Document Information Flow

Information flow is an increasingly important component of the supply chain design. A great deal of competitive advantage is possible by improving information flow. Among the elements needed to describe information flow are the following  

An information flowchart that shows where sales information is generated 

Decision points along the chain, including the people responsible for the decisions 

An inventory of information systems tools used to plan and control the process 

A listing of formal and informal contracts between supply chain participants 

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Figure 11-19 Functional control model of NCCLS AUT03-A standard. The solid lines and arrows depict logical information flows supported by the standard.The dotted line and arrows are logical information flows permitted, but not supported, by the standard. (National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards fNCCLSJ. Laboratory automation Communications with automated clinical laboratory systems, instruments, devices, and information systems, approved standard. NCCLS Document AUT03-A Wayne PA NCCLS, 2000. Figure reproduced with permission of NCCLS.)...

Information and information flow. Typically, the execution of activities produces information (e.g., in form of documents, data, or oral messages), which is then used in subsequent activities. The explicit representation of information and information flows is crucial as the availability of input information imposes restrictions on the order of activities. 

The same flow of activities can be used with any different tool and document information. Depending on the degree of integration, the document content may be converted into the ontological format of the PDW (see also Subsect. 3.2.1 about fine-grained product relationships and conversions), or enriched and annotated based on a coarse-grained categorization model. While the former has been applied in the scenario described here, the latter concept is used in the TRAMP tool as described in Subsect. 4.1.4. 

This scenario will be discussed from various points of view. As we have already seen, in system theory we can distinguish between system structures and system behavior. We will begin by describing the responsible entities and relationships involved in the business process. Then, by means of function flow, we will describe the dynamic behavior. Output flows describe the results of executing the process, and information flows illustrate the interchange of documents involved in the process. 

Documentation review To the extent that design documentation is available, that documentation can be an important source of task data. Design documentation may include system, subsystem and component architectures, information flows, use cases, and user profiles among other information relevant to task analysis and design. 

Information flow Were adequate provisions made for providing a free flow of information both vertically and horizontally within the organization Did a formal program of staff meetings and safety meetings provide rapid verbal distribution of significant safety and operational information Was it adequate Was the distribution of verbal directives documented Was written information distributed effectively Was it verifiable Was it adequate Were alternate channels of communication available for reporting safety concerns Were they adequate ... 

Software Preliminary Hazard Analysis This type of analysis is used to identify software program routines that are considered to be safety-critical, and thus is conducted prior to software program coding. To perform the analysis, the analyst should make reference to any available system specifications, interface documentation, functional flow diagrams, software flowcharts, storage and file allocation specifications, and any other program descriptive information. 

Co-design Area allows collaborating on shared product models and calls back external applications (Oracle Autovue and Skype ). It can be entered directly on server through the collaboration area in the corresponding project space. Users are able to exploit the specific software applications and recover data and documents from the common vault at the same time. The vault also stores all co-design session reports and data indexing. As a result a bi-directional information flow is created between the two environments ... 

With the supply chains identified, their configuration should be documented with flow charts and supporting data. These need not be elaborate due to the time limitations of a prestudy. But they should convey an understanding of the basic structure of the chains. Accompanying the flow charts should be metrics and other information that characterize current performance. 

Execution and documentation of safety examinations and checks Employing workers of other companies Utilization of personal protective aids Information flows and communication forms Maintenance and repairs programs Order and cleanliness... 

To create an information flow chart, a complete list of steps for a batch process must be documented and displayed. From this representation, it is straightforward to prepare a sequential function chart. Figure 22.4 shows the flow-chart symbols that indicate the points of decisions, processing operations, input-output structure, and the sequence they should follow, which will be illustrated later in Example 22.1. 

The basic information flow for the CAS document database manufacturing system is illustrated in Figure 23. 

Complete recording of data and their manipulation Checking and tracking of processes Support of information flow in oiganization, reduction of transfer failures Documentation of information Realization of laboratory hierarchy Visualization of costs for quality assurance... 

One aspect of engineering that is always needed is to plan the information flow required for the design stage of the SIS. Associated with this is the list of deliverable documents expected from the design team to define the manufacture and then to support maintenance. 

Process risk management Define process information needs Develop PHA procedure flow Document PHA procedures Define staff training needs Develop follow-up tracking process... 

System description is tlie compilation of tlie process/plant information needed for tlie risk analysis. For e. ample, site locations, environs, weatlier data, process flow diagrams (PFDs), piping an instnmientation diagrams (P IDs), layout drawings, operating and maintenance procedures, technology documentation, process chemistry, and tliermophysical property data may be required. 

Biagioli, F., and A. Pramoli, 1967, A Measurement Technique for Voiding Transients in Two-Phase Flow, EURATOM Symp. on Two-Phase Flow Dynamics, Vol. II, p. 1743, Commission of the European Communities, Center for Information and Documentation, Brussels. (3)... 

The starting point in the single appliance approach is to determine the amount of the target devices that reach China every year. In previous sections data from Zoeteman et al. [1] have been used as a basis for the definition of the global e-waste flow in China. However, for the single appliances approach more specific information on the entering flow of e-waste appliances in China has been found in a report developed by Yang et al. [23]. Therefore, this document has been taken as the basis of the present section. 

Powder flow is most frequently thought of as relevant to formulation development, and there are numerous references attempting to correlate any one of a number of measures of powder flow to the manufacturing properties of a formulation [34—40]. In particular, the importance of physical properties in affecting powder flow has been well documented. Research into the effect of the mechanical properties on powder flow has, however, been very limited. It is, of course, important to be able to determine and quantitate the powder flow properties of formulations. It is of equal importance, however, to determine the powder flow characteristics of bulk drug early in the development process (preformulation phase). Often, the preformulation or formulation scientist is constrained by time, materials, and manpower. Yet certainly the preformulation studies carried out should be meaningful. Well-defined experimental methods and procedures should be used the information generated should be reproducible and permit useful predictions to be made. 

After start-up, the system should be checked at least weekly, with some observations, notably in the early phases, requiring daily monitoring. Information such as ground-water levels, extraction and injection flow rates, groundwater electron acceptor concentrations, nutrient concentrations, pH, and conductivity should be recorded at least on a weekly basis. Complete records of rates, concentrations, electrical usage, and other operational data can be invaluable when evaluating operational efficiency or documenting unit costs. 

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