Automation in Aviation: An Advancement or Hindrance to Aviation Safety?

Transportation at large is becoming increasingly automated, and aviation has often been at the forefront of this technological movement. Automation’s presence in the cockpit has been quite advantageous by improving economics, enhancing safety, and arguably reducing workload. However, its implementation has also presented several challenges, including but not limited to complacency and overreliance on automation, manufacturer design errors, and automation surprise. To overcome these challenges and mitigate safety issues preemptively, methods and strategies must be devised to improve the implementation of automation in aviation. Upon review of eight case studies from accident reports where the use of automation was a contributing factor, several recommendations were developed to improve the implementation of automation in aviation. Airline operators should encourage the use of manual flying skills when applicable and ensure that crews are competently educated and trained on automated systems. Manufacturers on the other had should increase the collaboration during the design phase with both the end user and regulatory agency, strengthen the utilization of the Human Centered Approach to systems integration and improve Human Factors and Ergonomics studies for instrumentation to improve ease of use for pilots. As the world becomes more technologically advanced, the delicate relationship between man and machine must be carefully managed

An investigation of constraint-based risk management for collaborative design

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In the context of internationally challenging economic, design has been regarded as a key factor in assisting design and manufacturing companies to survive. By using up-to-date computer-supported technology, the global design collaboration based on multidisciplinary and distributed environment is becoming a mainstream to new product development (NPD). However, during the process of collaborative design, risk is rarely mentioned. In particular, due to the complexity of design process and lack of efficient design decision-making, there have been some design collaboration failures across multiple companies. Some design projects cannot deliver the benefits as companies have expected through the collaboration. Moreover, a number of stakeholders, managers and designers expressed their disappointment at not seeing the projected savings in cost and time, which critically discredited the value of design collaboration. Many studies in academia and commercial cases have suggested that risk assessment can be applied as an effective means in the realm of design. Nevertheless, few of them conducted risk management research associated with design constraints under a collaborative environment from both theoretical and practical perspectives. In current risk practice, many risk practitioners simply report key risks to their management teams and no further analysis, which might subsequently result in confusion with excessive discussions. Consequently, to prevent the failure of design collaboration and perform a satisfactory risk assessment, it is important to perform risk management with an upstream perspective and at an operational level. An approach, called constraint-based design risk management (DRM) where a conceptual framework has been proposed on the basis of collaborative design features, risk management process and Theory of Constraints (TOC). Moreover, a DRM matrix has been developed to map, measure and mitigate collaborative design risk through evaluating the critical design constraints, and then specified design risk variables in the light of risk criteria. Design constraints are quantitative parameters that frequently affect main design processes and decisions. The combination of design constraints and risk criteria can be accessible and applicable by designers and design mangers. In addition, a Bayesian weighting method based on Bayesian theorem has been developed to measure collaborative design risk in a more efficient manner. Ultimately, a DRM tool has been created as a simulated scenario prototype, which incorporated with three case-study evaluations, to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of using TOC and risk theory in the realm of design collaboration

BIM and Knowledge Based Risk Management System

The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for construction project risk management has become a growing research trend. However, it was observed that BIM-based risk management has not been widely used in practice and two important gaps leading to this problem are: 1) very few theories exist that can explain how BIM can be aligned with traditional techniques and integrated into existing processes for project risk management; and 2) current BIM solutions have very limited support on risk communication and information management during the project development process. To overcome these limitations, this research proposes a new approach that two traditional risk management techniques, Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) and Case-based Reasoning (CBR), can be integrated into BIM-based platforms and an active linkage between the risk information and BIM can be established to support the project lifecycle. The core motivations behind the proposed solution are: 1) a tailored RBS could be used as a knowledge-based approach to classify, store and manage the information of a risk database in a proper structure and risk information in RBS could be linked to BIM for review, visualisation and communication; and 2) knowledge and experience stored in past risk reports could contribute to avoiding similar risks in new situations and the most relevant cases can be linked to BIM to support decision making during the project lifecycle. The scope of this research is limited to bridge projects; however, the basic methods and principles could be also applied to other types of projects. This research is in three phases. In the first stage, this research analysed the conceptual separation of BIM and the linkage rules between different types of risk and BIM. Specifically, an integrated bridge information model was divided into four Level of Contents (LOCs) and six technical systems based on the analysis of the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) specification, a critical review of previous studies and the author’s project experience. Then a knowledge-based risk database was developed through an extensive collection of risk data, a process of data mining, and further assessment and translation of the data. Built on the risk database, a tailored RBS was developed to categorise and manage this risk information and a set of linkage rules between the tailored RBS and the four LOCs and six technical systems of BIM was established. Secondly, to further implement the linkage rules, a novel method to link BIM, RBS, and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to be a risk management system was developed. A prototype system was created based on Navisworks and the Microsoft SQL Server to support the implementation of the proposed approach. The system allows not only the storage of risk information in a central database but also to link the related risk information in the BIM model for review, visualisation and simulation. Thirdly, to facilitate the use of previous knowledge and experience for BIM-based risk management, the research proposed an approach of combining the use of two Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, i.e. Vector Space Model (VSM) and semantic query expansion, and outlined a new framework for the risk case retrieval system. A prototype was developed using the Python programming language to support the implementation of the proposed method. Preliminary testing results show that the proposed system is capable of retrieving relevant cases automatically and to return, for example, the top 10 similar cases. The main contribution of this research is the approach of integrating RBS and CBR into BIM through active linkages. The practical significance of this research is that the proposed approach enables the development of BIM-based risk management software to improve the risk identification, analysis, and information management during the project development process. This research provides evidence that traditional techniques can be aligned with BIM for risk management. One significant advantage of the proposed method is to combine the benefits of both traditional techniques and BIM for lifecycle project risk management and have the minimum disruption to the existing working processes

A Model-Based Approach to Comprehensive Risk Management for Medical Devices

The European medical technology industry consists of around 27,000 companies, more than 95% of them small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with over 675,000 employees [MEDT17]. In the European Union (EU) alone, medical devices constituted by far the biggest part of the medical technology (MedTech) sector with a market of 95 billion euros in annual sales in 2015 [EURO15].The European medical technology industry consists of around 27,000 companies, more than 95% of them small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with over 675,000 employees [MEDT17]. In the European Union (EU) alone, medical devices constituted by far the biggest part of the medical technology (MedTech) sector with a market of 95 billion euros in annual sales in 2015 [EURO15]

Design prototyping methods

textProduct development is often modeled as a cycle between phases of designing, building, and testing. This work will explore early stage build efforts of product design, which is also known as prototyping. Prototyping is a critical determinant of product success. Research shows that different approaches to prototyping can greatly affect design outcome. This work provides an integrated overview, and expansion of the existing work on design prototyping methods. Following the introduction, an extensive literature review of design prototyping tools, techniques, and methods is provided. These sources are indexed and comparatively reviewed. The capabilities of a novel hybrid prototyping technique is explored through a design case study. Next, insights from the review are integrated in a context independent prototyping strategy method. The method is developed with heuristics extracted from the literature, and additional insights from experimental studies. The technique is then experimentally evaluated. Finally, results of an extensive study of an online design repository are provided. The results include five key principles for prototype design and fabrication. The presence of these principles in the repository is validated through a novel crowd-sourced online study. The outcome effects of deploying these principles to design teams is experimentally evaluated. Overall, this research provides a guide to prototyping which includes a systematically indexed review and comparison of the existing work, as well as a novel method, and principles for design and fabrication.Mechanical Engineerin

A Conceptual Framework for Analysis of System Safety Interoperability of United States Navy\u27s Combat Systems

Today\u27s political and military reality requires the optimal use of our legacy systems. The objective is to maximize the effectiveness of our operations by efficient allocation, placement and the use of our forces and war-fighting systems. The synergism drawn from the capabilities of the legacy complex systems enables today\u27s war-fighting needs to be met without substantial increase in cost or resources. This synergism can be realized by the effective integration and interoperation of legacy systems into a larger, more complex system of systems. However, the independently developed legacy systems in this new tactical environment often have different data types, languages, data modeling, operating systems, etc. These differences are impediments to the requirement for interoperability, and can create an environment of confusion, misinformation and certainly un-interoperability, hence hinder the safe interoperation of the metasystem and potentially increase the risk for mishaps. Safe interoperability capability assures that the mission objectives are achieved not only effectively but also safely. The System Safety Interoperability Framework (SSIF) introduced in this dissertation provides the framework for the engineering community to evaluate, from system safety perspective, the interoperability issues between multiple complex systems in the U.S. Navy\u27s system of systems context. SSIF characterization attributes are System of Systems (SoS) tactical environment, SoS Engineering, SoS Safety Engineering, and Safety Critical Data. SSIF is applied to AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense 3.0 Program to explore and analyze the safety interoperability issues in the overall system, by which the SSIF is further validated as an effective approach in analyzing the safe interoperability capability in Navy\u27s combat systems

Risks Associated with Federal Construction Projects

The rise in terrorism, corporate espionage, cyber attacks, and federal fiscal constraints play an important role in the federal construction process. The risks associated with these occurrences are studied to aid in the risk management of the military construction process. This paper presents the status of research into these areas to identify how methods, policies, applications, and information obtained from case studies can be used by stakeholders to manage risk in the United States Air Force construction process. The author reviewed research on risk associated with four essential components of the military construction process – Critical Infrastructure, Information Technology, Contracts, and Cost in the construction and related industry. This study focused on the methodology, management policy, areas of application, and case studies research of the construction and related industry

Developing a system for health and safety enhancement and automation in construction sites

The construction industry forms an important element within the economic activities and is known to be challenging and dangerous. Erroneously construction site accidents were accepted as unavoidable. The existing work health and safety protocols goals were not to cut risk but to provide risk assessment by understanding the types of risks associated with various activities and setting out rules and procedures to manage them and cut their impact. This study attempts a proactive approach to construction site health and safety by anticipating the hazards associated with a planned daily work activity and providing on site the relevant training and safety instructions. This was achieved by integrating the project’s digital design with site images processing and analysis. Digital image processing applies signal processing algorithms to images and videos resulting in extracting useful information from them. An essential and critical issue in the field of computer vision is the object’s recognition methods which should be capable of finding the partial occlusion of objects. Knowledge management systems archive and locate the required information and make it available to the relevant destination quickly and efficiently. It can also provide access to information in other construction sites and to the design team. This management system helps to save the gained experience and make it available to the project or other similar projects. The Building Information System was introduced as a system in which the objectives of this study can be incorporated leaving the door open to incorporate other project management activities. The possible solutions for the identified health and safety business problem were analysed in order to arrive at the best solution suitable to the objectives of the study. The end users ‘needs obtained from the distributed questionnaire and the project’s functional requirements were considered in order to create a model that will achieve their goals in an efficient manner. An activity diagram and a user case diagram based on the UML language were generated. Based on them a computerized model (CONSTRUCTION AUTOMATA) was developed to identify risks associated with specific work activities and provide the relevant safety instructions and training to mitigate them. The model automatically produces safety reports to record and serve as a knowledge management base for future reference thus eliminating possible human errors. The computer program was tested with available site images from an existing project and it proved to deliver its outputs according to its design. The developed model was then demonstrated to a selected group of relevant professionals and was seen to score well with ease of use mark of (6.17) and effectiveness as a health and safety tool mark of (6.37) out of a total mark of (10)

Capability-actor-resource-service : a conceptual modelling approach for value-driven strategic sourcing

This PhD research addresses a problem within strategic sourcing, which is a critical area of strategic management that is centered on decision-making related to procurement. Strategic sourcing is related to two disciplines: (i) procurement and supply management and (ii) strategic management. Sourcing is the strategic part of procurement that refers to tasks like determining cost saving and value-driven opportunities, choosing the most appropriate go-to market strategies, and selecting and evaluating suppliers for building long-term and short-term contractual relationships. Many companies face challenges in obtaining the benefits associated with effective strategic sourcing. Although the concept of strategic sourcing is fairly well recognized, managers are still challenged by many barriers to its implementation. The main problem is the lack of practical instruments (i.e., tools and techniques) to implement the value-driven management approach to strategic sourcing, while at the same time preparing companies for fact-based decision-making by delivering data management and data analytics capabilities. This is the problem which is addressed with this PhD research. To address this problem, the research goal has been defined as “develop a modeling approach that enables companies 1) to drive fact-based decision-making with respect to procurement data management and procurement analytics”; and 2) to implement strategic sourcing toward achieving value-driven targets”. We apply conceptual modeling as our main solution approach to achieve the above research goal. We define three major areas where conceptual modeling can contribute to strategic sourcing decision-making: conceptualization, design and computer support. The proposed conceptual modeling approach is characterized by four different perspectives: (i) a way of thinking (i.e., a conceptual foundation), (ii) a way of modeling (i.e., a modeling language and method to use it), (iii) a way of working (i.e., a model-based analysis approach), and (iv) a way of supporting (i.e., a computer-aided design tool). The scope of PhD research is limited to the first three perspectives, while for the fourth perspective a solution architecture will be proposed as part of future research. This PhD dissertation is a paper-based dissertation consisting of six chapters. Three chapters (chapter 3, 4, 5) of this dissertation have been submitted to international peer-reviewed journals (chapter 4 is published and chapters 3 and 5 are accepted) and one chapter (chapter 2) has been published in the post-conference proceedings of an international workshop