Evaluation of a task performance resource constraint model to assess the impact of offshore emergency management on risk reduction

In this age of safety awareness, technological emergencies still happen, occasionally with catastrophic results. Often human intervention is the only way of averting disaster. Ensuring that the chosen emergency managers are competent requires a combination of training and assessmentH. owever, assessmenct urrently relies on expert judgement of behaviour as opposed to its impact on outcome, therefore it would be difficult to incorporate such data into formal Quantitative Risk Assessments (QRA). Although there is, as yet, no suitable alternative to expert judgement, there is a need for methods of quantifying the impact of emergency management on risk reduction in accident and incidents. The Task Performance Resource Constraint (TPRC) model is capable of representing the critical factors. It calculates probability of task success with respect to time based on uncertainties associated with the task and resource variables. The results can then be used to assess the management performance based on the physical outcome in the emergency, thereby providing a measure of the impact of emergency management on risk with a high degree of objectivity. Data obtained from training exercises for offshore and onshore emergency management were measured and successfully used with the TPRC model. The resulting probability of success functions also demonstrated a high level of external validity when used with improvements in emergency management or design changes or real data from the Piper Alpha disaster. It also appeared to have more external validity than other HRQ/QRA techniques as it uses physical data that are a greater influence on outcome than psychological changes - though this could be because the current HRA/QRA techniques view human unreliability as probability of error rather than probability of failure. The simulation data were also used to build up distributions of timings for simple emergency management tasks. Using additional theoretical data, this demonstrated the model's potential for assessing the probability of successf or novel situations and future designs

Disaster management in industrial areas: perspectives, challenges and future research

Purpose: In most countries, development, growth, and sustenance of industrial facilities are given utmost importance due to the influence in the socio-economic development of the country. Therefore, special economic zones, or industrial areas or industrial cities are developed in order to provide the required services for the sustained operation of such facilities. Such facilities not only provide a prolonged economic support to the country but it also helps in the societal aspects as well by providing livelihood to thousands of people. Therefore, any disaster in any of the facilities in the industrial area will have a significant impact on the population, facilities, the economy, and threatens the sustainability of the operations. This paper provides review of such literature that focus on theory and practice of disaster management in industrial cities. Design/methodology/approach: In the paper, content analysis method is used in order to elicit the insights of the literature available. The methodology uses search methods, literature segregation and developing the current knowledge on different phases of industrial disaster management. Findings: It is found that the research is done in all phases of disaster management, namely, preventive phase, reactive phase and corrective phase. The research in each of these areas are focused on four main aspects, which are facilities, resources, support systems and modeling. Nevertheless, the research in the industrial cities is insignificant. Moreover, the modeling part does not explicitly consider the nature of industrial cities, where many of the chemical and chemical processing can be highly flammable thus creating a very large disaster impact. Some research is focused at an individual plant and scaled up to the industrial cities. The modeling part is weak in terms of comprehensively analyzing and assisting disaster management in the industrial cities. Originality/value: The comprehensive review using content analysis on disaster management is presented here. The review helps the researchers to understand the gap in the literature in order to extend further research for disaster management in large scale industrial cities.Peer Reviewe

MODELING OF INNOVATIVE LIGHTER-THAN-AIR UAV FOR LOGISTICS, SURVEILLANCE AND RESCUE OPERATIONS

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an aircraft that can operate without the presence of pilots, either through remote control or automated systems. The first part of the dissertation provides an overview of the various types of UAVs and their design features. The second section delves into specific experiences using UAVs as part of an automated monitoring system to identify potential problems such as pipeline leaks or equipment damage by conducting airborne surveys.Lighter-than-air UAVs, such as airships, can be used for various applications, from aerial photography, including surveying terrain, monitoring an area for security purposes and gathering information about weather patterns to surveillance. The third part reveals the applications of UAVs for assisting in search and rescue operations in disaster situations and transporting natural gas. Using PowerSim software, a model of airship behaviour was created to analyze the sprint-and-drift concept and study methods of increasing the operational time of airships while having a lower environmental impact when compared to a constantly switched-on engine. The analysis provided a reliable percentage of finding the victim during patrolling operations, although it did not account for victim behaviour. The study has also shown that airships may serve as a viable alternative to pipeline transportation for natural gas. The technology has the potential to revolutionize natural gas transportation, optimizing efficiency and reducing environmental impact. Additionally, airships have a unique advantage in accessing remote and otherwise inaccessible areas, providing significant benefits in the energy sector. The employment of this technology was studied to be effective in specific scenarios, and it will be worth continuing to study it for a positive impact on society and the environment

Tactical Communications for Cooperative SAR Robot Missions

This chapter describes how the ICARUS communications (COM) team defined, developed and implemented an integrated wireless communication system to ensure an interoperable and dependable networking capability for both human and robotic search and rescue field teams and crisis managers. It starts explaining the analysis of the requirements and the context of the project, the existing solutions and the design of the ICARUS communication system to fulfil all the project needs. Next, it addresses the implementation process of the required networking capabilities, and finally, it explains how the ICARUS communication system and associated tools have been integrated in the overall mission systems and have been validated to provide reliable communications for real‐time information sharing during search and rescue operations in hostile conditions

Chapter Tactical Communications for Cooperative SAR Robot Missions

This chapter describes how the ICARUS communications (COM) team defined, developed and implemented an integrated wireless communication system to ensure an interoperable and dependable networking capability for both human and robotic search and rescue field teams and crisis managers. It starts explaining the analysis of the requirements and the context of the project, the existing solutions and the design of the ICARUS communication system to fulfil all the project needs. Next, it addresses the implementation process of the required networking capabilities, and finally, it explains how the ICARUS communication system and associated tools have been integrated in the overall mission systems and have been validated to provide reliable communications for real‐time information sharing during search and rescue operations in hostile conditions

The Cognition of Controversy: Examining Policy Elites’ Narrative Cognition and Communication Around Hydraulic Fracturing Practices in the U.S.

The use of hydraulic fracturing (HF) technologies to extract oil and gas in the United States has sparked contentious policy debates, producing inconsistent and inefficient policies that have done little to address the impacts of HF in any comprehensive way. Debates are accompanied by competing policy narratives that position HF as either an environmental threat or an economic opportunity, but little is known about how policy narratives around HF are used by individuals. This dissertation systematically examines how individuals cognitively internalize elements of competing HF policy narratives. Organized into three empirical chapters, this dissertation analyzes narrative cognition (Jones, Shanahan, and McBeth 2014) around HF, providing a rare look at policy elites, those engaged in the energy policy subsystem with the resources and potential to influence HF policy development. The first empirical chapter applies structural topic modeling to examine how policy elites cognitively internalize elements of policy narratives, finding that elite assessment of the overall utility of HF correlates with aspects of the narrative elements used to think about HF. OLS regression analysis and Bayesian Posterior Simulation results indicate that socially constructed worldviews drive policy elites’ narrative cognition in theoretically expected ways regardless of their overall perception of the utility of HF. Building on research that identifies political sophistication as fundamental to belief-driven attitudes (Michaud, Carlisle, and Smith 2009; Ripberger et al. 2012), the second empirical chapter compares cognition patterns of policy elites with members of the general public to examine the role of cognitive sophistication in elite narrative cognition. Empirical evidence supports theoretical expectations, indicating that worldviews have a stronger influence on narrative cognition for those with greater cognitive sophistication. The third empirical chapter builds on recent work by Lawlor and Crow (2018) to analyze how socially constructed risk frames support narrative cognition. Mediation analysis results indicate that socially constructed risk frames support the cognitive internalization of narrative elements and guide assessments of risk and benefit toward HF. Overall, the empirical and theoretical contributions of this dissertation deepen our understanding of policy narrative cognition and contribute to the development of several policy process theories including the Advocacy Coalition Framework, the Narrative Policy Framework, and Cultural Theory. Each empirical chapter discusses relevant practical and methodological implications of the study

Integrative Trust-Based Functional Contracting: A Complementary Contractual Approach to BIM-Enabled Oil And Gas EPC Project Delivery

The research has successfully bridged the gap between contractual and technological practices for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts in oil and gas projects. It has identified the related Building Information Modelling (BIM) uses and developed an integrative trust-based functional contracting that complement to EPC contracts. The research contributes to new functional perspectives of contracting and also provides significant insights into the proper use contract functions for improving BIM-enabled projects’ performance

Disaster management in industrial areas: Perspectives, challenges and future research

Purpose: In most countries, development, growth, and sustenance of industrial facilities are given utmost importance due to the influence in the socio-economic development of the country. Therefore, special economic zones, or industrial areas or industrial cities are developed in order to provide the required services for the sustained operation of such facilities. Such facilities not only provide a prolonged economic support to the country but it also helps in the societal aspects as well by providing livelihood to thousands of people. Therefore, any disaster in any of the facilities in the industrial area will have a significant impact on the population, facilities, the economy, and threatens the sustainability of the operations. This paper provides review of such literature that focus on theory and practice of disaster management in industrial cities. Design/methodology/approach: In the paper, content analysis method is used in order to elicit the insights of the literature available. The methodology uses search methods, literature segregation and developing the current knowledge on different phases of industrial disaster management. Findings: It is found that the research is done in all phases of disaster management, namely, preventive phase, reactive phase and corrective phase. The research in each of these areas are focused on four main aspects, which are facilities, resources, support systems and modeling. Nevertheless, the research in the industrial cities is insignificant. Moreover, the modeling part does not explicitly consider the nature of industrial cities, where many of the chemical and chemical processing can be highly flammable thus creating a very large disaster impact. Some research is focused at an individual plant and scaled up to the industrial cities. The modeling part is weak in terms of comprehensively analyzing and assisting disaster management in the industrial cities. Originality/value: The comprehensive review using content analysis on disaster management is presented here. The review helps the researchers to understand the gap in the literature in order to extend further research for disaster management in large scale industrial cities.Scopu