Performance-based Regulations Research Articles

Factors Affecting the Fire Safety Design of Photovoltaic Installations Under Performance-Based Regulations in Norway

The impact of Photovoltaic (PV) installations on the fire safety of buildings must be considered in all building projects where such energy systems are established. The holistic fire safety of the building largely depends on how the fire safety of the PV installation is considered by the different actors during the design and construction process. Research has therefore been undertaken to study how performance-based regulations in combination with the lack of national guidelines affect the overall fire safety considerations for PV installations in Norway. Four factors were found to govern to which extent PV installations are emphasised in the fire safety design phase: (1) whether the building was first of its kind as a pioneering building, (2) whether the building was built before or after the publication of the 2018 revision of the norm NEK 400, (3) The level of knowledge and experience of the fire safety consultant, which in turn affects the use of performance-based engineering tools and the level of detailing in the design and construction phases, and (4) The degree of integration in the building. The main goal of the study is to give an insight and a contribution to the development of in-depth knowledge on how fire safety design for PV installations on buildings is handled in Norway, which may also be relevant to other countries with similar performance-based regulations.

Maximum likelihood estimation of probabilistic non-suppression model for OECD NPP electrical fire applying non-negative continuous distribution

The securement and improvement of realism in a probabilistic fire risk assessment (Fire PRA) are important in risk-informed performance-based regulations and decision support. In this study, a probabilistic fire brigade non-suppression model is developed for electrical fires using the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development fire incident data on operating nuclear power plants collected from various countries by applying a non-negative continuous probability distribution with the maximum likelihood estimation method. The result of fitting 15 types of a non-negative continuous probability distributions shows that the log-normal probability model is the best fitting and most adequate model, and can best represent the actual fire suppression time by a fire brigade. The selected log-normal probability model was compared with the exponential probability model being used in an existing Fire PRA, which shows that the level of adequacy of the log-normal probability model is improved with a decrease in the bayesian information criteria by 7.9%, residual sum of squares by 100.0%, and mean squared error by 57.6%. The log-normal probability model selected from this study is expected to contribute to an enhancement of the Fire PRA realism in support of risk-informed decision making by reflecting actual fire suppression experience.

Methane Emission Controls: Toward More Effective Regulation

In the United States, emissions to the air from the oil and natural gas sector are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency New Source Performance Standards (NSPS). Unfortunately, the pace of emission reductions has been slow. In 2016, the Obama administration pledged to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40-45% by 2025, representing a compound annual decline rate of roughly 6%. However, the rate of methane emissions has changed slowly since the promulgation of natural gas emission control rules in 2012 and 2016, resulting in a compound annual decline rate of about 0.3%. This disappointing outcome is mainly the result of a narrow scope of regulation that has not confronted the realities of oilfield operations. Devised at a time when the technology for the measurement of natural gas emissions was relatively immature, performance-based regulations could not be implemented effectively. Therefore, NSPS regulations are either prescriptive or, if performance-based, lack means of verifying performance. Amendments promulgated in 2020 did little to change this situation. Thus merely reverting to the status quo ante, either by use of the Congressional Review Act or by conventional regulatory processes, will do little to improve the industry's environmental performance. Instead of proposing patchwork amendments to the current rules, which are outdated and ineffective, EPA should entirely rethink natural gas emission control. This paper analyzes why the rules were constructed as they were, examines the data that highlights the inadequacies of present regulations, explores the new technologies that have improved the prospects for effective regulation, and proposes a new, more efficient and effective regulatory regime.

Modelling structural performance and risk for enhanced building resilience and reliability

Amongst the numerous challenges faced by the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) sector, there is the need to fulfil the requirements from a wide range of increasingly demanding stakeholders, which are usually seeking for some sort of demonstration of the degree to which their needs are fulfilled (e.g. certification of building performance), together with an effective protection against the risk of nonconformities or defective buildings (e.g. financial warranties or insurance covering the risks of various kinds of building failures). Performance-based regulations and standards that are progressively being adopted by the AECO sector in general and the building subsector in particular are including the risk information, following what other sectors and industries have done since the 1970s. The needs and expectations of the AECO sector stakeholders are more sophisticated and include future-proofing methodologies and provisions that anticipate the future events, the changes, the needs or the uses to prepare adequately, minimizing impacts and capitalizing on opportunities leading to business continuity throughout the whole building projects life cycle. Within the realms of building design and construction quality control (e.g. the Consortium of European Building Control) and of building political–regulatory environments (e.g. the Inter-jurisdictional Regulatory Collaboration Committee), it has been argued that there is a need to balance the relative importance of different performance requirements and prioritize actions in face of limited resources for planning and controlling the building structures resilience and reliability. The present paper covers physical, political–regulatory and organizational aspects, seeking to contribute with a suggested correspondence and calibration of performance and risk metrics for building. Building structures are used as an empirical case study to show how technical performance and risk engineering can be programmed defensively towards higher resilience and reliability.

Full-Scale Informal Settlement Dwelling Fire Experiments and Development of Numerical Models

While fire-related injuries and deaths decreased in the global north over the past few years, they have increased in the global south. With more than one billion people residing in informal settlements (sometimes known as slums, ghettos or shantytowns), it is necessary that greater effort be placed on addressing and developing means for improving fire safety in these areas. As a result of advances made in computer technologies, emerging performance-based regulations and an increase in building complexity in the global north, the use of computer models simulating enclosure fires have increased dramatically. In this work an experimental investigation is presented for (a) a full-scale corrugated steel sheeting clad informal dwelling experiment and (b) a full-scale timber clad informal dwelling experiment. The experimental results are then compared to numerical models consisting of both simple two-zone (OZone) and computational fluid dynamic models. Currently, there is negligible literature available on Fire Dynamic Simulator (FDS) modelling of informal settlement dwellings (sometimes known as shacks or shanties) fires. This paper evaluates the plausibility of using FDS v6.7 and zonal models to predict certain fire parameters (i.e. ceiling temperatures, heat fluxes, etc.) for Informal Settlement Dwellings (ISDs) and to study the plausibility of using FDS to estimate the probability of fire spread. In this paper an introduction to ISDs is given with details pertaining to construction materials and considerations needed for numerical modelling of informal dwellings (i.e. thin permeable boundaries or combustible boundaries). Models are based upon (a) a prescribed heat release rate per unit area in FDS using data obtained from a Fire Propagation Apparatus test, and (b) an empirical two-zone model using OZone. The FDS validation guide was used to quantify the model uncertainties in order to give a critical separation distance at which fire spread between dwellings will not occur. It was found that at 3 m spacing between ISDs there is a 6% chance (based on the model uncertainties) that fire spread can occur. This is an important finding that highlights the danger associated with these closely spaced dwellings and the hope is that it can guide local government and Non-Governmental Organizations in future decision making. Three meters spacing between dwellings, however, may not be possible due to the socio-cultural-political-economic issues associated with informal settlements. This is one of the first papers to demonstrate FDS models against full-scale ISD experiments.

Performance-based regulations for safety management systems in the Canadian railway industry: an analytical discussion

The Canadian Railway Safety Act regulations require that railways implement safety management systems (SMS). The intent of this requirement was to promote companies’ safety culture, better management of safety risks, and demonstration of compliance with rules and engineering standards in day-to-day operations, while also reflecting on their processes and becoming more innovative. Yet, the railway disaster at Lac Mégantic in 2013 — which claimed 47 lives — demonstrated that SMS have been applied unevenly by railroads. A Canadian Pacific railroad derailment on 3 February 2019 with strikingly similar circumstances — which claimed 3 lives — demonstrates that these safety issues persist. In this article, we discuss and propose the adaptation of enhanced SMS implementation, within clearer performance-based regulation and risk management methods. We draw from other jurisdictions and research to demonstrate how this would encourage continuous improvement and innovation by railway operators and in concert with partners and relevant stakeholders.

Experimental Observation of Inertial Particles through Idealized Hydroturbine Distributor Geometry

To increase and maintain existing hydropower capacity within biological performance-based regulations, predictive simulation methods are needed that can reliably estimate the risk to fish passing through flow passage routes at hydropower facilities. One of the central challenges is to validate the software capabilities for simulating the trajectories, including collisions, of inertial particles against laboratory data. In this work, neutrally buoyant spherical- and rod-shaped beads were released upstream of laboratory-scale geometries representative of the distributor of a hydroturbine. The experimental campaign involved a test matrix of 24 configurations with variations in bead geometry, collision target geometry, flow speeds, and release locations. A total of more than 10,000 beads were recorded using high-speed video cameras and analyzed using particle tracking software. Collision rates from 1–7% were observed for the cylinder geometry and rates of 1–23% were observed for the vane array over the range of test configurations.

Smart demand response in China: Challenges and drivers

Smart demand response (SDR) induces change in electricity consumption by end-users, in response to price signals or incentives, via smart infrastructures. In China, SDR programs are instrumental in peak shaving, renewables integration, emissions reduction and grid reliability improvement. Previous literature has not captured the effects of the latest development of electricity market reform on SDR. Our work is distinguished from prior work by (a) comprehensively identifying China-specific SDR challenges, by contrasting these with international experience, (b) identifying effective drivers to overcome new market challenges, and (c) recommending policies and providing insights into China's future SDR development. Our paper identifies three major challenges for SDR development and adoption in China, namely, financial and market, consumer, and infrastructural challenges. In parallel, we identify drivers to overcome these challenges, including electricity market reform, introduction of new market entrants, and development of decentralized electricity systems. Finally, we put forth China-specific policy recommendations, including, continuous market reform, performance-based regulations for national utilities, a level playing field for new market entrants, and investments on consumer-based technologies. These measures aim to create equitable compensations to SDR, align the interests of utilities with SDR initiatives, provide incentives for consumer outreach, and improve the responsiveness of consumers to SDR signals.

Regulatory approaches - Safety case vs US approach: Is there a best solution today?

In the wake of the August 2012 fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California, the United States (US) Chemical Safety Board proposed the safety case regulatory approach as an alternative to the current approach used in the US today. The current regulations known as the Process Safety Management (PSM) regulations were promulgated in 1992. This followed several highly publicized catastrophic incidents (e.g., Phillips 66 Pasadena, Texas polyethylene plant explosion, 1989; Piper Alpha, North Sea, 1988 and Bhopal, India, 1984). The US approach to regulation is best described as a combination of prescriptive and performance-based regulations that address safety considerations in design and operations. A safety case approach, as used in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia and Norway, requires a detailed analysis of hazards and steps taken to address those hazards, and thus minimize or mitigate the risk. Both the safety case and PSM processes address many of the same aspects such as management of change, identification of hazards and assessment of risks, but the process and format for documentation and regulatory review differs.The question then arises as to the effectiveness of these two regulatory regimes in preventing process safety related incidents. Many reputable organizations and research groups have taken positions regarding whether the US should abandon the existing system of safety regulations. Review of several global incidents has shown that while appropriate hazards and risks were identified, operational shortcomings led to incidents.Uniform and consistent process safety data are in the early stages of being collected and published by such organizations as the American Petroleum Institute (API) and The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP), using API RP 754 defined metrics. For this paper, data have been collected on oil and gas operations in the US, UK, Norway and Australia to compare the performance of the differing regulatory regimes. While the data are not comprehensive, from existing data on major incidents, spills and fatalities, one cannot conclude that one regulatory regime is superior to the other. Consistent reporting of incidents in a database with appropriate metrics is sorely needed.Furthermore, the authors express the need to move beyond regulatory compliance and suggest research on application of a systems approach to process safety by developing a process resilience analysis framework for process design and operations.

Comparison of national fire safety requirements within COST Action FP1404

ABSTRACTCOST Action FP1404, fire safe use of bio-based building products, is aiming to improve knowledge on the fire safe use of bio-based building products. The subject includes e.g. wood-based structural panels and beams, and non-structural insulating products. One of the tasks of Working Group 3 of FP1404 is to compare regulatory approaches in different countries. Concerning load-bearing structures, maximum number of storeys where bio-based products (such as wood) can be used according to prescriptive regulations varies from two storeys to ‘no limit defined’ without specific protection needs. In some countries, there are additional requirements based on fire separation, on coverings or on protective layers. When performance-based regulations are applied, there is theoretically no limit for number of storeys. External claddings of D class may be used from maximum two storeys to 30 m in height (or even more) and internal wall and ceiling linings of class D can be used in most countries in buildings with three or more storeys.

From Flood Protection to Flood Risk Management: Condition-Based and Performance-Based Regulations in German Water Law

In many European countries, a paradigm shift from technically oriented flood protection to a holistic approach of flood risk management is taking place. In Germany, this approach is currently being implemented after several amendments of the Federal Water Act. The paradigm shift is also reflected in the theoretical structure of the legal stipulations. While the former regulations of flood protection were predominantly conditions-based, linked with clear preconditions and legal consequences, the legal implementation of the flood risk management approach is accompanied by an increase of goal-oriented, performance-based regulations. This contribution discusses the interrelationship between the two legislative approaches and the specific challenges for the administration. Flood risk management, as a policy field, requires the law to provide robustness but also flexibility. It is concluded that the German way could accidentally provide a viable answer to this dilemma. The conclusions drawn for the flood risk management in Germany might be applicable also to other policy fields and even outside Germany.

Low carbon non-domestic building design process. An ethnographic comparison of design in Wales and England

Purpose – The UK aims to reduce the carbon emissions in the building sector so as to achieve nearly zero-carbon new buildings by 2020. In 2010, a 25 per cent reduction of carbon emissions was mandated in England and Wales. The aim of this paper is to reveal how the design teams were coping with the energy regulation changes in 2010 in England and Wales. Design/methodology/approach – An ethnographic methodology was selected to investigate in-depth the real-time design process in four architecture practices. The study was analysed in detail and compared the design process of six non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. The data collection methods included interviews, non-participant observation and document analysis and were conducted for a period of 12-21 months per case study. Findings – The field findings suggest the disconnections between the project driver and the policy agenda and reveal what the design teams do to embed energy performance in routine project design. Research limitations/implications – Due to the in-depth nature of the data, no claims for generalisation or representativeness are made. However, the detailed analysis of the real-time design process reveals the designers’ enactment of the policy agenda, which is in essence a timeless phenomenon about policy intervention and performance-based regulations. Originality/value – The designers’ enactment of and responses to the policy changes become an analytical tool to infer lessons that can be learned from the process and lead to the achievement of expected carbon reductions and the success of the policy intentions.

Impact of Reward and Penalty Scheme on the Incentives for Distribution System Reliability

Performance-based regulations accompanied by quality regulations are gaining ground in the electricity distribution business. Several European countries apply quality regulations with reward and penalty schemes (RPSs), where the distribution system operator (DSO) is rewarded (or penalized) when fulfilling (or not fulfilling) an adequate level of reliability to its customers. This paper develops a method that the regulator can use before enforcing a regulation to get an understanding of the impact different RPS design solutions have on the DSO's financial risk and incentives to invest in reliability. The proposed method also includes a sensitivity analysis to identify which are the most important parameters in an RPS. The new method is applied to three regulatory challenges to evaluate their RPS design solutions. Results show that the choice of scheme design and cost model used to decide the incentive rate have a large impact on the DSO's financial risk and incentive to invest.

Grasping at Straws: Comments on the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review

The release last month of the Alberta Pipeline Safety Review was meant to be a symbol of the province’s renewed commitment to environmental responsibility as it aims for new export markets. The report’s authors, Group 10 Engineering, submitted 17 recommendations covering public safety and pipeline incidents, pipeline integrity management and pipeline safety near bodies of water — and many of them run the gamut from the obvious to the unhelpful to the contradictory. That the energy regulator ought to be staffed to do its job should go without saying; in fact, staffing levels were never identified as an issue. The recommendation that record retention and transfer requirements be defined for mergers and acquisitions, sales and takeovers is moot. There is no reason a purchasing party would not want all relevant documents, and no real way to enforce transparency if the seller opts to withhold information. Harmonizing regulations between provinces could reduce companies’ cost of doing business, but could also prove challenging if different jurisdictions use performance-based regulations — which is what the Review recommended Alberta consider. This very brief paper pries apart the Review’s flaws and recommends that the province go back to the drawing board. Safety is a serious issue; a genuine statistical review linking pipeline characteristics to failures and risk-mitigation activities would be a better alternative by far.

Paradigm shift in the regulatory application of safety management systems to offshore facilities

The April 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy and release from the Macondo Well resulted in a re-examination of the existing regulatory framework, significant modifications to the structure and function of key regulatory agencies, and the application of new Safety Management System requirements to offshore facilities in United States waters. Late-2010 witnessed the evolution of both prescriptive and performance-based regulations designed to address the direct and underlying causes of this tragedy. The objective of this article is to briefly review these new regulatory requirements and illustrate how they are related to the application of other Safety Management Systems, for both offshore and onshore facilities. The common themes, objectives, and overlaps of specific onshore and offshore Safety Management System elements was examined, and tips on how these overlaps can be used to more effectively (and sensibly) implement these programs is discussed. This article also outlined successful Safety Management System programs that are being applied by various state agencies to onshore and offshore coastal facilities, and derived lessons-learned from these programs that may assist in the implementation of related federal programs. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 35: 317–329, 2016

НЕ "ГИБКОЕ" НОРМИРОВАНИЕ, А "НУЛЕВАЯ" ТЕРПИМОСТЬ!

НЕ "ГИБКОЕ" НОРМИРОВАНИЕ, А "НУЛЕВАЯ" ТЕРПИМОСТЬ!

Improving environmental permitting through performance-based regulation: a case study of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract Environmental regulations can play a major role in fostering improvements in industrial environmental performance. This potential can be best leveraged when regulatory aspects are tiered by performance criteria in “performance-based” policies. Although recognized as an essential part of incentivizing performance improvements, these polices present a significant challenge for developing countries. This paper presents a definition and the basic elements of performance-based regulations, and a case study in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Starting with a brief discussion of public environmental policy instruments, the performance-based concept is defined and examined, using the experiences of the U.S. to list the most relevant characteristics by which a public policy can help regulators to not only recognize but also to reward and encourage environmental performance improvement. The introduction of performance criteria into the renewable permits in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, is described as an example of these practices. By establishing an innovative permitting model, the state environmental agency encourages continuous environmental performance improvements in industries. Some preliminary results are presented with regard to administrative and environmental benefits, with an example of water reuse and wastewater volume reduction at a petrochemical hub to illustrate the strategy's potential. Finally, the adequacy of the implemented permitting system was evaluated with the performance-based criteria reported in the literature. The results attest to the potential of this model to foster improvements beyond traditional compliance, mainly through the adoption of cleaner production, thereby contributing to environmental quality improvements with low economic, socio and political enforcement costs.

Exploring vector space: overcoming resistance to direct control of the tobacco industry

Within the epidemiological framework that describes the relationship of smokers (host), cigarettes (agent), tobacco companies (vector) and environment,1 both the agent and the vector are man-made and, in theory, controllable....

Linking Safety Factor and Failure Probability for Fire Safety Engineering

In response to the call for the development of risk informed, performance-based building fire regulations, a literature review was conducted to link the traditional safety factor approach in fire safety engineering to failure probability. It can be demonstrated that a safety factor alone is an insufficient measure, or is only a first-order measure of risk or failure probability. To achieve a higher order estimate of failure probability, an α-percentile method is proposed. As part of this methodology, it is also proposed that the fire engineering briefing process involve nominations of percentile values for design fire scenarios as well as other parameters that define the scenarios.

A comprehensive model of virtual competition in distribution energy systems

Drawbacks of traditional “rate of return” (ROR) regulation for distribution system operators (DSOs) have given birth to performance based regulations (PBRs), among which are price cap (PC), yardstick competition (YC), and quality regulation (QR). The PC method may be affected by information asymmetries between the regulator and DSOs and the integration of YC, a regulatory policy that makes the regulated DSO competing with a virtual competitor, partly solves this problem. QR also needs to be considered to ensure that the improvement of economics does not jeopardize quality. Thus, it seems appropriate to integrate the three PBRs to strive contemporaneously for economic and technical good performance. This paper aims to model the distribution system competition under the integrated PC, YC, and QR regulatory scheme, allowing for quantitative estimation of DSO's performance. We develop a comprehensive model to represent virtual competition under the integrated regulatory paradigm, capable of capturing the interaction among various DSOs, which is modeled as a Nash game where all the DSOs endeavor to reduce cost for profit maximization. The model is used to capture the impacts of various parameters on the technical and economic performances. An application of the model to real 5-DSOs case is provided and discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.