Construction Productivity Measurement Techniques

Construction Productivity Measurement Techniques The construction industry remains one of the few most labour intensive industries in the developed world. It is therefore imperative to understand the measure of construction labour productivity. Furthermore, recent institutional and industrial calls for an increase in productivity suggest a desperate need to get the measurement of productivity levels right. The research reported in this paper forms part of an ongoing Ph.D. study into the issue of construction labour productivity. An earlier study highlighted that less than 50% of the industry actually actively measure and monitor productivity levels, with a majority of those companies that claim to measure go about measuring on the basis of the intuition of key site management personnel. This may seem alarming, however, it was argued that productivity measurement techniques could be perceived as theoretical, arduous and expensive for construction companies to adopt. This paper reviews the methods of productivity measurement availabl e and describes two case studies conducted during this research, with a view of reporting the problems and issues faced when attempting to establish productivity levels at a project level. Lessons learnt are then drawn from the experience. INTRODUCTION The quest for productivity improvements in the UK construction industry has been an especially important agenda over the last decade (Latham, 1994; Egan, 1998). However, what is found baffling is the fact that the measure of productivity is often conflated with the measure of performance. One only needs to turn to the Construction Productivity Network (CPN) to seek an instance of such misapprehension. Indeed, the very name of the network is misleading since it deals with such far wider issues as risk management and knowledge management. Clearly, the network might be more suited to have adopted the term Construction Performance Network as compared to the use of the term productivity, which traditionally refers to the quantifiable ratio between inputs and outputs in physical terms. Indeed, the industrial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) rightly recognise the clear distinction by acknowledging the measure of productivity as a subset of the wider measure of business performance. However, in the pursuit of convincing the industry to take on board improvement programmes and initiatives, recommendations have tended to represent simplistically improvements through headline measures such as reduction in construction time, defects, accidents etc., for instance, in the case of the Movement for Innovation (M4I) demonstration projects. Productivity, interestingly, was measured by the M4I by taking the median of the company value added in monetary terms per employee. This value added approach mirrors the value-added approach conventionally applied at the industrial (macroeconomic) level (see e.g. Jonsson, 1996). While it is understandable, from a marketing perspective, to report headline indicators per se, given the fact that embarking on any initiative undoubtedly needs corporate buy-in by senior managers, it is felt that capturing productivity measurements at the strategic level may be insufficient to guarantee that improvements actually occur at the operational level. Therefore, it is firmly believed that going back to the basics of measuring productivity at the project site level would be necessary in facilitating improvements. This is because the construction industry is largely project-based. Groà ¡k, for instance, issued a stern warning that there is an inherent failure to recognise that the site was the defining locus of production organisation (1994: 288) for construction. However, there lies a problem here. Apart from the formal measures propounded by such initiatives as the M4I stated above, many construction companies just do not have formal measures in place at the project level. For example, Chan and Kaka (2003), in a questionnaire survey to 400 UK contractors, found that of the 77 respondents, more than half of them do not monitor productivity levels at the project level. Furthermore, a third of those who claim to do so base their judgement of productivity on gut feeling and experience of dealing with contract schedules. Similar findings were noted in a large study commissioned by the Investors in People in the UK, which was aimed at examining productivity measurements inter alia across sectors including manufacturing, transport, service and construction. The Investors in People (2001) noted that while 22% of the respondents did not measure productivity levels at all, 36% and 22% of the respondents used formal and informal techniques to establish productivity levels respectively. Yet, past research have shown that the very process of formalising on-site productivity measurements itself delivers project improvements. For example, Winch and Carr (2001) notably identified a growing competitive spirit among the workforce as they progressed in their study investigating the benchmarking of on-site productivity, thus reinforcing an earlier comment made about the importance of measuring productivity levels at the project site level. Nonetheless, Chans and Kakas (2003) and the Investors in People (2001) reports beg the question as to why there is reluctance for formal productivity measurements, and which forms the premise of this paper. The chief aim of this paper is to explore the pertinent issues that would explain some of the reasons behind what we would call industrial inertia towards productivity measurement at the project level. In so doing, we would tackle it from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The next section briefly reviews the key textbook approaches to measuring on-site productivity and highlights the limitations in terms of reliability and relevance of these approaches that restrict industrial adoption. Thereafter, we will report on the relevant findings of two live projects observed as part of a wider study into understanding the concept of construction labour productivity, revealing some of the practical issues encountered when measuring on-site productivity. Conclusions are then draw n from both the review and the case studies that lead to the recommendations for future research that would hopefully encourage the industry to measure on-site productivity. PRODUCTIVITY MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES Construction textbooks are awash with details of key productivity measurement techniques and it would be inappropriate to replicate the explanation of these techniques within the constraints of this paper. According to Noor (1998), productivity measurement techniques fall within a spectrum between two broad categories of observational methods, namely continuous observation (e.g. direct observation and work study) and intermittent observation (e.g. audio-visual methods, delay surveys and activity sampling). Noor recognised that while continuous observations such as direct observation and work study provide high levels of accuracy and detailed data for understanding productivity, these are often time-consuming, arduous and costly. Given the operational imperative of construction projects and the ever increasing time pressures exerted on project schedules, the cost of employing personnel to conduct such observations both in terms of the monetary cost of wages and the time value of observation that does not result in the physical growth of buildings (i.e. non value added) would deter companies from adopting such measurement techniques. Furthermore, the benefits of continuous observations are marred by the inexorable restriction of scope and thus, would make it difficult for large projects to pursue this approach. Where the use of technical equipment for audio-visual methods is concerned, Winch and Carr (2001) were especially cautious that the workers might feel that the surveillance was un necessarily intrusive. As such, they avoided the use of such methods to observe the workers and opted instead for direct observation where the researchers got to know the individual workers on a personal level. Therefore, while the absence of the workers uneasiness was achieved, the inability to observe the whole construction process became an evident trade-off. With respect to intermittent observations, Noor noted that these are prone to errors in determination since the data tends to be aggregated statistically through the observation of a representative sample. To add to this, Radosavljevic and Horner (2002) recently revisited formwork and masonry productivity data sets across eleven sites in the USA and the UK, only to confirm their suspicion that productivity is not normally distributed, thereby implying that some basic statistical diagnosticsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ may give misleading results and are not applicable (p. 3). Accordingly, this questions the dubious reliability of conventional productivity measurement techniques. Serendipitously, Radosavljevic and Horner made a brief comparison of the data with volatility studies in econometrics to reveal surprising similarity with Pareto distributions, which are typical of chaotic systems. They concluded therefore that using test statistics that rely on normality usually have been taken for grant ed, and consequently not much could have been done to achieve a better understanding of the ubiquitous complexity (p. 11) as they call for a paradigm shift to understand the complexities of construction labour productivity, possibly through chaos theory. However, it is felt that such complex methods of analysing productivity levels might further discourage companies to measure productivity since this would mean additional investment of statistical expertise. Another problem with many of the conventional productivity measurement techniques is the reductionistic approach in analysing work time (see e.g. Drewin, 1982). To put simply, much of the analysis of productivity data had been concerned with the binary relationship between productive (or value-adding) time and time loss. However, contenders such as Thomas et. al. (1990) challenged this underlying assumption the inverse relationship between productive and non-productive time, and that reducing time loss leads to productivity improvements as they claimed while these assumptions seem sensible and logical, they will be shown to be unsupportable for most construction operations (p. 712). In fact, a later study (Thomas, 1991) provided evidence that would cast doubts on the assumption of the binary relationship between productive and non-productive time, and hence on the productivity measurement techniques. A further limitation relates to the application of productivity measurement techniques in past research. A review of the literature revealed that measurement techniques were mainly concentrated, in past research, on a number of key construction operations: namely concrete works (Proverbs et. al., 1999; Winch and Carr, 2001), masonry projects (Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987; Olomolaiye, 1990), structural steel (Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987) and electrical works (Thomas, 2000). Evidently, with the exception of electrical works, much of the studies were concerned with the structural elements, i.e. elements that contribute to the structural frame of the building. This means there is an overwhelming lack of research aimed at studying such other aspects of the building process as architectural elements (e.g. plastering, internal fit-out, painting and decoration) or services installations (e.g. mechanical and sanitary installations). Indeed, the studies surrounding electrical works were related t o the effects of schedule acceleration, in part, due to the effects of productivity-related problems of the earlier structural phase of projects (see e.g. Noyce and Hanna, 1998; and Thomas, 2000). One of the possible reasons for this phenomenon is the lack of previous studies (unlike where areas such as bricklaying and concrete operations are concerned) or industrial productivity data for comparison. Notably, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) in the US has been deeply keen in examining productivity issues ever since the late 1960s (Thomas et. al., 1990) and have been actively developing labour consumption curves (NECA, 1983) to inform the industry for possible applications on different project types (Thomas, 2000), offering perhaps an explanation as to why productivity on electrical projects are examined. Olomolaiye (1990) is one of the few who explains his decision to focus on bricklaying as he attributed his preference to the predominance of bricks as one of the main construction materials in the UK. He added a bulk of construction manpower still goes into bricklaying as it remains highly labour-intensive (p. 302). On the decision to focus on concrete operations, Winch and Carr (2001) cited Horners and Zakiehs (1996) claim that studies of estimating have shown that the largest items in the bill can be used to determine overall outputs very closely. Furthermore, they expounded that data on concrete deliveries by ready-mix trucks for any given period are easily obtained from site records, and because concrete is perishable, we can infer that deliveries on a day have been poured that day (p. 581). It is argued, however, that concentrating on the predominant or largest activity results in a reductionistic approach, which fails to take into account the entire construction process. Intere stingly, Kazaz and Ulubeyli (2004) in a recent study aimed at reconciling governmental statistics and real project data on productivity rates in Turkey elected to examine only 82 work items deemed to be used most in practice, thus affirming the researchers observation, although they acknowledged that these only constitute 6.11% of all possible work items. In this respect, conclusions made in past studies are limited in their scope in offering plausible recommendations for implementation for the improvement of construction labour productivity. The limitations of productivity measurement techniques discussed hitherto, to some extent, help to explain the low industrial uptake within construction. These encompass the issues of reliability and relevance of existing techniques that would inhibit the ability of companies to meaningfully analyse their project productivity so as to bring about improvements to the entire construction process. Furthermore, there are the investment constraints of time and expertise in implementing the existing productivity techniques. These emerging issues from the brief review explains some of the general difficulties claimed by the participants of the Investors in People (2001) study, particularly the difficulties in obtaining accurate information, the varied nature of individual job roles and the complex nature of productivity that is dependent on several intervening factors (p. 6). CASE STUDIES AND PRELIMINARY FINDINGS Having briefly discussed the theoretical issues surrounding existing productivity measurement techniques, this section now turns to the two projects, hereinafter known as projects A and B, observed during the course of the study. The purpose of the case studies is to explore the issues faced by practitioners when measuring project productivity. The two projects were selected because project participants had either attempted to measure productivity (project A) or claimed to have a formal method of measuring productivity in place (project B). Each case will begin with a brief synopsis of how the researchers got involved with the projects and an account of the observational process. This will then be followed by a succinct report of the key issues involved in the implementation of the productivity measurement techniques in the two projects. Project A: Multi-storey Car Park Background to project A Project A is the construction of a multi-storey car park for a Scottish airport. This was initially selected as a pilot study at the onset on the basis of convenience, access and geographic proximity as instructed in Yin (1994: 75). It is perhaps worthwhile, at this point, to provide an insight into how and why access was given to this project in the first place. A marketing flyer accompanied by a cover letter was sent to companies to seek collaboration and access to projects, people, data etc. at the start of the research. A positive response from the main contractor executing project A then resulted from this initial call for participation. The contractor was a fast growing company at that time that aimed both to penetrate the Scottish construction market and to succeed in gaining repeat business with British Airports Authority (B.A.A.). Because the company had not undertaken any on-site productivity measurement, they were therefore keen for the researchers to assist in the develop ment of on-site productivity measures. And so, access to the project was granted on a two-days-a-week basis and the project quantity surveyor of the company was involved with the researchers in developing the measurement technique. To overcome the problems discussed in the previous section regarding the isolation of construction activities in measuring productivity, a decision was made to measure productivity levels using the existing company worker timesheets. Timesheets were found to be extremely useful mainly because timesheets were used for the purpose of calculation of hourly wages and linking this to productivity measurement would probably show meaningfully the notion of a fair wage. Furthermore, measuring productivity on a daily basis was considered to be the most appropriate technique as corrective action could be taken as quickly as possible. For data collection purposes, foremen were instructed to complete time inputs and physical outputs for each worker under their charge within a set time sheet on a daily basis. Table 1 below shows a simplified example of a recording on the activity of pouring concrete by a gang of concrete labourers. Based on the data presented in table 1, a total of 66 man-hours w ere used to produce 232m3 of concrete, yielding a productivity rate of à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ » 3.5m3 of concrete per man-hour. Emerging issues A number of issues arose whilst attempting to measure on-site productivity levels for project A in this way. The desire for a speedy construction process meant that many proprietary systems, e.g. in the case of formwork, were used as part of the construction techniques. These were undertaken by specialist subcontractors (with whom access was not granted). What was observed was that the core labourers used by the main contractor were general operatives who were often mobile in terms of the task they did. So, for example, an operative could be involved in general housekeeping on day n, shifting what is known as tables (a proprietary form of the conventional birdcage scaffolding that is on wheels to support the formwork) on day n + 1, and putting stop ends along the perimeter of a plot prior to concreting to prevent the concrete from spilling over on day n +2 and so on. Perhaps the only stable groups of workers were those who were relatively more skilled, e.g. concretors and steelfixers , who tended to stick within the task of their trades. Even so, these workers moved to other projects in the vicinity when their tasks were not scheduled for project A. Therefore, while measuring productivity levels in this way appear to be more holistic and probably closer to reality than the methods highlighted in the previous section, the mammoth task of tracking workers posed an immense challenge. Moreover, although the data was collected at the gang level (through the foremen), the boundaries of the gang were found to be arbitrary because of the volatile movement of the workers. This resulted in high variability of the productivity data obtained, which supports Radosavljevics and Horners (2002) observations, but which implies that discerning the factors affecting productivity especially those related to the workforce issues was particularly problematic. Administering the measurement was also not without problems. To start with, foremen were not akin to filling out forms and throughout its implementation, the project quantity surveyor discovered that there was a need to constantly explain to the foremen the mechanisms of recording. Two reasons accounted for this. The first relates to the inevitable problem with determining output quantities given that construction operations are often associated with work-in-progress that can be difficult to ascertain. Rules of credit (see e.g. Thomas and Yiakoumis, 1987) may go some way to facilitate this process, although time and manpower is needed to maintain a database of such information for which the project quantity surveyor did not have. In fact, the project quantity surveyor resigned in the middle of the project and the measurement of productivity halted due to the absence of a willing successor. To exacerbate the problems of measurement, the project quantity surveyor had identified a compl ex list of more than 170 task descriptions, thus causing further confusion for the foremen in the recording process. This enormous list of task descriptions is believed to be due to the fact that many proprietary systems were used in the construction process. Still, as the predicted trend for the construction industry is towards greater outsourcing and use of innovative technology in the production of buildings (see e.g. CRISP, 2001), it would be sensible to take into account such complexities when measuring productivity. It is here that project B sheds some light. Project B: Headquarters of a Commercial Bank Background to project B Project B involves the construction of the headquarters of a commercial bank on a greenfield site just outside Edinburgh. Access was given to interview senior project managers and to conduct questionnaire surveys with the site operatives. During the interviews, the researchers were struck by the ability of the managers to report what they allege to be the precise number of man-hours expended on the project to date, a phenomenon that was non-existent in other projects observed during the study. Inquisitively, the researchers investigated how project participants captured this data through further probing during the interviews. According to the project managers, project B utilised what is known as The Last Planner system, a planning system that has gradually gained recognition and refinement since its inception in 1994. Much has been written about the system (see e.g. Ballard, 2000), although this is really related to planning and never intended to be used as a means of measuring on-site productivity. However, one of the KPIs resulting from this system, known as the Percent Plan Complete (PPC), was thought to be extremely valuable by the project participants for them to gain an informed view of the on-site productivity levels. Basically, the PPC refers to how much of the planned work on a weekly basis is actually completed. In a similar vein, this ostensibly is comparable to the earned value analysis used in project management (see Project Management Institute, 2000). Figure 1 above shows an extract from a weekly progress update, which enables project Bs participants to keep track of how productively the wo rk packages were performing to plan. To help improve the PPC, the progress meetings were used as a platform to understand what went wrong, i.e. what intervening events or factors resulted in a low PPC (e.g. weather, lack of materials etc.). Emerging issues While this paper is not aimed at analysing whether this system constitutes a credible means for measuring on-site productivity, it was felt that this system provided an effective way for managers to establish how progress was being made. Hence, this allowed project participants to get a feel of the productivity of the workers by complementing the measure of PPC with the number of man-hours expended. To show a simplistic example, using figure 1 above, let us assume that work package 1 utilises the same amount of man-hours throughout the project. Therefore, one can safely deduce that achieving 100% PPC in say week 13 and 76% PPC in week 14 would signify a dip in labour productivity. In other words, PPC can be viewed as an output in the productivity ratio and so alleviate the problems of complexities involved in construction operations and sub-contracted work packages experienced in project A above. Furthermore, such information should provide useful feedback to the workforce regarding their performance. Implementing this system for the project participants was also met with a number of challenges. For instance, the system is largely paper based and therefore archiving such information and managing it within a database would still require the deployment of manpower. Nonetheless, as compared with the attempts in project A, this is perceived to be relatively more straightforward. It would also be tempting to proclaim that running this system commenced from the first day of the project. In fact, the project managers had attempted to implement such a system on a previous project six years ago but faced immense resistance from the project workers as it was then thought to create a blame culture so that fault could be apportioned when things went wrong. Interestingly, another project observed, which involved the construction of an office block in central London and built by the same contractor running project B, had initially tried to adopt the system. However, it was abandoned as soon as it started on the same basis of resistance. Still, project B participants learnt from their previous experience from six years ago and thus, made a conscious effort to allay fears of a blame culture right from the very start of the project through constant reassurances given during early briefing sessions. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the paper raised the issue of the importance of, and lacklustre attitude of companies towards, measuring on-site productivity. Thereafter, a review of the limitations behind the key textbook approaches to measuring productivity was provided and these represent some of the problems, which contribute to the industrys reluctance to measuring productivity. We have then taken the reader on a journey through two projects observed and summarised here some of the practical issues faced in the implementation of an on-site productivity measurement system. These include the time and expertise needed in handling the complexities of productivity data and resistance from the workforce. In essence, the underlying theme throughout the experience is that a productivity measurement system has to be comprehensive enough to take into account the complexities of todays construction operations and ever increasing emphasis on sub-contract work packages as seen in project A; but simple enough to be effective as portrayed in The Last Planner system in project B. However, the reliability of using The Last Planner system to measure productivity was beyond the remit of this current study. Nonetheless, the experience of project participants in project B shows that it works in reality to help provide that informed view of on-site productivity levels needed to bring about improvements. Therefore, further work is required to establish the feasibility of using such a system in measuring productivity.

Food Safety Illness

Jeremiah went grocery shopping on a hot summer day. He bought food for an upcoming family BBQ; ground beef for hamburgers, a couple of steaks, and the ingredients for making potato salad.When he left the store, he put his groceries in the trunk and stopped by the sports outlet store to pick up a Frisbee and croquet set. It took about 10 minutes at the sports store, and then Jeremiah headed home to prepare the food. He was concerned that it had been too hot in the car, but everything was still cold when he got home.Jeremiah took the groceries home and put everything in the refrigerator. The meat fit well on the top shelf, right above the potato salad ingredients.Later on, he got the groceries out to prep everything for the BBQ. He cooked the potatoes and used a sharp knife to trim some excess fat off of the raw steaks. Then he cut up the rest of the vegetables for the potato salad with the sharp knife on a cutting board.Jeremiah formed the hamburger patties, seasoned the steaks, and f inished making the potato salad. With only about 45 minutes to go before leaving for the BBQ, Jeremiah left everything sitting out on the counter while he showered and got ready.When he arrived at the BBQ, he set the potato salad on the picnic table and went to grill the steaks and burgers. He cooked both to about medium doneness, meaning both were pink in the middle.Jeremiah enjoyed one of the steaks he prepared and gave one to his cousin. The other family members enjoyed the burgers and potato salad; in fact, Jeremiah didn’t have a chance to try the salad. A couple of days after the BBQ, Jeremiah learned that everyone at the BBQ, with exception of himself and his cousin, experienced a bout of flu-like symptoms the following day.Write 50- to 150-word responses to each of the following questions. Be clear and concise, use complete sentences, and explain your answers using specific examples.1. Based on Scenario 1, what are the possible sources of food-borne illness? The possib le sources of food-borne illness could be cross-contamination from Jeremiah cutting off the fat from the steaks and cutting up the vegetables for the potato salad. If the same knife was used or if the same surface was even used to prepare both the meat and vegetables it could have contaminated the vegetables or the ground beef.2. Although Jeremiah did not get sick, there were several areas throughout Jeremiah’s day that could have led him to a serious case of food-borne illness. Point out these areas and briefly explain why they are of concern and what Jeremiah could have done differently. One time that a food-borne illness could have been obtained when Jeremiah put the groceries in the trunk of his car, typically the trunk of a car is the hottest part of a vehicle, so the groceries could have gone below the appropriate temperature to store it at.If Jeremiah would have been in the store more than twenty minutes, all depends on the temperature outside; it could have spoiled th e meat. Secondly, if Jeremiah bought mayo or any type of dressing for the potato salad it could have spoiled and therefore made the guest sick. Also Jeremiah never got to eat any of the potato salad so if it was cross contaminated than he would have not gotten sick.3. Why is it safe for steak to be pink in the middle, but potentially dangerous for a hamburger not to be cooked all the way through? It is safe for steak to be pink in the middle compared to the hamburger due to the hamburger being processed through a machine and being handled human beings  so therefore the meat can be contaminated more easily. With cooking the hamburger to being well done with no pink than it can kill some bacteria. For example some companies do not cleanse or clean their machines to cut down on the bacteria and any contamination that might have occurred.Scenario 2:After enjoying a delicious dinner of lasagna, Martha cleaned up the kitchen and left the covered tray of leftover lasagna on the counter t o cool. Since the lasagna was so dense and thick, it took about 4 hours for it to feel cool enough to go into the fridge for the night. The next day, Martha served leftover lasagna for lunch. She heated the lasagna thoroughly and it was finished.Within about 2–3 hours, everyone who ate the lasagna developed stomach cramps, fever, and nausea; most eventually started vomiting. The illness was pretty awful, but thankfully relatively short-lived.Write 50- to 150-word responses to each of the following questions. Be clear and concise, use complete sentences, and explain your answers using specific examples.1. How could this illness have been prevented? The illness could have been prevented by having the lasagna uncovered while it was cooling so that condensation would have not built up on the cover. Then the water went into the lasagna, which was bacteria, and made the employees sick that ate it. The other thing that could have been done is had the lasagna put into the oven until it was thoroughly cooled.2. Based on the incubation period and symptoms of the illness, what is the most likely microorganism responsible for this illness? E-coli would be the most reasonable reason for the illness. Because Martha did not reheat the lasagna properly for the second time around the bacteria was never killed off. If she would have reheated the lasagna in the oven at the proper temperature the bacteria would have been killed off.3. Describe the temperature danger zone. It would have to cook at a certain temperature to cook all the bacteria and the microorganisms out of the lasagna. Harmful bacteria such as E-coli contaminate food without physical signs, smells or tastes. Temperatures hotter than 165 °F not just the outside but making sure the inside is also cooked correctly.4. How could Martha have sped up the cooling process of the lasagna? If she would have left the lasagna uncovered on the counter it would have cooled down a lot faster. As soon as it would have bec ame room temperature she could have covered it and put it in the refrigerator.5. If the leftover lasagna was thoroughly reheated, (which it was), how did it still lead to food-borne illness? When Martha put the lasagna into the microwave it wasn’t hot enough for the bacteria to be cooked out of the lasagna. If she would have reheated in the lasagna would in the stove instead all the bacteria would have been cooked out and no one would have gotten sick.Scenario 3:Sally was making marinated shish-kabobs to grill for dinner. She made a beautiful marinade and then cut up the raw chicken on a cutting board. She put the chunks of chicken in the marinade and let it sit on the counter for about 3 hours until it was time to cook.While the chicken was marinating, Sally prepared the vegetables. She cut them using the same cutting board and knife; she rinsed both off with warm water between cutting the chicken and the vegetables.Once the chicken had marinated, Sally put the chicken and v egetables on skewers to be grilled. She also started rice in the rice cooker to go with the shish-kabobs.As the shish-kabobs were grilling, Sally put the marinade in a serving dish for extra sauce to put over the rice.Several hours later, Sally and her family members all developed nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache, and abdominal pain.Write 50- to 150-word responses to each of the following questions. Be clear and concise, use complete sentences, and explain your answers using specific examples.1. What could be the cause of Sally and her family members’ illness? Would be improper food preparation by leaving chicken out on the counter more than allotted time as it developed bacteria and salmonella. She also prepared vegetables on the cutting board without proper cleaning with hot water and soap. Also reusing the marinated sauce on the rice, she should have been cooked so all the bacteria could have been cook out.2. How could this illness have been prevented? This illn ess could have been prevented with proper cleaning of all preparation and utensils materials. With proper washing with soap and hot water it would not cross contaminate the chicken, vegetables and the marinate. The illness could have also been prevented if she would have properly stored the chicken in the kitchen to make sure that bacteria would have not been growing.

The Appeal of Relevant Topics for Essay Writing

The Appeal of Relevant Topics for Essay Writing When you're perusing the greater study, there's a significant significance to the compare and contrast essays to become decent control over your lesson. Many trustworthy writing services are eager to provide essay help. It's possible to visit a library and search for relevant books. In the event the student has contacted with the skilled essay helpers, inch should be certain the assistant is ready to fulfill every one of the parameters demanded. The Advantages of Relevant Topics for Essay Writing You've approached the last portion of your essay. Essay proudly occupies a distinct hole in the realm of journalism. Essay Writing Services Essay writing services may be one of the cheap and easy strategies to find reference when writing essays on various topics. Writing a superb persuasive essay is not a simple job, however, it's achievable. As with any other essay, a definition one has its peculiarities and content requirements that should be met to be successful in the writing. You can also lack enough knowledge on the subject, or you aren't good in using English language for writing essays. A very clear essay needs to be correctly structured. Among the different sorts of essay, there's a definition essay that could appear to be among the most simple assignments. What's Truly Happening with Relevant Topics for Essay Writing There are many questions written each year you may discover your practice answering a variety of questions on various topics. It is indispensable to use reliable on-line sources that directly support your principal point. The very first step is to produce a terrific topic. If you've ever had problems with finding the most appropriate research paper topic, you're at the appropriate site reading the correct line! The Basic Facts of Relevant Topics for Essay Writing High school research pap er topics are extremely simple to write after you've completed the essential research. There's a particular procedure of how essays ought to be written. If you purchase essays online, it's really important to understand whether the work is still in process or has been finished. Although writing essays is a difficult endeavor, many of the folks have the ability to compose a Term Paper Writing term paper is a standard assignment for those students that are obtaining their undergraduate and graduate studies. Who Else Wants to Learn About Relevant Topics for Essay Writing? Research writing is a task that ought to be written in prime quality as it can influence students' internal marks. In marginal situations, the essays are utilised to determine whether an applicant is going to be selected. Students lead busy lives and frequently forget about a coming deadline. The students are must to obtain some great quantity of knowledge on the best way to compose a paper so they can write t heir assignments by themselves with no trouble. What You Can Do About Relevant Topics for Essay Writing Starting in the Next 8 Minutes You would like to register for a Google account before getting started. The actual men and women highly praise our essay help site. You can trust the ideal essay help online. A Real Estate company unlike any other centered on the mission of constructing a network of career-minded pros who strive to cultivate their small business and their future. The Little-Known Secrets to Relevant Topics for Essay Writing Just consider it how many fantastic things you may do instead of boring writing. Each paragraph introduces one significant idea. Furthermore, it's an excellent idea to read any appropriate material, like articles of prewritten academic work, in order to offer you some additional inspiration. The central intention of any introduction is presenting the principal idea of your definition essay, in different words, you are to state clearly w hat it is you are likely to define.

The Task of an International Marketer - 2314 Words

The International Marketers task is more complicated than that of the domestic marketer because the international marketer must deal with at least two levels of uncontrollable uncertainty instead of one. Discuss. Introduction Domestic marketing deals with any marketing activities within the boundaries of a nation. This should be directly contrasted with the term International marketing, which refers to all marketing activities that go beyond the confines of a domestic economy. For Zimbabwe, this would be consumers, workers, businesses, and governments that lie beyond the Zimbabwean national boundaries. How both the international marketer and the domestic marketer should know the 4Ps (Product, price, promotion and place) or the†¦show more content†¦This is particularly true of foodstuffs. Sadza in Zimbabwe, a staple food made from maize meal, would not go down well in United Kingdom or United States of America. Only products of a more technical nature, like computers on the other hand, have a universal appeal. The marketer can study culture in a number of ways including the anthropological approach, Maslows hierarchy of needs, the self reference criterion, diffusion theory, high and low context culture, and perception approaches. Culture itself is made up of a number of learned characteristics including aesthetics, education, religion and attitudes and values. One of the principal researchers on culture and its consequences is Hofstede, who, as a result of his studies, offers many insights and guides to marketers when dealing with diverse nationalities. Ignoring differences, or even similarities, in culture can lead to marketers especially international marketers making and executing decisions with possible disastrous results. Trade agreements Since 1945, there have been eight major trade agreements. The first five were bilateral agreements, where only two countries made treaties with one another. These were not an efficient way to reduce tariffs, as other countries were able to take advantage of the spillover effects of the reductions. All subsequent trade negotiations have been multilateral, or involving many countries. 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Health Education Plan On Breast Cancer Essay - 1967 Words

Health Education Plan on Breast Cancer New Zealand had the third highest mortality rate of breast cancer in the Western world. In order to put a stop to this epidemic of breast cancer we should focuses on four key areas of work; early detection, the future of the disease, targeted therapies for the treatment, prevention New Zealand, about 2800 women a year are diagnosed with breast cancer and 600 women die each year around them. 7 women with breast cancer were found to be around for a day. Breast cancer affects mostly women aged between 45years 69 years. Family history of breast cancer is the most common cause is still unknown, but age is considered to be a risk factor for breast cancer has been identified as a fix. Breast cancer is the most common cause of death in women is also known. About breast cancer, where they are suspected of giving information to the symbols and abbreviations used to identify the necessary steps, in order to promote the health, our group decided to organize awareness against breast cancer. In this paper, the model of behaviour change plan and checklist of communication to save lives through early detection of breast cancer and self-breast exam as well as the awareness of the importance of health promotion program, which is about to be discussed. Screening and early detection of breast self-examination plays an important role. Screening for breast cancer cure, but at an early stage it will help to identify the signs and symptoms of breast cancer.Show MoreRelatedA Process Evaluation For A Comprehensive Breast Cancer Screening Intervention1049 Words   |  5 PagesDesigning a process evaluation for a comprehensive breast cancer screening intervention: Challenges and opportunities, the authors are Claire J. Vivadro, Jo Anne L. 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State Auditing Free Essays

STATE AUDITING IN THE PHILIPPINES Reported by: MYRLA P. SEDENIO RUTH C. TACUJAN A. We will write a custom essay sample on State Auditing or any similar topic only for you Order Now OBJECTIVES I. To Discuss the State Audit System 2. To Identify Issues and Limitations of Government Auditing 3. To Discuss the Measurement of Government Performance B. INTRODUCTION The Philippine Constitution emphasizes the importance of accountability in the government. Article XI simply and bluntly begins: â€Å"Public office is a public trust,† before it adds that officials and employees should serve the people with â€Å"responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency.    In the government budget cycle, accountability is laid down by the need for government agencies and departments submit to submit quarterly and monthly income statements; statements of allotment, obligations and balances along with other financial reports and documents for audit – a formal process whereby the authenticity, accuracy and reliability of financial accounts or transactions are checked and approved. There are several kinds of audit: One is Financial Auditing wherein financial transactions and accounts are checked to ensure the submitting government agency has complied with the rules and regulations, specifically the pre-agreed and government accounting system. Another type is Performance Auditing whereby one is looking at the systems of the agency to assess it has delivered on its institutional purpose and mandate by linking the budgets with results or results-based budgets. An internal audit, as the name suggests, an internal check on agency systems and processes. External Auditing involves an outside audit body being brought in to look at the agency. Pre-auditing refers to auditing by agencies before approval of transactions while post-auditing is auditing by an independent body after. The Philippine government has agencies mandated to ensure accountability and transparency on its overall operations. These agencies are: The Office of the Ombudsman, Sandiganbayan, Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, the Civil Service Commission and primarily, for the purpose of this paper, the Commission on Audit. C. STATE AUDIT SYSTEM Auditing is the examination of information by a third party other than the preparer or user with the intention of establishing its realibility, and the reporting of the results of this examination with the expectation of increasing the usefulness of the information to the user. Commission on Audit The Commission on Audit (COA) is the constitutional commission mandated to be the supreme audit institution of the government. It has jurisdiction over national government agencies, local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations and non-government organizations receiving benefits and subsidies from the government. The Constitution identified the following functions for the Commission:   1. Examine, audit and settle all accounts pertaining to the revenue and receipts of, and expenditures or uses of funds and property owned or held in trust by, or pertaining to, the government; 2. Promulgate accounting and auditing rules and regulations including those for the prevention and disallowance of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable expenditures, or uses of government funds and properties; 3. Submit annual reports to the President and the Congress on the financial condition and operation of the government; 4. Recommend measures to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations; 5. Keep the general accounts of government and preserve the vouchers and supporting papers pertaining thereto; 6. Decide any case brought before it within 60 days; 7. Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law. COA, as the other constitutional commissions are mandated, is headed by a Chairman and two Commissioners appointed by the President and the Commission on Appointments of Congress. It also enjoys fiscal autonomy which means its appropriations must be released regularly and automatically. The Commission also deploys resident auditors in all national government agencies, local government units and government-owned and controlled corporations pursuant to its mandate to review each agency’s financial operations in a risk-based audit approach. The Commission on Audit (COA) has developed and introduced a risk-based audit approach (RBAA) that emphasizes the need for the auditors to focus on high-risk areas that are potential breeding grounds for graft and corruption. Auditing plays an important role in public finance, the Auditing Code of the Philippines was promulgated in 1979 (P. D. 1445). As it proceeds mainly from the basic law, the Code amplifies, elaborates, specifies, and implements Under the declaration of policy in the Auditing Code, it is stated that all resources of the government shall be managed, spent and utilized in accordance with law and regulations and safeguard against loss or wastage through illegal or improper disposition, with a view to ensuring efficiency, economy and effectiveness in the operations of government. COA reports In order to perform its audit functions, COA produces different kinds of reports. A study by the Philippine National Budget Monitoring Project identified and explained each of these: 1. Regular Annual Audit Report of each NGA, LGU and GOCC 2. Consolidated Annual Financial Report for NGAs, LGUs and GOCCs 3. Special Audit Reports 4. Circulars and other Issuances The Annual Audit Reports contain the results of the audit conducted on the financial statements submitted by agencies, local government units and government-owned and controlled corporations to COA auditors. The results are shown in the form of audit opinions indicating how the agencies faired with their financial statements at the end of each fiscal year. The types of audit opinions are: Unqualified (U), Qualified (Q), Adverse (A) and Disclaimer (D). An Unqualified Opinion refers to the â€Å"clean opinion† or the agency reflected the results of the financial statements fairly, which means its operations and the financial condition in a period of time based on existing government accounting standards, and in compliance with government laws, rules and regulations. A Qualified Opinion means that an agency reflected fairly except for some specific transactions and/or accounts that have been found to be problematic, either improper, questionable or needs further explanations. Adverse opinion means that the financial statements did not fairly present its results of operations and financial condition of the agency, and are not in compliance with prescribed laws and applicable guidelines. Lastly, the Disclaimer opinion means that â€Å"there is no sufficient basis to form any opinion† for an agency does not keep or submit its records of financial accounts and transactions. An audit report has the following parts: Audit Certificate, which shows the audit opinion, the Financial Statements, Major Findings and Observations which explains if there are defects in the compliance of accounting and auditing rules and policies, and Recommendations to the entities. In turn, COA checks if these measures were conformed by the entity on the next year’s annual audit report. The Consolidated Annual Financial Reports on the other hand show the financial performance of the public sector in general. Each level has a volume of the consolidated financial report, one each for NGAs, LGUs and GOCCs. These are based on the audit reports of each entity. These reports contain the financial condition and highlights of agencies, local government units and government corporations. These reports also reflect the financial resources of the government, even the off-budget accounts or funds that are not subject to annual appropriations. Interestingly, these reports are the only source where one can be informed about funds that are not sourced out from appropriations. Special Audit Reports are purposely for investigation, in response to a request by interested parties or by a directive from Congress. The Commission has already undergone special audit reports on the country’s outstanding debt and special purpose funds such as the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act and procurement of the Department of Public Works and Highways. GAFMIS The Government Accountancy and Financial Management Information System (GAFMIS) is a financial database which keeps the general accounts of the government. It is spearheaded by the COA so as to implement its mandated function. Thru this, the appropriations are verified and allotment releases to agencies are ensured not to exceed the appropriations. From the Department of Budget Management (DBM), copies of Agency Budget Matrices (ABM) and Special Allotment release Orders (SARO) are submitted to GAFMIS and these make up the Registry of Appropriations and Allotments. The GAFMIS is also essential because it assists government agencies with the Electronic New Government Accounting System (e-NGAS). It is a computerized program of the New Government Accounting System wherein budget transactions, allotments and obligations are recorded and monitored electronically. It also helps in streamlining the New Government Accounting System which provides the new accounting policies in the government. Some of the basic features of the new system are the Accrual accounting and One-fund concept. Accrual accounting recognizes the income when earned and expenses when incurred as oppose to recognizing income when cash is earned and expenses when paid. Internal control and the internal control system Internal control is defined as a process effected by an organization’s structure, work and authority flows, people and management information systems which are designed to help it accomplish its goals. It is a means by which an organization’s resources are directed, monitored, and measured. It plays an important role in preventing and detecting fraud and protecting the organization’s resources. Internal audit is an integral part of internal control. It maintains efficiency and effectiveness in operations. It looks at the reliability of financial transactions in reports by making sure that they are in accordance with rules and regulations. Several provisions in the Philippines have signified the internal control in the government such as Section 123 of the amended Presidential Decree 1445, the Administrative Code 1987 and Government Accounting and Auditing Manual guided by worldwide standards thru the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Organization for Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI). The INTOSAI also formulated standards for the internal control systems in the public sector. It has emphasized that internal control systems shall be in line with the characteristics, values and context of the public organizations. In line with these provisions, the Government has formulated the National Government Internal Control System (NGICS) through the efforts of the DBM and resource and reference panels from various government agencies. It serves as a guide to government agencies in putting up internal control systems. It aims to strengthen accountability, safeguard assets, promote efficiency, economy and effectiveness in the operations and adhere with the policies of the organization. D. Issues and Problems of Government Auditing In her public budgeting and accounting class, the late professor Emilia Boncodin stressed some issues on COAs mandate and the accounting and auditing system of the government as follows: 1. The audit system looks only on the agencies compliance with the accounting standards and laws in the financial reports instead of finding if the agencies have properly allocated their appropriate budgets. 2. Reporting of the GOCC’s entire budget What is reported in the government budget documents regarding the GOCCs are the budgetary support to government corporations or subsidies only. Yet, COA audits the corporate operating expenses on the entire budget of government corporations. 3. Lax in penalizing because COA is limited to recommendatory functions only Adverse/disclaimer audit opinions and recommendations by COA to government agencies do not have the corresponding penalties or sanctions if they are not acted upon and followed. An example is DPWH’s audit report where it has been given an adverse opinion for the past 18 years. 4. Pre-Audit vs. Post audit Each type of audit has its own problems. Post–audit is disadvantageous because it involves final evaluation of financial transaction – that is after the funds have already been disbursed. Pre-audit however, ironically defeats the overall essential purpose of auditing because financial transactions are assessed beforehand. In the past, COA had been operating on post audit basis since 1995-2009 when COA circular 2009-002 reinstituted the selective pre-auditing due to rising incidents and anomalous disbursements. However, Circular 2009-003 in June 16 2009 suspended some of the provisions in the earlier circular to ensure uniformity and consistency in its implementation. On COA reports The Philippine National Budget Monitoring Project has identified the following limitations that affect the importance of COA reports in ensuring accountability: 1. Timeliness COA’s deadline on the submission of reports is not parallel to the schedule of budget preparation. Audit and financial reports must be submitted by end of September while budget preparation time ends in July when the Congress’ session opens. The timings would thus work best if reversed since the reports should serve as aids in reviewing the agencies’ budgets in time for budget legislation. Given the reality, the value of COA’s reports being used as tools to determine the status of government entities in terms of financial performance and compliance with rules are nullified. 2. Completeness Audit reports of agencies are not completed on time due to inability of personnel and time constraints. In effect, this puts problems in reviewing the budget and in making the annual financial reports. 3. Availability Although COA’s website is useful in terms of the reports posted, many reports from agencies including those from LGUs and GOCCs are currently missing. 4. Contestability of findings There are issues on COA’s findings on its reports. First is that the some of the past findings have not been resolved yet or the so-called â€Å"hereditary balance sheets. † An example is the disallowances that must be deducted by agencies to employees. However, these have not been resolved even if some personnel have already left the service or died. Secondly, there is the inconsistency of audit rules by resident auditors. In some agencies, the rules of past auditors and new auditors differ like deductions that were not present in the past have already been installed at the time the new auditor comes to office. The third issue is the unreasonable application of rules and regulations in auditing. Some expenses are disallowed even if it yields good results. The last issue is the inability of auditors to understand the situation of agencies’ operations. The operations have complexities that emergencies become inevitable and it is hard for them to look at the reasons for the issues in operations. 5. Feasibility of recommendations The COA’s recommendations on reports are not always being followed by agencies and these are already beyond the control of the institution. 6. Conflict of interest COA auditors are still considered as â€Å"mere mortals† that may experience biases, influences and errors in judgment. There are often claims that some auditors are complicit in bribery and graft. On internal control and the internal control system The NGICS has identified the following limitations of internal control: Human error, i. e. , errors in judgment such as internal auditor’s biases/conflict of interest, negligence, misunderstanding, fatigue, distraction, collusion, abuse, etc. 1. Shifts in government policies or programs 2. Resource constraints 3. Organizational changes; and 4. Management attitude E. Measurement of Government Performance Under COA Resolution No. 2002-005 dated May 17, 2002, the Special Audit Office was renamed Management Services to expand its services to include: a. Conduct of Value-For-Money audits and related operations review activities. b. Provide management consultancy services to other government agencies in such areas as: * Organization * Strategy Formulation * Financial Feasibility * Strategic Planning * Other related areas c. Coordinate with all offices of the Commission for the purpose of establishing feedback mechanisms on implemented innovations. d. Formulate recommendations to the Chairman on the adoption of the most appropriate systems for the enhancement of operations. e. Perform such other functions as may be assigned. Recently, the Office is assigned to conduct Rate and Levy audits. The functions: Conduct of Value-For-Money (VFM) Audit This audit is concerned with the review of management efficiency with the end in view of eliminating waste and promoting efficient use of public funds and resources and the ascertainment of the agency’s effectiveness by determining whether desired results have been achieved and programs have accomplished their purposes and objectives. Approaches in the conduct of VFM audits Agency-based approach An audit of a particular program, project or activity of a selected agency. Government-wide and Sectoral Performance Audits Government-wide and Sectoral Performance Audits are new approaches adopted by the Commission under COA Resolution No. 98-005 dated March 3, 1998. While these types of audits were introduced in 1998, it was only in 2002 that these approaches were operationalized under the COA-UNDP AusAID Project entitled â€Å"Enhancing the Public Accountability Programme of the Philippine Commission on Audit†. Government-wide audit is the simultaneous examination of a management function or activity in a number of government agencies which is expected to provide: * basic data for comparing practices and operations between and among government agencies in the same sector or with the whole government; * collated data of practices in various government agencies that could show the magnitude or insignificance of deficiencies in the system; * audit criteria which are supported by best practices; * awareness on the part of auditors and the auditees of how their agency compares with other government agencies in terms of objectives, functions, operations, internal and administrative controls, and output; and * opportunities to the audited agency for benchmarking with other government agencies. On the other hand, the Sectoral Audit refers to an audit of programs or activities that are delivered by more than one government agency and is expected to provide: * an overall picture of how various segments of a program are implemented and possibly lead to the identification of areas where improvements can be introduced; * audit criteria or benchmark for future audits of government programs by various government agencies; * basis for auditors to realize that program difficulties may not lie with a single agency but possibly with the way the agencies involved in the program work together; * an arena for airing program difficulties by audited agencies; and * opportunity for making changes in the program, if necessary. How to cite State Auditing, Essay examples

Euclid Essay Example For Students

Euclid Essay Euclid of Alexandria is thought to have lived from about 325 BC until 265 BC in Alexandria, Egypt. There is very little known about his life. It was thought he was born in Megara, which was proven to be incorrect. There is in fact a Euclid of Megara, but he was a philosopher who lived 100 years before Euclid of Alexandria. Also people say that Euclid of Alexandria is the son of Naucrates, but there is no proof of this assumption. Euclid was a very common name at that time, so it was hard to distinguish one Euclid from another. That is the big reason why there is little known about Euclid of Alexandria. Euclid of Alexandria, whose chief work, Elements, is a comprehensive treatise on mathematics in thirteen volumes on such subjects as plane geometry, proportion in general, the properties of numbers, incommensurable magnitudes, and solid geometry. He was probably educated at Athens by pupils of Plato. He taught geometry in Alexandria and founded a school of mathematics there. The Data, a collection of geometrical theorems; the Phenomena, a description of the heavens; the Optics: the Division of the Scale, a mathematical discussion of music; and several other books have been attributed to him. Historians disagree as to the originality of some of his other contributions. Probably, the geometrical sections of the Elements were primarily a rearrangement of the works of previous mathematicians such as those of Eudoxus, but Euclid himself is thought to have made several original discoveries in the theory of numbers. Euclid laid down some of the conventions central to modern mathematical proofs. His book The Elements, written about 300 BC, contains many proofs in the field of geometry and algebra. This book illustrates the Greek practice of writing mathematical proofs by first clearly identifying the initial assumptions, and then reasoning from them in a logical way in order to obtain a desired conclusion. As part of such an argument, Euclid used results that had been shown to be true, called theorems, or statements that were explicitly acknowledged to be self-evident, called axioms; this practice continues today. One of Euclids finds is explained in the ninth book of the Elements. It contains proof of the preposition that the number of primes is infinite; that is, no largest number exists. He claims the proof is ?remarkably simple?. Let p be a prime and q=1 x 2 x 3 x? x p+1; That is, one more than the product of all the integers from 1 through p. The integer q is larger than p and is not divisib le by any integer from 2 through p, inclusive. Any one of its positive divisors, other than 1, and any one of its prime divisors, therefore, must be larger than p. It follows that there must be a prime larger than p. Although little is known about Euclid himself, his work is known by many. Even though The Elements is his best known work, he has written a number of works. Each one of his works has provided us with a tremendous amount of valuable information. Todays modified version of his first few works form the basis of high school instruction in plane geometry.