This research focuses on the data quality control methods for evaluating the performance of Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) systems on Oregon highways. This research identifies and develops a new methodology and algorithm to explore the accuracy of each station's weight and spacing data at a corridor level, and further implements the Statistical Process Control (SPC) method, finite mixture model, axle spacing error rating method, and data flag method in published research to examine the soundness of WIM systems. This research employs the historical WIM data to analyze sensor health and compares the evaluation results of the methods. The results suggest the new triangulation method identified most possible WIM malfunctions that other methods sensed, and this method unprecedentedly monitors the process behavior with controls of time and meteorological variables. The SPC method appeared superior in differentiating between sensor noises and sensor errors or drifts, but it drew wrong conclusions when accurate WIM data reference was absent. The axle spacing error rating method cannot check the essential weight data in special cases, but reliable loop sensor evaluation results were arrived at by employing this multiple linear regression model. The results of the data flag method and the finite mixed model results were not accurate, thus they could be used as additional tools to complement the data quality evaluation results. Overall, these data quality analysis results are the valuable sources for examining the early detection of system malfunctions, sensor drift, etc., and allow the WIM operators to correct the situation on time before large amounts of measurement are lost.

Seat belts save lives; however, unintentional injuries are still the leading cause of death for those between 1 and 44 years in the United States. Seat belts also cause injuries during motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) and obesity changes how seat belts fit. The purpose of this retrospective causal inference quantitative study was to reduce the knowledge gap in scholarly research on seat belt fit in relation to blunt cerebrovascular injuries (BCVI) during MVCs and seat belt compliance. The theoretical framework used was based on H.W. Heinrich's domino theory. The research questions focused on the following dependent variables: BCVI, compliance, and seat belt fit; and independent variables: the size of the individual and seat belt fit. Secondary and primary data were used and analyzed using Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation. The results yielded no relationship between seat belt fit and BCVI in the secondary data (n = 97). In the primary data (n = 138), there was significance found between seatbelt fit and a) seat belt use, and b) BMI. The study contributed to positive social change by enhancing the awareness of the knowledge deficit regarding seat belt fit, and BCVIs sustained during MVCs, and that comfort was influenced by seat belt fit and had a role in compliance. Seat belts were not used by 5.3% and 9.5% or used incorrectly by 3.2% and 2.9% of the people in the primary data and secondary data sets. This knowledge may contribute to a) future seat belt testing to ensure it is done in such a manner that seat belts fit everyone; b) new seat belt laws to ensure that they are consistent across all states, and c) medical care focusing on seat belt fit as a mechanism of injury (blunt) to ensure screenings are done with the appropriate diagnostic tools.

Methods for the determination of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with suspended participate matter were developed with the aim of determining airborne concentrations and to investigate seasonal trends. Other associate pollutants such as Total Suspended Particulate matter (TSP), Particulate Matter with an equivalent aerodynamic diameter less than 10 micrometres (PM10) and lead concentration were also reviewed to determine trends. Motor vehicle emissions appear to be the source of the PAHs and differences between the types and concentrations of PAHs detected at central business district sites verses suburban sites were noted. Wind erosion, biomass burning, motor vehicle emissions and industrial processes are sources of particulate matter in the atmosphere. Lead comes mainly from motor vehicles emissions in the ACT with some lead possibly from the burning of lead contaminated fuel. TSP and lead concentrations have decreased since air quality monitoring began in the early 1980s. PM10 concentration may also have fallen but the data set for PM10s is to small to draw any firm conclusions. Only TSP lead concentrations displayed a seasonal pattern. The ACT air pollution Act 1984 has placed restriction on the burning of fuels to improve air quality in the ACT. The air quality in regards to TSP and lead is improving. However, the only strong links between the Act and decreased pollutant concentrations is the introduction of unleaded petrol and the decrease of airborne lead concentrations.

<p>Atlas Copco Tools & Assembly Systems (ACTA) is world leader in industrial tools and assembly systems for safety-critical joints. One of the products the company sells is fixtured nutrunners, mainly to the motor vehicle industry. The margins on these highly customized products have been decreasing – much depending on changes in the purchasing behavior of the automotive industry.</p><p>Traditionally, the marketing of the fixtured nutrunners has been concentrated to the parts of the product instead of the final product. Today, there is a belief within the organization that many of the sold customized products could be replaced by more standardized applications. There is also a wish to turn the focus of the market offer from the parts towards the final application. These beliefs and wishes resulted in this thesis, with the purpose to propose a new market offer to increase profitability and give more customer benefits.</p><p>To reach this purpose we started out with theoretical studies of several different areas. Among those was mass customization, a strategy that combines the benefits of mass production with those of customization. We also performed a prestudy at the headquarters of ACTA in Sickla and visited major customers in Sweden. Using our collected knowledge from the theoretical studies and the prestudy, we conducted an in-depth case study by interviewing customers and people working at ACTA, both in Sweden and in the USA, in order to analyze today’s situation. In the analysis, we found several problems with today’s offer. For instance, we found that similar products are solved with unique solutions, which has lead to poor cost control and has made it difficult for ACTA to assure the quality of the ordered products. A further problem is the poor sales support and the lack of traceability of sold systems, which reduces sales and leads to unnecessary special solutions. A problem linked to that is the difficulties in getting accurate and sufficient information from the customer, which leads to extra errors and a lot of extra work.</p><p>To solve these problems, we recommend ACTA to implement a mass customization strategy. Of course, not all of ACTA’s products can be mass customized, but to a large extent it should be possible. To implement a mass customization strategy, we argue that ACTA should take three measures, namely design standard products, modularize the products, and implement a computerized configuration tool. We also suggest that the implementation of the new market offer should be done stepwise. With the proposed new market offer, we believe that ACTA can increase profitability in the area of fixtured nutrunners without losing the flexibility of the products.</p>

Atlas Copco Tools &amp; Assembly Systems (ACTA) is world leader in industrial tools and assembly systems for safety-critical joints. One of the products the company sells is fixtured nutrunners, mainly to the motor vehicle industry. The margins on these highly customized products have been decreasing – much depending on changes in the purchasing behavior of the automotive industry. Traditionally, the marketing of the fixtured nutrunners has been concentrated to the parts of the product instead of the final product. Today, there is a belief within the organization that many of the sold customized products could be replaced by more standardized applications. There is also a wish to turn the focus of the market offer from the parts towards the final application. These beliefs and wishes resulted in this thesis, with the purpose to propose a new market offer to increase profitability and give more customer benefits. To reach this purpose we started out with theoretical studies of several different areas. Among those was mass customization, a strategy that combines the benefits of mass production with those of customization. We also performed a prestudy at the headquarters of ACTA in Sickla and visited major customers in Sweden. Using our collected knowledge from the theoretical studies and the prestudy, we conducted an in-depth case study by interviewing customers and people working at ACTA, both in Sweden and in the USA, in order to analyze today’s situation. In the analysis, we found several problems with today’s offer. For instance, we found that similar products are solved with unique solutions, which has lead to poor cost control and has made it difficult for ACTA to assure the quality of the ordered products. A further problem is the poor sales support and the lack of traceability of sold systems, which reduces sales and leads to unnecessary special solutions. A problem linked to that is the difficulties in getting accurate and sufficient information from the customer, which leads to extra errors and a lot of extra work. To solve these problems, we recommend ACTA to implement a mass customization strategy. Of course, not all of ACTA’s products can be mass customized, but to a large extent it should be possible. To implement a mass customization strategy, we argue that ACTA should take three measures, namely design standard products, modularize the products, and implement a computerized configuration tool. We also suggest that the implementation of the new market offer should be done stepwise. With the proposed new market offer, we believe that ACTA can increase profitability in the area of fixtured nutrunners without losing the flexibility of the products.

Identifying and understanding the relationships between observed driving behavior over long-term periods and corresponding crash involvement rates is paramount to enhancing safety improvement programs and providing useful insights for transportation safety engineers, policy markers, insurance industries, and the public. Unlike previous data collection methods, recent advancement in mobile computing and accuracy of global positioning systems (GPS) allow researchers to monitor driving activities of large fleets of vehicles, for long-time study periods, at great detail. This study investigates the driving patterns of drivers who have and who have not experienced crashes during a 14-month study period using the longitudinally collected GPS data during a six-month Commute Atlanta study. This investigation allows an empirical investigation to assess whether drivers with recent crash experiences exhibit different driving or activity patterns (travel mileage, travel duration, speed, acceleration, speed stability duration, frequency of unfamiliar roadway activities, frequency of turn movement activities, and previous crash location exposures). This study also discusses various techniques of implementing GPS data streams in safety analyses. Finally, this study provides useful guidance for researchers who plan to evaluate the relationships between driver driving behavior and crash risk with large sample data and proposes driving behavior activity exposure metrics of individual drivers for possible safety surrogate measures as well as for driver re-training and education programs.

Young adults' risk-taking attitudes, risk perception, and knowledge of road laws and signs influence their driving behaviors. The adoption of risky driving behaviors increases young adults' risk of motor vehicle crashes. The purpose of this study was to increase the understanding of the factors that lead to increased risks of MVC-related mortality and morbidity for young adults in Belize, to provide support for the development of evidence-based programs, and, more importantly, to investigate the relationships involving young adults' risk-taking attitudes, risk perception, and knowledge of road laws and signs and their relation to driving behaviors. The Precaution Adoption Process Model provided the theoretical foundation for this study and was used as the framework to investigate the variables of interest. This study used a nonexperimental, cross-sectional research design to examine the relationships between the latent variables. A convenience sample of 532 students enrolled at the University of Belize participated in this study. Data were collected through the completion of the Driving Behavior Survey. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the strength and direction of relationships among these latent variables and provide a better understanding of the relationships among these latent variables. The study found that the majority of students were in the final stages of the Precaution Adoption Process Model and were exhibiting the safest behaviors. However, the risk-taking attitudes significantly contributed to the manifestation of risky driving behavior and to a lesser extent so did risk perception. The study's findings suggest that interventions should focus on lowering young adults' risk-taking attitudes and raising risk perception to reduce risky driving behaviors.

D. Tech. People Management and Development. / The main aim of this study was to develop a strategy to link the informal and formal motor mechanic artisan communities in terms of qualifications. The current formal sector training initiatives for motor mechanics do not provide for or acknowledge the non-formal learning of the informal sector practising motor mechanic artisan. This research supports three main arguments: firstly, the informal sector serves as a reservoir of individuals who are practising the motor mechanic trade; secondly, the need was identified to integrate these informal practising individuals with the formal sector in terms of qualifications; and thirdly, the large motor industries have the authority to propose processes to assist in the integration of the informal and formal artisan training. The study was conducted among 16 experts representing the motor mechanic training environment. The findings indicate that the two sectors could be linked through dedicated recognition of the prior learning system backed by a process of gap training. The findings also highlighted the importance of having modules of employable skills to enhance informal practising artisans’ employability status. Finally, this study identified specific constraints that contribute to the shortage of skilled motor mechanics in general. This research confirmed that a strategy could be developed to successfully link the informal and formal motor mechanic artisan communities.

The implementation of a new motor vehicle block exemption began in 2002, and affected the car dealer industry in Sweden. Before this new regulation, a general agent distributing cars to dealers had the ability to restrict car dealers’ behavior much more. Nowadays, dealers have the right to sell different brands from the same showroom, even if there are strict rules about how the different brands should be presented. The new block exemption have also given car dealers possibilities to establish in other places within EU were selective distribution is applied. As the environment changed (by the block exemption), dealers faced new information that required interpretation. In this thesis we have focused on industrial wisdom; a reasonable and consistent, yet subjective, sense-making of reality in an industry. This sense-making is a way to understand and justify company behavior; resulting assumptions are considered so basic that they remain unquestioned by industry participants. However, interpretations depend on who makes them; different persons interpret things in different ways. In the light of the car dealer industry and the motor vehicle block exemption 1400/2002, this thesis investigated if change due to institutional pressure can affect industrial wisdom. Further, what does this process look like. To fulfill our purpose we conducted a qualitative research by interviewing 19 Chief Executive Officers from the car dealer industry in Sweden. The sample was designed by a maximum variation sampling technique, in which we as researchers used our own judgment to pick cases that were extra informative. Before we conducted the interviews, we reviewed literature to gain a general understanding of the industry and relevant issues. From our research we know that industrial wisdom can change due to a shift in institutional pressure and we observed that the car dealer industrial wisdom was changing. There are some new perceptions and aspects of wisdom, which suggest that the industry has moved away from previous equilibrium. Nevertheless, perceptions are diverse in a number of areas and thoughts have not been translated into action, which leaves much potential for further change. Naturally, this is a slow and difficult process since cognitive maps are embedded in a mindset that relies on previous experience and automatic interpretations. If wisdom changes more depends a great deal on if/how dealers (continue to) act. This thesis resulted in a model (The Loop of Wisdom) that explains how a change in institutional pressure affects industrial wisdom. New information enters the company, gets interpreted, acted upon and feeds back out to the environment, which affect other companies and the industry as a whole.

This study investigates prevailing factors that impede the implementation of affirmative action in the Durban Automotive Cluster. This study will enable DAC affiliates to determine their obstacles and challenges with respect to the implementation of affirmative action. The service provider of the DAC CB and M Analysts) will also be able to advise companies through their development programmes and recommend what has to be done in order to bring blacks on board. This study relied on primary data. In-depth interviews were conducted with the senior managers ofDAC affiliates using unstructured questionnaires. Secondary data from the DAC database was analysed to strengthen the qualitative data. The data focused on the distribution of different population groups across the levels of occupations. The aim of the study is not to generalise about affirmative action but to obtain more in-depth clarity on the research problem. The findings have established that the pool of technically qualified and experienced blacks is very small and hence they are in short supply in the market. A number of factors such as direct ownership and low turnover of staff were raised as one of the aspects that hinder affirmative action. Constraints such as attitudes of white middle management appeared to have been addressed by these companies. The findings also clarified the role of human resources department in driving affirmative action. In most companies, the human resources department is part and parcel of management and actively involved in affirmative action. The study discovered that poaching also arises as a result of the shortage of skilled blacks. Retention of black employees is a problem for the majority of the companies. Despite these shortcomings, this study revealed that proper channels such as training, development and mentoring were followed for both internal and external recruits. This is being done to avoid window dressing. The other constraint of the affirmative action programme is government capacity. The key constraints to delivery are limited staff capacity, scarcity of human resources at governmental level; lack of coordination and integration with other spheres of national and provincial government labour departments and the lack of effective organizational, technical and managerial support for affirmative action. With respect to globalisation, the automotive sector is a dynamic and global sector which is changing fast due to technology and globalisation. As a result, the requirements of the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM's) who are competing globally were seen as a hindering factor to the realisation of affirmative action. In conclusion, the achievements of affirmative action programmes amongst DAC affiliates were very modest in relation to both national expectations and their own stated goals due to shortage of skills, family and direct ownership and poaching. Implementation has proved far more complex and resource demanding than originally anticipated. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.