Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "December, 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 207-215). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Remote monitoring through the use of cameras is widely utilized for traffic operation, but has not been utilized widely for roadway maintenance operations. The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) has implemented a new remote monitoring system, referred to as a Cloud-enabled Remote Video Streaming (CRVS) camera system for snow removal-related maintenance operations in the winter. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of the CRVS camera system in snow removal-related maintenance operations. This study was conducted in two parts: opinion surveys of maintenance station supervisors and an analysis on snow removal-related maintenance costs. The opinion surveys were performed in two methods: direct interviews and an online questionnaire. The responses to the opinion surveys mostly displayed positive reviews of the use of the CRVS cameras. On a scale of 1 (least effective) to 5 (most effective), the average overall effectiveness given by the station supervisors was 4.3 for both direct interviews and online questionnaire. On the online questionnaire, supervisors were asked to give an estimate of the reduction in expedition trips after having the CRVS camera installed. An expedition trip for this study was defined as a trip that was made to just check the roadways if snow-removal was necessary. The average of the responses received was calculated to be a 33 percent reduction in expedition trips. For the second part of this study, an analysis was performed on the snow removal-related maintenance cost data provided by UDOT to see if the installation of a CRVS camera had an effect in reducing expedition trips. Weather data of precipitation was also collected and analyzed; the analysis showed a close relation between precipitation patterns and patterns of snow removal-related maintenance costs of pairs of adjacent maintenance stations selected for analysis. This close relation in precipitation pattern and snow removal-related costs allowed a comparison of expedition cost of a maintenance station with a CRVS camera and a station without one. This expedition cost comparison was performed for 10 sets of maintenance stations within Utah. It was difficult to make any definitive inferences from the comparison of expedition costs over the years for which precipitation and expedition cost data were available; hence a statistical analysis was performed using the Mixed Model ANOVA. This analysis resulted in an average of 14 percent higher ratio of expedition costs at maintenance stations with a CRVS camera before the installation of the camera compared to the ratio of expedition costs after the installation of the camera. This difference was not proven to be statistically significant at the 95 percent confident level, but indicated that the installation of CRVS cameras was on the average helpful in reducing expedition costs and may be considered practically significant. It is recommended that more detailed and consistent maintenance cost records be prepared for accurate analysis of cost records for this type of study in the future.

An analysis of snow removal injury data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) revealed a persistent gender gap in injuries and deaths during snow clearing activities. In general, men, those who identified as White and those aged 60-79 represented the vast majority of injuries and deaths sustained during automated snow removal. Injuries and deaths from manual snow clearing had greater representation across gender lines, as well as across various age groups and race categories. This indicates that a greater cross-section of society relies on the standard shovel in comparison to the snow blower for snow removal. The most likely injuries sustained during shoveling were to the neck and back, while hand and finger injuries were far more common during the use of a snow blower. Similar percentages of cardiac (30%) and non-cardiac chest injuries (70%) were found for both manual and automated modes of snow removal. While the majority of cardiac chest injuries were in those aged 40-59 for shoveling and 60-79 for snow blowing, the majority of cardiac fatalities were in those aged 60-79 for both methods of snow removal. Daily all-cause mortality and daily deaths from acute heart attacks showed a weak but inverse relationship to daily maximum, minimum and average temperatures. Mortality related to temperatures had significant lag effects for two days. Daily all-cause and heart attack mortality were also significantly related to the depth of the existing snowpack. Snow to liquid ratios indicating differences between heavy, wet snow and dry, powdery snow were not significant. However, the water equivalent of the existing snowpack was significantly related to daily mortality. Comparisons between all age and elderly mortality showed weaker and opposite relationships for the elderly group suggesting the use of protective behaviors such as cold and snow avoidance.

Under vinterhalvåret krävs snöröjning på en flygplats och den processen utgör idag ett hinder för flygtrafiken. Snöröjningsprocessen av en landningsbana ser olika ut beroende på flygplats i världen. Swedavia driver ett världsledandeprojekt som avser att automatisera snöröjningsprocessen. Denna rapport visar det ekonomiska resultat som erhålls som följd av att den inre effektiviteten ökas i snöröjningsprocessen. Detta visas genom fyra effektivitetsmått - resursnyttjande, kapabilitet, flexibilitet och ledtid. Resultatet från samtliga effektivitetsmått visar ett övertygande samband mellan processeffektivitet och reducerade kostnader. Andra områden där kostnadsbesparingar kan undersökas är leanslöserier. Leanslöserier har undersökts under projektet och en förbättring har konstaterats inom flera områden, men magnituden har inte beaktats i detta arbete. / Snow removal at the airports is a requirement during the period of October-March. The snow removal process is currently an obstacle for arriving and departing air traffic. Swedavia is implementing a world-leading project with intentions to automate the snow removal process. This report’s purpose is to visualize the financial result because of the increasing inner efficiency of the snow removal process. Resource utilization, capability, flexibility and lead time were used as criteria to illustrate the relation between process efficiency and reduced costs. Using these four criteria, all results indicate a connection between process efficiency and reduced costs. Other areas where cost reduction may be investigated are lean wastes. Lean wastes have been investigated during this project and improvements have been noted in several areas. However, the cost-saving magnitude of these improvements is not considered in this report.

The planning of snow removal routes is complicated by the fact that the amount it snows, and thus the amount of resources, that is, vehicles, needed to clear it, varies from year to year. This variation has created a demand for a way to quickly generate efficient snow removal plans that take the resources that are available into account. In this report we describe the development of an ad hoc heuristic algorithm that improves already existing feasible solutions to the snow removal problem. It accomplishes this by reassigning tasks from the vehicles with the longest tours to those with the shortest tours, followed by reordering their tasks to ensure that the solution remains feasible. This algorithm is meant to be implemented in a larger piece of software and it is tested on a set of pre-generated solutions for a given network and number of vehicles, including the best known ones. Over half of the previously best known solutions were improved by this algorithm.

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<p>Sweden experiences heavy snowfall during the winter season and cost effective road maintenance is significantly affected by the routing of snowplows. The routing problem becomes more complex as the SwedishNational Road Administration (Vägverket) sets operational requirements such as satisfying a time window for each road segment. </p><p>This thesis focuses on route optimization for snowplows after snowfall; to develop and implement an algorithm for finding combinations of generated routes which minimize the total cost. The results are compared to those stated in the licentiate thesis by Doctoral student Nima Golbaharan (2001). </p><p>The algorithm calculates a lower bound to the problem using a Lagrangian master problem. A common subgradient approach is used to find near-optimal dual variables to be sent to a column-generation program which returns routes for the snowplows. A greedy heuristic chooses a feasible solution, which gives an upper bound to the problem. This entire process is repeated as needed. </p><p>This method for routing snowplows produces favorable results with a relatively small number of routes and are comparable to Golbaharan's results. An interesting observation involves the allocation of vehicles in which certain depots were regularly over- or under-utilized. This suggests that the quantity and/or distribution of available vehicles may not be optimal.</p>

Sweden experiences heavy snowfall during the winter season and cost effective road maintenance is significantly affected by the routing of snowplows. The routing problem becomes more complex as the SwedishNational Road Administration (Vägverket) sets operational requirements such as satisfying a time window for each road segment. This thesis focuses on route optimization for snowplows after snowfall; to develop and implement an algorithm for finding combinations of generated routes which minimize the total cost. The results are compared to those stated in the licentiate thesis by Doctoral student Nima Golbaharan (2001). The algorithm calculates a lower bound to the problem using a Lagrangian master problem. A common subgradient approach is used to find near-optimal dual variables to be sent to a column-generation program which returns routes for the snowplows. A greedy heuristic chooses a feasible solution, which gives an upper bound to the problem. This entire process is repeated as needed. This method for routing snowplows produces favorable results with a relatively small number of routes and are comparable to Golbaharan's results. An interesting observation involves the allocation of vehicles in which certain depots were regularly over- or under-utilized. This suggests that the quantity and/or distribution of available vehicles may not be optimal.

Purpose: When introducing new construction standards arises some uncertainties due to overlapping with the old construction standards. Because of these uncertainties’ roofs have collapsed due to excessive snow loads. To ensure a safe workplace for companies responsible for snow removal, accepted means in connection with snow removal and the work environment will be studied. The final goal is to find and study new methods to make the work safer and more efficient. Method: The work contains both qualitative and quantitative data. The method is a case study with the data collection techniques measurement, observation, personal communication and document and literature study. All of these are necessary to be able to answer the questions and achieve the goal. Findings: The techniques used today regarding snow removal give a good result, but the majority are very time-consuming and risky for the employers who perform the work on the roofs. Several new techniques and means have been described that would be able to perform the same work in a more efficient and sustainable way seen from a work environment point of view. Implications: To limit the time spent on the roof would contribute to a safer workplace. Today there are several means and techniques that after being installed, can operate, and remove snow on its own. This would be safe and efficient. The only danger for the staff is when installing and maintenance. Limitations: The report is limited by the fact that not all types of roofs have been examined. The study focuses on roofs that are within a snow zone of 2.5 kN/m2 or lower. Keywords: Snow removal, working environment, low-sloping roofs, handle snow loads. / Syfte: Överlappningar när nya konstruktionsregler tagits fram har skapat osäkerhet kring dimensioneringar och tyvärr lett till att takras uppstår på grund av allt för stora snölaster. För att skapa en tryggare arbetsplats för företag som ansvarar för snöröjning kommer vedertagna hjälpmedel och tekniker i samband med snöröjning och hur arbetsmiljön ser ut vid pågående arbete studeras. Slutligen är målet att studera nya metoder som bidrar till ett effektivare och säkrare arbete. Metod: Arbetet består av både kvalitativa och kvantitativa data. Metoden som användas är fallstudie med datainsamlingsteknikerna mätning, observation, personlig kommunikation och litteraturstudie. Alla datainsamlingsteknikerna är nödvändiga för att kunna besvara frågeställningarna och uppnå målet. Resultat: Teknikerna som är vedertagna idag gällande snöröjning ger ett bra resultat men majoriteten är mycket tidskrävande och riskfyllda för personer som utför arbetet. Främst när det gäller arbetsmomenten som utförs uppe på tak. Flera nya tekniker och hjälpmedel har redovisats som skulle bidra till att företag kan utföra samma arbete på ett sätt som anses betydligt effektivare och mer hållbart ur arbetsmiljösynpunkt. Konsekvenser: Ett minskat arbete på tak skulle bidra till en säkrare arbetsplats. Det finns flertalet tekniker och hjälpmedel ute på marknaden som efter viss installation skulle kunna utföra snöröjningen på egen hand, vilket innebär en effektivisering. Detta innebär också att den enda risken som finns för personal är vid installation och underhåll och därmed är arbetsmiljön så säker som är möjligt. Begränsningar: Rapporten begränsas av att inte alla typer av tak undersökts. Studien fokuserar på tak som finns inom snözon 2,5 kN/m2 eller lägre. Nyckelord: Snöröjning, arbetsmiljö, låglutande tak, hantering snölaster.