Information management tools

An incident information management tool for hazardous materials emergency responders. 

Provide an informative management tool for the monitoring and control of progress, including the effect of changing circumstances that so often occur in the form of extended delivery time scales, revised requirements and new external constraints on the project completion date. 

Heidom C, Rasmussen K, Hansen BG, Norager O, Allanou R (2003) An Information Management Tool for Existing Chemicals and Biocides. J Chem Inf Comp Sci 43(3) 779-786... 

Figure 6.6 The most important information management tools...

Polygen s Chemical Information Manager (CIM) provides research organizations with a new class of information management tools. Unlike other information... 

Development of new and existing Risk Assessment Tools (e.g., Natural Hazards Electronic Map and Assessment Tools Information System—NHEMATIS), Risk Management Tools inclusive of all stakeholders in the process (e.g., CAN/CSA Q850-97 for risk management in Canada, CAN/CSA-Z763-96 specifically for environmental concerns) Effective Risk Communication. 

The SGX Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is based on an Oracle database platform. As an enterprise level relational database, Oracle is robust and can be expanded to meet any future needs. The expense to implement and maintain the database and to create the tools to retrieve the data stored within, including an administrator dedicated to managing the system, can be significant. At SGX, use of the LIMS to monitor all of our scientific activities reduces the incremental cost to the beamline to an acceptable level. 

The Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) has achieved wide recognition as a powerful tool for increasing the productivity and quality of service of the analytical laboratory. Systems have been developed that range from inexpensive microcomputer based systems to half-million dollar or more large, minicomputer based systems. In addition, many firms have already developed or acquired custom systems tailored to their specific needs(1-8). 

Risk assessment starts with risk identification, a systematic use of available information to identify hazards (i.e., events or other conditions that have the potential to cause harm). Information can be from a variety of sources including stakeholders, historical data, information from the literature, and mathematical or scientific analyses. Risk analysis is then conducted to estimate the degree of risk associated with the identified hazards. This is estimated based on the likelihood of occurrence and resultant severity of harm. In some risk management tools, the ability to detect the hazard may also be considered. If the hazard is readily detectable, this may be considered a factor in the overall risk assessment. Risk evaluation determines if the risk is acceptable based on specified criteria. In a quality system environment, criteria would include impact on the overall performance of the quality system and the quality attributes of the finished product. The value of the risk assessment depends on how robust the data used in the assessment process is judged to be. The risk assessment process should take into account assumptions and reasonable sources of uncertainty. Risk assessment activities should be documented. 

As a management tool, molecular monitoring techniques could provide information on how often the cells must be reintroduced, and whether a particular chemical addition aids in their survival and activity. Questions about a particular organism s effectiveness, persistence, and deleterious effects can be answered by microcosm-scale investigations. Several such studies designed to measure the survival of individual GEMs in aquifer, soil, and lake microcosms and in activated sludge have been published in the last few years (Table 11.2). 

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