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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Use Of Reflective Armbands To Improve Adolescent Pedestrian And Pedalcyclist Safety, Nancy Dunaway, Eric R. Green, Jerry G. Pigman, Monica L. Barrett Jun 2007

Use Of Reflective Armbands To Improve Adolescent Pedestrian And Pedalcyclist Safety, Nancy Dunaway, Eric R. Green, Jerry G. Pigman, Monica L. Barrett

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this effort was to determine if elementary and middle school students could be educated to use reflective armbands to increase their visibility to motorists while walking or bicycling to school. The number of armbands and surveys distributed totaled slightly over 7,000. Responses were received from approximately 12 percent (873) of the pre-surveys and slightly over 3 percent (119) of the post-surveys. Respondents to the survey indicated nearly 15 percent of schoolchildren receiving reflective armbands were wearing the armband “every day” or “most days”. Of the parents responding, 21 percent indicated their children would continue to wear the …


A Prioritization Process For Access Management Implementation In Utah, Kordel T. Braley May 2007

A Prioritization Process For Access Management Implementation In Utah, Kordel T. Braley

Theses and Dissertations

Appropriate access management techniques can improve the safety and efficiency of arterial roads. In order to determine which roads can most benefit by the implementation of access management techniques, a prioritization process was developed to recommend various access management treatments such as limiting access points, installing raised medians, and ensuring adequate signal spacing along corridors. To serve as the basis for the performance index, a database was created including identifying features, characteristics, and crash history for 175 arterial road segments on Utah state routes. Stepwise linear regression was applied to the data collected to determine which characteristics of the roads …


Intelligent Painting Process Planner For Robotic Bridge Painting, Yong Bai Apr 2007

Intelligent Painting Process Planner For Robotic Bridge Painting, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Due to increased government regulations on environment, health, and safety, the cost of on-site bridge painting has quadrupled over the past several years. The construction industry faces a great challenge in how to control the increased costs of bridge painting and meet the regulations at the same time. A possible solution to address this challenge is to develop a robotic bridge painting system. The development of the robotic system can be justified by the potential improvements in safety and productivity. This paper presents the development and testing of an Intelligent Painting Process Planner. The Planner, built based on bridge feature …


Centerline Curbing Treatment At Railroad Crossings For Improved Safety, Aemal Khattak, Dwight L. Mosby Jr., Gregory Mcknight, Brian Gardner Mar 2007

Centerline Curbing Treatment At Railroad Crossings For Improved Safety, Aemal Khattak, Dwight L. Mosby Jr., Gregory Mcknight, Brian Gardner

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objectives of this research were to study unsafe actions of motor vehicle drivers at railroadhighway grade crossings, to evaluate centerline barriers in reducing those unsafe driver actions, and to note any maintenance or other issues with the barriers. Driver actions were observed at two railroad crossings before and after installation of centerline barriers. A comparison of observed driver actions in the pre- and post-barrier periods provided information on the effectiveness of the barriers in reducing unsafe driver actions while periodic inspection of the centerline barriers provided information on maintenance needs. A major concern of the Nebraska Department of Roads …


Kentucky Traffic Collision Facts 2007 Report, Kentucky Transportation Center, Kentucky State Police Jan 2007

Kentucky Traffic Collision Facts 2007 Report, Kentucky Transportation Center, Kentucky State Police

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

KENTUCKY’S TRAFFIC COLLISION FACTS report for 2007 is based on collision reports submitted to the Kentucky State Police Records Branch. As required by Kentucky Revised Statutes 189.635, “every law enforcement agency whose officers investigate a vehicle accident of which a report must be made...shall file a report of the accident...within ten days after investigation of the accident upon forms supplied by the bureau.” The stated purpose of this requirement is to utilize data on traffic collisions for such purposes as will improve the traffic safety program in the Commonwealth. Data contained in this report are based solely on the observations …


The Structural Reliability Of Bridges Subject To Time-Dependent Deterioration, Colin C. Caprani, C. Mcnally, E. J. O'Brien, A. Bordallo-Ruiz Jan 2007

The Structural Reliability Of Bridges Subject To Time-Dependent Deterioration, Colin C. Caprani, C. Mcnally, E. J. O'Brien, A. Bordallo-Ruiz

Conference papers

The reliability of the structural performance of any given structure is affected by both in-service loading and material deterioration due to environmental attack. They must be evaluated at any given time in order to compute lifetime probability of failure. This paper presents an innovative methodology to derive the structure lifetime load effect due to existing traffic using a statistical tool known as Predictive Likelihood. Loss of resistance due to corrosion originated by chloride ingression is also taken into account. Finally the lifetime probability of failure is evaluated via the application of a time-discretization strategy.


Behavior-Based Safety In Construction, Purdue Ect Team Jan 2007

Behavior-Based Safety In Construction, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

Behavior-based safety approach that was introduced into the United States in 1930's and has been popular in manufacturing area since 1980's assumes that many of injuries and illnesses are the result of unsafe acts by workers. Behavior-based safety is a proactive approach to increasing safety in the workplace and in the community. It is based on sound, research-based, and behavioral practices, and are easy to use with minimal training.


Cranium: Device For Improving Crane Productivity And Safety, Purdue Ect Team Jan 2007

Cranium: Device For Improving Crane Productivity And Safety, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

Cranes are the most important pieces of equipment on many construction sites. CRANIUM is a video system designed to improve productivity and safety of crane operations by improving communications. A video camera mounted on the crane bottom transmits an image to the television monitor in the crane cab. The operator has a real-time picture of the loads and craftsmen that might otherwise be out of the direct line of sight.


3m Personal Air Monitoring Systems, Purdue Ect Team Jan 2007

3m Personal Air Monitoring Systems, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

3M monitors are made to allow sample desorption directly in the monitor itself. The monitor comes with a snap-on elution cap that permits the desorbing solvent to be injected into the monitor. The solution is then poured into sample vials for analysis. 3M monitors use standard analytical methods: gas chromatography for the organic vapor monitor and ethylene oxide monitor, and colorimetry for the formaldehyde monitor.


Delmia Safework®Pro™ : Human Modeling, Purdue Ect Team Jan 2007

Delmia Safework®Pro™ : Human Modeling, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

Manufacturers and designers strive to develop products that conform to all relevant Health and Safety standards and are "user-friendly" while still maximizing the productivity of their own workforce. Digital human modeling technology can assist a designer to determine the performance of people in the context of a workplace or a product before it exists and throughout its entire lifecycle. SAFEWORK’S accurate manikin has the highest number of Anthropometric Variables (104), Segments (99) and Degrees of Freedom (149). It also has fully articulated spine & hand models as well as joints with coupled range of motion. Moreover, it’s unique Multivariate Algorithm …


Safe Excavation, Purdue Ect Team Jan 2007

Safe Excavation, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

Excavating with a backhoe or similar equipment has the potential risk of hitting an underground utility which could cause serious injuries and expensive damages. An electronic device that provides a real-time warning of the utility lines immediately ahead of the digging tool and provides an easily interpreted, real-time computer readout of the depth, location, and size buried metallic objects. Developed by Dr. Leonhard E. Bernold, it consists of an active metal detector search coil; a signal processing (control) unit; and a PC computer equipped with an analog-to-digital converter interface.


Pipeman:Safety In Trenches, Purdue Ect Team Jan 2007

Pipeman:Safety In Trenches, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

Even though heavy construction equipment such as a crane or backhoe excavator, is used to perform the task of pipe laying in the trench, workers are required to be inside the trench to guide the excavation, pipe laying, and final alignment. Work place safety has become a major concern in the construction industry over the past few decades, and trench cave-ins have caused serious and often fatal injuries to workers in the United States. The Construction Automation and Robotics Laboratory(CARL) at North Carolina State University has developed an alternative which involves advanced new technology: the prototype robotic excavation and pipe …


Evaluating And Enhancing The Safety Of Nighttime Construction Projects, Dulcy M. Abraham, Julia Jensen Spadaccini, Beau Braxton Burgess, Lindsay Rae Miller, Vanessa Valentin Jan 2007

Evaluating And Enhancing The Safety Of Nighttime Construction Projects, Dulcy M. Abraham, Julia Jensen Spadaccini, Beau Braxton Burgess, Lindsay Rae Miller, Vanessa Valentin

JTRP Technical Reports

The increased demand on the current highway system has caused transportation agencies to increase scheduling for nighttime work in order to alleviate daytime work zone congestion, especially during peak traffic hours. Although traffic congestion is reduced, safety in nighttime workzones remains a concern among both transportation agencies and contractors. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), approximately one-half of the fatalities that occurred in workzones nationwide occurred at night. These work zone statistics have received increased attention among agencies to evaluate planning and safety issues concerning the workers and the general public on nighttime workzones. Four separate, but interrelated research …