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The basis of safe flight is the management of risks. This paper aims to present a new process-based risk assessment model, with an approach to calculate the risk score.

Since thousands of minor changes occur within ground operations, it is difficult to calculate how much risk these variations will pose. This paper proposes a risk assessment model fed from analysis of ground operation processes using functional resonance analysis method (FRAM) and fuzzy logic.

FRAM is used to detect variations in ground operation. Using the FRAM analysis, it has been revealed how much risk the process steps described in the procedures involve. The risk score was calculated by combining the probability value obtained from the airline’s database and the severity assessment of the expert group in fuzzy logic. The risk level can be monitored dynamically with the transfer of events in the airline’s database to the process-based risk assessment model.

FRAM analysis, which is used to detect function variations before undesirable risk occurs, has brought a proactive approach to risk assessment. The process-based risk assessment model allows the creation of new safety parameter indicators to be followed to reduce the risk level of the function with a high-risk level. The proposed approach can be used for other operational areas in aviation as well.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the initiative set up at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) to investigate how knowledge management principles could offer solutions, while adapting to a world where technology and innovative processes are rapidly changing.

The paper investigates the challenges of implementing a corporate knowledge management system in ESOC, where currently the knowledge is managed in several different ways. The driver of the knowledge management initiative has been the need for developing a system able to locate intellectual capital and technical expertise.

The paper has identified the following main items to be considered in support of the ESOC knowledge management initiative: need for a consistent set of documentation, maintained under configuration control and regularly updated to reflect actual status; formation of cross‐support functional teams; usage of a Centralized ESTRACK Status and Diagnostic System (CESADS) as a supervisory/diagnostic tool for the ground operations; and need for knowledge management evolution.

Although just at the starting‐point, the needs and the benefits of the above points have been acknowledged at ESOC to guarantee reliable and efficient execution of the responsibilities of the Centre. The points raised are expected to be of interest to space industry planners, executives and researchers.

This research has the potential to contribute to the understanding of the sustainable ground handling operations framework. Ramp operations as the main system of ground handling include critical services for aircraft/airlines. The purpose of this study is to identify the risk factors in ramp operations for all related stakeholders’ awareness to enhance flight safety. Classifying risk factors, the four main performance fields under risk taxonomy is determined. Thus, managers may allocate resources effectively to handle related threats for corporate sustainability.

New taxonomy with human performance value indicators, which sources from the environment is developed. New developed taxonomy is entitled as “environmental value approach,” which represents environmental value-based approach. The developed new risk factors taxonomy is divided into groups such as ramp personnel, organizational, sustainability-based risk factors: triple view and ergonomics obtained from an extensive literature review and experts’ opinions in the field of human performance.

The findings of this research show that managers need a risk management-oriented approach to manage the human factor affecting performance and sustainability. The newly developed taxonomy offers not only identifying the sources of unsafe operational risk factors but also using as a decision-support tool to manage risks for achieving their sustainability goals. When managerial decisions are made according to risk taxonomy and managing these risks, then corporate performance and individual performance may improve.

The new taxonomy presents the performance-based management of the human factor with a holistic and systematic risk management-based approach. There is no risk taxonomy study designed considering ramp operations and sustainability-based human factor performance.

Supply chains deliver goods and services between shippers and receivers, covering collection, transportation, distribution as well as their handling and storage in between. In particular, transportation services are carried out by different transport modes. In some modern supply chains, different categories of air cargo carriers – combinations, freighter-only, and/or integrators – provide critical transport services.

This chapter develops a methodology for estimating the performance of supply chains served by an air cargo carrier network. The methodology is based on indicators of infrastructure use, technical/technological level, operational factors, economic factors, and environmental performance. This proposed methodology is applied to estimate performance of supply chains served by an integrated air cargo carrier – FedEx Express – operating a single hub in the US domestic air network. Results indicate that the methodology may be useful for estimation of overall supply chain performance under the condition that relevant data are available.

FOR a number of years now it has been evident that a successor to the well‐tried Vickers Viscount and Convoir 240/340/440 series was required. However, the big problem was to design an aircraft such that its economics and passengerappealweresub‐stantially better than the machines it would ultimately replace. Other important factors which had to be con‐sidered were improved reliability, easier and cheaper maintenance, higher standards of safety and means of reducing ramp times. Furthermore, the difficult choice of passenger capacity and cruising speed had to be made. Probably the easiest decision was to employ the twin‐engine configuration with the power plants placed in the now familiar rear position, one on cither side of the fuselage.

Scheduling the airlift of relief supplies into a damaged or small airport during a crisis is complex yet crucial. The volume of cargo and flights can temporarily overwhelm the airport’s capacity and the mix of flights adds complexity. The purpose of this paper is to better characterize airport operations during a crisis, to develop a model that can assess strategies for scheduling flights and to draw implications for decision makers.

First, empirical data are analyzed to characterize airport operations. Previously unreported data from the 2010 Haiti earthquake response in the form of a “flight log” are analyzed to provide new insights and parameters. Alternate scheduling strategies are drawn from review of the literature and After Action Reports. Second, a queuing model is developed to understand operations in past crises and predict the impact of alternate scheduling strategies. Empirical data provide the parameters for airport scenarios evaluated.

Unloading capacity is seen to be the bottleneck but also to not be fully utilized, suggesting that a more aggressive flight schedule is needed. Scheduling flights is shown to be a tradeoff between volume of aid delivered and flights that must be diverted. The proper mix of aircraft and prioritized divert policies also provide benefits. Finally, it is beneficial, though perhaps counterintuitive, to create a parking buffer upstream from the unloading bottleneck.

Analysis of previously unreported data from the Haiti earthquake provides new insights regarding airport parking and unloading operations. A new model of airport scheduling for disaster response is proposed. The model differs from other humanitarian airlift models in that it focuses on aircraft parking and unloading. It differs from commercial aircraft scheduling and gate assignment in the objective used.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and describe a pixel‐based airborne hyperspectral remote sensing system approach for searching for missing and lost RMAF aircraft, especially the NURI helicopter that crashed in Genting‐Sempah, Malaysia on Friday 13 July 2007, ten minutes after leaving the RMAF 10th Squadron based in Sg. Besi Camp, Selangor, Malaysia. It was reported found crashed with all six air force crew onboard killed, four days later on 17 July 2007 at 13.25 hours 5 km North‐west of Genting‐Sempah‐Karak‐Highway.

The objective is achieved by exploring the use of a very high 1 m² spatial resolution (pixel‐based) airborne hyperspectral imaging system near real‐time data processing within two hours after landing. The UPM‐Aeroscan's AISA is a state‐of‐the‐art aircraft mounted commercial hyperspectral sensor operated for SAR development application by Forest Geospatial Information and Survey Lab (FGISL)/Aeroscan Precision (M) Sdn Bhd. in Block C3, UPM‐MTDC Tech Centre, Lebuh Silikon, Universiti Putra Malaysia. It is designed to provide a near real time, frequent, repetitive, accurate and reliable pushbroom instrument that acquires images in hundreds of registered, contiguous narrow spectral band passes such that for each element it is possible to derive a complete reflectance spectrum between the tree crowns, a damaged or slashed tree canopy and an anomaly especially metal like foreign object that penetrates into the tree crowns of a dense forest. Using an advanced Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) digital analysis and two archives spectral signatures of flying and “parked” NURI helicopters, in addition to ground supporting data from the civilian eye‐witnesses, spectral matching of images is applied to identify and map the missing helicopter.

Despite the bad weather hampering the search and air surveillance‐to‐ground verifications, the NURI helicopter was reported found crashed with all six air force crew onboard killed, four days later based on the GPS suspected locations analysed and mapped from the UPM‐APSB's AISA airborne hyperspectral sensor data. The GPS locations given by the image were, however, not accurate for ground verifications since an old military topographical map were used. The GPS locations from the airborne image was transferred on to a Google Earth image in the Operations Room but, for ground verifications, a different set of reference topographical maps were used. However, the suspected search target sites were not that far away from the actual sighted RMAF NURI helicopter wreckage.

The value and contribution of this research are the successful application of operating a pixel‐based airborne hyperspectral sensor to locate missing military helicopters in SAR. It is expected that the UPM‐APSB's AISA airborne hyperspectral sensor can be of further use in future SAR for missing civilian helicopters or commercial aircraft.

The third in a series giving suggestions for laboratory work on the various types of machine tool

In humanitarian logistics operations, performance measurement is crucial for effective operation. The purpose of this paper is to develop a set of indicators for humanitarian relief organizations (HROs) for their organizational-level logistics operations.

The authors applied the supply chain operations reference (SCOR) framework to the context of humanitarian supply chains. By taking a bottom-up approach with the support of a large HRO, the authors identified the most important metrics through examining its supply chain processes. The initial metrics are then validated by seven HROs to ensure their applicability in humanitarian logistics operations.

A hierarchical benchmarking framework is proposed, and a set of 26 metrics is identified. The validation of these metrics supports the initial work with all metrics deemed important. It also highlights the implementation difficulty as only five indicators are readily available. The authors further suggested the automation of key logistics processes, which would significantly increase the number of implementable metrics to 14.

The sample size of the validation is small, and the last mile delivery is not covered by the metrics.

With these performance metrics, HROs are able to monitor their logistics performance better with processed-based measures, which may lead to their policy and process adjustments for performance improvement.

The work contributes to performance measurement in humanitarian logistics with a framework of a generic metrics set. The validation result is also original to reveal the state of performance measurement on the ground.

Cross operation is a common operation method in the building construction process nowadays. Due to the crossover, each other's operations are disturbed, and risks also interact. This superimposed relationship of risks is worthy of attention. The study aims to develop a model for analyzing cross-working risks. This model can quantify the correlation of various risk factors.

The concept of cross operation and the cross types involved are clarified. The risk factors were extracted from cross-operation accidents. The association rule mining (ARM) was used to analyze the results of various cross-types accidents. With the help of visualization tools, the intensity distribution and correlation path of the relationship between each factor were obtained. A complete cross-operation risk analysis model was established.

The application of ARM method proves that there are obvious risk correlation deviations in different types of cross operations. A high-frequency risk common to all cross operations is on-site safety inspection and process supervision, but the subsequent problems are different. Cutting off the high-lift risk chain timely according to the results obtained by ARM can reduce or eliminate the danger of high-frequency risk factors.

This is the first systematic analysis of cross-work risk in the construction. The study determined the priority of risk management. The results contribute to targeted cross-work control to reduce accidents caused by cross-work.