Inspection Frequency Research Articles

Atmospheric corrosivity assessment on the basis of standard specimens’ corrosion rates within the military air bases

Abstract: Atmospheric corrosion is one of the parameters characterizing the technical condition of the functional elements of airport pavements - it allows to determine the degree of pavement degradation, estimate the appropriate frequency of periodic inspections and take appropriate measures to keep airfield pavements in permanent technical availability. In order to determine the corrosion resistance of the cement and asphalt concrete airfield pavement, atmospheric corrosivity tests determined on the basis of standard specimens exposure and determination of corrosion rates, form and appearance of deteriorations, as well as changes in physical properties at regular intervals are carried out. The samples were exposed to atmospheric conditions at military airport facilities. The article presents the rcorr corrosion rate results of low-carbon steel, zinc, copper and aluminum standard specimens obtained from selected airports of the Polish Armed Forces, starting from 2015. Then, the corrosivity categories of the atmosphere were determined on the basis of the performed measurements. Keywords: Atmospheric corrosion; Corrosion rate; Standard specimens; Military air bases

Estimation of fatigue life parameters of an Alumino Thermic weld on UIC60 rail joint using LEFM

At wheel track contact point, the high stress concentration, poor weld quality, and heterogeneity of weld material are the main factors that cause fatigue crack on any rail weld. Railway network agencies are concerned about the safety of the railway track when it comes to detecting and fixing weld faults to avoid vehicle derailment and loss of lives. This study analysed a numerical simulation of fatigue crack and its evolution under loaded service condition. A 3-D CAD wheel rail weld assembly model was built to study an AT welded joint under fatigue, and for stress concentration factor (SIF) calculation. The results are found by inserting a semi elliptical crack on the rail weld head surface with ANSYS, and then numerical simulation has been performed to get the different three modes of SIF at rail weld crack. The analysis findings data was recorded with critical fracture parameters of SIFs and its number of cycles to failure using LEFM technique and respective results have been plotted. With ANSYS the stress intensity on a crack will be resulted. By using numerical method, the critical crack size and number of cycle load with fatigue life of rail would be determined. The numbers of rail weld inspection per year has been determine by using the maximum number of cycle. The aim of this paper is to develop an effective inspection and maintenance frequency based on rolling contact surfaces crack propagation analyse. This will help to prevent the occurrence of rail failure by taking the required action at the right time, and extend the rail life expectancy, reduce the rail maintenance work and its cost.

A Bayesian condition-based maintenance and monitoring policy with variable sampling intervals

The aim of this study is to propose a Condition-Based Maintenance and Monitoring (CBM) policy which employs a Bayesian inspection scheme. A single unit system, which is subject to both operational deterioration and catastrophic failures, is considered. The equipment may operate in two different non-observable states (healthy and unhealthy). The unhealthy state is characterized by higher operational cost and higher proneness to failure. Failures are self-announced (directly observable) and thus, corrective maintenance is implemented immediately. A new double-sampling Bayesian control chart with state-dependent variable inspection frequency is proposed. The process operation is analytically modeled through a six-state Markov process, while, unlike all previous Bayesian models, there is no need for discretization of the unhealthy-state probabilities. At each inspection instance all available information regarding the equipment condition is utilized in order to schedule future inspections and preventive maintenance actions and detect possible operation in the unhealthy state. The critical parameters, namely the duration of the inspection intervals, the sample sizes and the preventive maintenance times, which minimize the expected total cost per time unit, are determined. Numerical comparisons with three other Bayesian CBM models are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed policy.

Frequency of enforcement is more important than the severity of punishment in reducing violation behaviors

External enforcement policies aimed to reduce violations differ on two key components: the probability of inspection and the severity of the punishment. Different lines of research offer different insights regarding the relative importance of each component. In four studies, students and Prolific crowdsourcing participants (Ntotal = 816) repeatedly faced temptations to commit violations under two enforcement policies. Controlling for expected value, we found that a policy combining a high probability of inspection with a low severity of fines (HILS) was more effective than an economically equivalent policy that combined a low probability of inspection with a high severity of fines (LIHS). The advantage of prioritizing inspection frequency over punishment severity (HILS over LIHS) was greater for participants who, in the absence of enforcement, started out with a higher violation rate. Consistent with studies of decisions from experience, frequent enforcement with small fines was more effective than rare severe fines even when we announced the severity of the fine in advance to boost deterrence. In addition, in line with the phenomenon of underweighting of rare events, the effect was stronger when the probability of inspection was rarer (as in most real-life inspection probabilities) and was eliminated under moderate inspection probabilities. We thus recommend that policymakers looking to effectively reduce recurring violations among noncriminal populations should consider increasing inspection rates rather than punishment severity.

A Data-Driven Fault Diagnosis Method Using Modified Health Index and Deep Neural Networks of a Rolling Bearing

AbstractTo improve fault diagnosis accuracy, a data-driven fault diagnosis model based on the adjustment Mahalanobis–Taguchi system (AMTS) was proposed. This model can analyze and identify the characteristics of vibration signals by using degradation monitoring as the classifier to capture and recognize the faults of the product more accurately. To achieve this goal, we first used the modified ensemble empirical mode decomposition (MEEMD) scalar index to capture the bearing condition; then, by using the key intrinsic mode function (IMF) extracted by AMTS as the input of classifier, the optimized properties of bearing is decomposed and extracted effectively. Next, to improve the accuracy of the fault diagnosis, we tested different modes, employing the modified health index (MHI), which is designed to overcome the shortcomings of the proposed health index as a classifier in a single fault mode and the deep neural networks (DNNs) as a classifier in a multifault mode. To evaluate the effectiveness of our model, the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) bearing data were used for verification. Results indicated a strong robustness with 99.16% and 1.09s, 99.86% and 6.61s fault diagnosis accuracy in different data modes. Furthermore, we argue that this data-driven fault diagnosis obviously lowers the maintenance cost of complex systems by significantly reducing the inspection frequency and improves future safety and reliability.

Determination of the Critical Phases of the Experimental Research Using Laboratory Animals: Risk Analysis

Critical phases (stages) of preclinical studies are those procedures or types of research activities whose accurate and correct implementation is a prerequisite for obtaining valid and reliable results. Russian and foreign standards require determination of the critical phases of each individual study by quality assurance staff based on checking the study protocol (plan).The aim of the study was to identify critical phases typical for most preclinical studies, and assess the potential risks during inspections.Materials and methods: the study was carried out by analysing the types and consequences of nonconformities. Numerical parameters of risks were analysed for each critical phase of the preclinical study identified by quality officers of the Joint Stock Company “Scientific and Production Association ‘HOME OF PHARMACY’”.Results: it was discovered that incorrect implementation of a procedure constituted a potential nonconformity at all the identified critical phases, and a potential consequence was acquisition of low-quality data. A combination of incorrectly implemented procedures at two or more critical phases could pose an unacceptable risk and lead to complete loss of data or failure to process data, and, as a result, the need to repeat the study.Conclusions: the highest risk was identified for such critical phases as preparation and administration of final doses of test samples, performance of physiological tests, collection of biological material samples, and handling of biological material samples by other relevant departments. Summarising the data obtained on the risks of all the critical phases, it can be concluded that risk action should take the form of regular inspections by the quality assurance staff and the study director. By adjusting the frequency of inspections, the risk of each critical phase can be made insignificant.

Scheduling wheel inspection for sustainable urban rail transit operation: A Bayesian approach

Scheduling the wheel inspection is critical to ensure the safety and sustainability of urban rail transit (URT) operation. The common wheel inspection is conducted on a fixed-interval basis, determined by empirical practices. However, the relationship between the distance of wheel travel and wheel wearing condition subject to track alignment is uncertain. A Bayesian model is developed to schedule the timings of wheel inspections which meet the safety thresholds for sustainable train operation. In the case study, the historic wheel inspection data of a real-world URT line was collected and analyzed, which indicates that wheel reprofiling follows a Weibull distribution. The suggested wheel inspection plan by the proposed model is compared with fix-interval inspection. The results show that the inspection frequency can be significantly reduced before yielding 180,900 km wheel travel, which satisfies the wheel reliability as 0.95.

A probabilistic-based model for dynamic predicting pitting corrosion rate of pipeline under stray current interference

Stray current generated from DC rail transit system would lead to severe electrochemical corrosion on buried gas pipeline. Due to significant dynamic characteristics of stray current, the corrosion of gas pipelines may not be discovered in time, especially when the frequency of in-line inspection is low. In view of this, we originally develop a novel dynamic assessment approach for corrosion rate distribution along the gas pipeline subjected to stray current corrosion. In this model, fluctuation of stray current and influencing parameters are involved in measuring the uncertainty of corrosion rate by using Monte Carlo simulation and specific corrosion behavior is also taken into consideration. The results show that, when the gas pipeline is parallel to the subway line, corrosion rate in the middle section of gas pipeline is much higher than the section at both ends.

What Lies Behind Successful Regulation? A Qualitative Evaluation of Pilot Implementation of Kenya's Health Facility Inspection Reforms.

Health facility regulation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is generally weak, with potentially serious consequences for safety and quality. Innovative regulatory reforms were piloted in three Kenyan counties including: a Joint Health Inspection Checklist (JHIC) synthesizing requirements across multiple regulatory agencies; increased inspection frequency; allocating facilities to compliance categories which determined warnings, sanctions and/or time to re-inspection; and public display of regulatory results. The reforms substantially increased inspection scores compared with control facilities. We developed lessons for future regulatory policy from this pilot by identifying key factors that facilitated or hindered its implementation. We conducted a qualitative study to understand views and experiences of actors involved in the one-year pilot. We interviewed 77 purposively selected staff from the national, county and facility levels. Data were analyzed using the framework approach, identifying facilitating/hindering factors at the facility, inspection system, and health system levels. The joint health inspections (JHIs) were generally viewed as fair, objective and transparent, which enhanced their perceived legitimacy. Interactions with inspectors were described as friendly and supportive, in contrast to the punitive culture of previous inspections when bribery had been common. Inspector training and use of an electronic checklist were strongly praised. However, practical challenges with transport, route planning and budgets highlighted the critical nature of strong logistical management. The effectiveness of inspection in improving compliance was hampered by limitations in related systems, particularly facility licensing, enforcement of closures and, in the public sector, control of funds. However, an inclusive reform development process had led to high buy-in across regulatory agencies which was key to the system's success. Effective facility inspection involves more than "hardware" such as checklists, protocols and training. Cultural, relational and institutional "software" are also crucial for legitimacy, feasibility of implementation and enforceability, and should be carefully integrated into regulatory reforms.

Uncertainty analysis of rework predictors in post-hurricane reconstruction of critical transportation infrastructure

The aims of this study are to identify the factors that contribute to occurrence of reworks in the reconstruction of transportation infrastructure following hurricanes, develop a model for predicting the costs associated with these reworks. In addition, this study determined the robustness and fragility of each rework predictor. Therefore, the stepwise multiple regression and extreme bound analysis (EBA) methods were adopted. The results demonstrated that the influential predictors are distance from highly-populated areas, shortage of laborers, logistics management, frequency of inspections, information management, coordination, environmental/safety issues, work suspensions, regulatory requirements, and temporary pathways. The outcomes provide accurate information that will be helpful in preventing/mitigating the cost of reworks in reconstruction of transport infrastructure.

Nothing lasts forever: Items missing from your preventative maintenance system

AbstractDue to the number of serious Process Safety incidents that have occurred from the implementation of the Process Safety Management Standard, US Occupational Safety and Health Administration has implemented National Emphasis Programs to audit process safety compliance at refineries and chemical processing plants. Both the Refinery and the Chemical National Emphasis programs identified Mechanical Integrity as the element with the largest number of compliance gaps. An overview of the techniques used to identify the scope of an Asset Integrity System will be provided. Learning from incidents, including outside the Chemical Processing Industry, that have occurred will be reviewed to illustrate the importance of smaller, often overlooked, items that became root causes of incidents. The goal of this paper is to provide the reader with guidance on identification, determination of inspection frequency, documentation and deficiency resolution of critical equipment that not only satisfies the regulatory requirements but also includes all items, including small, often overlooked items.

Measurement of Human Resource Demand of Medical Institution Inspection Based on Task Analysis.

PurposeTo estimate the human resource demand of health inspection agencies to carry out the medical institution inspection function, and to provide the basis for the rational allocation of health inspection human resources.MethodsThrough policy documents review, inquiry of data from national health inspection report, Shanghai Health Inspection core business system, the basic data were collected. Based on the task analysis, the inspection functions of health inspection agency were investigated. The functional work links were analyzed, and the working time consumption was measured. The manpower needed to complete the inspection tasks of medical institutions was calculated combining with the annual functional workload and the effective working time of inspectors.ResultsThere were three main routine functions of medical institution inspection, namely, on-site inspection, administrative punishment, and handling of emergencies and complaints. There were 1871 medical institutions at all levels and types in Pudong New Area, with an average annual inspection frequency of 2.8 times, annual administrative penalty of 245 cases, and handling of emergencies and complaints of 330 cases. The total time required for functional work was 1656029.30 minutes, and the annual effective working time of single inspector was 66705.21 minutes. About 25 people were taken to complete the inspection tasks of medical institutions throughout the year. The number of personnel engaged in the inspection of medical institutions was 18, and the personnel gap was 7.ConclusionThe task analysis was an effective method to estimate the human resource demand of health inspection. In Pudong New Area, there were insufficient inspectors in medical institutions. In the case of insufficient human resource supplement, it was suggested to use technical means to improve work efficiency and save manpower investment.

A fracture mechanics framework for optimising design and inspection of offshore wind turbine support structures against fatigue failure

Abstract. Offshore wind turbine (OWT) support structures need to be designed against fatigue failure under cyclic aerodynamic and wave loading. The fatigue failure can be accelerated in a corrosive sea environment. Traditionally, a stress–life approach called the S–N (stress–number of cycles) curve method has been used for the design of structures against fatigue failure. There are a number of limitations in the S–N approach related to welded structures which can be addressed by the fracture mechanics approach. In this paper the limitations of the S–N approach related to OWT support structure are addressed and a fatigue design framework based on fracture mechanics is developed. The application of the framework to a monopile OWT support structure is demonstrated and optimisation of in-service inspection of the structure is studied. It was found that both the design of the weld joint and non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques can be optimised to reduce in-service inspection frequency. Furthermore, probabilistic fracture mechanics as a form of risk-based design is outlined and its application to the monopile support structure is studied. The probabilistic model showed a better capability to account for NDT reliability over a range of possible crack sizes as well as to provide a risk associated with the chosen inspection time which can be used in inspection cost–benefit analysis. There are a number of areas for future research, including a better estimate of fatigue stress with a time-history analysis, the application of the framework to other types of support structures such as jackets and tripods, and integration of risk-based optimisation with a cost–benefit analysis.

Comparison of official food control results in Finland between food establishments with and without a certified food safety management system

Certified food safety management systems (FSMSs), such as ISO 22000 and BRC, along with official food control, focus on food safety. European Union regulation 2017/625 requires to take FSMSs and their audits into account in official food control. To assess the possibility to decrease official food control frequency due to certified FSMSs the association of certified FSMSs on food business operators' (FBO) compliance was examined. The results of 1484 official inspections of 110 Finnish food establishments representing slaughterhouses, other meat establishments, fish and milk establishments, and bakeries with (n = 59) and without (n = 51) certified FSMS were studied over the period of 2016–2018. Altogether, 14 356 scores were given to 87 different items during the inspections. The comparison of scores between food establishments with and without certified FSMS discovered minor differences: 98.3% and 98.0% of inspected items in food establishments with and without a certified FSMS, respectively, did not impair food safety. The association between certified FSMSs and food establishments’ compliance was inconsistent in different establishment types and among inspected items. Therefore, the results do not support a decrease in the frequency of official food control inspections merely based on the existence of a certified FSMS. Instead, the results advocate for an individual assessment of the FBO's inspection frequency, based on the history of compliance. • Food safety management systems should be taken into account in official food control. • Most of the official food control scores were excellent or good. • Establishments with and without FSMS had only small differences in scores.

The impact of inspection on the sustainable production strategy: Environmental violation and abatement in emerging markets

Environmental inspections help regulators ensure manufacturers’ compliance with environmental regulations and reduce pollution. However, the intensive inspections to ensure compliance are costly. This is especially problematic for emerging countries with limited resources for law enforcement. The literature provides limited understandings for regulators to design a cost-effective inspection program. Our study enters this discourse by examining the relationship between governments’ environmental inspection frequency (effort) and manufacturers’ environmental performance (in terms of environmental incidents). First, by sampling Chinese-listed manufacturers, our empirical analysis reveals that higher inspection frequency improves a manufacturer’s environmental performance in the short but not the long term. We further develop a dynamic game model to explore the reasons behind this lack of effectiveness in the long term. The results show that effectiveness can be achieved through an integration between inspection frequency and penalties for noncompliance. Inspection leads to cosmetic improvements in a manufacturer; frequent inspections accompanied with increased penalties substantially enhance a manufacturer’s abatement efforts, which is the most effective enforcement policy. Our study suggests that penalty can be the boundary condition between rational choice and behavioral shock on environmental enforcement. It urges manufacturers to make reasonable abatement efforts to reduce environmental penalties and improve environmental performance. Our study has important implications for policymakers in that it provides them a basis on which to review the current environmental law and enforcement process.

Investigation the effect of heat treatment on brass defect measurement using Eddy Current Testing

Eddy current technology has been used as a non-destructive method of measuring material properties for many years. Most applications of the eddy current technique lie in locating surface or subsurface flaws and evaluating material characteristics. This paper investigated the effect of heated brass material on material conductivity and defect measurement using eddy current testing (ECT). The ECT signal is compared and analyses in order study the effect of annealing on electrical properties of brass material. Brass block sample is designed and artificial defect with depth of 0.5mm 1.00mm and 2.00mm fabricated using Electrical discharge machining (EDM) machine. Industrial standard ECT set is used inspect the conductivity depth of defect brass sample before and after annealing process. Different frequency of ECT coil excitation are applied in order to determine the suitable ECT inspection frequency on brass material. The experimental results show the heat treatment decrease the conductivity of brass material. Due the changes of electrical properties on heated brass, the measurement of depth defect affected the value of amplitude ECT signal. Where the heated brass material reduced 10% IACS signal.

Structural Failures Risk Analysis as a Tool Supporting Corporate Responsibility

The problem of the structural failures is inextricably linked with the construction industry. A structural failure can be defined as the unintentional, violent destruction of a building object or its part, as well as structural elements of scaffolding, forming elements, sheet piling and excavation linings. Structural failures always entail financial and environmental losses that cause a big problem for companies. The analysis of the structural failures allows to indicate the causes that led to them, but also to introduce actions to help avoid them or decrease their appearance in the future. From the point of view of sustainability risk, human life, corporate responsibility, but also possible financial penalties, it is a very important element of the business process management in an enterprise. In the paper the structural failures occurring in Poland in 2015–2019 were analyzed based on data from the General Office of Building Control (GUNB). They are divided into two categories: caused by random factors and resulting from human error. Failures caused by human error were divided into those related to construction, used material and building operation (exploitation). The structural failures occurring during construction works, e.g., construction, renovation, demolition works, as well as in existing facilities, e.g., during the use of the facility but also in facilities excluded from use, were analyzed. Then, the individual causes of the structural failures were analyzed in terms of repeatability in each category. The risk priority number was calculated for the causes in the group “random events” and nine causes related to “human error”. Actions aimed at reducing the risk of future failures were proposed. The results of the analysis provide conclusions that constitute input data for the improvement of both the processes themselves and the procedures for design, construction and exploitation, or methods and frequency of inspections.

Pengaruh Faktor-Faktor Pemeriksaan Internal Terhadap Peningkatan Keandalan Struktur Pengendalian Internal Pada PDAM Gwar Gwamar

The problem of the reliability of the internal control structure is thought to be one of thecauses of the not optimal performance of PDAM Gwar Gwamar in contributing to RegionalOriginal Revenue (PAD) for Aru Islands Regency. For this reason, researchers tried toexamine this problem in terms of 9 (nine) internal audit factors, including Independence,Professional Expertise, Scope of Activities, Implementation of Audit Activities, Managementof the Internal Audit Section, Work Experience, Inspection Frequency, Number of InternalAuditor Staff, and the technology used. The population in this study used the census methodwith saturated sampling technique. Data collection was carried out using survey techniquesthrough distributing questionnaires to all leaders, employees and staff of examiners/auditorsas respondents. Primary data from questionnaires were analyzed using multiple linearregression analysis. The results showed that of the overall internal control factors, only thenumber of internal auditor staff factors had no effect on the reliability of the internal controlstructure

Determination of Optimal MR&R Strategy and Inspection Intervals to Support Infrastructure Maintenance Decision Making

In the commonly used approach to maintenance scheduling for infrastructure facilities, maintenance decisions are made under the assumptions that inspection frequency is periodical and fixed, and that the true state of a facility is revealed through inspections. This research addresses these limitations by proposing a decision-making approach for determining optimal maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation (MR&R) strategy and inspection intervals for infrastructure facilities that can explicitly take into account non-periodical inspections as well as previously considered periodical inspections. Four transition probabilities are proposed to represent four different MR&R strategies. Then, an optimization program is suggested to minimize MR&R and inspection costs of a bridge element network over a given time period, while keeping the condition states of the element network above a predetermined level. A case study was applied to illustrate the proposed approach. The results show that the proposal approach can support decision making in situations where non-periodical inspections and MR&R actions are incorporated into the model development. If employed properly, this may allow agencies to maintain their infrastructure more effectively, resulting in cost savings and reducing unnecessary waste of resources.

Определение профессионального риска с помощью методики интегральной оценки условий труда

The whole complex of adverse effects of hazardous and harmful production factors on the employees most fully reflects such an indicator as occupational risk. In the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the occupational risk is considered as the likelihood of personnel injury due to exposure to harmful and (or) hazardous production factors when the employee performs the job duties. However, most of the risk assessment methods used are time-consuming and largely subjective. The concept of «risk» is used when organizing the risk-oriented state control (supervision), since the frequency of scheduled inspections of the organizations (enterprises) depends on the risk category (hazard class). The analysis is made concerning the methods for determining the potential risk of harm when assigning the objects of state supervision to risk categories. Some serious shortcomings are identified in the existing approach. It is established that the potential risk indicator considers only hazardous production factors through the incidents and their severity. At the same time, the harmful production factors that lead to various kinds of employee diseases are not considered. The harm caused to the health of employees due to exposure to harmful and hazardous production factors can be comprehensively assessed using the integrated assessment method of working conditions based on the regulatory standard of working time losses from morbidity with temporary disability. It is proposed to calculate the occupational risk index using the integrated assessment methodology. In accordance with the calculated values of the occupational risk index, it is possible to determine the categories of occupational risk and justify the frequency of occupational safety scheduled inspections. Occupational risk categories can be defined individually for each employee, workplace, structural subdivision, and the organization as a whole, which will allow to address the issue of working conditions improvement and conduct timely occupational safety scheduled inspections.