Experimental vibration data collected for a belt drive system under different operating conditions.

Vibration analysis is the cornerstone of vibration-based condition monitoring that analyzes a vibration signal, detects faults or anomalies, and diagnoses the operating conditions of a belt drive system. This data article contains experiments that collect vibration signals of a belt drive system at different levels of speed and pretension of the belt under varying operating conditions. The collected dataset includes low, medium, and high operating speeds at three levels of the belt's pretensioned values. This article covers three operating conditions: normal or healthy operation using a healthy belt, unbalanced operation by adding unbalanced weight to the system, and abnormal operation using a faulty belt. The collected data provides an understanding of the performance of the belt drive system during its operation to identify the root cause of an anomaly when detected.

Adoption of infection prevention and control practices by healthcare workers in Québec: A qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe barriers and facilitators to the adoption of recommended infection prevention and control (IPC) practices among healthcare workers (HCWs). METHODS: A qualitative research design was used. Individual semistructured interviews with HCWs and observations of clinical practices were conducted from February to May 2018 in 8 care units of 2 large tertiary-care hospitals in Montreal (Québec, Canada). RESULTS: We interviewed 13 managers, 4 nurses, 2 physicians, 3 housekeepers, and 2 medical laboratory technologists. We conducted 7 observations by following IPC nurses (n = 3), nurses (n = 2), or patient attendants (n = 2) in their work routines. Barriers to IPC adoption were related to the context of care, workplace environment issues, and communication issues. The main facilitator of the IPC adoption by HCWs was the "development of an IPC culture or safety culture." The "IPC culture" relied upon leadership support by managers committed to IPC, shared belief in the importance of IPC measures to limit healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), collaboration and good communication among staff, as well as proactivity and ownership of IPC measures (ie, development of local solutions to reduce HAIs and "working together" toward common goals). CONCLUSIONS: Adoption of recommended IPC measures by HCWs is strongly influenced by the "IPC culture." The IPC culture was not uniform within hospital and differences in IPC culture were identified between care units.

Seizing opportunities for change at the operational level.

Purpose - This paper presents a method for handling everyday opportunities for improvement, led by floor staff in healthcare institutions. More than 400,000 incidents and accidents were recorded in Quebec healthcare institutions in 2013. The burden of treatment falls on hospital floor staff. The purpose of this paper is to raise the visibility of this problem and support staff better in their efforts to handle opportunities for improvement. Design/methodology/approach - Based on issues identified in the literature, which have been found to exist in various organizations, the method involved reviewing practices in the field, proposing a solution, and testing it to assess its relevance and limitations. The method was tested in partnership with the Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, in the internal medicine unit at Hôtel-Dieu campus. The test lasted three months. Indicators from this test have been compared to results in the literature. Findings - The proposed method presents a 68 per cent increase in ideas generated per person and per week compared to the reference study. The mean time for closing actions was about 41 per cent better (lower) than in the reference case. Research limitations/implications - The test lasted 15 weeks; a longer test is needed to collect more data. Practical implications - The first practical implication of this study was the creation of a method allowing employees to seize opportunities for improvement in their daily work. The application of this method revealed: first, the operational nature of the proposal (empowerment of the work team); second, the operationalization of continuous improvement (71 per cent of ideas were finalized while the initiative was monitored); third, the smooth operation of the mechanism for facilitating continuous improvement (organization of weekly meetings and team participation in these meetings in 90 per cent of cases); and fourth, a shared feeling that intra- and inter-team communication had been strengthened. Originality/value - The main value of this paper is that it proposes a simple problem-solving process that gives employees an opportunity to improve their daily work. The originality of this paper resides in comparing results to a standard case and observing an improvement. This paper proposes a new problem-solving structure and tests it scientifically.