Performance problems

The EDA and USP have developed the Dmg Product Problem Reporting Program to detect performance problems of marketed dmg products. 

Difficulties with the Na—S system arise ia part from the ceramic nature of the alumiaa separator the specific P-alumiaa is expeasive to prepare and the material is brittie and quite fragile. Separator failure is the leading cause of early cell failure. Cell failure may also be related to performance problems caused by polarization at the sodium/soHd electrolyte iaterface. Lastiy, seal leakage can be a determiaant of cycle life. In spite of these problems, however, the safety and rehabiUty of the Na—S system has progressed to the poiat where pilot plant production of these batteries is anticipated for EV and aerospace apphcations. 

Contractual arrangements may have been made for terminating the toll earlier than anticipated. Some reasons may be market shifts that slow the need for high production levels, the development of in-house production within the client company, or performance problems with a given toller. Regardless of the cause, the notification period as stated in the contract governs. 

This book brings together a wide range of tools and techniques used by human factors and human reliability specialists, which have proved to be useful in the context of human performance problems in the CPI. Although many human factors practitioners will be familiar with these methods, this book is intended to provide ready access to both simple and advanced techniques in a single source. Where possible, uses of the techniques in a CPI context are illustrated by means of case studies. 

Performance problems may be exacerbated during unfamiliar or novel process events, for example, situations not covered in the emergency procedures or in refresher training. These events require knowledge-based information processing for which people are not very reliable. The types of errors associated with knowledge-based performance have been discussed in Chapter 2. 

Figure 12-16D illustrates the type of reciprocating compressor performance problems that can develop from various mechanical details. To maintain peak efficiency in a compressor cylinder, a pressure-time indicator card of the cylinder during operation can be quite helpful in pointing to a problem and its nature. ... 

More pumps fail as a direct result of improper installation than any other single factor. The predominant reasons for these failures include starvation, caused by inadequate or inconsistent suction conditions distortion, caused by pipe strain or improper foundation and turbulent that results from piping or entrained gas problems. Centrifugal pump installation must follow Hydraulic Institute Standards, which provide specific guidelines to prevent these installation and performance problems. This chapter will address the fundamental requirements for proper installation. 

Installations that have sharp turns, shut-off, flow-control valves, or undersized pipe on the suction-side of the pump are prone to chronic performance problems. Such deviations from good engineering practices result in turbulent suction flow and cause hydraulic instability that severely restricts pump performance. 

Trust, which implies respect, is the fundamental source of high morale and productivity, loyalty, and enthusiasm. A common corporate aphorism is that "no one is irreplaceable". In fact, the loss of even the least efficient member of one s team to some degree scars the whole. While everyone may be replaceable, one must ask whether replacing people is worth the price in trust lost. There may be cases in which an employee proves incapable of performing at a minimal level of competence. In such cases, transfer or termination should be performed promptly for the benefit of the group, the corporation, and the employee. The recent trend toward solving corporate performance problems by dismissal of employees, however, is unwholesome. 

To illustrate that increasing output dimensionality can lead to performance problems for a numeric-symbolic interpreter, the ART interpreter was trained with various subgroupings of the 13 malfunction scenarios. With 13 malfunction scenarios and one normal scenario, the maximum output dimension is 14. 

In addition to revealing constants, Bjerrum curves are a valuable diagnostic tool that can indicate the presence of chemical impurities and electrode performance problems [165]. Difference curve analysis often provides the needed seed values for refinement of equilibrium constants by mass-balance-based nonlinear least squares [118]. 

Early examples of the industrial application of this process (e.g. in the 1970s, General Electric [2] used first-generation ion-exchange membranes and SPE technologies) were not successful, mainly because of stability and activity/performance problems with the GDE. 

Studies indicate that the vast majority of incidents involve human performance issues. Incident investigations should not simply identify human performance as a cause the management system failure that did not prevent or compensate for the potential human performance must he identified and corrected in order to prevent recurrence. An incident investigation management system should provide the tools to identify and address applicable human factors issues. It is important to recognize that human performance problems can occur in all management system areas—not simply to the human operator or maintenance worker closest to the scene. 

Human performance problems and resulting incidents Incorporating human factors into the incident investigation pro-... 

Workers interact with technology, the environment, and organizational factors every day. Sometimes human performance problems involve the individual, hut most often, human performance problems are the result of the way technology, the environment, or organizational factors affect a person s performance. 

Physical performance (extreme temperatures, noisy working conditions, or poor lighting could contribute to human performance problems)... 

Human performance problems occur several ways. To bnd out the reasons, it is important to understand the job task and the actions involved. Often, incidents occur when humans perform intentional acts without an understanding of the consequences. Human performance problems generally fall into four categories.W... 

How these categories relate to a job task is illustrated in Figure 6-3. In addition to the four categories, there are four common classes of human performance problems ... 

Time is the enemy when considering human actions. As a plant ages, minor modifications and changes can individually or collectively cause human performance problems. For instance, in almost every plant over 5 years old, a search would probably reveal a series of control circuits arranged in illogical sequence. The most common reason is due to a minor modification, and the most convenient solution was to rearrange the control switches slightly. 

A number of processes exist which can be utilized to improve the quality of refined and blended fuels. These processes are often an essential part of ensuring that finished fuels are free of contamination and meet required specifications. Some of the common fuel constituents which can cause fuel storage, handling, and performance problems are outlined in TABLE 2-6. 

Elements of the environment continually impact fuel performance. The effect of water, cold temperatures, heat, air, light, and external contamination can initiate a variety of problems. The first place to begin looking for the cause of a fuel handling or performance problem would be these environmental sources. 

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