Mastering the risk conundrum

Knowledge management (KM) involves learning from past experiences to avoid or correct scope misalignments, quality deviations, safety problems, time delays and/or cost overruns. KM is frequently materialized as a risk management (RM) plan. An RM plan allows for anticipating, avoiding, mitigating, or reducing potential problems impacting project performance. However, despite their high complementarity, KM and RM are not the same, nor share the same purpose. In the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, managing complex projects involves many KM-related challenges, such as differential competitiveness enhancement and value chain streamlining. Naval platforms are complex projects that require the integration of multiple sources of knowledge and information. They also need to keep on integrating latest digital technology innovations in their production processes. In this context, streamlining the requirements management may become a differential asset for project stakeholders of naval platforms. Namely, enhancing requirements management can make the customers’ needs easier to meet, shorten the projects duration, reduce costs, optimize resources, and allow for higher flexibility. However, requirements management has KM as pre-requisite and RM as consequence. Unfortunately, potential synergies between KM and RM have remained largely unexplored in the project management literature, and so has requirements management as a potential bridge between both concepts. In this paper, a holistic model for shipbuilding organizations linking KM and RM is proposed. The model draws from existing KM and RM models while considering organizational factors, technological platforms, and competitiveness factors. A case study of a naval platform showing the model’s applicability is provided. It is shown how the model can allow shipbuilding companies to sustain a competitive advantage by facilitating more robust decision making in dynamic project environments. Furthermore, the model also facilitates the identification of the companies’ core competences to reach and keep a strong position in current global markets.

In recent years, in connection with numerous incidents of fires occurring in hotels, many studies have been conducted on risk management issues, as well as actions in emergencies. Research has often been limited to incident analysis rather than addressing how to manage fire safety to minimize risks and did not sufficiently take into account the features of the construction of the hotel building and the characteristics of materials. The existing state of management and regulation of material damage risks from fires and emergencies does not fully take into account the approaches and means for their minimization, in particular in hotels. There is an increasing need for the use of assessment methods that will help in the performance of risk management functions. There is a need to find effective mechanisms for assessing the risks of material damage of building construction and materials of high-rise rooms from fires and emergencies. Fires in public sites on the example of hotels have been taken for research. There is an increasing need for the use of assessment methods that will help in the performance of material loss risk management functions. During the period of martial law, the method of assessing material damage to the building presented in the article can be used to assess material damage from destruction and fires for future compensation. With the help of this method, it is possible to estimate probable material damage from fires and emergencies, which will allow them to be used in supervisory and preventive activities and the insurance industry. Thus, fires in hotels cause significant material damage, and recently, as statistics show, also human losses. In hotels, it is important to ensure the protection of the building, premises and people from fire. Therefore, the issue of assessing fire risks is currently relevant. Fire risk assessment is an important part of fire science and safety engineering.

Aiming at the flight safety problems existing in UAV power patrol inspection, this study proposes a UAV patrol inspection safety management system (SMS) scheme, which takes the safety target level specified in soar as the target management, based on safety management, modern control theory, risk management, and UAV operation regulations, combined with the actual needs of machine patrol inspection of China Southern Power Grid and the requirements of local government. The UAV SMS scheme is developed from four parts: safety policy, risk management, safety guarantee, and safety promotion, and the application analysis is carried out in combination with the Kobe accident case in 2020. The experimental results demonstrate that the implementation of SMS scheme can effectively reduce the accident risk level during UAV power patrol inspection.

On the use of confidence levels in risk management

Risk management in civil, mechanical and structural engineering: M James (Ed.) Thomas Telford 1996 177 pp ISBN 0 7277 2063 5

Theoretical and practice-oriented bases of applied technosphere riskology as a new interdisciplinary direction ofstudents training at technical educational institutions are revealed in the article. Specialized technology of therisk management, urged to solve problems of technosphere safety taken as a whole, but not separate parts is themain research of the article.

Today, as the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) becomes widespread globally, TCM is confronted with numerous new safety issues and challenges. In particular, the frequent emergence of safety issues/events such as liver and kidney injury associated with traditionally “non-toxic” TCM has overturned the conventional understanding of the toxicity and safety of TCM. This has also posed significant challenges to the development and internationalization of TCM. So, how should we understand the situation and problems of TCM safety? How can we scientifically solve the problems in evaluation and risk control of TCM? Our team proposes the following: First, we must keep pace with the times and view the issues of TCM safety in a dialectical manner, without exaggeration or underestimation. Second, we must break through the traditional perception that toxicity only came from the medicine itself, and innovate the theories of TCM toxicity. Third, we must establish precise prevention and control strategies for TCM with different types of toxicity, promoting a shift in the management of TCM safety risks from passive response to scientific and proactive control. On this basis, we have put forward the concept and methodological system of the “New Outlook on TCM safety”, hoping to provide new theories, strategies, methods, and successful examples for systematically solving the problems in the evaluation and risk control of TCM.

Traffic accidents cause the Russian economy enormous damage, which in recent years is 2.2–2.6% of the country’s gross domestic product. Such damage is comparable with the contribution to the gross domestic product of the individual sectors of the national economy. The scale and nature of the road safety problem in the country, its social, economic and demographic consequences have a significant impact on the national security of the country, and the task of ensuring road safety represents an independent state problem. The methodological basis of the research is the general management theory, elements of the theory of decision-making and risk management, the theory of program-target management. The chapter considers the problems of control in the field of road safety. A description of mathematical models and mechanisms for ensuring road safety is provided, including the mechanisms for the integrated assessment of the activities of the Traffic Control Department, methods for developing programs to improve the level of road safety with due regard to the reliability factor. The road safety system functions within the framework of the national economic complex of the country and in the society, being a socio-technical system of the society and the state. Therefore, it is considered that the road safety system, like any other similar system, cannot exist without an appropriate set of supporting functions, such as medical, financial, economic, technical, personnel, regulatory, informational, supervisory, scientific, social–political, special.

Human safety issues arise throughout the life cycle of pharmaceutical products and relevant information comes from a multitude of sources. Assessment and management of risks to humans requires a problem-based analysis to bring together relevant information regardless of source. The Safety Evaluation Plan (SEP) is a tool to support problem-oriented safety analysis. Safety issues are specified and the evaluation and management of each problem is based on a status summary that integrates the most current information from all relevant sources. The status summary is updated regularly during the course of clinical development to reflect the results of new studies and new clinical trials. In the postmarketing period, relevant postmarketing data is incorporated. Recent regulatory initiatives emphasise early identification of product safety risks so that appropriate risk-management measures can be instituted at the time of approval. A problem-oriented approach supports growing regulatory expectations regarding risk assessment and risk management. The problem-oriented approach facilitates early identification of safety issues and an evidence-based approach to their evaluation. Proactive management of safety problems leads to prompt assessment of risks and timely and appropriate steps aimed at risk reduction. The SEP provides a single global assessment for each safety issue. Regulatory submissions for pharmaceutical and biological products are organised by type of information. International Conference of Harmonisation documents covering clinical safety issues structure and analyse information separately by type, for example, adverse events, serious adverse events, laboratory data, vital signs, etc. A problem-oriented analysis would need to find a place in the regulatory process. A problem-oriented approach to safety cuts across typical structures in the pharmaceutical industry where different groups handle preclinical, clinical and postmarketing safety information. The SEP can improve communication within the company and externally. Nonetheless, supporting structures need to be adapted to support such an interdisciplinary process. Overall, the problem-oriented approach, supported by a SEP, contributes to realistic expectations and sustained credibility when dealing with safety issues.

The deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structure due to chloride attack plays an important role in the reduction of structure strength. Consequently, the actual condition of structure is an essential investigation for management planning in concrete structure which is attacked by chloride. In this paper, the proposed assessment bases on the risk management and the reliability theory presents in risk index (RI) of structure. The reinforced concrete building under the marine environment was an illustrative example for risk evaluation. It was found that the risk index of structure equaled to 20, it implied that the structural condition encountered with extreme risk due to chloride attack and must be rehabilitated urgently. As analysis results, the risk assessment is relation to the actual condition of structure. This assessment can be used as a guideline tool for structural engineering to assess the concrete structure attacked by chloride.

These personal narratives of greening college campuses offer inspiration, motivation, and practical advice. Written by faculty, staff, administrators, and a student, from varying perspectives and reflecting divergent experiences, these stories also map growing strength of a national movement toward environmental responsibility on campus.Environmental awareness on college and university campuses began with celebratory consciousness-raising of Earth Day, 1970. Since then environmental action on campus has been both global (in research and policy formation) and local (in efforts to make specific environmental improvements on campuses). The stories in this book show that achieving environmental sustainability is not a matter of applying formulas of risk management or engineering technology but part of what editors call the messy reality of participatory engagement in cultural transformation. In Sustainability on Campus campus leaders recount inspiring stories of strategies that moved eighteen colleges and universities toward a more sustainable future. This book is for faculty, students, administrators, staff, and community partners, whether hesitant or committed, knowledgeable or newcomer. Scholars and activists have recognized crucial role that higher education can play in sustainability effort, and each chapter in book is full of ideas about how to get started, revitalize efforts, and overcome roadblocks. Human and at times joyful, these stories illustrate many forms of leadership, in new courses and faculty development, green buildings and administrative policies, student programs, residential life, and collaborations with local communities.

25 - Construction adhesives: Qualification, specification, quality control, and risk mitigation

Andries van DamThe panel will examine the evolution of the professional workstation from a time shared terminal to powerful graphics-based personal computer connected to a resource-sharing local network. The panelists will speculate on the future evolution of both the hardware/software architecture and end user environment.Workstation development at StanfordJames H. ClarkWorkstation development at Stanford is closely linked with graphics, distributed systems and networking. Two distinct systems have evolved over the last 3 years: the SUN system and the IRIS system. The SUN is a low-cost system based upon an efficient MC68000 processor/memory design and a relatively low-performance, high-resolution bit-map display. The IRIS (Integrated Raster Imaging System) is based upon the same MC68000 design, but the graphics part of the system is a modest- to low-cost, high-performance, high-resolution, color or black and white system that uses the Geometry Engine and several other custom IC parts. Both SUN and IRIS interface to the Stanford Ethernet network, and both are being used for distributed systems research, VLSI design stations, and graphics research. In addition, IRIS will probably be used for mechanical CAD research by the mechanical engineering department and in situations where high-performance graphics is important.Improvement Goals for Workstation FacilitiesRobert M. DunnThree major areas of improvement are needed: interaction techniques that are simpler, provide faster reaction, are useful for higher-level inputs, and have user-style-oriented alternatives. The second area is for image rendering based on local capabilities, in varying degrees of image quality as a function of desired “grade of service”. The third area is to provide support to incremental model construction and approximate design evaluation. There must be evaluation techniques that can work on partial models and give one approximate results. Implications of these criteria for workstation architecture will be discussed.The application of network workstations to large-scale engineeringHarvey KriloffThe development of computerized analysis procedures during the last twenty years has been largely oriented toward providing increased analytic function. This has meant that considerations of user access to specific capabilities or ease of use of these mammoth programs are only now becoming user concerns. The emerging new technologies for display, input and their interaction, when applied to the professional workstation, will be playing an increasingly important role in satisfying these concerns. A professional workstation can be used both to improve the efficiency by which data is collected for an existing analysis program and to assist the user in the preparation of data for a formal presentation or report. This performance improvement can be accomplished through the development of user-adapted “macro procedures” for data entry, the execution of processes to check program input data for accuracy and consistency, and workstation assistance in the training of both new and existing users. At the output stage of analysis, the workstation can be used to select and reformat information prepared by the analysis program, explore the interrelationship of results from several different analyses, and derive the data for a succeeding analysis in an iterative design mode.At Boeing Computer Services, we have been exploring the benefits realized by the development of such a workstation when applied to the field of structural engineering. An interaction-rich workstation with a human-engineered executive that controls and integrates the user interface, connected to our national network of IBM, CDC and CRAY computers with a broad variety of engineering software, supplies the engineer with a full range of tools for analysis, data preparation, report writing and data relationship exploration that are only beginning to be appreciated. In the next few years it is expected that this workstation (distributed) methodology for doing engineering and other quantitative professional functions will radically change the way these analytical processes are performed.Personal Workstations in a Local NetworkDavid NelsonFor many applications, personal workstations provide a superior form of computing compared to timesharing. The requirements of workstations, however, go well beyond the facilities provided by the local computer; they must include the equivalent advantages of timesharing such as user-to-user communications, shared programs and data files, shared peripherals, etc. The preferred way to implement these functions is to interconnect all workstations by means of a high-speed local network, controlled by a distributed operating system which provides transparent access to all network resources through a network-wide virtual memory system. Additional workstation functions such as large virtual address space and a concurrent multiple-window display system significantly increase user productivity. A high resolution bit-map display system with hardware support for dynamics is an essential component. For the future we look towards both significant cost reductions and improvement in performance, as well as significantly higher level software to better implement the user-computer interface.

When we think of understanding the impact on the buildings of a city from an earthquake we imagine structural engineers assessing structures and the local area through measurements and readings. However, the access to such areas is not always straightforward and nor is it necessarily possible to have enough manpower to complete these analyses. Instead, crowdsourcing and smart sensors can be utilized in both the pre and post disaster phases using information witnesses to give enhanced situational awareness to those coordinating the earthquake response effort. Even in remote areas many people have access to smartphones, wearable technology and mobile internet access. Furthermore, with the advent of smart cities, further sensors can be placed strategically on infrastructure and transmit information about its structural health. Dedicated mobile applications can be used to capture reports, photographs and videos of vulnerable infrastructure before and after an earthquake. These photos and reports can then be mapped to identify areas where structures or critical infrastructure are most at risk or where other secondary effects may occur. This can be done before sending in expensive manpower to areas that may not yet be safe. Moreover, those who are submitting information do so in the knowledge that they are contributing to a faster and more efficient response, providing vital information about where resource can be most effectively used, and, in return, closing the intelligence loop, receive situational awareness information about their immediate environment. We present an initial situational awareness framework for earthquake management that encompasses the preparedness, response and recovery phases. It is envisaged that this framework will help develop more effective risk assessment and management frameworks for structures and critical infrastructure (e.g. industrial facilities).

Fire safety engineering involves the mechanisms of conduction, convection, and radiation. In engineering structures of industrial applications associated with hydrocarbons, fire is defined as a combustible vapor or gas that combines with an oxidizer in a combustion process that manifests in the evolution of light, heat, and flame. Within the risk assessment and management framework (as described in Chap. 16), the impacts of elevated temperatures generated by fire are the primary concerns regarding the structural loads that result from hazards. Fire events usually occur due to the release of hydrocarbons from flanges, valves, seals, vessels, or nozzles with ignition from various kinds of sparks. Pool fires are associated with released oils and jet fires occur as a result of leaking gases. This chapter presents the modeling practices of gas cloud temperature analysis in fires. Fire curves must be defined to predict gas cloud temperatures over time. Empirical formulations of fire curves are available for industry practices. In this chapter, the modeling techniques for refined computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations are presented to compute the gas cloud temperature versus time history. As gas cloud temperatures are transferred into structures, heat transfer analysis must be undertaken to determine the temperatures in structures for the crashworthiness analysis (as described in Chap. 12).