Category: Vehicles

Executive Summary

This report is on a proposed relational database system for a car maintenance company. The proposed relational database system is designed to track employee, customer, car and payment records of the company. The system is to be built using Microsoft Access relational database management system (RDBMS).

Therefore, the report highlights the need for a database system and includes the proposed design for a Microsoft Access database, which comprises organization processes, details on data inputs and information outputs, an Entity Relationship Diagram, a Data Dictionary, and possible report designs.

Introduction

As mentioned in the executive summary the relational database system is to be built using Microsoft Access. Relational database management systems (RDBMS) like Microsoft Access make information management for low and high volumes of data easy, safe and less costly compared to traditional book-keeping methods that are characterized by a lot of manual involvement and that take up a significant portion of office space.

Therefore, functional requirements (benefits) presented by the relational database system to the car maintenance company are that information management is going to be easy, the information will be safe and in effect the company is going to enjoy a reduced cost of operation.

The relational database for the car maintenance company comprises of four main tables namely Worker, Customer, Car and Payment. The Worker table tracks the company’s employee details, the Customers table tracks the company’s customer details, the Car table tracks the details of the cars serviced by the company and the Payment table tracks the payments made by customers to the company.

Input, process and output

The relational database is to be maintained by a database administrator who will be responsible for entering data into the database and querying the database for information.

The main input data is

1. Employee details
2. Customer details
3. Car details
4. Payment details

The main processes include:

1. Tracking employee details
2. Tracking customer details
3. Tracking car details
4. Determining the amount of work done in a given period
5. Tracking payment details
6. Tracking the earnings of the company
7. Computing the company’s earnings for a given period
8. Report generation

The main output and outcomes are:

1. Reports on the amount of work done in a given period and the subsequent earnings accrued
2. Reports on the amount of work to be done and its value.
3. Customized reports that serve as invoices for customers
4. Customized reports that serve as receipts for customers
5. Contact lists for workers
6. Contact list for customers

The first and second reports are generated from a query that extracts its data from the Car and Payment table. The third and fourth reports are based on a query that extracts data from the Customer, Car and Payment tables. The fifth report is based on a query extracting its data from the Worker table and the sixth report is based on a query extracting its data from the Customer table.

Entity-relationship diagram

The relational database for the car maintenance company comprises of four main entities, namely, Worker, Customer, Car and Payment. The following is the schema of the relational database:

Worker (Worker ID, Worker name, Contact NO, Expertness, Worker fare, Qualification)

Customer (Customer ID, FirstName, LastName, Street Address, Suburb, Post Code, Contact NO)

Car (Plate number, Make, Model, Colour, Year, Check-in time, Check-in date, Check-out time, Check-out date)

Payment (Invoice Number, Customer Name, payment Method, amount, Time of payment, Date of Payment)

Car_Worker ( Record ID, Plate Number, Worker ID)

The relation Car_Worker is a junction-table, which breaks down the many to many-to-many relationship that exists between the car and Worker relations.

The following is the entity relationship diagram for the proposed relational database system.

Relationships and business rules

The main relationships between the entities can be shown in the following rules:

1. One customer can bring in multiple cars to be serviced.
2. One customer can make multiple payments.
3. One worker can work on multiple cars
4. One car can be worked on by multiple workers

These are the main business rules that will influence directly on the database design:

1. The database administrator is in charge of the whole database. The database administrator is the only one mandated to make changes to the structure of the database and the data therein.
2. For each worker in the company, the following details should be available: the workers name, contact number, expertness, fare and academic qualification. Additionally, the worker should be assigned an identification that is unique to him or her.
3. For each customer the following details should be available: the customer’s first name, last name, street address, Suburb, postal code and contact number. Additionally, the customer should be assigned an identification that is unique to him or her.
4. For each car being serviced in the company, the following details should be available: The car’s plate number, make, model, colour, year it was manufactured, and time and date it was brought in and collected. By default, no two cars can have the same number plate.
5. For each payment made by a customer to the company, the following details should be supplied: an invoice number, name of customer who made the payment, the payment method, amount that was paid, the time and date the payment was made.
6. Payment method can be either cash or credit.
7. Contact numbers should be telephone numbers only.
8. A customer can bring in as many cars as he or she wishes to be serviced.
9. Multiple workers can work on a single car.
10. A single worker can work on multiple cars.
11. Cars dropped in the company for servicing cannot be picked on the same date they were brought in.

Data dictionary

Current Implications and Future Expansion to Database

The proposed relational database system will make information management for the company easy. Reports and lists generated from the system capture the information needs of the company at any level of specification desired by the company.

Even with these benefits, the system’s full potential has not yet been realized. The following paragraph captures additional information that can be extracted from the database in its future. This information is useful in the management of the company.

With sufficient data in the system and by running appropriate queries against the database, the company can determine the effectiveness of its employees as well as determine its customers’ loyalty.

Additionally, the system can enable the company rate its services by expanding it to accommodate details relating to customer satisfaction with the job done on his or her car. The system can be expanded to accommodate data on car problems. With this data, the company can determine which problem it encounters frequently enabling it to tell which kind of experts it needs.

Aim

The purpose of this paper is to develop a set of strategies that would enable a fire service to reduce the number of accidents involving its vehicles. This problem has long attracted the attention of policy-makers and administrators since such risks can pose a threat to the lives and health of many people. Furthermore, they inevitably entail great damage to the equipment and subsequent repairmen costs. This plan is aimed at providing solutions to this problem.

Objectives

The main objective that has to be attained is to improve the efficiency of fire vehicle drivers and provide them with technologies that allow them to avoid accidents. In this case, the measure of success will be the number of accidents that occur when firefighters respond to the call or return from an emergency. Overall, there are several solutions to this problem:

1. To provide additional training to the vehicle drivers so that they were able to reach the emergency site as quickly as possible while avoiding accidents (Hargett, 2005, p 25).
2. To make more extensive use of technologies available to drivers; in particular, we need to speak about GPS (Global Positioning System) navigators that enable the drivers to map out the most optimal route.

Business Case

Benefits

Provided that this project is implemented successfully, the fire service will be able to obtain both qualitative and quantitative benefits. The qualitative benefits include the reduced risks for the life of firefighters, as well as civilian drivers and pedestrians. Additionally, this project will help the fire service diminish the cost of repairing both vehicles and equipment. Finally, it should be noted that the fire service often has to pay compensation to the civilians for the injuries and damages that they sustained. This plan will allow them to avoid this risk.

Costs

The costs, associated with this project can be divided into four large groups: 1) the cost of the training program; 2) the procurement of GPS navigators; 3) material costs – stationery, printing as well as office rental. 3) the compensation to each member of the project team. However, at this point, it is too early to estimate the exact amount of money that has to be invested into this project because it is necessary to determine which kind of training program should be offered to the drivers and which one gives the best price-quality ratio. Furthermore, we need to ascertain which kind of GPS device should be purchased, and most importantly where it should be purchased.

Tasks

This project will include a wide range of activities which can be presented in the following way.

Preliminary stage

1. Preparation of project initiation documentation.
2. Milestone. Acceptance of this project by the administration of the fire rescue service.
3. Initial research of the problem.
4. A series of interviews with firefighters and administrators.

Development of the training program

1. Assessment of different training programs available to firefighters.
2. Consultations with professional associations and governmental officials.
3. Milestone. The selection of the training program and its approval by the administrators of fire rescue service.

Procurement of GPS navigators

1. Assessment of different GPS devices available on the market.
2. Consultations with governmental experts.
3. Milestone. Evaluations of offerings made different vendors of GPS navigators. Probably some of them provide discounts to wholesale buyers and it will be possible to buy this devices at a wholesale price.

Implementation stage

1. Milestone Training offered to each of driver of fire vehicle.
2. Milestone. Procurement and installation of GPS devices.
3. Follow-up assessment.

Precedence Chart

At this point, it is vital for us to demonstrate how these activities will be organized. It can be done with the help of a precedence chart.

Staffing

The project team will consist of project manager, project coordinator, HR manager, and a group of interviewers. However, one should also take into account governmental and private experts that will assist us with the implementation of this plan.

Risk management plan

There are several risks that we should be aware of; they are as follows: lack of financial resources for the project, unwillingness of administrators to accept this project and provide proper funding, and the failure of the project to yield the expected results. These risks can be minimized through:

1. In-depth research of the problem and finding sufficient evidence supporting the plan;
2. Assessment of the driver’s needs;
3. Meticulous planning of the training program;
4. Evaluation of different GPS devices available to the drivers.

We need to make sure that each of these steps contributes to the solution of the problem.

Documents management plan

The documents, related to this project will be placed into the following categories:

1. Financial documentation (receipts and price catalogues);
2. The results of our research concerning training programs;
3. Charts, diagrams, and other statistical information of related to the plan;
4. Reports about the team’s progress.

These documents will be accessible primarily to the administrators of fire rescue services; there will be both hard and soft copies of these documents.

References

Hargett. Ernest. 2005. Preventing Emergency Vehicle Accidents in the Philadelphia Fire Department. Philadelphia Fire Department. Web.

Rohr. David. 2003. Developing a Comprehensive Driver Training Program for the Fairfax Country and Rescue Department. National Fire Academy. Web.

The automotive sector is an area where technology is developing very rapidly. Over the past decade, the evolution of self-driving cars has accelerated and achieved great popularity. Self—driving cars use a wide range of sensors to understand the environment around the vehicle and use this information to navigate the streets to their destination – without human help. Most vehicles on the roads today have some form of automation. Since self-driving cars can theoretically react faster than human drivers and do not get behind the wheel drunk, do not write text messages while driving, and do not get tired, they should significantly improve the safety of vehicles. However, the self-drive automotive industry’s biggest problem is handling unforeseen situations and vulnerability to hacking systems.

Self-driving cars cannot always adequately assess the situation and, as a result, react correctly. The moral dilemma is based on the idea that artificial intelligence in self—driving vehicles cannot conclude several favorable outcomes – or, for that matter, the “least bad” effects. A classic example is an autonomous vehicle that decided to drive off the road, possibly killing the driver inside, to avoid a collision with a school bus full of children (Stilgoe, 2021). People use common sense to cope with unexpected driving phenomena: a deer runs out on the highway. Flooding makes it difficult or impossible to move along the road. Cars are floating, trying to climb the icy hill (Lobanova & Evtiukov, 2020). Unfortunately, no one knows how to embed common sense into cars or computers. Instead of common sense capabilities, ADS developers should anticipate and code every possible situation. Since self-driving cars obey all rules and regulations, an individual vehicle and a more significant traffic flow can move slower and less organically. These cars were described as student drivers: slow, conservative, and timid (Stilgoe, 2021). Machine learning can only help if manufacturers anticipate every situation and provide training examples for every possible situation. Thus, self-driving cars are not always able to move. Compared with a person, they lack such a thing as the human factor, which is sometimes very useful on the roads.

Another problem for self-driving cars is that computer vision systems are prone to errors since they can be deceived in a way that people cannot be deceived. For example, researchers have shown that minor changes to the speed limit sign can cause a machine learning system to think that the sign says 85 miles per hour, not 35 miles per hour (Stilgoe, 2021). Similarly, some hackers tricked the Tesla autopilot into changing lanes by using brightly colored stickers to create a fake route (Stilgoe, 2021). In both cases, these changes deceived cars but not people. Hackers who get into the car’s software and control its operation or influence its function can become a severe problem. These are just a few ways an attacker can confuse cars or trucks, forcing them to move off the road or collide with obstacles. In addition to particular attempts to deceive autopilot systems, sometimes errors occur in the natural environment. The first accident involving a Tesla electric car, in which a person died, occurred on 2016, on a highway in Florida. Then a Tesla Model S sedan drove under a semi-trailer truck. “Neither the autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the semi—trailer against the background of the brightly lit sky, so the brakes did not activate,” Tesla commented on the tragedy (Stilgoe, 2018). Thus, self-driving cars cannot be entirely relied on since their systems can be deceived.

The most important aspect of autonomous cars is accident liability. Who is responsible for an accident caused by an unmanned vehicle? In the case of autonomous cars, the software will be the main component that will drive the vehicle and make all the crucial decisions. While in the initial projects, a person was physically behind the wheel, in the new projects demonstrated by Google, there is no dashboard or steering wheel (Stilgoe, 2021). In such constructions, where there are no controls in the car, such as the steering wheel, brake pedal, or accelerator pedal, a person in the vehicle will not be able to drive the car in the event of an adverse incident. In addition, due to the nature of autonomous vehicles, passengers will mostly be relaxed and may not pay close attention to traffic conditions. In addition, as drivers get used to not getting behind the wheel, their skills and experience will decrease. If they ever need to drive a car under certain circumstances, there will be problems. Automakers have reported nearly 400 car crashes with partially automated driver assistance systems, including 273 involving Tesla vehicles (Stilgoe, 2021). Thus, there are legal gaps in the use of unmanned vehicles.

There is also an opinion that self-driving cars are safer than people-driven cars. A person causes the vast majority of road accidents. After all, most accidents were caused by some human error, whether it was speeding, reckless driving, inattention, or, even worse, drunk driving. It is estimated that fully automated vehicles can reduce the number of road accidents by 90% (Lobanova & Evtiukov, 2020). On the other hand, self-driving cars are purely analytical, relying on cameras, radars, and other sensors for navigation. However, for example, in actual driving, many Tesla owners report that shadows, for instance, from tree branches, are often perceived by their cars as natural objects (Nees, 2019). In the case of the Uber test car that killed a pedestrian, the car’s object recognition software first classified the pedestrian as an unknown object, then as a vehicle, and finally as a bicycle (Nees, 2019). In 2018, a Tesla Model X crossover in California went off the highway and crashed into a bump during unmanned mode and adaptive cruise control (Stilgoe, 2021). Thus, self-driving cars are still not more attentive on the road than a car driven by a person.

There are good reasons to believe self-driving cars will be safer than human drivers. They never get tired, do not write messages at the wheel, and do not get behind the wheel after drinking. However, at the moment, there are more compelling reasons to assume that self-driving cars will not be safer. No one knows how to embed common sense into computers. Many facts demonstrate that some types of autonomous vehicles cannot cope with unforeseen road situations. Moreover, they are also more vulnerable to hacking systems and generally more prone to errors due to incorrect data analysis. Also, there is a moral dilemma regarding regulating road traffic accidents with unmanned vehicles. Thus, it can be concluded that, at this point, self-driving cars are not safer than cars with a person at the wheel.

References

Lobanova, Y., & Evtiukov, S. (2020). Role and methods of accident ability diagnosis in ensuring traffic safety. Transportation Research Procedia, 50, 363-372. Web.

Nees, M. A. (2019). Safer than the average human driver (who is less safe than me)? Examining a popular safety benchmark for self-driving cars. Journal of Safety Research, 69, 61-68. Web.

Stilgoe, J. (2018). Machine learning, social learning and the governance of self-driving cars. Social Studies Of Science, 48(1), 25-56. Web.

Stilgoe, J. (2021). How can we know a self-driving car is safe? Ethics and Information Technology, 23(4), 635-647. Web.

Project Objectives/Scope

Project description:

• Designing a new car with autopilot feature and an improved engine;
• Introducing the finished product into the global market.

Automotive industry in the 21st century:

• Toyota: innovative solutions, improved technical characteristics;
• Tesla: environmentally safe e-cars;
• Recent increase in the success of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) (“Global automotive executive survey 2017,” 2017).

The project is aimed at launching a new car into the global automotive market. The car is going to have a range of features including an improved engine and autopilot features. Therefore, despite the impressive competition from BEVs, it is bound to be a success.

Project Charter

Project objectives:

• Global car market exploration and trends identification;
• Brand image and branding strategy design;
• Creating a marketing approach and building a competitive advantage.

Project scope statement:

• Objective: introducing a new car into the global market;
• Deliverables: 0.1% of the market share or more;
• Milestones:

The project implies the design and the further promotion of a new car with autopilot functions and an improved engine in the global market. To complete the said objectives, one will have to research the target market, create the product, and brand it appropriately. The project is expected to be finished by August 31, 2017.

The product will come in three colors and 13 models. The project will require the financial backing of $100,000. The expected market share is 0.1%.

Stakeholders’ Analysis

Stakeholders of the project include Project Developers (creating the car). Managers (directing the project). Suppliers (providing raw materials), Distributors (delivering the product to the end customer), Investors (supporting the project financially), Customers (purchasing the cars), and Shareholders (governing the project).

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

1. Project outline: determining the key steps;
2. Leadership strategy creation: focusing on the transformational approach;
3. Product design: defining the features of the car;
4. Technology improvement: introducing the latest IT tools;
5. Target market research: identifying the key competitors;
6. Financial strategy development: introducing the principles of sustainability and lean management;
7. Risk management strategy development: using the available resources;
8. Exit strategy identification: a merger as a possibility;
9. Communication strategy development: cooperation as the priority;
10. Marketing campaign: incorporating the latest tools;
11. Promotion campaign: a unique brand image;
12. Product distribution: traditional distribution model.

It is crucial that the project should include the stages that involve the leadership strategy, as well as the focus on the product design. With a proper leadership framework, one will be able to keep the participants motivated. Furthermore, it will be necessary to focus on incorporating the latest technology and setting the quality standards high. The identified processes should be carried out along with the exploration of the target market. As soon as the crucial risks are identified, the marketing campaign should be carried out, with the following distribution of the product.

Project Plan/Network

The project network implies that the required steps will have to be accomplished in the following order:

• Product outline (car design, incorporation of innovative techniques, etc.);
• Leadership strategy design (preferably with the focus on the transformational leadership approach);
• Quality management (active use of the Six Sigma tools (particularly, DMAIC) and the Total Quality Management (TQM) framework) (Pyzdek & Keller, 2014);
• Procurement strategy design (with the emphasis on reducing time and costs during the delivery processes);
• Market analysis (a more detailed examination of the competitors, their advantages, and how they can be beaten in the context of the global market);
• Financial strategy design and risk management tools identification;
• Marketing and promotion, which are followed b product distribution (Larson & Gray, 2011).

Reducing Project Duration

• Increase of repeatability and reproducibility rates among the participants;
• Earned Duration Management as the essential tool;
• Enhancing information management among the key stakeholders (particularly, executives, managers, and suppliers).

The project incorporates all major tools for cutting the time taken to complete it.For instance, the emphasis on improving the repeatability and reproducibility of the production processes needs to be mentioned. The identified strategies serve as the means of bringing down the number of defects made during the production. Consequently, the project duration drops, whereas the quality of the product rises.

It is also noteworthy that the project includes the Earned Duration Management (EDM) framework as the device for reducing time significantly. EDM helps eliminate the financial data from the scheduling process, thus, making it less convoluted (Marquez & Lev, 2016). Finally, the focus on an improved data management needs to be listed among the key techniques.

Project Communication Plan

Internal Communication

• Reports;
• Weekly meetings;
• Intranet;
• E-mail;
• Organizational support

External Communication

• E-mails;
• Blogs;
• Vlogs;
• Online surveys;
• Hotlines;
• Online chats.

In order to maintain consistent communication between the managers and the employees, one should consider active use of reports and e-mail. Furthermore, to make sure that the staff’s requests are heard and taken into account, the project should have an intranet for corporate communication Weekly meetings will help communicate the key roles and responsibilities to the staff.

External communication (i.e., the conversation with customers) will be supported with the help of e-mails, blogs/vlogs, and online surveys. The latter are especially important as the means of gathering feedback from the target population. In addition, a hotline and online chats will be used to respond to the clients’ requests immediately (Laasch & Conaway, 2014).

Assumptions, Exclusions, Dependencies, and Other Major Issues

Assumptions, Exclusions, and Dependencies

• It is assumed that the members of the project will deliver the performance of the required quality;
• It has been calculated that the project budget will be enough for completing the objectives;
• The time frame should be viewed as the key constraint;
• The Start-to-Finish framework will be deployed.

How They Have Been Handled

• Transformational leadership was used to enhance motivation and performance levels among the participants;
• An efficient strategy for addressing the financial risks based on the principles of sustainability was utilized;
• An elaborate schedule was designed.

It is believed that the performance of the people involved in the project will meet the required standards due to the usage of the transformational Leadership framework. The budget of $100,000 is also considered to be enough to complete the said goals. The time issue will have to be addressed appropriately so that the project should meet the deadlines. With the help of the Start-to-Finish framework, one will be able to carry out the necessary steps properly (Chatfield & Johnson, 2013).

Scope, Time and Cost Constraints

Scope

• Introducing a new car into the global market;
• Gaining new customers.

Time

• Several months for project development;
• Significant time constraints may lead to quality issues.

Cost

• The budget does not allow for numerous expenses to be taken;
• The principles of lean production and sustainability may help address the cost issues.

The scope can be deemed as an important constraint since it the objectives revolve primarily around gaining new audience as opposed to keeping them invested.

As stressed above, the project is restricted significantly as far as the time is concerned. Particularly, it is necessary to deliver the product to the target customers before the competitors come up with a similar concept (i.e., within the next few months). Furthermore, the a number of expenses that the participants can afford is rather limited, which means that the support of investors may be required.

Project Lessons Learned

• Flexible leadership strategy;
• Efficient conflict management approach;
• Using compromise-based negotiation strategies;
• Focusing on innovation;
• Enhancing communication as the key to success;
• Encouraging the participants to acquire new knowledge and skills.

The project has shown that it is crucial to be a good leader that convinces the staff members to use conflicts as the source of sensible solutions to the problems. Furthermore, the significance of innovation as the basis for success needs to be mentioned. Finally, the quality of communication defines the efficacy of the participants’ performance, as the project shows.

Use of Lessons Learned for the Future

• Promoting change and improvement as the basis for the project development and implementation;
• Detailing the significance of communication and cooperation to the people involved in the project;
• Creating an efficient strategy for improving the team members’ competencies.

The implications of the project indicate that the organizational behavior of the team members and the choice of the leadership strategy play a significant part in the overall outcome. Therefore, it is essential to make sure that the proper leadership approach is used to reinforce the communication process and encourage the participants to share the available information. Moreover, the team members must feel inclined to acquire new skills and knowledge and use them to advance the project. Thus, an impressive success can be expected, and the foundation for the further accomplishments will be set.

Project Documentation

• Using intranet as the means of transferring and collecting the relevant information;
• Recording the crucial events with the help of the electronic tools;
• Making the staff members submit reports detailing the actions taken in the course of the project on a daily basis.

All important steps of the project must be documented properly. Corporate databases will be used to store the crucial data, whereas the organization’s intranet will be utilized to transfer and collect it. Finally, reports submitted by the staff members on a daily basis will serve as the source of crucial information.

Next Steps

• High-level timing goals;
• Relationship to other projects;
• Ultimate goal of project.

The project closure includes setting the premises for a follow-up project.

References

Chatfield, C., & Johnson, T. (2013). Microsoft Project 2013 step by step. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Global automotive executive survey 2017. Web.

Laasch, O., & Conaway, R. N. (2014). Principles of responsible management: Global sustainability, responsibility, and ethics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Cengage Learning.

Larson, E. W., & Gray, G. E. (2011). Project management (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.

Marquez, P. F. G., & Lev, B. (2016). Big Data management. New York, NY: Springer.

Pyzdek, T., & Keller, P. (2014). The Six Sigma handbook (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.

A brief explanation of air to fuel ratio

The air-fuel ratio is the volume ratio of air to fuel available in an internal combustion engine of cars or industrial furnaces (Martins, 2012). The stoichiometric mixture ratio (stoic) results from an adequate supply of air to ensure the total combustion of all the fuel in the system. The exact air to fuel ratio (AFR) may be determined by specifying the content of the oxygen in the combustion system and accounting for possible water vapor dilution and any oxygen additions. The ratio is critical for evaluating anti-pollution and engine performance. Usually, richer mixtures have lower AFR. AFR asserts that “for every unit by mass of gasoline, 14.7 units by mass of air must also be present in the combustion chamber during ignition” (Martins, 2012).

In the air-fuel ratio control system for car engines, the engine may operate at a given condition like deceleration and acceleration. The stoich controls the air to fuel ratio in the combustion system. A termination of specified conditions causes the AFR to change from the stoich to a lower ratio. A lower ratio offers the best fuel consumption. This may be changed by specifying the preferred operating conditions for the combustion engine. Any specified operating conditions result in an immediate change from the optimum fuel consumption. A specified period may also control change in optimum fuel consumption and stoich.

Why do we need feedback control?

With effective feedback, one may be able to control events. The fundamental concept in feedback control is that some physical quantities and events require control in a manner that ensures that such activities take on the specified conditions and values. In some cases, the conditions may even assume some pre-determined values during an operation (Mastascusa, n.d).

A feedback control system provides an opportunity to control quantities and determine what may be done. In other words, a feedback control system ensures the effective implementation of any devised concept. For instance, Dubois Van Til, and Zorka (1996) considered the application of the digital feedback control to an automobile engine Air-Fuel (A/F) ratio system in order to develop an inexpensive digital controller, which relied on the existing HEGO sensor. Such a system would enhance efficiency by improving performance, eliminating expensive sensors, and reducing costs of systems in the automotive industry.

An analogue feedback control system in the air to fuel ratio with a block diagram

The analogue control system consists of a linear amplifier (a conventional analogue device and a circuit). The conventional control systems were analogue because of the technology at the time. The analogue feedback system allows for immediate detection of any changes and the amplifier adjusts the changes to the required outputs.

Designs of analogue feedback control systems differ. Generally, they include operational amplifier and other analogue components, which ensure effective integration of control systems and feedback loop.

The analogue system shown in figure 1 consists of the following:

• A throttle angle signal;
• An analogue controller;
• The controlled plant;
• A feedback signal;
• Subtracter for voltage comparison (Martins, 2012).

In this case, the designer used a potentiometer to act as a voltage divider with a knob that that worked like the preferred throttle angle. This stage resulted in the conversion signals to voltage.

The potentiometer and the sensing range of the throttle had a similar voltage dividing range to ensure that any turn of the potentiometer would correspond to movements (wide or closed) in both directions.

It was also imperative to note that both the operational voltage range and the throttle position sensor match to ensure that actuation error moves to zero when the throttle achieved the preferred set point angle. This is necessary to avoid actuation error, which is not zero and to reduce any instability of the control system.

It is critical to subtract the gauged feedback signal from the input signal to allow the feedback control system to use the actuation error in effective control of the system. An operation amplifier and few resistors may be used to develop a voltage subtracter with preferred values.

The analogue feedback controller must transmit the actuation error and command signal as required to reduce system errors. A simple control system would require a proportional controller for actuation and control to allow it to function effectively. In other words, a control system can only emit signals that correspond to the error. On the contrary, when there is no actuation error, the control system cannot transmit any signal. Therefore, the analogue feedback control allows for positioning of a steady-state error. The system consists of a return spring for restoring the valve to an idle position when the drive motor system does not create any torque. The torque controls the return spring and ensures that it is at the preferred angle.

The analogue feedback control consists of an error integration unit to restrict the steady-state error and enhance valve actuation. A control effort may be used in the valve motor when the actuation error is combined in other specifications even if its zero.

The analogue Proportional-Integral (PI) controller cannot work directly with the throttle body DC motor due to higher current flows within the motor from its sensing and amplification circuit parts.

Generally, processes are analogue in nature, and such processes consume time as they move from one position to another (Kilian, 2000). Hence, the normal feedback control systems are analogue. This implies that, in most cases, the digital feedback control must first change the actual analogue signal into digital form for subsequent transmission. Conversely, any output from “a digital control system must also be changed into analogue form” (Kilian, 2000).

A digital feedback control system in air to fuel ratio with a block diagram

The digital feedback control consists of a digital circuit, which could be a computer microprocessor or microcontroller-based circuit (Kilian, 2000).

Car engines use an electronic engine control system to regulate the amount of fuel that goes into the engine (Dubois et al, 1996). This relies on the output of the sensor of the exhaust oxygen gas as elements of a feedback control system of the air to fuel ratio. Many modern cars rely on digital controllers. The design could be a discrete or continuous time model with the pole placement or PID technique (Lee and Haddad, 2002). Another technique involves a highly complex heuristic process in which conversions of output signals take place from Analogue-to-Digital (A/D) and Digital-to-Analogue (D/A). Control constraints are also evaluated in this process.

Car combustion inventions may differ. However, the common models may use two exhaust gas oxygen sensors (HEGO) to apply the digital feedback control. Both sensors are located at the upstream and downstream to provide feedback signals. A system for controlling signals from both ends is necessary.

In the digital feedback control, the major design goal is to enhance the steady-state performance of the controlled PI system. The physical AFR system may only receive signals from the HEGO sensor output and other control inputs. The digital feedback system should have high capabilities relative to the set point in order to receive the signals from the HEGO sensor.

The design of the digital feedback system must account for the value of the HEGO sensor output (Dubois et al, 1996). In addition, it must be able to recognise any changes in the output based on the pre-determined or defined operation conditions. The feedback system may also account for the values of the previous input.

Advantages of a digital feedback control

A feedback control system monitors changes that can affect a process due to constant changes in its environment. An open-loop system may allow alterations and inaccurate data to create imprecise outputs and unreliable data (Kilian, 2000). Conversely, the closed-loop system detects any alterations and strives to restore outputs in their correct forms (Kilian, 2000). Thus, a feedback control system should be sensitive to changes in processes (Kilian, 2000).

The digital feedback control can be changed to provide the desired outputs by modifying the feedback loop components. The system can partially reduce impacts of signal interference. Signal disturbance could result into inaccurate output.

References

Dubois, M. J., Van Til, R. P., and Zorka, N. G. (1996). Digital Control of an Automobile Engine Air-Fuel Ratio System. Proceedings of the 1996 IEEE International Conference on Control Applications (pp. 792-797). Dearborn, MI: IEEE. Web.

Kilian, C. T. (2000). Modern Control Technology: Components and Systems (2nd ed.). Connecticut: Delmar Thomson Learning. Web.

Lee, K-S., and Haddad, A.H. (2002). Stabilization of discrete-time quantized control systems. American Control Conference, 5, 3506 – 3511. Web.

Martins, T. V. (2012). Analog and Digital Control of an Electronic Throttle Valve. Boston: MIT Department of Mechanical Engineering. Web.

Mastascusa, E. J. (n.d). An Introduction To Control Systems. Web.

What was described in the proposed video material reflects the urgent need for the intellectualization of automatic unmanned devices, namely the ability to independently build a route map depending on the obstacles encountered on the way. An ocean environment is a primary place where this mathematical tool for control is needed since the water column contains a number of barriers: flocks of fish, coral reefs, islands, contaminated layers, or any other obstacle to the free movement of AUVs (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012). Nevertheless, such a model of energy minimization combined with optimization of travel time is also fair for any other vehicle: from the highway to outer space.

More than eight years have passed since this video was released, and during this time, humankind has made significant progress in automated technologies. Elon Mask’s drones, which have become commonplace, demonstrate the unique ability to bypass barriers on the road and in emergency areas, as is typical for AUVs. However, the machine cannot use the features of the air environment as it does submersible with currents and whirlpools. Then it is appropriate to shift attention to drones and automatic aircraft that can cut through air currents and use cyclone winds as a natural accelerator on the road. On the other hand, if drones travel in any of the geometric formations, modifying the distance between them may be an appropriate strategy for maintaining battery power. For space vehicles, such technology is also relevant, but it is worth understanding that drones in space deal with an airless environment, and the use of vortices or currents there is impossible. Still, spacecraft can use gravity distortions, wormholes, and black holes to optimize travel time or reduce battery usage.

Reference

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). (2012). Optimal paths for automated underwater vehicles (AUVs) [Video]. YouTube. Web.

Introduction

There has been improvement in technology across the globe in the past few decades. This has resulted in significant changes in the way things used to be done in various fields. Some of the fields that have been affected include car manufacture industries, homes, medical fields, movie industry as well as advancement in computer technology. This paper is aimed at looking at some of the changes that have resulted in these areas due to improvement in technology.

Effects of technological advancement in car production

In the past decades, people complained of the quality of vehicles that used to be produced. Some of the complaints made were the vehicles were tiring for people who used to travel over long distances. This is because the cars were manually operated. The cars polluted environment with the smoke they produced while others complained that they vehicles were not fast as they expected. It took people a lot of time to travel from one place to another. Improvement in technology has led to production of automatic vehicles. Nowadays it is possible for one to drive his or her car remotely. One does not have to be involved in a lot of manual operations as it was before. There has also been establishment of vehicles that travel at a very fast speed. These include vehicles such as Feralli. This has resulted in reduction of time spent in traveling from one place to another. The adverse effects brought about by cars polluting environment has resulted in need for production of vehicles that are less polluting the environment. To achieve this, it has called for the need of production of vehicles that do not use petroleum products as source of power. Advancement in technology has resulted in manufacture of cars that use hydrogen as fuel. Currently, most of the automobile industries are concentrating on production of cars that use hydrogen as their source of power. Cars that use hydrogen as fuel include race cars, bus and tracks. The pictures below show examples of cars that use hydrogen as their fuel.

How technological development has helped improve life expectancy

Another contribution that has been made by technological advancement is improvement in life expectancy. There has been emergence of new technological methods in surgery as well as treatment. For many years people have been dying due to poor treatment methods as well as unsuccessful surgeries. Today doctors are able to conduct their surgeries through use of machines which are accurate leading to reduction in errors that might be caused by human. Since the introduction of technology in medical field, life expectancy of American citizens has been seen to improve with year two thousand and four recording the average life expectancy of Americans as seventy seven years. Improvement in technology has also led to production of effective drugs. One of the breakthroughs that have resulted from technological advancement is production of anti-retroviral drugs. For many years people have been dying from HIV and AIDS at a high rate. Production of anti-retroviral drugs has seen people living for up to or even over twenty years with the disease (Chow, 2009, para. 2). Technology has resulted in production of life supporting machines. These has been used to support human life for those whom some of their body organs fail to function. With availability of machines pumping and purifying blood for patients, people have been able to survive under the support of these machines for even up to twenty years. For many years people have died from air contamination such as carbon monoxide released by vehicles as well as coal in the atmosphere. Improvement in technology has led to people being able to produce vehicles and combustion chambers that completely burn this fuel getting rid of carbon monoxide. This has significantly contributed in improving life expectancy. The picture below shows some of the HIV drugs that have helped in improving life expectancy (Chow, 2009, para. 5).

Effects of technological advancement to our homes

Improvement in technology has not only affected the way we now build our homes but has also significantly changed the kind of products and equipments used at homes. For many years people have not been using hardwood to make their floors due to floors loosing their beauty after a short period of time. Floors could also not last for a long period before wearing out. This discouraged many from using hardwood on their floors. Improvement in technology has resulted in people coming up with other products that strengthen hardwood floors making them beautiful and durable than before (Rob, 1999, para. 1-3). Establishment of polyurethane has led to people using hardwood in constructing their floors. Advent of nanotechnology has led to increase in use of its products at homes. Some of the products manufactured through this technology include socks that prevent one from being infected with fungal diseases, shirts that do not get stains, boardshorts that protect people from sun burn and building paints.

Latest technological inventions

Most of the latest inventions in technology appear to be inclined to communication. One of the latest inventions is introduction of square in communication industry. This is a plug-in that is attached to mobile phones helping people to make and receive payments through credit cards. Square uses a scanner that is put in the audio jack of the phone. When the credit card is swiped, all the information from the card is read and transferred to one’s bank account. There has also been invention of new form of chips that are transparent. These chips are referred to as transparent resistive random access memory (TRRAM). With this technology it has become possible for people to use mirrors and windows found at home as television screens or computer monitors. Technological advancement has also led to invention of new types of tires through biomimicry. Biomimicry stands for science that mimics natural world to manufacture new products. These tires have the capability of going flat (Inventor-strategy.com, 2010, para. 2-5). Instead of relying on pressure the tires have been designed using six-sided cells that are arranged in a manner representing a honeycomb. This has helped in reduction of noise made by ordinary tires as well as heat generation.

Effects of technology on working environment

Improvement in information communication technology has results in flexibility in working environment. One of the major contributors to this is introduction of mobile computing and enhanced communication. It has become easy for people organize their works in a way that they are able to meet other responsibilities such as civic duties and family obligations. Availability of fast and readily available internet has led to many people being allowed to work from home. People are now capable of accessing organization severs from homes making organizations relax their conditions on where employees are supposed to work from (Forlanda, 2009, para. 1). For many years people have been forced to travel to work places. It was hard for one to work from home as he or she did not have access to organization servers. It was also hard for employers to monitor remote employees working out of the organization’s office.

For people working in chemical manufacturing industries, they have been suffering from gases produced during their operations. Their working environment has been too dangerous with a lot of people falling sick due to inhaling these gases. Incorporation of technology in these industries has facilitated in elimination of these gases making working environment clean for employees. Some of the poisonous gas produced in these industries is now neutralized or converted to less harmful gas before being emitted to the environment. Most of the companies have been conducting almost all of their operations manually (Forlanda, 2009, para. 3). This has left many employees fatigued to an extent of not being able to work the following day. As a result many companies have suffered loss to low employee productivity. Advancement in technology has led to most of the operations being mechanized. This has reduced the amount of workload that employees used to encounter.

Advancement in computer technology

In the last five years, people complained of limited specifications and functionalities that most computers had. It was hard for one to perform most of their tasks using computers. Limited storage space that computers had meant that one could only store limited information in them. Today, a lot of strides have been made with respect to development in computer technology. There are computers with big storage space ranging up to two hundred and fifty gigabits. Graphics representation in computers has also significantly improved. Currently, it is possible for people to view and present graphics in three dimensions. Another improvement that has been noticed in computer technology is improvement in operating speed. Currently, there are computers with big random access memory making them fast in processing speed. Increase in need for functionalities performed by computers has led to development of portable computers or the laptops (Shoman, 2010, para. 1). Laptops have been made thinner and with increased features. Currently, there are laptops with web cams. This has made it possible for people to communicate face-to-face through laptops. Their batteries have also been improved making them store more charge than before. Inclusion of DVD-burning capabilities in laptops has also led to increment in functions that these computers can perform.

In the past computer manufacturers concentrated on improving storage space and processing speed. The latest technology has resulted in production of hard drives and random access memories that allow one to store and transfer a lot of data from one computer to another through networked systems. Communication over network through computers has been made easy (Shoman, 2010, para. 3). There have been productions of mini-computers which are handheld such as personal digital assistant (PDA). A month ago, Stealth Ideas Inc., invented a flash drive that can enable one to surf the internet without disclosing his or her identity. The device has been named StealthSurfer II ID. Problem that was being experienced when it came to viewing data stored in handheld devices has also been solved. There has been introduction of DigiMemo 629 Digital Notepad. It is now possible to record information stored on handheld devices with ink. The device stores all collected data and does not require one to scan the data. It has a cable that allows one to transfer the data to his or her personal computer. Another area that has been seen to develop fast in computer technology is the area of computer games. There has been invention of new computer games such as Xbox 360.This is a system that facilitates in playing of video games over the computers. The system can also be used in playing DVDs, MP3s and CDs (Shoman, 2010, para. 5).

Movies involving technology

Improvement in technology has also been experienced in movie industry. It was not possible for people to watch movies online. This was due to cost and conditions that were to be met for one to be allowed to watch movie online. Today, it is possible for people to watch movies online thanks to technological advancement. Development in technology has resulted in establishment of three dimension movies. However, these movies have not yet been fully released in the movie industry due to various requirements that need to be made before they are allowed to be viewed. Production of these movies requires special cameras used to capture images in three dimensions. To view the movie, one is required to wear special type of glasses (Parrack, 2008, para. 2-4).

Technology used in the medical field

Technology has led to significant changes in the medical field. Some of the changes that have occurred include disease prevention methods, testing methods, surgery as well as treatment. Technology has resulted in development of new surgery equipments leading to change in the way surgery used to be conducted in the past. With use of X-rays and other scans, doctors can now detect problems from patients before they become acute. This has led to them coming up with new preventive methods for such problems (Pope, 2009, para. 3). In past, there were diseases that had no drugs for treating them. Technology has led to production of numerous drugs that caters for different diseases. Currently, there is no disease that does not have drugs. Some of the technologies used in medical field include Bluetooth technology and radiology. Bluetooth is used in production of stethoscopes. The technology is used in conjunction with personal computers to record patient’s condition. Information about the patient’s condition is transferred via Bluetooth to a computer. Radiology on the other hand uses imaging technology such as x-rays to establish and treat diseases. Dragon voice recognition is another technology used in medical field. This is software that helps doctors use their voice in when making reports that are highly detailed. This eliminates the need for doctors to type, scroll or click as they compile their reports. The technology has helped medical field in reduction of cost associated with medical transcription (Pope, 2009, para. 4).

Conclusion

Improvement in technology has led to a lot of positive changes in various fields. Some of the areas that have benefited from technology include film industry, medical field as well as car manufacturing industry. There have been reductions in environmental pollution resulting from vehicles due to production of cars that use hydrogen as fuel. Working environment has also been improved with most organizations allowing their employees to work from home. Technology has led to production of quality computers. Today, there are computers with big storage space and high processing speed.

Reference List

Chow, R. (2009). Cleaner Air has Improved Life Expectancy across United States. Web.

Forlanda. (2009). How the Internet Improved People’s Lives. Web.

Inventor-strategy.com. (2010). Latest Inventions. Web.

Parrack, D. (2008). Movie Technology. Web.

Pope, J. (2009). Bluetooth technology in medical field. Web.

Rob. S. (1999). New and Improved Hardwood Floor Finishes. Web.

Shoman, J. (2010). Advancements in Computer Technology. Web.

Introduction

The overwhelming expansion of information technologies brought a significant interest to the organizational aspect of information. In that regard, it can be stated that the availability of information might prove useless if such information cannot be retrieved according to the users’ demands. Thus, the information should have other information that describes it (Garshol, 2004). Such aspect can be seen as the essence of metadata- information about data, which is an auxiliary mean during data procession. The data takes many forms, which in the context of this report is about photos and figures, which can be seen as an essential aspect of any web document.

In that regard, the present report takes the subject photos of cars and provides an investigation of suitable methods for metadata organization of such collection. Accordingly, the report provides an analysis of similar schemas and organizational structures used in websites with similar subject areas.

A Review

Metadata Schemes in Use

One of the websites with a similar subject area is Car Plus Plus, a comprehensive database of cars with specifications and pictures. The description of the items on the website contains the following elements:

• The brand of the car.
• The year of manufacture.
• The category of the car.
• Specifications, including elements such as displacement, torque, fuel consumption, top speed, time of acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h, car space and dry weight.

The type of metadata used in the website is descriptive, i.e. used for describing or indexing the content of an electronic file” (Drake, 2003, 1021). It can be assumed that the categorization of the content on this website is performed using databases, where the aforementioned attributes of cars are not embedded in the HTML. On the other hand, the metadata used in the HTML does not contain a controlled vocabulary, merely providing a description for the page’s content and the used keywords (Garshol, 2004). The format used is HTML Meta tags, in which the properties are declared with a specified value for such property (World Wide Web Consortium, 2009). In the case of the website in question, the properties declared are page descriptions and the keywords linked to this webpage. The following code excerpts show an example of the Meta tags used for the car Abarth Lancia 1986:

In that regard, it can be assumed that the metadata used to search for the cars through such attributes as the brand, the year, the type of the car, etc, are located in the database, where the query is processed locally on the server, presenting only the ending results, see Fig 1.

It can be stated that all of the description fields of the metadata, with the exception of the car’s name, i.e. the title, are limited in value. In that regard, there is a range for every other field, e.g. the year of manufacture, 1900-2011, the category of the car, with 16 predefined categories, and accordingly the technical characteristics of the car.

The second website, titled Car Photos, is a web catalog for car pictures of sport and import cars. Although the website denotes its purpose as being a premier destination for photos, it features many news and articles, related to the same topic, see Figure 2.

The photos on the website are sorted independently of the photos attached to the articles. In that regard, this website can be distinguished by the small number of descriptive fields -only two. Both fields are not distinguished, which can be seen from the categories implemented in the website’s sorting interface. The fields that the main fields identified were as follows:

• Car brand – e.g. Volvo, Nissan, Infinity, etc.
• Car models – e.g. Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, Alfa Romeo Brera, Alfa Romeo GT, etc.
• Car type – e.g. muscle car, supercar, sports car, exotic car and concept car.

It should be stated that if the car brand is a distinguishable and identifiable category, the category of car type is vague, where the car can have more than one. It should be noted that other fields that can be attributed to the website catalog features are the dates of addition, a parameter, based on which such query as the most recent photos can be used. Other attributes as car babes, car crashes, strange are not relevant to the theme of the site and in that regard, such categories are present in the photos’ section but are not selectable as a category from the homepage. Similar to the previous website, the metadata is not embedded in the HTML, where HTML Meta tags are used instead, where the declared tags are the description of the page and the keywords. The keywords are only descriptive, i.e. related to the content of the picture and the nature of the webpage content, as it can be seen from the following excerpt of the HTML code of the page of a photo of Ferrari HY-Kers:

The third website is titled Net Car Show. The website is specializing in “high-quality car pictures and car wallpapers” (Net Car Show, 2010). The objects’ descriptions on the website are rather simple, and in that regard, there are not many descriptions to select from. The only description fields that could be identified are the following:

• The brand of the car.
• The model of the brand.
• The date of manufacture.
• The resolution of the wallpaper.

According to the latter, it can be stated that the metadata used are descriptive, a brand of the car and the model of the car, and technical, the resolution of the wallpaper. The website has a simplistic design, where the options for selection starting from the brand of the car, which is located on the homepage, see figure 3.

The metadata used on the website, with the exception of the resolution, are open-ended, while the resolution value can be seen as limited in value, where the resolutions of the wallpapers are usually limited to the most popular formats, such as 1600×1200, 1280×960, 1024×768, and1280x1024. The latter is also the most common resolution of personal computers.

Similarly, the metadata schemes used in this case are HTML Meta tags, with the same declared parameters, i.e. description and keywords. The keywords parameter is mostly used so that search engines similarly recognize the wallpaper and picture query as the same, including the name of the model. The date description parameter includes the title of the model, the year, and the resolution, as in the following example of the HTML code excerpt of Rinspeed Roadster 1995:

Among these examples, it can be stated that the example of the Car Plus Plus website is the most comprehensive, in terms of the parameters available for metadata. In that regard, the common method used for metadata integration is the usage of Meta tags, although such methods are mostly for search engines, rather than for internal cataloging. Accordingly, it can be stated that the metadata is linked, rather than embedded. The rationale for using such a method can be seen in that “the disadvantage of embedded metadata is that the Web user agent must extract the information and display it” (World Wide Web Consortium, 2009). In that regard, with the metadata provided in these pages being edited by the authors rather than the users, it might be convenient to edit external files, rather than the code of the webpage, which contains only the metadata describing the content in general. The technical parameters such as the resolution of the picture are not essential within the scope of the suggested collection in the assignment, and in that regard might be omitted.

Organizational Schemes in Use

Outlining the differences in the organizational structures in websites the examples that will be used are based on the three websites described in the previous section, i.e. Car Plus Plus, Car Photos, and Net Car Show.

The organizational structure of the Car Plus Plus website can be seen in Figure 4.

It can be seen that the organizational structure of the website is hierarchical taxonomy, which is author controlled and declared. In that regard, it can be seen that in such hierarchical relationships the items are described from the broadest to the narrowest terms. The vocabulary is not controlled in that regard. It can be stated that the author of the website implemented a faceted classification in one of the branches in the structure, i.e. the top charts, where there were different dimensions of information, i.e. the technical specification, the year and the category of the car, which are analyzed and grouped together. It can be stated that uncontrolled vocabulary is applied in such cases by the cataloguer as well. The disadvantage in such a structure can be seen in that the relationship between the classes cannot be determined.

In the second website, Car Photos, the organizational structure implemented in the pictures section can be seen as a hierarchical taxonomy (Garshol, 2004). Such structure provides merely two levels, where the upper level is the brand along with other parallel categories such as crashes, strange cars, etc, and the next level is the model. The structure can be seen in Figure 5.

Such structure cannot be useful for the catalog selected for the assignment, as it does not provide flexibility when searching for the item. Uncontrolled vocabulary is used for this structure as well. The structure of the next website Net Car Show is similar to the latter, with the addition of a technical category, which is resolution. The structure of the website is also taxonomy with the brand being the hi9ghest level, followed by the model, and finally the resolution to choose from. Such structure can be seen in Figure 6.

The structure implemented in the aforementioned website is simple enough to distinguish only three parameters, while such factors as the year of manufacture, the type of the car, etc, are omitted. In general, it can be stated that hierarchical taxonomy is not a suitable option considering that there are many dimensions for cars’ classifications. In that regard, it can be stated that for such objects as cars a single object in the catalog can be assigned multiple classifications, i.e. the body, the year, the type, etc. Accordingly, in such catalogs, the only aspects applicable to taxonomy hierarchy are the brands and the models.

Implemented Metadata and Organizational Schemas

The metadata used for the collection of car photos will consist of several features, which reflect the initial categories intended to be used in the catalog, as well as several new features, which were found suitable from websites’ reviews. The features that were adopted from the websites include the date of the picture so that pictures can be sorted based on the date, the year of manufacture, and the resolution of the photo so that the photos can be categorized based on their size. The features selected for the catalog can be seen in the following table.

The metadata will embed in the text using XFML, a mark-up language written in XML (Denton, 2009). The elements will be defined using facets and foci, i.e. the top level and the topic element. The structure of the facets definition can take the following form:

Brand
Model
Country of Manufacturer
Body Style
Year of Manufacturign

The contents of the facet can be described in the following way, based on the following example of the brand:

Brand
Brand

Accordingly, the embodiment of each element can be implemented through the creation of a webpage for each entity in the collection (Denton, 2009), which can be seen through the following example of a Toyota 4Runner SR5 4×4 V6:

The organizational structure of the collection can be seen through a faceted classification, which can be seen through figure 7 (the figure does not show all the attributes due to the limitation of space:

The representation on the website can be seen through figure 8:

The appropriateness of such structure can be seen through its ability to locate an element based on more than one parameter. It can be seen that in the case of cars such structure is specifically true, with each element belonging to more than one dimension at the same time. Rather than navigating through brands, models and body types, the user can select more than one parameter at once, obtaining the intended results at once. It should be noted that the usage of folksonomy might be also seen as a suitable option, although the latter implies that the users will have similar views on the tagged objects. Accordingly, in such a case, the results might not find the picture he/she is looking for due to possible misspellings or incorrect tag information. It should be noted that faceted structure might be implemented through databases, an option despite its advantages might require special tools for implementation. On the other hand, the disadvantages of the faceted structure might be seen in that a certain combination of the elements might not be applicable to any element in the collection (Tzitzikas et al., 2002).

Conclusion

It can be seen that there are various ways for organizing objects, the implementation of which is dependent on the standards used, the nature of the elements and usability. The report provided an overview of the metadata schemas and the organizational structures used to represent car photos on the web. The analysis outlined the attributes that might be used for the collection as well as the organizational structure, suitable for such purpose.

References

Car Photos. 2010. Car Photos Homepage. Web.

Denton, William. 2010. How to Make a Faceted Classification and Put It On the Web. Miskatonic University Press.

Drake, Miriam A. 2003. Encyclopedia of library and information science. 2nd ed. 4 vols. New York: Marcel Dekker.

Garshol, Lars Marius. 2010. Metadata? Thesauri? Taxonomies? Topic Maps! OnTopia.

Net Car Show. 2010. Net Car Show Homepage. Net Car Show.

ObjectLabs. 2010. CarsPlusPlus Homepage. Syntax.

Tzitzikas, Yannis, Nicolas Spyratos, Panos Constantopoulos, and Anastasia Analyti. 2010. Extended Faceted Taxonomies for Web Catalogs. Ercim News.

World Wide Web Consortium. 2010. Embedded metadata. W3C.

Introduction

The sources used in the paper give information about the way hybrid cars work. They explain what hybrid cars are and how different they are from the conventional electric and fuel driven cars. The articles relate to the question in that the information given therein helps to answer the question how do hybrid cars work.

Authors

The author of the first article titled ‘How hybrid works’ is the U.S Department of Energy. Its principle is Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The branch invents in technologies that promote use of clean energy technologies in a bid to make the economy strong and for the protection of the environment. Moreover, help to reduce the overdependence of the country on foreign oil for provision of energy.

The branch supports hybrid cars because they help to protect the environment through the reduction of emissions to the atmosphere and use of less fuel. Furthermore, by use of electric power then demand for oil is reduced hence reducing the amount of oil imported for domestic consumption. The other article ‘Hybrids Under the Hood’ is written by the Union of Concerned Scientists that is concerned about the environment. They aim to educate consumers with technological information to help them understand how the technology can help them in protecting the environment.

How hybrid cars work

Hybrid cars refer to cars that are a cross between an electric car and a fuel car. The hybrid cars borrow features from the two types of cars and combine them to form a hybrid car with a hybrid engine (U.S Department of Energy 1). Fuel driven cars have fuel tanks and internal –combustion engines together with transmissions that work together in order to turn the wheels of cars. In order for the wheels to turn, the fuel tank sends fuel to the engine and transmission occurs. On the other hand, the electric car has an electric has a battery pack instead of a fuel tank and uses a similar process to turn the wheels as a fuel driven car.

Electricity is sent to the car’s motor and transmission occurs to propel the wheels. The hybrid cars are made with the best features from both the electric and fuel driven vehicles. They have generators, fuel tanks and batteries. The parts hybrid cars are different in that the gas engine is much smaller and developed to be efficient in produce less pollution to the environment (Union of Concerned Scientists 1).

It is also important to note that hybrid cars have generators, which neither the electric nor the fuel-driven cars have. The hybrid cars are self-reliant in that their fuel engines recharge the batteries by producing electricity power when in motion. The hybrid cars uses power from the fuel tank and electricity using a computer system that communicates with the engine to shut off if the car is travelling at less than fifteen miles per hour.

When the hybrid cars stop, for instance in traffic jams, they do not consume fuel unlike the conventional cars, which consume fuel during complete stops in traffic jams, and the cars start immediately the drivers step on the gas pedal because the electric engine responds instantly to turn the wheels forward (Union of Concerned Scientists 1). In addition, the computer communicates with the electric motor to release more electricity when travelling uphill. The small size of hybrid engines is very efficient because they cater for the actual needs of a driver unlike conventional engines.

That means that hybrid cars only burn fuel when it is needed. The small size of hybrid engines ensures that energy is conserved by not being wasted on heavy engines. The engines harness power from two types of energies maximize on the advantages of both types of fuel and electric power. The electric motor moves the cars when they are driving at slow speeds and when the driver touched the brakes lightly the cars wheels automatically become engaged to the electrical generator. The generator helps the brakes to slow down by creating an extra load and as it does it coverts, the mechanical energy of the car to electricity that recharges the batteries of the cars in what is called regenerative braking (U.S Department of Energy 1).

When the hybrid cars are travelling at high speeds the computers communicates with the fuel engines to take over and produce the driving force of the car to give speed because electric engines do not have the advantage of speed performance. The computers in hybrid cars communicate with both engines and turns on the engines when they are needed which eliminates the need to plug in the car to recharge using an electric outlet (Union of Concerned Scientists 1).

Summary

Hybrid cars combine the use of two engine types to reap maximum benefits from each for improved efficiency by overcoming the limitations of each engine type. They combine parts of fuel and electric driven cars to improve fuel economy by consuming less fuel to cover the same distance as convectional and less pollution to the environment by releasing less harmful substances. Through regenerative braking the hybrid cars are able to conserve the energy that would have otherwise been wasted when on a complete stop or slowing down by storing it until at the time when the electric motor needs it to propel the cars to motion.

The electric engines help the car by assisting the fuel engine when it is accelerating or climbing hills. It small size ensures that the cars do not waste energy on heavy engines. The hybrid cars have an automatic shutoff and start that turns of the engine when the cars stop and turn the engine on when the driver touches the accelerator. The generators in the hybrid cars help to recharge the cars while in motion thus eliminating the need for plugging the cars into electric plugs and makes the hybrid cars convenient as the users do not need to go around looking for places to recharge the batteries in case the power dies which would be very inconveniencing.

Conclusion

Hybrid cars are beneficial today when the prices of fuel have gone up and there is the concern of environmental pollution. The hybrid cars consume less fuel and thus save on the consumption of fossil fuels that are not renewable as they use electric power. The cars generate the electric power as they move. Moreover, the cars reduce the emissions of harmful substances into the environment because they burn less fuel and when they do, they burn it completely using their combustion engines. Their specially developed features of hybrid cars such as automatic shut and start, regenerative braking, use of electric motor assist and other features make the cars efficient and better than the traditional cars and help to protect the environment in era of global warming.

Works Cited

U.S Department of Energy. How Hybrid Works. 2011. Web.

Union of Concerned Scientists. Hybrids Under the Hood. 2010. Web.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Statement of Work (SOW)

Purpose

The use of free space near shopping centres should be more efficient in current urban environments (Ede, Adepoju & Awoyera 2015). Construction of a multi-storey car parking will allow the centre not only to capitalise the space and create comfortable parting spaces for its clients but also engage in sustainable business practices. Multi-storey car parks are more efficient in their construction as they take up less space than open parking spots (Ede, Adepoju & Awoyera 2015). The purpose of this project is to design, build, and open a multi-storey car parking space with a capacity for 300 cars near the described shopping centre.

The scope of work

The chosen contractor shall design a multi-storey car park, prepare the land lot near the shopping centre for construction, build the park on the prepared lot, check the quality of the finished product, follow all safety requirements and perform any post-production activities necessary before and after the park’s opening. The contractor shall also present the estimates for all needed materials, staff and resources, a schedule and a breakdown of all activities and the proposed budget. The contractor shall analyse possible risks and develop a risk management plan, along with any additional relevant information and documents needed for project’s approval. A quality assurance plan is also to be delivered after the bidder’s approval.

The location of work

The designing process can occur in the company offices of the contractor. The lot near the shopping centre is the place for project realisation.

Period of performance

The expected start of the project is May 2018. The predicted finish of the project, including final preparations for the opening of the car park, is February 2020. The contractor shall prepare and present a detailed plan with schedules covering project dates and milestones and complete the designing portion of the project no later than 6 months after the starting date.

Deliverables schedule. The bids and documents for participation in the tender are to be sent out by interested contractors before 31 March 2018. After the bidder’s selection, the discussion, development and presentation of the final project plan are assumed to be completed within five or six months. The contractor shall prepare a viable schedule for all activities included in the project’s development process. The first five or six months of the project’s duration are expected to include contract negotiation, budget approval, project preparation, bid approval and design development, review and finalisation. Interested bidders shall provide other details of the schedule and propose the duration of construction and the dates of submission and approval.

Applicable standards

The contractor shall adhere to The World Bank (2017) Group EHS Guidelines, and assure compliance with the International Building Code, the National Electrical Code, and other national codes and guidelines appropriate for the process of construction. The applicable standards and qualifications shall be discussed further in the proposal.

Acceptance criteria

The finished product shall be evaluated according to the operational acceptance testing (Walker 2015). The project shall be finalised after the commissioning organisation establishes that all requested quality standards are met. The finished product shall not have any major defects and should withstand multiple safety checks and testing. The contractor shall deliver the product that adheres to all specifications included in the final version of the contract, including its quality, appearance, safety regulations and the duration of the project.

Proposal Requirements

In the proposal, the contractor shall submit a fixed bid for the project with a breakdown of the submitted price. A comprehensive explanation of the bid is expected to be included with the bid with connections to submitted specifications of the project. The qualifications of the bidder shall also be submitted with the proposal, along with gear and equipment in use of the contractor and available quality and safety information. Relevant financial and insurance documentation shall be included in the bid by the contractor as well. The specifications and prices for possible revisions and extra work are also to be stated. Contractors can add some examples and reviews of their previous projects to support their bid. The selection of previous projects shall include examples relevant to the RFP’s subject (multi-storey car parking space) and finished buildings only.

Additionally, the bidder shall provide a preliminary budget for the project and a schedule of all services complete with dates for milestones, safety checks, and other important aspects. Any added specifications and drawings shall be followed by explanations. Such additions may include the possible budget, the schedule breakdown and project drawings. All material submitted by the contractor shall be sent in before the end of the bid period. The bid period shall start on 1 March 2018 and end on 31 March 2018. The agreement shall be reached no later than five days after the end of the bid period. No extensions for bid acceptance shall be awarded to contractors who cannot meet the criteria. Bids submitted after the end of the period shall not be considered for the tender.

Contractual Provisions

Preparation of proposals

The costs for preparation of the materials, calculations and demonstrations included in the answer to this RFP are the sole responsibility of the bidder. These expenses will not be reimbursed by the commissioning organisation. All proposals including the materials, drawings and calculations become the property of the commissioning organisation after their submission. The content of the submitted proposal shall be included in the contract of the winning bidder and discussed between the contractor and the organisation upon contract negotiation. Thus, the bid that has been awarded becomes the basis of the contract. The bidder acknowledges that the company has a right to stop the bidding process at any moment and withdraw the proposal during the bidding period without any reimbursements or awards.

By sending a bid to the commissioning company, the bidder acknowledges that the RFP has been read in full and understood by the bidder. The contractor’s answer should be based on the RFP and contain only the information that is relevant to the request. The bidder warrants that the proposal was developed without external influence. Furthermore, the bidder ensures that he or she did not attempt to influence other participants to withdraw from the bidding process or change their conditions. The bidder shall guarantee that the sent proposal offers favourable terms of the collaboration to the company and presents prices similar to or better than those on the market.

The position of the bidder

The winning bidder is not considered an employee of the company but an independent contractor. The bidder shall follow the National regulations for independent contractors and will not be given any authority to act on behalf of the commissioning company unless specified otherwise in the contract.

Termination

If the bidder fails to provide the company with a finished product of satisfactory quality and does not revise or correct its mistakes in a negotiated period, the company reserves the right to terminate the contract and send a written notice as a means of confirmation. The revision dates shall be discussed for each particular situation to accommodate the bidder’s ability to fix the product on time. The beginning of the revision process shall be indicated with a written notice from the commissioning company.

Confidentiality

The winning bidder agrees that the signed contract signifies a created relationship between the contractor and the company and ensures confidentiality and trust between the two parties. The bidder guarantees that private information about the company’s internal processes shall remain confidential. The contractor shall treat all information gathered from the company as confidential similarly to its own undisclosed data.

Litigation

The contractor warrants that there are no suits, trials, claims, governmental investigations, or other proceedings against it that may endanger the discussed contract and restrict its right to participate in the bidding process and in the project creation. The contractor shall disclose any information that may limit its collaboration with the company and affect its ability to enter into this agreement. The contractor shall possess all necessary licensure, certification and insurance documents in order to enter this agreement and perform all described activities.

Responsibilities

The builder shall be responsible for the safety of workers and equipment utilised on the construction site. All damages to property or persons in the working area shall also be under the responsibility of the contractor in cases of negligence or contractor’s fault. The contractor shall be responsible for the delivered materials and the quality of performed work until the final acceptance of the project. The contractor shall acknowledge all precautions that should be taken to protect the working persons and the property from danger. For example, weather warnings shall be taken as a notice to secure the site’s openings and hide all dangerous equipment from open spaces as well as prevent workers from operating in hazardous areas at all or without special protective equipment.

Cleaning

The contractor shall warrant that the work area is cleaned regularly to comply with the federal and international regulations of waste disposal and storage. The contractor shall dispose of waste in special disposal facilities and shall not use the shopping centre’s garbage cans and dumpsters for construction waste. The area outside the car parking space shall be cleaned up during the project’s final stage. The landscape that was disturbed or damaged during the construction with excavation and pavement or turf removal shall be restored or covered in new materials according to the project’s specifications.

Schedule

The contractor shall work according to the established schedule and present regular reports on the project’s progress in written form at the end of every month (Heagney 2016). These reports shall include financial statements, performed activities and remaining objectives. Moreover, if the contractor fails to adhere to the schedule or encounters a delay in resource supply or other reason not directly connected to the contractor’s performance, a written notice should be submitted to the commissioning company in order to reevaluate the final deadlines and set different milestones. The contractor shall strive to deliver the final product according to the schedule and achieve completion on time. Final cleanup of the site is included in the time framework and considered to be one of the contractor’s duties.

Payment terms

The contractor and the company shall come to an agreement regarding the type of payment preferred for this contract. The contractor may suggest payment options and terms. After the start of the project, the contractor shall provide all invoices and financial data relevant to the project in written form in a timely manner. All copies of payment invoices shall be submitted to the company and be supported by other documents for additional assessment. The final payment shall be tailored according to the bid and the circumstances of work. The last invoice shall be included with the contractor’s release statement and shall cover the last parts of payment agreed under the contract including possible additional costs and extras.

Project Charter

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

The WBS for this project is presented in the form of an outline.

• Design
• Preparatory works
  • Setting up the site
  • Land clearing
  • Land levelling
  • Creating routes of access to the site
• Foundation
  • Lot excavation
  • Foundation
  • Steel support
• External works
  • Masonry
  • Roofing
  • Finishes (painting, plastering, varnishing, whitewashing, and other)
  • Landscaping the lot
  • Paving the access routes
• Internal works
  • Electricity
    • Cabling
    • Lighting
    • Parking registration equipment
    • Security
    • Emergency equipment
    • Telecommunications
  • Mechanical
    • Waste disposal
    • Water services
    • Rainwater protection
    • Air conditioning
    • Ventilation
    • Heating
    • Security room installation
• Partition walls
• Flooring
• Ceilings
• Decorative works (finishes)
• Security equipment location set up
• Cleaning up the site
  • Waste disposal
  • Equipment removal
  • Lot cleaning

Estimate of Resources Needed

Staff

• Architects;
• Designers;
• Land workers;
• Electricians;
• Masonry workers;
• Administrative staff;
• Management;
• Project coordinators.

Materials

• Steel frames;
• Concrete for overall construction;
• Waterproofing materials;
• Decking metals;
• Protective coating for exposed metals;
• Design attributes: steel sheets/aluminium sheets/steel frames, and other types of decor;
• Lighting;
• Building finishes (paint, coating);
• Equipment for lot excavation;
• Transport;
• Soil/grass;
• Pavement;
• Electrical equipment;
• Ventilation: high-velocity fans and other equipment;
• Petrol interceptor, a drainage system for surface water cleaning;
• Roofing materials;
• Alarm systems: fire detectors, alarms, sprinklers, flame suppressants;
• Security cameras, recorders, wires and other telecommunications equipment.

Costs

The average costs for constructing a multi-storey car park in the UK can be estimated at a range from £510 to £1050 for a square metre of construction (Statista 2017). Therefore, the cost of this project for 300 cars may be anywhere from £153.000 to £315.000. These costs include concrete structure, internal works and land preparation and cleaning and exclude wages, materials, and equipment. Costs can depend on the materials used.

Gantt Chart

Network Diagram

Critical Path Analysis

Budget

According to the preliminary design requirements, the final project has to include 300 car spaces and have multiple stories. These specifications mean that the constriction of the park will incorporate multiple steel constructions for floors and supporting structures. The final budget shall include materials and resources used for construction, the cost of the design, the preparation of foundation, utilised equipment, and the wages of workers hired to perform contractor’s services. Insurance and consultant fees should also be included in the budget. As was mentioned before, a price for constriction of one square metre of a multi-storey car park can range from £500 to £1000 (Statista 2017). Similar projects and case studies state that a car park for 690 spaces costs approximately £10.000.000 (University of Leeds 2018). Therefore, the final cost of this project can be £5.000.000. The cost of construction equal £315.000 can be taken out of this sum, leaving expenses for insurance, wages, materials, land preparation and equipment.

Quality Assurance Plan

In order to deliver the best results, the contractor should have workers fully equipped to perform all necessary tasks of the project. Thus, employees need to possess required qualifications and know their duties and responsibilities (Heagney 2016). The key personnel whose duties should be defined in this section include the construction manager, the site manager, the quality assurance officer, the senior field engineer and the working technicians. First of all, the construction manager’s primary purpose is to monitor the work of constructors on behalf of the client company. Thus, this manager can be considered the main source of communication between the company and the contractor in terms of the project’s progress. A construction manager should be able to provide required quality assurance and administer quality control activities to contractors and subcontractors. Site manager’s duty is to approve the quality of contractor’s work and monitor the consistency of performance with the requirements included in the contract.

The quality assurance officer should have enough years of experience in similar projects to adequately evaluate the status of this project. This employee shall report to the construction manager and ensure compliance with the requirements on-site. The senior field engineer is responsible for inspections, providing advice and support regarding technical aspects of construction and coordination of all team members. Technicians must inspect all equipment and materials present on the construction site and perform tests to ensure their quality according to the established specifications. Performance monitoring performed by the construction manager should include the accepted standards for work restrictions, soil erosion control, noise control, and dust control. The manager should take precautions to prevent pollution and sent regular status reports to the company.

Risk Management Plan

The manager of the project shall work together with the contractor and the client company to ensure that all possible risks will be identified and avoided or mitigated during the project’s duration. The designated project manager shall assume the role of the risk manager. The process of risk identification shall include the project’s key stakeholders such as the contractor’s team. It will assess the environmental factors of the project and the organisational culture of workers from all levels.

The deliverables of the project shall be carefully investigated, along with all steps of the project’s completion, its major documentation and plans. All risks will be evaluated according to their probability and analysed to reveal the possible course of actions for their elimination or avoidance. There are four ways to deal with risks: avoidance, mitigation, acceptance, and transfer (Heagney 2016). The level of all risks will be recorded in order to create new practices to avoid similar incidents in the future. The project team shall develop a list of risks with the highest probability of occurrence. Status reports will include risks at every stage of the process.

Reference List

Ede, AN, Adepoju, PF & Awoyera, PO 2015, ‘Challenges of car park design in Nigeria’, International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 38-42.

Heagney, J 2016, Fundamentals of project management, 5th edn, AMACOM, Nashville, TN.

Statista 2017, Average cost per square meter of internal area in the United Kingdom (UK) for building a multi-storey car park in 2016, by region in GBP. Web.

University of Leeds 2018, Multi-storey car park. Web.

Walker, A 2015, Project management in construction, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.

The World Bank 2017, New procurement framework and regulations for projects after July 1, 2016. Web.