenarios that arose in the analysis. Moreover, a company adopted control plan with an intention to serve as a basis for future work within MSA is presented and concerns the practical contribution of this work. The results provide helpful support as well as establish a foundation of how to maintain a well-performing MS for Northvolt. By implementing the suggested recommendations, the potential saving was estimated to 395 000 SEK annually. / En mätsystemanalys genomfördes hos batteritillverkaren Northvolt. Då batteriproduktionomgärdas av flera kvalitets- och säkerhetskrav behöver batteriindustrin tillförlitliga mätsystem för att generera hög produktkvalitet samt upprätthålla en säkerhet för användare. Studien syftade till att förbättra prestandan hos ett mätsystem inom batteriproduktion genom användandet av mätsystemanalys och Sex Sigma-metodik, samt att ge lämpliga rekommendationer för förbättringar och framtida kontroll. Studien inkluderade 28 mätinstrument som utvärderades genom användningen av ett ramverk bestående av fem olika mätsystemfel identifierade i litteraturen, nämligen bias, linearity, stability, reproducibility och repeatability. Detta ramverk betraktas som det teoretiska bidraget från denna studie. Förbättringmetodiken DMAIC (Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control) användes för att utföra fallstudien. Resultaten visar på ett övergripande förbättrat mätsystem och genererade förbättringsförslag på tre återkommande scenarier som uppstod i analysen. Dessutom presenteras en företagsanpassad kontrollplan med avsikt att utgöra en grund för framtida arbete inom mätsystemanalys och ses det praktiska bidraget från denna studie. Resultaten förblir ett användbartstöd samt skapar en grund för hur Northvolt upprätthåller ett högpresterande mätsystem. Genom att säkerställa prestandan av mätsystemet uppskattades den potentiella besparingen till 395 000 SEK årligen.

Auf der von der Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden betriebene EDM-Basislinie im Großen Garten in Dresden werden regelmäßig die Sollstrecken überprüft. Die Ergebnisse deuten auf Punktbewegungen hin. Durch Vergleiche zweier Epochen wird versucht, solche Punktbewegungen statistisch nachzuweisen, sowohl mittels statistischer Hypothesentests, als auch mit einem Informationskriterium. Punktbewegungen von bis zu 0,25 mm/a wurden geschätzt. Über die Ursachen wird noch spekuliert.

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