Search results for: maintenance scheduling

Authors: Pornpote Nusen, Manop Kaewmoracharoen

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In recent years, there was an observable shift in fully developed countries from constructing new buildings to modifying existing buildings. The issue was that although an effective instrument like BIM (Building Information Modeling) was well developed for constructing new buildings, it was not widely used to renovate old buildings. BIM was accepted as an effective means to overcome common managerial problems such as project delay, cost overrun, and poor quality of the project life cycle. It was recently introduced in Thailand and rarely used in a renovation project. Today, in Thailand, BIM is mostly used for creating aesthetic 3D models and quantity takeoff purposes, though it can be an effective tool to use as a project management tool in planning and scheduling. Now the governmental sector in Thailand begins to recognize the uses of using BIM to manage a construction project, but the knowledge about the BIM implementation to governmental construction projects is underdeveloped. Further studies need to be conducted to maximize its advantages for the governmental sector. An educational extra large governmental building of 17,000 square-meters was used in this research. It is currently under construction for a two-year renovation project. BIM models of the building for the exterior and interior areas were created for the whole five floors. Then 4D BIM with combination of 3D BIM plus time was created for planning and scheduling. Three focus groups had been done with executive committee, contractors, and officers of the building to discuss the possibility of usage and usefulness of BIM approach over the traditional process. Several aspects were discussed in the positive sides, especially several foreseen problems, such as the inadequate accessibility of ways, the altered ceiling levels, the impractical construction plan created through a traditional approach, and the lack of constructability information. However, for some parties, the cost of BIM implementation was a concern, though, this study believes, its uses outweigh the cost.

Keywords: building information modeling, extra large building, governmental building renovation, project management, renovation, 4D BIM

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Ana Neves, John Leander, Ignacio Gonzalez, Raid Karoumi

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Systematic monitoring and inspection are needed to assess the present state of a structure and predict its future condition. If an irregularity is noticed, repair actions may take place and the adequate intervention will most probably reduce the future costs with maintenance, minimize downtime and increase safety by avoiding the failure of the structure as a whole or of one of its structural parts. For this to be possible decisions must be made at the right time, which implies using systems that can detect abnormalities in their early stage. In this sense, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is seen as an effective tool for improving the safety and reliability of infrastructures. This paper explores the decision-making problem in SHM regarding the maintenance of civil engineering structures. The aim is to assess the present condition of a bridge based exclusively on measurements using the suggested method in this paper, such that action is taken coherently with the information made available by the monitoring system. Artificial Neural Networks are trained and their ability to predict structural behavior is evaluated in the light of a case study where acceleration measurements are acquired from a bridge located in Stockholm, Sweden. This relatively old bridge is presently still in operation despite experiencing obvious problems already reported in previous inspections. The prediction errors provide a measure of the accuracy of the algorithm and are subjected to further investigation, which comprises concepts like clustering analysis and statistical hypothesis testing. These enable to interpret the obtained prediction errors, draw conclusions about the state of the structure and thus support decision making regarding its maintenance.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, clustering analysis, model-free damage detection, statistical hypothesis testing, structural health monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Ali Akber Jaffri, Asad Naseem, Javeria Khan, Zubair Hamza, Ishtiaq

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The purpose of this study is to determine safety stock, maximum inventory level, reordering point, and reordering quantity by rearranging lot sizes for supplier and customer in MRO (maintenance repair operations) warehouse of Engro Polymers & Chemicals. To achieve the aim, physical analysis method and excel commands were carried out to elicit the customer and supplier data provided by the company. Initially, we rearranged the current lot sizes and MOUs (measure of units) in SAP software. Due to change in lot sizes, we have to determine the new quantities for safety stock, maximum inventory, reordering point and reordering quantity as per company's demand. By proposed system, we saved extra cost in terms of reducing time of receiving from vendor and in issuance to customer, ease of material handling in MRO warehouse and also reduce human efforts.

Keywords: maintenance repair operation, maximum inventory, reorder quantity, safety stock

Procedia PDF Downloads 260

Authors: R. Hellmuth

Abstract:

The method of factory planning has changed a lot, especially when it is about planning the factory building itself. Factory planning has the task of designing products, plants, processes, organization, areas, and the building of a factory. Regular restructuring is becoming more important in order to maintain the competitiveness of a factory. Restrictions in new areas, shorter life cycles of product and production technology as well as a VUCA world (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) lead to more frequent restructuring measures within a factory. A digital factory model is the planning basis for rebuilding measures and becomes an indispensable tool. Furthermore, digital building models are increasingly being used in factories to support facility management and manufacturing processes. The main research question of this paper is, therefore: What kind of digital factory model is suitable for the different areas of application during the operation of a factory? First, different types of digital factory models are investigated, and their properties and usabilities for use cases are analysed. Within the scope of investigation are point cloud models, building information models, photogrammetry models, and these enriched with sensor data are examined. It is investigated which digital models allow a simple integration of sensor data and where the differences are. Subsequently, possible application areas of digital factory models are determined by means of a survey and the respective digital factory models are assigned to the application areas. Finally, an application case from maintenance is selected and implemented with the help of the appropriate digital factory model. It is shown how a completely digitalized maintenance process can be supported by a digital factory model by providing information. Among other purposes, the digital factory model is used for indoor navigation, information provision, and display of sensor data. In summary, the paper shows a structuring of digital factory models that concentrates on the geometric representation of a factory building and its technical facilities. A practical application case is shown and implemented. Thus, the systematic selection of digital factory models with the corresponding application cases is evaluated.

Keywords: building information modeling, digital factory model, factory planning, maintenance

Procedia PDF Downloads 93

Authors: Wei-Chieh Yeh, Yung-Tang Shen

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The concept of community building started in 1994 in Taiwan. After years of development, it fostered the notion of active local resident participation in community issues as co-operators, instead of minions. Participatory design gives participants more control in the decision-making process, helps to reduce the friction caused by arguments and assists in bringing different parties to consensus. This results in an increase in the efficiency of projects run in the community. Therefore, the participation of local residents is key to the success of community building. This study applied participatory design to develop plans for the reuse of deserted spaces in the community from the first stage of brainstorming for design ideas, making creative models to be employed later, through to the final stage of construction. After conducting a series of participatory designed activities, it aimed to integrate the different opinions of residents, develop a sense of belonging and reach a consensus. Besides this, it also aimed at building the residents’ awareness of their responsibilities for the environment and related issues of sustainable development. By reviewing relevant literature and understanding the history of related studies, the study formulated a theory. It took the “2012-2014 Changhua County Community Planner Counseling Program” as a case study to investigate the implementation process of participatory design. Research data are collected by document analysis, participants’ observation and in-depth interviews. After examining the three elements of “Design Participation”, “Construction Participation”, and” Follow–up Maintenance Participation” in the case, the study emerged with a promising conclusion: Maintenance works were carried out better compared to common public works. Besides this, maintenance costs were lower. Moreover, the works that residents were involved in were more creative. Most importantly, the community characteristics could be easy be recognized.

Keywords: participatory design, deserted space, community building, reuse

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Yenesew Mengiste Yihun, Abraham Mehari Haile, Teklu Erkossa, Bart Schultz

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Teff (Eragrostic tef) is a staple food in Ethiopia. The local and international demand for the crop is ever increasing pushing the current price five times compared with that in 2006. To meet this escalating demand increasing production including using irrigation is imperative. Optimum application of irrigation water, especially in semi-arid areas is profoundly important. AquaCrop model application in irrigation water scheduling and simulation of water productivity helps both irrigation planners and agricultural water managers. This paper presents simulation and evaluation of AquaCrop model in optimizing the yield and biomass response to variation in timing and rate of irrigation water application. Canopy expansion, canopy senescence and harvest index are the key physiological processes sensitive to water stress. For full irrigation water application treatment there was a strong relationship between the measured and simulated canopy and biomass with r2 and d values of 0.87 and 0.96 for canopy and 0.97 and 0.74 for biomass, respectively. However, the model under estimated the simulated yield and biomass for higher water stress level. For treatment receiving full irrigation the harvest index value obtained were 29%. The harvest index value shows generally a decreasing trend under water stress condition. AquaCrop model calibration and validation using the dry season field experiments of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 shows that AquaCrop adequately simulated the yield response to different irrigation water scenarios. We conclude that the AquaCrop model can be used in irrigation water scheduling and optimizing water productivity of Teff grown under water scarce semi-arid conditions.

Keywords: AquaCrop, climate smart agriculture, simulation, teff, water security, water stress regions

Procedia PDF Downloads 385

Authors: Julien Romieux, Fabio Verdicchio

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Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), which sense environmental data with battery-powered nodes, require multi-hop communication. This power-demanding task adds an extra workload that is unfairly distributed across the network. As a result, nodes run out of battery at different times: this requires an impractical individual node maintenance scheme. Therefore we investigate a new Cooperative Sensing approach that extends the WSN operational life and allows a more practical network maintenance scheme (where all nodes deplete their batteries almost at the same time). We propose a novel cooperative algorithm that derives a piecewise representation of the sensed signal while controlling approximation accuracy. Simulations show that our algorithm increases WSN operational life and spreads communication workload evenly. Results convey a counterintuitive conclusion: distributing workload fairly amongst nodes may not decrease the network power consumption and yet extend the WSN operational life. This is achieved as our cooperative approach decreases the workload of the most burdened cluster in the network.

Keywords: cooperative signal processing, signal representation and approximation, power management, wireless sensor networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Ming Liu, Zhihui Sun, Xiaoning Zhang

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This paper studies a deterministic container transportation problem, jointly optimizing the berth allocation, quay crane assignment and yard storage allocation at container ports. The problem is formulated as an integer program to coordinate the decisions. Because of the large scale, it is then transformed into a set partitioning formulation, and a framework of branchand- price algorithm is provided to solve it.

Keywords: branch-and-price, container terminal, joint scheduling, maritime logistics

Procedia PDF Downloads 271

Authors: Sao-Jeng Chao, Chia-Yun Wei, Si-Han Lai, Cheng-Yu Huang, Yu-Han Teng

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In Taiwan, the landforms are mainly dominated by mountains and hills. Many road sections of the National Highway are impossible to avoid problems such as slope excavation or slope filling. In order to increase the safety of the slope, various slope protection methods are used to stabilize the slope, especially the soil anchor technique is the most common. This study is inspired by the soil liquefaction potential map. The concept of the potential map is widely used. The typhoon, earth-rock flow, tsunami, flooded area, and the recent discussion of soil liquefaction have safety potential concepts. This paper brings the concept of safety potential to the anchored slope. Because the soil anchor inspection is only the concept of points, this study extends the concept of the point to the surface, using the Quantum GIS program to present the slope damage area, and depicts the slope appearance and soil anchor point with the slope as-built drawing. The soil anchor scores are obtained by anchor inspection data, and the low, medium and high potential areas are remitted by interpolation. Thus, the area where the anchored slope may be harmful is judged and relevant maintenance is provided. The maintenance units can thus prevent judgment and deal with the anchored slope as soon as possible.

Keywords: anchor, slope, potential map, lift-off test, existing load

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Maryam Kiani

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The self-sensing capability opens up new possibilities for structural health monitoring, offering real-time information on the condition and performance of constructions. The synthesis and characterization of these functional 2D material geopolymers will be explored in this study. Various fabrication techniques, including mixing, dispersion, and coating methods, will be employed to ensure uniform distribution and integration of the 2D materials within the geopolymers. The resulting composite materials will be evaluated for their mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, and sensing capabilities through rigorous testing and analysis. The potential applications of these self-sensing geopolymers are vast. They can be used in infrastructure projects, such as bridges, tunnels, and buildings, to provide continuous monitoring and early detection of structural damage or degradation. This proactive approach to maintenance and safety can significantly improve the lifespan and efficiency of constructions, ultimately reducing maintenance costs and enhancing overall sustainability. In conclusion, the development of functional 2D material geopolymers as self-sensing materials presents an exciting advancement in the construction industry. By integrating these innovative materials into structures, we can create a new generation of intelligent, self-monitoring constructions that can adapt and respond to their environment.

Keywords: 2D materials, geopolymers, electrical properties, self-sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 98

Authors: Khanyisile Mnguni, Muthukrishnavellaisamy Kumarasamy, Jeff C. Smithers

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Umgeni Water is a water board that supplies most parts of KwaZulu Natal with bulk portable water. Currently, Umgeni Water is running its distribution system based on required reservoir levels and demands and does not consider the energy cost at different times of the day, number of pump switches, and background leakages. Including these constraints can reduce operational cost, energy usage, leakages, and increase performance. Optimising pump schedules can reduce energy usage and costs while adhering to hydraulic and operational constraints. Umgeni Water has installed an online hydraulic software, WaterNet Advisor, that allows running different operational scenarios prior to implementation in order to optimise the distribution system. This study will investigate operation scenarios using optimisation techniques and WaterNet Advisor for a local water distribution system. Based on studies reported in the literature, introducing pump scheduling optimisation can reduce energy usage by approximately 30% without any change in infrastructure. Including tariff structures in an optimisation problem can reduce pumping costs by 15%, while including leakages decreases cost by 10%, and pressure drop in the system can be up to 12 m. Genetical optimisation algorithms are widely used due to their ability to solve nonlinear, non-convex, and mixed-integer problems. Other methods such as branch and bound linear programming have also been successfully used. A suitable optimisation method will be chosen based on its efficiency. The objective of the study is to reduce energy usage, operational cost, and leakages, and the feasibility of optimal solution will be checked using the Waternet Advisor. This study will provide an overview of the optimisation of hydraulic networks and progress made to date in multi-objective optimisation for a selected sub-system operated by Umgeni Water.

Keywords: energy usage, pump scheduling, WaterNet Advisor, leakages

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Dinda N. Lestari

Abstract:

Sundanese language is one of heritage language in Indonesia that must be maintained especially the formal type of it because teenagers nowadays do not speak Sundanese language formally in their daily lives. To maintain it, Cultural and Education Ministry of Indonesia has input Sundanese language lesson at senior high school in West Java area. The aim of this study was to observe whether the existence of Sundanese language lesson in senior high school in the big town of Karawang, West Java - Indonesia give the contribution to the formal type of Sundanese language maintenance or not. For gathering the data, the researcher interviewed the senior high school students who have learned Sundanese language to observe their acquisition of it. As a result of the interview, the data was presented in qualitative research by using the interviewing method. Then, the finding indicated that the existence of Sundanese language in Senior High School also the educational program which is related to it, for instance, Kemis Nyunda seemed to do not effective enough in maintaining the formal type of Sundanese language. Therefore, West Java government must revise the learning strategy of it, including the role of the Sundanese language teacher.

Keywords: heritage language, language maintenance and shift, senior high school, Sundanese language, Sundanese language lesson

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Adinarayana S., Sudhakar I.

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Energy conversion is one of the inevitable parts of any industries. It involves either conversion of mechanical energy in to electrical or vice versa. The later conversion of energy i.e. electrical to mechanical emphasizes the need of motor. Statistics reveals, about 8 % of industries’ annual turnover met on maintenance. Thus substantial numbers of efforts are required to minimize in incurring expenditure met towards break down maintenance. Condition monitoring is one of such techniques based on vibration widely used to recognize premature failures and paves a way to minimize cumbersome involved during breakdown of machinery. The present investigation involves a case study of squirrel cage induction motor (frequently in the electro machines) has been chosen for the conditional monitoring to predict its soundness on the basis of results of FFT analyser. Accelerometer which measures the acceleration converts in to impulses by FFT analyser generates vibration spectrum and time spectrum has been located at various positions on motor under different conditions. Results obtained from the FFT analyser are compared to that of ISO standard vibration severity charts are taken to predict the preventative condition of considered machinery. Initial inspection of motor revealed that stator faults, broken end rings in rotor, eccentricity faults and misalignment between bearings are trouble shootings areas for present investigation. From the results of the shaft frequencies, it can be perceived that there is a misalignment between the bearings at both the ends. The higher order harmonics of FTF shows the presence of cracks on the race of the bearings at both the ends which are in the incipient stage. Replacement of the bearings at both the drive end (6306) and non drive end (6206) and the alignment check between the bearings in the shaft are suggested as the constructive measures towards preventive maintenance of considered squirrel cage induction motor.

Keywords: FFT analyser, condition monitoring, vibration spectrum, time wave form

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Mahshid Hatamzad, Geanette Polanco

Abstract:

Improving the performance of Winter Road Maintenance (WRM) can increase the traffic safety and reduce the cost as well as environmental impacts. This study evaluates the efficiency of WRM technique, named salting, in the Arctic area by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which is a non-parametric linear method to measure the efficiencies of decision-making units (DMUs) based on handling multiple inputs and multiple outputs at the same time that their associated weights are not known. Here, roads are considered as DMUs for which the efficiency must be determined. The three input variables considered are traffic flow, road area and WRM cost. In addition, the two output variables included are level of safety in the roads and environment impacts resulted from WRM, which is also considered as an uncontrollable factor in the second scenario. The results show the performance of DMUs from the most efficient WRM to the inefficient/least efficient one and this information provides decision makers with technical support and the required suggested improvements for inefficient WRM, in order to achieve a cost-effective WRM and a safe road transportation during wintertime in the Arctic areas.

Keywords: environmental impacts, DEA, risk and safety, WRM

Procedia PDF Downloads 104

Authors: F. S. Alavi, D. Mowla, F. Esmaeilzadeh

Abstract:

In this paper, the Eclipse 300 simulator was used to perform compositional modeling of gas injection process for enhanced condensate recovery of a real gas condensate well in south of Iran here referred to as SA4. Some experimental data were used to tune the Peng-Robinson equation of state for this case. Different scenarios of gas injection at current reservoir pressure and at abandonment reservoir pressure had been considered with different gas compositions. Methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and two other gases with specified compositions were considered as potential gases for injection. According to the obtained results, nitrogen leads to highest pressure maintenance in the reservoir but methane results in highest condensate recovery among the selected injection gases. At low injection rates, condensate recovery percent is strongly affected by gas injection rate but this dependency shifts to zero at high injection rates. Condensate recovery is higher in all cases of injection at current reservoir pressure than injection at abandonment pressure. Using a constant injection rate, increasing the production well bottom hole pressure results in increasing the condensate recovery percent and time of gas breakthrough.

Keywords: gas-condensate reservoir, case-study, compositional modelling, enhanced condensate recovery, gas injection

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Guru Prakash, Revanth Dugalam

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A road’s condition often deteriorates due to harsh loading such as overload due to trucks, and severe environmental conditions such as heavy rain, snow load, and cyclic loading. In absence of proper maintenance planning, this results in potholes, wide cracks, bumps, and increased roughness of roads. In this paper, a data-driven model will be developed to detect these damages using vibration and image signals. The key idea of the proposed methodology is that the road anomaly manifests in these signals, which can be detected by training a machine learning algorithm. The use of various machine learning techniques such as the support vector machine and Radom Forest method will be investigated. The proposed model will first be trained and tested with artificially simulated data, and the model architecture will be finalized by comparing the accuracies of various models. Once a model is fixed, the field study will be performed, and data will be collected. The field data will be used to validate the proposed model and to predict the future road’s health condition. The proposed will help to automate the road condition monitoring process, repair cost estimation, and maintenance planning process.

Keywords: SVM, data-driven, road health monitoring, pot-hole

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Adi Narayana S Sudhakar. I

Abstract:

Energy conversion is one of the inevitable parts of any industries. It involves either conversion of mechanical energy in to electrical or vice versa. The later conversion of energy i.e. electrical to mechanical emphasizes the need of motor .Statistics reveals, about 8 % of industries’ annual turnover met on maintenance. Thus substantial numbers of efforts are required to minimize in incurring expenditure met towards break down maintenance. Condition monitoring is one of such techniques based on vibration widely used to recognize premature failures and paves a way to minimize cumbersome involved during breakdown of machinery. The present investigation involves a case study of squirrel cage induction motor (frequently in the electro machines) has been chosen for the conditional monitoring to predict its soundness on the basis of results of FFT analyser. Accelerometer which measures the acceleration converts in to impulses by FFT analyser generates vibration spectrum and time spectrum has been located at various positions on motor under different conditions. Results obtained from the FFT analyzer are compared to that of ISO standard vibration severity charts are taken to predict the preventative condition of considered machinery. Initial inspection of motor revealed that stator faults, broken end rings in rotor, eccentricity faults and misalignment between bearings are trouble shootings areas for present investigation. From the results of the shaft frequencies, it can be perceived that there is a misalignment between the bearings at both the ends. The higher order harmonics of FTF shows the presence of cracks on the race of the bearings at both the ends which are in the incipient stage. Replacement of the bearings at both the drive end (6306) and non-drive end (6206) and the alignment check between the bearings in the shaft are suggested as the constructive measures towards preventive maintenance of considered squirrel cage induction motor.

Keywords: FFT analyser, condition monitoring, vibration spectrum, time spectrum accelerometer

Procedia PDF Downloads 424

Authors: Seong-Jin Cho, Jin Ho Kim

Abstract:

Energy harvesting is the technology which gathers and converts external energies such as light, vibration and heat which are disposed into reusable electrical energy and uses such electrical energy. The vibration energy harvesting is very interesting technology because it produces very high density of energy and unaffected by the climate. Vibration energy can be harvested by the electrostatic, electromagnetic and piezoelectric systems. The electrostatic system has low energy conversion efficiency, and the piezoelectric system is expensive and needs the frequent maintenance because it is made of piezoelectric ceramic. On the other hand, the electromagnetic system has a long life time and high harvesting efficiency, and it is relatively cheap. The electromagnetic harvesting system includes the linear generator and the rotary-type generator. The rotary-type generators require the additional mechanical conversion device if it uses linear motion of vibration. But, the linear generator uses directly linear motion of vibration without a mechanical conversion device, and it has uncomplicated structure and light weight compared with the rotary-type generator. Therefore, the linear electromagnetic generator can be useful in using vibration energy harvesting. The pole transformer systems need electricity sensor system for sending voltage and power information to administrator. Therefore, the battery is essential, and its regular maintenance of replacement is required. In case of the transformer of high location in mountainous areas, the person can’t easily access it resulting in high maintenance cost. To overcome these problems, we designed and developed the linear electromagnetic generator which can replace battery in electricity sensor system for sending voltage and power information of the pole transformer. And, it uses vibration energy of frequency more than 50 Hz by the pole transformer. In order to analyze the electromagnetic characteristics of small linear electric generator, a commercial electromagnetic finite element analysis program "MAXWELL" was used. Then, through the actual production and experiment of linear generator, we confirmed output power of linear generator.

Keywords: energy harvesting, frequency, linear generator, experiment

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Yuzhen Hu, Sirui Wang

Abstract:

As a training base for intellectual talents, universities have a large number of students. Teaching is a primary activity in universities, and during the teaching process, a large number of people gather both inside and outside the teaching buildings, posing a strong risk of close contact. The class schedule is the fundamental basis for teaching activities in universities and plays a crucial role in the management of teaching order. Different class schedules can lead to varying degrees of indoor gatherings and trajectories of class attendees. In recent years, highly contagious diseases have frequently occurred worldwide, and how to reduce the risk of infection has always been a hot issue related to public safety. "Reducing gatherings" is one of the core measures in epidemic prevention and control, and it can be controlled through scientific scheduling in specific environments. Therefore, the scientific prevention and control goal can be achieved by considering the reduction of the risk of excessive gathering of people during the course schedule arrangement. Firstly, we address the issue of personnel gathering in various pathways on campus, with the goal of minimizing congestion and maximizing teaching effectiveness, establishing a nonlinear mathematical model. Next, we design an improved genetic algorithm, incorporating real-time evacuation operations based on tracking search and multidimensional positive gradient cross-mutation operations, considering the characteristics of outdoor crowd evacuation. Finally, we apply undergraduate course data from a university in Harbin to conduct a case study. It compares and analyzes the effects of algorithm improvement and optimization of gathering situations and explores the impact of path blocking on the degree of gathering of individuals on other pathways.

Keywords: the university timetabling problem, risk prevention, genetic algorithm, risk control

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Muhammad Badar Habib, Muhammad Shakir, Asif Ali, Muhammad Zia ul Haq

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Purpose of the research is to examine the university teachers’ health and physical activities regarding their academic competencies. Major objectives of this piece research were (a) to identify health problems of teachers at university level that affects academic competencies of university teachers and (b) to evaluate educational betterment through physical balance. This research is descriptive in nature and questionnaire was used as source of collecting data. Population of the present research comprises teachers, professors and professionals teaching in the universities of Pakistan. 580 university teachers were selected as a population of the study. Random sampling technique was used to identify recipients. Data was feed and filter in Ms-Excel. In the light of the analysis of the study following findings were drawn out. This study found that the university teachers in Pakistan do not adopt proper physical exercise program. They were less interested to burn their extra calories and face diseases such as cramping, contraction of the muscles, diabetics and stomach diseases. This study recommends that seminars/workshops may be held by University establishment; to develop overall awareness among the teachers.

Keywords: evaluating effects of health and physical maintenance, academic competencies, university teachers, Pakistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 436

Authors: Elham Koohikerade, Silvio Jose Gumiere

Abstract:

In this research, irrigation is highlighted as crucial for improving both the yield and quality of ‎potatoes due to their high sensitivity to soil moisture changes. The study presents a hybrid Long ‎Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model aimed at optimizing irrigation scheduling in potato fields in ‎Quebec City, Canada. This model integrates model-based and satellite-derived datasets to simulate ‎soil moisture content, addressing the limitations of field data. Developed under the guidance of the ‎Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the simulation approach compensates for the lack of direct ‎soil sensor data, enhancing the LSTM model's predictions. The model was calibrated using indices ‎like Surface Soil Moisture (SSM), Normalized Vegetation Difference Index (NDVI), Enhanced ‎Vegetation Index (EVI), and Normalized Multi-band Drought Index (NMDI) to effectively forecast ‎soil moisture reductions. Understanding soil moisture and plant development is crucial for assessing ‎drought conditions and determining irrigation needs. This study validated the spectral characteristics ‎of vegetation and soil using ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) and Moderate Resolution Imaging ‎Spectrometer (MODIS) data from 2019 to 2023, collected from agricultural areas in Dolbeau and ‎Peribonka, Quebec. Parameters such as surface volumetric soil moisture (0-7 cm), NDVI, EVI, and ‎NMDI were extracted from these images. A regional four-year dataset of soil and vegetation moisture ‎was developed using a machine learning approach combining model-based and satellite-based ‎datasets. The LSTM model predicts soil moisture dynamics hourly across different locations and ‎times, with its accuracy verified through cross-validation and comparison with existing soil moisture ‎datasets. The model effectively captures temporal dynamics, making it valuable for applications ‎requiring soil moisture monitoring over time, such as anomaly detection and memory analysis. By ‎identifying typical peak soil moisture values and observing distribution shapes, irrigation can be ‎scheduled to maintain soil moisture within Volumetric Soil Moisture (VSM) values of 0.25 to 0.30 ‎m²/m², avoiding under and over-watering. The strong correlations between parcels suggest that a ‎uniform irrigation strategy might be effective across multiple parcels, with adjustments based on ‎specific parcel characteristics and historical data trends. The application of the LSTM model to ‎predict soil moisture and vegetation indices yielded mixed results. While the model effectively ‎captures the central tendency and temporal dynamics of soil moisture, it struggles with accurately ‎predicting EVI, NDVI, and NMDI.‎

Keywords: irrigation scheduling, LSTM neural network, remotely sensed indices, soil and vegetation ‎monitoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 17

Authors: John Segars

Abstract:

Built out of a real-world need to have better, more detailed, asset and infrastructure documentation, this project will lay out the case for using the database functionality of ArcGIS as a tool to track and maintain infrastructure location, status, maintenance and serviceability. Workflows and processes will be presented and detailed which may be applied to an organizations’ infrastructure needs that might allow them to make use of the robust tools which surround the ArcGIS platform. The end result is a value-added information system framework with a geographic component e.g., the spatial location of various I.T. assets, a detailed set of records which not only documents location but also captures the maintenance history for assets along with photographs and documentation of these various assets as attachments to the numerous feature class items. In addition to the asset location and documentation benefits, the staff will be able to log into the devices and pull SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) based query information from within the user interface. The entire collection of information may be displayed in ArcGIS, via a JavaScript based web application or via queries to the back-end database. The project is applicable to all organizations which maintain an IT infrastructure but specifically targets post-secondary educational institutions where access to ESRI resources is generally already available in house.

Keywords: ESRI, GIS, infrastructure, network documentation, PostgreSQL

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Khaled S. Abdallah, Abdel-Aziz M. Mohamed

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Moving industries consume numerous resources and dispose masses of used packaging materials. Proper sorting, recycling and disposing the packaging materials is necessary to avoid a sever pollution disaster. This research paper presents a conceptual model to propose sustainable truck rental operations instead of the regular one. An optimization model was developed to select the locations of truck rental centers, collection sites, maintenance and repair sites, and identify the rental fees to be charged for all routes that maximize the total closed supply chain profits. Fixed costs of vehicle purchasing, costs of constructing collection centers and repair centers, as well as the fixed costs paid to use disposal and recycling centers are considered. Operating costs include the truck maintenance, repair costs as well as the cost of recycling and disposing the packing materials, and the costs of relocating the truck are presented in the model. A mixed integer model is developed followed by a simulation model to examine the factors affecting the operation of the model.

Keywords: modeling, truck rental, supply chains management.

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: S. Cafiso, B. Capace, A. Di Graziano, C. D’Agostino

Abstract:

Systematic monitoring of the trackbed is necessary to assure safety and quality of service in the railway system. Moreover, to produce effective management of the maintenance treatments, the assessment of bearing capacity of the railway trackbed must include ballast, sub-ballast and subgrade layers at different depths. Consequently, there is an increasing interest in obtaining a consistent measure of ballast bearing capacity with no destructive tests (NDTs) able to work in the physical and time restrictions of railway tracks in operation. Moreover, in the case of the local railway with reduced gauge, the use of the traditional high-speed track monitoring systems is not feasible. In that framework, this paper presents results from in site investigation carried out on ballast and sleepers with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Light Falling Weight Deflectometer (LWD). These equipment are currently used in road pavement maintenance where they have shown their reliability and effectiveness. Application of such Non-Destructive Tests in railway maintenance is promising but in the early stage of the investigation. More specifically, LWD was used to estimate the stiffness of ballast and sleeper support, as well. LWD, despite the limited load (6 kN in the trial test) applied directly on the sleeper, was able to detect defects in the bearing capacity at the Sleeper/Ballast interface. A dual frequency GPR was applied to detect the presence of layers’ discontinuities at different depths due to fouling phenomena that are the main causes of changing in the layer dielectric proprieties within the ballast thickness. The frequency of 2000Mhz provided high-resolution data to approximately 0.4m depth, while frequency of 600Mhz showed greater depth penetration up to 1.5 m. In the paper literature review and trial in site experience are used to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT analysis) of the application of GPR and LWD for the assessment of bearing capacity of railway track-bed.

Keywords: bearing capacity, GPR, LWD, no destructive test, railway track

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Authors: Shanza Akram, Samir Salah, Imran Saleem, Jassim Abdou, Ashraf Al Zaabi

Abstract:

Estimated prevalence of asthma in UAE is around 10% (900,000 people). Patients with persistent symptoms despite using high dose ICS plus a second controller +/- Oral steroids are considered to have severe asthma. Omalizumab (Xolair) is an anti-IgE monoclonal antibody approved as add-on therapy for severe allergic asthma. The objective of our study was to obtain baseline characteristics of our local cohort, to determine the efficacy of omalizumab based on clinical outcomes pre and post 52 weeks of treatment and to assess safety and tolerability. Medical records of patients receiving omalizumab therapy for asthma at Zayed Military Hospital, Abu Dhabi were retrospectively reviewed. Patients fulfilling the criteria for severe allergic asthma as per GINA guidelines were included. Asthma control over 12 months pre and post omalizumab were analyzed by taking into account the number of exacerbations, hospitalizations, maintenance of medication dosages, the need for reliever therapy and PFT’s. 21 patients (5 females) with mean age 41 years were included. The mean duration of therapy was 22 months. 19 (91%) patients had Allergic Rhinitis/Sinusitis. Mean serum total IgE level was 648 IU/ml (65-1859). 11 (52%) patients were on oral maintenance steroids pre-treatment. 7 patients managed to stop steroids on treatment while 4 were able to decrease the dosage. Mean exacerbation rate decreased from 5 per year pre-treatment to 1.36 while on treatment. The number of hospitalizations decreased from a mean of 2 per year to 0.9 per year. Reliever inhaler usage decreased from mean of 40 to 15 puffs per week.2 patients discontinued therapy, 1 due to lack of benefit (2 doses) and 2nd due to severe persistent side effects. Patient compliance was poor in some cases. Treatment with omalizumab reduced the number of exacerbations, hospitalizations, maintenance and reliever medications, and is generally well tolerated. Our results show that there is room for improved documentation in terms of symptom recording and use of rescue medication at our institution. There is also need for better patient education and counseling in order to improve compliance.

Keywords: asthma, exacerbations, omalizumab, IgE

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Authors: Jyun-Huei Huang, Ting-I Lee

Abstract:

Urban heat island effect is derived from the reduction of vegetative cover by urban development. Because plants can improve air quality and microclimate, green walls have been applied as a sustainable design approach to cool building temperature. By using plants to green vertical surfaces, they decrease room temperature and, as a result, decrease the energy use for air conditioning. Based on their structures, green walls can be divided into two categories, green façades and living walls. A green façade uses the climbing ability of a plant itself, while a living wall assembles planter modules. The latter one is widely adopted in public space, as it is time-effective and less limited. Although a living wall saves energy spent on cooling, it is not necessarily cost-effective from the perspective of a lifecycle analysis. The Italian study shows that the overall benefit of a living wall is only greater than its costs after 47 years of its establishment. In Taiwan, urban greening policies encourage establishment of green walls by referring to their benefits of energy saving while neglecting their low performance on cost-effectiveness. Thus, this research aims at understanding the perception of appliers and consumers on the cost-effectiveness of their living wall products from the lifecycle viewpoint. It adopts semi-structured interviews and field observations on the maintenance of the products. By comparing the two results, it generates insights for sustainable urban greening policies. The preliminary finding shows that stakeholders do not have a holistic sense of lifecycle or cost-effectiveness. Most importantly, a living wall well maintained is often with high input due to the availability of its maintenance budget, and thus less sustainable. In conclusion, without a comprehensive sense of cost-effectiveness throughout a product’s lifecycle, it is very difficult for suppliers and consumers to maintain a living wall system while achieve sustainability.

Keywords: case study, maintenance, post-occupancy evaluation, vertical greening

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Authors: C. Rekha, G. N. Krishnamurthy

Abstract:

This paper attempts to develop a different approach for key scheduling algorithm which uses both Blowfish and AES algorithms. The main drawback of Blowfish algorithm is, it takes more time to create the S-box entries. To overcome this, we are replacing process of S-box creation in blowfish, by using key dependent S-box creation from AES without affecting the basic operation of blowfish. The method proposed in this paper uses good features of blowfish as well as AES and also this paper demonstrates the performance of blowfish and new algorithm by considering different aspects of security namely Encryption Quality, Key Sensitivity, and Correlation of horizontally adjacent pixels in an encrypted image.

Keywords: AES, blowfish, correlation coefficient, encryption quality, key sensitivity, s-box

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Authors: Maroua Sbiti, Karim Beddiar, Djaoued Beladjine, Romuald Perrault

Abstract:

Productivity is decreasing in construction compared to the manufacturing industry. It seems that the sector is suffering from organizational problems and have low maturity regarding technological advances. High international competition due to the growing context of globalization, complex projects, and shorter deadlines increases these challenges. Field employees are more exposed to coordination problems than design officers. Execution collaboration is then a major issue that can threaten the cost, time, and quality completion of a project. Initially, this paper will try to identify field professional requirements as to address building management process weaknesses such as the unreliability of scheduling, the fickleness of monitoring and inspection processes, the inaccuracy of project’s indicators, inconsistency of building documents and the random logistic management. Subsequently, we will focus our attention on providing solutions to improve scheduling, inspection, and hours tracking processes using emerging lean tools and field mobility applications that bring new perspectives in terms of cooperation. They have shown a great ability to connect various field teams and make informations visual and accessible to planify accurately and eliminate at the source the potential defects. In addition to software as a service use, the adoption of the human resource module of the Enterprise Resource Planning system can allow a meticulous time accounting and thus make the faster decision making. The next step is to integrate external data sources received from or destined to design engineers, logisticians, and suppliers in a holistic system. Creating a monolithic system that consolidates planning, quality, procurement, and resources management modules should be our ultimate target to build the construction industry supply chain.

Keywords: lean, last planner system, field mobility applications, construction productivity

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Authors: Halima Albalushi, Mohadese Boroojerdi, Murtadha Alkhabori

Abstract:

Introduction: Maintenance of stem cell properties during culture necessitates the recreation of the natural cell niche. Studies reported the promising outcome of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) properties maintenance after using extracellular matrix such as CELLstart™, which is the recommended coating material for stem cells cultured in serum-free and xeno-free conditions. Laminin-521 is known as a crucial adhesion protein, which is found in natural stem cell niche, and plays an important role in facilitating the maintenance of self-renewal, pluripotency, standard morphology, and karyotype of human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Laminin-521 on human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSC) characteristics as a step toward clinical application. Methods: Human MSC were isolated from the umbilical cord via the explant method. Umbilical cord-derived-MSC were cultured in serum-free and xeno-free conditions in the presence of Laminin-521 for six passages. Cultured cells were evaluated by morphology and expansion index for each passage. Phenotypic characterization of UC-MSCs cultured on Laminin-521 was evaluated by assessment of cell surface markers. Results: Umbilical cord derived-MSCs formed small colonies and expanded as a homogeneous monolayer when cultured on Laminin-521. Umbilical cord derived-MSCs reached confluence after 4 days in culture. No statistically significant difference was detected in all passages when comparing the expansion index of UC-MSCs cultured on LN-521 and CELLstart™. Phenotypic characterization of UC-MSCs cultured on LN-521 using flow cytometry revealed positive expression of CD73, CD90, CD105 and negative expression of CD34, CD45, CD19, CD14 and HLA-DR.Conclusion: Laminin-521 is comparable to CELLstart™ in supporting UC-MSCs expansion and maintaining their characteristics during culture in xeno-free and serum-free culture conditions.

Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells, culture, laminin-521, xeno-free serum-free

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Authors: Einat Peles, Anat Sason, Ariel Claman, Gabriel Barkay, Miriam Adelson

Abstract:

Individuals with opioid addiction are characterized as suffering from stress responses disturbance, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and autonomic nervous system function. HPA axis is known to be stabilized during methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Mindfulness (present-oriented, nonjudgmental awareness of cognitions, emotions, perceptions, and habitual behavioral reactions in daily life) counteracts stress. To our knowledge, the relation between perceived stress and mindfulness trait among MMT patients has never been studied. To measure indices of mindfulness and their relation to perceived stress among MMT patients, a cross-sectional random sample of current MMT patients was performed using questionnaires for perceived stress (PSS) and mindfulness trait (FFMQ- yields a total score and individual scores for five internally consistent mindfulness factors: Observing, Describing, Acting with awareness and consciousness, Non-judging the inner experience, Non-reactivity to the inner experience). Two additional groups were studied to serve as reference groups; Medical students that are known to suffer from stress, and Axis II psychiatric diagnosis patients that are known to characterized with poor mindfulness trait. Results: Groups included 41 MMT patients, 27 Axis II patients and 36 medical students. High perceived stressed (PSS≥18) defined among 61% of the MMT patients and 50% of the medical students. Highest mindfulness score observed among non-stressed MMT patients (153.5±17.2) followed by the groups of stressed MMT and non-stressed student (128.9±17.0 and 130.5±13.3 respectively), with the lowest score among stressed students (116.3±17.9) (multivariate analyses, corrected model p (F=14.3) < 0.0005, p (group) < 0.0005, p (stress) < 0.0005, p (interaction) =0.2). Linear inverse correlations were found between perceived stress score and mindfulness score among MMT patients (R=-0.65, p < 0.0005) and students (R=-0.51, p=0.002). Axis II patients had the lowest mindfulness score (103.4±25.3). Conclusion: High prevalence of high perceived stressed which characterized with poor mindfulness trait observed in both MMT patients and medical students, two different population groups. The effectiveness of mindfulness treatment in reducing stress and improve mindfulness trait should be evaluated to improve rehabilitation of MMT patients, and students success.

Keywords: mindfulness, stress, methadone maintenance treatment, medical students

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