AleksandrovaTeya_4T

Task 1: Sasha is looking at Olga, and Olga’s looking at Andrew. Sasha has children, and Andrew
does not. Is a person who has children looking at a person who does not have children? The
answer options are "Yes", "No", "Cannot be determined". Explain your reasoning.

Have children – yes , no , cannot be determined

Sasha – Yes

Olga – cannot be determined

Andrew – No

Who is being looked ?

Sasha – looking at Olga , Olga – looking at Andrew , Andrew – cannot be determined

Sasha (has children) is looking at Olga (cannot be determined).

Olga (not determined) looking at Andrew (doesn’t have children)

Therefore

Final Answer: Cannot be determined

Task 2: Assume that the company you work for is planning to start building houses in Antarctica in
the next ten years. Your role is Technical Project Manager. A seminar will soon be organized with
experts on issues related to this task. What would you like to clarify with them to start working on
the project? Prepare a list of specific questions, answers to which you will need to start designing
the houses and the required infrastructure.

A Technical Project Manager`s role is to break down a project into its essential components to see
common issues and how to manage to solve potential issues down the line. They are in charge of
developing a timeline plan, evaluating and managing the risk, leading a team of experts from the
necessary field, meet the safety regulations all while being in contact with investor(s) and/or fund
group about the updates of the progress made on the project(s).

House Design and Construction Q&As:

Q1: What kind of construction materials are needed to build a solid house suitable for the
Antarctica climate? What are the go-to designs for the location and climate?

A1: In a place where material extraction for construction is not an option almost all bases are built
using prefabricated elements that are assembled on site. Construction in Antarctica is very different
to building in more temperate regions. Not only must the building construction be adapted to cope
with the climatic conditions, but the placement of the building on its site requires the consideration
of various factors. These include the foundation material of the site and the potential interaction of
the building with it, the layout of the site, and the orientation of individual buildings.

Methods of construction also pose a challenge, for example, how do you pour concrete and allow it
to set without immediately freezing? How can you minimize the problems posed by a buildup of
drifting snow? How do you insulate buildings against such extremes of internal and external
temperatures? The impossibility of practical (and easy) transportation from one place to another
within the Antarctic means people and goods can't move about easily, which is a key element in
successful cities. No available materials to build or support (a city).

Some architects prioritize

aesthetics and energy efficiency in state-of-the-art scientific research stations. Credit: Estudio 41.
According to Christopher Robert Lloyd, a site supervisor for the Danish architecture and engineering
company who are currently working on a new Antarctic scientific support facility explains that
"there’s really no such thing as a ‘standard’ polar laboratory to copy from, and the building must
incorporate an aircraft control tower, a snow plough and skidoo garage, and facilities to make
fresh water and electricity for the entire station. There aren’t many buildings in the world that can
do that, or anything similar."

Q2: What are construction regulations and restrictions in Antarctica?

A2: The Antarctic Treaty is an agreement between countries across the world that it should be
treated as a peaceful, neutral territory to be shared by everyone. If any country or nation wants to
build on the continent, the buildings must be used strictly for scientific purposes. (For the task
assessment, let`s assume the houses are being are build for scientific purposes)

Infrastructure: There are no roads for conventional vehicles outside of short non-paved tracks
around scientific stations, just a few "airports" that are rough landing strips usually on ice (with the
changes and unpredictability that goes with ice) no commercial air or sea ports and no railways.

Does Antarctica have WIFI?

South Pole Station has very limited access to the internet during short windows of satellite time.
Internet performance is very slow during satellite windows, however, basic email and web-surfing is
available.

Possibly the biggest challenge of building in Antarctica is arriving there first. Getting everything you
need to the Antarctic requires cargo ships and unfortunately, due to the ice and hours of sunlight,
there are only a few months of the year when accessing Antarctica and construction is possible.

Q3: Where is it restricted in Antarctica?

A3: There are currently 72 sites. List of ASPA (Antarctic Specially Protected Area) sites:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_Specially_Protected_Area
Q3: How do we ensure workers safety? What type of essential gear does one need?

A3: Construction in such a remote and harsh environment like Antarctica presents its own unique
sets of challenges and rewards. The weather is another major concern. Antarctica is the driest,
coldest, windiest continent. The average annual mean temperature at McMurdo Station is 0° F. Even
in the summer months, the average high temperature doesn’t get above freezing although highs of
50° F or more have been recorded in November, December, and January. In addition to the cold,
Antarctica is also a desert so it’s important that workers remain hydrated when working.

Working outside in extreme cold temperatures can be dangerous if you don’t take the necessary
precautions to keep your body warm and dry on the construction site. Cold stress, hypothermia, and
frostbite are real threats when doing construction in Antarctica. The USAP provide Extreme Cold
Weather (ECW) gear to worker including a parka, boots, insulated Carhartt bib coveralls, fleece
jacket, hat, gloves, neck gaiter, and goggles. Workers tend to move a bit slower, especially when
bundled up in Extreme Cold Weather gear to stay warm. Productivity expectations should be
lowered when working in extreme cold conditions. Excavation and earthwork of frozen ground take
longer than in normal conditions because the ground is so much harder. Because of the volcanic rock,
blasting may be needed as part of trenching and excavation work.

Investments and Funds Q&As:

Q1: How much will it cost to build one house? What are the cost variations depending on the size
and interior/exterior of the houses? What is the minimum cost for building house that covers all
necessary requirements?

A1: The closest price prediction I can estimate is a minimum of $100 million per house based on the
articles and news published on this topic of real estate in Antarctica.

- “Construction contractor BAM Nuttall, engineer Ramboll, and designers Sweco are working with the
British Antarctic Survey (BAS) on a £300 million (US$372 million) modernisation of BAS
buildings in the Antarctic.”
- “How Antarctic bases went from wooden huts to sci-fi chic, Jan 13, 2017 — The price tag is a
hefty $100m (£80m). And while a Chinese company is building it, it's not in China, and almost
no-one will ever see it.”
- “Antarctica's Scott Base rebuild to cost $250 million Jun 28, 2019 — In 2018, the rebuild was
expected to cost between $120m and $150m”
- Cost of Living in Antarctica: https://nomadlist.com › ... › Antarctica › Countries
“Antarctica costs $12765 per month to live and work remotely. cost of living, internet
speed, weather and other metrics as a place to work..”
Climate and Environmental Q&As:

Q1: Which area(s) of Antarctica is the most “livable”?

A1: All in all, we are unlikely to be able to create permanent human settlements there, sustained by
agriculture or logistics, in the immediate future. There are no physical restaurants or bars on
Antarctica as all research station residents are supplied by the government.

Are you legally allowed to build a house in Antarctica and live there?

No, but there are ways to live in Antarctica legally that do not require a scientific background. For
example, getting an assistant job in the McMurdo Station.

Q2: How will climate change affect Antarctica in the future?

A2: The Antarctic climate is already changing however. It is said that the rise in average global
temperatures is altering the continent's ecology. These glaciers will add to sea-level rise if they melt.
The temperature of Antarctica as a whole is predicted to rise by a small amount over the next 50
years. Any increase in the rate of ice melting is expected to be at least partly offset by increased
snowfall as a result of the warming.

Q3: How many ports does Antarctica have? Which of those ports are suitable to transport the
materials and the team of workers to build the houses?

A3: There are 13 ports. http://ports.com/browse/antarctica/#:~:text=ports%20in%20Antarctica%20

Tricky part about house construction in Antarctica is that we have to have all of the materials,
equipment, building supplies, tools, office equipment, etc. packed and shipped on the annual supply
ships. There’s no running out to replace broken tools or pick up additional materials if you didn’t
order enough to begin with. All prefabrication work must be completed and supplies need to be
ordered with enough lead time to make the shipping deadline. Prefabrication will help reduce the
amount of time workers have to spend outside in the elements and reduce the overall construction
timeline in Antarctica.

Q4: What can be done to minimize the pollution of the environment?

A4: The Antarctic Infrastructure Modernization for Science (AIMS) project will improve logistics
around the station, address energy efficiency of the station, decrease energy demand, reduce
operations and maintenance costs, and promote environmental stewardship. The AIMS project will
consolidate the number of buildings and greatly reduce the footprint of McMurdo Station. The
Antarctic Treaty System places a high priority on protecting the environment of Antarctica.
Because of this, there are a number of rules and regulations aimed at protecting and preserving
the native Antarctic wildlife and habitats. Construction activity requires stringent environmental
review and there are strict protocols and procedures governing excavation, the use of hazardous
materials, environmental reporting, and waste management that go beyond the typical
construction project.
Task 3: Estimate the number of mechanical weighing scales in operation in the Czech
Republic. Nobody knows the exact number but try to estimate it as closely as possible.
Explain your reasoning.

1. The basics:

1.1. What is a mechanical weighing scale?

A mechanical scale, also known as analog scales, is a device that measures weight and
displays the amount in an analog format.

Mechanical scales are typically less expensive, but they require the user to read the weight from a
mechanical needle. They have small pieces of springs like levers, which can affect the accuracy in the
measurement of weight. Unsurprisingly, they are cheaper than digital scales. Digital scales, though,
make up for the cost thanks to their uncannily precision.

1.2. What types of scales are there and what is their widespread use?

Most common versions of mechanical scales are:

A) Kitchen scales:

Common use: At home and in some cases in retail

B) Body weight scales

Common use: At home (typically bathroom and/or kitchen), typically found in doctor`s offices, It can
also be used as Scientific Lab Equipment

Other types may include: Veterinary scales, Weighting scales in hospitals such as Mechanical Adult
Scales and Baby Scales

C) Industrial Mechanical Scales

Although most industrial sectors and businesses have switched to digital scales nowadays, in some
production areas manual mechanical scales can still be found such as:

Types: Crane scales, Mechanical loading scales, and many more

Common use: Warehouses, Manufacturing companies, Industries ranging from production

machinery and logistics to automation and aerospace.

1.3. Where can they be used?

As we can see mechanical scales can be found in a multitude of places including: many households
and gyms, many forms of retail and marketplaces, hospital clinics & laboratories and manufacturing
industries.

2. Possible number indicators

2.1. To get a closer potential number estimate, we will be looking at 4 different categories:

A. Health conscious households and gyms

B. Retail and Marketplaces

C. Hospital clinics & laboratories

D. Manufacturing industries.

2.2 Hypothetical number of scales per categories

A. Health conscious households and gyms

The Czech Republic has a population of approximately 10.7 million people.

Number of households reached 4.49 mil in 2022 in Czechia, according to the National Statistical
Office.

In order to determine how many of those approximately 4.5 mil Czech households are health
conscious for them to have a body weighting scale or food measuring scale we will be looking at the
National data on the prevalence of physical activity conducted by the WHO Global Health
Observatory (GHO) in 2010:

“... disaggregated (data) for adults (aged 18 - 64 years) and older adults (aged 65+ years), measuring
70.0% and 68.0% (in physical activity), respectively, for these age groups.”

4.49 mil Czech household X an Avg of 69% of physical activity = 3 098 100 = ~ 3.1 mil
health conscious Czech households, out of which only roughly 40% habitually keep tract of weight
and portion control of their food intake due to many personal factor. 3.1 mil X 40% = 1.240 mil

Alongside the topic of health:

According to the website en.firmy.cz there are 1337 active gyms found on the territory of the Czech
Republic. Let`s say we have 2.5 scales per gym. That will total in 3 342.5 = ~ 3 350 body scales.

Total hypothetical number of scales estimated in households and gyms – 1.243 mil
B. Retail and Marketplaces

According to www.ibisworld.com there are 47,576 Supermarkets & Grocery Stores in

Czechia as of 2023. In some big supermarkets you can find more than 10+ scales but in some smaller
grocery store chains you can find less than 2. There are more smaller retails than grand ones so let`s
say we have an avg. of 3.5 measuring scales per store. 47 600 grocery store X 3.5 scales = 166 600
~ 167k scales

C. Hospital clinics & laboratories

According to Google there are 265 hospitals in Czechia in 2021. In that number it may include vet
clinics and blood test laboratories. The numbers may vary since not enough accurate data can be
found. Let`s say we have an avg of 2.5 scales per clinic. 265 clinics X 6.5 scales = 1722.5 ~ 1723
scales

D. Manufacturing industries

Mechanical weighing scales are commonly used in various commercial and industrial enterprises, so
we need to estimate the number of businesses and industries where weighing scales are used so we
have a closer accuracy to the number of weighing scales in the Czech Republic.

According to hithorizons.com – (https://www.hithorizons.com/eu/analyses/country-

statistics/czech%20republic)

“The number of companies in Czech Republic is 829,379”

The breakdown according to this site by industry:

Taking into consideration the nature of weighting scales we will look at following industries and their
number of companies:

- Manufacturing - 57,971

- Construction - 52,391

- Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing - 30,094

- Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas, etc – 26, 991

- Mining - 447

The number of businesses and industries where weighing scales could be used is 167 894.

Let`s say we have 4.5 scales per company. While still keeping in mind that this number
inaccurately includes mechanical and some form of digital scales, which we will subtract in the final
conclusion.

Manufacturing industries 167 894 X 4.5 scales = 755 523 ~ 755.5 k scales

While making the assumptions of the number of mechanical scales only and not digital scales which
are more widespread nowadays

TOTAL NUMBER OF POTENTIAL SCALES COMBINED FROM ALL CATEGORIES:

A) Households and gyms – 1.243 mil, B) Retail and Marketplaces - 167 000,

C) Hospital clinics & laboratories 1723 scales, D) Manufacturing industries 755.5 k scales

1 243 000 + 167 000 + 1723 + 755 000 = 2 166 723 = ~ 2.167 mil scales

Final Conclusion:

During this research of the number of mechanical scales in the Czech Republic, it is seen how
digital weighing scales have vastly replaced the traditional manual scales through the years so much
that roughly less than 30% of the total estimated number of scales are analog therefore the rough
estimate of mechanical weighing scales in operation in the Czech Republic is:

2 167 000 X 30 % = 650 016 = ~ 650 000.

FINAL ANSWER

The rough estimate of the number of weighing scales in operation in the Czech Republic is
650 000 mechanical scales.
4. Assume that the company you work for is making electric scooters. You are assigned to work on
the safety of this future product. What safety tests will you perform?

Being in charge of the safety of one powered transportation vehicle such as an electric scooter
requires an extensive list of safety test required to ensure the best quality of the company`s product
and the customers` wellbeing. While electric scooters are not considered as motor vehicles in some
countries due to their unique power sources, speed limitations, and lack of specific safety features.
While the DMV classifies e-scooters as a motor vehicle, they don`t regulate them the same way as
other motor vehicles.

Exterior and Interior testing:

- Check if all compartments of the scooter are in tack/ screwed in their designed place and it
doesn’t have missing essential pieces, such as breaks and all its wires are connected to the
corpus of the scooter?
- Do breaks work under various extreme lengths and speeds?
- Checking for any potential leakage
- Verify the parts which are in user contact if they are isolated from an electric shock
- Surface endurance test: How well does it handle different variations of pavements and roads
, should we put a warming for certain roads types which the scooter is not properly build for
to endure?
- Perform a “max to min” speed test: start from max speed then stop and vice versa
Does it accelerate in a manageable for the user way or does it throw him off balance? If so,
for what user`s weight will it be a problem?
- Is it water resistant? Does it endure medium/heavy rain? What about snow?
- What is the temperature endurance of the e-scooter? As an electronic device with internal
flammable compartments such as batteries and other metal parts do they all correspond
with each other in a safe and non-mutually deteriorating way? Explosion prevention?

User tests:

- Conduct tests with a diverse group of people from all genders, ages, physical abilities,
drivers, non drivers , first time users, daily e-scooter users, e-scooter owners of one or
multiple, etc.
Based on the results indentify if there is a common usage issue with a certain demographic
group of users

Regulations and laws for electric scooter:

- What are the safety standards and regulations set by national and international authorities?
- What is the max speed and is it allowed in the countries that it will be sold?
 - What is the max weight the e-scooter is able to handle without long term damage? What is
the minimum weight of a user that an e-scooter can handle?
- What is the legal age restriction of e-scooters? Is it safe for children? How big are the e-
scooter and what body proportions does it have for tires, brakes, and handlebars.

Conclusion:

We need a combination of thermal, functional, user ability, rules and regulation tests.

By conducting these comprehensive safety tests, the company can confidently launch an electric
scooter that prioritizes user safety, meets regulatory requirements, and minimizes potential risks
associated with the product.