FIRST RESPONDERS’ EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIME ANALYSIS: CITY OF SASKATOON CASE STUDY

Emergency response time is very important to first responders. In an emergency, there are many factors that can affect the response time. This research focuses on three of the many factors that contribute to delays in reaching an incident within the four minute target travel time. Highway-railway grade crossings, fire equipment allocation and multiple incident occurrences in a fire district can have significant impact on emergency response time. The operations of slow or stationary freight trains at highway-grade crossings, for instance, can lead to delays. This situation is common in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Even though grade separation can be the best alternative to solve this problem, it cannot be justified for most grade crossings. Using a grade crossing monitoring system (GCMS), real-time information can be communicated to local emergency dispatchers when a grade crossing is blocked. The benefit of installing a monitoring system was investigated to help improve emergency response time. In this research, Geographical Information System (GIS) based service area and network analysis was used to investigate the dynamic changes in the service area with or without grade crossing blockage and to estimate the benefit of installing GCMS to reduce first responders’ emergency response time. The research analyses show significant time saved in emergency response times. The Saskatoon examples show; the assumption that a road is blocked and having to take long detours when GCMS indicates that the crossing is not blocked and when GCMS also indicates that waiting at a blocked crossing would be more efficient than taking a detour route could help save valuable time in emergency response. All fire related incidents require a standard fire engine. However, some fire outbreaks that involve high rise buildings, hazardous materials, and the like, require a special fire engine and/or special equipment in addition to the standard fire engine. Special equipment includes a “ladder-equipped” fire engine, and a “decontamination” fire engine. It is important for a city to have a well-structured and efficient strategy to allocate fire and emergency equipment. The allocation of resources must take into account changing patterns of fire and emergency incidents. This research analyzed response times to fire incidents that require a specific fire engine with special features. The results suggest that Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) may need additional resources such as ladders and tankers in order to respond efficiently. Saskatoon Fire Department’s target response time is six minutes. Travel time accounts for four of the six minutes. The research developed a spatio-temporal response zone and found that some fire incidents requiring specific resources lay outside the four minute zone. The analysis suggests that specific types of fire engines could be better allocated to fire districts with more fire incidents requiring those engines. In Saskatoon, the fire department experiences frequent and multiple emergency calls in some of its fire districts which normally have an impact on the response time to individual incidents. The potential occurrence of multiple incidents in more than one fire district, makes it important for Saskatoon Fire Department to predict the periods during which a particular fire district may require an additional fire engine. When multiple calls occur, response times may increase due to the lack of a fire engine or secondary fire engine with the required equipment to handle more than one emergency call. The pre-emptive reallocation of a fire engine refers to the systematic reallocation of a secondary fire engine and its associated fire fighters in a way that temporarily transfers the services of the secondary fire engine from its original fire district to another fire district when a high number of service calls is expected in the other district. Pre-emptive reallocation of fire engines for pre-set short-term periods could be a promising way to respond to multiple concurrent incidents. This research develops a novel, data-driven and scientific approach to assist decision making relating to the pre-emptive reallocation of one or more specific types of fire engines for fire departments where multiple fire or other emergency incidents may be expected to occur concurrently in the fire districts. Pre-emptive reallocation could be a very useful tactic particularly for some fire districts in Saskatoon, where the fire stations lack a secondary fire engine and have difficulty meeting the important six-minute rule. The approach to pre-emptive reallocation is designed to strengthen overall fire services in a region by using existing fire service resources more effectively and more efficiently. Survival data analyses were used to develop a set of statistical models designed to determine the possible time window for fire engine pre-emptive reallocation from fire district (FS) #2 or FS #8 to FS #9 to handle multiple fire incidents in fire district #9. The results from the analyses show that there are high chances of risk for an Alarm reported incident occurring during peak hours, summer season and on weekends in fire district #9. Fire district #8 provides the possible alternate chances to pre-empt reallocation of one of its fire engine to district #9. The result from this research demonstrates the benefit and importance of having GCMS and reallocation of fire engines with special features to improve emergency response time. This research would help enhance emergency response delivery during multiple incidents occurring in district#9, that requires pre-emptive reallocation of a fire engine. The outcome of this thesis will help save lives, property damage and improve security and safety

China Maritime Report No. 4: Civil Transport in PLA Power Projection

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has ambitious goals for its power projection capabilities. Aside from preparing for the possibility of using force to resolve Beijing’s territorial claims in East Asia, it is also charged with protecting China’s expanding “overseas interests.” These national objectives require the PLA to be able to project significant combat power beyond China’s borders. To meet these needs, the PLA is building organic logistics support capabilities such as large naval auxiliaries and transport aircraft. But it is also turning to civilian enterprises to supply its transportation needs.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-maritime-reports/1003/thumbnail.jp

OPTIMIZATION OF RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION HAZMATS AND REGULAR COMMODITIES

Transportation of dangerous goods has been receiving more attention in the realm of academic and scientific research during the last few decades as countries have been increasingly becoming industrialized throughout the world, thereby making Hazmats an integral part of our life style. However, the number of scholarly articles in this field is not as many as those of other areas in SCM. Considering the low-probability-and-high-consequence (LPHC) essence of transportation of Hazmats, on the one hand, and immense volume of shipments accounting for more than hundred tons in North America and Europe, on the other, we can safely state that the number of scholarly articles and dissertations have not been proportional to the significance of the subject of interest. On this ground, we conducted our research to contribute towards further developing the domain of Hazmats transportation, and sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), in general terms. Transportation of Hazmats, from logistical standpoint, may include all modes of transport via air, marine, road and rail, as well as intermodal transportation systems. Although road shipment is predominant in most of the literature, railway transportation of Hazmats has proven to be a potentially significant means of transporting dangerous goods with respect to both economies of scale and risk of transportation; these factors, have not just given rise to more thoroughly investigation of intermodal transportation of Hazmats using road and rail networks, but has encouraged the competition between rail and road companies which may indeed have some inherent advantages compared to the other medium due to their infrastructural and technological backgrounds. Truck shipment has ostensibly proven to be providing more flexibility; trains, per contra, provide more reliability in terms of transport risk for conveying Hazmats in bulks. In this thesis, in consonance with the aforementioned motivation, we provide an introduction into the hazardous commodities shipment through rail network in the first chapter of the thesis. Providing relevant statistics on the volume of Hazmat goods, number of accidents, rate of incidents, and rate of fatalities and injuries due to the incidents involving Hazmats, will shed light onto the significance of the topic under study. As well, we review the most pertinent articles while putting more emphasis on the state-of-the-art papers, in chapter two. Following the discussion in chapter 3 and looking at the problem from carrier company’s perspective, a mixed integer quadratically constraint problem (MIQCP) is developed which seeks for the minimization of transportation cost under a set of constraints including those associating with Hazmats. Due to the complexity of the problem, the risk function has been piecewise linearized using a set of auxiliary variables, thereby resulting in an MIP problem. Further, considering the interests of both carrier companies and regulatory agencies, which are minimization of cost and risk, respectively, a multiobjective MINLP model is developed, which has been reduced to an MILP through piecewise linearization of the risk term in the objective function. For both single-objective and multiobjective formulations, model variants with bifurcated and nonbifurcated flows have been presented. Then, in chapter 4, we carry out experiments considering two main cases where the first case presents smaller instances of the problem and the second case focuses on a larger instance of the problem. Eventually, in chapter five, we conclude the dissertation with a summary of the overall discussion as well as presenting some comments on avenues of future work

Feasibility of commercial cargo shipping along the Northern Sea Route

At least over the past two centuries, the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a link connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans through Russian Arctic territorial waters, has attracted seafarers willing to test its potential for delivering shorter and faster voyages. Traditionally maritime activity along the NSR has been constrained by a harsh climate, including perennial ice-cover and sub-zero temperatures. In recent decades, climate change has entailed improving climate conditions for shipping in the form of receding Arctic Sea ice-cover. This has turned the focus towards the Arctic region as a whole, mostly linked to its abundant reserves of natural resources. In many respects, climate change has reactivated interest in the NSR as a route for accessing natural resource riches and transcontinental shipping shortcuts between Europe and Asia. Despite the significant multi-level attention focused on the NSR, an understanding of its feasibility is far from being conclusive, which has resulted in varying conclusions in the media and extant literature. This research aims to produce a holistic, fact-based and unbiased view on the feasibility of commercial cargo shipping along the NSR from the point-of-view of ship owners. The main research question investigates under what conditions commercial cargo shipping along the NSR could become feasible. It is divided into three separate research sub-questions, which focus on: i) economic viability; ii) infrastructure and related services; and iii) market potential. The system-like characteristics of the phenomenon in question entail the positioning of the thesis in the categories of critical realism and pragmatism, with the emphasis on the former. The research approach has elements of constructive and system orientations, while the logic of inquiry relies on abductive reasoning with descriptive, normative and pragmatic features. The thesis consists of five separate articles and the concluding summary, which contains new empirical data. The summary concludes with the findings of the appended papers and provides an overall synthesis with reference to the main research question and the more specific sub-questions. This research employs quantitative research methods, including trend and capacity analysis as well as cost calculation and system dynamics modeling. Moreover, the widely used PESTEL framework is used in the concluding summary to describe the relevant external factors related to the political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal preconditions affecting commercial cargo shipping along the NSR. The subject of thesis is bound to the real world, which entails that the relevant research parameters are directly obtainable on a practical level. Accordingly, theprimary research data comprises fleet and cost information from maritime consultancies, the data are then enhanced through the opinions of practitioners and those who have studied its potential. The thesis contributes on three levels: managerial, theoretical and policy-making. On the managerial level, it contributes by providing normative tools, i.e. cost calculation and simulation models for ship owners in order to assess feasibility in a holistic manner. These tools provide guidance for the decision-making of ship owners and pertain to ship investment and management. A more pragmatic input is to participate in the general Arctic discussion, which tends to be based on unrealistic perceptions and misconceptions. This is valuable not only for business but also a wider audience. The thesis also contributes on a theoretical level in terms of providing a typology for the Arctic shipping cost categorization and the generic profiles of the NSR ships. In addition, it provides a substantial contribution to the ongoing Arctic policy-making discussion in terms of the adoption of national strategies. The conclusion of the thesis is that commercial cargo shipping along the NSR could be feasible under the right circumstances in the short-term, relating to particular shipping sectors in a favorable market and climate conditions. In particular, destinational traffic, i.e. traffic to or from the Russian Arctic along the NSR, most often associated with bulk shipping, may prove economically viable. However, the size of the market potential is limited, especially when taking into account the scant maritime infrastructure and dependency on macroeconomic drivers. From the ship owner’s decision-making point-of-view, the contemporary shipping economies in bulk shipping may be viewed as seizing market opportunities without a long-term commitment. On the other hand, more prominent involvement in shipping along the NSR would also require a number of fleet design considerations. In the long-term, the development of the NSR involves a high degree of uncertainty as its feasibility depends on a number of external factors relating mainly to climate, political and market issues.Kauppamerenkulun toimintaedellytykset Pohjoisreitillä Viime vuosisatojen aikana Pohjoisreitti, eli Atlantin ja Tyynen valtameren yhdistävä merireitti Venäjän arktisten merialueiden halki, on houkutellut merenkulkijoita testaamaan sen soveltuvuutta lyhempiin ja nopeampiin purjehduksiin. Ankara ilmasto – muun muassa erittäin alhaiset lämpötilat ja ympärivuotinen jääpeite – on kuitenkin merkittävästi rajoittanut perinteistä merenkulkua tällä reitillä. Viimeisten vuosikymmenten aikana ilmaston lämpeneminen ja sen myötä ohentunut jääpeite on vähitellen muokannut olosuhteita suotuisammaksi merenkululle. Tämä on osaltaan lisännyt maailmanlaajuista mielenkiintoa arktista aluetta kohtaan muun muassa alueella sijaitsevien runsaiden luonnonvarojen sekä mannertenväliselle merenkululle avautuvien mahdollisuuksien vuoksi. Viimeaikaisesta mielenkiinnosta huolimatta ymmärrys Pohjoisreitin soveltuvuudesta kauppamerenkululle on vielä varsin puutteellinen, mikä käy ilmi tutkimuskirjallisuudessa ja mediassa esitetyistä johtopäätöksistä. Tämä väitöskirjatutkimus pyrkii tuottamaan kokonaisvaltaisen, faktaperusteisen ja puolueettoman kuvan kauppamerenkulun toimintaedellytyksistä Pohjoisreitillä laivanvarustajan näkökulmasta. Tavoitteena on selvittää, millaisten reunaehtojen vallitessa Pohjoisreitillä voisi harjoittaa kannattavaa kauppamerenkulkua. Tavoitteeseen pyritään vastaamalla kolmeen alakysymykseen: i) mikä on reitin taloudellinen kannattavuus, ii) millainen merenkulun infrastruktuuri ja millaiset tukipalvelut reitillä on, sekä iii) mikä on reitin markkinapotentiaali. Tutkimuksen kohteena olevan ilmiön systeemiset ominaispiirteet sijoittavat tämän tutkimuksen tieteenfilosofisessa mielessä kriittisen realismin ja pragmatismin luokkiin, jossa paino on vahvasti ensin mainitussa. Tutkimusotteessa on piirteitä konstruktiivisesta ja systeeminäkökulmista, kun taas tieteellisen päättelyn logiikka pohjautuu abduktiiviseen otteeseen kuvailevine, normatiivisine ja pragmaattisina ominaispiirteineen. Väitöskirja koostuu viidestä erillisestä artikkelista ja johdanto-osasta, joka sisältää myös uutta empiiristä tietoa. Johdanto-osa kokoaa yhteen liitteenä olevien artikkelien tulokset, vastaa pää- ja alatutkimuskysymyksiin sekä esittää tutkimuksen synteesin. Tutkimuksen kvantitatiivisina tutkimusmenetelminä käytetään trendi- ja kapasiteettianalyysiä sekä kustannus- ja systeemidynamiikkamallinnusta. Johdanto-osassa on lisäksi käytetty ns. PESTEL-viitekehystä kuvaamaan niitä poliittisia, taloudellisia, sosiaalisia, teknologisia, ympäristöllisiä ja lainsäädännöllisiä reunaehtoja, jotka vaikuttavat kauppamerenkulun toimintaedellytyksiin Pohjoisreitillä. Tutkimuksen kohteena on reaalimaailman ilmiö: Pohjoisreitin soveltuvuus kauppamerenkulkuun. Näin ollen työn keskeiset tutkimusparametrit sekä empiirinen aineisto perustuvat parhaaseen saatavilla olevaan käytännön tietoon. Pääasiallisen tutkimusaineisto muodostuu alus- ja kustannustiedoista, jotka on saatu maailman johtavilta merenkulun konsulttitoimistoilta. Näitä tietoja on täydennetty soveltuvin osin toimija- ja asiantuntijanäkemyksillä. Työssä on myös erittäin kattava aihepiiriä käsittelevän tutkimuskirjallisuuden katsaus. Kokonaisuutena työn kontribuutio on osallistua yleiseen arktiseen aluetta ja sen potentiaalia koskevaan keskusteluun, ja tuoda tähän keskusteluun faktapohjaisia argumentteja aiempien osin epärealististen odotusten ja käsitysten vastapainoksi. Väitöskirjan kontribuutiot ulottuvat myös liikkeenjohtoon erityisesti varustamotoiminnan osalta, teoreettisesti merenkulkutalouden tutkimukseen sekä arktiseen alueeseen liittyvään poliittiseen päätöksentekoonkin. Liikkeenjohdolle tutkimus tuottaa normatiivisia työkaluja erityisesti laivanvarustajille kustannuslaskenta- ja simulaatiomallien muodossa, jotka mahdollistavat kauppamerenkulun toimintaedellytysten kokonaisvaltaisen arvioinnin mm. alusinvestointien ja operatiivisen toiminnan suunnittelun osalta. Väitöskirjan keskeinen teoreettinen kontribuutio liittyy arktisen merenkulun kustannusluokittelumallin rakentamiseen sekä yleisten kustannus- ja tuottoprofiilien luomiseen Pohjoisreitin aluksista. Lisäksi työ antaa merkittävän panoksen arktisen alueen poliittiseen päätöksentekoon niin kansallisella kuin kansainväliselläkin tasolla. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä on, että Pohjoisreitin kaupallisen merenkulun toimintaedellytykset voivat täyttyä lyhyellä tähtäimellä vain varsin tiukkojen reunaehtojen vallitessa. Näitä ovat mm. suotuisa markkinatilanne, sopivien lastien ja kuljetuskapasiteetin saatavuus sekä suosiolliset ilmasto-olosuhteet reitillä. Näidenkin edellytysten täyttyessä vain hyvin rajallinen osa maailman merenkulusta voi näitä mahdollisuuksia hyödyntää, ja reitin kaupallinen potentiaali erityisesti Euroopan ja Aasian välisessä kauttakulkuliikenteessä tullee olemaan marginaalinen vielä pitkään. Sen sijaan liikenteellä Venäjän omiin arktisiin kohteisiin tai kohteista (ns. määränpääliikenne) on konkreettista potentiaalia erityisesti nestemäisen ja kuivan irtolastin merikuljetuksissa. Tämän markkinan koko on kuitenkin rajattu, mikä johtuu mm. alueen puutteellisesta infrastruktuurista (ml. riittämätön jäänmurtokapasiteetti) ja liikenteen kysynnän riippuvuudesta makroekonomisista tekijöistä. Laivanvarustajan näkökulmasta Pohjoisreitin tämänhetkiset kauppamerenkululliset mahdollisuudet eritoten irtolastien osalta perustuvat opportunistisiin lyhytaikaisiin markkinamahdollisuuksiin tarttumisiin ilman pidempiaikaista sitoutumista. Toisaalta reitin laajamittaisempi hyödyntäminen edellyttää myös alusteknisten näkökohtien entistä tarkempaa huomioimista. Pidemmällä aikajänteellä Pohjoisreitin kauppamerenkululliset toimintaedellytykset sisältävät suuren määrän epävarmuutta, koska ne ovat riippuvaisia useista ulkoisista tekijöistä, joista tärkeimmät ovat ilmaston kehitys sekä poliittiset ja markkinoilla tapahtuvat muutokset.Siirretty Doriast

Modification of the design of the transport category aircraft during the overhaul

Робота публікується згідно наказу ректора від 29.12.2020 р. №580/од "Про розміщення кваліфікаційних робіт вищої освіти в репозиторії НАУ" . Керівник проекту: доцент, к. т. н. Хімко Андрій Миколайович.Taking into account the technical equipment of the enterprise, the qualifications of the personnel, sufficient experience in the overhaul and modernization of aircraft of the "An" type at the enterprise, it should be noted that, since 1992: - a full cycle of overhaul of An-32 aircraft has been worked out and mastered; - worked out and mastered the complex of works on modernization of An-32 aircraft in accordance with the documentation of the Developer; - the execution of resource bulletins No. 515-BE-B, No. 515/1-BE-B, as well as repair bulletins on An-32 airplanes was worked out and mastered; - fully certified technological processes, personnel, production and quality management system, which is confirmed by the Certificate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine No. UAR - MAA- 145.0112, License of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, series AB No. 597938 for the right to repair and modernize military aviation equipment, Certificate of Approval organizations for TO No. UA .145.0023 for compliance with the Rules PART- 145 of the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, Certificate No. HTI / 130-55 / 2011 for compliance with NATO Standard AQAP -2120 on the quality system for repairing military aircraft, issued by the Hungarian Ministry of Defense. Analyzing the state of the An-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force, there is full reason to assume that in order to ensure operational reliability and flight safety, the Customer deliberately provided to the enterprise for repair aircraft that had previously been repaired at the Customer's base. Taking into account the actual technical condition of these aircraft, which have been in operation since 1984, as well as the technical capabilities to ensure the quality of repair and modernization of the enterprise and the base of the Customer, it should be noted a positive trend of sending the An-32 aircraft for repair to the enterprise after the previous repair at the Customer's base. ..

Organizational Mechanisms for Implementing Russia's Arctic Strategy in the 21st Century

The Arctic in the 21st century remains a popular topic in the natural-scientific, economic, socio-humanitarian, and political spheres. The relevance of studying the Arctic is determined by the fact that in recent decades, deep and irreversible transformations have taken place in this region, and a full under-standing of the causes and consequences of which for the economy and environmental management has not yet developed. As a result of climate change and globalization, there is a growing interest in the Arctic macro-region on the part of many foreign countries that developed strategies and programs for the development of national Arctic zones at the beginning of the XXI century. Against the background of global competition for resources and transport communications, it seems relevant to analyze the features of the development of Russia's state policy for managing the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation in the XXI century. The article analyzes the mechanisms of implementation of Russian state policy in the Arctic based on the strategic planning system and reveals the bottlenecks in the system of state management of the Arctic region. It is concluded that the core of Russia's policy in the Arctic is innovative modernization that can ensure sustainable socio-economic development, infrastructure development, rational use of natural resources, protection of local ecosystems and development of indigenous communities

Feasibility and Economic Aspects of Vactrains

Vacuum Train refers to a proposed means of high speed long-haul transportation involving the use of Magnetic Levitation Trains in an evacuated tunnel. Our project was aimed at investigating the idea in more detail and quantifying some of the challenges involved. Although, several studies on similar ideas exist, a consolidated report documenting all past research and approaches involved is missing. Our report was an attempt to fill some of the gaps in these key research areas