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This conference paper discusses a new analytical approach to the evaluation of traffic safety at the railway crossings. The new method is based on the use of ontological principles. The ontological tools present a comprehensive decision-making tool, will can be applied to any potential hazardous railway crossing on a road or rail network. The ontology can be considered as a knowledge base that not only stores the data itself, but also defines the relationships between these data, and can therefore be described as a clearly suitable tool for describing risks at level crossings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development of cities relies on the implementation of multi-sectoral actions towards carbon neutrality, reducing the air pollutants emissions. The actions' decision-making process for cities transformation should be supported by lessons learnt from previous interventions and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). To do so, gathering real data becomes pivotal, complementing simulation tools (currently used), solving the inherent uncertainties due to assumptions. Data collection methodologies are then necessary, being the main driver for digital cities and providing better mechanisms for informed decision-making. Most of the cities still operate in silos and do not always implement the strategic plans supported with a digitalization of the municipal processes. Within this perspective, this paper presents a methodology to support cities in the preparation of monitoring programmes to collect real data in a robust and feasible manner. Taking the KPIs and the Smart Cities urban strategies into account, this paper concludes with some lessons learnt within cities to deploy monitoring approaches. From the city challenges to the review of the plans, all the process is driven by real data and KPIs. The methodology has been applied in the mySMARTLife project (Grant Agreement #731297) and deployed into the cities of Nantes (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Helsinki (Finland). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Architects and designers have a critical role in promoting Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a scientific methodology for evaluating the environmental impacts of buildings that can help decarbonise the built environment and minimise other negative effects. This paper presents the results of an international survey conducted among design professionals as part of the IEA Annex 72 project about assessing life cycle related environmental impacts caused by buildings. Twenty-three countries were participating in the survey altogether, but in this paper, only the specific situation in two Central European countries, Hungary and Czechia, are presented. The questionnaire explored the designers' understanding of environmental problems and LCA methodology, the drivers and barriers of environmental assessment and the future perspectives. The results show that many architects and designers are concerned about environmental problems and the built environment's contribution but have a limited understanding of the applicable scientific methods. A full LCA is seldomly applied as neither regulations nor clients demand it, and only the operational energy is mandatorily assessed. Further improvements in data quality and assessment tools and regulatory and other drivers are needed to increase the use of LCA in the construction sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research paper "Eye-tracking technology in automotive industry" describes the implementation of eye-tracking technology into the development of new vehicles and their decisionmaking process. This objective technology tracks the eye movement of a participant, detects where the subject is looking during an interval of an experiment, and thus offers a wide range of applications. It can be used to detect distractions while driving on a simulator under a certain workload or to record objective data during an otherwise subjective customer-oriented clinic. In this topic, we evaluate areas of the vehicle which are the most interesting for customers, and therefore provide support and recommendations for new vehicle designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life cycle assessment (LCA) in the building sector has become a widely used method for quantifying environmental impacts of a building over its entire life cycle. Currently, however, no standardized procedure exists for considering refurbishment measures. In addition, the LCA, according to the European standard EN 15978, is limited to building level only. This paper shows how a methodological LCA framework of refurbishment methods can be applied at three levels: single building, neighbourhood, and municipality. Initially, the proposed methodological approaches are introduced while the framework rules are defined for each of the three levels. The system boundaries of the LCA differ regarding the assessment levels within the given methodology and are adapted accordingly. In addition, the three levels of assessment are defined by the accuracy of measurement results, and data requirements, as well as by the specific value of the calculations and the ownership of the building stock. The assessment levels provide a specific quality and quantity of environmental indicator results. Thus, the complex interrelationships of the assessment levels are shown. The developed framework for the environmental assessment of refurbishment measures provides comparability at the building level. At the neighbourhood level, emissions from refurbishment measures are compared with the reductions of emissions through heating energy demand. Ultimately, the potential of refurbishment measures at the municipal level can be identified on a large scale and used as a decision-making tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acquisition of natural sand and dumping of fine recycled aggregates (FRA) are two serious environmental problems that can be solved simultaneously by using FRA as replacement of natural sand in high-end applications. In the past, FRA has been considered an unwanted by-product of construction and demolition waste (CDW) processing, due to the high levels of contaminations and high content of fines. However, FRA is currently considered as a new secondary raw material with large potential. Due to the increasing interests in FRA it is of utmost importance to extensively examine their characteristics. To date, research has been done on the water absorption, density, chemical and mineralogical composition, and size distribution of the FRA. However, knowledge on the geometrical properties of FRA is limited. In this paper the geometrical properties of several types of FRA are examined using digital image processing (DIP). The effect of processing methods, crusher openings and crushing cycles are considered to gain new insights into the characteristics of FRA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to other goods, buildings have a long lifespan. It is therefore the norm and not the exception that adaptation will be needed at some point in their life cycle to changing environmental conditions, technical progress and new/additional user requirements. The adaptation of existing buildings to future challenges in the form of refurbishment contributes to sustainable development. The proportion of refurbishments is increasing in both absolute and relative terms in the building sector in Europe. It is therefore surprising that the modelling particularities of refurbishment in the context of a life cycle-based environmental performance assessment are still neglected in the ENstandards. The paper deals with these particularities. Specifically, it presents a typology of approaches starting with a distinction between planned refurbishment as B5 and unforeseen refurbishment as an independent design and construction task / next life cycle, as well as the status of the discussion in selected countries. Recommendations for action for the life cycle assessment are given for specific decision-making situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contains an introduction, probabilistic formulation, and exemplification (1) of system state and utility actions, (2) system state and utility action value analysis and (3) a threshold formulation for a predicted information and action decision analysis. The approaches build upon structural condition assessment and provide a basis for the condition management by maximising the expected utility for information and actions before information acquirement and action implementation. Following the basic distinction of system state and utility actions, strengthening, replacement, repair, load reduction and consequence reduction actions are formulated. With an exemplary study encompassing an expected utility calculation and an action value analysis, it is demonstrated how expected utility optimal physical system changes can be identified before implementation. The threshold formulation for a predicted information and action decision analysis relies on the equality of the decision theoretical posterior action optimality condition. By extending the exemplary predicted action decision analyses with different structural health information (SHI), the threshold formulation is exemplified and the optimal condition management strategies are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable construction has become a growing trend among researchers and stakeholders. Simultaneously, resilience and risk assessments for civil Infrastructures have flourished in terms of importance among researchers, economic sectors, and society. Nevertheless, there is no abundant research that correspond to both approaches, despite that, there are massive similarities and shared characteristics between both investigation branches. Distinctively, this year has demonstrated that sustainable development is directly obstructed by different extreme events that trigger risks and vulnerabilities in civil Infrastructures. These extreme events require a deep and complex study to minimize the impacts they may cause in society and economy, two main factors considered in the study of sustainability. Therefore, when a risk and resilience assessments are conducted, it is already analyzed as a sizable part of sustainability. Consequently, there exists a possibility to create a methodology that examines and assesses four categories of civil infrastructure sustainability: Technical, environmental, social, and economical. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the need of a comprehensive approach between sustainability, risk, and resilience assessment, compiling and comparing the existing methodologies for assessing the impacts on civil infrastructures, showing that both present resemblances and none can be omitted, being necessary for the decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]