Plans For Maintenance Research Articles

Optimizing Maintenance of Energy Supply Systems in City Logistics with Heuristics and Reinforcement Learning

In urban logistics, effective maintenance is crucial for maintaining the reliability and efficiency of energy supply systems, impacting both asset performance and operational stability. This paper addresses the scheduling and routing plans for maintenance of power generation assets over a multi-period horizon. We model this problem as a multi-period team orienteering problem. To address this multi-period challenge, we propose a dual approach: a novel reinforcement learning (RL) framework and a biased-randomized heuristic algorithm. The RL-based method dynamically learns from real-time operational data and evolving asset conditions, adapting to changes in asset health and failure probabilities to optimize decision making. In addition, we develop and apply a biased-randomized heuristic algorithm designed to provide effective solutions within practical computational limits. Our approach is validated through a series of computational experiments comparing the RL model and the heuristic algorithm. The results demonstrate that, when properly trained, the RL-based model is able to offer equivalent or even superior performance compared to the heuristic algorithm.

The Effectiveness of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems in Knowledge Management

Purpose: The general objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in knowledge management. Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library. Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to the effectiveness of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in knowledge management. Preliminary empirical review revealed that ERP systems significantly enhanced knowledge management by integrating business processes, eliminating data silos, and improving decision-making and operational efficiency. Success depended on factors like organizational culture, top management support, and user training. ERP systems facilitated continuous improvement and innovation by providing real-time data access, enabling swift responses to market changes. Despite challenges like high costs and resistance to change, these could be mitigated through careful planning, strategic alignment, and effective change management, making the investment in ERP systems worthwhile for improved KM and organizational performance. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Resource-Based View (RBV) Theory, Socio-Technical Systems (STS) Theory and Knowledge-Based View (KBV) Theory may be used to anchor future studies on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The study recommended integrating ERP systems into KM frameworks to enhance theoretical models, emphasizing strategic alignment and continuous user engagement for practical implementation. It advised organizations to develop policies prioritizing ERP and KM alignment, foster knowledge-sharing cultures, and implement robust change management strategies. Continuous improvement and innovation were highlighted, with recommendations for regular system evaluation and incorporation of technological advancements. Long-term strategic planning was also emphasized, including comprehensive plans for ERP implementation, maintenance, and alignment with organizational goals to maximize the effectiveness of ERP systems in knowledge management.

Process design for FRIB’s experimental refrigeration system

The experimental system (ES) for the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University (MSU) has several segments. Following the acceleration through the three superconducting LINAC segments, the heavy ion beam is guided through the target, a fragment pre-separator and (the A1900) separator segments. There are many beam lines and then it can be split and sent to various experimental vaults and instrumentation, e.g. S800 spectrograph, and the newly proposed High Rigidity Spectrometer (HRS). Presently, superconducting magnets at the target and fragment pre-separator segments, along with the LINAC superconducting cryo-modules, are supported by FRIB’s main central helium liquefier/refrigerator (CHL). The remainder of the cryogenic loads are supported by the legacy NSCL Cryogenic Refrigerator (a re-commissioned Bureau of Mines helium liquefier from the mid 1970’s) and has many obsolete components for reliable operation. Considering the operational reliability of the accelerator, maintainability of the entire cryogenic system at FRIB and ever-growing experimental beam lines – it is logical to segregate the experimental system loads from the accelerator system loads. A new 4.5 K refrigerator along with a thermal shield (55 K) refrigerator are planned to support the operation of these experimental system (ES) loads and make plans for the CHL maintenance. These refrigerators will be able to support a combination of 4.5 K isothermal refrigeration, 4.5 K liquefaction (for magnet lead cooling and transients) and thermal radiation shield loads. The design loads, modes of operation and the planned operation of the FRIB cryogenic system with these refrigeration systems are discussed. This paper outlines the key selection parameters and design modes for the major components, such as the warm compressors, turbo-expanders and heat exchangers.

Fatigue study on improved composite box girder bridge with corrugated steel webs

The purpose of the study is to estimate the fatigue behavior of an improved composite box girder bridge with corrugated steel webs (ICBGBCSW) based on a three-dimensional vehicle-bridge coupled vibration system (VBCVS). In the VBCVS, the benchmark of the ICBGBCSW widely used in the highway bridges of Gansu Province of China was adopted as the bridge model, and a 6-axle fatigue load model established based on the traffic data of China was adopted as the fatigue vehicle loading. Based on the established VBCVS, the critical fatigue details of the ICBGBCSW were determined and the effects of pavement roughness condition (PRC) and vehicle speed on the stress ranges experienced by critical fatigue details were first investigated. Then, the fatigue live of critical fatigue details were evaluated based on the deterministic analysis method and reliability analysis method. The results show that the fatigue life of the ICBGBCSW can reach more than 375 years from a deterministic perspective under the current traffic conditions of Gansu Province of China and that the fatigue reliability index of the ICBGBCSW sharply decreases to the target fatigue reliability index of 2 if the PRC stays in the “Poor” class and the “Very poor” class for eight years and two years, respectively. The results obtained in the study can provide a technique support for the wide application of the ICBGBCSW and provide a reference for the bridge management agency to make plans for bridge pavement maintenance.

Dissemination, Utilization, and Satisfaction With Emergency Medicine Resident Simulation Curriculum for Pediatrics (EM ReSCu Peds) by North American Residency Programs.

Our research team's primary objective was to investigate how a custom standard simulation curriculum for teaching emergency medicine residents about pediatrics was being used by programs across North America. We also wanted to know if program directors were satisfied with the curriculum and whether they had challenges with implementing it. Our long-term goal is to promote the Emergency Medicine Resident Simulation Curriculum for Pediatrics for use by all programs in the United States. We distributed an electronic questionnaire to individuals who have downloaded the Emergency Medicine Resident Simulation Curriculum for Pediatrics in the form of an e-book from the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine Web site. The curriculum was marketed through national emergency medicine (EM) and pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) groups, PEM listserv, and through the International Network for Simulation-Based Pediatric Innovation, Research, and Education. We asked survey recipients how they used the curriculum, plans for future maintenance, satisfaction with curriculum use, and whether they had any challenges with implementation. Finally, we asked demographic questions. Most survey respondents were EM or PEM health care physicians in the United States or Canada. Respondents' primary goal of using the curriculum was resident education. Through assessment with the Net Promoter Score, satisfaction with the curriculum was net positive with users largely scoring as curriculum promoters. We found COVID-19 and overall time limitations to be implementation barriers, whereas learner interest in topics was the largest cited facilitator. Most responders plan to continue to implement either selected cases or the entire curriculum in the future. Of those who responded, our target audience of EM physicians used our curriculum the most. Further investigation on implementation needs, specifically for lower resource emergency programs, is needed.

СИСТЕМА КРИТЕРІЇВ ЗНАЧУЩОСТІ МОСТІВ З МОЖЛИВІСТЮ НАЛАШТУВАННЯ ЇХ ВАГОВИХ ВПЛИВІВ

Introduction. Questions of priority of road bridges (hereinafter referred to as bridges) arise when drafting various types of long -term, medium -term or short -term strategies, programs and plans for routine maintenance, current and major repairs, reconstruction, replacement of emergency or destroyed bridges in a limited amount (financial, production capacity, terms, etc.). As a result of the priority, the list (or lists) of the bridges is determined by some criteria, which require the application of certain measures, depending on the place of bridges in this list. Problem Statement. One of the prerequisites for effective management of the operation of bridges on the network of roads of Ukraine during their use is to improve the evaluation of bridges rating in the Software complex «Analytical expert system of bridge management» (SC AESUM), taking into account world experience, requirements of regulatory and technical documents and specific results for technical assessment of bridges. Purpose. The purpose of the work is to create a method and its computer implementation, which allows experienced experts to build a flexible system of criteria for significance (ratings) of bridges with the ability to adjust their weight influences. Materials and methods. Research materials are the results of the analysis of world experience in the priority of highway bridges and SC AESUM data on the availability of bridges, their surveys, assessments of technical condition and corresponding expert conclusions. Methods are based on the use of the analytical hierarchical process (AHP), proposed by Thomas L. Saaty, which is widely used in practical activity, in particular in the priority of bridges, in many countries around the world.

Live‐streaming webcam technology in the neonatal unit: A systematic review and thematic analysis

AbstractBackgroundAdmission of a baby for neonatal care represents a deeply traumatic time for parents. Webcam technology facilitating live‐streaming of the baby when the parents are unable to be physically present has been introduced to support bonding and parental engagement in care.AimThis systematic review explores the impact and experiences of webcam technology upon parents of babies in the neonatal unit and neonatal health care professionals.Study DesignA systematic search of Embase, Medline and Scopus was conducted using the keywords ‘video technology’, ‘newborn’ and ‘neonatal intensive care.’ Studies written in English and exploring live‐stream technology were included. Thematic analysis per group (parents and health care professionals) was undertaken to identify similarities between themes across published studies.ResultsTen studies were included. Six studies explored the impact of webcam technology on parents only, two on both parents and health care professionals and two on health care professionals only. Thematic analysis per group identified three themes for parents, including parental well‐being, parent‐infant bonding and quality of care. Two themes were identified for neonatal health care professionals, including quality of care and feasibility of webcam technology.ConclusionsWebcam technology has many documented benefits for parental well‐being. However, new technology requires adequate staff training, support and plans for ongoing maintenance. Further research is required to explore the long‐term impacts on breast‐milk production and infant neurological development.Relevance to Clinical PracticeThe use of webcam technology in neonatal units can potentially improve the mental health and well‐being of the parents and promote bonding between the infant, their parents and wider family members. Specialist roles to support advancing technology in the neonatal unit may allow parents and professionals to integrate webcams into practice and enhance care.

УДОСКОНАЛЕННЯ СИСТЕМИ ТЕХНІЧНОГО ОБСЛУГОВУВАННЯ АВТОМОБІЛІВ ІНОЗЕМНОГО ВИРОБНИЦТВА У ВІЙСЬКОВИХ ЧАСТИНАХ НАЦІОНАЛЬНОЇ ГВАРДІЇ УКРАЇНИ

In the military units of the National Guard of Ukraine, a planned preventive maintenance system has been introduced, which provides for mandatory implementation with the due frequency of the established set of works in the process of using and storing machines. Maintenance for everyday machines includes inspection, daily maintenance, maintenance no. 1, maintenance No. 2, seasonal maintenance. Technical services No. 1 and No. 2 are aimed at ensuring the uptime of machines, reducing the intensity of wear of parts, detecting and preventing malfunctions. It is carried out with a certain frequency. License plates are planned for a year in the "Annual plan of operation and repair of automotive equipment of the military unit" and for a month in the "Plan-schedule of maintenance and repair of machines". Such an organization of maintenance is suitable for domestic brands of cars, but not for cars of foreign production. This is due to the fact that factories manufacturers of foreign-made cars offer other types of service and other frequency. It is proposed to solve this problem by adapting the types and frequency of foreign-made machines to the existing MOT system in NSU, or by organizing a planned preventive system for individual maintenance of NSU cars. The essence of which is to accurately conduct the types of maintenance recommended by manufacturers for each car within a certain time frame. To do this, it is proposed in each military unit to develop annual and monthly plans for individual maintenance of military vehicles according to the above forms.

Прогнозирование периодичности планово-предупредительного обслуживания систем противопожарной защиты по результатам параметрического контроля

Purpose. The article provides solution to an important, but not yet completely studied problem of forecasting frequency for routine and preventative maintenance of facilities’ fire protection systems according to the results of their parametric control. Excessively frequent and prolonged implementation of preventive measures for such systems requires making them inoperative for the duration of the inspection, which increases risks of fire occurrence and spread at protected facilities. Therefore, in the course of fire supervision it is important to identify inconsistency in preventive measures timing in fire protection systems with their current and predicted condition. The obtained solution to the problem is the basis for the proposed methodology, which can be used as a practical tool for making up and revising calendar plans for routine and preventative maintenance of fire protection systems. Methods. The research methods are based on the queuing theory and its application to the problems of researching reliability for managing the processes of facilities fire protection. To obtain analytical dependences of facilities inspection terms by fire supervision services on the technical condition of their fire protection systems, multivariate statistical analysis methods and assessment of block regression models with matrix coefficients were used. Findings. Analytical dependences on time of condition probability of fire protection systems for a various number of influencing parameters are obtained. Using dependencies, preventative maintenance time for supporting safe systems functioning with specified probability is calculated. To overcome computational difficulties in local prediction of fire protection systems condition, the proposed block representation of operator equations Y (p) = A (p) X (p) – images of Erlang differential equations by a three-component model – is used. Research application field. The obtained solution to the problem is the basis of the proposed methodology, which can be used as a practical tool for making up and revising calendar plans for maintaining fire protection systems. Conclusions. The solution to the current problem of substantiating plans for maintaining fire protection systems is given. The proposed solution is illustrated with specific examples, graphs and tables. Using the obtained solution the methodology that can be used as a practical tool for making up and revising calendar plans for maintaining fire protection systems has been developed.

Anaesthetic Management in a Patient of Goldenhar Syndrome Posted for Drainage of Brain Abscess with External Ventricular Drain Insertion

Goldenhar syndrome or Oculo-auricular Vertebral Dysplasia (OAVD) is characterized by a wide range of congenital anomalies including ocular, auricular, facial, cranial, vertebral and cardiac abnormalities. Facial and oral abnormalities especially mandibular hypoplasia, micrognathia, high arch palate and limitation of neck movements resulting from vertebral anomalies, the difficult intubation, laryngoscopy and mask ventilation were expected. Hereby, presenting the case report of a 6-year-old male child, known to have goldenhar syndrome, who underwent drainage of left sided brain abscess with external ventricular drain insertion. In view of the anticipated difficult airway and cardiac anomalies, careful preoperative evaluation, preparation and well formulated contingency plans for airway maintenance, endotracheal intubation and intraoperative haemodynamic is required to combat the perioperative anaesthetic challenges in all cases of goldenhar syndrome.

Bridge Maintenance Scheduling in Consideration of Resilience Against Natural Disasters

This study aims to develop a bridge maintenance plan in consideration of the resilience of a road network against natural disasters. Toward this end, the reliability of a road network is calculated using the failure probability of bridges as an evaluation index. Bridges are social infrastructure that are essential for maintaining daily life; however, their repair and reinforcement can cause the partial disruption of road networks. Nonetheless, insufficient bridge maintenance can cause serious harm to people in an emergency, such as after an earthquake. Therefore, studies have aimed to develop long-term plans to minimize the life-cycle cost (LCC) of bridges. Other studies have measured the probability of bridge failure and developed countermeasures against natural disasters to improve the reliability and resilience of bridges. Unfortunately, studies have focused on these aspects independently of one another, even though an effective bridge maintenance plan requires them to be considered together. A plan that both minimizes LCCs and improves resilience is expected to be useful for sustainable bridge management. We search for candidates for optimal plans for long-term bridge maintenance by using a genetic algorithm (GA). The proposed method has three objectives: (1) minimization of bridge repair and reinforcement costs, (2) minimization of disruption to social activities (i.e., user cost) due to bridge maintenance, and (3) maximization of resilience against natural disasters. First, the GA is used to search for a plan with minimized maintenance cost and a flexible work period by considering uncertainties related to bridges. The remaining indices are optimized based on the flexible period. The resilience of bridges is measured through Monte Carlo simulations by using the failure probability based on the bridge state at a certain point. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the usefulness of this method for establishing a sustainable bridge maintenance plan.

Optimal maintenance decisions for deteriorating quoin blocks in miter gates subject to uncertainty in the condition rating protocol

Condition assessments and rating systems are frequently used by field engineers to assess inland navigation assets and components. The goal of these assessments is to initiate effective risk-informed budget plans for maintenance and repair/replace. Ideally, a degradation model of every component failure mode in the gate would facilitate maintenance decision-making. However, sometimes there is no clear physical understanding how a damage progresses in time; for example, it isn't clear how the bearing gaps change in time in the quoin blocks of a miter gate. Therefore, this is one motivation for the framework proposed in this paper, which integrates Structural Health Monitoring with a Markov transition matrix built from historical condition assessment. To show the applicability of this framework, two examples are presented of how to find the optimal time to plan for maintenance of components in miter gates i) static maintenance planning based on operational condition assessment (OCA) ratings only and ii) dynamic maintenance planning based on integration of damage diagnostics based on monitoring data and failure prognosis based on OCA ratings. In addition, this paper presents a new Bayesian approach to estimate the ratio of errors in the OCA ratings, which allows for improved accuracy in OCA rating-based prognosis.

Coordinated responses of academic medical centres to pandemics: Sustaining medical education during COVID-19

Background: The Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). We state the consolidated and systematic approach for academic medical centres in response to the evolving pandemic outbreaks for sustaining medical education.Discussion: Academic medical centres need to establish a ‘COVID-19 response team’ in order to make time-sensitive decisions while managing pandemic threats. Major themes of medical education management include leveraging on remote or decentralised modes of medical education delivery, maintaining the integrity of formative and summative assessments while restructuring patient-contact components, and developing action plans for maintenance of essential activities based on pandemic risk alert levels. These core principles must be applied seamlessly across the various fraternities of academic centres: undergraduate education, residency training, continuous professional development and research. Key decisions from the pandemic response teams that help to minimise major disruptions in medical education and to control disease transmissions include: minimising inter-cluster cross contaminations and plans for segregation within and among cohorts; reshuffling academic calendars; postponing or restructuring assessments.Conclusions: While minimising the transmission of the pandemic outbreak within the healthcare establishments is paramount, medical education and research activities cannot come to a standstill each time there is a threat of one.

A trunk-based SLAM backend for smartphones with online SLAM in large-scale forest inventories

Reliable forest resource information is needed to assess the forest development status and design management plans for forest maintenance and conservation. The forest field sample inventory is a vital forest resource inventory method. Thus, forest inventory reliability depends on tree attribute estimation accuracy and the quantity and quality of field samples. Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)-based mobile laser scanners (MLSs) are convenient inventory tools due to their mobility and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal independence. However, such scanners may be heavy, expensive and unable to verify results on-site. With the improved SLAM algorithm and chip computing capabilities, a smartphone can deploy an online SLAM system, which allows the smartphone to perform the relative positioning in forests without GNSS signals. Previous research studies have demonstrated this simple, portable, and economical device for estimating the tree position and diameter at breast height (DBH) through tree-by-tree measurements in real time. However, the device might face a challenge in large-scale forest inventories because the image-feature-based backend may not work well in forests that are not well constructed for traditional SLAM systems. In this paper, an online trunk-based backend was designed to accurately estimate tree position and correct pose drift in large-scale forest inventories in real time. Specifically, a trunk-based loop closure detection algorithm was designed for detecting whether an earlier observed tree is re-observed to provide nodes and constraints for tree position graph optimization; this algorithm uses the provided nodes and constraints to build and optimize the tree position graph and then correct the current pose based on the optimized globally consistent tree position graph. This new backend was integrated with the previous work as an executable program that can be deployed on a smartphone with an online RGB-D SLAM system. The method was tested in 5 field sample plots (32 × 32 m), and the reference tree positions were collected using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) through multi-scan mode. The distance mean between the estimated and reference tree positions was 0.133 m when using our new backend, and it was 0.759 m when estimated with the RTAB-Map. The tree position estimates were unbiased and had root mean square errors (RMSEs) of less than 0.09 m in the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis directions when using the trunk-based backend. However, the estimates had biases of −0.125 m, −0.261 m and 0.262 m and RMSEs of more than 0.30 m in the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis directions without the new backend. The results showed that the designed trunk-based backend allows a smartphone with an online SLAM system to function as an accurate and efficient tool for large-scale forest inventories. However, the method was tested only in 32 × 32 m square field sample plots. More tests must be performed in larger plots in the future, although enough loop-closure constraints can theoretically guarantee the accuracy of the tree position graph and current pose.

Conceptual provisions of the strategy of adaptive maintenance and repair of mobile agricultural machinery

Annotation Purpose. Improving the efficiency of the use mobile agricultural machinery by substantiating the rational terms of its maintenance and repair, taking into account changes in its technical condition from seasonal loading, natural-production and agrometeorological conditions of use. Methods. System analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, system-factor and system-event approaches, graphic, statistical. Results. The conceptual provisions of strategy adaptive maintenance and repair mobile agricultural machinery are revealed, as well as its advantages over the known approaches to the organization of repair and maintenance works are marked. The regularities of seasonal loading of mobile agricultural machinery in farms of different natural-production zones of Ukraine analyzed. A generalized algorithm of the strategy of adaptive maintenance and repair of mobile agricultural machinery has been developed. Conclusions 1. It’s established that the main factors that determine the need for maintenance and repair of equipment are its residual life and operating time, and the factors that determine the possible periods of maintenance and repair of equipment – natural-production and agrometeorological characteristics of the agricultural producer. Predicting the impact of these factors on the processes of using mobile agricultural machinery is the basis for justifying the rational timing of its maintenance and repair. 2. The formation of strategy adaptive maintenance and repair of mobile agricultural machinery based on statistical simulation of the processes of seasonal use of machinery by agricultural producers. Such a model should take into account the natural-production characteristics of the agricultural producer, the characteristics of its technical support, agrometeorological conditions and generate technical and economic indicators of many possible options for adaptive plans for seasonal maintenance and repair of each unit. 3. It’s established that the criterion for substantiation of a rational seasonal adaptive plan for maintenance and repair of mobile agricultural machinery is the minimum total cost of implementing the relevant strategy. The total cost of funds should take into account the cost of maintenance and repair of machinery, the cost of potential crop losses caused by late performance of mechanized agricultural work machinery due to its incapacity, and cost due to underutilization of technical resources. Keywords: rational terms, maintenance, repair, algorithm, strategy, mobile agricultural machinery.

THE FUTURE OF MAXILLOFACIAL PROSTHETICS IN LIBYA

Maxillofacial prosthetics is a subspecialty of prosthodontics with a relatively wide scope in that it provides prosthetic rehabilitation and therapeutic appliances for numerous disorders, injuries, and defects of the head and neck region. This subspecialty is widely recognized in developed countries, but less so in many developing countries. This special article is an initial effort to review the current status of maxillofacial prosthetics in Libya’s health and higher education sectors and its future establishment. In addition, we outline the steps needed to move beyond the current status quo in Libya. Based on a review of internationally recognized maxillofacial prosthetic programs based in North America, Europe, Japan, and South Africa, two plans for establishment are recommended for this purpose: an urgent short-term plan and an institutional long-term plan. Applying both plans would initially support maxillofacial prosthetic providers in managing patients with maxillofacial defects and developing contingency plans for follow-up and maintenance.

GIS-based visualization of integrated highway maintenance and construction planning: a case study of Fort Worth, Texas

BackgroundThis paper reports on a case study of the use of visualization of geospatial data that is distributed across data sets and requires integration over time and space to aid decision makers. Like many State Highway Agencies (SHAs) in the United States, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is organized along the traditional functional lines of planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations. It has historically relied on experience and longevity of its staff to efficiently and effectively plan its construction and maintenance projects. Although functional boundaries of maintenance and construction are fairly clearly defined, there tends to be some overlap in projects that can be executed by either of the functional groups. The department currently does not have a robust integrated information system for identifying potential planning conflicts between its construction and maintenance projects. This has led to suboptimal use of resources, including overlapping plans for maintenance and mobility enhancement projects.Case descriptionWith over 650 highway projects assigned across two functional groups within the district’s (TxDOT Fort Worth district) boundary, it is a challenging task to assemble a coherent plan for managing these projects over a multi-year planning period that is subject to external stakeholder input as well as shifting funding constraints. Temporal and spatial data needed for integrated planning resides in specialized information systems developed for the needs of individual functional groups. To address this challenge, this district decided to integrate and visualize data from individual information systems in a Geographic Information System (GIS). A GIS-based tool was developed to integrate, visualize, and analyze projects data from multiple information systems.Discussion and evaluationThis paper documents the benefits associated with visualization and integration of projects data in a GIS to address planning challenges facing a typical highway agency. Among the lessons learned are the potential uses of GIS, which include detecting spatially and temporally overlapping projects, supporting integrated planning, and improving communication among functional groups within a state highway agency.ConclusionThe study demonstrates that such spatial-temporal representations of project data can lead to early identification of potential overlaps during the planning phase. In a broader context, such geospatial visualization efforts can also form the basis for eliciting practitioners’ perspectives and knowledge input in the development of spatial decision support systems.

The mandibular muscles in contemporary orthodontic practice: a review.

It is widely accepted that all dentists should have a thorough understanding of the muscles involved in moving or stabilizing the mandible. However, there is still much discussion regarding the influence of the mandibular muscles on normal facial growth and dental development, as well as on orthodontic treatment and post-treatment stability. Potential patients with different underlying vertical muscle patterns will have differences in the expected directions of future mandibular growth, lateral profile shape, facial and arch widths and vertical occlusal relationships. In turn, thorough diagnoses are likely to lead to differences in individual aims and objectives, treatment plans, timing of commencement, mechanical design, lateral profile and smile-aesthetics outcomes, choice of retention and plans for long-term maintenance. The potential influence of the mandibular muscles on normal morphologic variation and the soft tissue implications on contemporary orthodontic treatment and stability will be addressed in this review.

생애주기 정보공유를 위한 자산관리 업무기능 분석

과거 1960~70년대에 급격한 경제발전으로 인하여 국내에는 수많은 건물이 건설되었으며, 특히 2000년 이후에는 대형화, 첨단화된 수많은 건물들이 건설이 되고 있다. 이러한 건물의 전 생애주기 비용 (Life Cycle Cost) 중, 운영 및 유지관리 단계 비용은 전체의 약 85%를 차지 (Teicholz 2004)하고 있어 건축물에 대한 효율적인 자산관리가 강조된다. 하지만 운영 및 유지관리 단계에서 필요한 정보들은 초기 기획 단계부터 설계, 시공 단계를 넘어오면서 각각의 정보들의 호환이 부족하다. 단계를 거듭할수록 정보에 대한 가치는 증가하지만 정보의 상호 호환의 부족으로 인하여 비효율적인 부분이 발생하고 있다 (Foster 2011). 본 연구에서는 먼저 발주자 관점에서 자산관리의 주요 업무기능을 3개의 대분류와 19개의 중분류로 도출하였다. 다음으로는 도출한 항목들을 바탕으로 자산관리 업무량의 비중, 자산관리 업무별 소요 데이터의 비중, 그리고 생애주기 단계별로 발생하는 데이터의 비중에 대한 평가방법론을 제안함으로써, 효율적인 운영 및 유지관리를 위한 방안을 제안하였다. 마지막으로, 제안된 방법론은 공공 및 민간 기업의 사례를 바탕으로 적용성을 검토하였다. In the 1960s and 1970s when Korea experienced rapid economic growth, a considerable number of buildings were constructed in the country. And since 2000, a large number of sizable and complex buildings have been being built. Specifically, as the operation and maintenance cost alone accounts for 85% of the life cycle cost of a building, efficient Facility Management (FM) is required. However, data needed in the operation and maintenance phase are not sufficiently exchangeable with data created in other phases like the planning, design and construction phases. The upper phase has higher value of data but data exchange rate is low, resulting in inefficiency. To this end, this research derived major business functions for facility management: three categories and 19 detailed functions in classification from owner's perspective. Based on the derived items, this research proposes a methodology to evaluate the 'FM Workload', 'Facility Management (FM) Data', and 'FM Data Created in Engineering and Construction Phases' thereby analyzing plans for efficient operation and maintenance. The applicability of proposed methodology was tested by examining real-world cases of public and private companies.

Mode-based reliability centered maintenance in transmission system

Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is a cost-effective way to maintaining complex systems, transmission network being one. This paper presents a new method for nonperiodic maintenance scheduling of transmission's elements focusing on failure mode analysis. Adopting a nonperiodic mode-based viewpoint to maintenance, this paper introduces 6 plans for maintenance in each failure mode. The related Markov model for each plan is proposed, too. Given these Markov models, attempts are made to determine the best strategy of maintenance and the optimum rate of inspection and maintenance for each mode. Furthermore, to increase the practicality of the presented method and to reduce the overall maintenance cost, we coordinated the maintenance plans of the failure modes of an element, together. Finally, applicability of the presented method is demonstrated using an illustrative example.