Traffic safety in developing countries: Part 2

This paper continues the discussion (Journal of Safety Research, 12(2), 50–58) of traffic safety problems in developing countries. The emphasis in this part is on the relationships between transportation and public health, with a number of specific suggestions for developing countries.     

Exploring the organisational preconditions for occupational accidents in food industry: A qualitative approach

The continuing high frequency of occupational accidents in the Swedish food industry calls for new approaches to better understand the underlying factors. In the present study, 54 accidents involving hand injuries were investigated from the operators’ perspective, to explore the organisational preconditions. In-depth interviews were conducted with operators and their supervisors, and 24 of these interviews were analysed using the grounded theory method. The core category ‘safety as a process’ was identified encompassing the perception of the process of the accident at operative level and organisational preconditions that increased the risk of occupational accidents. These preconditions were open factors: deficiencies in technical/physical environment and work organisation; and concealed factors: insufficient communication and learning, a high level of responsibility in combination with low control, conflicting goals and a gap between procedures and practice. These preconditions lead to risk acceptance, resignation towards improved safety and normalisation of risk. Through the analysis a five-step hypothesis was empirically generated.     

Falls and fall prevention programmes in developing countries: environmental scan for the adaptation of the Canadian Falls prevention curriculum for developing countries

Problem

Falls in older persons in developing countries are poorly understood, and falls prevention and health promotion programmes for this population are largely lacking.

Methods

A systematic review was carried out of relevant literature on falls and prevention programmes, and falls prevention education, and a scan undertaken of health promotion programmes for older persons in a representative country - South Africa.

Results

Studies on the risk and prevalence of falls are largely retrospective and hospital-based, with varied methodology, including study period, sampling method and sample size. Falls prevalence is based largely on self-reports in studies on general trauma in all age groups. Falls incidence varies from 10.1% to 54%. No reports could be traced on sustained falls prevention or health promotion programmes.

Conclusion

Scant research has been conducted and little preventive education offered on falls in older persons. Adaptation of the Canadian Falls Prevention Curriculum for developing countries will help to fill gaps in knowledge and practice.

Impact on industry

With rapid increase in the populations of older persons in developing countries, research on age related disorders such as falls is required to guide policy and management of falls.     

Organisational safety indicators: Some conceptual considerations and a supplementary qualitative approach

This article discusses the extent to which indicators can represent organisational qualities in relation to safety and how a qualitative approach called the Operational Safety Condition (OSC) method can be a supplement and help improve safety. In light of the recent Safety Science debate on safety indicators, we suggest that it is difficult to capture organisational conditions using indicators, although they are indisputably important when identifying the risk of accidents. Safety climate and risk analysis approaches are discussed as methods that can build and assess indicators in relation to organisational safety quality. OSC and similar qualitative approaches can capture the complexity of organisational conditions, aid organisational learning at a double loop level and offer a tool for risk management.     

Motorcycle safety among motorcycle taxi drivers and nonoccupational motorcyclists in developing countries: A case study of Maoming,South China

Objective: An increasing number of motorcycle taxis have been involved in traffic crashes in many developing countries. This study examines the characteristics of both motorcycle taxi drivers and nonoccupational motorcyclists, investigates the risks they pose to road safety, and provides recommendations to minimize their risks.

Methods: Based on the data collected from a questionnaire survey of 867 motorcycle taxi drivers and 2,029 nonoccupational motorcyclists in Maoming, South China, comparisons were made to analyze differences of personal attributes, attitudes toward road safety, and self-reported behavior of the 2 groups.

Results: Results of the chi-square tests show that not only motorcycle taxi drivers but also nonoccupational motorcyclists in Maoming held poor attitudes toward road safety and both groups reported unsafe driving behavior. There is much room for improving local road safety education among all motorcyclists in Maoming. Yet, motorcycle taxi drivers were more likely to pose road safety risks than nonoccupational motorcyclists under some circumstances, such as speeding late at night or early in the morning, not requiring passengers to wear helmets, and running a red light. The results of the binary logistic regression model show that possessing a vehicle license for a motorcycle or not was the common significant predictor for unsafe driving behavior of motorcycle taxi drivers and nonoccupational motorcyclists. Therefore, enforcement against all motorcyclists not showing vehicle licenses for their motorcycles should be stepped up.

Conclusion: Motorcycle safety is largely poor in Maoming. Therefore, efforts to improve motorcycle safety should be strengthened by targeting not only motorcycle taxi drivers but also nonoccupational motorcyclists.     

Investigation into qualitative discourses of the occupational safety and health inspectors in order to promote enforcement

The aim of this study is to conduct an ex-post evaluation of the OSH Enforcement Act. The focus of the study was to collate the views of occupational safety and health (OSH) inspectors on how the OSH Enforcement Act and the practices of the governmental OSH inspectorate operate from an effectiveness perspective. The questionnaire included open questions addressed to OSH inspectors. The results indicated that there is a tension between the quantitative performance targets, e.g., the number of inspections and the effectiveness of the practical enforcement work. Harmonizing the enforcement practices should be implemented at two levels: OSH local agencies and individual inspectors. OSH inspectors believe that developing the professional skills of OSH inspectors and the monitoring of OSH management systems are important ways of promoting the effectiveness of OSH enforcement.     

基于过程方法的职业健康安全管理体系探讨

职业健康安全管理体系在煤炭行业获得了广泛认可和应用,对提高煤炭行业的职业健康安全管理水平起到了较大的促进作用.OSAS18001、ISO9001与ISO14001等管理体系标准均推荐采用过程方法,但煤炭行业鲜有应用.为了更好地在煤炭行业职业健康安全管理体系中贯彻过程管理模式,本文从TS煤矿职业健康安全管理体系的建立与运行、过程分析以及审核方法等方面入手,结合TS煤矿的实际,介绍了过程方法在煤矿职业健康安全管理体系中的应用.     

某垃圾焚烧热电联产项目职业病危害控制效果评价

对某垃圾焚烧热电联产项目职业病危害控制效果进行评价,确定其主要的职业病危害因素。根据项目职业病危害的特点,通过职业卫生现场调查、职业卫生检测、职业健康检查等方法收集数据和资料,并结合职业病防护设施、个人职业病防护水平和定量分级结果,对试运行期间作业人员的职业病危害因素接触水平及职业健康影响进行评价。该项目主要职业病危害因素有硫化氢、氨、氢氧化钠、氯化氢、氟化氢、粉尘、一氧化碳、二氧化碳、NOX、SOX、重金属（如铅、汞、镉等）、二噁英等有毒气体（或有毒粉尘）和噪声、高温等物理因素。项目除输煤系统4#皮带头作业点煤尘浓度和5#皮带头、5#皮带卸煤口、碎煤机（三楼）检测点的噪声强度不符合国家职业卫生标准外,其余均符合国家职业卫生标准。该项目职业病危害控制效果基本符合国家职业卫生标准。建议改进完善部分岗位的职业病防护设施,建立健全职业卫生管理制度,完善现场职业病危害警示标识和警示说明。     

A hybrid decision-making approach based on FCM and MOORA for occupational health and safety risk analysis

IntroductionWith the development of industries and increased diversity of their associated hazards, the importance of identifying these hazards and controlling the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) risks has also dramatically augmented. Currently, there is a serious need for a risk management system to identify and prioritize risks with the aim of providing corrective/preventive measures to minimize the negative consequences of OHS risks. In fact, this system can help the protection of employees’ health and reduction of organizational costs. Method: The present study proposes a hybrid decision-making approach based on the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM), and Multi-Objective Optimization on the basis of Ratio Analysis (MOORA) for assessing and prioritizing OHS risks. After identifying the risks and determining the values of the risk assessment criteria via the FMEA technique, the attempt is made to determine the weights of criteria based on their causal relationships through FCM and the hybrid learning algorithm. Then, the risk prioritization is carried out using the MOORA method based on the decision matrix (the output of the FMEA) and the weights of the criteria (the output of the FCM). Results: The results from the implementation of the proposed approach in a manufacturing company reveal that the score at issue can overcome some of the drawbacks of the traditional Risk Priority Number (RPN) in the conventional FMEA, including lack of assignment the different relative importance to the assessment criteria, inability to take into account other important management criteria, lack of consideration of causal relationships among criteria, and high dependence of the prioritization on the experts’ opinions, which finally provides a full and distinct risk prioritization.     

高海拔高寒地区金属矿山采选固废安全处置现状及研究进展

针对高海拔寒区金属矿山采选固废处置成本高、有效处置率偏低、安全隐患多等问题,采用室内试验、理论分析、数值模拟及现场实践相结合的方法,开展高海拔寒区排土场散体物料物理力学性质、排土场稳定性、充填料浆输送、充填体固结性能、充填体改性增强等方面的研究,构建冻融循环条件下散体物料内部微观结构信息与宏观力学参数定量关系模型,揭示冻融循环下排土场致灾机理和低温低气压环境下胶结充填料浆固结演化特性,提出冻融循环下排土场堆置工艺和低温低气压环境下胶结充填料浆固结增强技术。相关成果对于提高我国高海拔高寒地区金属矿山采选固废的有效处置率,降低固废处置成本,保障矿山可持续发展具有重要的理论价值和实践指导意义。     

The contribution of qualitative analyses of occupational health and safety interventions: An example through a study of external advisory interventions

With this study, we endeavoured to develop a model to explain both the processes leading to preventive-based changes during occupational health and safety interventions performed by external advisors, and the effect of the workplace context on these interventions and on the implementation of change proposals. The study concerns seven interventions carried out by advisors from four joint occupational health and safety sector-based associations. This longitudinal study entailed observing external advisor/workplace actors interactions and various interviews with the advisor and workplace actors. Each proposal for change was followed to see if it would be accepted, modified, and implemented or not. The research strategy and results presented herein illustrate the potential explanatory value of a qualitative, longitudinal study. For this purpose, we extracted six methodological principles from the eight criteria (further broken down into 17 questions) set forth in an article by Shannon et al. [Shannon, H.S., Robson, L.S., Guastello, S.J., 1999. Methodological criteria for evaluating safety intervention research. Safety Science 31, 161–179]. This article was chosen for its explicit, succinct presentation of a series of methodological criteria, some of which have been cited by other authors. The principles we selected are those that qualitative research could particularly be useful in attaining, among all the criteria defined by Shannon et al. (1999). The study results illustrate how a qualitative intra- and inter-case study could contribute to fulfillment of each selected principle, and towards a better understanding of the conditions for preventive intervention effectiveness.     

《废气治理环保项目劳动安全卫生设计专篇》编写要求

强调了劳动安全卫生设计的重要性，就《废气治理环保项目劳动安全卫生设计专篇》的编写方法进行了说明。指出了环保项目中常见的危险危害因素，并提出相应的防范技术措施。     

报废弹药销毁处理职业危害因素分析与控制

报废弹药销毁处理不仅是一项非常危险的工作,而且作业过程中存在的职业危害对作业人员的健康也构成了巨大的威胁。为了预防、控制和消除职业危害,防治职业病,保护弹药销毁作业人员的健康,通过系统介绍分析报废弹药销毁处理的工艺方法,结合弹药的结构特点,全面辨识了作业过程中可能产生的职业危害因素,并提出了相应的控制措施。分析结果表明报废弹药销毁处理职业危害严重的工艺环节主要包括倒空作业和烧毁作业,其主要危害因素包括炸药的蒸气、粉尘、重金属烟尘（如铅、汞等）和CO、NOx、SO2等有毒有害气体。要预防、控制和消除报废弹药销毁处理职业危害,不仅要加强危害严重岗位的技术治理,还要采取全面系统的管理措施,如建立健全职业危害防治的各项规章制度、加强职业危害防治的宣传教育等。     

The effectiveness of occupational health and safety management system interventions: A systematic review

A variety of OHSMS-based standards, guidelines, and audits has been developed and disseminated over the past 20 years. A good understanding of the impact of these systems is timely. This systematic literature review aimed to synthesize the best available evidence on the effects of OHSMS interventions on employee health and safety and associated economic outcomes. Eight bibliographic databases covering a wide range of fields were searched. Twenty-three articles met the study’s relevance criteria. Thirteen of these met the methodological quality criteria. Only one of these 13 original studies was judged to be of high methodological quality; the remainder had moderate limitations. The studies’ results were generally positive. There were some null findings but no negative findings. In spite of these promising results, the review concluded that the body of evidence was insufficient to make recommendations either in favour of or against OHSMSs. This was due to: the heterogeneity of the methods employed and the OHSMSs studied in the original studies; the small number of studies; their generally weak methodological quality; and the lack of generalizability of many of the studies.     

Micro-level safety risk assessment model for a two-lane heterogeneous traffic environment in a developing country: A comparative crash probability modeling approach

Introduction: There have been a number of studies that have led to the development of safety risk assessment models to quantify the probability of crash frequencies on roadway facilities (both at micro- and macro-levels), over a specified time period. However, past research has rarely focused on heterogeneous traffic conditions in developing countries. Method: This paper puts forward several models related to the traditional count approach to estimate crash frequency at a micro-level in a non-lane based bi-directional heterogeneous traffic environment. The paper shows the results of dispersion, zero-inflation, and random heterogeneity effects of different exogenous factors by comparing Poisson (P); Negative Binomial (NB); random and fixed parameter Zero-Inflated Poisson (ZIP); and Latent Class Models (LCM). The empirical analysis is based on data from a section of a major national highway in Bangladesh. The performance of the models was validated using different statistical goodness-of-fit measures that compared the estimated and observed average crash frequencies at individual locations. With the identification of the most significant influencing factors, the paper discusses the practical policy implications using partial effects analysis and spatial distribution. Results: It was found that the Zero-Inflated Random Parameter model gives a slightly better statistical fit when compared to alternative approaches. Practical applications: This micro-level modeling approach would be useful to identify significant crash risk factors; to prioritize road sections according to their safety level; to select site-specific appropriate counter-measures; and devise proactive target oriented safety management strategies. Thus, the results shown here could be a point of reference in the planning, designing, maintaining, and managing two-lane highway sections in developing countries.     

A preliminary validation of a new measure of occupational health and safety

INTRODUCTION: This article describes the validation of an instrument designed to conduct an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) self-diagnosis using workers observations of tangible facts and actions in the workplace. The instrument puts the emphasis on observable factors that make it possible to act proactively before accidents actually occur. METHOD: Three companies were recruited from the printing sector in Québec based on their OHS performance (low, medium, and high), their interest in the project, and their availability. The master sample was composed of 269 people. Partial least squares (PLS) and vanishing tetrad analyses were used to study the behavior of the formative scales developed. RESULTS: The results indicate that partial revision of the instrument will be necessary to reach a fully satisfying level of validity. With regards to the statistical approach adopted, the use of a macro called CTA-SAS 2.0 developed by Bollen and Ting [Bollen, K.A., & Ting, K.-F. (1993). Confirmatory tetrad analysis. In P.V. Marsden (Ed.), Social methodology.Vol.23 (pp.147-176). Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 23] has proven to be effective in providing a suitable statistical treatment of the latent formative variables on which our instrument's development is based. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the instrument appears to be relatively robust and appropriate to diagnose OHS leading measures. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: In the long run, this instrument will make it possible for companies to draw a more refined picture of OHS evolution, even in the absence of occupational injuries.     

Transfer activities among Canadian researchers: Evidence in occupational safety and health

The purpose of this paper is to investigate activities of research transfer, the extent of the use of these activities, and the research transfer determinants. This study is based on a population of more than 400 researchers in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) in Canada, who completed an electronic questionnaire. The results show notably that there is no significant statistical difference between fields for the four activities of research transfer and that several factors have a significant impact on research transfer. Researchers in OSH constituted a rather homogenous unit and can improve the research transfer notably by the adaptation of knowledge, by focusing the research on users’ needs and by improving their link with users.     

Employee representation and occupational health and safety: the significance of Europe

This paper considers the implementation and operation of provisions for employee representation in health and safety in a number of member states of the European Union. It describes the results of two studies undertaken in seven European countries, including the UK, between 1989 and 1993. These studies compared legislative provisions for employee representation in health and safety in different countries and analysed the information available on the implementation and operation of these provisions. With regard to the coverage and implementation of legislation, the research found a similar pattern in all of the countries studied, with Britain distinguished by a number of features, most notably the very specific rights on this subject given to trade unions. However, analysis of information on operation of the provisions in all of the countries studied pointed to the strong association between trade union workplace organization and support as a powerful influence and determinant of the effectiveness of employee representation in health and safety. Taking this finding into account, the paper discusses the present and future situation in Britain with special reference to the implications of the provisions on employee representation found in the CEC Framework Directive 89/391.     

Perceptions of industrial risk and emergency management procedures in Hazmat Logistics: A qualitative mental model approach

In the industrial risk field, Hazmat Logistics research is growing as a sector of special relevance. The road transport of these substances is an activity with an elevated risk, involving drivers, logistics systems, industries, infrastructures, urban areas, etc.In the study of risk and safety of the logistics of hazardous materials there is a special relevance for new and complex elements, as human factors and mental models involved in managing critical incidents ‘‘on the road”. Moreover, the ‘‘emergency management training” of human resources in this field is often limited, and this represents another factor of vulnerability.In collaboration with SBG (one of the leading European Hazmat Logistics corporations), we developed a quali-quantitative study on cognitive representations and semantic perceptions of risk and emergency management procedures in tanker drivers. The main innovation of the study, with the direct involvement of the stakeholder and 47 drivers, is represented by the construction and use of ‘‘ad hoc” psychometrical and knowledge-elicitation, allowing a deeper analysis of workers’ mental models.The application of PCP tools of adapted RepGrid and Landfield Laddering Procedures allows to analyze some of the main qualitative structures of mental models held by drivers about Hazmat Logistics. Through the analysis of these mental models, it could become possible to set up efficient preventive actions for this type of industrial risk. We are going to discuss the consequences of these findings and methodological approaches for the industrial risk-and-safety field.