Microwave limiting amplifiers are the key components of Instantaneous Frequency Measurement (IFM) systems. Limiting amplifiers provide constant output power level in a wide input dynamic range and over a broad frequency band. Moreover, limiting amplifiers are high gain devices that are used to bring very low input power levels to a constant output power level. Besides, limiting amplifiers are required to provide minimum small signal gain ripple in order not to reduce the sensitivity of the IFM system over the operating frequency band. In this thesis work, a high gain, medium power, 2-18 GHz limiting amplifier module is designed, simulated, fabricated and measured. First, a 3-stage cascaded amplifier with 27 dB small signal gain is designed and fabricated. The 3-stage amplifier is composed of a novel cascaded combination of negative feedback and distributed amplifiers that provides the minimum small signal gain ripple and satisfactory input and output return losses inside 2-18 GHz frequency band. Then, the designed two 3-stage amplifiers and one 4-stage amplifier are cascaded to constitute a limiting amplifier module with minimum 80 dB small signal gain. The designed 10-stage limiting amplifier module also includes an analog voltage controllable attenuator to be used for compensating the gain variations resulting from temperature changes. The fabricated 10-stage limiting amplifier module provides 20 +/- 1.2 dBm output power level and excellent small signal gain flatness, +/- 2.2 dB, over 2-18 GHz frequency range.

<p>Ökad kunskap och kännedom om sin organisations prestanda är något som alla företag eftersträvar. Att kunna prediktera vilka resurser ett utvecklingsarbete kräver är en förutsättning för att kunna genomföra ett bra offertarbete. Dessutom krävs prestandakännedom för att kunna sätta mål för det interna målstyrningsarbetet. Kännedomen uppnås genom ett etablerat mätsystem, som innefattar insamlande och användande av mätdata, det är inom detta område som vårat examensarbete har sitt fokus. Närmare bestämt belyses framgångsfaktorer vid implementationen samt hur användandet av mätdata bör gå till. Det som gör vår studie unik är att vi tittar på dessa två aspekter samtidigt. Tidigare studier inom området har enbart fokuserat på faktorer som påverkar implementationen av mätsystemet. Vi hävdar att användandet är ytterligare en faktor som är viktigt för att få mätsystemet etablerat och accepterat.</p><p>Genom intervjuer på Saab Aerosystems, företaget där vi utfört vår studie, har organisationens nuläge identifierats. Med vår teoretiska referensram som grund analyseras och diskuteras situationen på företaget och slutligen återges de fem rekommendationer vi kommit fram till. Vi menar att Saab Aerosystems, genom att följa våra rekommendationer i sitt fortsatta förändringsarbete, kan skapa bättre förutsättningar för mät- och analysarbete inom organisationen.</p> / <p>Increased knowledge and understanding of the performance of its organization is something that all companies strive after. Being able to predict the necessary resources for a development project is a prerequisite in the work of making offers. This knowledge regarding performance is also needed to be able to set goals for the goal-driven management. The knowledge is acquired through an established measurement system, which contains the gathering and use of the data and it is in this field this thesis has its focus. More precise, this thesis discusses the factors of success when implementing a measurement system and the use of the data it produces. What makes our study unique is that we are looking into these two areas jointly. Prior studies in this field have focused solely on the success factors regarding the implementation of a measurement system. We argue that the use of data is another important factor in getting the measurement system established and accepted by its users.</p><p>Through interviews at Saab Aerosystems, were we conducted this study, has the organization’s present situation been identified. With our theoretical frame of reference as a foundation, we analyze and discuss the situation at the company and at the end the five recommendations that we reached are given. We argue that Saab Aerosystems, by using these recommendations in their continued work with improvements, can create better conditions for their work with measurement and analysis within the organization.</p>

Ökad kunskap och kännedom om sin organisations prestanda är något som alla företag eftersträvar. Att kunna prediktera vilka resurser ett utvecklingsarbete kräver är en förutsättning för att kunna genomföra ett bra offertarbete. Dessutom krävs prestandakännedom för att kunna sätta mål för det interna målstyrningsarbetet. Kännedomen uppnås genom ett etablerat mätsystem, som innefattar insamlande och användande av mätdata, det är inom detta område som vårat examensarbete har sitt fokus. Närmare bestämt belyses framgångsfaktorer vid implementationen samt hur användandet av mätdata bör gå till. Det som gör vår studie unik är att vi tittar på dessa två aspekter samtidigt. Tidigare studier inom området har enbart fokuserat på faktorer som påverkar implementationen av mätsystemet. Vi hävdar att användandet är ytterligare en faktor som är viktigt för att få mätsystemet etablerat och accepterat. Genom intervjuer på Saab Aerosystems, företaget där vi utfört vår studie, har organisationens nuläge identifierats. Med vår teoretiska referensram som grund analyseras och diskuteras situationen på företaget och slutligen återges de fem rekommendationer vi kommit fram till. Vi menar att Saab Aerosystems, genom att följa våra rekommendationer i sitt fortsatta förändringsarbete, kan skapa bättre förutsättningar för mät- och analysarbete inom organisationen. / Increased knowledge and understanding of the performance of its organization is something that all companies strive after. Being able to predict the necessary resources for a development project is a prerequisite in the work of making offers. This knowledge regarding performance is also needed to be able to set goals for the goal-driven management. The knowledge is acquired through an established measurement system, which contains the gathering and use of the data and it is in this field this thesis has its focus. More precise, this thesis discusses the factors of success when implementing a measurement system and the use of the data it produces. What makes our study unique is that we are looking into these two areas jointly. Prior studies in this field have focused solely on the success factors regarding the implementation of a measurement system. We argue that the use of data is another important factor in getting the measurement system established and accepted by its users. Through interviews at Saab Aerosystems, were we conducted this study, has the organization’s present situation been identified. With our theoretical frame of reference as a foundation, we analyze and discuss the situation at the company and at the end the five recommendations that we reached are given. We argue that Saab Aerosystems, by using these recommendations in their continued work with improvements, can create better conditions for their work with measurement and analysis within the organization.

Performance Measurement is necessary in order to support the implementation of a Continuous Improvement approach within a company. Performance Measurement has been a subject of increasing interest for researchers and practitioners. The questions addressed in the literature especially evolved from “what” to measure to “how” to measure. The present thesis follows this evolution by exploring how companies can successfully implement Performance Measurement. The thesis follows a parallel research design including a literature review and a case study. From one side, a literature review aims at explaining the main theories behind Performance Measurement, such as the concept of Performance Measurement System, as well as giving some recommendation for its implementation. On the other side, an empirical case study, conducted in a construction industry company, presents a practical implementation of Performance Measurement including some of the indicators dashboards built in several factories and departments of the company. The results of this case study are also supported by several interviews conducted at different steps of the implementation with the different actors involved. Then a theoretical verification is conducted by comparing the theory from the literature review with the empirical results from the case study. It especially allows to verify some recommendations as well as to identify a few gaps. The results of this study can be seen as a set of verified recommendations in order to successfully implement Performance Measurement within a company. These recommendations come from the comparison between theory and practice and they are divided in three main parts: the Key Performance Indicators identification, the Performance Measurement System design, and the practical implementation of Performance Measurement. Regarding this last part, five key success factors (e.g. perceived benefits of performance measurement, top management commitment) and five barriers (e.g. time and effort required, human behaviour) have been verified. Moreover, some Performance Measurement issues are discussed, such as the reduction of the complexity, the potential gaps between local approaches and global consistency, as well as the concept of organisational learning. Finally, the thesis identifies three kinds of trade-offs (e.g. accuracy of the data and cost of collection) that need to be considered when implementing Performance Measurement.

In this research, Fresnel zone plates were studied using an accurate, full-electromagnetic simulator based on the body-of-revolution finite-difference time-domain (BOR-FDTD) method. This tool was used to investigate zone plates for two different applications: zone plates used as antennas in communication systems and zone plates used as focusing elements in free-space, focused-beam measurement systems. Through detailed studies of zone plates for these applications, a number of general characteristics of the zone plate were given a more in-depth look than they have been given in the past. For the first application, parametric studies were performed for Soret, folded, and grooved-dielectric, phase-correcting zone plates for antenna applications. These studies were used to generate new design graphs, from which general observations are made about the effect of varying different parameters on the focusing ability of a zone plate. For the grooved-dielectric, phase-correcting zone plate, these studies show that a number of factors influence the focusing ability in ways that are unexpected, based on many of the simple techniques typically used to analyze zone plates. Each of these factors is evaluated individually. For the second application, a zone plate was designed to be used as a focusing element in a free-space, focused-beam measurement system. To determine the suitability of zone plates for this application, simulations and measurements of the electric field were used to compare this zone plate to a doubly-hyperbolic lens. A complete focused-beam system, using two zone plates as focusing elements, was used to measure the permittivity of different dielectric materials. These measurements are compared to results for a system that uses doubly-hyperbolic lenses and to published values. A technique for increasing the usable bandwidth of a zone plate in a focused-beam system was proposed and tested. Finally, as a topic for future research, the question is posed: Using the BOR-FDTD method, can a similar volume of material be shaped in a way that results in improved focusing performance compared to a traditional zone plate? Some insight into this open-ended question can be gained by examining preliminary results of the optimization of zone plates using of a genetic algorithm.

[pt] Na atual conjuntura econômica, as organizações públicas devem prestar contas à sociedade através dos resultados e impactos que são capazes de gerar. O reconhecimento pela sociedade dos produtos gerados pelas organizações públicas se dá através da coerência nas decisões dos gestores com a eficiência, eficácia e efetividade na administração dos recursos disponíveis. Nesse sentido, é através da Gestão Estratégica que as organizações desenvolvem um processo contínuo e integrado de formulação, implantação, avaliação e correção da estratégia, capaz de conduzi-la à excelência no cumprimento da sua razão de existir (missão organizacional). O Balanced Scorecard é um Sistema de Medição de Desempenho que apoia o processo de implantação da estratégia, sendo o mais difundido e detalhado, o que garante melhor resultado na compreensão do desdobramento da estratégia em ações operacionais. Além dos motivos citados anteriormente, atendendo ao interesse do Exército Brasileiro de implantar o Sistema de Gestão Estratégica com o uso da metodologia BSC, esse trabalho buscou, através de um estudo de caso cumprindo as etapas de preparação da organização, formulação da estratégia e detalhamento, propor um Sistema de Medição de Desempenho baseado no Balanced Scorecard em apoio à Gestão Estratégica na Unidade Central de Transportes do Exército Brasileiro (Estabelecimento Central de Transportes), tendo como resultado a validação e utilização do sistema proposto, viabilizando a melhor gestão dos recursos disponíveis, adoção de uma mentalidade estratégica por parte dos militares envolvidos, além da aderência ao Programa de Excelência do Exército Brasileiro. / [en] In the current economic environment, public organizations must be accountable to society through the results and impacts that they are capable of generating. The recognition by society of the products generated by the public organizations is given through the coherence in the decisions of the managers with an efficiency, efficiency and effectiveness in the administration of the available resources. In this sense, it is through the Strategic Management that organizations develop a continuous and integrated process of formulation, implementation, evaluation and correction of the strategy, capable of leading it to excellence in fulfilling its reason for existing (organizational mission). The Balanced Scorecard is a Performance Measurement System that supports the process of implementing the strategy, being the most widespread and detailed, which guarantees a better result in understanding the strategy s deployment in operational actions. In addition to the reasons cited above, in view of the Brazilian Army s interest in implementing the Strategic Management System with the use of the BSC methodology, this work sought, through a case study fulfilling the steps of preparation of the organization, strategy formulation and detailing, to propose a Performance Measurement System based on the Balanced Scorecard in support of Strategic Management in the Central Transportation Unit (Estabelecimento Central de Transportes), resulting in a validity and use of the proposed system, making possible a better management of available resources, adoption of a strategic mentality on the military involved, in addition to adherence to the Program of Excellence of the Brazilian Army.

[pt] O presente trabalho refere-se à avaliação metrológica de um mesmo medidor ultra-sônico de vazão de líquido pelo método de tempo de trânsito, quando instalado em dois sistemas distintos de calibração, pertencentes, respectivamente, a dois laboratórios acreditados, ambos operando em conformidade com as especificações técnicas de instalação do fabricante e segundo os requisitos mínimos especificados em normas e recomendações internacionais. A pesquisa investigou o efeito na calibração introduzido por uma válvula e uma curva longa de 90° instaladas imediatamente à montante do trecho reto de medição, que tem o seu comprimento atendendo as condições mínimas especificadas nas normas aplicáveis. Concluiu-se pela necessidade de se utilizar pelo menos 40 diâmetros nominais (40 DN) de comprimento de trecho reto, para que a influência da presença da válvula e da curva longa possa ser considerada desprezível. O desenvolvimento do presente trabalho foi motivado pela crescente aplicação de medidores ultra-sônicos de vazão na indústria de petróleo e pela urgente necessidade de se contribuir para o avanço do conhecimento desta tecnologia e da normalização aplicável. Nesse sentido, o presente trabalho contribui: (i) para o melhor entendimento da tecnologia de medição e do processo de calibração de medidores ultra-sônicos de vazão de líquidos; (ii) para o avanço da normalização no setor, uma vez que inclui uma análise crítica de requisitos mínimos normalizados; (iii) para aprimoramento dos critérios de acreditação de laboratórios que realizam a calibração de medidores de vazão, já que avaliou desvios de calibração ocorridos em distintas instalações em conformidade com as normas aplicáveis. / [en] This work deals with the metrological evaluation of the same ultrasonic flow meter by the transit time method, when installed in two different calibrating systems, belonging, respectively, to two accredited laboratories, both operating according to the manufacture´s installation technical specification, and following the minimum requirements, as specified in international standards and recommendations. The research investigated the effect in calibration due to the installation of a valve and a long 90° curve, immediately upstream of the measurement test section, with its length dimensioned according to the minimum requirements of the applicable standards. It was concluded that a longer straight sections (at least 40 diameters) should be specified, so that the influence of the installation of the valve and the curve could be neglected. The development of the present work was motivated by the growing utilization of ultrasonic flow meters by the oil industry, and by the urgent need to contribute to the advance of the technology and the applicable standardization. In this aspect, this work contributes to: (i) a better understanding of the measurement technology and of the procedure of ultrasonic liquids flow meters; (ii) the advance of the technology standardization, since it includes a critical analysis of the minimum requirements, as specified by the standards; (iii) improving the laboratory accreditation criteria for flow meter calibration, because the influence of the installation in the calibration was experimentally shown.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4208.pdf: 856652 bytes, checksum: 60ff880800de5b9b2dbedcdc9a794bdd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-02-06 / ABSTRACT Supply chains are becoming increasingly important for companies to survive in today's competitive market. Theories and methods that contributing to the improvement of its management are important elements for research and development in the field of Industrial Engineering. Considering the performance measurement systems as one of these elements, this thesis aims to propose an adequacy model of performance measurement systems and its maturity to the maturity levels of supply chain management due to the lack of a study that shows the relationship between these two elements. For this were studied the performance measurement systems and its maturity as well as the maturity models for supply chain management enabling to build a theoretical model of relationship between these two elements. Using the multiple case method applied on three different analyze units it was possible to analyze the theoretical model purposed. As the main results of this research, in most of cases, was identified the existence of a relationship between the maturity of performance measurement system and maturity of supply chain management, although not always all elements of maturity of these two elements are in the same level of development. As contribution, this model aims to present a new approach to the theory of the performance measurement systems in the supply chain management, as well as, to provide to the practitioners the correct alignment between the maturity of supply chain management and maturity of performance measurement systems. / As cadeias de suprimentos são cada vez mais importantes para a sobrevivência das empresas no mercado competitivo atual. Teorias e métodos que contribuam para a melhoria de sua gestão são elementos importantes para a pesquisa e o desenvolvimento na área da Engenharia de Produção. Considerando os sistemas de medição de desempenho como um desses elementos, esta tese tem por objetivo propor um modelo de adequação dos sistemas de medição de desempenho e sua maturidade aos níveis de maturidade da gestão da cadeia de suprimentos, diante da ausência de um estudo que apresente a relação entre estes dois elementos. Para isso, foram estudados os sistemas de medição de desempenho e sua maturidade, como também, os modelos de maturidade para a gestão da cadeia de suprimentos, permitindo, desta forma, construir um modelo teórico de relação entre estes dois elementos. Utilizando-se do método de pesquisa de estudo de múltiplos casos aplicados em três diferentes unidades de analise foi possível analisar o modelo teórico proposto. Como principais resultados desta pesquisa, na maioria dos casos, foi identificada a existência de uma relação entre a maturidade do sistema de medição de desempenho e a maturidade da gestão da cadeia de suprimentos, embora nem sempre todas as dimensões da maturidade destes dois elementos encontram-se em um mesmo nível de desenvolvimento. Como contribuição, este modelo busca apresentar uma abordagem inédita para a teoria dos sistemas de medição de desempenho no âmbito da gestão da cadeia de suprimentos, como também, proporcionar aos praticantes o correto alinhamento entre a maturidade da gestão da cadeia de suprimentos e a maturidade dos sistemas de medição de desempenho.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:52:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissRAMM.pdf: 1175391 bytes, checksum: 3f3496da1f1279423a741bf27bd887bc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-08-11 / The aim of this dissertation was to investigate empirically which factors are affecting the support given by the performance measurement to the continuous improvement process within ISO 9001 registered companies. The continuous improvement is a simple concept that is attracting the attention of several companies around the world, but the results are not always the expected ones. Most of the flaws are due to the lack of appropriate infrastructure, behaviors and practices related to the stages in the evolution of continuous improvement. Among the elements of this infrastructure is the performance measurement that plays an important role in supporting the improvement activities. The performance measurement, though, needs to present an appropriate structure for each stage in the evolution of continuous improvement. The procedure used to develop the field research was the case study to allow the researcher to understand several aspects raised by the research question, by using interview and field observation. Four ISO 9001 registered companies were studied, since the standard requires the execution of performance measurement and continuous improvement. Each company had different experiences according to the quality management. The results of this research proved that the structure of performance measurement is an important key to support the continuous improvement process and that in each stage in the evolution of continuous improvement it has to be different. However, the existence of only an appropriate performance measurement system is not enough. The use of this performance measurement system is between this relation and it is also affected by the knowledge of the organization members to use the performance measurement in the continuous improvement activity. / O objetivo desta dissertação foi investigar empiricamente quais são os fatores que afetam o suporte fornecido pela medição de desempenho ao processo de melhoria contínua em empresas certificadas ISO 9001. A melhoria contínua é um conceito simples, que vem atraindo a atenção de várias empresas ao redor do mundo, mas nem sempre os resultados são os esperados. Boa parte das falhas pode ser atribuída à falta de uma infra-estrutura, comportamentos e práticas adequadas a cada estágio de evolução. Dentre os elementos da infra-estrutura está a medição de desempenho, que possui um papel importante de suporte às atividades de melhoria. Para tanto, a medição de desempenho precisa apresentar uma estrutura apropriada para cada estágio de evolução da melhoria contínua. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa de campo, o procedimento adotado foi o de estudos de caso, que permitiu captar, a partir da perspectiva dos entrevistados e observações das práticas das empresas estudadas, vários aspectos sobre a problemática em questão. Quatro empresas foram estudadas, todas com sistemas de gestão da qualidade certificados na norma ISO 9001, visto que essa norma tem requisitos sobre medição de desempenho e melhoria contínua, e diferentes experiências com relação à gestão da qualidade. Os resultados comprovaram que a estrutura da medição de desempenho é um fator importante para o suporte ao processo de melhoria contínua, sendo que ela deve ser diferente a cada estágio de melhoria contínua em que a organização se encontra. Contudo, a presença somente de um sistema de medição de desempenho adequado não é suficiente. A utilização da medição de desempenho media essa relação e é influenciada pela capacitação dos membros da organização de utilizar a medição de desempenho nas atividades de melhoria contínua.

Performance evaluation of internal auditing departments is extremely important as organisations depend on the advice and assurance they obtain from these department. Therefore, this study seeks to determine the perceived most relevant and appropriate performance measurement system (PMS) used to evaluate the performance of internal auditing departments. The determination of such a PMS may lead to effective performance measurement, meeting and exceeding stakeholders’ expectations, and achieving strategic objectives. Questionnaires were distributed to organisations that hold an internal auditing department within the regions of Cape Town, South Africa and Windhoek, Namibia. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) tool was used to analyse the data. The results obtained from the survey reveal that the most frequently used PMS to evaluate the performance of internal auditing departments is the Balanced Scorecard. The results also indicate that the Chief Audit Executive (CAE)/internal auditing managers are of the opinion that stakeholders expect the PMS of Internal Audit to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of their department. The CAE/internal auditing managers are also of the opinion that stakeholders expect the PMS to measure the competency of internal auditing departments and ensure that these departments adhere to the Code of Ethics, International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (ISPPIA), and apply the risk-based approach to their operations. The implications of this study contribute to identifying the PMS perceived to be the most relevant and appropriate to evaluate the performance of internal auditing departments. This study has affirmed that the Balanced Scorecard is perceived to be this PMS for effective and efficient performance evaluation of internal auditing departments. Despite the Balanced Scorecard being the effective and efficient PMS for internal auditing departments, it is not utilised properly to make provision for measures focusing on the assessment of risk management processes, internal audit control, and governance.