New Code Of Practice Research Articles

Monitoring of standard documents of the USA and Russian Federation in terms of requirements for concrete and reinforced concrete

Introduction. One of the urgent tasks for the development of technical regulation on construction, set by the Government of the Russian Federation and addressed to the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of Russia, is to restore the monitoring system in construction for its timely updating, eliminating duplications and contradictions that arise. Meanwhile, new building materials, technologies and design methods demand continuous improvement of the standard framework and increase in the harmonization of Russian and international standards and regulations in the construction of buildings and structures. The paper presents the monitoring results of Russian and North American standard technical documentation setting requirements for concrete, reinforced concrete and reinforced concrete products.Aim. To conduct a comparative analysis of standard technical documentation in construction industry of Russia and the United States and prepare suggestions for their harmonization.Materials and methods. The study involved a review, systematization and analysis of national and foreign technical documents in the field of standardization of requirements for concrete and reinforced concrete, as well as research projects and bibliography concerning technical regulation in this field.Results. The authors produced suggestions for the development of new codes of practice and state standards. The present paper introduced a list of research which can be used as prerequisites for developing new, as well as adjusting and updating previously approved technical standards. The authors noted significant differences between technical regulation systems in the USA and Russian Federation, as well as poor harmonization of standards requirements.Conclusion. The results obtained indicate the feasibility of subsequent monitoring of national and foreign standard technical documentation with domain decomposition and specification of areas for in-depth analysis. The suggestions made as part of the monitoring work can contribute to the development of the national scientific and standard framework.

Determination of the Absorbed Dose in Water for Small Photon Beams Using Micro-TLDs of LiF:Mg,Ti (Pilot Audit Proposal)

Background: Small-field dosimetry remains an open challenge globally. Thus, it is crucial to consider adequate reference codes of practice for the performance of dosimetry. Furthermore, as part of good clinical practice, the implementation of new codes of practice implies the development of a dosimetry audit program. In this work, a pilot dosimetric audit protocol is established for measuring the absolute dose in water for small fields using micro-TLDs LiF:Mg,Ti dosimeters. Methods: The dosimeters were irradiated with a 6 MV X-ray beam in a linear accelerator. The TLDs were calibrated between 0.5 and 3 Gy for different field sizes. For audit, the TLDs were irradiated at 2 Gy for different circular field sizes. The proposed protocol consists of five TLD dosimeters forming a cross with a marked radiochromic film to identify the position of the central dosimeter during irradiation. Only the dosimeter measurement in the center of the field is used. Results: It was found that the percentage difference between the measured dose and the prescribed dose (2 Gy) for irradiation in circular fields is less than 3%. Conclusions: A pilot dosimetric audit was carried out using the proposed protocol over a linear accelerator using small circular collimator photon beams.

Application of a portable primary standard level graphite calorimeter for absolute dosimetry in a clinical low-energy passively scattered proton beam

Objective. A calibration service based on a primary standard calorimeter for the direct determination of absorbed dose for proton beams does not exist. A new Code of Practice (CoP) for reference dosimetry of proton beams is being developed by a working party of the UK Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM), which will recommend that ionisation chambers are calibrated directly in their clinical beams against the proposed Primary Standard Proton Calorimeter (PSPC) developed at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). The aim of this work is to report on the use of the NPL PSPC to directly calibrate ionisation chambers in a low-energy passively scattered proton beam following recommendations of the upcoming IPEM CoP. Approach. A comparison between the dose derived using the proposed IPEM CoP and the IAEA TRS-398 protocol was performed, and values were determined experimentally for three types of chambers. In total, 9 plane-parallel and 3 cylindrical chambers were calibrated using the two protocols for two separate visits. Main results. The ratio of absorbed dose to water obtained with the PSPC and with ionisation chambers applying TRS-398 varied between 0.98 and 1.00, depending on the chamber type. The new procedure based on the PSPC provides a significant improvement in uncertainty where absorbed dose to water measured with a user chamber is reported with an uncertainty of 0.9% (1), whereas the TRS-398 protocol reports an uncertainty of 2.0% and 2.3% (1) for cylindrical and plane-parallel chambers, respectively. The values found agree within uncertainties with those from TRS-398 and Monte Carlo calculations. Significance. The establishment of a primary standard calorimeter for the determination of absorbed dose in proton beams combined with the introduction of the associated calibration service following the IPEM recommendations will reduce the uncertainty and improve consistency in the dose delivered to patients.

Property flood resilience: Insights into the CIRIA code of practice

Flooding is one of the UK’s biggest risks, and changes to our climate with predictions of warmer, wetter and stormier winters will increase the risk further. The Environment Agency’s National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England (2020) sets out ambitions to create climate resilience places and infrastructure for today’s and tomorrow’s climate. It works to the vision of ‘a nation ready for, and resilient to, flooding and coastal change — today, tomorrow and to the year 2100’. Among many objectives set out, the strategy commits risk management authorities to mainstream the use and take-up of property flood resilience (PFR) — that is, those measures that aim to reduce the amount of water entering a property, and those adaptations that can be made to reduce damage if it does enter. The PFR sector has evolved over the last decade with varying success, limited uptake and perceptions of ‘failure’ through poor workmanship and an absence of guidance. In 2021 a new Code of Practice (CoP) was published, providing guidance on six standards: hazard assessment, property survey, options development, construction, commissioning and handover, and operation and maintenance. This paper explores the objective of the Code, its benefits and limitation, highlighting that while the Code remains voluntary, growing awareness and application by risk management authorities such as the Environment Agency (EA) and lead local flood authorities will help drive up standards. Consistent delivery to acceptable standards will meet homeowner and insurer needs, thereby building a body of evidence of successful delivery and outcomes.

Construction health and safety: A topic landscape study

AbstractWe aim to draw in-depth insights into the current literature in construction health and safety and provide perspectives for future research efforts. The existing literature on construction health and safety is not only diverse and rich in sight, but also complex and fragmented in structure. It is essential for the construction industry and research community to understand the overall development and existing challenges of construction health and safety to adapt to future new code of practice and challenges in this field. We mapped the topic landscape followed by identifying the salient development trajectories of this research area over time. We used the topic modeling algorithm to extract 10 distinct topics from 662 abstracts (filtered from a total of 895) of articles published between 1991 and 2020. In addition, we provided the most cited references and the most popular journal per topic as well. The results from a time series analysis suggested that the construction health and safety would maintain its popularity in the next 5 years. Research efforts would be devoted to the topics including “Physical health and disease”, “Migrant and race”, “Vocational ability and training”, and “Smart devices.” Among these topics, “Smart devices” would be the most promising one.

Monte Carlo verification of output correction factors for a TrueBeam STx®

The recent publication of the new code of practice IAEA/AAPM TRS-483 introduces output correction factors to correct detector response changes in relative dosimetry of small photon beams. In TRS-483, average correction factors are reported for several detectors in high-energy photon beams at 6 and 10 MV with and without flattening filter. These correction factors were determined by Monte Carlo simulation or experimental measurements using several linacs of different brands and vendors. The goal of this work was to validate the output correction factors reported in TRS-483 for 6 MV photon beams of a TrueBeam STx® linac. The validation was performed using Monte Carlo simulations of four radiation detectors employed in the dosimetry of small photon beams and whose output correction factors were determined using a different radiation source than TrueBeam STx®. The results show that Monte Carlo calculated output correction factors, and those reported in the code of practice TRS-483 fully agree within ∼1%. The use of generic correction factors for a TrueBeam STx® and the detectors studied in this work is suitable for small field dosimetry static beams within the uncertainties of Monte Carlo calculations and output correction factors reported in TRS-483.

Driving a New Era of Collaboration in Engineering Skills Outreach

Joined up action across industry and education is key to meeting tomorrow's engineering skills requirements. A new code of practice, shaped by more than 100 organisations, provides a framework for making this happen, writes Dr Hilary Leevers, CEO of Engineering UK

Human–Vehicle Integration in the Code of Practice for Automated Driving

The advancement of SAE Level 3 automated driving systems requires best practices to guide the development process. In the past, the Code of Practice for the Design and Evaluation of ADAS served this role for SAE Level 1 and 2 systems. The challenges of Level 3 automation make it necessary to create a new Code of Practice for automated driving (CoP-AD) as part of the public-funded European project L3Pilot. It provides the developer with a comprehensive guideline on how to design and test automated driving functions, with a focus on highway driving and parking. A variety of areas such as Functional Safety, Cybersecurity, Ethics, and finally the Human–Vehicle Integration are part of it. This paper focuses on the latter, the Human Factors aspects addressed in the CoP-AD. The process of gathering the topics for this category is outlined in the body of the paper. Thorough literature reviews and workshops were part of it. A summary is given on the draft content of the CoP-AD Human–Vehicle Integration topics. This includes general Human Factors related guidelines as well as Mode Awareness, Trust, and Misuse. Driver Monitoring is highlighted as well, together with the topic of Controllability and the execution of Customer Clinics. Furthermore, the Training and Variability of Users is included. Finally, the application of the CoP-AD in the development process for Human-Vehicle Integration is illustrated.

CyberKnife reference dosimetry: An assessment of the impact of evolving recommendations on correction factors and measured dose.

Specialized treatment machines such as the CyberKnife, TomoTherapy, or the GammaKnife, utilize flattening filter free (FFF) photon beams and may not be able to generate a 10cm x 10cm reference field. A new Code of Practice has recently been published (IAEA TRS483) to give recommendations for these machines. Additionally, some standard laboratories provide measured beam quality correction factors for the user's reference chamber, which can be used instead of the published tabulated beam quality correction factors. The purpose of this study was first to assess how different recommendations, as outlined below, affect the reference dosimetry at the CyberKnife, and second, to assess the impact of using measured rather than tabulated beam quality correction factors on measured dose. Following recommendations in TRS398, three field chambers (IBA CC04, Exradin A19, and Exradin A12S) were cross-calibrated with a user's reference chamber (IBA FC65-G), which was calibrated in a Cobalt-60 (Co-60) beam by a primary standards laboratory. The chamber response was corrected for influence quantities such as temperature, pressure, ion recombination, polarity, and beam quality. Additionally, correction factors for volume averaging and differences due the FFF beam spectrum were determined for the CyberKnife beam. Three different methods were utilized - TRS398; Intermediate (i.e. TRS398 with additional published recommendations); and TRS483. The measurements were undertaken in a 10cm×10cm field defined by jaws for a uniform flattened (WFF) 6MV photon beam of a Varian TrueBeam linear accelerator (linac) with a source to detector distance (SDD) of 100cm, and in a 60mm diameter circular field for a 6MV flattening filter free (FFF) Accuray CyberKnife beam with SDD of 80cm. All measurement was performed at 10cm deep in a full scatter phantom as defined in TRS398. Differences between the three methods in volume averaging correction factors ranged from 0.01% to 0.45% depending on the chamber assessed. As expected, an increased chamber length leads to a larger correction factor. The differences in beam spectrum correction factors range from 0.09% to 0.3%. Negligible differences in beam quality correction factors were observed; however, differences up to 1% were found between measured and tabulated values. Differences in cross-calibrated chamber calibration coefficients range from 0.05% to 0.51% depending on the chamber assessed. Differences in measured dose are up to 0.87% between Method TRS398 and Intermediate, again chamber dependent, and 0.28% between Method Intermediate and TRS483. Using chambers cross-calibrated in the linac beam can lead to differences in measured dose per Monitor Unit (MU) in the CyberKnife beam of approximately 0.5% between chambers. Using Method Intermediate vs using recommendations given in TRS483 led to a difference of 0.28% in measured dose per MU, which is due to differences in volume averaging and beam spectrum correction factors. Using TRS483 is recommended as the cross-calibration is done in the CyberKnife beam and accounts for its specific reference conditions. It will also ensure consistency between different centers. The measured beam quality correction factors agree within the uncertainties with the tabulated values.

Analysis of the theory of calculation of fiber-reinforced concrete with non-steel fibers

The fiber-reinforced concrete finds more applications in modern construction. This material has improved strength and deformation characteristics. The fiber-reinforced concrete is considered to be one of the most promising building materials in the world practice. The experience of using this material in developed countries, such as the USA, UK, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Australia, has shown the good technical and economic indicators in building constructions. Recently, the base of standards for preparation, calculation and design of such concretes has been prepared and introduced in Russia. The method of determination of the class of the fiber-reinforced concrete by residual tensile strength, the calculation of the strength of standard sections, the diagrams of the deformation is discussed in the article based on the new Code of Practice. The obtained results of analysis of the theory of calculation suggest further studies of the properties and physical characteristics.

Housing and Management Practices on 33 Pullet Farms in Canada.

Simple SummaryThe rearing period of pullets plays an important role in the successful transition to furnished cages or non-cage housing systems for laying hens. Changes in the laying hen sector often occur without accompanying changes in the pullet rearing sector, which could pose a risk to the success of the housing system transition. However, little is known about the housing and management practices of pullets worldwide. Recently, a new Code of Practice was released (March 2017) in Canada which provides one of the first guidelines on pullet rearing. This study aimed to describe current housing and management practices applied on pullet farms in Canada, where farmers are in the process of transitioning to this new Code of Practice. Thirty-three pullet farmers were surveyed to understand commonly used management practices in cage (14), single-tier (11) and multi-tier (8) flocks. In general, non-cage farmers met the new requirements set out in the Code of Practice for space, perches and litter provision during pullet rearing. Flocks in conventional cages did not have opportunities for perching and foraging. Further research is needed to develop methods to provide pullets with opportunities to perch and forage in these systems. Additionally, clear litter management recommendations for farmers to ensure good litter quality are needed for non-cage housing systems.Although Canada is one of the first to provide guidelines on pullet rearing in a new Code of Practice which came into effect in March 2017, little information is available about the housing and management of pullets on Canadian farms. We surveyed 99 pullet farmers and received useable responses from 33 pullet farmers (33.3% response rate) who took part in the Start Clean-Stay Clean™ program through their provincial egg boards across Canada during October–December 2017 as part of a larger study. Most flocks were housed in conventional cage systems (42.4%), followed by single-tier (33.3%) and multi-tier systems (24.2%). Flocks ranged from 1–19 weeks of age (average: 10.5 weeks of age) and were white- (58.1%) or brown-feathered (41.9%). In general, non-cage farmers met the new requirements set out in the Code of Practice for space, perches and litter provision during pullet rearing during this transitional period. Conventional caged flocks did not have opportunities for perching and foraging, but developing new methods to provide pullets with opportunities to perch and forage will become more important as the laying hen housing system transition from conventional cages to furnished cage and non-cage housing systems in Canada progresses. Additionally, clear litter management recommendations for farmers to ensure good litter quality are needed for non-cage housing systems.

GEANT4-based Monte Carlo Simulation of Beam Quality Correction Factors for the Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™

With the publication of TRS-483 in late 2017 the IAEA has established an international code of practice for reference dosimetry in small and non-standard fields based on a formalism first suggested by Alfonso et al. in 2008. However, data on beam quality correction factors ( $$k_{{Q_{msr,}}{Q_0}}^{{f_{msr,}}{f_{ref}}}$$ ) for the Leksell Gamma Knife® Perfexion™ is scarce and what little data is available was obtained under conditions not necessarily in accordance with the IAEA’s recommendations. This study constitutes the first systematic attempt to calculate those correction factors by applying the new code of practice to Monte Carlo simulation using the GEANT4 toolkit. $$k_{{Q_{msr,}}{Q_0}}^{{f_{msr,}}{f_{ref}}}$$ values were determined for three common ionization chamber detectors and five different phantom materials, with results indicating that in most phantom materials, all chambers were well suited for reference dosimetry with the Gamma Knife®. Similarities and differences between the results of this study and previous ones were also analyzed and it was found that the results obtained herein were generally in good agreement with earlier PENELOPE and EGSnrc studies.

A dosimetric evaluation of the IAEA-AAPM TRS483 code of practice for dosimetry of small static fields used in conventional linac beams and comparison with IAEA TRS-398, AAPM TG51, and TG51 Addendum protocols.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) have jointly published a new code of practice (CoP), TRS483, for the dosimetry of small static photon fields used in external beam radiotherapy. It gave recommendations on how to perform reference dosimetry in nonstandard machine-specific reference (msr) fields and measure field output factors in small fields. The purpose of this work was to perform a dosimetric evaluation of the recommendations given in this CoP. All measurements were done in a Varian TrueBeam™ STx linear accelerator. Five ionization chambers were used for beam quality measurements, four Farmer type ionization chambers for performing reference dosimetry and two diodes for performing field output factor measurements. Field output factor measurements were done for fourteen field sizes (ranging from 0.5 cm × 0.5 cm to 10 cm × 10 cm). Beam energies used were: 6 MV WFF, 6 MV FFF, 10 MV WFF, and 10 MV FFF. Where appropriate, results from this study were compared with those obtained from the recommendations given in the IAEA TRS398 CoP, AAPM TG51 and TG51 Addendum protocols. Beam quality measurements show that for all beam energies and for equivalent square msr field sizes ranging from 4 cm × 4 cm to 10 cm × 10 cm, agreement between calculated and measured values of TPR20,10 (10) was within 0.6%. When %dd(10,10)X was used as beam quality specifier, the agreement was found to be within 0.8%. Absorbed dose to water per unit monitor unit at the depth of maximum dose zmax in a beam of quality Q, Dw,Qzmax/MU, was determined using both %dd(10,10)X and TPR20,10 (10) as beam quality specifiers. Measured ratios of Dw,Q (zmax )/MU, determined using the two approaches, ranged between 0.999 and 1.000 for all the beam energies investigated. Comparison with TRS398, TG51 and TG51 addendum protocols show that depending on beam energy, the mean values of the ratios TRS398/TRS483, TG51/TRS483, and TG51 Addendum/TRS483 of Dw,Q (zmax )/MU determined using both approaches show excellent agreement with TRS398 CoP (to within 0.05%); agreement with TG51 and TG51 addendum was to within 0.3% for all four beam energies investigated. Field output factors, determined using the two methods recommended in the TRS483 CoP, showed excellent agreement between the two methods. For the 1 cm collimator field size, the mean value of the field output factor obtained from an average of the two detectors investigated was found to be 2% lower than the mean value of the uncorrected ratio of readings. For beams with and without flattening filters, the values of Dw,Q (zmax )/MU obtained following the new CoP are found to be consistent with those obtained using TRS398, TG51 and TG51 addendum protocols to within 0.3%. Field output factors for small beams can be improved when the correction factors for different detectors included in TRS483 are appropriately incorporated into their dosimetry.

P130] Calibration of gamma knife perfexion using the new iaea_aapm code of practice for the dosimetery of small static photon field

Purpose A new code of practice, TRS 483, for reference and relative dose determination of small static fields in external beam radiotherapy has been released by the IAEA and AAPM. The aim of this work is to apply the new code on Gamma Knife Perfextion and highlight any differences between the new code and the current procedure. Methods Two tasks have been performed: determination of the reference absorbed dose to water in machine –specific reference (msr) field (16 mm collimator) and determination of field output factor for the other two collimators available (8 mm and 4 mm). Two PTW chambers were used T31010 and T31016 with Elekta solid water phantom of 16 cm diameter. Both chambers have a calibration coefficient in terms of absorbed dose to water for 60Co at 10 × 10 field size, 100 SCD and chamber at 5 cm depth. The two chambers were operated at calibration voltage of + 300 V. Polarity and recombination correction factors were calculated according to the new code of practice. Results The difference in reference dose calculation between the new code and the current procedure was 1.3% and 1.8% for T31010 and T31016 chambers respectively, these differences are a result of introducing the new K Q msr , Q 0 f msr , f ref factor (1.0037, 1.004), Polarity correction (1.0084, 1.0125) and recombination correction (1.0009, 1.0012) for both chambers respectively. The current procedure has been introduced during the installation of the machine by Gamma Knife installation team, and it does not include the polarity and recombination correction factors as they were considered negligible. T31016 chamber was used to measure the output factor for the 8 mm collimator only. Applying the field output correction factor K Q clin , Q msr f clin , f msr (1.032) provided by the new code resulted in an agreements within 0.4% of the value used in the Leksell Gamma Plan. Conclusions Even though the difference in reference dose calculation can be considered clinically insignificant, procedure has to be changed as measurements show that the correction factor cannot be considered negligible. Caution must be taken when using the T31016 chamber for reference dose calculation because of the large polarity correction factor.

New guidance published on safe installation of off-site-manufactured floor slabs

Design for manufacture and assembly offers many benefits including improved site safety – but installing large ready-made components on-site is not without risk. Nick Gorst of British Precast introduces a new code of practice for installing floor slabs.

Cracking the Code: a legal geography and political ecological perspective on vegetation clearing regulations

ABSTRACTIn 2014, the New South Wales (NSW) state parliament passed legislation implementing a new Code of Practice (‘Code 10/50’) granting property owners in bushfire-prone areas the right to clear all trees within 10 m, and all vegetation within 50 m, of residences without prior approval from authorities. The Code is a significant departure from previous regimes which often required permits for vegetation clearance. The Code was introduced in direct response to bushfire threat in the wake of the 2013–14 bushfires in NSW. However, the Code has been plagued by controversy, with accusations of abuse in areas with little or no bushfire history, and a lack of any substantial environmental protections, particularly prior to a review in August 2015. In this paper we examine the debates surrounding the enactment of the Code and consider the way in which particular justifications for the Code permeated parliamentary deliberations. Our investigation relies on unpacking how the Code emerged in order to shed light on how a very controversial policy came into being. We adopt a legal geography approach, together with insights from political ecology, to demonstrate that changes in regulatory processes have the potential to fundamentally alter our landscapes.

New code links design, delivery and operation of infrastructure through BIM

BSI has recently published a new code of practice on how to reinforce the links between design, delivery and operation of infrastructure assets through building information modelling (BIM). Stephanie Kosandiak of BSI and lead technical author Brian Atkin introduce BS 8536-2:2016.

Between a rock and a hard place: the impact of the professionalization of the role of the teaching assistant in mainstream school physical education in the United Kingdom

National surveys of the role of the teaching assistant (TA) in the United Kingdom and the para-educator in the USA have explored and revealed trends in the recruitment, training, deployment and perception of their roles. Recent subject-specific research in the UK has further considered how TAs construct their role when supporting disabled pupils in a specific curriculum subject in a mainstream setting. In light of the implementation of a new code of practice in England from 2014 which changes the way in which a child with special educational needs and disabilities is supported in schools and beyond, this paper explores the roles of TAs working in secondary mainstream schools in the UK who are employed to support disabled children in Physical Education. It considers the way in which the role of the TA has evolved and developed in England following ‘Workforce Reform’ in 2003 and draws on research and literature from a number of sources to explain and update the nomenclature and responsibilities of the para-professional who seems to work ‘subdoceo’ (from the Latin meaning ‘to teach as an assistant’). It is an attempt to consolidate what we know about these roles in a specific subject and to reaffirm the trends identified from the existing small body of work in the UK. In doing so, this paper aims to provide a platform for further research but will also remind teachers of their role in ensuring that their collaboration with and deployment of these ‘paraprofessionals’ is paramount to the best interests of the child.

Industrial legislation in Australia in 2014

2014 was a year of considerable legislative activity with the introduction of six industrial relations Bills into Parliament. However, the Coalition Government failed to secure the passage of a single piece of industrial legislation. This article focuses on the most significant of these reforms, the Fair Work Amendment Bill 2014, which is designed to facilitate the making of greenfields agreements and to increase the take-up rate of individual flexibility agreements. At the same time, the Bill proposes to constrain the rights of unions to enter workplaces. As an addendum to these measures, a second Bill to amend the Fair Work Act was introduced late in the year. It aims to encourage the inclusion of productivity measures in enterprise bargaining negotiations. The article also considers legislative activity in the building and construction sector and the delayed implementation of new reporting requirements under the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012. At the state level, the article briefly reviews Tasmanian legislation to protect businesses from the activities of protesters, developments in the regulation of work health and safety in Queensland and Western Australia and a new code of practice for the building and construction sector in Victoria.

Involving the child and young person in assessment (Learning Through Doing)

‘Learning from writing to students’ (Debate 122) was the article title that inspired Ruth Birnbaum to engage in an exchange of ideas. Her initial correspondence with the author has since led her to set up a project based on pre-involvement. In an era when the voice of the child is now enshrined in the new Code of Practice (2014), Ruth queries whether educational psychologists need to engage with the child or young person sooner rather than later.