Suchergebnisse

Asset management is assuming higher relevance in utilities' short and long term management. Governance and policies are playing an important role in the process and, in some countries regulators and governments are assuring that asset management methodologies are properly followed. Utilities and their stakeholders should deal with different 'renewal policies' approaches, towards better planning processes and a more sustainable way of managing capital expenditure in the long term. AGS is a Portuguese private operator with contractual responsibilities in 17 concessions and PPPs. Asset management is an important matter for the entire organisation, as a management process and, since 2009, as a legal obligation. The present paper will describe infrastructure asset management policies in the organisation and the initiative's roadmap in order to present major concerns, tools and methods, its usage, and the results perceived. ; 8 ; 0 ; 9p ; DHA/NES ; 2013 ; 10 a 12 de setembro

Asset management is assuming higher relevance in utilities' short and long term management. Governance and policies are playing an important role in the process and, in some countries, regulators and governments are assuring that asset management methodologies are properly followed. Utilities and their stakeholders should deal with different 'renewal policies' approaches, towards better planning processes and a more sustainable way of managing capital expenditure in the long term. AGS is a Portuguese private operator with contractual responsibilities in 17 concessions and PPPs. Asset management is an important matter for the entire organisation, as a management process and, since 2009, as a legal obligation. The present paper will describe infrastructure asset management policies in the organisation and the initiative's roadmap in order to present major concerns, tools and methods, its usage, and the results perceived. ; 4 ; 0 ; 8p ; DHA/NES ; 2013 ; 24 e 25 de abril

Historical and social perspectives, together with economic context, are essential to comprehend and appreciate the current status of any discipline. This is particularly true for fields relying on technological advances and with direct effects on society, such as genetics and genomics. ; This study was supported by grants from the Spanish Institute for Health Carlos III and 'Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional(FEDER), Union Europea, una manera de hacer Europa '[FIS PI14/00410], the Autonomous Government of Catalonia [SGR 2014SGR1430] to A.P. The CIBER on Rare Diseases (CIBERER) is an initiative of the ISCIII

A key worldwide challenge in most sectors is to boost the effective adoption of innovation, as underpinned by the new European Union research programme Horizon 2020, which focuses on increasing innovation in Europe from 2014 to 2020. This is particularly relevant in the water sector, often perceived as conservative and averse to change. This paper discusses the role that collaborative knowledge-transfer projects can play in effectively rolling out R&D in the water industry. LNEC (Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil) has designed a structured model based on a phased programme and a network of utilities and researchers. The paper presents the core principles, the rationale, the model and methods used, and the theoretical background, as well as the project's impact, outcomes and products. The discussion highlights the lessons learnt and provides a formal analysis of the advantages of focusing on middle management as an effective entry point, even if innovation is needed across the organization. Making training materials, guidelines, use cases, data and software publicly available after the project's end has proven to have a decisive multiplying effect. The paper also argues in favour of the collaborative model as a basis for R&D sustainability, and details on-going and planned developments. ; 1516–1523pp ; IWA Publishing 2014 DOI:10.2166/wst.2015.362 ; DHA/NES ; Water Science & Technology, 72.9|2015

Santa Margarida Military Camp (S.M.M.C.) is the only one Portuguese military training area, including firing ranges for tactical military manoeuvres of mechanised divisions. For this reason, various negative effects on the environment were expected due to the military activities, as the Military Camp's area is classified as a high vulnerability area to pollution of its multilayer porous aquifers. The aim of this study was to identify and characterise local/regional geochemical impacts caused by the continuing military training activities performed at S.M.M.C. in the course of 52 years. An overview of the geochemical research issues as a basis for risk assessment is presented. A special attention has been put on the quality of local and regional surface waters, shallow groundwaters and groundwaters. Local soils and sediments as well as fragments of shells and bullets were sampled and analysed. The results so far obtained, indicated that none pollution effects were a consequence of the military training activities. Till now, the geochemical signatures such as, high levels of K, Cl and NO3 in waters, detected in particular sites, should be faced as tracers of diffuse pollution ascribed to urban waste disposal and cattle breading.