Site Inspection Research Articles

On the Issue of the Possibility Classifying Certain Procedural Actions as Investigative in Criminal Proceeding

The article is devoted to the problems arising in connection with the possibility of classifying some actions as investigative in the criminal process. Current criminal procedure legislation sets mandatory list of investigative actions. However, in the theory of criminal procedure discussions continue about the attribution of some procedural actions to investigative. The author analyzes theorists’ opinions, judicial practice on controversial issues. The author comes to the conclusion based on the analysis of scientists' opinions, practices that the detention on suspicion of committing a crime of a person, seizure of property, implementation and destruction of evidence cannot be investigative actions and are procedural actions since these actions do not entail getting important and necessary information for the criminal case under investigation. The position is substantiated that actions such as exhumation, getting samples for comparative research may be recognized only as procedural actions since they are held as a rule before the start of some investigative actions, in particular, examination of the corpse and scheduling an expert examination, and a protocol of examination of the corpse and the expert's conclusion are subsequently used as the evidence in criminal cases. The author is convinced that the seizure of property also cannot be recognized as an investigative action because it affects the execution of the sentence made in relation to a particular person and the impossibility of using the property. The conclusion is justified about the need to make changes in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and the addition of the norm on the «electronic evidence» as well as proper regulation of the site or computer networks inspection.

Price and Quality in the Generic Pharmaceutical Market.

Price and Quality in the Generic Pharmaceutical Market.

How renovation activities may jeopardise indoor air quality: accounting for short and long-term symptoms of sick building syndrome in educational buildings

ABSTRACT The study discussed how building renovation activities jeopardised Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and caused several symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). This postulation was investigated on a case study-renovated university building with different types of functional spaces. The research method comprised: (1) site inspection for renovation best practices, (2) Gas Chromatography lab tests to examine the types of pollutants (volatile organic compounds) caused by different types of finishing and comparing them to the international standards provided by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and finally (3) occupants’ survey (labourers, staff and students) with variations in the magnitude and duration of their exposure to pollutants. The result of the lab tests exceeded the maximum threshold set by the LEED system which indicated a health risk. This was confirmed by the survey results showing associated symptoms of SBS during and after the renovation process noting that the symptoms escalated in confined places with poor ventilation. The conclusion indicated that material selection and renovation best practices were responsible for several health risks. Associated symptoms of SBS increased due to early occupancy and continued for three months after renovation completion. Eventually, the study recommended proper planning for IAQ during building renovation noting the interplay of causes and consequences of SBS: (1) during building renovation, (2) after completion, (3) before occupancy and (4) after at least one year of building operation. Further, it presented a set of recommendations for each phase across different project phases for the benefit of academic and industry outreach.

Assessing the effectiveness of compliance inspection in ensuring the quality of ICT products and services: a case of the compliance department at ICASA

This study assesses the effectiveness of compliance inspection in ensuring the quality of ICT products and services at the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is an independent regulatory body of the South African government, established in 2000 by the ICASA Act to regulate both the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the public interest. The ICASA approved label, found on internationally manufactured products, implies the products meet quality standards, stipulated by ICASA. A qualitative study using interviews from a sample of 13 participants was carried out. The study found that there are functional integration challenges that are reflected in inspection activities and outcomes, which are not reported to relevant departments, while other supporting activities, such as the provision of security personnel during site inspection, are not made available to support effective compliance inspection activities and effectiveness. The study also found randomized inspections help to cut down on risks. Lastly, the study noted a profound lack of a post-market surveillance in place to continuously ensure that the equipment and the systems, placed in the market, maintain conformance with the applicable technical standards. The study further revealed that licensees lack adequate information and knowledge regarding compliance regulations and acts, which fosters non-compliance and renders compliance inspection ineffective

Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures: The myth of quality assurance

This month we present a CROSS Safety Report discussing the need for regular site inspections to be conducted by the original design engineer. The report was submitted to, and processed by, CROSS-AUS, but the contents will also be of interest to readers within the UK and internationally.

Special events during the launch of unmanned aerial vehicles for the protection of public order

The research work consists in determining the relations arising in public relations by differentiating the legal norms reflected in the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan during the analysis of measures taken to protect public order when launching unmanned aerial vehicles. One of the necessary problems is to identify actions that harm the lives of people, citizens and the state on the basis of events taking place in modern public life. Due to the insufficiency of regulatory norms in regulatory legal acts regulating the rights and freedoms of man and citizens, the study suggests measures to improve the current legislation. The shortcomings and gaps in the legal regulation of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (using the example of quadrocopters, drones) used for operational photo and video filming of site inspection on the example of incidents in the internal affairs bodies are revealed. Possible difficulties of their use in the airspace near airports and other strategically important facilities have been identified. Therefore, when writing a research paper, general and special methods and techniques were used. The offense, which is an encroachment on privacy, is currently multiple in nature through video recording. Keywords: unmanned aircraft, quadrocopters, air space, a threat to security, public interests.

An approach for Building Defects Detection using VGG16

Customers are increasingly looking for fast and efficient ways to frequently check and inspect the condition of their buildings so essential repairs and maintenance can be done in a timely manner. Act quickly before they become too dangerous and costly. Traditional methods for this type of work commonly comprise engaging inspection officers to undertake a condition assessment which involves a lengthy site inspection to produce a systematic recording of the building defects, including cost estimates of immediate and project the long-term costs of renewal, repair and maintenance of the building. Current asset condition assessment procedures are extensively time-consuming and expensive and pose health and safety threats to inspection officers, particularly at height and roof levels which are difficult to access. This project aims toward an automated detection and localization of key building defects, e.g., moss, cracks, deterioration and stains, from images using Convolution Neural Networks. The proposed model was built on a pre-trained CNN classifier of VGG-16, with class activation mapping (CAM) using a squeeze net for object localization. The challenges and limitations of the model in real-life applications have been identified. The proposed neural network model has proved that it can accurately detect and localize building defects. Key Words:Object Detection, Convolutional Neural Network, Deep Learning, VGG16

Designing Drone Game for Construction Site Inspection

The use of drone technology in the construction sector promises faster and more streamlined working practices. Forward-thinking contractors are investing in digitizing their operations and the use of drones with the capability of providing real-time site information is already a reality. Deploying drones for site inspections can help construction and safety managers avoid placing workers in precarious situations and the ability to quickly gather site aerial data can be invaluable. This study focuses on creating a drone flying game for inspecting a virtual construction site and identifying potential safety hazards. The single-player, user-focused game is built using the Unity game engine for WebGL which renders interactive 3D graphics to be played in modern web browsers without the use of plug-ins. The game’s aim is to give a simulated experience of piloting a drone and using it to identify potential hazards in an active simulated construction site, and educating players of the effectiveness of using drones for this task, without the real-world risk of collision, damage or injury. Preliminary findings from 47 purposive sampled participants revealed that the drone game was engaging; participants found the game intuitive to use and easy to pilot the drone; the hazards and the simulated construction environment were realistic; and the game satisfies the main aim of highlighting the benefits of using drones on a construction site. The target audience for user experience and usability testing are construction and safety managers, construction professionals and students working in the industry. The skills acquired from playing the educational drone game for virtual construction site inspection and monitoring could be successfully applied when flying a real drone on a live construction site. The significance of learning how to fly drones for site inspection during Covid-19 pandemic where workers need to be physically distanced is timely and relevant.

Getting a grip on negotiation processes: Addressing trade-offs in mountain biking in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

Space for recreation is an important service provided by forests close to urban and rural areas alike. Mountain biking, as one recreational activity, is increasingly becoming widespread, which can lead to challenging trade-off situations, as some benefits from forests come at the cost of another forest benefit and vice versa. For instance, illegally constructed mountain bike trails lead to trade-offs between environmental protection and other forest utilizations such as wood production. We thus study how such trade-off situations can be negotiated to find an outcome, such as a legal mountain bike trail, which is accepted by stakeholders. In doing so, we select case studies where we expect to find similar trade-off situations that lead to the negotiation process about mountain bike trails. Specifically, we analyse the cases' negotiation processes (action situations) by applying Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development Framework. Our findings show the importance of collective actors, a clear delineation of responsibilities and of compensation and funding measures as well as structured workshops and collective site inspections for addressing trade-offs and for arriving at acceptable outcomes in our cases.

Incidence of discoligamentous injuries in patients with acute central cord syndrome and underlying degenerative cervical spinal stenosis

IntroductionSurgical treatment for CCS in patients with an underlying cervical stenosis without instability remains controversial. Research questionThe aim was to assess the incidence of concomitant discoligamentous injury (DLI) in patients with CCS and underlying degenerative cervical spinal stenosis and to determine the sensitivity of MRI by comparing intraoperative site inspection to preoperative imaging findings. Material and methodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of our clinical prospective database. Fifty-one patients (39 male, 12 female) between January 2010 and June 2019 were included. Age, sex, neurological deficits, preoperative MRI, and surgical treatment were recorded. Sensitivity was determined by the quotient of patients in whom all levels of DLI were correctly identified on MRI and the total number of patients with intraoperatively confirmed DLI. ResultsMean age at surgery was 64.1 ​± ​11.3 (range 41–86). DLI was suspected in 33 (62.1%) patients based on MRI findings, which could be confirmed intraoperatively in 29 patients (56.9%). In 2 patients, DLI was detected intraoperatively that was not suspected in preoperative MRI; in 5 patients, another level was affected intraoperatively than was indicated by MRI. The overall specificity and sensitivity of preoperative MRI imaging to identify discoligamentous lesions of the cervical spine was 73% and 79%, respectively. Discussion and conclusionThe incidence of DLI in patients with traumatic CCS based on preexisting spinal stenosis was 60.78%, which is higher than previously reported. The sensitivity of MRI imaging to detect DLI of 79% suggests that these patients are at risk of missing traumatic DLI on imaging.

A New Radiological Risk Containment Procedure in Potentially Contaminated Areas

A new radiological risk containment procedure, developed to manage the radiological risk in potentially contaminated areas, is presented here. This new methodological approach, systematically employed in sampling and site inspection activities in unknown areas from an environmental point of view, allowed the discovery of eight 226Ra orphan sources buried under the road surface, in a good state of conservation, in an industrial area of the Calabrian territory, southern Italy, and they are reported here as a case study. For workers performing sampling activities in areas for which information regarding the possible presence of contaminated material is missing, an in situ radiometric check is usually carried out as a potential radiological risk prevention, by measuring the levels of environmental radioactivity. Other than this, the procedure described in this article includes, as novelty, a series of progressive operations never carried out before all together for outdoor activities: the assessment of the presence (if any) of hot spots by recording radiometric anomalies, outdoor gamma spectrometry measurements in order to identify the radionuclides generating those anomalies, the sources unearthing activities, the management of the material found and the application of a risk containment protocol.

Specific peculiarity of the forensic veterinary expert conclusion structure according to the research of fowl corpse results

The article identifies and systematizes some issues of the forensic veterinary expert conclusion structure according to the research of fowl carcass results. It is claimed that the sequence of fowl carcass examination results presentation is determined by a forensic veterinary expert with account the examination specifics, the object study state and the issues nature raised by the subject of examination appointment for the expert decision. It is shown that the peculiarity of its introductory part is a specific issues list raised for the forensic veterinary expert decision by the research subject. Mandatory elements of the “Research” section in the expert's conclusion is a statement of the individual documents study results in the proceedings and directly related to the examination (extract from the animal's health history, fowl ambulatory card, site inspection report, etc.), carcass registration data, results of its external and internal research according to certain algorithms description, results of additional researches (forensic chemical, histological, forensic toxicological, etc.), forensic veterinary diagnosis and the synthesizing part conclusion formulation. The final part of the expert's conclusion is the questions answer to the mentioned in the introductory part in a categorical or, as an exception, in a probable form. Be sure to indicate the damage nature or pathological changes, their location, the cause of fowl death, the causal relationship between the damage caused to the fowl health and the onset of its death. The appendices peculiarity is that they are drawn up in the photo tables form, which carry information about the fowl carcasses forensic veterinary examination stages, supplement and confirm the expert's opinion verbal part.

Sensory quality and shelf-life of locally produced British butters compared to large-scale, industrially produced butters

PurposeThe purpose of this pilot-scale study was to compare the quality of traditionally manufactured butters from local, small British producers with the quality of butters that are produced industrially.Design/methodology/approachButter samples were obtained after supervised site inspections of three traditional-butter manufacturers and one large-scale butter producer. The samples were subject to initial microbiological, chemical and sensory testing, followed by a refrigerated shelf-life study over 24 weeks.FindingsTraditional butters matched or exceeded the sensory quality of industrial butters, but spoilage microorganisms tended to grow faster on traditional butters. This seemed to be related to poorer water droplet dispersion in the manufacture of some of the traditionally made butters. Visible mould appeared on two of the traditional butters after eight weeks, but this occurred well after the nominal “best before” date.Originality/valueProlonged lockdowns due to the current coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic pose a threat to the food supply chain, and food produced by local manufacturers may become increasingly important. However, are foods produced by local small-scale manufacturers of a quality comparable to that produced using large-scale production facilities? To the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no comparative study of the quality and shelf-life of traditionally-produced and industrially-produced butters. The current work presents such a comparison together with an outline of how the process of traditional butter-making differs from commercial production in Britain.

Fatigue analysis in rotor of a prototype bulb turbine based on fluid-structure interaction

Bulb turbine units are widely used in run-of river or dam projects with relatively low head, and can also be used for tidal energy utilization. Some types of bulb turbines have excessive vibration and fatigue failure problems, which threats their fatigue life. The model analyzed in this paper is a prototype bulb turbine rotor which suffered cracks, probably due to erosion and welding defects. The dynamic stress characteristics are analyzed under not only the non-cracked shaft condition but also the cracked one, to find possible causes of the failure.The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation is performed to obtain reliable hydraulic load on the runner for performing the FEM analysis. The CFD results are verified by comparing with the site test for the prototype one. The linear elastic fracture mechanics theory combined with the fluid-structural interaction theory is applied to developing a cracked FEM model, to obtain the dynamic stress characteristics for the runner, shaft and rotor. The results reveal that the change in dynamic stress level on the shaft flange root significantly depends on the operating conditions, and the stress amplitude on the shaft mainly depends on the structural weight. The stress at the cracked zone could be up to 376.5 MPa in the best efficiency point, with only 1.5 years of fatigue life.Based on the numerical calculations and site inspection, it could be concluded that the insufficient sealing could lead to leakage flows with specific flow rates in flange root, which resulted in the occurrence of erosion; in addition, the welding at the flange root probably generated tiny defects. These two factors are likely lead to fatigue cracks and major failure of the shaft. Suggestions for solutions for the problems of the shaft are also discussed. Results of this study helps to find the reasons of the shaft fatigue failure. Furthermore, the analysis method could be used for an accurate calculation of fatigue life and providing guidance in future designs and operations of bulb turbine units.

Learning to Identify Illegal Landfills through Scene Classification in Aerial Images

Illegal landfills are uncontrolled disposals of waste that cause severe environmental and health risk. Discovering them as early as possible is of prominent importance for preventing hazards, such as fire pollution and leakage. Before the digital era, the only means to detect illegal waste dumps was the on site inspection of potentially suspicious sites, a procedure extremely costly and impossible to scale to a vast territory. With the advent of Earth observation technology, scanning the territory via aerial images has become possible. However, manual image interpretation remains a complex and time-consuming task that requires expert skill. Photo interpretation can be partially automated by embedding the expert knowledge within a data driven classifier trained with samples provided by human annotators. In this paper, the detection of illegal landfills is formulated as a multi-scale scene classification problem. Scene elements positioning and spatial relations constitute hints of the presence of illegal waste dumps. A dataset of ≈3000 images (20 cm resolution per pixel) was created with the help of expert photo interpreters. A combination of ResNet50 and Feature Pyramid Network (FPN) elements accounting for different object scales achieves 88% precision with an 87% of recall in a test area. The results proved the feasibility of applying convolutional neural networks for scene classification in this scenario to optimize the process of waste dumps detection.

Google Street View as a Teaching Tool for Assessing Earthquake Building Damage

Abstract Damage to infrastructure is one of the most visible impacts that earthquakes have on our daily lives. For this reason, introductory undergraduate courses in seismology and related fields often cover earthquake damage in relation to seismic hazard and risk. This topic is commonly introduced by viewing examples of damage, either through static images or videos. Subsequent coursework frequently involves excursions to the field for in-person site inspections and relating the damage to seismic intensity and other parameters of strong ground motion. These field visits provide students with valuable opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to real-world settings. At the time of writing, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced many university classes to cancel field visits, depriving students of these experiences. In this EduQuakes article, I present a lesson plan that attempts to simulate a field visit for assessing earthquake damage in an online setting using the interactive online resource Google Street View to view an area before and after an earthquake. This format facilitates active and exploratory learning and encourages students to build the necessary skills required for further studies in more advanced geoscience courses. I include the lesson plan and a compilation of relevant resources in the supplemental material to this article.

Lidar Inspection for Indigenous Architecture at Caguana Ceremonial Complex, Borikén

The virtual removal of forest canopies through light detection and ranging (lidar) has enhanced archaeological interpretations of settlement patterns in tropical zones. Although lidar collections of Indigenous landscapes in the Caribbean Archipelago are limited, resolutions from open-access lidar datasets reveal coarse regional settlement patterns and large-scale architecture planning. In this article we inspect the Caguana Ceremonial complex in Utuado, Borikén (Puerto Rico), using a 2016 lidar dataset available through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration portal. Visual comparisons between known Indigenous sites, surface anomalies, and site inspections in the three sectors under study identified plazas, possible ancient paths into the Caguana complex, a possible agricultural area west of the site, and the ANG-4 site. This study, the first application of lidar inspections in Puerto Rican archaeology, demonstrates that open-access data can help guide research and save time in field surveys, thus improving our ability to protect the Indigenous cultural heritage hidden under forest canopies.

A Study on the Development of a Fire Safety Management System Model for Critical Risk Factors Assessment in a Construction Site

In this study, the authors developed a fire safety management system model for critical risk factor assessment in construction sites according to the National Fire Protection Association code Fire Safety Concepts Tree (FSCT). First, the fire statistics and heavy casualties were analyzed, and the critical risk factors as associated with the key causes of fire incident and break out and life-threatening damages were derived. Furthermore, the related laws and regulations were analyzed, and the actual conditions and problems of fire safety management were noted. Next, according to the basic structure of the FSCT, a differentiated strategy was presented to reflect the characteristics of the construction site by dividing it into fire prevention and extinguishing and evacuation management. In addition, the fire safety management personnel were proposed to be assigned for thorough site inspection and management. This model was developed to improve and reinforce the current challenges in fire safety management. In the future, legislators of the construction work, project managers, site managers, supervisors, workers, etc. would use this model as a tool to understand and practice the roles and interrelationships of fire safety strategies more systematically.

Level of compliance by the Bulacan State University with the fire and safety requirements of the law

This study aims to determine the level of compliance of each of the buildings at the Bulacan State University (BulSU) – Main Campus with the provisions of the Fire Code of the Philippines. It was noted during the site inspections conducted in the eighteen (18) buildings at the campus that all buildings were not fully compliant with the requirements provided under the said code. The most pressing concerns on BulSU’s non-compliance with the code are the lack of full knowledge with fire and safety requirements of the law, the absence fire brigade team or any official personnel assigned to do the checking and upkeep of the requirements, and absence of the proper regulatory permit requirements such as the building permits and occupancy permit that have implemented by the local government units. Non-compliance also contributed to the non-existing or inadequate number of safety items in each building. Standardized checklist utilized by the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and a survey questionnaire accomplished by the members of the administration council as the respondents were used in data gathering. A structured interview to respective personnel of different offices in the campus sought also to investigate the qualitative aspect of the study. Through the data gathering procedures employed, the researcher was able to derive information that formed the basis for the conclusions and recommendations for the action plan that would be suggested to the administration of Bulacan State University.

Factors influencing eco-industrial development in Africa: A SWOT analysis of a Tanzanian industrial park

Eco-industrial parks (EIPs) have been proposed as a transformative model for assisting developing countries in upgrading their industrial systems to meet higher global environmental standards while boosting economic competitiveness. However, for many industrial settings, the requisite contextual requirements have yet to be clarified. This paper aims to contribute to filling this gap. It examines the potential of transforming a case study Tanzanian industrial park, an Export Processing Zone (EPZ), into an EIP. The park was assessed against four criteria (roundput, locality, diversity and gradual change) using SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. The paper draws upon key informant interviews, document reviews and physical site inspection. Findings reveal several strong and weak points of the EPZ, painting a scenario of a zone that is not based on the cycling of resources, does not have a diverse cooperation network arranged locally, and does not rely on the flow of renewables. However, the presence of a park management team, existing synergies, planned synergies and overall national and global development priorities make the park potentially strong as a whole. Our findings underscore the need for deliberate policy interventions. They can be applied to comparable contexts to pinpoint critical areas when planning the interventions.