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Technical Standards (technical + standards)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Engineering	28%

Selected Abstracts

Public safety in private hands: A Study of Ontario's Technical Standards and Safety Authority

CANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION/ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA, Issue 1 2002
Mark S. Winfield
The authors place the tssa in the larger context of the restructuring of government functions and responsibilities and the transferring of these activities to non-governmental actors, as part of what has become known around the world as the "new public management." The history, rationale, mandate, structure and functions of the tssa are described. In addition, an assessment of the tssa as a model for the delivery of public services against criteria related to governance, political and legal accountability and performance relative to its predecessor is provided. The article concludes that significant gaps remain in the Ministry of Consumer and Business Services' capacity to adequately oversee the tssa and in the accountability framework for the tssa relative to that applicable to a conventionally structured government agency. Improvements in public safety outcomes in Ontario over the past decade are noted, although many of these trends pre-date the creation of the tssa and may be attributable to factors other than the mccr/tssa transition. Sommaire: Le présent article passe en revue I'expérience de la Technical Standards and Safety Authority (tssa) de I'Ontario, organisme à but non lucratif auquel furent transférées en 1997 les fonctions relatives à la réglementation de la sécurité publique du ministère de la Consommation et du Commerce de la province (devenu le ministère des Services aux consommateurs et aux entreprises). Les auteurs placent la Esa dans le contexte plus vaste de la restructuration des fonctions et responsabilités gouvernementales et du transfert de ces activités à des organismes non gouvemementaux, dans le cadre de ce qui est maintenant connu mondialement sous le nom de « nouvelle gestion publique ». 11s décrivent l'historique, la justification, le mandat, la structure et les fonctions de la tssa. Ils foumissent en outre me évaluation de la Esa en tant que modèle de prestation de services publics selon des critères de gouvemance, d'imputabilité politique et légale et de rendement par rapport à son prédécesseur. L'article conclut qu'il existe encore d'importantes lacunes en ce qui concerne la capacité du ministère des Services aux consommateurs et aux entreprises à superviser adéquatement la tssa et en ce qui concerne le cadre de responsabilité de la tssa par rapport à ce qui s'applique à un organisme gouvernemental de structure conventionnelle. L'article mentionne les améliorations concernant la sécurité publique survenues en Ontario au cours de la dernière décennie, quoique nombre de ces tendances datent d'avant la création de la tssa et pourraient tre attribuables à des facteurs autres que la transition du mcc à la tssa. [source]

Verlustfaktor-Korrektur der Schalldämmung bei gefülltem Ziegelmauerwerk

BAUPHYSIK, Issue 1 2010
Martin Schneider M.Sc. Dipl.-Ing. (FH)
Elastically wall junction; Experimental set-up; Internal damping; Rigidly wall junction Schall; Technische Regelwerke Sound protection and acoustics; Technical standards Abstract In einem gemeinsamen Forschungsvorhaben der Hochschule für Technik Stuttgart und des Fraunhofer-Instituts für Bauphysik wurden die akustischen Eigenschaften von mit Dämmstoffen gefüllten Lochziegeln systematisch untersucht. Hierbei zeigte sich, dass sich die gefüllten Steine in ihrem Verhalten nicht wesentlich von ungefüllten Ziegeln unterscheiden. Der wichtigste Unterschied besteht in einer größeren inneren Dämpfung und als Folge davon einer gegenüber gleichartigen ungefüllten Ziegeln um etwa 1 bis 2 dB erhöhten Schalldämmung. Auf Grundlage der Untersuchungsergebnisse wurde ein modifiziertes Verfahren zur Verlustfaktor-Korrektur der Schalldämmung von Hochlochziegel-Mauerwerk entwickelt, das für gefüllte und ungefüllte Steine gleichermaßen anwendbar ist. Loss factor correction for hollow bricks filled with insulation material. The acoustic properties of hollow bricks filled with insulation material were systematically investigated in a joint research project by the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics. The findings showed that the acoustic performance of filled bricks differs only slightly from that of non-filled bricks. The main difference is greater inner damping and a resulting increase in sound insulation of about 1 to 2 dB compared to non-filled bricks of the same type. Based on the results of the investigation a modified procedure for the loss factor correction of the sound insulation of vertically perforated hollow brick masonry was developed, which applies equally to filled as well as non-filled bricks. [source]

On the characterization of voltage and current transducers in steady-state distorted conditions

EUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 6 2001
R. Sasdelli
The traceability of measurements performed to gauge information about the operation of electrical power systems under nonsinusoidal conditions is an important and live issue, usually neglected by the technical Standards. A generalized definition of the "composite error" is proposed in this paper as a meaningful index for the metrological characterization of voltage and current transducers in steady-state nonsinusoidal conditions. In this connection, the relationship among the composite error, the classical ratio and phase-angle errors and other parameters characterizing the waveforms of the transduced quantities are pointed out. Finally, problems involved in the measurement of the composite error in steady-state distorted conditions are dealt with and the results of some experimental work are presented. [source]

Why Games Will Be the Preeminent Art Form of the 21stCentury

COMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2001
Chris Hecker
Computer games share many artistic and technical characteristics with films of the early 1900s. Games' artistic evolution is hampered by the lack of artistic respect from society at large, and the lack of technical standards that would allow artistic innovation. The same problems affected cinema during its birth. During the early 20th century, film managed to find its way from popular diversion to highly respected art form. Will games follow the same course, or will they be stuck forever in the ghetto of pop culture? What technological and artistic changes need to occur in the medium for games to evolve beyond merely shooting aliens and into an art form worthy of association with painting, music, writing, and film? This talk will pose some of those questions, if not attempt to answer them. [source]

The European Commission: The Limits of Centralization and the Perils of Parliamentarization

GOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2002
Giandomenico MajoneArticle first published online: 17 DEC 200
The idea of an inevitable process of centralization in the European Community (EC)/European Union (EU) is a myth. Also, the metaphor of "creeping competences," with its suggestion of a surreptitious but continuous growth of the powers of the Commission, can be misleading. It is true that the functional scope of EC/EU competences has steadily increased, but the nature of new competences has changed dramatically, as may be seen from the evolution of the methods of harmonization. The original emphasis on total harmonization, which gives the Community exclusive competence over a given policy area, has been largely replaced by more flexible but less "communitarian" methods such as optional and minimum harmonization, reference to nonbinding technical standards, and mutual recognition. Finally, the treaties of Maastricht and Amsterdam explicitly excluded harmonization for most new competences. Thus, the expansion of the jurisdiction of the EC/EU has not automatically increased the powers of the Commission, but has actually weakened them in several respects. In addition, the progressive parliamentarization of the Commission risks compromising its credibility as an independent regulator, without necessarily enhancing its democratic legitimacy. Since the member states continue to oppose any centralization of regulatory powers, even in areas essential to the functioning of the internal market, the task of implementing Community policies should be entrusted to networks of independent national and European regulators, roughly modeled on the European System of Central Banks. The Commission would coordinate and monitor the activities of these networks in order to ensure the coherence of EC regulatory policies. More generally, it should bring its distinctive competence more clearly into focus by concentrating on the core business of ensuring the development and proper functioning of the single European market. This is a more modest role than that of the kernel of a future government of Europe, but it is essential to the credibility of the integration process and does not overstrain the limited financial and legitimacy resources available to the Commission. [source]

Random, systematic, and common cause failure: How do you manage them?,

PROCESS SAFETY PROGRESS, Issue 4 2006
Michela Gentile
Abstract A safety instrumented system (SIS) may fail to operate as desired when one or more of its devices fail due to random, systematic, and common cause events. IEC 61511 (ANSI/ISA 84.00.01,2004) stresses the importance of minimizing the propagation of device failure into system failure through design, operating, inspection, and maintenance practices. To fully understand the lifecycle requirements, it is first necessary to understand the types of failures and their potential effects on the SIS. Although several technical standards and other specialized literature address the topic, it is still a "fuzzy" matter, subject to misunderstanding and discussion. IEC 61511 Clause 11.9 requires that the SIL be verified using quantitative analysis, such as reliability block diagrams, fault tree analysis, and Markov modeling. This analysis includes only those dangerous failures that are random in nature. Common cause failures may or may not be included in the verification calculation depending on whether they exhibit random or systematic behavior. Any personnel assigned responsibility for verifying the SIL should understand each failure type and the strategies that can be used against it. Consequently, this article provides an overview of random, systematic, and common cause failures and clarifies the differences in their management within IEC 61511. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2006 [source]