TransAlta (Canada)

The Florida Department of Health (Department) received accreditation status as an integrated public health system from the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) in 2 phases: the State Health Office received accreditation in June 2014 and the 67 county health departments received accreditation in March 2016. Six weeks after PHAB awarded accreditation to the Department as an integrated public health system in March 2016, the World Health Organization declared the Zika outbreak in the Americas a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Even in that short time, integrated public health accreditation, along with the other components of the Department's performance management system, allowed the Department to address this public health emergency, especially in Miami-Dade County, where the impact of Zika was significant. This case report describes the local response in Miami-Dade County and supporting statewide efforts. Public health departments should consider how public health accreditation could strengthen their ability to fulfill their public health mission. This article provides rationale for state and local health departments to seek accreditation.

This paper is dedicated to model-based prognosis to predict remaining useful life of a system. This methodology is applied on multiple time scale systems made up of a slow and a fast dynamic behaviors subsystems, defining damage state and state of system behaviors respectively. Prediction of remaining useful life implies to have a slow dynamic behavior subsystem model. Slow dynamic subsystem behavior is supposed to be unknown, only the structure is assumed to be known a priori. For that, in the fast dynamic behavior subsystem, unmeasured state are estimated based on the design of unknown input observers. Slow dynamic behavior state in the fast dynamic behavior subsystem is led back to an unknown input. High gain observer is used to obtain accurate state and unknown input estimates. Slow dynamic behavior model parameters are then identified with the previous estimates. Prediction of remaining useful life is finally achieved based on relative accuracy of the observer estimates. Pertinence of the proposed methodology is illustrated based on simulation results to an electromechanical oscillator.

Abstract It is asserted that Matt 26:68|Luke 22:64(|Mark 14:65) is the most difficult of the minor agreements. Some advocates of the two-source theory have addressed this minor agreement by trying to make sense of the narrative as we have it, and others by making sense of the text as we have it (arguing for textual corruption or lost recensions). While some of these arguments are reasonable, in the final analysis they are not satisfying. Although we might remain persuaded that the two-source theory best integrates the data relating to the synoptic problem, this minor agreement reminds us that the synoptic problem is still a problem.

TransAlta Utilities (TAU), Canada's largest publicly owned electric utility company, wanted to reduce costs and improve service, establish a call center, and redesign its service-delivery network. To help TAU locate service facilities, determine staffing levels, cluster facilities into call pools, locate equipment, and evaluate the impact of customers performing their own operations and maintenance, we used facility-location and vehicle-routing heuristics, multiple regression, cost/benefit analysis, and a geographical information system. We worked closely with TAU management, and TAU has implemented most of our recommendations.

A sequential probability ratio test is developed for the problem of selection the best of k multinomial parameter estimation procedures when only one observation per the k estimation procedures is possible but the k estimation procedures can be repeated many times

Severe pressures to reduce costs, improve reliability, and generate higher shareholder value have helped to promote a successful change in the relationship between a major Canadian petroleum refinery and a large electrical utility. The relationship has evolved from a traditional customer/supplier relationship to a new business approach based on collaboration. New ideas have created win-win situations for both organizations. The new business approach has produced improvements in electrical power supply reliability, better equipment reliability, reductions in operating and maintenance costs through maintenance effectiveness and improved safety, and sharing of technical expertise and data. In addition, this new business approach has led to fresh ideas in business practices, maintenance practices, energy efficiency, electrical power monitoring, application of advanced relaying technology, and the setting of performance targets. This article describes the specific application of new technical and business ideas that have been implemented and the significant benefits that have been captured. To date, over $500,000 in annual benefits have been created. The article goes on to outline future possibilities, which could double the annual benefits.

In this contribution, which will discuss JI from a business perspective, we hope to accomplish three objectives: first, we will describe the many actions that businesses and NGOs are currently taking to advance JI; second, we will show the need for all of us who see the opportunity of JI — who are stakeholders in JI - to work closely with our national governments to provide incentives for early action on JI; and finally, we will present our thesis that the effective international framework for JI will grow out of the decentralized action of many - rather than out of a centralized process of international negotiation.

Several utilities have found partial discharge testing to be very useful for identifying motors or generators with deteriorated stator winding insulation. Such partial discharge tests are sensitive to problems associated with overheated insulation, loose stator bars, and pollution, all of which can cause in-service failures with long associated outages and high repair/rewind costs. Unfortunately, the partial discharge test is not widely applied since present test methods require considerable skill to perform, and/or require machine outages. These problems are due to the stator winding partial discharges being masked by high levels of internal and external electrical noise. The authors describe how partial discharge tests have now been developed which eliminate the effect of noise, thus allowing plant personnel to perform the test without any machine outage.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>