Select Metrics

The identities of 12 and 13 were confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Structural models of 12 and 13 along with selected metrical parameters are presented in Figs, 10 and 11 and Table III, respectively. 

Selected Metrical Data for Tl[BpRR] and Tl[TpRR ] Derivatives... 

Fig. 15.9 Tailor-made measuring system - selected metrics.

Use of the process safety pyramid in selecting metrics is discussed in Chapters 3 and 6. 

Selection of the metrics is critical to the success of the process safety system improvement effort. The metrics must provide valid information to support successful changes to the process safety system. Tracking a metric that does not accurately reflect performance will not provide useful information and be of little value. Poorly selected metrics may cause the organization to focus upon the wrong process safety components and to believe, erroneously, that its process safety system is performing quite well. 

When selecting metrics, the performance improvement objectives and assessment of current performance will play a major role. The improvement objectives set the context within which the metrics are to be selected. Metrics that do not relate to those... 

Metrics should relate to the elements of the process safety system. Poorly selected metrics that do not specifically relate to the execution of process safety elements will not provide an accurate evaluation of process safety system performance. Occupational injury and illness reporting rates are sometimes used to judge overall safety performance, and this metric does track the incidence of employee injuries quite well. However, this rate does not reflect the effectiveness of the process safety system. Occupational safety is quite important to the health and well-being of employees, but the metrics involved in assessing the occupational safety performance are not appropriate for process safety system evaluation the detailed elements of a process safety program differ markedly fl-om an occupational safety program (as discussed in Chapter 3). 

Initially selected metrics may not prove to be valuable or appropriate. A useful strategy to validate metrics is to pilot specific metrics at a few, selected locations... 

Consider the operations that will be monitored when selecting metrics. Selected metrics should reflect the most likely problem areas that may arise for the specific operating situation and the available staff to maintain or monitor metrics. Techniques are described and recommended in various publications, such as the U.K. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publication HSG254 (see Section 4.5.3). Three hypothetical examples are described below ... 

Use hazard analysis findings to identify potential high-impact events and the process safety barriers intended to prevent such incidents. Select metrics that indicate the health of these barriers. This is a direct recommendation in HSG254, and the BP plant in Hull, England, is piloting this approach (see Appendix II). This perspective is seen as a leading indicator. 

Initially selected metrics may not prove to be valuable or appropriate, and it is often difficult to predict what metrics will work well for intended purposes. One useful strategy is piloting specific metrics at a few, selected locations to determine if the metrics provide expected and valuable data. Selecting the sites at which to pilot metrics should be based upon a site s capability to conduct a pilot study and to provide accurate information. The pilot results will establish if the piloted metrics are worthwhile to deploy across the organization,... 

The process safety professional will have primary interest in the data that indicates process safety system performance. This audience includes both process safety professionals at a given site as well as those who have multiple-site or corporate responsibilities. Process safety professionals often document and report selected metrics, but much of the raw data is generated by others, such as operations and maintenance personnel. It is important for the process safety professional to reach agreement with those generating the data on how that data is transmitted to him or her. Issues to resolve in developing a data exchange plan include, but are not limited to ... 

The primary interest of corporate and business leadership is in meeting broad-based process safety goals as described in Chapter 5. They need to understand if the operations within their areas of responsibility are meeting expectations and agreed-upon improvement objectives. Corporate and business leaders not only track aggregated performance that transcends individual sites, but also use selected metrics to make performance comparisons among sites under their oversight. 

Industry associations, professional societies, academic institutions, and government agencies provide information on process safety incidents. Several groups sponsor conferences (both domestic and international) that include major sessions on process safety incidents. Documented proceedings from these conferences provide valuable information for selecting metrics based upon historical incidents. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazards Investigation Board (CSB) conducts incident investigations and hazards studies, and documents causal... 

Table 1 collects selected metric parameters and IR stretching frequencies (wno) fot a representative set of six-coordinated (6C) complexes of iron, ruthenium, and osmium, and few iron 5C-compounds. A number of Fe(III) heme proteins are involved in the regulation of the NO biosynthesis by the enzyme NO synthase, in NO transport (as vasodilator) in nitrophorins and in NO inhibition processes of cytochrome P450 and related enzymes (45). Heme enzymes are also intermediates in cyt cd nitrite reductases (NIRs), (46) and in NO reduction by a fungal cyt P450 NO reductase (47). The nonheme Fe(III) nitrile hydratase enzyme (NHase) is relevant to the microbial assimilation of organic nitriles, using... 

Results Broadest and the longest in terms of ability to evaluate achievement Useful in defining services and products for future deliverables, downstream projects, or subprojects Most amount of latitude in terms of final product. "Perfect Order" as defined by selected metrics Bill of material cost reduction goal A goal for gaining new customers in an underserved segment... 

Over the last decade, tremendous improvements have been made in PEMFC stacks used in fuel cell vehicles. Table 15.5 shows the stams of selected metrics for the latest generation PEMFC stacks based on information published in the literature... 

There is evidence (HBS Publishing, 2000) that the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) approach of Kaplan and Norton has made a significant impact on performance management results. Many companies benefited from applying selected metrics in the four perspectives of the BSC, viz. ... 

Stamelos et al. (Stamelos et al., 2002) used the Logiscope tool to calculate values of selected metrics in order to study the quality of open source code. Ten different metrics were used. The results enable evaluation of each function against four basic criteria testability, simplicity, readability and self-descriptiveness. While the GUI layer was not specifically targeted in the analysis, the results indicated a negative correlation between component size and user satisfaction with the software. 

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