Assessment of physical workload in boiler operations

The use of boiler wood-fired is fairly common equipment utilized in steam generation for energy production in small industries. The boiler activities are considered dangerous and heavy, mainly due to risks of explosions and the lack of mechanization of the process. This study assessed the burden of physical labor that operators of boilers are subjected during the workday. Assessment of these conditions was carried out through quantitative and qualitative measurements. A heart rate monitor, a wet-bulb globe thermometer (WBGT), a tape-measure and a digital infrared camera were the instruments used to collect the quantitative data. The Nordic Questionnaire and the Painful Areas Diagram were used to relate the health problems of the boiler operator with activity. With study, was concluded that the boiler activity may cause pains in the body of intensity different, muscle fatigue and diseases due to excessive weight and the exposure to heat. The research contributed to improve the boiler operator's workplace and working conditions.     

Evaluation of thermal overload in boiler operators

The Brazilians educational institutions need a large energy demand for the operation of laundries, restaurants and accommodation of students. Much of that energy comes from steam generated in boilers with wood fuel. The laboral activity in boiler may present problems for the operator's health due to exposure to excessive heat, and its operation has a high degree of risk. This paper describes an analysis made the conditions of thermal environment in the operation of a B category boiler, located at a Higher Education Institution, located in the Zona da Mata Mineira The equipments used to collect data were Meter WBGT of the Heat Index; Meter of Wet Bulb Index and Globe Thermometer (WBGT); Politeste Instruments, an anemometer and an Infrared Thermometer. By the application of questionnaires, the second phase consisted of collecting data on environmental factors (temperature natural environment, globe temperature, relative humidity and air velocity). The study concluded that during the period evaluated, the activity had thermal overload.     

Ergonomics in designing process: dialogue between designers, executors and users in the maintenance activity of radars in an oil refinery

This paper aims to discuss the role of ergonomics in design process using the dialogue developed by designers, implementers and users in an oil refinery. It was possible to identify the need of minimizing the postural constraints, risk of accidents, mechanical shocks and to enlarge safety perception in the access and permanency of the users at the workspace. It has been determined and validated by workers and managers to implement different deadlines depending on programming, viability and execution time for the improvements proposed. In a long-term: it was proposed the substitution of the ladders with time planning according to the maintenance program of the tanks; in a short-time: it was suggested the expansion of the existing platforms, implementation of a walkway connection provided with guardrails between the upper access of the side ladder and the repositioning of radar set and aerial aiming at the usage by workers at the workstation of the new platform. It was also elaborated eight typologies of intervention, according to the request, type of tank, material stored, and its setting place. The design process arises from ergonomics workplace analysis that presents concepts for solutions which was a mediator tool to be settled between users and implementers.     

A program to support the construction and evaluation of resilience indicators

The main objective of this work is to propose a method and a tool to support the development of indicators able to inform an organization about the state of its resilience through a cyclical process of identifying its resilience factors, proposing resilience indicators, assessing its organizational resilience followed by assessing and improving the resilience indicators. The research uses concepts from complex adaptive systems and from resilience engineering to establish an initial set of indicators able to assess elements that contribute to organizational resilience, and structures them temporarily as a hierarchy. A software application to support indicator definition and structuring, questionnaire generation, and result assessment activities was built to assist in speeding up the experiment-adjust cycle. Prototype indicators were instantiated with helicopter operating companies in mind, and were reviewed by a domain expert.     

Development and validation of the Measure of Initial Attraction (MIA) / Elaboración y validación de la Medida de Atracción Inicial (MAI)

Unilateral Initial Attraction (UIA) is a first unilateral awareness towards an unknown person and can be the starting point of an interest in voluntarily initiating an interaction or relationship. In order to create a measure tapping this feeling, Study 1 asked individuals to indicate attributes characterizing UIA (Phase 1), and to rate their centrality (Phase 2). These were used to develop the Measure of Initial Attraction (MIA) comprising one component of arousal and another of unilateral interest. While the former is shared with the love construct, the latter differentiates from measures of passion. The MIA proved to be a valid and reliable instrument with the capacity to discriminate UIA across different relationships (Study 2) and targets (Study 3), with good convergent validity (Study 3). Results are discussed within the framework of personal relationships.     

Truncated location-scale non linear regression models

We present a class of truncated non linear regression models for location and scale where the truncated nature of the data is incorporated into the statistical model by assuming that the response variable follows a truncated distribution. The location parameter of the response variable is assumed to be modeled by a continuous non linear function of covariates and unknown parameters. In addition, the proposed model also allows for the scale parameter of the responses to be characterized by a continuous function of the covariates and unknown parameters. Three particular cases of the proposed models are presented by considering the response variable to follow a truncated normal, truncated skew normal, and truncated beta distribution. These truncated non linear regression models are constructed assuming fixed known truncation limits and model parameters are estimated by direct maximization of the log-likelihood using a non linear optimization algorithm. Standardized residuals and diagnostic metrics based on the cases deletion are considered to verify the adequacy of the model and to detect outliers and influential observations. Results based on simulated data are presented to assess the frequentist properties of estimates, and a real data set on soil-water retention from the Buriti Vermelho River Basin database is analyzed using the proposed methodology.     

Extended Poisson INAR(1) processes with equidispersion,underdispersion and overdispersion

Real count data time series often show the phenomenon of the underdispersion and overdispersion. In this paper, we develop two extensions of the first-order integer-valued autoregressive process with Poisson innovations, based on binomial thinning, for modeling integer-valued time series with equidispersion, underdispersion, and overdispersion. The main properties of the models are derived. The methods of conditional maximum likelihood, Yule–Walker, and conditional least squares are used for estimating the parameters, and their asymptotic properties are established. We also use a test based on our processes for checking if the count time series considered is overdispersed or underdispersed. The proposed models are fitted to time series of the weekly number of syphilis cases and monthly counts of family violence illustrating its capabilities in challenging the overdispersed and underdispersed count data.     

Threshold Cointegration and the PPP Hypothesis

Self-Exciting Threshold Autoregressive (SETAR) models are a non-linear variant of conventional linear Autoregressive (AR) models. One advantage of SETAR models over conventional AR models lies in its flexible nature in dealing with possible asymmetric behaviour of economic variables. The concept of threshold cointegration implies that the Error Correction Mechanism (ECM) at a particular interval is inactive as a result of adjustment costs, and active when deviations from equilibrium exceed certain thresholds. For instance, the presence of adjustment costs can, in many circumstances, justify the fact that economic agents intervene to recalibrate back to a tolerable limit, as in the case when the benefits of adjustment are superior to its costs. We introduce an approach that accounts for potential asymmetry and we investigate the presence of the relative version of the purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis for 14 countries. Based on a threshold cointegration adaptation of the unit root test procedure suggested by Caner & Hansen (2001), we find evidence of an asymmetric adjustment for the relative version of PPP for eight pairs of countries.     

Corporate Governance and New Organizational Forms: Issues of Double and Multiple Agency

This paper addresses corporate governance inthe light of two relatively new developments inorganizational form, respectively towardsdevolved initiative within firms andpartnerships between firms. In so doing, itargues for an extension of corporate governancetheory and practice to take better account ofthe problems arising from double and multipleagency. New organizational forms can bereconciled with the requirements for corporategovernance through a number of complementarydevelopments, including the cooptation ofemployees and junior partners into ownershipand governance, more inclusive forms ofcontrol, mutual monitoring and the promotion oftrust.     

A multi-faced buildup algorithm for three-dimensional packing problems

This paper provides a new approach to solving the three-dimensional packing problem. The heuristic developed uses a multi-faced buildup technique in the packing procedure for which there is no requirement for packed boxes to form flat layers. The basic algorithm is then augmented by a Look-ahead strategy. Experimental results indicate an average packing utilization of 87.8% which improve current benchmarks significantly. The new approaches given here add to heuristics currently available.