Smart City Standardized Evaluation: Use Case of Mashhad

Objectives: To check the performance in the pre-analytical phase of testing in the clinical chemistry laboratory of a reference institute using five key performance indicators and to compare these indicators between the morning and night shifts to ascertain the most probable source of pre-analytical errors. Study Design: Comparative cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Chemical Pathology & Endocrinology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Apr to Sep 2021. Methodology: Defined key performance indicators (KPIs) were observed for a period of six months. The frequency and percentage of each KPI were calculated. Defects per Million were calculated for deriving Six Sigma (σ) values. KPIs were alsocompared between the morning and night shifts. Results: A total of 272,731 samples were observed in which 2306(0.84%) were found haemolysed (σ=3.5), 604 samples (0.22%) were not received in the Department due to various pre-analytic reasons (σ=4.0), 260 samples (0.09 %) were found having insufficient sample volume for analysis (σ=4.5), 181(0.06%) samples were found having improper/ wrong labelling or bar code errors (σ=4.5) and 161(0.05%) samples were delivered in wrong tubes (σ=4.5). KPI-1, KPI-2, and KPI-3 were found to be significantly higher during the night shift than the morning shift. Conclusion: Haemolysed samples and lost-not-received samples were the main causes of pre-analytical errors Key performance indicators aided as an instrument to screen and improve process execution in the laboratory.

Air traffic administration requires evidence when promoting new technology or a new concept of operation. Therefore, when decision support tools are applied, it is necessary to analyze the costs and benefits quantitatively. This paper focuses on the evaluation of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) correlated with the improvement of arrival operations after the implementation of the Arrival Management (AMAN) system and Wake Turbulence Re-categorization in China (RECAT-CN). Firstly, we give an overview of the implementation of the AMAN system and RECAT in China. Secondly, the KPIs related to the arrival operation are established according to the characteristics of AMAN and RECAT-CN, based on the existing KPI systems in the field of Air Traffic Management (ATM). The proposed KPIs are: airport acceptance rate; final approach interval; flight time within the terminal area (TMA); and taxi-in time. Thirdly, arrival operation within the TMA around Guangzhou International Airport is used as an example to carry out the quantitative analysis. The region and time range were defined for the performance comparison, and external factors were also examined. Finally, using descriptive and inferential statistics, the proposed KPIs’ comparison results are presented and visualized. Such results indicate a significant improvement in arrival operation with the AMAN system and RECAT-CN at Guangzhou International Airport.

Modelling and Evaluation of KPIs for the Assessment of Sustainable Manufacturing: An Extrusion process case study

This IEA Annex 80 Field Studies report and the associated brochures provide examples of well-documented field studies. These field studies apply resilient cooling technologies to reduce energy demand and carbon emissions for cooling and reduce the overheating risk in different types of buildings, including newly constructed and existing buildings. The field studies are presented in brochure format. In the field study brochures, detailed information is included for each building. Each brochure contains information in a standardized format. This includes the introduction & climate, building information, resilient cooling, KPI evaluation, design simulation, performance evaluation, discussion, lessons learned, references & key contacts. Examples and details on building information, energy systems, resilient cooling technologies, key performance indicators (KPIs), and performance evaluation and lessons learned are included in the report and the brochures. The present report summarizes all 13 field study buildings collected in Subtask C of IEA-EBC Annex 80. The values of KPIs for building similar functions, i.e., residential buildings, under different climate conditions were discussed.

The smart cities initiative encourages cities to improve their performance in the three pillars of sustainability, namely environmental, economic, and social. The smart cities movement is distinguished from sustainable cities by its use of intelligent technologies to attain sustainability. The smart cities world-class initiative is the first and only urban movement to generate interest on the part of all urban stakeholders. This includes citizens, governments, and even industry, which is the most interested party due to its opportunities to sell tech solutions and services to governments, in order to better serve citizens. However, although there are many technological means to help cities successfully perform in the three pillars of sustainability, social sustainability of smart cities is not yet fully considered. And this constitutes a lost opportunity to positively impact citizens’ lives. This research proposes a mechanism to account for the social pillar of sustainability, which consists of measuring the “citizen-centeredness” of city policies and local governance. This citizen-centric approach is measured by monitoring performance of cities in safeguarding citizenship rights. Accordingly, a set of indicators measuring the safeguarding of citizens’ rights in the city included in its fundamental text, The European Charter for the Safeguarding of Human Rights in the City, has been elaborated. Acknowledging the potential of market standards promoted by national and international standardization bodies such as the International Standards Organization or the National Standardization Association in Spain, proposed indicators have been designed to serve as a basis for what could be the first-ever social standard. Since market standards have an econometric nature, this research has been carried out in total fairness to city council responsibilities, only accounting for those which are mandatory, for which a budget is assigned. Finally, in the last section of the paper, conclusions show the triple-win—for citizens, private stakeholders, and city councils, that the inclusion of social standards brings into the governance of cities.

Introduction. The study is relevant due to the necessity to adequately assess the effectiveness of activities performed within the “Clean Air” Federal Project using ambient air quality and public health risks as key performance indicators. The purpose of the work was to comparatively assess ambient air quality and airborne health risks for Bratsk population over 2020 –2022 when activities planned within the “Clean Air” Federal Project were being implemented in the city. Materials and methods. The analysis was based on data obtained by instrumental measurements of ambient air quality performed within social-hygienic monitoring programs. More than thirty thousand measuring results were considered; they covered 20 chemicals and were taken at two monitoring posts. Carcinogenic and acute and chronic non-carcinogenic health risks were assessed in conformity with the existing regulatory documents. Results. Between 2020 and 2022, a decrease in ground levels of particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen chloride, and some other technogenic chemicals was registered at social-hygienic monitoring posts in Bratsk. These chemicals were subject to specific activities stipulated by the “Clean Air” Federal Project and performed by economic entities. However, public health risks remained impermissible. Thus, an acute risk of respiratory diseases equaled 3.24 during 2022 and a chronic risk of respiratory diseases reached 5.43 in the same year whereas their permissible level should not exceed 3.0. Limitations. Analysis is possible only if there is a sufficient number of instrumental studies at points located in residential buildings to assess the risk (least 300 one-time or 75 daily samples for each impurity). Conclusion. The study results indicate still necessary to take further efforts to provide a safer environment for Bratsk population and to continue monitoring of chemicals that create impermissible health risks. The most important task is to manage systemic operative data exchange between systems for environmental and social-hygienic monitoring to provide adequate assessment of a sanitary-hygienic situation as well as objective evaluation of key performance indicators of the “Clean Air” Federal Project

Smart cities rely on innovative technologies, guidelines, and mechanisms to advance city dwellers’ quality of life (QoL). Notwithstanding the global attention the smart city concept has received within the last decade, studies establishing pragmatic approaches for implementing smart sustainable city strategies in the Gulf region are rare. This study modelled a practical framework for implementing smart sustainable city strategies and megaprojects in one of the Gulf cities. A qualitative research methodology was used to assess smart city strategies from four cities to identify the optimum implementation strategies. This study design framework adopted a case study methodology, the identification of knowledge gaps, data collection and analysis, and interpretations of key findings. Best practices, paramount/relevant stakeholders, main issues/relevant considerations, 15 key performance indicators (KPI), and outputs/deliverables involved in diverse smart sustainable city strategies and project lifecycle phases were identified. The lifecycle phases adopted in the study were (i) conceptualization, (ii) planning/design, and (iii) installation/closure. A pragmatic understanding of how to effectively appraise, monitor, and implement smart sustainable city strategies and megaprojects is provided for policy/decision-makers and built environment experts in Saudi Arabia and globally. The proposed implementation strategic framework can perform the function of an appraisal tool for assessing each phase of the smart city project’s life cycle progress, informing preventions of delays or implementation challenges. This study’s contribution to research knowledge is the development of a model that reveals and illustrates the connections between different phases of smart sustainable city strategies and projects.

The smart cities initiative does not consist of filling our cities with tech gadgets, cameras and sensors for the purpose of monitoring and controlling both citizens and urban environment. The smart cities movement is not a marketplace for companies and businesses to sell their ICT products and services to governments. The smart cities objective is not to target the use of urban technology as an end in itself but as a tool towards more citizen-centric cities. Therefore, smart cities are not a big brother watching citizens but an inclusive and participatory arena for local governments and all interested stakeholders (including citizens) to co-create communities that can offer development opportunities to everyone and quality of live, no matter social group, age, or gender. This is the true objective of smart cities, which sometimes gets lost, forgotten or becomes shadowed by an excess of technology. But, how to achieve such a challenging objective? Fortunately, just recently, a definition on smart cities has been agreed by international standardization bodies which, so far, are the ones paving the way regarding concepts, terminology and general understanding of the smart cities movement. This novel definition builds on the sustainability concept, promotes urban development in good harmony with resilience, and uses technology only as a way for cities to measure their smartness and improve their performance. The author, aware of the big step forward that this internationally acknowledged definition is, takes the opportunity that this new piece of formally structured knowledge offers to elaborate a first-of-a-kind framework to conceptualize, model and simulate sustainability, and its practical implementation while promoting urban development and resilience to achieve higher performance levels of urban smartness.

Background and study aimsHigh-quality is crucial for the effectiveness of colonoscopy and can be achieved by high-quality training and verified with assessment of key performance indicators (KPIs) for colonoscopy such as cecum intubation rate (CIR), adenoma detection rate (ADR) and adequate polyp resection. Typically, trainees achieve adequate CIR after 275 procedures, but little is known about learning curves for KPIs after initial training.MethodsThis cross-sectional study includes work-up colonoscopies after a positive screening test with fecal occult blood testing (FIT) or sigmoidoscopy, performed by either trainees after 300 training colonoscopies or by consultants. Outcome measures were KPIs. We assessed inter-endoscopist variation in trainees and learning curves for trainees as a group. We also compared KPIs for trainees and consultants as a group. ResultsData from 6,655 colonoscopies performed by 21 trainees and 921 colonoscopies performed by 17 consultants were included. Most trainees achieved target standards for main KPIs. With time, trainees shortened cecum intubation time and withdrawal time without decreasing their ADR, reduced the proportion of painful colonoscopies, and increased the adequate polyp resection rate (allP < 0.01). Compared to consultants, trainees had higher CIR (97.7 % vs. 96.3 %,P = 0.02), ADR after positive FIT (57.6 % vs. 50.3 %,P < 0.01), and proximal ADR after sigmoidoscopy screening (41.1 % vs. 29.8 %;P < 0.01), higher adequate polyp resection rate (94.9 % vs. 93.1 %,P = 0.01) and fewer serious adverse events (0.65 % vs. 1.41 %,P = 0.02).ConclusionsTrainees performed high-quality colonoscopies and achieved international target standards. Several KPIs continuously improved after initial training. Trainees outperformed consultants on several KPIs.

Within the Norwegian Research Centre for Zero Emission Neighbourhoods (ZEN) in smart cities, a definition for achieving zero emission neighbourhoods will be developed and tested against nine pilot areas. The ZEN definition considers a series of assessment criteria and key performance indicators (KPI) under seven categories; GHG emissions, energy, power/load, mobility, economy, spatial qualities and innovation. This paper presents the first draft of the ZEN definition, and discusses some of the opportunities and challenges in implementing assessment criteria and KPIs (ZEN metrics) into a ZEN KPI tool. This paper briefly presents the ZEN pilot areas and maps out existing tools used by ZEN stakeholders for the documentation of ZEN metrics. The paper goes further by presenting a ZEN KPI tool conceptual framework for the implementation of the ZEN definition in ZEN pilot areas and outlines a specification for the future development of a ZEN KPI tool. Finally, the paper presents further work for the development of a ZEN KPI tool.

Summary For half a century, system scientists have relied on urban metabolism (UM) as a pragmatic framework to support the needed transition toward sustainable urban development. It has been suggested that information and communication technology (ICT) and, more specifically, smart cities can be leveraged in this transition. Given the recent advances in smart cities, smart urban metabolism (SUM) is considered a technology‐enabled evolution of the UM framework, overcoming some of its current limitations. Most significantly, the SUM framework works at high temporal (up to real‐time) and spatial (down to household/individual) resolutions. This article presents the first implementation of SUM in the Smart City Stockholm Royal Seaport R&amp;D project; it further analyzes barriers and discusses the potential long‐term implications of the findings. Four key performance indicators (KPIs) are generated in real time based on the integration of heterogeneous, real‐time data sources. These are kilowatt‐hours per square meter, carbon dioxide equivalents per capita, kilowatt‐hours of primary energy per capita, and share of renewables percentage. These KPIs are fed back on three levels (household, building, and district) on four interfaces, developed for different audiences. The most challenging barrier identified was accessing and integrating siloed data from the different data owners (utilities, building owners, and so forth). It is hard to overcome unless a significant value is perceived. A number of long‐term opportunities were described in the SUM context; among those, it is envisioned that SUM could enable a new understanding of the causalities that govern urbanism and allow citizens and city officials to receive feedback on the system consequences of their choices.

Introduction Automated Performance Reports to Improve Quality Outcomes Trial (APRIQOT) uses NED to provide endoscopists feedback on colonic detection KPI. Traditional adenoma detection rate is dependent on unavailable histological data. Our aim was to gain expert consensus on which available KPI are acceptable to endoscopists. Method A Delphi panel of UK expert endoscopists was recruited online, purposively for professional background. Panellists interacted using an online form. In round one we provided a summary and acceptability statement for each KPI, participants rated agreement with a 5 point Likert scale and free-text comments. Responses were analysed anonymously. In subsequent rounds participants reviewed all graded consensus statements and comments. Statements were accepted with ≥80% consensus or redrafted. Rounds ran January to April 2019. Results We recruited 21 UK expert endoscopists. 12 were female, 48% gastroenterology background, 29% nursing, 14% surgical and 9% trainees. All statements reached consensus by round 3 (Table 1). The panel agreed KPI adjusted for age, sex and indication were ‘more acceptable’. Polyp measure had risks of ‘gaming’ and distal hyperplastic polyp over reporting, but encompass significant non-adenomatous polyps. Mean number of polyps (MNP) reached consensus after discussing reduction of the ‘one and done’ phenomenon and using a cap of 5 polyps/colon to mitigate skew from polyposis. Proximal polypectomy rate (PPR) was accepted as a secondary ‘tool to improve right sided detection’ and reduce ‘gaming’, despite concerns around contraindications to polypectomy. Conclusion All adjusted KPI were accepted, MNP was selected for trial with robust data to model case-mix.

Towards the end of 2030, the global population is estimated to be around 8.5 billion. Half of the human population live today in cities and these cities continues to grow exponential growth as people migrate to urban areas in search of a better life. As a result, urban resources are being stretched to their limits to accommodate the population growth. Smart city is a paradigm to manage the difficulty of urban living, upsurge competence, decrease expenditures and advance the worth of its inhabitant's daily life. Countries across the world are adapting to smart cities as it becomes highly critical to explore innovative solutions available to make cities more efficient and smarter. South Africa (SA) needs to leapfrog in terms of the competition through smart cities. SA cities have unique challenges stemming from years of apartheid and neglect of infrastructure. When compared to established cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, London and New York, SA cities are lagging far behind the competitive curve. However, can be mitigated as SA cities through innovative adoption of smart cities can become globally competitive. Furthermore, through the implementation of advanced technologies and lessons learned from established cities that the anticipated growth need not be incremental, but rather will be exponential in many aspects. In light of the above facts, this paper looks into the adaptation of smart cities from a SA perspective by leveraging on the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for different feasible use cases. The smart city initiatives in SA are laid out and the priority use cases are stream lined in lieu of the national priorities as stipulated in the National Development Plan (NDP). A smart city framework for SA is further proposed and the vitally important use cases in the SA context are identified and elaborated. The use cases are then evaluated based on the national Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). The scope for future directions and conclusions are sketched towards the end, with an optimism that the current work will be an eye-opener and adaptable to other developing countries.

In the evolving landscape of modern manufacturing, a novel concept known as Feeding-as-a-Service (FaaS) is emerging, part of the larger Automation-as-a-Service (AaaS) framework. FaaS aims to optimize feeding systems in cloud manufacturing environments to meet the demands of mass customization and allow for quick responses to production changes. Therefore, it fits into the Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS) system as well. As the manufacturing industry undergoes significant transformations through automation and service-oriented models, understanding how FaaS fits into the other frameworks is essential. This study presents a systematic literature review with two primary objectives: first, to contextualize FaaS within AaaS and MaaS, highlighting similarities, differences, and distinctive characteristics; second, to identify and clarify the essential Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) crucial for its strategic implementation. KPIs are pivotal metrics guiding organizations toward manufacturing excellence. In this context, common KPIs focus on efficiency and quality, such as resource utilization, and error rates. Other KPIs are also crucial, such as the ones related to cost reduction and customer satisfaction. For FaaS, the most relevant include also data security, data management, and network speed. This research provides a valuable KPI framework for FaaS developers, aiding in strategic decision-making and deployment in industrial settings. It also contributes to a broader understanding of KPIs in manufacturing, which benefits both researchers and industrial practitioners. The results of the review, though, fail to address other crucial indicators for ‘as-a-Service’ business, such as Churn Rate and Total Contract Value. Future research will address these limitations through methods ranging from questionnaires to practitioner interviews, with the aim of gathering the knowledge needed for real-world implementations.

Cities have to face the challenges of steady population growth, the related increase in energy and resource demands, intensifying climate change impacts and rapid technological development. To handle these complex challenges and promote sustainable development, the smart city approach – data-driven planning based on emergent ICT technologies – has been gaining prevalence. However, the lack of shared standards, frameworks, and evidence-based decision-support tools limit the collaboration among smart city actors and the utility of the mainly business-driven technical solutions. This study explores the scalability of indicator systems into a shared framework for smart and sustainable cities by practice-based research during the development of the SmartCEPS project. SmartCEPS is an assessment system and maturity model based on key performance indicators (KPIs) for small- and medium-size European cities. In its architecture, indicators are organized in a causal network capable of capturing synergies, co-benefits and payoffs of decisions; structural metadata provides the means for a gradual customisation of the system; and finally, the indicator pool is scalable by complexity, ensuring different levels of detail in assessments. The study concludes that gradual customisation, network organisation, and open-ended scalability are the proxies for developing decision-support instruments from KPIs.