Towards standardisation of no fault found taxonomy

There is a phenomenon which exists in complex engineered systems, most notably those which are electrical or electronic which is the inability to diagnose faults reported during operation. This includes difficulties in detecting the same reported symptoms with standard testing, the inability to correctly localise the suspected fault and the failure to diagnose the problem which has resulted in maintenance work. However an inconsistent terminology is used in connection with this phenomenon within both scientific communities and industry. It has become evident that ambiguity, misuse and misunderstanding have directly compounded the issue. The purpose of this paper is to work towards standardisation of the taxonomy surrounding the phenomena popularly termed No Fault Found, Retest Okay, Cannot Duplicate or Fault Not Found amongst many others. This includes discussion on how consistent terminology is essential to the experts within organisation committees and, to the larger group of users, who do not have specialised knowledge of the field

Improvement in inspection methods for aero-engine components using computer-linked electro-optical techniques

An improved technique for inspecting aero-engine turbine blades was developed. The technique increased the area of the blade that was examined and presented the difference information in an easily assimilated form without increasing the overall inspection time above that of present methods. To achieve this an optical contouring technique was used to measure the blade shape and this was linked to a computer to enable the dimensional information to be processed quickly. [Continues.

Alien invasions and livelihoods: Economic benefits of invasive Australian Red Claw crayfish in Jamaica

Invasive species have caused widespread economic and environmental disruption, which have been widely studied. However, their potential benefits have received much less attention. If invasive species contribute to livelihoods, their eradication may negatively impact wellbeing. Failing to value these benefits may lead to an undervaluation of invaded ecosystems. We assess the potential economic benefits of an invasive species within an artisanal fishery in Jamaica. We monitored catches over 259 fisherman-days, and conducted 45 semi-structured interviews, with 76 fishermen. We show that the invasive Australian Red Claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) is an important source of income for fishermen within the Black River Lower Morass of Jamaica and supplement incomes during periods when native shrimp (Macrobrachium spp.) catches decline. We also show that full-time fishermen and those who have no alternative occupations expend the greatest fishing effort. We use the intra-annual variation of fishermen's harvest effort between seasons (when catch per unit effort changes) as a proxy for dependence. Using this measure, we found that the least wealthy appear to be the most dependent on fishing, and consequently benefit the most from the invasive crayfish. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering the potential benefits of invasive species within integrated landscape management

Pinnipeds, people and photo identification: the implications of grey seal movements for effective management of the species

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via the DOI in this record.Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) of the North-east Atlantic are protected at designated European Marine Sites (Special Areas of Conservation, SACs) typically during their reproductive periods and in the UK at Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). As a mobile marine species, grey seals spend other parts of their annual life cycle in non-designated habitat. There is limited information on individual grey seal movements in south-west England. Citizen science photo identification (PID) revealed the movements of 477 grey seals at a regional scale (54 haul-outs up to 230 km apart) for over a decade. Reconstructed movements showed considerable individual variability. Four SACs were linked to up to 18 non-designated sites and two SSSIs in Cornwall were linked to a maximum of 41 non-designated sites. Observations support the value of existing SSSIs at both the well-connected West and North Cornwall sites. Thirteen Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) were visited by grey seals from four SACs and two SSSIs in Cornwall. As a mobile species, grey seals could be included in English MPA management plans. The application of functional linkage from SACs and SSSIs, informed by the movements evidenced in this research, could aid management efforts. This analysis reveals grey seal movements occur across a complex network of interconnected designated and non-designated sites that need to be managed holistically for this species for which the UK has a special responsibility

Can REDD+ social safeguards reach the ‘right’ people? Lessons from Madagascar

AbstractThere is extensive debate about the potential impact of the climate mechanism REDD+ on the welfare of forest-dwelling people. To provide emission reductions, REDD+ must slow the rate of deforestation and forest degradation: such a change will tend to result in local opportunity cost to farmers at the forest frontier. Social safeguard processes to mitigate negative impacts of REDD+ are being developed and can learn from existing safeguard procedures such as those implemented by the World Bank. Madagascar has a number of REDD+ pilot projects with World Bank support including the Corridor Ankeniheny-Zahamena (CAZ). Nearly two thousand households around the corridor have been identified as ‘project affected persons’ (PAPs) and given compensation. We compare households identified as project affected persons with those not identified. We found households with more socio-political power locally, those with greater food security, and those that are more accessible were more likely to be identified as eligible for compensation while many people likely to be negatively impacted by the REDD+ project did not receive compensation. We identify three issues which make it difficult for a social safeguard assessment to effectively target the households for compensation: (a) poor information on location of communities and challenging access means that information does not reach remote households; (b) reluctance of people dependant on shifting agriculture to reveal this due to government sanctions; and (c) reliance by safeguard assessors on non-representative local institutions. We suggest that in cases where the majority of households are likely to bear costs and identification of affected households is challenging, the optimal, and principled, strategy may be blanket compensation offered to all the households in affected communities; avoiding the dead weight costs of ineffective safeguard assessments. The Paris Agreement in December 2015 recognised REDD+ as a key policy instrument for climate change mitigation and explicitly recognised the need to respect human rights in all climate actions. However, safeguards will be prone to failure unless those entitled to compensation are aware of their rights and enabled to seek redress where safeguards fail. This research shows that existing safeguard commitments are not always being fulfilled and those implementing social safeguards in REDD+ should not continue with business as usual

Who bears the cost of forest conservation?

Background While the importance of conserving ecosystems for sustainable development is widely recognized, it is increasingly evident that despite delivering global benefits, conservation often comes at local cost. Protected areas funded by multilateral lenders have explicit commitments to ensure that those negatively affected are adequately compensated. We make the first comparison of the magnitude and distribution of the local costs of a protected area with the magnitude and distribution of the compensation provided under the World Bank social safeguard policies (Performance Standard 5). Methods In the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor (a new protected area and REDD+ pilot project in eastern Madagascar), we used choice experiments to estimate local opportunity costs (n = 453) which we annualized using a range of conservative assumptions concerning discount rates. Detailed surveys covering farm inputs and outputs as well as off-farm income (n = 102) allowed us to explore these opportunity costs as a proportion of local incomes. Intensive review of publically available documents provided estimates of the number of households that received safeguard compensation and the amount spent per household. We carried out a contingent valuation exercise with beneficiaries of this compensation two years after the micro-development projects were implemented (n = 62) to estimate their value as perceived by beneficiaries. Results Conservation restrictions result in very significant costs to forest communities. The median net present value of the opportunity cost across households in all sites was US$2,375. When annualized, these costs represent 27–84% of total annual income for median-income households; significantly higher proportionally for poorer households. Although some households have received compensation, we conservatively estimate that more than 50% of eligible households (3,020 households) have not. Given the magnitude of compensation (based both on amount spent and valuation by recipients two years after the compensation was distributed) relative to costs, we argue that no one was fully compensated. Achieving full compensation will require an order of magnitude more than was spent but we suggest that this should be affordable given the global value of forest conservation. Discussion By analyzing in unprecedented depth both the local costs of conservation, and the compensation distributed under donor policies, we demonstrate that despite well-intentioned policies, some of the poorest people on the planet are still bearing the cost of forest conservation. Unless significant extra funding is provided by the global beneficiaries of conservation, donors’ social safeguarding requirements will not be met, and forest conservation in developing countries will jeopardize, rather than contribute to, sustainable development goals