Risk Reduction Phase Research Articles

Spatial Analysis and Risk Evaluation for Port Crisis Management Using Integrated Soft Computing and GIS-Based Models: A Case Study of Jazan Port, Saudi Arabia

A hazard zoning map is the most essential tool during the crisis management cycle’s prevention and risk reduction phase. In this study, a geographic information system (GIS) is applied to the crisis management of ports through the preparation of a risk zoning map in Jazan Port, Saudi Arabia, using a novel integrated model of the fuzzy hierarchical analysis process and emotional artificial neural network (FAHP-EANN). The objective is to more accurately identify the highly potential risk zones in the port through hybrid techniques, which mitigates the associated life and financial damages through proper management during a probable hazard. Prior to creating the risk zoning map, every potential port accident is identified, categorized into six criteria, and assigned a weight through the utilization of a machine learning algorithm. The findings indicate that the three most effective criteria for the risks of Jazan Port are land fires, pollution and dangerous substances, and human behavior, respectively. A zoning map of all risks in Jazan Port was generated by using the weights obtained for each of the major accidents. This map may be utilized in the development of crisis prevention measures for the port and in the formation of crisis management units.

Design Approach on Flood Effect of the Durable Goods in Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness Phase

Design Approach on Flood Effect of the Durable Goods in Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness Phase

SoC-Level Safety-Oriented Design Process in Electronic System Level Development Environment

We propose a safety-oriented design process for IP-based safety-critical system-on-chip (SoC). The proposed safety process can facilitate the measurement of the robustness based on the safety-related metrics and scales of failure-induced risks in a system that can be employed to locate the critical components for protection to effectively diminish the influence of failures on the system. The risk reduction phase is activated to enhance the robustness of critical components identified by vulnerability analysis if the measured robustness is insufficient. An SoC-level safety design platform was built on the SystemC Synopsys Platform Architect MCO to demonstrate the core idea of the safety process. The safety-oriented design process for an ARM-embedded SoC modeled at the TLM level was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of our safety approach.

HAZOP Methodology Based on the Health, Safety, and Environment Engineering.

In existing risk analysis techniques like the hazard and operability study (HAZOP) and the safety integrity level (SIL), design for operator safety is not considered. The health, safety, and environment (HSE) engineering depicts a detailed design directly related to the operator safety. However, the human risk had not been comprehensively analyzed. This paper proposes HSE-HAZOP as a technique for examining the systematic and efficient application of HSE engineering by exploiting the HAZOP systematic risk analysis technique and a quantitative risk derivation method, which is an advantage of the SIL. The analysis consists of four steps: the HSE-HAZOP preparation phase, risk analysis phase, risk assessment phase, and risk reduction phase. One part of a solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) plant was used for a case study. In this case study, the items that handle with heptanoic acid were the study scope. After the risk assessment, we introduced the HSE engineering technique that should be applied for the risk reduction. Since there is no existing risk analysis method for HSE engineering, this proposed HSE-HAZOP is meaningful because it suggests systematic analysis method of the operator safety.

Disaster Medicine, Telemedicine and Integrated Vector Control: United Nation’s Space Technology Program for Disaster Management

UN-SPIDER-United Nations platform for space-based information for disaster management and emergency response is a new programme established as per UN’s resolution 61/110.UN-SPIDER is being implemented as an open network of providers of space-based solutions to support disaster management activities. Besides Vienna, the programme also has an office in Bonn, Germany and Beijing, China. In recent years the program have contributed to making space technologies available for humanitarian and emergency response, UN-SPIDER is the first to focus on the need to ensure access to and use of such solutions during all phases of the disaster management cycle, including the risk reduction phase, which significantly contributed for reducing the loss of lives and property. The UN-SPIDER programme is achieving this by being a gateway to space information for disaster management support, by serving as a bridge to connect the disaster management and space communities and by being a facilitator of capacity-building and institutional strengthening, in particular for developing countries. This paper communicates about emergency, disaster medicine, telemedicine and vector-borne disease management for prevention and control of harmful health effects due to disasters and optimizing benefits to both human health and the environment.

From contesting to conversing about resilience: kickstarting measurement in complex research environments

Findings ways to benchmark and monitor is critical to making progress towards greater resilience to natural hazards. The cross-sector and often heavily contested nature of the resilience endeavour pose many practical and theoretical challenges when attempting to operationalize resilience into tangible indicators. Those invested in the measurement challenge must negotiate what is meant by resilience as well as make practical decisions where often there is no clear way forward. Heuristics, or short cuts to decision-making, are one way of negotiating situations with complex and/or incomplete information. This paper reports on the development and use of a heuristic device to support decisions and conversations about the measurement of resilience. The Kickstart 2 Measurement (K2M) tool provides resilience researchers and stakeholders with a structured process to work through six measurement questions on the following: the purpose of measurement; the data availability and quality; the focus of the indicator (who, what, where); the spatial and temporal scales; the disaster risk reduction phase; and the nature of disruption. The application of the tool to real-world examples showed the K2M tool (1) helped facilitate a pragmatic yet theoretically robust approach (2) helps provide transparency around compromises and prioritization, (3) brings multiple perspectives to the fore, and (4) prompts innovation to address high-priority gaps. The K2M tool can act as a bridge between theory, data, and practice to prompt pragmatic robust measurement solutions to and foster greater collaboration and cohesion across the resilience sector.

Review of Research into the Nature of Engineering and Development Rework: Need for a Systems Engineering Framework for Enabling Rapid Prototyping and Rapid Fielding

Given the need to develop a systems engineering framework to enable rapid prototyping and rapid fielding capability for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) per Public Law 114-92 and the fact that historically rework has been a problem during product development, a literature survey of engineering and design rework was conducted to better understand its nature and causes. The intent of the survey is to present the current state of research in the understanding of this aspect of development and to articulate future research areas for developing a systems engineering framework during the Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase of the DOD life cycle that addresses rework concerns, accelerates iteration and enables rapid prototyping. Since much of the research on rework has been done on information exchange and organizational structure there is a need for future research in systems engineering to develop frameworks to: 1) mitigate the impact of information uncertainty and instability, 2) accelerate information evolution, and 3) reuse knowledge for engineering reasoning.

A New Geospatial Services Framework: How Disaster Preparedness Efforts Should Integrate Neogeography

Geospatial technologies can be used in many intervention stages, from adaptation to disaster relief, and also in disaster response situations. These technological tools have been shown to have a transformative power on the quality and efficacy of response efforts. This paper focuses on the risk reduction phase. This phase is a continuous endeavor aimed at increasing resilience. For example, in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, groups of remotely stationed volunteers remapped Haiti using satellite imagery. Forces on the ground used this imagery to print maps using OpenStreetMap (OSM). Using cell-phone text messages, Short Message Service (SMS) response forces were able to locate and rescue citizens. The Ushahidi platform and OSM created a new paradigm for disaster response in which residents take the lead in operations. Unfortunately, this was able to happen only after the disaster hit. The following paper suggests a roadmap for the integration of crowd-sourcing tools and geospatial collaboration for the disaster preparedness phase. This multitiered proposal connects proper planning processes that engage the community, reduce risk, and ultimately provide for a more resilient community. The paper also aims to take the new disaster response paradigm and use it in the urban planning process. Rather than being a separate process, the disaster preparedness phase should enhance and strengthen communities, resulting in their becoming stronger and more resilient.

Policy and Health Implications of Using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Product Design Approach in Reducing Tobacco Product Risk

Purported risk or harm reduction through product design change of cigarettes has occurred in three phases in the U.S. The first phase from the 1940s to the early 1960s included a gradual rise in filtered cigarettes. The second phase, which began in the early 1960s in response to the landmark 1964 U.S. Surgeon General's report that linked smoking with lung cancer and other diseases, included the introduction of purportedly low tar and nicotine cigarettes. Subsequent research found that both filters and low tar and nicotine cigarettes were ineffective approaches to reducing health risks associated with smoking. Despite this, these product design changes were used in tobacco industry marketing campaigns to allay consumer health concerns and stabilize tobacco markets and sales. Since 2004, a new risk or harm reduction phase has occurred with the backing by Philip Morris as well as major U.S. health groups of U.S. Food and Drug Administration legislation that would require disclosure of tobacco ingredients, ban misleading health claims, prohibit or reduce harmful ingredients, and require prior approval of tobacco design, performance changes, and modified risk tobacco products. However, current scientific literature indicates that there is no scientific consensus and little evidence on what tobacco ingredients are linked to particular morbidities and mortalities and at what levels. This will allow the tobacco industry to implicitly or explicitly claim their products are "safer." Instead, health advocates should advocate for scientifically proven policy measures such as smoke free public places or higher tobacco taxes that control and reduce tobacco markets and consumption.

A spatial risk assessment methodology to support the remediation of contaminated land

When soil and groundwater contaminations occur over large areas, remediation measures should be spatially prioritised on the basis of the risk posed to human health and in compliance with technological and budget constraints. Within this scope, the application of human health risk assessment algorithms in a spatially resolved environment raises a number of methodological and technical complexities. In this paper, a methodology is proposed and applied in a case study to support the entire formulation process of remediation plans, encompassing hazard assessment, exposure assessment, risk characterisation, uncertainty assessment and allocation of risk reduction measures. In the hazard assessment, it supports the selection of Contaminants of Concern (CoC) with regard to both their average concentrations and peak concentrations, i.e. hot spots. In the exposure assessment, it provides a zoning of the site based on the geostatistical mapping of contaminant. In the risk characterisation, it generates vector maps of Risk Factors on the basis of the risk posed by multiple substances and allows the interrogation of most relevant CoC and exposure pathways for each zone of the site. It also supports the Monte Carlo based probabilistic estimation of the Risk Factors and generates maps of the associated uncertainty. In the risk reduction phase, it supports the formulation of remediation plans based on the stepwise spatial allocation of remediation interventions and the on-time simulation of risk reduction performances. The application of this methodology is fully supported by an easy-to-use and customized Geographical Information System and does not require high expertise for interpretation. The proposed methodology is the core module of a Decision Support System (DSS) that was implemented in the DESYRE software aimed at supporting the risk-based remediation of megasites.

F-16/SPICE Separation Analysis-Summary of the Risk-Reduction Phase Program

The full-scale development (FSD) program of a new store includes determination of the aerodynamic configuration, mapping of the aerodynamic characteristics and determination of the release envelope. For particularly concerning A/C-store geometry the Risk-Reduction Phase (RR) of the FSD includes a preliminary separation analysis. Usually, this preliminary analysis is based on Captive Trajectory System (CTS) tests. The CTS technique may yield inadequate data for cases with very close distances between store and A/C. A new preliminary store separation analysis method is suggested, RR6DS, a 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF) simulation based on a few Captive Wind-Tunnel tests and free-stream aerodynamics. This new method was successfully applied for the Smart Precise Impact and Cost-Effective guidance kit (SPICE) development program, to determine its aerodynamic configuration. The RR6DS method is a quick, cost-effective and approximate version of the full simulative technique that includes grid tests. This paper describes the RR6DS method and presents a comparison between the CTS tests and the 6DOF simulation results. cm Cm«

Global perspective for foot and mouth disease control

The world distribution of foot and mouth disease (FMD) is almost a mirror image of the global economic structure. In general, industrialised countries are free while the disease is endemic in developing countries. In recent years, several incursions of FMD have been recorded in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), all of which have been financially and socially costly to eliminate. At the same time, this single disease bars many developing countries from participation in formal trade, both regionally and internationally. However, recent studies have predicted an unprecedented high demand for animal protein, which can only be met through enhanced participation of developing countries in trade in livestock products. Accordingly, globalisation trends will exacerbate the exclusion of poor communities and countries from markets unless a long-term strategy is implemented to progressively build market opportunities for these countries, without placing the livestock of industrialised countries at undue risk from FMD and other major transboundary animal diseases. The authors submit that there is sufficient knowledge of FMD to make an international initiative for the progressive control of FMD a viable objective. Consequently, a four-stage pathway is proposed for developing a global FMD programme. The proposed strategy involves a build-up of the epidemiology and global status of FMD, including establishing an international early warning system, a risk-reduction phase to lower the incidence of FMD in the primary endemic areas and a control phase leading to the creation of zones of assured FMD-freedom. The authors also propose that an international FMD programme be co-ordinated, based on the experience of the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme, the Hemispheric Plan for the eradication of FMD for the Americas, the South-East Asia Foot and Mouth Disease control and eradication campaign and the European Commission for the Control of FMD.

Trends in Risk Assessment of Chemicals in the European Union

Current legislation in the European Union (EU) requires a risk assessment for industrial chemicals. The underlying procedures and paradigms of such EU risk assessment for new and existing chemicals are explained. The risk assessment is performed according to a harmonised methodology, laid down in the Technical Guidance Documents (TGD). Important new, technical risk assessment aspects covered in a recent revision round of the TGD are highlighted. The most prominent change in the environmental TGD part is the addition of the marine risk assessment, including a Persistent Bioaccumulation and Toxicity (PBT) assessment. In the human health part a significant change is the new data requirement for reproductive toxicity. The performance of both the risk assessment and the risk reduction phase of EU existing chemicals have been evaluated. An important conclusion was that our a priori knowledge on possible risks of chemicals is poor. The European Commission has recently launched a proposal (REACH) for drastically changing the risk management process of industrial chemicals in the EU. Major changes are a shift in responsibility from authorities to industry (including downstream users) for the safe use of chemicals, an acceleration of data collection for ‘non-assessed’ chemicals, and an authorization step for substances of very high concern.

SMES for power utility applications: a review of technical and cost considerations

Advances in both superconducting technologies and the necessary power electronics interface have made SMES a viable technology for high power utility and defense applications. The power industry's demands for more flexible, reliable and fast active power compensation devices make the ideal opportunity for SMES applications. However, in order to make this technology attractive to the deregulated utility market, it is necessary for industry to provide cost-effective systems. The information presented herein is taken from results to date of a DARPA technology Reinvestment Program SMES Commercialization Demonstration. This program is currently in the design and risk reduction phase. Completion is expected in 2001. This system will provide +/- 100 MW peak and +/- 50 MW oscillatory power with 100 MJ of stored energy. The base line for the coil design assumes a cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC), with rated voltage of 24 kV, and operating at nominal temperature of 4.5 K. This paper reviews the possible utility industry applications and discusses a number of technical issues and trade-offs resulting from the design optimization process for SMES utility applications. The conductor design options, system configuration, current/voltage levels and insulation issues for a low temperature superconducting coil are discussed. The power electronics interfaces (system configuration, circuit topology and devices and switching technologies) are also discussed. Finally, consideration is given to the impact of the new business environment, potential markets and overall cost.

The Rafale programme: a new standard, a new approach

The F2 standard is the next Rafale operational standard, introducing multi-role capabilities; It also introduces a new managment approach in its developement, allowing better control of costs and risks. Development work is structured in two phases, following an initial definition of technical specifications and cost: — a definition and risk reduction phase provides the detailed specifications and the perfmance to be demonstrated for the acceptance of the standard, — the development proper follows, according to the defintion and with the objectives previously defined. This two-step approach, combined with the placing of a single fixed-price contract involving all the major industrial players of the programme, is already established on track leading to the acceptance of the new standard in mid-2004.