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The purpose of this paper is to develop and implement methods for benchmarking the food safety and hygiene between retail outlets at the same time or at the same retail outlets at different times.

A tailor made questionnaire for the collection of food safety and hygiene remarks was designed to be applied in a large chain of retail outlets. The remarks were classified in the five categories of the Ishikawa model (materials, methods, personnel, equipment and environment). The retail outlets were located all over Greece and the audits were performed in a one-year term. Food safety experts were used as auditors after a six-month training period. The data collected were subject to analysis of the benchmarking scores and to cluster analysis to identify regions with similar food safety profiles.

Polar charts were used to illustrate the benchmarking scores for each of the five categories of evaluation per auditing period at the retail outlets. Another polar chart illustrates the benchmarking scores for each of the 12 regions of Greece. Cluster analysis demonstrates that some regions, like Ionian Islands and South Aegean, have similar profiles on food safety for the retail outlets.

The developed methodology can be used by retail companies with several outlets or by a group or an association of companies in order to identify problematic sectors and to set priorities while dealing with issues of food safety and hygiene. The work is limited to the Greek outlets but the methodology has potential application to every other country.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and implement benchmarking methods on food safety and hygiene between suppliers of fruits and vegetables, regardless the food safety management systems they implement.

A tailor made questionnaire was prepared of 64 questions, divided into ten sectors regarding hygiene and food safety. The suppliers were selected from the inventory of a large chain of retail stores. The audits were performed by a food safety expert on the site of the company. Totally, 72 audits were conducted in several geographic regions of Greece. The data collected was statistically analyzed for benchmarking with technical, geographical or financial criteria.

The large size companies have a level from satisfactory to very satisfactory in the transport and need improvement on their packaging materials. Improvement in procedures of cleaning and disinfection is required by companies which are in the region of Attica and the Peloponnese.

The proposed methodology and analysis can be used to benchmark groups of food companies with common commercial profile in order to prioritize both the frequency of audits and the importance of interventions and preventive measures.

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to a polar graph measurement by a flight testing technique and to propose a baseline research method for future tests of UAV polar graphs. The method presented can be used to demonstrate a conceptual and preliminary design process using a scaled, unmanned configuration. This shows how results of experimental flight tests using a scaled flying airframe may be described and analysed before manufacturing the full scale aircraft.

During the research, the flight tests were conducted for two aerodynamic configurations of a small UAV. This allowed the investigation of the influence of winglets and classic vertical stabilizers on the platform stability, performance and therefore polar graphs of a small unmanned aircraft.

A methodology of flight tests for the assessment of a small UAV’s polar graph has been proposed, performed and assessed. Two aerodynamic configurations were tested, and it was found that directional stability had a large influence on the UAV’s performance. A correlation between the speed and inclination of the altitude graph was found – i.e. the higher the flight speed, the steeper the altitude graph (higher descent speed, steeper flight path angle). This could be considered as a basic verification that the recorded data have a physical sense.

The polar graph and therefore glide ratio of the aircraft is a major factor for determining its performance and power required for flight. Using the right flight test procedure can speed-up the process of measuring glide ratio, making it easier, faster, robust, more effective and accurate in future research of novel, especially unorthodox configurations. This paper also can be useful for the proper selection of requirements and preliminary design parameters for making the design process more economically effective.

This paper presents a very efficient method of assessing the design parameters of UAVs, especially the polar graph, in an early stage of the design process. Aircraft designers and producers have been widely performing flight testing for years. However, these procedures and practical customs are usually not wide spread and very often are treated as the company’s “know how”. Results presented in this paper are original, relatively easily be repeated and checked. They may be used either by professionals, highly motivated individuals and representatives of small companies or also by ambitious amateurs.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the IC Rating™ approach as a management consulting approach to measure intellectual capital and to report on the implementation and experience in one case study firm.

The paper describes the IC Rating™ model in the context of the exiting literature in the field of IC measurement and uses a case study to demonstrate its practical application.

Based on the presented case study as well as implementations in other organizations we find the IC Rating™ model a useful tool to facilitate the analysis and discussion about intellectual capital in organizations.

The article gives a complementary view to the most commonly used score card methods and guidelines for intangibles on how intangibles can be measured. IC Rating™ focuses on the comparability between companies and industries as well as a simplification of how to interpret intangible measures.

The original idea for the paper was to answer the question “Why do companies really need to measure and develop intangibles?”. The answer is “To improve company financial performance”. The IC Rating™ methodology is therefore based on the answers to two other questions: “Which parameters does an executive manager need to have insightful knowledge of, in order to make the right decisions for the future?” and “From where and whom should the executive manager receive this information?”.

This paper bridges the gap between the theory and practice by developing a life cycle sustainability tracker (LCST). The study is seeking to proffer solutions to an observed shortcoming of conventional life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) communication platforms. Notably, the static nature of the information provided on such platforms has made it difficult for them to be used for real-time decision-making and predictions. The main aim of this paper is to develop a LCST that facilitates a dynamic visualisation of life cycle sustainability results and allows for an integrated benchmark across the dimensions of sustainability.

The study leverages the model development capabilities of the design science research strategy in accomplishing a dynamic and novel communication platform. A life cycle thinking methodology and appropriate multicriteria decision approach (MCDA) is applied to accomplish a comprehensive, streamlined and replicable approach in mapping and tracking the progress of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) projects in India.

It was found that: (1) The use of the LCST tracker provides a dynamic and holistic insight into the key LCSA indicators with clearly defined benchmarks to assess the impact on the SDG 11, (2) The NIP projects achieve an upward trend across all the regions, and the percentage of opportunities ranges from 11 to 24%, with the South experiencing the highest growth and the North having the minimal increase in percentage and (3) The assessment score (52–58%) provides performance metrics that align well with the LCST – which ranges between “Fair” and “Average” for all the regions in India.

The novelty of this research is that the LCST provides a transparent and harmonised approach to reporting on the LCSA results. The LCST utilises heat maps and radial mapping to achieve an intuitive display of large amounts of highly heterogeneous data, thus allowing the synthesis of large sets of information compactly and with coherence. Progress towards the SDGs change on a yearly basis; hence, a dynamic LCSA tool provides a timely and the valuable context to map and track performance across different regions and contexts.

The pressure control valve is a possible means of overcoming the effects of compliance between a hydraulic servo and its load. The valve consists of two stages; an open‐centre flow control valve schematically analogous to a resistance bridge, and a split‐slider valve. In order to study the dynamics of the system it is convenient to set up an electrical analogue for the mechanical system. This will give the non‐linear equations of the system. Several forms of the various impedance elements making up the system require consideration. The resistance of a length of hydraulic line can be obtained from the friction factor and will depend on the flow regime which prevails. In developing an expression for the inductance of a length of line the assumption is made that the wavelength of the oscillatory motion is long compared with the line length. In considering the resistance of orifices it is necessary to take into account the three regimes for flow through an orifice, laminar, transition, and turbulent flow. The inductive effect of an orifice arises from the acceleration of the fluid as the streamlines converge through the orifice; an expression can be derived by applying Newton's second law of motion to the column of oil passing through the orifice. The effective capacitance of a volume can be derived by considering wave motion in one dimension. An expression for the radiation resistance of a piston is derived, and also one for the incident and reflected waves. In constructing the electrical analogue for the slider valve the mass and viscous damping of the slider as well as Bernoulli forces must be represented.

It is observed that the COVID-19 Pandemic mostly restricts people's movement and walking habits. In this direction, this study aims to highlight how the walking behaviors of individuals affected in different geographies' neighborhoods before and during the Pandemic.

This paper focuses on the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and the changing walking behavior of 24 sample regions (514 participants) with the highest incidents of COVID-19 infection from American, European, Asian, Western Pacific, African and Middle Eastern cities. The paper's methodology is supported by an /online questionnaire survey conducted in these 24 disparate neighborhoods in December 2020.

Findings show that “walkable access” varies over geographies during the Pandemic. Urban amenities within 15–20 min of access become more important than ever. The results unravel that either walkable or non-walkable neighborhoods showcased similarities despite that urban amenities were not within 15–20 min of access. Three prominent aspects should be emphasized to plan walkable neighborhoods: providing walkable access, forming spatial proximity and sustaining social cohesion.

The availability of daily amenities, such as shopping stores, health care, education services and pharmacies within a 15–20-min walking distance maintain everyday life and increase social interactions. In addition, places with walkable access encourage an active lifestyle and contribute the public health. The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic movement restrictions on the walking behavior of individuals highlights how the qualities of distance-based urban planning need to be supported with time-based practical attributes that can shape neighborhood planning frameworks.

This paper highlights the coexistence of “walkability” and “accessibility” measures in urban practice and research to create resilient and sustainable neighborhoods. The “walkable access” term used in the paper addresses joint measures of walkability and accessibility.

A range of 5 basic types of industrial, all purpose, relays offer a choice of ac or dc coils ‐6A capacity. Operating at 2·4VA for ac and 1·2W dc, the D range conforms with accepted coil power requirements. High impact flame retardant moulding materials, with good insulation properties, are used throughout. Plug‐in types, with either solder or screw‐terminal sockets and panel mounted types suitable for either termination or Faston connectors, are both supplied with a clear polycarbonate clip‐on dust cover. A narrow profile of both the 2 pole and 3 pole plug‐in versions enables close stacking and consequently space saving with additional uniformity of appearance when mounted on an equipment panel.