Small Boat Research Articles

Modeling of Autonomous Hydrofoil Craft Tracking a Moving Target

The interest in autonomous marine vessels has been continuously growing in the recent years. Most platforms of the autonomous surface watercraft involve traditional mono- or multi-hulls. Advanced marine vehicle concepts, such as hydrofoils, can provide high-speed and high seakeeping capabilities. In this study, a modeling effort is initiated for a small autonomous hydrofoil boat intended for intercepting operations. A 3-DOF model, including surge, sway and yaw, is applied for simulating maneuvering motions of the boat in the foilborne state. Forces generated by the propulsor, rudder and struts are accounted for in the simulations of the horizontal-plane boat dynamics. Two scenarios of a hydrofoil boat pursuing a moving target are investigated. In the pure pursuit, the interceptor always attempts to aim at the target and uses full thrust to quickly reach the target at a high speed. In the constant-bearing scenario, the interceptor approaches the target with diminishing speed trying to achieve a rendezvous. The presented models and results can help engineers to design more effective control methods for fast boats intended for intercepting operations.

Quint Rusman.

Quint Rusman.

Towards sustainable small-scale fisheries in China: A case study of Hainan

China is one of the most important marine fishery countries, yet little is known about its small-scale fisheries (SSFs). This paper uses Hainan Province of China as a case study to examine the present situation, predicaments, and future changes of the country's SSFs during a process of transition from extensive to green development. In doing so, we follow the social-ecological system (SES) framework to present Hainan's SSF-related settings, and study its resource systems, governance systems and actors through reviewing national and local policies, surveying and interviewing SSF stakeholders. Marine fisheries in Hainan is SSF-dominated, experienced dramatic increase in terms of yield and jobs since 1978, and became the main source of most fishermen's livelihood. Fish community structure and fishing targets have shifted from a mix of large-bodied demersals and pelagics to smaller-bodied pelagics with high growth rates and fecundity levels. This degradation puts stress on China's central and local governments to enhance the preservation of marine ecosystems. Effort controls failed to reduce fishing power due to subsidies, a series of measures were introduced in 2015 to correct these problems, including obligatory targets with accountability, subsidy reductions, buyback program, and further reductions of fishing vessels and allowable catch implemented in 2017. Hainan has explored different development directions for SSFs. First, providing policies and funds to reduce small fishing boats and construct larger vessels to support offshore and distant-water fisheries. Second, enhancing fishery value by integrating the development of fishery-related primary, secondary, and tertiary industries. Third, developing existing SSFs in a sustainable manner through standardizing SSF vessel types, delineating operating areas, developing fishing port economy, and building beautiful fishing villages. These practices illustrate that China's centralized government can likely command transformational changes in ecological and socio-economic outcomes according to policy objectives. Also, a broadened perspective that considers the ecological, social, and economic dimensions of SSFs as whole is also crucial. Moreover, the integration of fishery policies with other related socioeconomic policies, and the interdepartmental cooperation is needed to achieve policy consistency across local governments.

Factors for the implementation of electronic certification on small traditional boats and fishing vessels in Indonesia.

On September 2019, Directorate General of Sea Transportation, the government who in charge for the safe operation of ships in Indonesia, has introduced a new model of ship certification form. It is an electronic certificate that is used for traditional boat and fishing vessel of less than 7 gross tonnage. This electronic certificate is for the first time being applied to a ship in Indonesia. This marks a new era for ship certification in Indonesia. The conventional paper format of certification had been applied before it was changed to electronic certification.Indonesia is implementing electronic certificates on traditional vessels and fishing vessels of less than 7 gross tonnage due to several reasons. The first is the need for durable form material due to lifetime validation of certificates. The second due to problems related to misuse of previous type of conventional paper format certificates that caused difficulties in determining the number of this type of vessels in Indonesia.

A study on the speed control of ship propulsion induction motor using improved AFE rectifier

This paper proposes a possibility of using active front-end rectifier with the SVPWM method for induction motor speed control, which is applicable to small electric propulsion boats. The proposed method can produce a more precise sinusoidal input current waveform and a higher power factor than conventional methods. Its speed, torque, input current, DC voltage, and load current control performance are similar to or better than those of conventional methods. Through computer simulations using the PSIM program, the validity of the proposed method was verified by comparing and analyzing the characteristics of the conventional methods and the proposed method.

An autonomous hydrophone array to study the acoustic ecology of deep-water toothed whales

For vocal animals with distinctive calls, passive acoustic monitoring can be used to infer presence, distribution, and abundance provided that the calls and calling behaviour are known. Key to enabling quantitative acoustic surveys are calibrated recordings of identified species from which the source parameters of the sounds can be estimated. Obtaining such information from free-ranging aquatic animals such as toothed whales requires multi-element hydrophone arrays, the use of which is often constrained by cost, the logistical challenge of long cables, and the necessity for attachment to a boat or mooring in order to digitise and store multiple channels of high-sample rate audio data. Such challenges are compounded when collecting recordings or tracking the diving behaviour of deep-diving animals for which the array must be deployed at depth. Here we report the development of an autonomous drifting deep-water vertical passive acoustic array that uses readily available off-the-shelf components. This lightweight portable array can be deployed quickly and repeatedly to depths of up to 1000 m from a small boat. The array comprises seven ST-300 HF SoundTrap autonomous recorders equally spaced on an 84 m electrical-mechanical cable. The single-channel digital sound recordings were configured to allow for synchronisation in post-processing using an RS-485 timing signal logged by all channels every second. We outline how to assemble the array, and provide software for time-synchronising the acoustic recorders. To demonstrate the utility of the array, we present an example of short-finned pilot whale clicks localised on the deep-water (700 m) array configuration. This array method has broad applicability for the cost-effective study of source parameters, acoustic ecology, and diving behaviour of deep diving toothed whales, which are valuable not only to understand the sensory ecology of deep-diving cetaceans, but also to improve passive acoustic monitoring for conservation and management.

Value chain dynamics and the socioeconomic drivers of small-scale fisheries on the amazon coast: A case study in the state of Amapá, Brazil

This study examines the characteristics of small-scale fisheries in the state of Amapá (Brazilian Amazon coast), including the production processes, the structure and operation of the value chain, and the drivers of fish trade and resource exploitation. Interviews were held with fishers, boat owners, the presidents of fishers' organizations, and processing companies officials. The interviewees were mostly men, with a mean age between 37 and 43 years old, low education and income, and an average of 20–24 years of fishing experience. Fishing is the primary source of income and food for most of the respondents. Multispecies fisheries are conducted with small boats (6–12 m in length), using gillnets and longlines. The value chain comprises fishers, middlemen, and processing and export companies. This chain supplies the domestic market with fish meat, and swim bladder is exported. The dynamics of the fishing sector reflects the interaction between local, national and international drivers. Local drivers are related to the fishers’ socioeconomic vulnerability, the lack of post-harvest infrastructure, and the distance between fishers and final consumers. A high reliance on declining fish stocks, poor fishery management, and increasing competition with outside fishers, heightens the vulnerability of local fishers. Nationally, the trade is driven by growing fish consumption, and the demand for swim bladder drives international trade. Overcoming the challenges and limitations facing the fishing sector requires multi-scale interventions; increased governmental, non-governmental, and private-sector support; and joint actions between stakeholders. Sustainable fish trade and food security require effective resource management, and co-management is recommended.

Archaeology of Contemporary Migrant Journeys in Western Sicily

The Sicilian Channel between Sicily and North Africa receives global attention as a major migratory routefor undocumented people entering Europe clandestinely, a tragic nexus of transnational displacement anddesperation. While the plight of massively overloaded and unseaworthy boats of people justifiably receivesthe bulk of media attention, there is a less-observed movement that occurs and has occurred for thousandsof years: small boats expertly transporting handfuls of people back and forth across the Channel betweenTunisia and western Sicily. This study explores the material vestiges of cross-channel migrations throughassemblages identified during fieldwork by the Arizona Sicily Project along the southwest coast of Sicily inthe summers of 2018 and 2019. While the exigencies of maritime crossing require distinct technologies ofmobility, certain elements of migrant material culture are analogous to that found elsewhere, e.g. along theUS-Mexico border zone of Arizona's Sonoran Desert. Such elements include migrants' strategic triangulationof speed, invisibility and survival in deciding what to bring and the tactical triage of gear en route.Moreover, the political and economic injustices that are catalysts for the movements are comparable, as is thecriminalization of the migrants, which has done more to endanger than dissuade them. This article shedsnew light on migrant choices and challenges and contributes to the archaeology of contemporary migration.

Controllable pitch propeller optimization through meta-heuristic algorithm

This paper describes a methodology to design and optimize a controllable pitch propeller suitable for small leisure ship boats. A proper range for design parameters has to be set by the user. An optimization based on the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm is carried out to minimize a fitness function representing the engine’s fuel consumption. The OpenProp code has been integrated in the procedure to compute thrust and torque. Blade’s geometry and tables about pitch, thrust and consumption are the main output of the optimization process. A case study has been included to show how the procedure can be implemented in the design process. A case study shows that the procedure allows a designer to sketch a controllable pitch propeller with optimal efficiency; computational times are compatible with the design conceptual phase where several scenarios must be investigated to set the most suitable for the following detailed design. A drawback of this approach is given by the need for a quite skilled user in charge of defining the allowable ranges for design parameters, and the need for data about the engine and boat to be designed.

Rare Earth Elements in Andaman Island Surface Seawater: Geochemical Tracers for the Monsoon?

The Asian summer monsoon affects the lives of billions of people. With the aim of identifying geochemical tracers for the monsoon related freshwater input from the major rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea we have taken surface seawater samples from various locations up and down the Andaman Islands during 2011. Importantly, in some locations samples have been taken in March, July and November, covering most of a seasonal cycle and different monsoon phases. Samples were collected from the side of small wooden boats or while swimming and were filtered within a few hours at 0.45 or 0.22 microns using the vacuum produced by a water jet or a hand operated peristaltic pump. Filtered and unfiltered samples were acidified to < pH 2 and analysed for Y and the REEs with an automated online preconcentration ICP-MS technique [1]. The local input of REEs from streams and sediment rich areas such as mangrove environments is clearly identified by middle REE enrichments in the shale normalised patterns of some samples. These middle REE bulges accompany large increases in dissolved REE concentrations at some locations, especially for the July samples obtained during the peak monsoon season with frequent storms. Y/Ho fractionation aslo occurs during the local input of dissolved REEs with affected samples having lower Y/Ho ratios. Conversly, some samples, in particular those taken after heavy rainfall in March, show strong REE scavenging accompanied by the prefferential removal of dissolved light REEs and higher Y/Ho ratios. The time series at a location away from local input sources shows remarkably similar REE patterns and concentraions in March and July. Then in October-November, following the peak in monsoon river discharge, the dissolved REE concentration increases by almost a factor of 2. The notable exception to this seasonal pattern is the Ce anomally which is around 0.3 in March and November but 0.6 in July, implying less oxidative removal of Ce(IV) during the peak summer monsoon rains. With the exception of elevated dissolved Ce concentrations, the North Pacific Deep Water normalised REE patterns are similar to those reported for offshore samples from the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea [2]. These seawater normalised patterns are distinctive having a middle REE enriched arc with similar light and heavy REE values suggesting the input from large rivers in the region is traceable using seawater REE chemistry. [1] Hathorne et al. (2012), Online preconcentration ICP-MS analysis of rare earth elements in seawater, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 13, Q01020, doi:10.1029/2011GC003907. [2] Amakawa et al. (2000), Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 64, 1715-1727.

Small boats and big states

Small boats and big states

Development and Verification of Simple Depth-Sounding Methods for Agricultural Reservoirs by Using Small Sonar and Boat Controlled by Autopilot System

Development and Verification of Simple Depth-Sounding Methods for Agricultural Reservoirs by Using Small Sonar and Boat Controlled by Autopilot System

Deus Providebit: Remembering Father Leo Elders, S.V.D. (August 7, 1926 – October 14, 2019)

Deus Providebit:Remembering Father Leo Elders, S.V.D. (August 7, 1926 – October 14, 2019) Jörgen Vijgen In the last version of his autobiographical notes, which Father Elders handed to me on September 23, 2019, he praises his parents for shaping him very early on towards a priestly life of service by asking him to hand out pamphlets against alcoholism in the poor suburbs of his home town of Enkhuizen, the Netherlands, where he was born on August 7, 1926, to bring clothes his mother made to a poor family, and to play chess with a frail boy suffering from tuberculosis. The last is something that he would continue to do until his teenage years when the principal warned him: "Leo Elders, you should better practice your Greek vocabulary instead of walking around with a chessboard."1 During the Second World War, Leo Elders was finishing high school in a Catholic boarding school in the most southern part of the Netherlands, right on the border with Germany, in the former Rolduc Abbey. His father had given him a devotional card of St. Joseph and asked him to pray daily for his future state of life, which he did. One night he saw how an English bomber was being shot from the sky and the crew jumping out of the airplane. This harrowing event made him think: "If they are willing to sacrifice their lives to liberate us, shouldn't I be doing something extraordinary [End Page 355] as well?" In the Catholic culture of those days and with a lively missionary spirit among the youth in the school, the thought of becoming a missionary priest almost naturally occurred to him. He asked the moderator of the school's missionary activities for a list of congregations. When he saw what was written about the Society of the Divine Word (Societas Verbi Divini)—founded by the German priest Arnold Janssen (1837–1909) who was canonized by Saint John Paul II in 2003—namely that it was the "most austere and intellectual of all the missionary congregations," his choice was made. Graduating in June of 1944, he was able to return home to the north of the Netherlands, but then the hongerwinter (literally: "hunger winter"), the Dutch famine of 1944–1945 in the north of the country due to the German blockade of food and fuel, prevented him from entering the novitiate. As with so many of his countrymen, the hongerwinter brought out the best of human comradery and ingenuity: making a primitive lamp out an empty jar, some oil, and a razor blade with some cork on it; collecting driftwood for some elderly people, taking a sack of wheat at night in a small boat to a mill to have it ground; hiding with his brother, who had escaped from a German labor camp, in a hole they had made under the wooden floor in the house, pushing a stack of old newspapers over their heads because it was said that bullets would not pass through a thick layer of paper when the Germans fired through the floor. When a member of the resistance movement, who had been active in finding safe places for Jews and others in hiding, had been arrested and it was feared that he might talk under duress, the Elders family had to flee for several weeks to different secret destinations. For their help to the resistance and in particular for hiding a number of Jews in their house, his father and mother were awarded posthumously in 2016 the honorific "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vesham (The World Holocaust Remembrance Center) and the State of Israel. Notwithstanding all this duress, Leo Elders sought to prepare himself for the novitiate. His parish priest gave him Jacques Maritain's Les Degrés du Savoir; ou Distinguer pour Unir, another priest in a nearby village introduced him to philosophy by way of Joseph Gredt's Elementa philosophia Aristotelico-Thomisticae, and in exchange for some potatoes, an Amsterdam professor gave him private lessons in Spanish. These few anecdotes already are emblematic for the both austere (idleness would never become a part of his dictionary!) and generous life of Father...

Ontstaan en vroege ontwikkeling van Kampen

The emergence and early development of Kampen The town Kampen, at the mouth of the river IJssel (The Netherlands), seems to have originated in the 12th century ex nihilo. To explain this enigmatic start, many theories have been proposed. This article attributes its origin to a series of events, that started with the silting up of the Limjefjord after 1120 in the north of Jutland. This fjord was an important connection between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea for the small boats of the Frisian trade. The silting up of the fjord was a direct reason for the creation of the cog, a larger bulk carrier, that could circumnavigate Cape Skagen. Moreover, it could also take a shortcut over high seas to the mouth of the Vlie, and over the Almere to the mouth of the river IJssel. From there, the smaller Frisian ships used to sail over the IJssel to the German Rhine area, which was impossible for the seagoing cog. Therefore, the introduction of the cog prompted the foundation of a port for transshipment in the first half of the 12th century. This means Kampen did already exist as a settlement, when a storm surge in 1170 turned the Almere into the Zuiderzee and the settlement could take advantage of this environmental change.

Drifter

Drifter Laura Steadham Smith (bio) Peter had only been dead a year, and Natalie still saw him everywhere. In the man running down her street, in the car beside her in traffic. Some mornings, he lay next to her in bed just before she opened her eyes, though in the light he was gone. Sometimes he looked exactly the way she remembered: hair fanned around the crown of his head, too straight to lie still, too thin to look kempt. Sometimes before she remembered he was dead, she wondered where he was. Like maybe he'd gone out. To buy a sandwich, maybe. To sit on the boat dock behind the abandoned TV station and look for dolphins. To cook with durian fruit. This time, a biker who looked like Peter sat between a garbage can and the door of the 24-hour Circle K on the causeway going into Mobile. Natalie closed the door of her truck and opened the gas cap. Sweat slid down her back. Across the highway, black water shimmered to Goat Island and the gulf beyond. The moon was a white disk where the sun would rise in a few hours. The man who wasn't Peter ran his hand over his mouth and looked back at her. He had the same broad shoulders and tense posture. His eyes were wide and brown, his mouth turned inward, his features traced with thin lines. Maybe 35, 36 years old. A red gash cut a line across his forehead. He leaned against a bicycle and held an open Snickers bar. He chewed and watched her. She lifted her chin and looked back. A breeze, wet like an open mouth, tugged at her t-shirt. She let the pump run until the numbers stopped, and then she put it back. She turned to slide her wallet back onto the passenger seat, then closed the door and looked to see him next to her. He wore boots heavy with dirt. Grime had settled into the crevices that lined his eyes, his mouth, but he smiled. The cut on his forehead was crusted with old blood. He pointed to his bike. The front tire lay in ribbons on the concrete. "Any bike shops around here?" he asked. She looked across the water to the dark smear where the bay melted into the gulf. The small boats scattered even now, their lights nodding on the surface. The trawler in the marsh, its nets two arms flung high. The gulls, always circling. Always calling. She nodded and slung the truck door open. "Help me with something first," she said. _____ The alligator breeding center sat tucked between Fish River and the pine forest that stretched all the way to the delta. Natalie turned off the highway and onto a dirt road that swung around the back of the farm. "I was going to take one of the babies," she told him. "But maybe we can get one a little bigger." The man who wasn't Peter raised his eyebrows. He didn't say no. He looked relaxed as she jolted him closer to the waiting alligators, which struck her as odd. [End Page 73] "Where you from?" she asked. "Ocala," not-Peter said. He rolled down the window. "You mind smoke?" She looked to her left, at the white house that waited with darkened windows across a wide lawn. "Wait till we're out of here," she said. He nodded and rolled the window back up. "It's Clay." "Natalie." She hadn't driven real Peter many places. There'd been a night when she drank too much and gave him her keys, but he couldn't drive standard. She'd leaned across the gearshift to put her head in his lap, then sat up and talked him through it, her speech slurred, the streetlights white halos on the pavement. He lurched all the way home, and she laughed, but he never offered again. "You bum all the way here?" she asked. He shook his head, and the truck pitched over an old rut. He spoke loudly. "Biked from central Florida. Ten days and only two states. Then my tire blew." He...

Use of deep learning algorithms for real-time detection of vessels in confined spaces using the Tensorflow framework

Over 4515 small boat accidents were registered in the United State of America in 2012, resulting in 651 causalities and 22% of the accidents took place between two boats. It is, therefore, one of the most interesting applications for image analysis and recognition using deep learning, collision avoidance in passenger boats. Advances in parallel computing, graphic processing unit technology and deep learning have facilitated real-time image processing. The main objective of this study was to compare the performance metrics for different deep learning algorithms using pre-trained data sets. The algorithms used were: faster region-based convolutional neural networks, region-based fully convolutional network, and single shot multibox detector using the feature extractors: residual neural network, inception and convolutional neural networks for mobile vision applications to detect generic boats in confined waterways. These models were coded in Python programming language, using the framework Tensorflow and OpenCV library for image processing. The algorithms were pre-trained using the free images database posted on the web, Microsoft COCO. The use of these pre-trained models allowed making use of computers without graphic processing unit. As a result, it was found that the faster region-based convolutional neural networks and region-based fully convolutional network method compared to the single shot multibox detector method offer a small advantage precision if speed detection is not required, but the single shot multibox detector method is useful for case detectors in real time, however it did not perform as accurate when detecting small objects.

Boat disturbance effects on moulting common eiders Somateria mollissima

Ship and boat traffic are increasing sources of disturbance to marine wildlife. During moult, sea ducks are flightless and rely on productive and shallow feeding areas. However, this period coincides with the peak of the recreational boating season. This is the first study to investigate the escape behaviour of moulting common eiders (Somateria mollissima) to the approach of small boats. We quantified flight initiation distances (flock-to-boat distance at which an energy-demanding escape occurred), displacement distances (distance between the pre- and post-disturbance position of the flock) and the time it took flocks to return to pre-disturbance (foraging- or resting-) behaviour. Moulting common eiders showed average flight initiation distances of 177 m and displacement distances of 771 m. Displacement distances decreased with flock size, under higher wind speeds and when previous foraging habitat was shallower. Time-to-return to pre-disturbance behaviour decreased with flock size but increased with wind speed and accessibility of foraging habitat at the previous location. Most (75%) of flocks returned to pre-disturbance behaviour within 10 min after the disturbance, while three flocks kept disturbed even 45 min after the approach. Finally, flocks encountered less accessible (deeper) habitats after disturbance than before. Our results suggest that approaching boats imply considerable disturbance effects for moulting common eiders through increased locomotion costs, displacement from accessible foraging habitat and/or time lost for foraging or resting. We provide valuable information for policy makers and marine spatial planning and highlight the need for awareness among recreational boat drivers on their impact on wildlife.

CASES OF MORBIDITY WITH WORK DAYS LOST AMONG EMPLOYEES OF THE EMERCOM OF RUSSIA AND THE WORKING POPULATION IN RUSSIA

Relevance. Activities in extreme conditions likely involve stress on functional reserves and impaired health. Intention. Calculate the medical and statistical indicators of cases of morbidity with work days lost among employees of the EMERCOM of Russia and compare the above indicators with the working population in Russia in 2010–2015.Methodology. We analyzed cases of morbidity with temporary disability in employees of the EMERCOM of Russia units according to the automated database of the All-Russian Order of the Badge of Honor Research Institute for Fire Protection, EMERCOM of Russia, over 2010–2015 in about 80% of all employees who had special military ranks: senior commanding officers (officers, warrant officers), junior commanding officers (sergeants) and rank and file. The indicators are calculated per 1000 employees or in ‰. Cases of morbidity correlated with the International Classification of Diseases and Behavioral Disorders of the 10th Revision (ICD-10). Cases of temporary disability of workers in Russia was obtained from the database of the Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System of Russia.Results and analysis. The average annual level of morbidity cases with work days lost among the personnel of the EMERCOM of Russia was (374.2 ± 9.6) ‰, including (345.2 ± 9.1) among the employees of the Federal Fire Service, (361.4 ± 28.3) ‰ in the Main Inspectorate for Small Boats, (339.3 ± 20.5) ‰ in the Search and Rescue Units, and (867.6 ± 97.6) ‰ in the Rescue Military Units. In the structure of cases of work days lost in the EMERCOM of Russia, the shares of employees of the divisions were distributed as follows: 81.5, 2.8, 2.1 and 13.6 %, respectively. The leading classes of diseases among the personnel of the EMERCOM of Russia were: respiratory diseases (Chapter X) with morbidity rate (167.7 ± 8.2) ‰ and 44.7% in the structure; injuries, poisoning and some other consequences of external causes (Chapter XIX) (41.8 ± 1.4) ‰ and 11.2 %; diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (Chapter XIII) – (34.7 ± 1.2) ‰ and 9.3%; circulatory system diseases (Chapter IX) – (25.2 ± 1.6) ‰ and 6.7%; and some infectious and parasitic diseases (Chapter I) – (21.9 ± 2.9) ‰ and 5.9 %. For workers in Russia, the average annual level of morbidity cases with work days lost 1.4 times as high: (522.5 ± 28.1) ‰ (p &lt; 0.01). The consistency of the indicators is high, negative, and approaches statistical significance (r = –0.75; p &lt; 0.1), which may indicate the influence of multidirectional factors in the formation of cases of work days lost among the EMERCOM of Russia employees and working population in Russia. Trends over time, structure and morbidity rates for cases with work days lost among employees of the EMERCOM of Russia divisions are presented.Conclusion. Accounting for morbidity indicators with work days lost can contribute to a more rational allocation of resources during the operational activities of the EMERCOM of Russia.

WOOD SPECIES USED IN CRAFT BOATS IN PARÁ STATE – BRAZIL

The fshing activity in the Northern region of Brazil is important for the sustenance of several families; to perform this activity, small boats are used, produced in small yards that have native wood as the main raw material. This study aimed to identify and characterize macroscopically the wood of the species used in boat production in three Brazilian municipalities of the State of Pará: Abaetetuba, Colares and Vigia. For wood identifcation and study, macroscopic anatomy techniques were used, and at the end, the collected samples were compared with those in the collection of the IAN/EMBRAPA Xylotheque. 19 species were identifed, distributed into 13 families and 18 genera. There is a large number of species used in boat production; however, the commonly used species are Caryocar villosum and Lecythis pisonis.

Use of the process approach to improve the efficiency of the quality management system at the machine-building enterprise of Kuznetov PJSC

Aspects and features of a process approach aimed at the interaction of departments and officials, removing the barriers between them and combining the efforts of all enterprise structures to achieve strategic goals are considered. The process approach is considered one of the most effective tools for increasing business efficiency. The essence of this approach is that all the activities of the enterprise are considered as a set of processes, which are a combination of interrelated and interacting activities. Each process, in turn, has inputs that translate into outputs, resources, internal and external customers, suppliers, and other interested parties. Based on the study, the relevance and importance of applying the process approach at one of the largest enterprises producing engines for aircraft, gas pumping stations, power plants, for the rocket and space industry and outboard motors for small boats is substantiated. By industry affiliation, it belongs to machine-building enterprises. At this enterprise, significant achievements in the field of quality were noted, obtained through the introduction of a process approach, a process management methodology was recommended for use, which is suitable for enterprises in various fields of activity. This method is necessary for the tactful formation of process management. The systematic implementation of the process approach enables enterprises to increase efficiency, improve the quality of products and significantly increase their competitiveness, which is especially important in the context of the integration of the national economy into the world. The implementation of these measures will allow enterprises to achieve their goals as soon as possible at the lowest possible cost.