Testing and practical validation of an individual safety performance assessment methodology – the SSP System

The “Safety Score Permit” (SSP) is a new tool that focuses on behaviour and is based on a point system which allows individual performance’s tracking, thus encouraging safe actions. The present study aims at verifying the applicability and practical validation of the first SSP version; the ultimate goal is to evaluate its coverage within different industrial contexts and identify limitations and opportunities for improvement. A pilot implementation was conducted in three large companies, presented as three case studies. The records of safety behaviour observations (SBO) of each case were analysed to verify if all the “observed deviations” fitted into the classes and subclasses typified in the system. Although the study basis was the same in all three cases, in two of them the research was based on existing SBO records collected in 2019, whilst in the 3rd case there was a much higher interaction throughout the work. In this case, the process was started from scratch, including the SBO procedure, its monitoring and subsequent data analysis, to create the necessary conditions for the implementation of the full system. The results obtained revealed that, in general, the SSP platform has the ability to cover most deviations identified in an organization. The system has the potential to become a useful and transparent tool to monitor employees’ safety performance at all hierarchical levels; it also helps to identify weaknesses in the companies’ OHS processes. This work was essentially exploratory but it shed light on how to improve the system further and also unveiled new opportunities. A key issue to enhance SSP as a management tool is to expand its scope to all types of human errors, thus offering better support to strategic OHS decisions.

A Practical Validation of Uncooled Thermal Imagers for Small RPAS

Uncooled thermal imaging sensors in the LWIR (7.5 μm to 14 μm) have recently been developed for use with small RPAS. This study derives a new thermal imaging validation methodology via the use of a blackbody source (indoors) and real-world field conditions (outdoors). We have demonstrated this method with three popular LWIR cameras by DJI (Zenmuse XT-R, Zenmuse XT2 and, the M2EA) operated by three different popular DJI RPAS platforms (Matrice 600 Pro, M300 RTK and, the Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced). Results from the blackbody work show that each camera has a highly linearized response (R2 > 0.99) in the temperature range 5–40 °C as well as a small (<2 °C) temperature bias that is less than the stated accuracy of the cameras. Field validation was accomplished by imaging vegetation and concrete targets (outdoors and at night), that were instrumented with surface temperature sensors. Environmental parameters (air temperature, humidity, pressure and, wind and gusting) were measured for several hours prior to imaging data collection and found to either not be a factor, or were constant, during the ~30 min data collection period. In-field results from imagery at five heights between 10 m and 50 m show absolute temperature retrievals of the concrete and two vegetation sites were within the specifications of the cameras. The methodology has been developed with consideration of active RPAS operational requirements.

Practical validation framework for competence measurement in VET: a validation study of an instrument for measuring basic commercial knowledge and skills in Switzerland

Competence development and measurement are of great interest to vocational education and training (VET). Although there are many instruments available for measuring competence in diverse settings, in many cases, the completed steps of validation are neither documented nor made transparent in a comprehensible manner. Understanding what an instrument actually measures is extremely important, inter alia, for evaluating test results, for conducting replication studies and for enforcing adaptation intentions. Therefore, more thorough and qualitative validation studies are required. This paper presents an approach to facilitate validation studies using the example of the simuLINCA test. The approach to validation applied in this study was developed in the field of medicine; nevertheless, it provides a promising means of assessing the validity of (computer-based) instruments in VET. We present the approach in detail along a newly developed computer-based simulation (simuLINCA) that measures basic commercial knowledge and skills of apprentices in Switzerland. The strength of the presented approach is that it provides practical guidelines that help perform the measurement process and support an increase in transparency. Still, it is flexible enough to allow different concepts to test development and validity. The approach applied proved to be practicable for VET and the measurement of occupational competence. After extending and slightly modifying the approach, a practical validation framework, including the description of each step and questions to support the application of it, is available for the VET context. The computer-based test instrument, simuLINCA, provides insights into how a computer-based test for measuring competence in various occupational fields can be developed and validated. SimuLINCA showed satisfying evidence for a valid measurement instrument. It could, however, be further developed, revised and extended.

Approach to the Formulation of the Variable Change Theorem

This research proposes a didactic strategy to enrich the assimilation processes of the change of variable theorem in solving the definite integral. The theoretical foundations that support it are based on the contributions of social constructivism, problem solving, and treatment of theorems. The practical validation of the strategy is carried out with students of the Higher Technical Level in Applied Mathematics at the Autonomous University of Guerrero.

A Comparative Study with Practical Validation of Photovoltaic Monocrystalline Module for Single and Double Diode Models

The photovoltaic (PV) module is equipment that converted sunlight energy to electrical energy. To show the behavior of this device, a mathematical model should be presented. The well-known single-diode and double-diode models were utilized to demonstrate the electrical behavior of the PV module. Moreover, the single and double-diode models have been explained and simulated to study the difference between them under different weather conditions. Furthermore, the mathematical analysis of these models are carried out based on their equivalent circuits. Since, the "Matlab/Simulink" is considered as one of the major software for modeling, analyzing, and solving the dynamic system real problems; it has been used to model and simulate the PV models. In this work the "Mux." and "Fcn." functions in the "Matlab/ Simulink Library" are used which is considered a simple and precise procedure to show the I-V and P-V characteristics. As a result, more accurate results of the I-V and P-V curves have been obtained by the double-diode model compared to the single-diode model. Experimentally, the monocrystalline NST-120W PV module is used to validate the proposed work. The laboratory devices of lux meter, thermometer, ammeter, and voltmeter are used to see the practical results and show the performance of the PV module for different weather conditions. Finally, the experimental voltage, current and power are obtained for the various values of irradiance and temperature through a variable resistive load to obtain the I-V and P-V graphs.

Domain Specific Model Driven Approach for Adaptive Systems

An adaptive system is any system that can self-conform according to changes that occur inhis environment. Self-adaptation includes self-reconfiguration, self-restructuring, self-repair, self-optimization or allat the same time. The realization of this kind of systems, in spite of the efforts made, suffers from a deficiency of engineering approaches. One of the most promising techniques in this quest is model-driven engineering. In the model-driven engineering paradigm, the model is the backbone of the systems engineering process. In this paper, we outline a model-based approach that offers a way to explicitly design self-adapting standard systems. We define it based on the UML profiling technique which allows to specify models for the most application domain frameworks. Through this profile we clearly define the components involved in the management of adaptation of systems, as well as the relationships between them. We present, for practical validation, an example application based on the approach.

Model-Informed Precision Dosing: Background, Requirements, Validation, Implementation, and Forward Trajectory of Individualizing Drug Therapy

Model-informed precision dosing (MIPD) has become synonymous with modern approaches for individualizing drug therapy, in which the characteristics of each patient are considered as opposed to applying a one-size-fits-all alternative. This review provides a brief account of the current knowledge, practices, and opinions on MIPD while defining an achievable vision for MIPD in clinical care based on available evidence. We begin with a historical perspective on variability in dose requirements and then discuss technical aspects of MIPD, including the need for clinical decision support tools, practical validation, and implementation of MIPD in health care. We also discuss novel ways to characterize patient variability beyond the common perceptions of genetic control. Finally, we address current debates on MIPD from the perspectives of the new drug development, health economics, and drug regulations.