Facade inspections with drones–theoretical analysis and exploratory tests

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Furtado Falorca ◽  
João Carlos Gonçalves Lanzinha
Keyword(s):  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
High Definition ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technical Inspection

PurposeThis paper presents a reflection on the effectiveness of using drones in the technical inspection of building facades, as a practical alternative to more expensive and heavier conventional means. In order to verify this assumption qualitatively, a number of field tests are presented and discussed.Design/methodology/approachThe first stage consisted of a literature review. The analysis initially investigated drone technology. Then, an insight into some general applications in Civil Engineering was compiled, focusing in particular on the Construction Industry (CI), as well as the scope of building envelope inspections. In the second stage, field tests with drones were performed and the resulting data was appraised in order to get facade pathologies diagnosis as accurate as possible.FindingsThrough this study, the adaptability and versatility of using drones were checked. Thus, it has been confirmed that drone technology is an effective and promising alternative methodology to support technical inspection and diagnosis of building envelope pathologies. In fact, drones seem to be a worthwhile tool for supporting certain Civil Engineering activities–particularly when displaying a multirotor configuration, loading high-definition (HD) cameras, for both stills photography and video.Research limitations/implicationsAs the main goal of this approach was simply a qualitative assessment of evidence on the advantages of using drones compared with conventional means, other kinds of comparative analysis were not discussed in depth. However, this and other potential restrictive issues may represent an opportunity to push more developments. A deeper knowledge of data handling and clear procedures for the use of drones could be very valuable for the CI and for building envelope inspections.Practical implicationsIn investigating this subject, this research can offer valuable input to enable a greater awareness of the use of drones in the technical inspection of buildings, particularly in hard-to-reach locations, to the detriment of conventional means. In these circumstances, this methodology can bring great benefits, particularly from an environmental impact point of view, since the resources used are much lower. In addition, a very reliable diagnosis can be achieved more quickly, and at a much lower cost.Originality/valueThe introduction of a standard for drone inspection practice is still at an early stage, with initial steps being taken in an apparently well-focused effort to achieve consolidation. Research studies of this kind may have an important role to play in drawing the stakeholders' attention to the benefits of using this technique, particularly for those working in the building usage phase.

Hitting the right note for child and adolescent mental and emotional wellbeing: a formative qualitative evaluation of Sistema Scotland’s “Big Noise” orchestral programme

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Harkins ◽  
Lisa Garnham ◽  
Aileen Campbell ◽  
Carol Tannahill
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Emotional Wellbeing ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Causal Pathways

Purpose – Previous research emphasises the need for preventative interventions to reduce mental health problems among disadvantaged children and adolescents. There is however little consensus concerning the delivery and impacts of such interventions particularly non-clinical, arts-based models delivered within community settings. The purpose of this paper is to begin to address this deficit through a qualitative assessment of the short- to medium-term impacts to participants’ mental and emotional wellbeing within Sistema Scotland’s Big Noise orchestral programme. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews, observation, participant drawing exercise, participatory filmmaking, focus group and analysis of programme engagement were undertaken to examine the mental and emotional wellbeing impacts of the programme which are observable at this early stage of programme delivery and participants’ lives. Findings – The qualitative findings indicate that participation in the Big Noise programme enhances participant mental and emotional wellbeing in three ways; first, the happiness and enjoyment of taking part in the programme and orchestra, particularly from music making; second, the security, belonging and relationships fostered through participation; the quality of musician/participant relationship is important here as is programme design which enables support, routine and structure; and third, increased pride, confidence and self-esteem, as a result of acquiring difficult musical skills, receiving regular praise and having frequent opportunities to demonstrate these acquired skills through regular orchestral performances. Originality/value – There is little evidence or understanding of community-based, preventative, arts interventions like Big Noise: their delivery, their life-course impacts and their potential contribution to mental health and to addressing social and health inequalities. The causal pathways in the field are under-theorised. These early findings are important as they serve as an important basis from which to consider the programme’s wider and longer term impacts, which will be assessed through an on-going longitudinal, mixed method summative evaluation.

Towards a sustainability reporting guideline in higher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Huber ◽  
Alexander Bassen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Reporting Guideline ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Framework ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose So far, sustainability reporting in higher education is in a very early stage – partly, because of the lack of an established and widely recognized sustainability reporting framework for higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, a modification of the sustainability code for the use in the higher education context was recently developed in Germany. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate this modification from an academic point of view. Design/methodology/approach The evaluation of the sustainability code is based on selected reporting principles drawn from frameworks of sustainability and financial reporting. Findings The evaluation shows that to a large extent, the modification of the sustainability code for HEIs contributes to the fulfillment of the selected reporting principles. However, it also became evident that there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of clarity and the inclusion of material aspects. Practical implications The need for an implementation manual regarding the modified HEI-specific sustainability code is emphasized, as the sustainability code requires further clarification to be manageable for HEIs. Originality/value This paper provides suggestions for the further development of a sustainability reporting guideline for HEIs to enhance its alignment with both sustainability reporting principles and the needs of HEIs.

Best innovators develop a point of view on the future and a roadmap on how to get there

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-22
Author(s):  
Kai Engel ◽  
Voletka Dirlea ◽  
Stephen Dyer ◽  
Jochen Graff
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Business Case ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Continuous Innovation ◽  
Innovation Strategies ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The authors have collected key insights from the Best Innovator competition, launched in 2003. Six early-stage practices are critical. Design/methodology/approach – The Best Innovator competition, annual benchmarking against the best in innovation management, focuses on the how-to of innovation and examines what leading companies are doing to achieve better yield with their innovation strategies. Findings – By studying the competition winners, the researchers found a strong correlation between specific innovation management practices and sustainable, profitable growth. Practical implications – Best Innovators establish explicit expectations for making the business case for innovation. They name a specific set of deliverables to which they are committed. Originality/value – The article offers specific guidelines for setting the stage for continuous innovation that results in profitable offerings and services.

scholarly journals Procedural rationality in supplier selection

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luitzen de Boer
Keyword(s):  
Supplier Selection ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
General Notion ◽  
Procedural Rationality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Cost

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present three heuristics for choosing supplier selection criteria. By considering the balance between the expected relative effort and benefit of using different selection criteria, the heuristics suggest which criteria should be prioritized. The heuristics serve to develop our understanding of the search and evaluation heuristics used in supplier selection and to facilitate further research. Design/methodology/approach The research is primarily theoretical, yet draws on empirical studies of supplier selection. The theoretical basis is Simon’s notion of procedural rationality (Simon, 1976). The author makes the general notion of procedural rationality more concrete for supplier selection by formally describing three heuristics for choosing selection criteria. The heuristics share the same logic but differ in terms of the precision of the input information required from the purchaser. The paper provides illustrations of the heuristics. Findings It appears that procedural rationality can be specified for the process of designing the supplier selection process by explicitly recognizing the cost and value of selection criteria. There is no one way of doing this, but at the most basic level, it requires an ordinal ranking of criteria. Already such a rudimentary, qualitative, assessment can help identifying suitable criteria. The heuristics developed appear compatible with established approaches for the subsequent selection of suppliers. Originality/value The paper addresses the early stage of supplier selection which has been largely ignored in the literature.

scholarly journals Understanding the accelerator from resources-based perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chul Hyun Uhm ◽  
Chang Soo Sung ◽  
Joo Yeon Park
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Success Rates ◽  
Access To Resources ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Start Up ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Start Ups

Purpose This study aims to explore Accelerators and their practices in sustaining start-ups within their innovative programs for these companies based on the resource-based perspective. Moreover, with an ever-increasing demand for Accelerators amongst start-up companies, this study also demonstrates the importance of Accelerators, as it pertains to new venture creation. Design/methodology/approach This research uses an exploratory case study approach to examine a comparative view of leading Accelerator companies in the USA and Korea based on resource support. Findings The results of this study show that there are a number of differences between Accelerators of the two countries in terms of the resources they support for early-stage start-ups. The findings also show some similarities. However, in Korea, the Accelerator landscape is limited, where mentorship, resources and investments are not readily accessible, resulting in low success rates for Korean start-up companies. These limitations have had a negative trickle-down effect when providing entrepreneurs with strong access to resources and investors, which highly affects the success rates of early-stage start-ups. Practical implications In terms of the resource-based theory, this study contributes to the growth of early start-ups by emphasizing the role of the accelerator and suggesting the extent and impact that entrepreneurs have access to resources and investors. Originality/value With significant growth in start-ups around the world, the necessity for start-up funding and mentorship has increased drastically. Start-up companies need various types of assets, systems, knowledge and information to achieve their goals. In Accelerators, start-ups receive all the aforementioned resources while also improving their entrepreneurial skills. Start-up companies have many options in seeking investors who support both tangible and intangible resources to boost growth. While there is a wealth of information on traditional funding methods, there are few studies that shed light on the role of Accelerators from the resource-based point of view.

Practical expressions to calculate the main vertical actions on load-bearing columns/walls to Eurocode

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 418-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osama A.B. Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Civil Engineering ◽  
Limit State ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Ultimate Limit State ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Load Bearing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Structural Membranes ◽  
Wind Actions

Purpose The aim of this review study is to present useful and practical expressions to compute the design vertical actions on load-bearing columns/walls of typical building structures on the basis of EN 1991: Eurocode 1. Design/methodology/approach It is derived by a typical case in which wind actions, snow actions and permanents actions are loading a roof construction. The results are finally used to calculate the loading on columns/walls. Both ultimate limit state and serviceability limit state are considered. Findings From an instructive point of view, the advantage of this method is that it is simplified, general, not time-consuming, and it can be standardised to typical building structures. Research limitations/implications A number of example applications are introduced to illustrate the calculation procedure. Practical implications From an educational point of view, this problem is of interest to civil engineering students because the reviewed method is not cumbersome or time-consuming. Social implications From an engineering educational point of view, this problem is of interest to civil engineering students because the reviewed method is not cumbersome or time-consuming. Originality/value New formulated expressions to calculate the loadings on structural membranes based on Eurocode are presented.

Economic and financial rationale for age-friendly housing

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatjana Štaube ◽  
Benno Leemeijer ◽  
Sanda Geipele ◽  
Linda Kauškale ◽  
Ineta Geipele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Sustainable Construction ◽  
Economic Aspects ◽  
Property Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to indicate the reasons and provide practical suggestions to financial viability of the age-friendly housing as a sustainable construction. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the primary and secondary literary sources, logical approach and comparisons of real estate and socio-economic regional statistics and conducts analysis of case studies. Findings The study contains the results from empirical analysis on the topicality of an age-friendly built environment in the scientific literature. Key principles are identified for a current early stage of the development of a concept of the age-friendly housing. A research on the current socio-economic aspects of the creation of an age-friendly built environment is made. The practical cases of the age-friendly housing are inspected. Timely developed age-friendly housings may expect growing demands, but thorough calculation on future income is required. Research limitations/implications The research is carried on a scale of two countries – the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Latvia. Practical implications The paper provides new developments in construction sector of Latvia and the Netherlands in terms of intention to further scientific and practical activities. The research has to identify the socio-economic aspects and the impact and importance of those in determining the revenues of age-friendly construction. Social implications Age-friendly construction is going to become the standard of the sustainable property development, whereby the developers and investors will not make additional investments as they are compensated up front, and society as a total gets the revenues on the long term. Once this “wheel is turning”, the benefits will be permanent. Originality/value Latvia is being analysed in comparison with the Netherlands. The authors challenged to find opportunities to both countries from the economic viability’s point of view for the age-friendly housing developments.

scholarly journals Developing radically new meanings through the collaboration with radical circles

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naiara Altuna ◽  
Claudio Dell’Era ◽  
Paolo Landoni ◽  
Roberto Verganti
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Slow Food ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
Collaborative Innovation ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
New Type

Purpose The importance and complexity of proposing radically new meanings are well-established in the literature. However, a limited number of contributions have analyzed how they can be developed. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the development of radically new meanings at the basis of the Slow Food movement to contribute to the topic. Design/methodology/approach In order to better understand how social movements can propose radically new meanings and how companies can take inspiration and build a competitive advantage by leveraging the proposed meanings, the authors deeply analyzed the genealogy of Slow Food, interpreted as an inspiring case study; the authors adopt a narrative approach. Findings The analysis of how Slow Food emerged and evolved into an international movement reveals an alternative way to develop innovative meanings in collaboration with groups of radicals. The authors identify three main phases in the evolution of innovative meanings: generation, institutionalization and development. Practical implications In terms of managerial implications the authors contribute highlighting the importance of a new type of collaborative innovation: the collaboration with radical circles and social movements in their early stage. Social implications From a societal point of view, if the authors acknowledge the importance of social movements in contesting and actively changing institutions, the authors can see the importance for policy makers to create loci and opportunities for the emergence of radical circles and their experimentations. Originality/value The authors propose that new meanings are frequently the result of small groups of individuals gathering in radical circles. The core attribute of such circles is group validation. The group supports the Slow Food leader in refining the meaning and confronting the dominant paradigm.

scholarly journals Large-Area Resistive Strain Sensing Sheet for Structural Health Monitoring

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Levent E. Aygun ◽  
Vivek Kumar ◽  
Campbell Weaver ◽  
Matthew Gerber ◽  
Sigurd Wagner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Health Monitoring ◽  
Health Monitoring ◽  
Printed Circuit Board ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Circuit Board ◽  
Gauge Factor ◽  
Peak Strain ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Structural Health

Damage significantly influences response of a strain sensor only if it occurs in the proximity of the sensor. Thus, two-dimensional (2D) sensing sheets covering large areas offer reliable early-stage damage detection for structural health monitoring (SHM) applications. This paper presents a scalable sensing sheet design consisting of a dense array of thin-film resistive strain sensors. The sensing sheet is fabricated using flexible printed circuit board (Flex-PCB) manufacturing process which enables low-cost and high-volume sensors that can cover large areas. The lab tests on an aluminum beam showed the sheet has a gauge factor of 2.1 and has a low drift of 1.5 μ ϵ / d a y . The field test on a pedestrian bridge showed the sheet is sensitive enough to track strain induced by the bridge’s temperature variations. The strain measured by the sheet had a root-mean-square (RMS) error of 7 μ ϵ r m s compared to a reference strain on the surface, extrapolated from fiber-optic sensors embedded within the bridge structure. The field tests on an existing crack showed that the sensing sheet can track the early-stage damage growth, where it sensed 600 μ ϵ peak strain, whereas the nearby sensors on a damage-free surface did not observe significant strain change.

Comparison of the reluctance laminated and solid rotor synchronous machine operating at high temperatures

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 1111-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcin Lefik ◽  
Krzysztof Komeza ◽  
Ewa Napieralska-Juszczak ◽  
Daniel Roger ◽  
Piotr Andrzej Napieralski
Keyword(s):  
High Speed ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Synchronous Machine ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Heat Sources ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thermal Phenomenon ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a comparison between reluctance synchronous machine-enabling work at high internal temperature (HT° machine) with laminated and solid rotor. Design/methodology/approach To obtain heat sources for the thermal model, calculations of the electromagnetic field were made using the Opera 3D program including effect of rotation and the resulting eddy current losses. To analyse the thermal phenomenon, the 3D coupled thermal-fluid (CFD) model is used. Findings The presented results show clearly that laminated construction is much better from a point of view of efficiency and temperature. However, solid construction can be interesting for high speed machines due to their mechanical robustness. Research limitations/implications The main problem, despite the use of parallel calculations, is the long calculation time. Practical implications The obtained simulation and experimental results show the possibility of building a machine operating at a much higher ambient temperature than it was previously produced for example in the vicinity of the aircraft turbines. Originality/value The paper presents the application of fully three-dimensional coupled electromagnetic and thermal analysis of new machine constructions designed for elevated temperature.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document