Development of a multilevel health and safety climate survey tool within a mining setting

IntroductionThis study aimed to design, implement and evaluate the reliability and validity of a multifactorial and multilevel health and safety climate survey (HSCS) tool with utility in the Australian mining setting.MethodsAn 84-item questionnaire was developed and pilot tested on a sample of 302 Australian miners across two open cut sites.ResultsA 67-item, 10 factor solution was obtained via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) representing prioritization and attitudes to health and safety across multiple domains and organizational levels. Each factor demonstrated a high level of internal reliability, and a series of ANOVAs determined a high level of consistency in responses across the workforce, and generally irrespective of age, experience or job category. Participants tended to hold favorable views of occupational health and safety (OH&S) climate at the management, supervisor, workgroup and individual level.ConclusionThe survey tool demonstrated reliability and validity for use within an open cut Australian mining setting and supports a multilevel, industry specific approach to OH&S climate. Findings suggested a need for mining companies to maintain high OH&S standards to minimize risks to employee health and safety. Future research is required to determine the ability of this measure to predict OH&S outcomes and its utility within other mine settings.Practical applicationsAs this tool integrates health and safety, it may have benefits for assessment, monitoring and evaluation in the industry, and improving the understanding of how health and safety climate interact at multiple levels to influence OH&S outcomes.     

Path forward: Emerging issues and challenges

The NIOSH Construction Program worked with industry stakeholders to develop a National Occupational Safety and Health Construction Agenda to target future research and activities. The Program and its partners are also cognizant that new developments can emerge over time and that research can play an important role in helping to understand and address these emerging issues. Examples of emerging issues relevant to construction safety and health are described. These include: (a) climate change and energy considerations; (b) green construction developments and opportunities; (c) new materials; (d) changes in industry structure and practice; (e) workforce developments and disparities; (f) injury underreporting and cost and risk shifting; and (g) increased interest in addressing root causes. Responding to emerging issues while maintaining a focus on fundamental longstanding issues represents an ongoing challenge for researchers and industry organizations. Additional research to understand the diffusion and adoption of research by the industry is also needed. Research accomplished to date provides a strong foundation for addressing future industry needs and trends.     

An investigation of ergonomics analysis tools used in industry in the identification of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Web-based surveys were sent to Canadian certified ergonomists, Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSCs) and health and safety certification trainers to understand better which ergonomics analysis tools were used in industry and help JHSCs obtain the necessary training required to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The results showed that most of the certified ergonomists used the Snook/Mital tables, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) equation and rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) /rapid entire body assessment (REBA). The most frequently used methods by JHSCs to identify ergonomics risk were injury reports and worker complaints. The surveys for the health and safety certification trainers revealed that most curricula did not include ergonomics analysis tools. There appears to be a gap between what is recommended by certified ergonomists for JHSC, what is taught in training and what is used by JHSCs for ergonomics risk analysis. A better understanding, modifications in training curricula and education of JHSCs are needed to help reduce WMSDs.     

基于模糊综合评价法的建筑企业安全管理

由于行业的自身特点,建筑企业安全管理一直是企业管理中的重点和难点。安全评价是企业进行安全管理的基础和依据,传统的安全评价方法,多为一些专家及安全管理人员凭经验得出的定性的结论,既缺乏系统科学的严谨性,在实践中又有很大的局限性。笔者在综合目前的安全评价技术的基础上,结合建筑行业特点,以《施工企业安全生产评价标准》(JGJ/T77—2003)为基础,提出了基于模糊综合理论的安全评价方法,并对该评价模型的的原理、方法进行了研究。该方法可以对不同企业或者同一企业的不同项目之间的安全现状做出量化评价,对促进企业安全管理工作的科学化、规范化、程序化有积极的现实意义。     

GB/T 28001-2011新版标准核心要素的理解

GB/T 28000《职业健康安全管理体系》系列标准于2012年开始正式实施,新版标准中对术语、定义和核心要素内容进行了大量的修订,正确地理解和贯彻标准核心要素是应用标准进行企业职业健康安全管理的根本所在,对预防和降低风险,确保职业健康安全管理体系的有效运行有着十分重要的意义.为使组织满足新版标准要求,本文对GB/T 28001-2011《职业健康安全管理体系要求》中核心要素——4.3.1危险源辨识、风险评价和控制措施的确定在内容上进行对比分析,并结合作者在实际工作中的案例和相关的法律法规和其他要求进行阐述,在此基础上对4.3.1要素进行理解,可以使组织对新标准的掌握和应用达到事半功倍的效果.     

Rate of occupational accidents in the mining industry since 1950--a successful approach to prevention policy

This paper deals with the decrease in the rate of accident insurance claims in the German mining industry over the last five decades. It intends to show that this process is above all the result of a prevention policy where companies and the body responsible for the legal accident insurance in the mining industry, the Bergbau-Berufsgenossenschaft (BBG), work hand in hand. A system like the German accident insurance scheme, combining prevention, rehabilitation, and compensation, enables successful and modern safety and health measures.     

A new program to promote injury prevention and its application in China

To create Safe Community is considered a new methodology to promote Harmonious Society in China. Safe Community (SC) is centralized by “injury prevention” which is a concept involved from occupational safety and health in process industry. In this paper, it first examined the definition and elements of SC. Then, it introduced a Safe Community program in Honey Lake of Futian District of Shenzhen in detail to depict the actual procedure to create a desired Safe Community in China. In this application, Occupational Safety and Health Council in Hong Kong played an important role to instruct the design and execution of SC principle and suggest ways to crystallize a culture of safety within a Chinese community. From the SC program in Honey Lake of Futian District of Shenzhen, China has found out a new way to promote injury prevention in a community. Also, using these experiences from this program, more SC could be constructed that is beneficial to the safety and health of Chinese people.     

建筑业人身意外伤害保险探讨

建筑业是伤害事故多发的行业 ,实行建筑业人身意外伤害保险 ,在《中华人民共和国建筑法》和《中华人民共和国安全生产法》里有明确规定 ,也是一项国际惯例。建筑业实施人身意外伤害保险 ,对促进建筑市场和保险市场的发育、减轻企业风险和维护社会稳定意义重大 ,同时有利于建筑业的安全管理以及与国际惯例接轨。目前 ,我国由于企业风险意识薄弱、法规不完善、保险公司不能提供优良的服务以及缺乏保险中介等原因 ,使得意外伤害保险的推行情况不甚理想。为大力推动我国建筑业人身意外伤害保险的发展 ,需要加强风险和保险的宣传、完善配套法规、采取强制与服务并重的措施并扶植我国工程保险中介组织的发展     

地方安全生产条例与《安全生产法》比对分析

对全国31个省、自治区和直辖市的安全生产条例进行了收集整理,并与《安全生产法》进行了逐条对比分析。从安全理念、安全规划、监管模式、机构和人员、管理制度和方法、安全经费、处罚和其他8个方面,对地方安全生产条例中具有代表性的、新的提法或改进的做法进行了总结。在此基础上,从建立"以人为本"安全理念、将"综合治理"纳入安全生产方针;明确要求各级政府编制安全生产规划,并将其纳入国民经济和社会发展规划;清晰界定政府综合监管、行业监管和其他监管部门的职责分工;细化各类企业安全管理机构和人员配备要求;明确注册安全工程师法律地位,并在高危行业强制配备;明确劳务派遣人员的培训职责,完善从业人员培训制度;建立安全生产信息系统,构建安全生产诚信体系;明确工伤保险基金、安全生产风险抵押金、安全生产责任险等费用的缴纳及管理要求;加大对尚未导致事故发生的违法行为的处罚力度;将隐患排查治理纳入《安全生产法》10个方面提出了对《安全生产法》的修改建议。     

A comparative analysis of safety management and safety performance in twelve construction projects

IntroductionSafety management in construction is complicated due to the complex “nature” of the construction industry. The aim of this research was to identify safety management factors (e.g., risk management and site management), contextual factors (e.g., organisational complexity) and combinations of such factors connected to safety performance. Method: Twelve construction projects were selected to compare their safety management and safety performance. An analytical framework was developed based on previous research, regulations, and standards where each management factor was defined. We employed qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to produce case knowledge, compare the cases, and identify connections between the factors and safety performance. The material collected and analyzed included, for example, construction planning documents, reports from OHS-inspections, safety indicators, and interviews with project leaders and OHS experts. Results and conclusions: The research showed that: (a) the average score on 12 safety management factors was higher among projects with high safety performance compared to projects with low safety performance; (b) high safety performance can be achieved with both high and low construction complexity and organizational complexity, but these factors complicate coordination of actors and operations; (c) it is possible to achieve high safety performance despite relatively poor performance on many safety management factors; (d) eight safety management factors were found to be “necessary” for high safety performance, namely roles and responsibilities, project management, OHS management and integration, safety climate, learning, site management, staff management, and operative risk management. Site management, operative risk management, and staff management were the three factors most strongly connected to safety performance. Practical implications: Construction stakeholders should understand that the ability to achieve high safety performance in construction projects is connected to key safety management factors, contextual factors, and combinations of such factors.     

Occupational safety and health in Spain

Occupational Health and Safety in Spain has improved considerably over the last decade, most likely due to a new concept where an overall concept of safety culture is defined. Important changes in industrial safety, hygiene, and psychosocial factors present an optimistic panorama for the future of Spain. Despite this general improvement, according to the European Convergence Program, Spanish statistics still offer far from good safety results. In fact, according to 1997 official statistics, Spain had the highest incidence rate for nonfatal occupational accidents of all European Union (EU) countries, and occupied third place for fatal accidents. This paper summarizes the organizational structure of the Spanish National System of Health & Safety at Work, its effective health and safety laws, and statistics on the Spanish work environment obtained from III Spanish National Survey on Work Conditions (1997). The researchers hope that the findings of this work will have an impact on Spanish industry that will subsequently bring about improvements in work conditions and develop assessment and intervention models in occupational health and safety, from a theoretical position integrating environmental, human, and organizational factors.     

IEC61511标准及在石化行业安全管理中的应用

功能安全的定量评定技术已成为确保石化行业安全生产的重要手段。针对石化行业普遍存在的功能安全问题,笔者以国际电工学会(IEC)专门制定的功能安全评定标准IEC61508及IEC61511为指导,介绍其标准制定的背景、目的、体系结构以及如何利用标准开展石化行业安全联锁系统(Safety Instrumented System,SIS)的安全与误跳车定量分析。通过对SIS开展定量安全评估,可发现联锁功能存在的安全不足与误跳车现象,对于提高我国石化行业安全生产水平具有重要的促进作用,标准中有关寿命周期功能安全管理方法及重要的工程经验也对提高我国石化安全生产水平具有借鉴作用。     

Exploring the role of emotional intelligence in behavior-based safety coaching

INTRODUCTION: Safety coaching is an applied behavior analysis technique that involves interpersonal interaction to understand and manipulate environmental conditions that are directing (i.e., antecedent to) and motivating (i.e., consequences of) safety-related behavior. A safety coach must be skilled in interacting with others so as to understand their perspectives, communicate a point clearly, and be persuasive with behavior-based feedback. METHOD: This article discusses the evidence-based "ability model" of emotional intelligence and its relevance to the interpersonal aspect of the safety coaching process. RESULTS: Emotional intelligence has potential for improving safety-related efforts and other aspects of individuals' work and personal lives. Safety researchers and practitioners are therefore encouraged to gain an understanding of emotional intelligence and conduct and support research applying this construct toward injury prevention.     

Small businesses and OH&S advisors

Traditionally occupational health and safety (OH&S) enquiry has viewed the world of work as if it comprised of blue-collar male workers employed on a full-time basis in large organisations. However, to continue to analyze workplace health and safety within the narrow confines of unionized labour situated in large organisations is to ignore the health and safety in non-unionised small businesses. Therefore, this paper challenges existing OH&S research by investigating the compliance experiences of small businesses. The paper also demonstrates that small business employers are becoming increasingly reliant on their accountant to provide a range of compliance advisory services, including OH&S. However, the notion that small accounting firms act as ‘intermediary advisors’ between the OH&S regulatory agencies and the small business sector may influence the way in which regulatory agencies achieve OH&S compliance in small workplaces. Finally, the study reinforces the need for a more flexible approach to OH&S in the small business sector.     

Risk reduction concept to provide design criteria for Emergency Systems for onshore LNG plants

The functional safety requirement is widely applied in the process plant industry in accordance with the international standards, such as IEC and ISA. The requirement is defined as safety integrity level (SIL) based on the risk reduction concept for protection layers, from original process risk to tolerable risk level. Although the standards specify both, the Prevention System and the Emergency System, as level of protection layers, the standards specify in detail only the use of the Prevention System (i.e., Safety Instrumented System (SIS)). The safety integrity level is not commonly allocated to the Emergency System (e.g., Fire and Gas System, Emergency Shutdown System and Emergency Depressuring System). This is because the required risk reduction can be normally achieved by only the Prevention System (i.e., SIS and Pressure Safety Valve (PSV)). Further, the risk reduction level for the Emergency System is very difficult to be quantified by the actual SIL application (i.e., evaluated based on the single accident scenario, such as an accident from process control deviation), since the escalation scenarios after Loss of Containment (LOC) greatly vary depending on the plant design and equipment. Consequently, there are no clear criteria for evaluating the Emergency System design. This paper aims to provide the functional safety requirement (i.e., required risk reduction level based on IEC 61508 and 61511) as design criteria for the Emergency System.In order to provide clear criteria for the Emergency System evaluation, a risk reduction concept integrated with public’s perception of acceptable risk criteria is proposed and is applied to identify the required safety integrity level for the Emergency System design. Further, to verify the safety integrity levels for the Emergency Systems, the probabilistic model of the Emergency Systems was established considering each Emergency System (e.g., Fire and Gas System, Emergency Shutdown System and Emergency Depressuring System) relation as the Overall Emergency System. This is because the Overall Emergency System can achieve its goal by the combined action of each individual system, including inherent safe design, such as separation distance.The proposed approach applicability was verified by conducting a case study using actual onshore Liquefied Natural Gas Plant data. Further, the design criteria for Emergency Systems for LNG plants are also evaluated by sensitivity analysis.     

我国工伤保险费率机制的探讨

工伤保险费率机制是工伤保险制度的核心问题 ,对工伤保险基金的稳定性、工伤预防效能的发挥和企业参与的积极性等多方面产生直接影响。笔者在调查和研究我国工伤保险现状的基础上 ,结合欧美等国的成功经验 ,分析了我国工伤保险费率机制存在的问题 ,并在差别费率划分、档次、费率调整、风险共担模式、收支平衡和促进工伤预防等方面提出了独自见解和相应的建议。     

The use of state workers' compensation administrative data to identify injury scenarios and quantify costs of work-related traumatic brain injuries

PROBLEM: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a public health problem but little is known about the nature of that problem in the working population. METHOD: The author used a national definition to identify cases in Washington State from workers' compensation (WC) hospital billing data, quantified the cost of WC insurance benefits using actuarial cost estimates, and identified high risk industries using ANSI Z16.2 typology. RESULTS: There were 928 cases of TBI with a lifetime claim cost of $159 million from the Washington State Fund (1994-2001). Sixty percent of injuries resulted in death or disability. The highest risks of TBI are concentrated in 16 industrial insurance risk classes and the highest costs in 19 North American Industry Classification codes. Injury scenarios were identified for nine industrial insurance risk classes. CONCLUSIONS: TBI is a disabling and costly workplace injury in the state of Washington, affecting even teenagers and seniors who are not generally considered to be part of the workforce. Injury typology codes provide useful information for improving workplace safety. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This research provides industry with quantitative information regarding the cost of work-related traumatic brain injury and the usefulness of using workers' compensation claims data to reduce the burden of workplace injury.     

Perceived safety climate, job demands, and coworker support among union and nonunion injured construction workers

PROBLEM: This study evaluated injured construction workers' perceptions of workplace safety climate, psychological job demands, decision latitude, and coworker support, and the relationship of these variables to the injury severity sustained by the workers. METHODS: Injury severity was assessed using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), which evaluates functional limitations. Worker perceptions of workplace variables were determined by two instruments: (a) the Safety Climate Measure for Construction Sites and (b) the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ). RESULTS: The overall model explained 23% of the variance in injury severity, with unique contributions provided by union status, the Safety Climate Score, and Psychological Job Demands. A positive significant correlation was found between injury severity and the Safety Climate Scores (r = .183, P = .003), and between the Safety Climate Scores and union status (r = .225, P < .001). DISCUSSION: There were statistically significant differences between union and nonunion workers' responses regarding perceived safety climate on 5 of the 10 safety climate items. Union workers were more likely than nonunion workers to: (a) perceive their supervisors as caring about their safety; (b) be made aware of dangerous work practices; (c) have received safety instructions when hired; (d) have regular job safety meetings; and (e) perceive that taking risks was not a part of their job. However, with regard to the 49-item JCQ, which includes Coworker Support, the responses between union and nonunion workers were very similar, indicating an overall high degree of job satisfaction. However, workers who experienced their workplace as more safe also perceived the level of management (r = -.55, P < .001) and coworker (r = -.31, P < .001) support as being higher. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The findings of this study underscore the critical need for construction managers to alert workers to dangerous work practices and conditions more frequently, and express concern and praise workers for safe work in a manner that is culturally acceptable in this industry. Workplace interventions that decrease the incidence and severity of injuries, but that are flexible enough to meet a variety of potentially competing imperatives, such as production deadlines and client demands, need to be identified.     

欧洲国家工伤保险费率管理实践及其对我国的启示——用经济手段促进企业改善劳动安全条件的尝试

笔者从平均基准费率水平、工伤保险基金期望的支出构成比较和工伤保险刺激事故预防的费率机制的形成 3个方面 ,对欧洲国家工伤保险费率进行了分析 ,对若干欧洲国家用工伤保险经济手段促进企业改善劳动条件的成功经验给以总结 ,并对我国新近出台的《工伤保险条例》提出一些修改建议。