Safety compliance for hihg rise projects in Nigerian construction Industry

Health and safety issues had always been a major challenge and concern in the construction industry. Construction is found to be one of the most dangerous on health and safety practice, predominantly in developing countries. As construction accidents continue to dominate the overall construction industry. Despite the programs implemented by government and measures introduced by companies the number of high rise construction accidents still remains alarmingly. This research aim to investigate the safety compliance for high rise construction project in Nigeria. In achieving this aim three (3) objectives has been outlined; to investigate the current level of compliance to safety practice and policies in Nigerian construction site. To investigate the factors that prevent the compliance to safety and health practices in high rise projects of Nigerian construction industry. To recommend appropriate ways to improve the compliance to safety in high rise of Nigerian construction. The interview and questionnaire method was used in this research. Structured Questionnaires was distributed to 108 potential respondents from the construction industry players 90 was returned and Qualitative interview have been conducted to meet the first objective of the project, to investigate the current level of compliance to safety practice In addition, structured interviews were carried out with selected managers from construction industry. The result shows that Bribery and corruption, Lack of training, Absence of safety representatives, Lack of corporate responsibility & Accountability, Weak legal structure were the significant factors affecting safety. Compliance. The result also indicate that Site inspection, Safety seminars (enforcement officers), Building codes of practice, Enforcement of safety act, Workers/labourers training are the effective factors that could improve compliance to safety practice in high rise project of Nigerian construction industry. It is recommended that relevant authorities should checkmate the Safety practices in the Nigerian construction industry

Assessing the significance of rate and time pulse spraying in top spray granulation of urea fertilizer using Taguchi Method

Studies in urea granulation process using Top Spray Fluidized Bed Granulator (TSFBG) is still limited and requires in-depth research about the effectiveness and influence of droplets to the formation of urea granule (UG). Rate and time interval of spraying technique (Pulse) significantly influence the physical properties of urea granules. Cassava starch dissolves in water was selected as the binder released at various time interval to observe impact of spray droplet on UG size formation. Using Taguchi Method, the study had identified three leading factors contributed to the formation of droplet size namely volume of binder (VOB), time pulse of spraying (TPS) and spraying rate (SR). These factors were then evaluated in terms of the influence on response as signal-to-noise analysis (S/N ratios) from Taguchi to validate UG size in range 2 mm to 4 mm from screening process with respect to the actual experimental data. These results were useful for future experiment reference to determine pressure drop and surface contact during interaction between droplet and urea powder partic

Thermal and dynamic mechanical behavior of cellulose- and Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB)-filled polypropylene biocomposites.

This paper presents a comparative study on the effect of cellulose and oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) on thermal degradation and dynamic mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) biocomposite. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the biocomposite showed decrease in thermal stability and degradation temperature and increase in ash content. This was a result of lower thermal stability of the biofiller compared of that of the PP. However, an improvement was observed in the thermal properties of PP-cellulose biocomposite due to the dispersion and interfacial adhesion between the cellulose and PP. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the biocomposites were not significantly changed. The storage modulus (E′) of the biocomposites was found to be higher than that of pure PP, because incorporation of biofiller increased the stiffness of the biocomposites. The decline in E″ of the biocomposites at higher temperatures is associated with the increasing viscosity and chain mobility of matrix polymer

Effect of Curing Profile on Kaolin-based Geopolymers

AbstractDepending on the processing conditions, geopolymers can exhibit a wide variety of properties and characteristics. Curing profile serves as a crucial parameter in synthesis of geopolymers. In this paper, the influence of curing temperature and curing time on the properties of kaolin-based geopolymer was studied. The samples were separated into several curing conditions; including curing at ambient temperature, 40°C, 60°C, 80°C and 100°C for 1 day, and up to 3 days. The compressive strength and SEM analysis of geopolymer products were evaluated. Results showed that curing condition has a significant effect on the mechanical properties of kaolin-based geopolymer. Generally, curing at ambient temperature was not feasible, while increase in temperature favored the strength development. In addition, prolonged curing time improved the geopolymerization process, and led to higher strength gain. However, curing at high temperature for a long period of time caused failure of the sample at a later age

Produksi Program Kebudayaan Gambang Semarang pada Program Acara Sluman Slumun Cakra Semarang TV

Gambang Semarang merupakan sebuah kesenian tradisional kerakyatan yang berkembang dikota Semarang sejak tahun 1930, hal ini berdasarkan peneltian yang dilakukan oleh tim peneliti kesenian Gambang Semarang, fakultas Ilmu Budaya, Universitas Dipongoro. Dalam sejarahnya kesenian Gambang Semarang merupakan sebuah kesenian yang berasal ataupun memiliki kemiripan dengan Gambang Kromong yang berasal dari Ciputat, dan ini menjadi sebuah perdebatan dalam asal-usul kesenian Gambang Semarang itu sendiri. Walaupun menjadi sebuah perdebatan, kini Gambang Semarang diamini oleh warga kota Semarang sebagai kesenian khas kota Semarang. oleh karena itu juga, tim peneliti kesenian Gambang Semarang FIB mengangkat kesenian gambang Semarang sebagai identitas budaya Semarang.Mengapa kemudian Gambang Semarang di anggap menjadi sebuah kesenian khas dan menjadi identitas kesenian kota Semarang, hal tersebut berdasarkan melalui proses sejarah, dimana Gambang Semarang memiliki sejarah yang panjang di kota ini, berkembang dan mendapat apresiasi dari warga kota Semarang. Dalam perkembangannya, Gambang Semarang mendapat penataan tari yang menggambarkan keadaan geografis kota Semarang. Tidak hanya tari, penataan alat musik turut serta dikembangkan baik itu bentuk, rupa, notasinya serta penggunaan lagu-lagu yang bernuansa Semarang. tidak hanya unsur musik dan tari, kesenian gambang semarang juga memiliki unsur lawak.Beragam kesenian dikota semarang sejatinya tidak bisa terlepas dari berbagai etnis yang berada di kota Semarang Yakni, etnis Jawa, Arab dan Cina. Ini juga yang terlihat dalam kesenian Gambang Semarang, dimana didalamnnya terdapat unsur Cina dan Jawa, baik itu dari segi peralatan dan juga pemainnya. Tak kadang pula perkembangan kesenian tersebut merupakan buah USAha dari berbagai etnis dalam melahirkan, mempertahankan hingga melestarikannya. Oleh karena itu gambang semarang memiliki visi misi sebagai kesenian yang membawa misi akulturasi, hibridasi dan juga asimiliasi.Dalam perkembangannya kesenian gambang semarang mengalami pasang surut, dan keadaan surut paling dirasakan pada tahun 2010, sebagian besar pemain Gambang Semarang klasik telah meninggal dunia. Agar tetap ada yang bisa melestarikan maka terbentuklah sebuah komunitas ang bernama Gambang Semarang Art Company. Melaui komunitas tersebutlah kesenian Gambang Semarang bisa terus ada, dan menjadi sebuah kesenian khas dan identitas kesenian di kota Semarang

Effect of oil palm planting materials, rainfall, number of male inflorescence and spikelet on the population abundance of oil palm pollinator, Elaeidobius Kamerunicus faust (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Elaeidobius kamerunicus is the main insect pollinator of oil palm and was first introduced to Malaysia in the year of 1980s. This introduction had increased the oil palm yield production. However, the yield production has obviously declined lately. There are several factors that contributing to the declined and most said is because of the E. kamerunicus population itself. As such, a study to determine the population abundance of E. kamerunicus on different oil palm planting materials was done at Ladang FELDA in Jengka, Pahang, Malaysia from May 2016 to April 2017. A total of nine spikelets, three each from top, middle and bottom section of male inflorescence which were systematically selected prior to data collection, were cut off early in the morning and brought back to Centre for Insect Systematics, UKM for E. kamerunicus counts. The mean population abundance of E. kamerunicus per ha for both oil palm clones and D×P were 20463 ± 3528 and 11079 ± 2135 weevils per ha, respectively. Based on previous studies in Malaysia and elsewhere, the E. kamerunicus populations in this plantation are adequate to pollinate the female inflorescence. Oil palm clones has higher number of spikelet due to uniformity of the plantlets and the number of male inflorescence showed positively correlated with the population abundance of E. kamerunicus per ha, suggesting that these factors were favorable for E. kamerunicus activities. However, further study is needed to determine the relationship between E. kamerunicus population on different oil palm planting materials and the fruit set

Spatio-temporal landslide inventory and susceptibility assessment using Sentinel-2 in the Himalayan mountainous region of Pakistan

The 2005 Kashmir earthquake has triggered widespread landslides in the Himalayan mountains in northern Pakistan and surrounding areas, some of which are active and are still posing a significant risk. Landslides triggered by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake are extensively studied; nevertheless, spatio-temporal landslide susceptibility assessment is lacking. This can be partially attributed to the limited availability of high temporal resolution remote sensing data. We present a semi-automated technique to use the Sentinel-2 MSI data for co-seismic landslide detection, landslide activities monitoring, spatio-temporal change detection, and spatio-temporal susceptibility mapping. Time series Sentinel-2 MSI images for the period of 2016–2021 and ALOS PALSAR DEM are used for semi-automated landslide inventory map development and temporal change analysis. Spectral information combined with topographical, contextual, textural, and morphological characteristics of the landslide in Sentinel-2 images is applied for landslide detection. Subsequently, spatio-temporal landslide susceptibility maps are developed utilizing the weight of evidence statistical modeling with seven causative factors, i.e., elevation, slope, geology, aspect, distance to fault, distance to roads, and distance to streams. The results reveal that landslide occurrence increased from 2016 to 2021 and that the coverage of areas of relatively high susceptibility has increased in the study area