Postal operators are increasingly facing new challenges to maintain competitiveness – most have already played the “card” of facility consolidation and introduction of automation to reduce processing costs. How exactly, should a given infrastructure/network and transportation strategy be changed to meet the upcoming challenges? Should mail streams be consolidated to enable further automation? S...

BACKGROUND Alternative models for the delivery of anticoagulant care are required in view of an estimated increase of 20% per annum in patients requiring treatment, and an inability for the present service to deal with this increase. This led to a restructuring of the anticoagulant service, which included the appointment of a nurse specialist and the implementation of a computer-assisted warfar...

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has made numerous efforts to improve the lighting quality and efficiency in their facilities. These efforts have included both traditional retrofits such as the transition to T8 lamps/electronic ballasts and more experimental approaches such as light pipes and sulfur lamps. However, these efforts have focused primarily on their industrial and plant facili...

INTRODUCTION The rising cost of healthcare requires rethinking in terms of resource utilisation care delivery. Nurse-led PSA phone follow-up clinics may provide a suitable option. MATERIALS AND METHODS 815 patients were recruited for the nurse-led stable prostate cancer telephone follow-up service. A convenience sample was selected for postal questionnaire assessment of their satisfaction. ...

IT-services should not only be considered from a technical perspective, but should also be seen as commercial services that satisfy a consumer need. Examples include well-known services such as Internet access or an email box. Typically, to satisfy a complex consumer need, a bundle of elementary services is required. In such a bundle, each elementary service can be offered by a different suppli...