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O acirramento competitivo e a dinamicidade do ambiente estão impondo diversos desafios para a gestão na saúde. Deste modo, torna-se imperativo que os processos organizacionais busquem melhorias contínuas tendo em vista prover serviços com qualidade e de modo eficiente e eficaz. Essa perspectiva fundamentou o desenvolvimento deste estudo. Portanto, o objetivo da pesquisa centra-se em otimizar um dos processos secundários de uma unidade hospitalar, o setor da higienização, associado a aplicação da abordagem de identificação de falhas - Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA). Com uma abordagem exploratória e descritiva esta pesquisa aborda um estudo de caso em uma unidade hospitalar localizada no nordeste brasileiro. Especificamente, centra-se na análise dos processos de higienização em leitos de internação e em áreas administrativas. A ausência de supervisão, déficit no treinamento dos colaboradores e dificuldade de acesso a materiais e ferramentas no almoxarifado consistiram em falhas identificadas no processo. Diante da matriz 5W1H foi possível montar um planejamento estratégico para minimização das falhas e consequentemente obteve-se um ganho de 19% em eficiência.

Purpose Textile manufacturers worldwide are reformulating their networks, often outsourcing them to maintain a competitive advantage and increase market share. From this perspective, the purpose of this study is support the partnership selection process to develop a sustainable chain that effectively meets customer needs. Brazil has the largest textile and apparel chain in the West and is distinguished by its completeness, from fiber production, spinning, weaving, knitting, finishing and sewing to fashion shows. However, a firm’s relationship, especially in the production stage, is based on informal contracts, which result in a negative operational impact. Design/methodology/approach A methodological framework was developed based on a stable matching process to determine the optimal supplier network structure. This study presents a model application for the denim apparel chain in northeast Brazil. Findings In these environments, providing choices and recommending suppliers can be beneficial for effectively attending to demand requests, reducing production costs and improving quality through collaboration with sense relationships in a network. Thus, this study presents a better match from the negotiators’ perspective. Originality/value The findings of this research are of primary interest for guiding collaborative network composition in the textile and apparel chain. In particular, apparel domain companies can improve their effectiveness in decision-making by measuring the characteristics and potential of all companies involved in networks.

Water scarcity is a persistent problem in diverse regions of the world. This study focuses on the extreme scarcity of water affecting La Paz, a municipality in the west of Bolivia. The intense drought of the last few decades and the inadequate management of water utilities have impacted several factors. Within this context, this study identified that establishing efficient water resource management is essential to guarantee social welfare. The researchers analyzed the scarcity of water in La Paz by using the Strategic Choice Approach, which is a problem structuring method based on a strategic process that takes different types of uncertainty into account. The results of this study revealed decision actions and uncertainties in two categories: the present and the future. The outputs enabled a strategic plan to be drawn up that tackles the scarcity of water responsibly and equitably. Innovation and investment in ways to reuse water are fundamental to developing a responsible solution.

In a water distribution system, maintenance is an essential pillar to ensure that an efficient service is provided and to combat problems such as real water losses. Managing such a system’s mainten...

When exploiting groundwater, it is common to have problems with wells since maintenance activities can interrupt not only the production of water but also its distribution. Planning maintenance activities is a challenge that involves multiple agents, several criteria, and subjective variables. Therefore, this paper proposes a decision model based on a multicriteria approach to prioritize maintenance actions in the wells of a groundwater supply system. The proposed model considers different points of view and has three phases. The first phase consists of understanding the problem and acquiring data. Next, there is a learning process, during which Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA), a structuring method, is applied. The third phase uses the Elimination et Choix Traduisant la Realite (Elimination and Choice Translating Reality, “ELECTRE III”) method to evaluate the problem. To determine criteria weights, Simos’ Procedure is used. The model is shown to have established management priorities that assist in making maintenance decisions. Efficiency of the model was demonstrated by applying it in a Brazilian town, where it was seen to yield greater benefits both to the supply company and society than does current maintenance management practice.

Diante do acirramento competitivo as organizações vêm buscando otimizar suas operações elevando o nível de qualidade para os produtos e serviços prestados. Desta forma, busca-se aperfeiçoar processos através da identificação de gargalos nas operações e pleno mapeamento das variáveis envolvidas. As ferramentas gerenciais da qualidade consistem em técnicas satisfatórias para auxiliar na busca contínua por melhorias nas operações organizacionais. Neste contexto, este artigo tem por objetivo aplicar as ferramentas gerenciais da qualidade para otimizar o planejamento das atividades do setor de manutenção predial em uma unidade hospitalar localizada no nordeste brasileiro. As ferramentas utilizadas foram o diagrama de afinidades, diagrama em árvore e a matriz de priorização. Como principais resultados identificou-se que dificuldades nos relacionamentos entre setores organizacionais, deficiências em insumos, e a disponibilidade do cliente são variáveis que interferem diretamente no problema, e tais podem ser minimizados diante de reestruturação no processo de solicitação das ordens de serviço.

The Tradeoff Elicitation Procedure is a Multi-Criteria Decision Making/Aiding method which is responsible for eliciting scaling constants and presents a robust axiomatic structure. As to its axiomatic structure, this procedure requires the decision-maker to identify the exact indifference point which induces a large number of inconsistencies in the process. In order to evaluate Decision Maker behavior in the Tradeoff elicitation and explore inconsistency in this process, a Neuroscience experiment was conducted using neuro tools, such as an Eye Tracking and an Electroencephalography (EEG). The experiment was applied in a sample of 52 management engineering students. After the data were collected, analyses were developed in order to suggest decision-makers’ behavior in the steps of this procedure. In summary, the responses of the pupils are increased during the process indicating a cognitive effort, and EEG data confirmed this result considering frontal alpha asymmetry and theta power in the frontal electrodes as variables for analysis.

Deficient maintenance management of water distribution systems is an issue in many countries around the world. In northeast Brazil, losses of water during its distribution has reached 42.7 %. Maintenance planning is essential to improve efficiency in a water distribution system. Therefore, a framework was proposed that combines Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA) with the ELECTRE TRI-nC method to sort areas into criticality categories in order to determine priorities for monitoring a maintenance service. To provide a global characterization, three categories are recognized: “Not critical,” “Moderately critical,” and “Highly critical.” The proposed framework is applied in a real case study of a municipality located in the northeast of Brazil (Itamaraca/Pernambuco). This framework provides (i) managerial priorities to support maintenance decisions that improve the action planning of the water company, (ii) formal and structured knowledge about the water distribution system, and (iii) benefits to society, such as improving the quality of service, reducing costs, and preserving water resources. Our study demonstrates that actions such as developing awareness -raising campaigns about the rational use of water, installing pressure and flow control valves and establishing sectorization in the network system are essential in order to improve how maintenance is managed.

A qualidade do ar em interiores tem influência direta no bem-estar das pessoas que ocupam ou transitam nesses locais. A climatização surge da necessidade em oferecer condições de conforto para seus ocupantes, bem como dispor de sistemas que os protejam de impurezas contidas no ar. Em alguns ambientes com climatização artificial, os ocupantes podem desenvolver enfermidades, como: fadiga, infecções, irritação nos olhos e mucosas, náuseas, tonturas etc. Estes sintomas caracterizam, segundo a OMS, a “Síndrome do Edifício Doente”. Este artigo, por uma metodologia descritiva e exploratória, trata da avaliação da qualidade do ar interior, indicando a manutenção preditiva e seus aspectos de inovação como minimizadores dos agentes causadores de enfermidades que podem desenvolver-se nesses ambientes. Para tal, analisaram-se dez clientes de uma empresa especializada em climatização. Como resultado, encontraram-se inconformidades em alguns aspectos analisados, possibilitando a confecção de um plano de ação para adequação aos parâmetros legais.

Efficient management of water resources is a growing global concern. In Brazil, most regions deal with problems related to high rates of water loss in distribution systems. This situation involves a complex environment with multiple decision-makers, several alternatives, and subjective variables. Therefore, its evaluations require interactivity, clarity, learning, and that plausible aspects be discerned by structuring the problem. This study aims at understanding what criteria should be considered when establishing priorities for maintenance activities in water distribution networks. Moreover, a model using cognitive maps to capture the perspectives of decision-makers from the state of Pernambuco is proposed. The model includes aspects of conflict analysis, determination of the forces between the maps, and an alternative proposal to refine a collective map and improve its efficiency in the procedure.