Assessing the Efficiency of a PSS Solution for Waste Collection: A Simulation Based Approach ☆

Abstract Driven by both policy pressures and environmental concerns, new business models are becoming applied in waste management mainly based on introducing more equitable and sustainable pricing schemes (e.g. "pay-as-you-throw"): the aim is to support the transition from a tax based system to a pure service based approach, where the user pays for the actual use of the waste management service provided. This new trend requires the service provider's activities to be planned with a schedule that reflects the actual users' needs in order to reach a real efficiency in the collection phase: dynamic routing and scheduling schemes, which could be enabled through the application of smart technologies, can lead to a more rational use of the resources. In the last decade, technological progresses allowed a growing use of IoT (Internet-of-Things) applications in the service sector; recent pilot applications are being tested also in waste management; one example is the introduction of bin level detection and data transmission technologies for waste collection. This work aims to contribute to the assessment of IoT-based PSS solutions for waste collection. The main objective is to evaluate the cost efficiency of a PSS for waste collection enabling dynamic scheduling, comparing it to the performance of more common schemes (e.g. fixed routing and scheduling service and call-based service). Hybrid simulation modelling – based on system dynamics, discrete events and agent based modelling- has been applied to test the transition from a fixed to a "pay-as-you-throw" fee in WEEE (waste from electrical and electronic equipment). A test case regarding an Italian municipality has been proposed to assess quantitative results based on a simulation model

Efecto de la defoliación post-quema sobre el crecimiento de dos gramíneas nativas en el Caldenal, Argentina

El crecimiento en los pastizales naturales semiáridos puede ser afectado por la longitud de tiempo que el pastoreo es excluido durante el período de regeneración post-fuego. El objetivo de este trabajo a campo fue estudiar el efecto de la defoliación post-fuego en diferentes estados fenológicos: vegetativo (defoliación temprana) y elongación de entrenudos (defoliación tardía) sobre el crecimiento de Piptochaetium napostaense y Poa ligularis, dos gramíneas nativas perennes muy importantes en la región semiárida templada central de Argentina (Caldenal). En general, los tratamientos de defoliación post-quema no afectaron el número de hojas verdes en las macollas de P. napostaense. La defoliación temprana después del tratamiento de fuego generalmente redujo el número de hojas verdes en las macollas de P. ligularis con respecto a las plantas control. Contrariamente, la defoliación tardía usualmente incrementó el número de hojas verdes en las macollas de P. ligularis. Sin embargo, en ambos casos, muy pocas de las diferencias detectadas fueron significativas (p0,05) a aquellas de las plantas no defoliadas. Inmediatamente después de los tratamientos de defoliación temprana y tardía, las tasas de crecimiento relativas de la altura y la longitud verde total de las macollas de las plantas de ambas especies fueron reducidas (p0.05) than values on non-defoliated plants, respectively. Immediately after early- and late-season defoliation treatments, relative growth rates for tiller height and total green length were reduced (p<0.05) on plants of both species with respect to control plants. Our results suggest that a one-year-period without severe defoliations after fire would be at least necessary for not risking the persistence of these perennial grasses in the Caldenal community.Fil: Pelaez, Daniel Valerio. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; ArgentinaFil: Boo, Roberto Miguel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Mayor, M. D.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Elia, Omar Raul. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; ArgentinaFil: Martinez, S. A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentin

Performance Evaluation of an IoT Sensor Node for Health Monitoring of Artwork and Ancient Wooden Structures

In this paper, an IoT sensor node, based on smart Bluetooth low energy (BLE), for the health monitoring of artworks and large wooden structures is presented. The measurements from sensors on board the node are collected in real-time and sent to a remote gateway. The sensor node allows for the monitoring of environmental parameters, in particular, temperature and humidity, with accurate and robust integrated sensors. The developed node also embeds an accelerometer, which also allows other mechanical quantities (such as tilt) to be derived. This feature can be exploited to perform structural monitoring, exploiting the processing of data history to detect permanent displacements or deformations. The node is triggered by acceleration transients; therefore, it can also generate alarms related to shocks. This feature is crucial, for instance, in the case of transportation. The developed device is low-cost and has very good performance in terms of power consumption and compactness. A reliability assessment showed excellent durability, and experimental tests proved very satisfactory robustness against working condition variations. The presented results confirm that the developed device allows for the realization of pervasive monitoring systems, in the context of the IoT paradigm, with sensor nodes devoted to the monitoring of each artwork present in a museum or in a church

Integrating Safety-I and Safety-II Approaches in Near Miss Management: A Critical Analysis

Safety-II is a recently theorized approach, considering safety as the ability of a system to reach a positive outcome under variable conditions: analyzing “what goes right” can help to understand the dynamics of the analyzed system and improve its inherent safety level. On the contrary, a more traditional perspective, defined as Safety-I, aims at analyzing “what goes wrong”, thereby relating the safety level of a system to the number of adverse events that occurred. This study explores the potentialities of integrating these two approaches in near-miss management. Through a Safety-I approach, near-miss events are analyzed to identify the root causes generating the event chain, in order to delete them and prevent future accidents. Applying a Safety-II approach, the analysis can include elements that contributed to limiting the consequences and blocking the event chain, revealing the resilience level of the systems. This study presents a critical analysis of the two approaches and proposes a practical framework to integrate them into near-miss management systems. A test case shows the potential benefits of this integration. This work provides a tool to support the implementation of Safety-II on the operative level while suggesting a new perspective for near-miss management

Digital twins and collaborative robotics: a SWOT-AHP analysis to assess sustainable applications

Digital twins, complex infrastructures able to connect physical systems with virtual ones in a bi-directional way, seem to be promising enablers of production system replication in real time. In the manufacturing field, cooperation and collaboration between humans and robots (properly cobots) in a shared environment is spreading. Digital twins and cobots are becoming fundamental tools to support humans in the workplace. This study aims at evaluating the benefits as well as criticalities of applying digital twin technology for cobot implementation within manufacturing operations. The adopted hybrid methodology combines SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis and AHP (Analytical Hierarchical Process) to assess the sustainability of digital twins and cobot implementation in a specific workplace by analyzing economic, as well as safety and environmental impacts. The main findings reported that application of digital twins and cobots may improve safety in the workplace by reducing hazards. Furthermore, the potential integration of digital twins and cobots represents an effective solution to overcome the weaknesses and threats of correlated systems, that have been envisaged separately. The potential contribution of using digital twins in designing and managing these applications could help researchers and technicians. Results have practical implications as they allow for the application of optimal innovative solutions in the manufacturing and re-manufacturing sector with an extending domain for further research

Does the kart fit?

Background: the incidence of biomechanical pain related to Go-Kart Racing remains high, as high studies are not made due to the fact that racing with a go-kart is often not intended as arrival point but as a starting point of major racing career. In light of discontinuous racing pain, no theories about biomechanics have been suggested as possible contributor to solve the racing related pain. Perhaps no study has been conducted on the biomechanics of go-kart racing. However, the decision making process for the determination of the best racing position affecting driver’s symptoms has not been described. Therefore, the purpose of this case report is to describe the biomechanical reasoning within the go-kart racing framework for a group of four driver reporting different symptoms