A survey of sewer rehabilitation in Malaysia: application of trenchless technologies

This work presents a review of applicable sewer rehabilitation options using trenchless technology in Malaysia. The typical problems faced in wastewater collection systems are analysed and factors that determine the selection method are outlined. This study also highlights the necessary steps to be taken prior to the rehabilitation work. The trenchless technology reviewed here comprises repair, renovation and replacement options. The cost-effectiveness of different rehabilitation methods was identified to assess the economic viability of various options in the Malaysian context. This study reveals that not all the trenchless technologies available in the market are suitable for use in Malaysia, mainly due to incompatibility of the rehabilitation materials used. Furthermore, as trenchless rehabilitation generally involves higher capital outlay than open-cut methods, the choice of rehabilitation method has to be made on a case-to-case basis.     

A systemic approach to fire safety management

A systemic approach has been adopted to construct a fire-safety management system (FSMS). It has been applied to the case of an oil and gas organisation, although the approach is general. Significant changes have taken place in fire safety management in the oil and gas industry over the last few years. However, fire safety still tends to be analysed in isolation, though fire loss is a result of the interaction of the parts that constitute an oil and gas organisation as a whole. Fire loss may be seen as a `systemic’ failure, not a result of a single cause. This paper proposes a FSMS for an oil and gas organisation. The approach aims to help to maintain fire risk within an acceptable range in an oil and gas organisation's operations in a coherent way. It is hoped that this approach will lead not only to more effective management of fire safety in an oil and gas organisation, but also to more effective management of safety, health and the environment for any organisation.     

Research needs for new construction using trenchless technologies

This paper presents a considered view of research needs associated with new pipeline construction using trenchless techniques, such as pipe jacking, microtunnelling and horizontal directional drilling. These research needs were compiled by core members of NETTWORK prior to, and then debated at, a UK workshop involving those with specific interests in the topic from academia, industry and other stakeholders. The aims of the workshop were to assess whether the suggested needs were accurately stated, to determine whether there were any omissions and to attach a priority to the research needs. This was achieved by a process of debates and subsequent voting. For convenience, the issues have been categorised under the topic headings of generic issues, machine–ground interaction, pipes and joints, and associated works. In each case the important research studies that have been carried out, or were known to be in progress, have been highlighted so that research needs could be assessed in this context and references have been made to the most important documents arising out of the studies.

The areas considered to be most important for research were: whole life costing of trenching and trenchless technology operations; issues associated with connections and laterals; mapping of underground infrastructure; multi-utility tunnels; drilling fluid reuse and disposal; improved modelling of ground movements; development of ‘see ahead’ technology; and the development of economic (remotely interrogated) sensors for pipes and joints. Work in many of these topics has since got underway.     

A fuzzy approach to construction project risk assessment

The increasing complexity and dynamism of construction projects have imposed substantial uncertainties and subjectivities in the risk analysis process. Most of the real-world risk analysis problems contain a mixture of quantitative and qualitative data; therefore quantitative risk assessment techniques are inadequate for prioritizing risks. This article presents a risk assessment methodology based on the Fuzzy Sets Theory, which is an effective tool to deal with subjective judgement, and on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is used to structure a large number of risks. The proposed methodology incorporates knowledge and experience acquired from many experts, since they carry out the risks identification and their structuring, and also the subjective judgements of the parameters which are considered to assess the overall risk factor: risk impact, risk probability and risk discrimination. All of these factors are expressed by qualitative scales which are defined by trapezoidal fuzzy numbers to capture the vagueness in the linguistic variables. The most notable differences with other fuzzy risk assessment methods are the use of an algorithm to handle the inconsistencies in the fuzzy preference relation when pair-wise comparison judgements are necessary, and the use of trapezoidal fuzzy numbers until the defuzzification step. An illustrative example on risk assessment of a rehabilitation project of a building is used to demonstrate the proposed methodology.     

The optimum choice of trenchless pipe laying technologies

A mathematical model AZ-01, which enables the choice of optimum trenchless pipe laying technology for given input data, has been presented. In the framework of AZ-01 presentation, a classification of trenchless methods applied in the model has been given, together with the assumptions, limiting conditions, input and output quantities. The algorithm of the model has been also discussed.     

An object-oriented programming approach to safety assessment

An object-oriented programming approach to structural safety assessment is introduced and explored. The concepts of object-orientated programming (OOP) are briefly reviewed and compared to traditional procedural programming. Applications to system safety are outlined. Although the examples of system safety assessement presented here involve the use of a causal network, the OOP approach is not limited to this particular formulation and may be generalized.     

A rational quantitative optimal approach to dam safety risk reduction

The rational quantitative optimal (RQO) approach presents a robust risk evaluation model which produces a definitive result for the reduction of risk from overtopping of earth-fill dams. The model is based on principles of risk, but an analysis of a portfolio of dams provides discrete optimal results, not expressed in terms of probability. All the steps that the methodology comprises have been developed exhaustively and propose to address concerns raised by dam owners and decision-makers regarding risk-based dam safety: a transparent framework for decision-making related to public safety, which will also appeal to the technically minded portfolio manager looking for a purely quantitative procedure to assist in the decision-making process. The RQO process is applied mechanistically, not requiring judgement from the decision-maker. In so doing it addresses the concern raised by dam owners regarding the judgmental probability of risk assessment. Risk in this paper is associated with embankment dams and external erosion, which is the single largest cause of failure of these dams. Also, in the context of this article, ‘optimal' refers to maximising lives saved over a portfolio of dams under the constraint of limited resources.     

铁路营业线桥涵施工安全管理

对铁路营业线桥涵施工安全管理中应该注意的问题进行了分析,从三方面进行了论述,解决了下穿与上跨铁路营业线施工中常见安全问题,达到了铁路营业线安全运输,桥涵施工安全进行的效果。     

血栓通注射液联合阿司匹林治疗老年急性脑梗死患者的疗效分析

目的:观察血栓通注射液联合阿司匹林治疗老年急性脑梗死(ACI)患者的临床效果。方法:选取本院2017年1月-2018年1月住院治疗的老年急性脑梗死患者70例作为研究对象,按照随机数字表法将其分为对照组和观察组,各35例。对照组采用常规治疗措施基础上加用阿司匹林肠溶片,观察组在对照组治疗的基础上加用血栓通注射液,观察比较两组的临床疗效、治疗前后的血清炎性细胞因子表达水平及血液流变学指标情况。结果:观察组的治疗总有效率为94.29%明显高于对照组的77.14%,差异有统计学意义(X~2=4.172,P=0.022)。治疗前两组血清超敏C反应蛋白(hs-CRP)、白介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子α(TNF-α)炎性细胞因子表达及血液流变学指标水平比较,差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05);治疗后,两组上述指标与治疗前比较均明显降低,且观察组均明显低于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:血栓通注射液联合阿司匹林不但可明显提高老年ACI患者的临床疗效,还可减轻脑组织炎症反应和改善血液流变学状态。     

An approach to earthquake risk management

The paper formulates a conceptual basis for regarding earthquakes as a problem of social and economic risk which is part of everyday life, rather than regarding them as ‘acts of God’. The main elements of the problem and the relationships between them are identified. It is argued that one should act to mitigate the impact of an earthquake rather than simply reacting to the losses it inflicts.     

Post-Pareto optimality approach to enhance budget allocation process for bridge rehabilitation management

A variety of conflicting criteria in the form of objective functions exist in budget allocation optimisation problem for bridge rehabilitation projects. Budget allocation decision-making for such transportation assets is generally a combinatorial problem. The nature of the problem is a good reason for decision-makers to apply multi-objective optimisation techniques. However, manually choosing an acceptable solution from a set of optimal solutions is a time-consuming task, which would be avoided if the optimisation technique could be followed by a ranking method to obtain unique acceptable solution. To enhance the budget allocation process, this paper develops a posteriori approach to prioritise Pareto-Optimal (PO) solutions generated by genetic algorithm in order to identify a unique package of bridge rehabilitation activities. By identifying the most conventional objective functions for bridge rehabilitation based on technical and managerial criteria, a multi-objective knapsack problem is constructed. PO solutions will then be prioritised applying ‘Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution’. The feasibility of the study will be finally demonstrated through an illustrative example. The proposed ranking approach may facilitate the budget allocation optimisation process for bridge rehabilitation where one or a few acceptable solutions are demanded.     

A fuzzy inference-based approach for building damage risk assessment on mining terrains

Reliable evaluation of risk of building damage due to the mining impact is problematic owing to the magnitude, diversity and uncertainty of factors that may affect the surface, as well as the subjective character of methods of assessing resistance of the objects. The uncertainty and ambiguity elements in the decision process can be accounted for by fuzzy inference method. This tool employed together with GIS enabled one to integrate such diverse factors affecting damage risk as surface deformations and resistance of building objects, taking into account uncertainty of data and subjectivity of evaluation of experts making the assessment.The results of investigations of the damage risk model based on fuzzy inference are presented in the paper. The successive stages of working out a fuzzy model are presented, the most important stages indicated and the choice of specific elements of the model justified. The advantages of fuzzification are presented on the example of building data subjected to the mining impact in one of the Polish mining areas.     

Trends in risk assessment and risk management

Environmental risk assessment has matured into a powerful analytical tool, which is finding ever-wider applications in the arena of policy making and regulation. However, the principal focus of its development to date has been on the technical challenges of characterising and modelling the environmental behaviour and biological action of chemicals, whereas issues concerning its broader socio-political context have been generally neglected. Problem definition, risk analysis and decision making have, therefore, tended to be dominated by experts and by expert opinion. Fresh insights from the social sciences advocate a pluralistic, inclusive approach, with experts participating alongside other stakeholders in a consensual decision making process. Adoption of this paradigm has far reaching consequences for the form and conduct of risk assessment and risk management.     

Tunnel safety,risk assessment and decision-making

This article gives a brief account of a project which was commissioned by the European Parliament and which has resulted in a report which has been published and is available on the web-site of the European Parliament [Beard, A.N., Cope, D., 2008. Assessment of the Safety of Tunnels. Commissioned by the European Parliament; Report IP/A/STOA/FWC/2005-28/SC22/29. Published in February 2008 on the European Parliament web-site under the rubric ‘Science and Technology Options Assessment’ (STOA)]. The project was funded by a grant from the European Parliament. The author was requested to carry out a study of tunnel safety and make recommendations to be considered for possible application within the European Union. The background to the project was the large number of catastrophic tunnel fires which have taken place in Europe since 1995. Twenty five recommendations are made within the Report the purpose of which is to help to increase tunnel safety in the European Union and, primarily, to help to move towards a common system of tunnel safety decision-making and risk assessment. This article focuses on some aspects of the content. However, it should not be assumed that aspects which are not included here are of lesser importance.     

A systems approach to management

Management developments have been dominated in recent years by attempts to apply Japanese styles of management without a full understanding of how they work. This article takes a systems approach to the subject of total quality management and shows through reference to actual applications how it can be applied even in a military environment     

谈建筑施工安全风险管理

论述了风险及风险管理的概念,分析了我国建设工程安全生产现状,进一步分析了建筑施工安全风险识别,并由此提出了建设施工安全风险响应(对策),以此积累经验,指导实践。     

The suitability of risk reduction indicators to inform dam safety management

Risk analysis can provide very suitable and useful information to manage the safety of critical civil infrastructures. Indeed, results of quantitative risk models can be used to inform prioritisation of safety investments on infrastructures’ assets and portfolios. In order to inform this prioritisation, a series of risk reduction indicators can be used. This paper reviews existing indicators for dam safety, tracks how equity and efficiency principles are captured, propose additional indicators and provides insights into how tolerability guidelines and benefit–cost analysis can also play a role in decision-making. All reviewed, analysed and/or combined indicators are later applied in a case study, a portfolio of 27 dams where 93 structural and non-structural investments are prioritised. The case study shows that prioritisation sequences based on risk model results provide suitable and useful information, acknowledging that other concerns may be conditioning decision-making processes. With the results of the case study, a full comparison between all studied risk reduction indicators is made, and three indexes are calculated for all of them to measure how close they are to a theoretical best.     

Economic aspects of risk assessment in chemical safety

This paper considers how the economic aspects of risk assessment in chemical safety can be strengthened. Its main focus is on how economic appraisal techniques, such as cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, can be adapted to the requirements of the risk-assessment process. Following a discussion of the main methodological issues raised by the use of economic appraisal, illustrated by examples from the health and safety field, a number of practical issues are discussed. These include the consideration of the distribution of costs, effects and benefits, taking account of uncertainty, risk probabilities and public perception, making the appraisal techniques useful to the early stages of the risk-assessment process and structuring the appraisal to permit continuous feedback to the participants in the risk-assessment process. It is concluded that while the way of thinking embodied in economic appraisal is highly relevant to the consideration of choices in chemical safety, the application of these principles in formal analysis of risk reduction procedures presents a more mixed picture. The main suggestions for improvement in the analyses performed are the undertaking of sensitivity analyses of study results to changes in the key assumptions, the presentation of the distribution of costs and benefits by viewpoint, the comparison of health and safety measures in terms of their incremental cost per life-year (or quality-adjusted life-year) gained and the more frequent retrospective review and revision of the economic analyses that are undertaken.     

浅谈建筑施工企业安全管理与安全评价

针对建筑施工企业生产特点,简单介绍了安全生产和安全生产管理及安全评价的定义,具体阐述了安全评价工作的积极作用和重要意义,以期促进我国安全生产、推广安全评价的应用。     

公路养护施工工艺及安全管理策略探讨

基于公路养护施工的目的和特点,阐述了公路养护的施工工艺及技术要点,并针对公路养护施工中存在的安全问题,提出了具体的整改建议,以期在延长公路使用寿命的基础上保障车辆通行的安全性。