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Management science research that has evolved over two decades at Southampton Management School has provided the Sri Lankan government with the means to revolutionise its dental care system, and to devise new strategies for the more effective recruitment of health care professionals. A computer simulation model, based on Southampton's research, underpinned a government decision to limit dental student intake, create 400 new posts in under-resourced rural areas and grant access to dental care to an additional 1.5 million people. This in turn led to better use of taxpayers' money and improved career prospects for Sri Lankan dentists.
Loughborough University's (LU) interdisciplinary model based systems engineering (MBSE) research (2001-2010) has directly enabled life-saving operations by i) Developing synthetic vision systems to improve the safety of emergency services helicopter operations involving low level flight during day, night, all weather and conditions of zero visibility, and ii) Saving lives through a reduction in morbidity and mortality of babies born with congenital heart defects.
The impact translates directly into significant cost savings and safety risk reductions in expensive flight trials costing millions of pounds by BAE Systems [5.1], and in supporting clinical practice/surgical interventions by University Hospital of Rennes [5.2] with a reduction in the morbidity and mortality of babies born with congenital heart defects in Brittany, France.
Fluid modelling approaches devised by the Materials and Engineering Research Institute's (MERI's) materials and fluid flow modelling group have impacted on industrial partners, research professionals and outreach recipients. This case study focuses on economic impacts arising from improved understanding which this modelling work has given of commercial products and processes. These include: metal particulate decontamination methods developed by the UK small company Fluid Maintenance Solutions; liquid crystal devices (LCDs) manufactured by the UK SME ZBD Displays; and an ink-droplet dispenser module originally invented at the multinational Kodak. Additionally, the modelling group's computer simulation algorithms have been adopted by industrial research professionals and made available via STFC Daresbury's internationally distributed software package DL_MESO. Finally, the group has developed, presented and disseminated simulation-based materials and visualisations at major public understanding of science (PUS) events.
Aston University has developed systems thinking, specifically soft systems thinking, into a new approach known as the Process Orientated Holonic (PrOH) Modelling Methodology which has been used to model, debate and implement changes to strategy and operational processes in service and manufacturing organisations. Through PrOH Modelling our research has changed the awareness, use, and long term legacy effect in a variety of organisations as exemplified here by 4 cases in which considerable operational and financial impacts have accrued. These impacts have been achieved by (i) increasing awareness of systems thinking, particularly soft systems thinking, by management (ii) implementing use of soft systems thinking (as PrOH modelling) to give demonstrable organisational improvement in specific change projects, and (iii) ensuring a legacy effect of systems thinking practice, as managers' use of systems thinking is more effective after an initial Aston University led project has been completed.
The research has enabled industrial simulation users to investigate and develop larger scale systems faster and cheaper and thus to explore a wider variety of cost-saving options with more precision, and industrial simulation providers to offer new high-performance simulation (HPS) products and services. As a direct result of this work: Ford has made £150,000 cost savings in consultancy and significant process improvements to engine manufacture globally; Saker Solutions (UK SME) has created the first ever HPS system for production and logistics; Sellafield PLC has used this system to make significant process improvements and savings in the management of nuclear waste reprocessing of around £200,000 per year; and Whole Systems Partnership (a UK SME) used a spin-off from this research to generate a £200,000 per year revenue stream from interoperable healthcare decision support systems. Globally, several other companies are adopting the standardisation efforts and other outcomes of the research as the foundation for future innovation.
The University of Hull has pioneered a novel method and tool for dependability analysis and optimisation of critical engineering systems known as Hierarchically Performed Hazard Origin and Propagation Studies (HiP-HOPS).
a) HiP-HOPS (http:\\hip-hops.eu) has been successfully commercialised in conjunction with software houses ITI GmbH (Germany) and ALL4TEC (France). Over 30 licences for the tool have been sold since 2011 with total income for all partners estimated at £300,000.
b) The method and tool have been taken up by large organisations including Volvo, Toyota, Honda, Fiat, Continental, Germanischer Lloyd, Embraer and Honeywell.
c) HiP-HOPS has contributed to the specification of EAST-ADL, an emerging design language developed as an automotive industry standard, confirming industrial reach and acceptability.
d) The Dependable Systems research group is pursuing impact on the new automotive safety standard ISO-262626 and have contributed to setting up the new IFAC DCDS workshop a key forum for disseminating research on dependability to industry.
Acute stroke services in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have been reorganised using research on modelling stroke patient pathways through hospital, social and community services carried out in CSRI at Ulster. By suitably administering thrombolysis (clot-busting drugs), a stroke patient's time in hospital, community rehabilitation and nursing homes can be reduced, so that although the treatment costs money up front, it saves in the long-term and also improves quality-of- life. The work has contributed to changing stroke patient policy in the Belfast Trust as well as enhancing patient quality-of-life. It is applicable throughout the UK and beyond.
The Computational Optimization Group (COG) in the Department of Computing produced new models, algorithms, and approximations for supporting confident decision-making under uncertainty — when computational alternatives are scarce or unavailable. The impact of this research is exemplified by the following:
Mobile technologies and in particular mobile applications have become key drivers of the economy in many countries especially those that lack established communications infrastructures. Since 2003, the research team led by Professor Al-Begain has created both significant infrastructure and know-how that became the base for the creation of the £6.4million Centre of Excellence in Mobile Applications and Services (CEMAS) that is providing research and development to SMEs in Wales to increase their competitiveness. In the first three years since its inception 28 projects have been completed and 66 companies have received services.
Telstra is an Australian telecommunications company. In the late 1990s, Telstra was faced by a new entrant, which would be competing against it with modern technology and a lower cost structure. Telstra needed to know how much share it would lose to undertake its resource planning. More importantly, Telstra also had to understand which customers it could retain and the actions it needed to take to retain them in terms of service design and delivery, pricing, and communications.
The underpinning research was conducted in conjunction with Telstra, and met their needs. This project generated published academic research output, and in parallel had a valuable impact on the client company. This impact was estimated, by Telstra, to exceed US$146 million.
In summary: this study reports research that was prompted by the direct need of a potential beneficiary, and which successfully achieved a signifb01cant fb01nancial impact for that beneficiary.