An adaptive management system for hazardous technology organizations

This paper introduces a management system suitable for hazardous technology organizations which has been developed based on the assumptions that in these organizations safety is a critical strategic factor, the existence of an enhanced safety culture is a crucial condition for safety and that safety culture enhancement implies in organizational changes. The management system was theoretically developed and then implemented at a Brazilian nuclear research and development installation, as a case study, in order to validate the theoretical propositions assumed in the system development. The developed management system comprises a day-to-day based organizational framework which treats safety as one of the organization strategic perspectives and provides a continuous adaptation of the complex causal inter-relationships which occur between the implementation of new management practices – designed and implemented according to the requirements of the criteria of excellence of the Brazilian quality award management assessment model – and the organization safety culture. The results achieved in the case study permitted to demonstrate the validness of all the system theoretical propositions and to conclude that the continuous and systematic operation of the management system makes an effective safety culture enhancement possible and simultaneously facilitates that the new management practices be effectively implemented, thus making continuous organizational improvement possible.     

Safety management in different high-risk domains – All the same?

In view of safety management being introduced in more and more industries, the aim of this paper is to discuss what different high-risk industries can learn from each other and what limits for generalizing safety management methods within and across industries exist. After presenting core components of safety management, three attributes crucial to any organization’s functioning are described, which also affect the way safety management systems should be designed, run, and assessed. These attributes are (1) the kinds of safety to be managed, (2) the general approach to managing uncertainty as a hallmark of organizations that manage safety, and (3) the regulatory regime within which safety is managed. By discussing safety management in the context of these three attributes, contingencies are outlined that can help decision-makers in companies to tailor safety management to their own situation and support regulators in drawing up and evaluating safety management requirements for different industries while also promoting learning between different high-risk domains. Standards and procedures, safety training, incident reporting and investigation, and safety culture are taken as examples to illustrate why and how different aspects of organizational functioning should be taken into account when designing and evaluating safety management systems or elements thereof.     

Framework for creating a Best-in-Class safety culture

To answer the question, “What are the practical attributes of Best-in-Class safety management,” consensus principles have been identified and lessons learned harvested from a broad spectrum of organizations with exemplary safety programs. Through years of studying the underpinnings of a strong safety culture, the authors have identified ten attributes that are important to create a Best-in-Class safety culture. Instead of expecting one organization to possess all of the attributes or employ all of the techniques identified, the authors suggest these principles be treated as guidelines that can be used to improve the safety culture in organizations.     

Uncertainty analysis in the nuclear industry: Analytical unavailability modelling incorporating ageing of safety components

There is a growing interest in analyzing the possibility for current nuclear power plants operation extension. In that sense, life management programs, considering safety components ageing, are being developed and employed. On the other side, the large uncertainties of the ageing parameters as well as the uncertainties associated with most of the reliability data collections are widely acknowledged.This paper deals with uncertainty analysis associated with specific ageing rates database. The analysis is conducted using an analytical unavailability model applied for a selected safety system in a nuclear power plant. The most important problem is the immense uncertainty associated to the component ageing data sets as well as the lack of the very data in general, which would correspond to the more detailed modelling of ageing.New probability distributions, encompassing the ageing rates available in the considered data set, are suggested. The obtained results indicate the extent to which the uncertainty of the considered ageing data set, given the inherently assigned probability distribution, influences the performed unavailability calculations. Additionally, comparative analysis regarding the insights gained out of the application of the suggested probability distributions is conducted.     

基于SMART原则的企业安全文化评价体系研究

为持续改进企业安全管理绩效,对安全文化的关键指标进行研究并量化处理,以期对建立我国企业安全文化评价体系有建设性作用。笔者运用SMART原则确定了从3个测量维度、5个方向、18个评价指标构建了企业安全文化评价体系,运用层次分析法,并采用问卷调查及专家系统确定各评价指标的评价权重,对企业的安全文化进行研究。其结果表明提高组织安全文化水平主要从提高安全行为在组织内的受重视程度和加强组织管理两个途径入手。安全文化评价指标体系是对被评价对象进行全面考察的工作蓝本,在明确评价目标的指导下,尽可能从多方位评价企业安全文化的各个方面,最终落实到安全文化的操作层面。     

Rail ruminations for process safety improvement

Process safety practices have undergone multiple refinements over the past few decades, but major accidents continue to occur. Most organizations strive to improve performance by strengthening existing methods or by adopting new and/or different approaches. Central to these continual improvement efforts is the practice of applying lessons learned as a means to drive out potential risk exposures. Often, lessons learned may be transferred from other industries; indeed, high-performing organizations regularly benchmark practices outside of their immediate industry.In pursuit of continual process safety improvement, this paper examines risk management practices in the Rail Industry, and explores how methods intended for managing passenger and public rail safety may be transferred to drive continual improvement of process safety. Rail safety has its roots in engineered safety solutions; modern practices have additionally embraced the human aspects of safety performance. A selection of approaches for rail safety assessment and risk management are described in three areas considered fundamental to safety management: management of systems, management of technology, and management of human elements. In light of these examples, the authors provide views regarding how the field of process safety management may leverage the rail experience.     

基于集对分析法的煤矿危险性评价

煤矿危险性评价包含因素较多导致评价是一个比较复杂的过程,评价方法已经成为一个关键问题。讨论了集对分析相关理论,并将集对分析引入煤矿危险性评价中,建立了煤矿危险性评价指标体系,针对不考虑煤矿评价指标权重与考虑指标权重两种情况,通过联系度与集对势综合判断煤矿危险性态势,并对某煤矿的危险性进行评价,在不考虑指标权重与考虑指标权重两种情况下均处于"一般安全"等级,但后者的安全等级程度更低,两种情况的态势均属于微同势,也说明了该煤矿存在安全隐患,需要采取相关的安全措施并加强安全管理,该方法为煤矿危险性评价提供了一条新的方法和手段。     

Optimization of test interval for ageing equipment: A multi-objective genetic algorithm approach

Reducing the unavailability of safety systems at nuclear power plants, by utilizing the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) methodology, is one of the prime goals in the nuclear industry. In that sense, optimization of test and maintenance activities, which are defined within the technical specifications, represents quite popular and interesting domain. Obtaining optimal test and maintenance schedule is of great significance for improving system availability and performance as well as plant availability in general.On the other side, equipment aging has gradually become a major concern in the nuclear industry since the number of safety systems components, that are approaching their wear-out stage, is rising fast. Nuclear power plants life management programs, considering safety components aging, are being developed and employed. The immense uncertainty associated to the available component aging rates databases poses significant difficulties in the process of incorporation and quantification of the aging effect within the PSA and, subsequently, in the decision-making process.In this paper, an approach for optimization of surveillance test interval of standby equipment with highly uncertain aging parameters, based on genetic algorithm technique and PSA, is presented. A standard standby safety system in nuclear power plant is selected as a case study. A Monte Carlo simulation-based approach is used to assess uncertainty propagation on system level. Optimal test interval is derived on the basis of minimal system unavailability and minimal impact of components aging parameters uncertainty. The results obtained in this application indicate the fact that risk-informed surveillance requirements differ from existing ones in technical specifications as well as show the importance of considering aging data uncertainties in component aging modeling.     

Diagnosis of safety culture in safety management audits

Based on the sociotechnical systems approach, an understanding of safety culture as deeply rooted assumptions about the interplay of people, technology, and organization in their relation to safety is presented. As a complement to audit methods aimed at assessing formal safety management, a questionnaire was developed which allows some indications of these assumptions to be captured by providing data on perceptions regarding operational safety, safety and design strategies, and personal job needs. Analyzing response patterns of different occupational, hierarchical, and organizational groups within a company in combination with formal audit results and the communicative validation of both in a feedback meeting can help the auditors as well as the members of the company to gain a deeper understanding of safety management and safety culture in that company. Results from seven audits in petrochemical plants are presented and discussed with respect to the validity and practicability of the chosen approach.     

港口安全管理现状分析及对策研究

2002年港口下放地方,港口管理体制发生重大变化,港口安全管理出现缺位。摸清新体制下港口安全管理现状及存在的问题,特别是危险货物的监管问题是港口安全管理的迫切任务。笔者通过对港口安全管理状况调查、统计和分析,找出了港口体制改革后,安全管理存在的主要问题是安全管理机构、法规、人员等方面存在缺陷;认为当前港口安全管理是机制没有理顺,提出了建立港口安全管理长效机制的思路,为交通行业对港口安全进行有效管理的决策提供依据。     

直升机电力作业非线性动态安全评价模型

为有效提高直升机电力作业安全评价能力,落实通用航空作业标准化和规范化管理,本文以直升机电力作业中人员因素、直升机设备因素、电力作业设备因素、自然环境因素、机场环境因素、组织因素、规章管理因素7个模块为一级指标建立安全评价指标体系。结合多位专家给出的概率语义值,基于模糊集与改进的证据融合理论量化各指标风险程度,同时采用三角模糊数法确定中间节点条件概率,最后利用贝叶斯网络模型灵活推理能力,提出直升机电力作业非线性动态安全评价模型。通过对某通用航空公司直升机电力作业安全状况评价分析可知,企业组织因素、电力作业设备因素以及人员因素为主要薄弱环节,需加强管理,可通过提高从业人员的安全防范意识、提高设备可靠性以及加强人员培训等措施对风险进行预防。     

安全生产中介组织参与安全生产事故应急管理研究

在工业企业安全生产事故应急管理中,安全生产中介组织能为政府和企业提供重要的科技服务与支撑。为了更好地发挥安全生产中介组织科技中介的作用,研究了安全生产中介组织如何利用技术与知识优势参与工业企业安全生产事故应急管理。在事故应急预防与准备阶段,通过参与应急预案编制与演练、隐患排查与风险控制、应急技术研究,为企业和政府提供人才与技术支持;在事故应急响应阶段,从信息和处置技术方面协助事故现场应急处置;在事故后的恢复与重建阶段,参与事故信息分析整理、协助恢复企业经营活动、协助设计监督与评估机制等。通过加强自身能力建设参与应急管理的全过程,真正发挥专业科技型中介组织的作用。     

石化企业安全投资状况评价研究

首先分析影响石化企业安全投资状况的不确定因素,在此基础上建立石化企业安全投资状况评价指标体系。运用集对分析理论的方法对某石化企业的安全投资状况进行评价。结果表明,集对分析理论适用于石化企业安全投资状况的评价,差异度i的取值可以反映出该石化企业的安全投资状况及其安全经济管理水平。影响石化企业安全投入状况的重要因素是石化企业安全设计投入、安全技术装备投入、安全科技研发投入、治理环境的投入、应急救援投入、事故导致企业停产损失投入等。     

An assessment of health and safety management within working groups in the UK manufacturing sector

Problem: In response to the demands of competitiveness, there has been a proliferation of management delayering in order to move responsibility to those people carrying out the operations and to focus on working as a team. Teams can be managed in different ways: using supervisors, team leaders, or self-managed. The management of health and safety and other business risks is dependent on the way in which the team is managed. Method: This study has assessed, through the use of semistructured interviews, how UK manufacturing companies have addressed a range of health and safety management issues (i.e., the setting, communication, and measurement of company objectives, employee participation and empowerment, and risk assessment) in relation to different styles of group working (i.e., supervised groups, groups with team leaders, and self-managed groups). Discussion: Although the differences are not always significant, it is noticeable that within organizations using supervised work environments, there is a lack of communication of specific health and safety information, little involvement and participation in safety activities, and a greater reliance on the safety function. However, in organizations using team leaders and self-managed groups, there is evidence of greater management involvement, more open communication, and greater employee involvement in health and safety, although empowerment in its true sense was still limited in these organizations. Impact on industry: The results obtained illustrate the impact of different working groups on the management of health and safety in the UK manufacturing sector.     

Fuzzy logic-based approach for identifying the risk importance of human error

In the system reliability and safety assessment, the focuses are not only the risks caused by hardware or software, but also the risks caused by “human error”. There are uncertainties in the traditional human error risk assessment (e.g. HECA) due to the uncertainties and imprecisions in Human Error Probability (HEP), Error-Effect Probability (EEP) and Error Consequence Severity (ECS). While fuzzy logic can deal with uncertainty and imprecision. It is an efficient tool for solving problems where knowledge uncertainty may occur. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new Fuzzy Human Error Risk Assessment Methodology (FHERAM) for determining Human Error Risk Importance (HERI) as a function of HEP, EEP and ECS. The modeling technique is based on the concept of fuzzy logic, which offers a convenient way of representing the relationships between the inputs (i.e. HEP, EEP, and ECS) and outputs (i.e. HERI) of a risk assessment system in the form of IF–THEN rules. It is implemented on fuzzy logic toolbox of MATLAB using Mamdani techniques. A case example is presented to demonstrate the proposed approach. Results show that the method is more realistic than the traditional ones, and it is practicable and valuable.     

不良安全文化的特征:事故报告再分析

通过对高风险组织安全管理及事故的研究,对事故报告进行文化意义上的编码分析,揭示导致事故发生的不良安全文化特征。该报告再分析的材料是厂内档案可查的事故报告61份,根据其中55份事故报告的专家编码分析结果,得到了不良安全文化的特征是较低水平的管理对安全的承诺、较差的安全遵守、缺乏应急管理的有效措施、沟通与协调障碍。通过聚类分析,安全文化的各因素可以进一步归为两大类安全促进因素与安全保健因素。从文化的角度来看,分别对应着对组织的承诺和对人的承诺两个维度。     

泰州大桥工程项目建设单位安全管理实践探讨

建设单位做好安全管理工作,对保障大型工程项目建设的顺利进行,以及施工现场安全有着举足轻重的作用。泰州大桥项目作为特大桥梁工程,参建单位及人员众多,施工管理及组织非常复杂,安全管理工作面临着众多难点。本文从建设单位的角度出发,探讨了泰州大桥安全管理工作中的安全生产氛围、现场安全防护、高处作业、特种设备、特种作业人员、临时用电等八个重点内容,严把设计关、狠抓招标准入、强化制度建设、落实各级安全检查、实施安全生产风险抵押金考核等五种管理手段,以及委托专业机构提供现场安全管理及咨询、在全桥范围内建立和推行职业健康安全管理体系的探索性工作。此安全管理模式对其他大型工程项目建设单位抓好安全管理工作具有一定的借鉴意义。     

Safety culture and the issue of power

Issues of power and conflict in organizations are rarely addressed in safety culture research. Much safety culture research thus rests upon a harmony model of organizational life. This, it is argued, is a fundamental shortcoming of the existing research. The article discusses the relationship between power-oriented and cultural approaches to organizational safety. The accident with space shuttle Challenger is used as a case, since this accident has been analysed through both approaches.The article argues that issues of culture and power are so intertwined that safety culture research should incorporate perspectives of power and conflict. This is necessary in order to be able to give a realistic account of the dynamics of organizational life. Introducing a more power-oriented view on safety culture can also serve as the basis for important ethical considerations regarding the improvement of safety culture.Finally, it is argued that a safe culture is not necessarily one which is homogenous and free from conflict. Having conflicting views on safety can in fact be a safety resource by serving as a kind of requisite variety that facilitates learning.     

The nature of safety culture: A survey of the state-of-the-art

This paper reviews the literature on safety culture, placing particular focus on research undertaken from 1998 onwards. The term culture is clarified as it is typically applied to organizations, to safety, and particularly to construction safety. Some clarification in terms of positive safety culture, safety culture models, levels of aggregation and safety performance is provided by presenting appropriate empirical evidence and its theoretical developments. In general, safety culture is thought to influence employees’ attitudes and behavior in relation to an organization’s ongoing health and safety performance. Implications for future research in the area are addressed, as in recent years safety culture has become the focus of much attention in all industries, including the construction industry.     

Railway safety climate: a study on organizational development

The safety climate of an organization is considered a leading indicator of potential risk for railway organizations. This study adopts the perceptual measurement–individual attribute approach to investigate the safety climate of a railway organization. The railway safety climate attributes are evaluated from the perspective of railway system staff. We identify four safety climate dimensions from exploratory factor analysis, namely safety communication, safety training, safety management and subjectively evaluated safety performance. Analytical results indicate that the safety climate differs at vertical and horizontal organizational levels. This study contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence of the multilevel safety climate in a railway organization, presents possible causes of the differences under various cultural contexts and differentiates between safety climate scales for diverse workgroups within the railway organization. This information can be used to improve the safety sustainability of railway organizations and to conduct safety supervisions for the government.