Risk Assessment Techniques for Civil Aviation Security

Following the 9/11 terrorists attacks a strong economical effort was made to improve and adapt aviation security, both in infrastructures as in airplanes. National and international guidelines were promptly developed with the objective of creating a security management system able to supervise the identification of risks and the definition and optimisation of control measures. Risk assessment techniques are thus crucial in the above process, since an incorrect risk identification and quantification can strongly affect both the security level as the investments needed to reach it. The paper proposes a set of methodologies to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the risk in the security of civil aviation and the risk assessment process based on the threats, criticality and vulnerabilities concepts, highlighting their correlation in determining the level of risk. RAMS techniques are applied to the airport security system in order to analyse the protection equipment for critical facilities located in air-side, allowing also the estimation of the importance of the security improving measures vs. their effectiveness

A Data-Driven Framework to Model Physical Fatigue in Industrial Environments Using Wearable Technologies

Industry 4.0 is the tendency towards automation and data exchange in manufacturing and the process sector. However, many manual material handling and repetitive operations can still cause the operators fatigue or exhaustion. Once the operator experiences physical fatigue, their performance decreases. The consequences may result in reduced production quality and efficiency and increased operational human errors that could give rise to incidents and accidents. Over time, physical fatigue can result in more adverse effects for the operators, such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WSMD). For this reason, from an occupational health and safety point of view, the operator’s hysical fatigue must be managed. The increasing availability of wearable devices combined with health information can provide real-time measuring and monitoring of physical fatigue in the operational environment while minimally influencing the primary job. This paper presents a physiological signal-based approach using a non-intrusive wristband for continuous health monitoring to predict physical fatigue in industrial-related tasks. These data are used as input to classification algorithms to detect physical fatigue. Accurate and real-time physical fatigue detection helps to improve operator safety and prevent work accidents. Future work will deploy the model in a real-world environment in the industry

Simplified Model of the Internal Atmosphere of Flammable Liquid Tanks in Case of Air Inlet from a Pressure Safety Valve

Storage of flammable liquids is a common activity in many industrial domains. A history of accidents shows that liquid storage has been involved in several critical accidents due to the large amount of hazardous substances potentially involved in the incident. Safe storage of flammable liquids is often guaranteed through blanketing of the internal atmosphere of the tank through the introduction of an inert gas, usually nitrogen. A double action pressure safety valve is often installed on the tank to protect the tank from damage in the event of overpressure or depression. In case of depression, an inert gas, usually nitrogen, is fed to the vapor space of the tank to maintain the vapor composition outside of the flammability limits. In case of lack of nitrogen, the opening of the pressure safety valve allows air to enter. The entry of air, especially if prolonged, can bring the atmosphere inside the tank to explosive conditions. This paper presents a simplified model for the estimation of the internal composition of the tank following the entry of air due to the opening of the pressure safety valve, following the process of fluid removal in case of lack of nitrogen. The model also allows the estimation of how much liquid can be safely removed. The simplified model can analyze both the case of a single tank and a tank farm

Preliminary risk assessment of ecotoxic substancesaccidental releases in major risk installationsthrough fuzzy logic

In the present work a fuzzy logic model to preliminary assess the risk of accidental releases of ecotoxic substances in hazard plants has been developed. The methodology is based in three steps, the characterization of the hazardousness of the substance, the delimitation of the soil and groundwater vulnerability and the identification of the protective and preventive measures of the plant. The tool has been tested with a set of storage yards of ecotoxic substances, mainly oil, in the Regione Piemonte area (Italy). The results obtained are in good agreement with the real situation of the surveyed storage yards. Thus, by using this methodology it is possible to preliminary assess the risk from uncertain data.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Using Field Data for Energy Efficiency Based on Maintenance and Operational Optimisation. A Step towards PHM in Process Plants

Energy saving is an important issue for any industrial sector; in particular, for the process industry, it can help to minimize both energy costs and environmental impact. Maintenance optimization and operational procedures can offer margins to increase energy efficiency in process plants, even if they are seldom explicitly taken into account in the predictive models guiding the energy saving policies. To ensure that the plant achieves the desired performance, maintenance operationsandmaintenanceresultsshouldbemonitored,andtheconnectionbetweentheinputsand theoutcomesofthemaintenanceprocess,intermsoftotalcontributiontomanufacturingperformance, should be explicit. In this study, a model for the energy efficiency analysis was developed, based on cost and benefits balance. It is aimed at supporting the decision making in terms of technical and operationalsolutionsforenergyefficiency,throughtheoptimizationofmaintenanceinterventionsand operational procedures. A case study is here described: the effects on energy efficiency of technical and operational optimization measures for bituminous materials production process equipment. The idea of the Conservation Supply Curve (CSC) was used to capture both the cost effectiveness of the measures and the energy efficiency effectiveness. The optimization was thus based on the energy consumption data registered on-site: data collection and modelling of the relevant data were used as a base to implement a prognostic and health management (PHM) policy in the company. Based on the results from the analysis, efficiency measures for the industrial case study were proposed, also in relation to maintenance optimization and operating procedures. In the end, the impacts of the implementation of energy saving measures on the performance of the system, in terms of technical and economic feasibility, were demonstrated. The results showed that maintenance optimization could help in reaching an energy costs recovery equal to the 10% of the total costs for an electric motor system

Human-in-the-Loop Configurations in Process and Energy Industries: A Systematic Review

The human-in-the-loop performance evaluation is an area of growing interest in industries where safety-critical systems are in place. Concerns here are due to the increasing complexity of automation, new technologies for control, and safety. Because, unlike a more traditional approach to evaluating the human and the system they work with, human-in-the-loop gives a holistic view of their interaction (human, automation or artificial intelligence) and dynamics. It also emphasizes adapting the technology or automation to the human, being central, considering certain factors like risk. Therefore, there is a need to identify the relevant factors, novel measures and methods or improvements on existing methods that can be adapted for this field of research. This paper intends to present an overview of human-in-the-loop in the process and energy industries by presenting a literature summary highlighting current factors and measures, methods, gaps, solutions and future work. Experimental (13) and observational (11) studies have been reviewed for results. It was observed that new factors, measures and techniques are currently being explored to fill some of the current gaps for the human-in-the-loop, for example, during performance assessment new methods and modalities have been adopted such as eye tracking and electroencephalography methods. The results and open questions from the papers reviewed and possible future research opportunities are presented and discussed in this paper

Human skills assessment as a support to human factor management

Automatization, robotics and Industry 4.0 are deeply modifying the working condition with an expected reduction of the number of workers employed in traditional job and an increasing request of new professions. Despite these technologies could limit the involvement of workers, in some sectors humans are still widely employed, as in assembly line of manufacturing companies. As a consequence of this, the Human Factor (HF) will still have relevant influence in term efficiency, quality and safety performances. This paper approached the HF analysis into the manufacturing field in an assembly line. This study was focused on the analysis of those human-skills that are mainly solicited by the workload of the task that a worker has to perform during his own working activity. A set of practical test was designed and used to measure those skills during the real working activity. Results showed a wide range of performances reflecting different levels of skills between workers. This kind of information can support the human resources management because it allowed a worker classification based on their own skills. This classification can be directly applied to optimize the allocation of workers in assembly line with the using of Human Performance model and it can lead the way to a personalized risk assessment based on personal skills evaluation

A multi-discipline method to assess the human performance in manufacturing industry for safety and quality optimization

Nowadays the majority of organizations operating in manufacturing field recognize the importance of including the Human Factor contribution in the industrial process optimization (Hong et al. 2007). Technical measures and work organization procedures have been optimized in order to reduce the defects and waste generation but the Human Performance prediction still represents for Managers a difficult task to deal with. The prediction of the human performances of all workers involved in a production system would help Managers in better allocating the human resources. In order to reach this objective, a model to quantify the human capability of managing a complex task in a working context characterized by a set of physical, organizational and cognitive factors was designed. This paper presents the preliminary results of a three years industry/academia partnership project to assess the human performance in manufacturing plant. A multi-discipline approach involving both technical and individual factors was adopted

Application of Essential Oils to Control the Biodeteriogenic Microorganisms in Archives and Libraries

Microbial contamination control in indoor environments, such as libraries and archives, represents a challenge. Essential oils (EOs), well-known for their antimicrobial properties, have been applied in pharmaceutical and food industry from many years. In the present study, Thymus vulgaris and Origanum vulgare EO antimicrobial efficacy on paper-born microorganisms, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa and Alternaria alternata, was investigated to protect water-damaged paper documents and to control indoor air quality for operator’s health safety. T. vulgaris EO was the most effective: Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) values obtained for S. epidermidis and R. mucilaginosa, with a broth macro-dilution method, were 7.5 microgram/mL and 5.63 microgram/mL, respectively. T. vulgaris EO (0.75% v/v), nebulized immediately after the inoculation on agar plates or paper sheets, showed a high inhibition effect against the three biodeteriogenic microorganisms, also when lyophilized on paper sheets; in this last case, the EO has a higher efficacy when applied immediately after the freeze drying. Regarding the EO effect against A. alternata, the inhibition percentage of the mycelial growth, MGI, (81.4%), observed for nonsporulated mycelium, was higher than that for the sporulated one (51.4%). Finally, T. vulgaris EO (0.75% v/v) was effectively applied on a real contaminated book cover by means of EO impregnated contact sheets. Obtained results demonstrated that tested EOs were able to delay or completely inhibit paper-born microorganism growth for both flood-independent or -dependent contamination

Human performance in manufacturing tasks: Optimization and assessment of required workload and capabilities

This paper discusses some examples where human performance and or human error prediction was achieved by using a modified version of the Rasch model(1980), where the probability of a specified outcome is modelled as a logistic function of the difference between the person capacity and item difficulty. The model needs to be modified to take into account an outcome that may not be dichotomous and o take into account the interaction between two macro factors: (a) Task complexity: that summarises all factors contributing to physical and mental workload requirements for execution of a given operative task & (b) Human capability: that considered the skills, training and experience of the people facing the tasks, representing a synthesis of their physical and cognitive abilities to verify whether or not they are matching the task requirements. Task complexity can be evaluated as a mathematical construct considering the compound effects of Mental Workload Demands and Physical Workload Demands associated to an operator task. Similarly, operator capability can be estimated on the basis of the operators\u27 set of cognitive capabilities and physical conditions. The examples chosen for the application of the model were quite different: one is a set of assembly workstation in large computer manufacturing company and the other a set of workstation in the automotive sector. This paper presents and discusses the modelling hypothesis, the interim field data collection, results and possible future direction of the studies