China 
Africa 
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Risk Based Maintenance for Civil Structures
Published in Jaap Bakker, Dan M. Frangopol, Klaas van Breugel, Life-Cycle of Engineering Systems, 2017
B.R. Mante, N. Eekels, C.P.W.J. Genders
Failure mode analysis is used worldwide, for instance in the oil and gas industry. To determine a chance of failing, a system is decomposed into (often prefabricated, created in high volumes) components of which statistical information is known, like mean time to failure etc. Fixed civil structures, like bridges or viaducts, are mainly unique and built at the site. Therefore, analysis of the structures becomes more subjective and based on expert judgement. The consequence is that, for an individual risk, one can always argue that a chosen chance or effect category should be higher or lower. Sometimes there is no absolute ‘truth’. Therefore, we advise to combine competitor’s knowledge, at first in separate analysis of the same structures/(sub)systems within clear boundaries and then to evaluate, discuss and learn. Guided by an uninvolved, open-minded steering committee, this can help to create an ‘accepted’ set of agreements and perhaps assumptions as a foundation for a more standardized way of working.
Entrepreneurship in context
Published in Paul Trott, Dap Hartmann, Patrick van der Duin, Victor Scholten, Roland Ortt, Managing Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 2015
Paul Trott, Dap Hartmann, Patrick van der Duin, Victor Scholten, Roland Ortt
However, without wanting to pass judgement on this approach and perspective, it does not apply to the social (management) world, the world in which the entrepreneur has to conduct their business. This world is the subject of the social sciences, to which the management sciences belong. In this world, and with these kinds of science, man occupies a central position, individually and in coherence. In this world, truths are not fixed forever, but they change over time. Although many social phenomena are of all times, such as wars and economic crises, that does not mean that the same explanations are valid every time, which ultimately means that there are no fixed laws.
Legal proceedings
Published in Tim Deveaux, Bassett’s Environmental Health Procedures, 2019
Opinion is a judgement or belief not founded on certainty or proof, or an evaluation or judgement given by an expert. Opinion is the view you hold – the judgement you form, which need not be certain or proved to be true. If an officer can show he is properly informed and has considered his view, his opinion is valid, and he is entitled to act on it. Some legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, allows officers to act on opinion. See expert witnesses and opinion (p. 64).
An insider’s point of view: autoethnography in the construction industry
Published in Construction Management and Economics, 2019
Starting from the right-wrong-scheme, I slowly but constantly came to understand (or believe) that there is no such thing as universal truth. I cannot fully know the other I am interacting with nor can I fully know myself. All knowledge is constructed and can, therefore, be deconstructed. It is only a tiny piece of our environment that I can know, and I know it just from a particular point of view (Berlin 2013). Hence, I should not believe I can comprehend a situation thoroughly. There is always something I cannot know.