Database costs

When designing the accelerated aging, several factors are considered, among which at least the desired degree of rehabdity, the information hold in the reliability database, cost and duration of tests. 

Budgeting. These changes in the storage and retrieval of chemical information requite that Hbraries and information centers now consider not only what should be purchased but also what monies should be allocated for the purchase of information in nonprint formats such as CD-ROMs (compact disk read-only memory) and on-line databases. Coupled with this is budgeting for the cost of hardware and software to enable the rapid and cost-effective deHvery of needed information (15). The geometric increase in sources, both printed and on-line, has increased the role of information speciaHst as an expert in the deHvery of chemical information. Retrieval from increasingly diverse and complex sources becomes the paramount issue for searchers of chemical Hterature in the 1990s. 

In 1981, IBM introduced a low cost PC, which provided avenues for access to on-line databases by end users. In 1986 the president of Dialog noted that, although 85% of DIALOG S customers were information speciaHsts or Hbrarians, 80% of new DIALOG accounts were estabHshed for end users (18,19). Users wanted the on-line industry to accommodate their needs and expectations, but the on-line industry did not recogni2e that the availabiHty of large amounts of on-line information would not, of itself, induce people to use the information. 

In the simplest terms, a fault-tree for risk analysis requires the following information probabiUty of detection of a particular anomaly for an NDE system, repair or replacement decision for an item judged defective, probabiUty of failure of the anomaly, cost of failure, cost of inspection, and cost of repair. Implementation of a risk-based inspection system should lead to an overall improvement in the inspection costs as well as in the safety in operation for a plant, component, or a system. Unless the database is well estabUshed, however, costs may fluctuate considerably. 

Databases differ in their strengths and weaknesses, as well as in their focus. As a result, dupHcate searches carried out on different databases generally produce different results. This has been demonstrated in comparative studies of retrieval results for a group of patent databases (31,32). Participants in one study (31) made an effort to develop optimal search strategies in each database tested, yet in no instance did one file produce perfect retrieval. Both investigations (31,32) found that results from the various databases complemented each other. As a result, searchers are counseled to use multiple databases whenever possible. There is no pat answer to the question of how many files to use or which files to use however, more files mean more expenditure, and searchers must develop their own cost—benefit relationship. 

Other Individual Country Databases and Auxiliary Files. The USPatents files on ORBIT, supphed by Derwent, are similar ia their contents to the CLAIMS-Bibliographic files, including all the front page information and the full claims language. These files do not iaclude the two-dimensional stmctures provided by IFI, nor do they have IFI s standardization of assignee names. Citation searching is available at a cost considerably less than that for the portion of the CLAIMS-Citation file that covers the same period. 

Costing investment analysis Data acquisition Database management Data conversion Development tools Dispersion models Distillation Drafting... 

Published Cost Correla.tions. Purchased cost of an equipment item, ie, fob at seller s site or other base point, is correlated as a function of one or more equipment—size parameters. A size parameter is some elementary measure of the size or capacity, such as the heat-transfer area for a heat exchanger (see HeaT-EXCHANGETECHNOLOGy). Historically the cost—size correlations were graphical log—log plots, but the use of arbitrary equation forms for correlation has become quite common. If cost—size equations are used in computer databases, some limit logic must be included so that the equation is not used outside of the appHcable size range. 

Personal Computer Controller Because of its high performance at low cost and its unexcelled ease of use, apphcation of the personal computer (PC) as a platform for process controllers is growing. When configured to perform scan, control, alarm, and data acquisition (SCADA) functions and combined with a spreadsheet or database management apphcation, the PC controller can be a low-cost, basic alternative to the DCS or PLC. 

Now you can reconsider the material balance equations by adding those additional factors identified in the previous step. If necessary, estimates of unaccountable losses will have to be calculated. Note that, in the case of a relatively simple manufacturing plant, preparation of a preliminary material-balance system and its refinement (Steps 14 and 15) can usefully be combined. For more-complex P2 assessments, however, two separate steps are likely to be more appropriate. An important rule to remember is that the inputs should ideally equal the outputs - but in practice this will rarely be the case. Some judgment will be required to determine what level of accuracy is acceptable, and we should have an idea as to what the unlikely sources of errors are (e.g., evaporative losses from outside holding ponds may be a materials loss we cannot accurately account for). In the case of high concentrations of hazardous wastes, accurate measurements are needed to develop cost-effective waste-reduction options. It is possible that the material balance for a number of unit operations will need to be repeated. Again, continue to review, refine, and, where necessary, expand your database. The compilation of accurate and comprehensive data is essential for a successful P2 audit and subsequent waste-reduction action plan. Remember - you can t reduce what you don t know is therel... 

The confluence of sharply rising Operations and Maintenance (O M) costs. NRC requested Individual Plant Examinations (IPEs) and increased personal computer capabilities gave rise to the R R Workstation. Its uses and maintains-current PSA models and databases for individual plants to perform O M planning and scheduling, and uses the PSA in IPE models to identify plant design, procedure and operational vulnerabilities. The Risk and Reliability Workstation Alliance was organized by EPRI to support the R R Workshop in order to achieve O M cost reduction, plant productivity and safety enhancement through risk-based, user-friendly, windowed software louls (Table 3.6 8). The Alliance, initiated in 1992, includes 25 U.S. utilities and four international partners from Spain, France, Korea, and Mexico. SAIC is the prime contractor for the R R Workstation, with participation of five other PSA vendors. 

Although the code is based on well-recognized models referenced in the literature, some of the underlying models are based on "older" theory which has since been improved. The code does not treat complex terrain or chemical reactivity other than ammonia and water. The chemical database in the code is a subset of the AIChE s DIPPR database. The user may not modify or supplement the database and a fee is charged for each chemical added to the standard database distributed with the code. The code costs 20,000 and requires a vendor supplied security key in the parallel port before use. 

If you operate a computerized documentation system, your problems can be eased by the versatility of the computer. Using a database you can provide users with all kinds of information regarding the nature of the change, but be careful. The more you provide the greater the chance of error and the harder and more costly it is to maintain. 

The main function of an incident reporting system (IRS) is to identify recurring trends from large numbers of incidents with relatively minor outcomes, or from near misses. One of the important characteristics of an IRS is that the time and resources required to evaluate an incident and incorporate it into the database must be minimized. This means that the designers of an IRS have to carefully evaluate the benefits and costs of requiring more comprehensive information from each incident that is to be reported. A requirement for too much information will bring the system into disrepute, and too little information will mean that the results are too general to be of any real value. 

The optimum selection of materials is becoming increasingly important for cost controls and innovation in engineering design. The following databases are tools of choice to help the designer and others meet this need. 

Yazdanpanah et al. (2002) calculated the resource use and cost for different stages of HIV infection in France based on a clinical database of HIV-infected patients between 1994 and 1998. The total costs attributable to bed-day and day-care inpatient care included the mean cost of each inpatient day times the length of stay, as well as total number of laboratory tests, dosage and quantity of medications, and total number of procedures. The total cost attributable to outpatient care included the mean physician and nurse fees per visit, as well as total number of laboratory tests and total number of procedures. In the absence of an AIDS-deflning event, the average total cost of care ranged from US 797 per person-month in the highest CD4 stratum to US 1,261 per person-month in the lowest CD4 stratum. 

Hanvelt et al. (1994) estimated the nationwide indirect costs of mortality due to HIV/AIDS in Canada. A descriptive, population-based economic evaluation study was conducted. Data from Statistics Canada were used, which contained information about aU men aged 25-64 years for whom HIV/AIDS or another selected disease was listed as the underlying cause of death from 1987 to 1991. Based on the human capital approach, the present value of future earnings lost for men was calculated. The estimated total loss from 1987 to 1991 was US 2.11 billion, with an average cost of US 558,000 per death associated with HIV/AIDS. Future production loss due to HIV/AIDS was more than double during the period 1987 to 1991, from US 0.27 to US 0.60 billion. A more comprehensive update of this smdy was presented by Hanvelt et al. (1996). The same database and the same data section but for the calendar years 1987-1993 was used. The indirect cost of future production due to HIV/AIDS in Canada based on the human capital approach for that period was estimated to be US 3.28 billion. The authors also calculated the willingness-to-pay to prevent premature death due to HIV/AIDS, which was estimated based on... 

Easterbrock P, Beck EJ, Fisher M et al (1998) The use and cost of HIV service provision in England in 1996 Pharmacoeconomics 14 639-652 Edejer TT et al (2003) WHO guide to cost-effectiveness analysis, WHO, Geneva Farnham PG, Gorsky RD (1994) Costs to business for an HIV-infected worker. Inquiry 31 76-88 Flori YA, le VaUlant M (2004) Use and cost of antiretrovirals in France 1995-2000 an analysis based on the medical dossier on human immunodeficiency (release 2) database, Pharmacoeconomics 22 1061-1070... 

The key is being able to calculate and return the same type of data for a formula as is normally retrieved from a raw material database. A simple example is material cost knowing the cost and concentration of each raw material in a formula, the material cost of the formula is easily calculated. 

The table below illustrates these issues by comparing how a recursive subroutine must handle data which is available from a database, such as the cost of a raw material, data that is calculated for the formulated product, such as PBR, and data for intermediate products. (The variable names shown in the table are part of the example procedure given in the appendix.) Compare with the previous table for a non-recursive modelling procedure s data structure. 

Retrieved from raw material database No. Values for rows containing true raw materials retrieved from database. (Row solids(i), Raw cost(i))... 

Received from recursive call Ignored. (Pass pignient -binder ratio) Values for intermediate formula (Pass cosl) calculated in recursive call and used as would be values retrieved from database. Values for rows within intermediate formula (Pass row cost(l..Pass nrows) )i g n o r e d. 

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