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This study aims to fully assess the readiness for Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and Quality Performance Improvement (QPI) in an Italian Public Healthcare ecosystem.

Drawing from previously established survey development and adaptation protocols, a replication study was carried out; Lean, Six Sigma and QPI were extracted and validated through confirmatory factor analysis in an Italian Public Healthcare setting, with a sample of health professionals from the Campania region.

This study reports the adaptation of an existing scale for measuring LSS and QPI in an Italian public healthcare organisation. This analysis extracts six conceptual domains and constitutes an original adaptation of an existing scale to assess the readiness to adopt Lean, Six Sigma and Quality Performance in Italian Public Health Organizations. The constructs show strong levels of internal consistency, as demonstrated by each item factor loading and each subscale reliability.

Managers, policymakers and academics can employ the proposed tool to assess the public healthcare ecosystem’s capability to implement LSS initiatives and strategies to improve quality performance.

This is one of the first studies to assess cross-regional organisational readiness for LSS and QPI in an Italian Public Healthcare environment at this scope and level.

While educators impart FMEA instruction, its practical implementation within the educational sector remains limited. This study investigates the application of FMEA within higher education institutions. Implementing FMEA in these institutions is difficult due to statutory requirements, schedule restrictions, and stakeholder participation challenges. Moreover, higher education institutions struggle with preserving education quality, faculty training, and resource management, complicating organised methods such as FMEA.

This research conducted a global survey to identify the critical success factors, benefits, and common challenges in using FMEA in the higher education sector.

The outcomes highlighted that lack of awareness regarding the tools’ benefits is the primary barrier to FMEA implementation. However, respondents perceive that FMEA can improve process reliability and quality in higher education institutions. Further, the analyses found that knowledge about the FMEA tools is the prime critical success factor, and the lack of time due to other priorities in the organisation is a significant challenge in tapping the potential of FMEA.

A limitation of the study is the relatively low number of HEIs surveyed globally. Further, the study provides a broad perspective rather than a focused study on one HEI.

This study addresses this gap by exploring the potential benefits, challenges, and factors associated with the successful adoption of FMEA in academic settings. Using this information, HEIs can become more successful in applying FMEA.

This study is unique in its exploration of the application of FMEA with higher education institutions for service quality improvement.

This paper aims to report the effect of titanium oxide (TiO₂) particles on the physical, mechanical, tribological and water resistance properties of 5% NaOH-treated bamboo fiber–reinforced composites.

In this research, the epoxy/bamboo/TiO₂ hybrid composite filled with 0–8 Wt.% TiO₂ particles has been fabricated using simple hand layup techniques, and testing of the developed composite was done in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard.

The results of this study indicate that the addition of TiO₂ particles improved the mechanical properties of the developed epoxy/bamboo composites. Tensile properties were found to be maximum for 6 Wt.%, and impact strength was found to be maximum for 8 Wt.% TiO₂ particles-filled composite. The highest flexural properties were found at a lower TiO₂ fraction of 2 Wt.%. Adding TiO₂ filler helped to reduce the water absorption rate. The studies related to the wear and friction behavior of the composite under dry and abrasive wear conditions reveal that TiO₂ filler was beneficial in improving the wear performance of the composite.

This research paper attempts to include both TiO₂ filler and bamboo fibers to develop a novel composite material. TiO₂ micro and nanoparticles are promising filler materials; it helps to enhance the mechanical and tribological properties of the epoxy composites and in literature, there is not much work reported, where TiO₂ is used as a filler material with bamboo fiber–reinforced epoxy composites.