Occupational injury rates among Norwegian farmers: A sociotechnical perspective

Introduction: This study addressed relative injury risk among Norwegian farmers, who are mostly self-employed and run small farm enterprises. The aim was to explore the relative importance of individual, enterprise, and work environment risks for occupational injury and to discuss the latent conditions for injuries using sociotechnical system theory. Method: Injury report and risk factors were collected through a survey among Norwegian farm owners in November 2012. The response rate was 40% (n = 2,967). Annual work hours were used to calculate injury rates within groups. Poisson regression using the log of hours worked as the offset variable allowed for the modeling of adjusted rate ratios for variables predictive of injury risk. Finally, safety climate measures were introduced to assess potential moderating effects on risk. Results: Results showed that the most important risk factors for injuries were the design of the workplace, type of production, and off-farm work hours. The main results remained unchanged when adding safety climate measures, but the measures moderated the injury risk for categories of predominant production and increased the risk for farmers working with family members and/or employees. An overall finding is how the risk factors were interrelated. Conclusions: The study identified large structural diversities within and between groups of farmers. The study drew attention to operating conditions rather than individual characteristics. The farmer’s role (managerial responsibility) versus regulation and safety climate is important for discussions of injury risk. Practical Applications: We need to study sub-groups to understand how regulation and structural changes affect work conditions and management within different work systems, conditioned by production. It is important to encourage actors in the political-economic system to become involved in issues that were found to affect the safety of farmers.     

Factors associated with occupational injury severity in the New South Wales underground coal mining industry

The relationship between a large number of mine and mine worker characteristics and injury severity was examined using multiple regression techniques. The study was based on data extracted from the New South Wales (N.S.W.) Joint Coal Board's computer based accident/incident reporting system describing 21,372 non-fatal, lost-time injurious incidents that occurred in the N.S.W. underground coal mining industry during the 4 year period from 1 July 1986 to 30 June 1990. The number of days lost as a result of an injurious incident was the best available proxy measure of injury severity. Over the study period, the number of days lost per 100,000 tonnes of raw coal production declined by 73%. Over the same period, injurious incidents involving more than 20 days off work, which constituted only 16% of all injurious incidents in underground mines, resulted in 75% of the total days lost for the whole N.S.W. underground coal mining industry. Factors that had practical importance and that were significantly associated with injury severity included mine worker's age, part of the body injured, type of accident, agency of accident, and mine worker activity. Factors not important or not significant in their relationship with injury severity were: time into shift, previous hours worked, mine location of incident, occupation, work experience, frequency of task, shift, and mining region. This study suggests that factors related to the susceptibility of a mine worker's body tissue to damage or repair, and factors related to the concentration of energy on the mine worker by vehicle and environmental characteristics are important determinants of injury severity.     

“Safety is everyone's job:” The key to safety on a large university construction site

Problem

Construction risk management is challenging.

Method

We combined data on injuries, costs, and hours worked, obtained through a Rolling Owner-Controlled Insurance Program (ROCIP), with data from focus groups, interviews, and field observations, to prospectively study injuries and hazard control on a large university construction project.

Results

Lost-time injury rates (1.0/200,000 hours worked) were considerably lower than reported for the industry, and there were no serious falls from height. Safety was considered in the awarding of contracts and project timeline development; hazard management was iterative. A top-down management commitment to safety was clearly communicated to, and embraced by, workers throughout the site.

Discussion and Impact

A better understanding of how contracting relationships, workers' compensation, and liability insurance arrangements influence safety could shift risk management efforts from worker behaviors to a broader focus on how these programs and relationships affect incentives and disincentives for workplace safety and health.     

Risk assessment: an approach to control hazards in mines

Accidents and injuries related to work are major occupational health problems in most of the industrialized countries.Traditional approaches to manage workplace safety in mines have mainly focused on job redesign and technical aspects of engineering systems.It is being realized that compliance to rules and regulations of mines is a prerequisite;however,it is not sufficient to achieve further reduction in accident and injury rates in mines.Proactive approaches are necessary to further improve the safety standards in mines.Unsafe conditions and practices in mines lead to a number of accidents,which in turn may cause loss and injury to human lives,damages to property,and loss of production.Hazard identification and risk assessment is an important task for the mining industry which needs to consider all the risk factors at workplaces.Applications of risk management approaches in mines are necessary to identify and quantify potential hazards and to suggest effective solutions.In this paper,the following risk estimation techniques were discussed:(i)DGMS(Directorate General of Mines Safety,India)risk rating criterion,and(ii)a matrix based approach.The proposed tools were demonstrated through an application in an opencast coal mine in India.It was inferred that the risk assessment approach can be used as an effective tool to indentify and control hazards in mines.     

籽棉和皮棉阴燃特性的对比实验研究

分别对具有相同尺寸、相同质量的籽棉和皮棉进行阴燃实验并对实验结果进行对比分析,得到在无外部辐射热源的自然条件下,发生阴燃时皮棉的温升速率较大、阴燃最高温度较高、阴燃前期600s内的CO生成速率和质量流量较大,但籽棉的阴燃时间较长,约为皮棉阴燃时间的4倍;同时将阴燃分为三个阶段,在阴燃的缓慢发展阶段和衰减阶段,籽棉阴燃的火灾危险性较大,在快速发展阶段,皮棉阴燃的火灾危险性较大。     

Continued progress in the prevention of nail gun injuries among apprentice carpenters: What will it take to see wider spread injury reductions?

Problem

Nail guns are a common source of acute, and potentially serious, injury in residential construction.

Method

Data on nail gun injuries, hours worked and hours of tool use were collected in 2008 from union apprentice carpenters (n = 464) through classroom surveys; this completed four years of serial cross-sectional data collection from apprentices. A predictive model of injury risk was constructed using Poisson regression.

Results

Injury rates declined 55% from baseline measures in 2005 with early training and increased use of tools with sequential actuation. Injury rates declined among users of tools with both actuation systems, but the rates of injury were consistently twice as high among those using tools with contact trip triggers.

Discussion and impact

Nail gun injuries can be reduced markedly through early training and use of tools with sequential actuation. These successful efforts need to be diffused broadly, including to the non-union sector.     

基于Logistic回归分析的煤自燃多级预警方法研究

为实现煤自燃过程的精细分级与自燃隐患的精确预警,保障井下煤自燃防治工作有效开展和煤炭资源安全开采.以甘肃王家山矿202工作面煤样为测试对象,采用煤自然发火试验与程序升温试验手段模拟煤体自然发火过程.测定煤自燃指标气体等特性参数数据,分析相关指标气体特征,将煤自燃过程划分为稳定、波动和剧烈反应3大区间.通过处理指标数据以...     

化学品突发性事故预测的不确定性分析

介绍化学品突发性事故预测的不确定性概率统计和模糊数学分析方法。对参数和模式的不确定性分别进行了讨论,计算机系统包括化学品常用数据库、事故识别模块,事故后果分析模块和不确定性分析模块,对液氯泄漏排放事故、液化气（丙烷）两相闪蒸爆炸和管道煤气（CO）泄漏伤害模式实例进行了分析。对连续源和瞬时源的讨论说明泄漏时间的确定对事故分析极为重要。     

煤自燃预测气体及活化能变化研究

为了研究煤在低温阶段的自燃活化能及气体产生规律,基于耗氧量与煤温间的计算模型,利用煤氧化动力学测试系统,分析了3种不同自燃性煤的低温氧化表征。结果表明:1)随着煤自燃倾向性增强,煤的耗氧量和耗氧速率逐渐增大,且其耗氧速率急剧增大的拐点温度逐渐升高;2)不同自燃性煤活化能变化规律存在显著差异,利用阶段耗氧量拐点计算出铜川和大同煤样温度分别为203℃、228℃时,活化能快速减小,开始进入自发氧化阶段;晋城煤样活化能经历先减小后增大的过程,其中过渡温度段91~135℃时,活化能最小;同时拟合出活化能(E)与指前因子(A)关系式满足动力补偿效应,验证了机理函数的合理性;3)依据复合气体CO_2/CO、CH_4/C_2H_6、C_2H_4/C_2H_6、C_3H_8/C_2H_6随温度的变化趋势,结合煤低温氧化特性,可预测煤样的氧化进程和煤体温度。     

Evolution of road risk disparities at small-scale level: example of Belgium

PROBLEM: Road accident outcomes are traditionally analyzed at state or road network level due to a lack of aggregated data and suitable analytical methods. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate usefulness of a simple spatiotemporal modeling of road accident outcomes at small-scale geographical level. METHOD: Small-area spatiotemporal Bayesian models commonly used in epidemiological studies reveal the existence of spatial correlation in accident data and provide a mechanism to quantify its effect. The models were run for Belgium data for the period 2000-2005. Two different scale levels and two different exposure variables were considered under Bayesian hierarchical models of annual accident and fatal injury counts. The use of the conditional autoregressive (CAR) formulation of area specific relative risk and trend terms leads to more distinctive patterns of risk and its evolution. The Pearson correlation tests for relative risk rates and temporal trends allows researchers to determine the development of risk disparities in time. RESULTS: Analysis of spatial effects allowed the identification of clusters with similar risk outcomes pointing toward spatial structure in road accident outcomes and their background mechanisms. From the analysis of temporal trends, different developments in road accident and fatality rates in the three federated regions of Belgium came into light. Increasing spatial disparities in terms of fatal injury risk and decreasing spatial disparities in terms of accident risk with time were further identified. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The application of a space-time model to accident and fatal injury counts at a small-scale level in Belgium allowed identification of several areas with outstandingly high accident (injury) records. This could allow more efficient redistribution of resources and more efficient road safety management in Belgium.     

面向生命周期的矿山生产安全完整性理论框架

为应对生产安全形势严峻和安全需求多样的状况,借鉴工控领域安全相关系统完整性的方法,概括了面向矿山生命周期和基于风险管理的矿山生产安全完整性理论框架,包括面向生命周期的风险隐患多维表征以及矿山安全相关系统完整性的内涵、要求和实现步骤,有助于为多样的矿山需求提供安全保障。     

Animal-related injuries: a population-based study of a five-state region in the upper Midwest: Regional Rural Injury Study II

PROBLEM: While agricultural injury has been identified among the major causes of occupational injury mortality and morbidity, data have been limited pertinent to the magnitude, consequences, and potential risk factors for animal-related injuries -- a major source of morbidity among agricultural operations. METHODS: Demographics, exposure, and injury data were collected for 1999 and 2001 among agricultural households in a five-state region. Causal models facilitated survey design, data analyses, and interpretation of results; directed acyclic graphs guided multivariate modeling. RESULTS: From 7,420 households (84% response of eligible), a total of 5,045 injury events were reported; 1,016 (20.1%) were animal-related. Multivariate analyses revealed increased risks for those <20 years; residents of all states compared to Minnesota; all age groups compared to 0-4 years; >0 hours worked; and prior agricultural injury history. For those 20+ years, increased risks were identified for: South Dakota residents; males; >0 hours worked; and prior agricultural injury history. For those cases <20 and 20+ years of age, 58% and 46%, respectively, resulted in lost work time on their agricultural operations (31% and 50%, one week or more). CONCLUSIONS: Animal-related injury has a major impact on the agricultural industry. Results serve as a basis for interventions and further research. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The impact of animal-related injuries on the agricultural industry appears significant; among age groups <20 and 20+, 85% and 82%, respectively, had some resulting restriction. For all events combined, 29% and 30%, respectively, involved restriction from one week to 3+ months; 12% and 15% involved restriction for one month or more. Among those <20 and 20+ years of age, 58% and 46%, respectively, lost work time on their own agricultural operation as a result of injuries associated with their own operation; 22% and 15% lost one week or more. Moreover, of the non-agriculture-related injuries, 31% and 50% resulted in lost work time on their own operation; 15% and 28%, respectively, lost one week or more. Restrictions such as these can affect the productivity of the operation, resulting in financial impacts, especially on small operations that have few people to manage the required tasks.     

Effect of Aging on Brain Injury Prediction in Rotational Head Trauma—A Parameter Study with a Rat Finite Element Model

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of age-related intracranial changes on the potential outcome of diffuse axonal injuries and acute subdural hematoma under rotational head loading.

Methods: A simulation-based parametric study was conducted using an updated and validated finite element model of a rat head. The validation included a comparison of predicted brain cortex sliding with respect to the skull. Further, model material properties were modified to account for aging; predicted tissue strains were compared with experimental data in which groups of rats in 2 different lifecycle stages, young adult and mature adult, were subjected to rotational trauma. For the parameter study, 2 age-dependent factors—brain volume and region-specific brain material properties—were implemented into the model. The models young adult and old age were subjected to several injurious and subinjurious sagittal plane rotational acceleration levels.

Results: Sequential analysis of the simulated trauma progression indicates that an increase in acute subdural hematoma injury risk indicator occurs at an early stage of the trauma, whereas an increase in diffuse axonal injury risk indicators occurs at a later stage. Tissue stiffening from young adult to mature adult rats produced an increase in strain-based thresholds accompanied by a wider spread of strain distribution toward the rear part of the brain, consistent with rotational trauma experiments with young adult and mature adult rats. Young adult to old age brain tissue softening and brain atrophy resulted in an increase in diffuse axonal injuries and acute subdural hematoma injury risk indicators, respectively.

Conclusions: The findings presented in this study suggest that age-specific injury thresholds should be developed to enable the development of superior restraint systems for the elderly. The findings also motivate other further studies on age-dependency of head trauma.     

煤矿安全生产面临的问题及对策

我国是煤矿生产大国,煤炭资源在我国一次能源中占有重大比例。由于工作环境的复杂性以及多变性,煤矿生产一直是一个高危行业。随着煤矿科技水平的提高,煤矿事故得到了一定程度的遏制,但在煤矿开采和生产过程中,各种事故仍有发生,造成了重大的人员伤亡和经济损失,严重阻碍了煤矿的安全、高效生产,并对社会造成了不良影响,这使得煤矿安全问题尤为突出。文章针对近年来发生的几起大型矿难,从自然条件、生产条件、科技投入、管理水平、安全培训五方面分析了我国煤矿生产面临的问题,指出了当前煤矿生产存在的安全隐患,并提出了预防和减少煤矿事故的具体措施,为今后煤矿的生产管理提供技术参考及依据。     

基于三维可视化与虚拟仿真技术的综采工作面生产仿真研究

针对现阶段煤矿从业人员生产培训中存在的不足,以淮南矿业集团潘三矿1622综采工作面为例,引出了基于三维可视化与虚拟仿真技术的综合机械化采煤虚拟仿真系统的设计与开发,利用3D MAX三维建模软件对矿区地形、地质及综采工作面采煤机、液压支架、刮板输送机等生产机械设备进行三维模型的创建,并结合Converse3D虚拟现实制作软件对系统的界面UI和交互进行设计,提出了系统设计开发的完整流程。通过在潘三矿的应用结果表明:基于三维可视化及虚拟仿真技术开发的综采工作面虚拟仿真系统具有易学性、真实性和交互性等特点,能够快速激发工人的学习兴趣,大大降低了工人安全培训的时间。同时,也为工业生产的实时仿真,提供了新的研究方向。     

Time allocation between work and recreation and the associated injury risks among young people

PROBLEM: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between overall risk of injury and time use patterns between work and active recreation among adolescents and young adults. METHODS: Using a representative sample of 9,795 Canadians aged 15-24 years, a multivariate logistic regression on the likelihood of any medically attended injury was conducted, including sociodemographic, individual, and time factors. RESULTS: Young people who engaged in a combination of high work and high activity hours were twice as likely to sustain a medically attended injury compared to those who worked low hours, but did not participate in any recreational activity. Those respondents who were not in school had a 43% increase in injury risk compared to full-time students. SUMMARY: Our findings suggest that injury risk was not a simple function of fatigue and cumulative exposure time. Our findings suggest the importance of considering time use and the associated injury risk tradeoffs. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Relevant to state and federal work safety policy makers, our findings suggest the importance of understanding where youth might otherwise spend their time if constraint were placed on their employment opportunities, and the associated injury risk tradeoffs must be taken into consideration.     

基于在线观测的北京冬季一次PM2.5重污染过程特征分析

选取2017年1月初北京一次典型PM_(2.5)重污染过程为研究对象,应用污染物在线监测仪器并结合气象要素对地面PM_(2.5)及化学组分质量浓度污染特征进行了分析,采用微脉冲激光雷达对垂直方向进行观测,分析边界层及消光系数的变化特征。结果表明,从PM_(2.5)质量浓度的演变过程来看,本次污染可大致分为爬升、重污染、清除3个阶段。重污染时期的气象特征为高湿、低压、低风速;南部琉璃河((336.8±118.6)μg/m~3)、永乐店((323.1±86.2)μg/m~3)PM_(2.5)污染水平相近,均高于城区车公庄((278.7±138.7)μg/m~3);碳组分和二次水溶性离子是PM_(2.5)的主要组分,占到PM_(2.5)质量浓度的58.09%(车公庄)、71.43%(琉璃河)、76.57%(永乐店);SO2-4质量浓度上升显著,在总组分中比例由非重污染时期的16.73%升高到重污染时期的22.29%;3处监测点SOR和NOR均值分别为0.57和0.24,表明重污染期间二次转化明显。垂直方向观测结果表明,重污染时期边界层高度明显降低;气溶胶近地面消光系数高,表明污染物主要集中在近地面层。     

地铁隧道施工风险机理分析

为预防地铁隧道施工风险事件的发生,需对风险机理进行系统研究。根据风险的发生过程将风险机理分为产生、发展及演化3个阶段。把耗散结构理论引入到地铁隧道施工塌方风险机理的研究中,并论证其适用性,从3个阶段对塌方风险的形成过程进行分析,对塌方风险的耗散结构形成条件进行论证。分析表明:从开挖到岩体变形可视为风险产生阶段,此时平衡态被打破。从塑性变形到变形率急剧增大视为风险发展阶段,经历近平衡态、较远平衡态及远离平衡态;从一个风险事件到多个风险事件陆续发生视为风险演化阶段,此时一个甚至多个事件耗散结构形成。     

Household youth on minority operated farms in the United States, 2000: exposures to and injuries from work, horses, ATVs and tractors

INTRODUCTION: It is likely that youth living on minority operated farms (<3% of U.S. farms) face hazards similar to the general farm population; however, since minority youth are not well represented by general farm surveys, this information hasn't been confirmed. METHOD: Nonfatal injury and exposure data were obtained from the 2000 Minority Farm Operator Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (M-CAIS). RESULTS: On racial minority farms, there were an estimated 28,600 household youth. Of these, about 41% worked, 26% rode a horse, 23% drove an ATV, and 23% operated a tractor. On Hispanic farms, there were an estimated 17,998 household youth. Of these, 44% worked, 30% rode a horse, 27% drove an ATV, and 25% operated a tractor. CONCLUSIONS: These results show the value of conducting a survey of minorities to identify high risk groups and target issues that may be unique to the minority farm population.     

Explorative spatial analysis of traffic accident statistics and road mortality among the provinces of Turkey

Introduction

The aim of the study is to describe the inter-province differences in traffic accidents and mortality on roads of Turkey.

Method

Two different risk indicators were used to evaluate the road safety performance of the provinces in Turkey. These indicators are the ratios between the number of persons killed in road traffic accidents (1) and the number of accidents (2) (nominators) and their exposure to traffic risk (denominator). Population and the number of registered motor vehicles in the provinces were used as denominators individually. Spatial analyses were performed to the mean annual rate of deaths and to the number of fatal accidents that were calculated for the period of 2001-2006. Empirical Bayes smoothing was used to remove background noise from the raw death and accident rates because of the sparsely populated provinces and small number of accident and death rates of provinces. Global and local spatial autocorrelation analyses were performed to show whether the provinces with high rates of deaths-accidents show clustering or are located closer by chance. The spatial distribution of provinces with high rates of deaths and accidents was nonrandom and detected as clustered with significance of P < 0.05 with spatial autocorrelation analyses.

Results

Regions with high concentration of fatal accidents and deaths were located in the provinces that contain the roads connecting the Istanbul, Ankara, and Antalya provinces. Accident and death rates were also modeled with some independent variables such as number of motor vehicles, length of roads, and so forth using geographically weighted regression analysis with forward step-wise elimination. The level of statistical significance was taken as P < 0.05. Large differences were found between the rates of deaths and accidents according to denominators in the provinces. The geographically weighted regression analyses did significantly better predictions for both accident rates and death rates than did ordinary least regressions, as indicated by adjusted R² values. Geographically weighted regression provided values of 0.89-0.99 adjusted R² for death and accident rates, compared with 0.88-0.95, respectively, by ordinary least regressions.

Impact on industry

Geographically weighted regression has the potential to reveal local patterns in the spatial distribution of rates, which would be ignored by the ordinary least regression approach. The application of spatial analysis and modeling of accident statistics and death rates at provincial level in Turkey will help to identification of provinces with outstandingly high accident and death rates. This could help more efficient road safety management in Turkey.