Service Life and Life of Service: The Maintenance Commitments

1998 ◽  
Vol 1650 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-9
Author(s):  
L. G. (Gray)Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Service Life ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Highway Maintenance ◽  
Repair Work ◽  
User Costs ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Maintenance Program ◽  
Performance Specifications ◽  
Maintenance Policies ◽  
The Impact

The magnitude of today’s highway maintenance challenge, the impact of research on maintenance, basic objectives that should drive a maintenance program, and the progress made in meeting them over the last 4 decades are discussed. Highway maintenance should include the objectives of providing a consistently safe, comfortable, and efficient travel way for highway users and a safe environment for maintenance crews; providing optimum service life; maintaining as-built capacity and reliability; inviting, supporting, and using research and innovation; and performing with professionalism, competence, and diligence. Some of the challenges in meeting these objectives today are accelerating rates of deterioration, limited time available to work, complex interchanges and crowded rights-of-way, environmental restrictions, a litigious society, and public skepticism about all government functions. Three categories of responses are technologies, policies, and professionalism. A significant array of new, innovative tools and other products of research are making maintenance technology more effective. Maintenance managers need to be activists in promoting progressive policies in providing as-built capacity while performing maintenance and repair work and in procuring products and services. Maintenance policies should include recognition of user costs, use of performance specifications, fabrication of off-site repair components, design of repairable highway systems, use of corrosion-resistant materials, privatization of segments of the maintenance program, and establishment of an international maintenance technology reference program. Individual professionals must embrace continuing education, environmental sensitivity, community service, research and development, innovative management, and societal and political responsibilities.

scholarly journals Maintenance Modelling of Ceramic Claddings in Pitched Roofs Based on the Evaluation of Their In Situ Degradation Condition

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Cláudia Ferreira ◽  
Ana Silva ◽  
Jorge de Brito ◽  
Ilídio S. Dias ◽  
Inês Flores-Colen
Keyword(s):  
Service Life ◽  
Maintenance Strategies ◽  
Total Replacement ◽  
Remaining Service Life ◽  
In Situ Degradation ◽  
Maintenance Policies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Maintenance Model

Existing maintenance policies have several limitations, mainly due to the lack of knowledge regarding the durability and performance of buildings. Usually, the maintenance policies are insufficiently accurate, neglecting the risk of failure over time and the global costs associated with repairs. In this study, a condition-based maintenance model, based on Petri nets, is proposed to evaluate the impact of three maintenance strategies of ceramic claddings in pitched roofs (CCPR): MS1—only total replacement; MS2—composed of total replacement and minor intervention and MS3—composed of total replacement, minor intervention and cleaning operations. In this study, 146 CCPR were inspected in situ, with a total area of 43,991.6 m2. The remaining service life of the CCPR; the global costs over the claddings’ lifetime (considering inspection, maintenance, replacement and disposal costs); the claddings’ degradation condition and the number of replacements during the time horizon are used to evaluate the performance of the different maintenance strategies through a simplified multi-criteria analysis. The results show that the gains in performance, in terms of expected service life and durability, of the consideration of preventive maintenance actions (minor interventions or cleaning operations) outweigh the increase of the operation costs.

The Role of Research and Innovation in the Transformation of Agri-Food Systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-63
Author(s):  
Mariana Sandu ◽  
Stefan Mantea
Keyword(s):  
Technological Progress ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Determinant Factor ◽  
Rapid Transformation

Abstract Agri-food systems include branching ramifications, which connect in the upstream the input suppliers with farmers, and downstream farmers, processors, retailers and consumers. In the last decades, at the level of the regions, food systems have undergone rapid transformation as a result of technological progress. The paper analyzes the changes made to the structure, behavior and performance of the agri-food system and the impact on farmers and consumers. Also, the role of agricultural research as a determinant factor of transformation of agri-food system is analyzed. The research objective is to develop technologies that cover the entire food chain (from farm to fork) and meet the specific requirements of consumers (from fork to farm) through scientific solutions in line with the principles of sustainable agriculture and ensuring the safety and food safety of the population.

The Ins and Outs of Teamworking: When University Teachers, in-Service Secondary Teachers and Pre-Service Teachers Collaborate to Transform Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 185-193
Author(s):  
Dolors Masats ◽  
Paula Guerrero
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Students ◽  
Collaborative Action Research ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Agent Of Change ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Initiatives for teachers’ professional development should rely on the epistemology of practice, that is, be founded on the premise that reflective teachers construct professional knowledge and develop professional skills through practice and through planning, observing or analysing practice. Reflection about teaching action and reflection in teaching action triggers innovation, especially when teachers work together to create the necessary conditions to transform learning. This paper advocates in favour of collaborative action research and innovation as a methodology to promote change in classroom practices. To illustrate this proposal, it presents a case study in which a secondary English teacher from a school which hosts adolescents at risk opens her classrooms to a researcher and a group of pre-service teachers with the objective to reflect upon her own practices and to become an agent of change. Our corpus is made of natural audio-recorded data from the discussions emerging during focus-group sessions held to evaluate the ongoing innovation and interviews to participating secondary students and trainee teachers. The analysis of those interactions will first lead us to reflect upon the challenges of promoting change in the classrooms. Then it will allow us to understand the impact of the experience and argue in favour of a model of teacher education based on team work as a tool to acquire professional skills and guarantee students’ learning success.

Impact of 44 000-kg (97,000-lb) Six-Axle Semitrailer Trucks on Bridges on Rural and Urban U.S. Interstate System

1998 ◽  
Vol 1624 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Weissmann ◽  
Rob Harrison
Keyword(s):  
User Costs ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Interstate System ◽  
National Bridge Inventory ◽  
The Impact

The impact of a 44 000-kg (97,000-lb) tridem semitrailer truck on bridges on the urban and rural U.S. Interstate system is examined. The impacts are determined using a suite of models developed for FHWA policy use, and both agency and user costs are estimated. Bridges on the Interstate system that are already deficient at current loads are excluded from this analysis, which utilizes the National Bridge Inventory database and reports results for the rural and urban Interstate systems.

scholarly journals Fleet Resilience: Evaluating Maintenance Strategies in Critical Equipment

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Orlando Durán ◽  
Javier Aguilar ◽  
Andrea Capaldo ◽  
Adolfo Arata
Keyword(s):  
Application Study ◽  
System Availability ◽  
Maintenance Strategies ◽  
Resilience Index ◽  
Reliability Block Diagrams ◽  
Maintenance Policies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Important System ◽  
Intrinsic Characteristic

Resilience is an intrinsic characteristic of systems. Through it, the capacity of a system to react to the existence of disruptive events is expressed. A series of metrics to represent systems’ resilience have been proposed, however, only one indicator relates the availability of the system to this characteristic. With such a metric, it is possible to relate the topological aspects of a system and the resources available in order to be able to promptly respond to the loss of performance as a result of unexpected events. This work proposes the adaptation and application of such a resilience index to assess the influence of different maintenance strategies and topologies in fleets’ resilience. In addition, an application study considering an actual mining fleet is provided. A set of critical assets was identified and represented using reliability block diagrams. Monte Carlo simulation experiments were conducted and the system availability data were extracted. Resilience indexes were obtained in order to carry out the definition of the best maintenance policies in critical equipment and the assessment of the impact of modifying system redundancies. The main results of this work lead to the overall conclusion that redundancy is an important system attribute in order to improve resiliency along time.

Recent advancements in the monitoring of bridges using “smart” components

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Treacy ◽  
Danilo Della Ca' ◽  
Niculin Meng
Keyword(s):  
Service Life ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Expansion Joints ◽  
Bridge Maintenance ◽  
Maintenance Program ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
Smart Technologies ◽  
Very High

<p>Making the transition to ultra-long bridge design life requires a paradigm shift in the way bridge maintenance is considered. In order to achieve a very long service life, the maintenance program must be carefully planned and strictly executed throughout the structure’s life. A bridge’s bearings and expansion joints experience the full effects of traffic and the environment throughout that service life, and can act as ideal “smart” components</p><p>– incorporating integrated sensors in order to continuously monitor the components’ own performance, and the structure’s overall performance, over time. Installation and testing of such sensors in factory conditions allows very high quality control, which cannot easily be matched on site. So-called “wear elements”, such as the sliding surface materials in bearings and expansion joints, will need to be replaced a number of times during a long service life, even when using the highest-quality materials available. Recognizing this fact, and incorporating monitoring systems that can track the deterioration of such elements and provide advance warnings for the owner, can result in efficient life-cycle planning of bridge maintenance, vital for major transport infrastructure. Recent developments and added value of such “smart” technologies are discussed.</p>

Covid-19: Interdisciplinary Explorations of Impacts on Higher Education

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
African Higher Education ◽  
Production Knowledge ◽  
South African Higher Education ◽  
The Impact

Premised on the disruption and lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic, and in meticulous response to the impact of the pandemic on higher education – especially in South Africa – this collection of chapters spotlights the effects, consequences, and ramifications of an unprecedented pandemic in the areas of knowledge production, knowledge transfer and innovation. With the pandemic, the traditional way of teaching and learning was completely upended. It is within this context that this book presents interdisciplinary perspectives that focus on what the impact of Covid-19 implies for higher education institutions. Contributors have critically reflected from within their specific academic disciplines in their attempt to proffer solutions to the disruptions brought to the South African higher education space. Academics and education leaders have particularly responded to the objective of this book by focusing on how the academia could tackle the Covid-19 motivated disruption and resuscitate teaching, research, and innovation activities in South African higher education, and the whole of Africa by extension.

Analysis of the Coordination of Suppression and Ventilation in Multi-Family Dwellings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Stakes ◽  
◽  
Keith Stakes ◽  
Julie Bryant ◽  
Nick Dow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fire Service ◽  
Service Research ◽  
Positive Pressure ◽  
Living Room ◽  
Gas Flows ◽  
Water Application ◽  
Single Family ◽  
Smoke Movement ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
The Impact

The majority of the existing full-scale fire service research studied the impact of tactics on the residential fireground, specifically in single-family structures. This study builds upon prior research by conducting thirteen experiments in three-story, multi-family dwellings to quantify the impact of coordination between ventilation and suppression actions. Experiments were conducted in four, garden-style apartment buildings; each of which had two lower-level units, four first-floor units, and four second-floor units. The apartments shared a common stairwell that was enclosed for all of the experiments in this study. To examine the effectiveness of tactics in the fire apartment, common stairwell and applicable exposure apartments, four experiments were conducted in lower-level apartments, seven were conducted in first-floor apartments, and two were conducted in second-floor apartments including both bedroom and kitchen/living room fires. The fire size varied based on the amount of initial ventilation provided. The main control variables included the location of initial water application, the ventilation method, and the timing of ventilation relative to water application. The suppression tactics included interior water application, exterior water application followed by interior water application, and a combined interior and exterior water application. The ventilation tactics examined in these experiments included horizontal, vertical, positive pressure, and hydraulic ventilation. Similar to previous experiments in acquired single-family structures, there was no meaningful increase in temperature outside of fire rooms when ventilation tactics were executed in close coordination with (shortly after or shortly before) the onset of suppression. In contrast, for experiments where ventilation occurred with delayed suppression, temperature exposures increased throughout the fire apartment, and in experiments where the apartment door was left open, temperatures and carbon monoxide exposures increased throughout the common stairwell. Suppression actions, whether interior or exterior, resulted in a decrease in temperatures and gas concentrations at locations where occupants may potentially be located. The enclosed common stairwell, a unique feature of this experimental series, acted as capture of combustion products. Opening the apartment door to gain access should be thought of as an important ventilation action, both in terms of its potential to cause fire growth and its potential for smoke movement into the stairwell, limiting the egress for potentially trapped occupants in exposure units. Tactics such as door control, positive pressure ventilation, and hydraulic ventilation which were used both simultaneous with and sequentially post-suppression were shown to limit gas flows into the stairwell. After effective suppression, structure ventilation operations should similarly be cognizant of gas flows, with the aim of establishing flow throughout all areas where occupants may be located.

Urban Infrastructure: Design and Preservation - Brooklyn Bridge Rehabilitation Program

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Collyer ◽  
Hasan Ahmed ◽  
Raj Navalurkar ◽  
Dawn Harrison
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Accelerated Bridge Construction ◽  
Repair Work ◽  
User Costs ◽  
Bridge Rehabilitation ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Bridge Structures ◽  
High Level ◽  
Brooklyn Bridge

<p>The Brooklyn Bridge is a National Historic Landmark and a New York City Landmark that has been in use for over 137 years. This is one of the most pictured bridge structures in the world, while being used as a critical and vital part of the infrastructure carrying over 105,000 vehicles per day. This paper addresses the engineering challenges/solutions related to the most current rehabilitation work being performed.</p><p>Contract 6 (2009 to 2017) represents a $650 million investment into the bridge to maintain it in a State of Good Repair. Work included deck replacement using accelerated bridge construction techniques and complete painting and steel repairs of the main span. A high-level traffic study and traffic simulations were developed to evaluate differing closure scenarios and their impacts on user costs and the traveling public.</p><p>Contract 6A (2017 to 2019) represents a $25 million investment in maintaining the historic and aesthetic integrity of the Brooklyn Bridge structures. Approximately, 30,000 SF of granite stone cladding will be replaced under this contract.</p><p>Contract 7 represents a $300 million investment that will address the rehabilitation of the historic arches on both sides of the main span and strengthening of the Towers. Construction is expected to begin in 2019.</p><p>Contract 8 represents a $250 million investment. It is in the planning phase and will address a new promenade enhancement (widening) over the Brooklyn Bridge.</p><p>This paper discusses how these engineering challenges were faced and resolved.</p>

scholarly journals An open toolkit for tracking open science partnership implementation and impact

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Richard Gold ◽  
Sarah E. Ali-Khan ◽  
Liz Allen ◽  
Lluis Ballell ◽  
Manoel Barral-Netto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Annual Report ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Research And Innovation ◽  
Survey Form ◽  
The Impact

Serious concerns about the way research is organized collectively are increasingly being raised. They include the escalating costs of research and lower research productivity, low public trust in researchers to report the truth, lack of diversity, poor community engagement, ethical concerns over research practices, and irreproducibility. Open science (OS) collaborations comprise of a set of practices including open access publication, open data sharing and the absence of restrictive intellectual property rights with which institutions, firms, governments and communities are experimenting in order to overcome these concerns. We gathered two groups of international representatives from a large variety of stakeholders to construct a toolkit to guide and facilitate data collection about OS and non-OS collaborations. Ultimately, the toolkit will be used to assess and study the impact of OS collaborations on research and innovation. The toolkit contains the following four elements: 1) an annual report form of quantitative data to be completed by OS partnership administrators; 2) a series of semi-structured interview guides of stakeholders; 3) a survey form of participants in OS collaborations; and 4) a set of other quantitative measures best collected by other organizations, such as research foundations and governmental or intergovernmental agencies. We opened our toolkit to community comment and input. We present the resulting toolkit for use by government and philanthropic grantors, institutions, researchers and community organizations with the aim of measuring the implementation and impact of OS partnership across these organizations. We invite these and other stakeholders to not only measure, but to share the resulting data so that social scientists and policy makers can analyse the data across projects.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document