Element 5 Establish Performance Standards

Once the tasks critical to incident-free operations are identified, standards of performance are required to establish expectations for satisfactorily executing them. Performance standards must be based on careful research in order to provide 

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All computer systems performing regulated operations must be validated. To support computer systems validation, the quality of the software embedded in the standard product must be established. The configurable elements of the standard product must be reviewed and tested. 

Requirements specified in this way are deemed-to-satisfy rules. Such rules cannot be used to quantify the performance of the structure in general, specific effects of additional measures (for instance increasing the cover to the steel), or the consequences of sub-standard practice (for example using a higher w/c). In this respect it is important to note that EN 206 also allows the use of alternative performance-related design methods with respect to durability that consider in a quantitative way each relevant deterioration mechanism, the service life of the element or structure, and the criteria that define the end of the service life. Such methods should draw a picture of the characteristics that the concrete must possess to protect the reinforcement for the service life requested from a predictive model of the corrosion attack. These refined methods (as opposed to standard methods) may be based on long-term experience with local practices in local environments, on data from an established performance test method for the relevant mechanism, or on the use of proven predictive models. 

Z Use of standard data benchmarks on at least two of the elements performed The accuracy of the analyst s ratings can be validated using standard data elements. Standard data are a helpful guide to establishing performance factors. 

Craft Performance The second key element affecting overall craft effectiveness is craft performance. This element relates to how efficient we are in actually doing hands-on craftwork when compared to an established planned time or performance standard. Craft performance is directly related to the level of individual craft skills and overall trades experience, as well as the personal effort of each craftsperson or crew. Effective craft skills training and technical development contribute to a high level of craft performance. Craft performance (CP) is expressed as the ratio of ... 

Those performance standards associated with establishing initial suitability may be different from those used to assess ongoing suitability throughout the operational life of the safety-critical element. Some companies prefer to merge both requirements in to one (i.e., initial and ongoing suitability), or some prefer to develop separate performance standards. Regardless of the approach, the basic objective is to ensure that the requirements set in the performance standards assure that the safety-critical element can fulfill its function. 

Standards in safety are referred to as measurable management performances. Standards are set for the level of work to be done to maintain a safe and healthy environment free from actual and potential accidental loss. Standards are established in writing for all the safety and health management systan elements. Without standards the management program has no direction or safety expectations established. (If you don t know where you re going, any road will take you there.)... 

This is a performance standard that allows the operator of a manufacturing plant to determine specifically how the standard is met. As long as the approach includes certain elements, the industry is compliant with the standard. While there are several elements, the most important aspect of the standard is its safety systems approach utilizing a team approach to effectively accomplish PHA of the entire operation—this approach seeks to identify the potential hazards in each step of the process and then establishes procedures to prevent or minimize serious incidents. In a sense PHA seeks to answer the questions What can go wrong and What can we do to prevent this The standard requires investigation of each incident to systematically find and remedy the root causes. 

Tests, application Tests performed by a manufacturer to determine those operating characteristics not necessarily established by standards but which have application interest. Thermal cutout An overcurrent protective device that contains a heater element and renewable fusible member which open the motor circnit. It is not designed to interrnpt short-circuit currents. 

Objective performance standards for natural cement have been successfully re-established. The newly revised and reinstated ASTM CIO incorporates essential elements of its previous revisions, while addressing the needs and concerns of contemporary architects, engineers, and conservators. 

Because of the complex nature of the discharge conditions, GD-OES is a comparative analytical method and standard reference materials must be used to establish a unique relationship between the measured line intensities and the elemental concentration. In quantitative bulk analysis, which has been developed to very high standards, calibration is performed with a set of calibration samples of composition similar to the unknown samples. Normally, a major element is used as reference and the internal standard method is applied. This approach is not generally applicable in depth-profile analysis, because the different layers encountered in a depth profile of ten comprise widely different types of material which means that a common reference element is not available. 

To make sure that all contractors and subcontractors maintain a minimum level of safety performance, the client, or general or main contractor, should establish standards for compliance. During the project planning stage, affected prime contractors should have an opportunity to provide input and resolve differences. Cross-cut committees are encouraged to allow prime contractors to standardize or normalize such essential elements as procedures, permit systems, and training. 

Laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) was established in the early 1990s as a potential routine tool for the measurement of trace and ultra-trace elements in silicate systems for geology. Early studies (Perkins et al. 1993) used sample preparation techniques identical to that used to prepare rock samples for WDXRF, i.e., either a pressed powder disk or a glass bead fusion method (see Appendix VIII). Such studies concluded that LA-ICP-MS had the potential to surpass XRF in terms of the limits of detection achieved and INAA in terms of the speed of analysis (Perkins et al. 1993 481). It has long been recognized that the main limit on the quantitative performance of LA-ICP-MS is the homogeneity at the trace and ultra-trace level of the solid calibration standards available. Subsequent work (e.g., Hollecher and Ruiz 1995, Norman et al. 1996) has demonstrated that some of the international... 

The easiest technique fiar establishing the nonconservative behavior of an element, or one of its chemical species, is to compare its concentration to that of a conservative tracer. Salinity is typically used because it is a standard measurement performed on most seawater samples. 

Using forensic photography as a precursor to any sample acquisition forms the foundation of the protocol, and allows purposive sampling. EDS should be performed to establish which elements to expect before attempting any quantitative elemental analysis such as ICP-OES/MS. Before working with actual artifacts, a set of replicated materials must be used and a successful trial run using the planned methods of analysis whether ICP-OES/MS, GC-MS or any others, must be achieved, so the methods of preparation can be adjusted properly. To facilitate this, appropriate materials must be replicated, which might mean that plants or minerals must be collected, and dyed or painted comparative standards must be created, so the unknown can be compared to the known. For many of the Old World dye plants these standards already exist. However, for North American dye plants comparative collections are in the early phases and subsequent analysis of colorant constituents have not yet been conducted (68,69). 

Establish that a program of regular internal audits exists for each important program element, to assess actual field performance as compared to written standards of performance. 

The accurate mass measurement was performed on a Micromass AutoSpec SE mass spectrometer using electrospray ionization on the triply charged ion of a cofactor-containing peptide (sample 2). Doubly charged ions of bradykinin (m/z 530.7885) and gramicidin S (m/z 571.3608) were used as calibration standards. Leu-enkeph in (MH+ at m/z 556.2771) was also included to verify the accuracy of the mass measurement. The monoisotopic molecular mass of this peptide was established by the mean [M-i-3H]3+ value obtained from four separate injections. Elemental compositions of the crosslinked residue were obtained by computer calculations. 

To prepare the mixed alpha/beta sources, standardised single radionuclide solutions were combined and diluted as necessary. This was performed in accordance with established procedures that have been independently accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) for the production of solution standards of radioactivity. The exact composition of the sources varied with each exercise, but in general consisted of a 1 - 2 M nitric acid solution containing 50 ppm Sr and 50 ppm Y as carriers for radioisotopes of these elements. 

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