Road traffic mortality in the Slovak Republic in 1996–2014

Objective: Road traffic mortality takes an enormous toll in every society. Transport safety interventions play a crucial role in improving the situation. In the period 1996–2014 several road safety measures, including a complex new road traffic law in 2009, were implemented in the Slovak Republic, introducing stricter conditions for road users.

The aim of this study is to describe and analyze the trends in road user mortality in the Slovak Republic in individual age groups by sex during the study period 1996–2014.

Methods: Data on overall mortality in the Slovak Republic for the period 1996–2014 were obtained from the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic. Mortality rates were age-adjusted to the European standard population. Joinpoint regression was used to assess the statistical significance of change in time trends of calculated standardized mortality rates.

Results: Mortality rates of all types of road users as well as all age groups and both sexes in the Slovak Republic in the period 1996–2014 are decreasing. The male : female ratio decreased from 4:1 in 1996 to 2:1 in 2014. Motor vehicle users (other than motorcyclists) and pedestrians have the highest mortality rates among road user groups. Both of these groups show a significant decline in mortality rates over the study period. Within the age groups, people age 65 years and over have the highest mortality rates, followed by the age groups 25–64 and 15–24 years old.

Joinpoint regression confirmed a steady, significant decline in all mortality rates over the study period. A statistically significant decrease in mortality rates in the last years of the study period was observed in the age group 25–64 and in male motorcycle users.

Assessing the impact of the 2009 road traffic law, a drop was observed in the average standardized mortality rate of all road traffic users from 14.56 per 100,000 person years in the period 1996–2008 to 7.69 per 100,000 person years in the period 2009–2014. A similar drop in the average standardized mortality rate was observed in all individual road user groups.

Conclusions: The implementation of the new traffic regulations may have contributed significantly to the observed decrease in mortality rates of road users in the Slovak Republic. A significant decrease in mortality was observed in all population groups and in all groups of road users. The introduction of a new comprehensive road traffic law may have expedited the decrease of road fatalities, especially in the age group 25–64 years old. This type of evidence-based epidemiology data can be used for improved targeting of future public health measures for road traffic injury prevention.     

Study on Lockout Procedures for the Safety of Workers Intervening on Equipment in the Municipal Sector in Québec

In Québec, workers intervening in hazardous zones of machines, equipment and processes during maintenance, repairs and unjamming activities have to apply lockout procedures. Lockout procedures involve shutting down the equipment, isolating it, applying individual locks, releasing residual energies and verifying the absence of energies. Lockout has mostly been linked to industrial sectors. However, the municipal sector also faces challenges when it comes to controlling hazardous energies. The objectives of this research are to study serious accidents linked to our subject, study the application of lockout in different municipalities in Québec, identify the specificities for the municipal sector and propose some means to support the application of lockout. We will show that lockout procedures are required in different locations in municipalities and that they are currently being implemented in the municipal sector in Québec. Moreover, we propose a model which aims at facilitating the implementation of lockout procedures in the municipal sector.     

Identifying common problems in the acquisition and deployment of large-scale,safety–critical,software projects in the US and UK healthcare systems

Public and private organisations are investing increasing amounts into the development of healthcare software. These applications are perceived to offer numerous benefits. Software systems can improve the exchange of information between healthcare facilities. They support standardized procedures that can help to increase consistency between different service providers. Electronic patient records ensure minimum standards across the trajectory of care when patients move between different specializations. Healthcare information systems also offer economic benefits through efficiency savings; for example by providing the data that helps to identify potential bottlenecks in the provision and administration of care. However, a number of high-profile failures reveal the safety concerns that arise when staff must cope with the loss of these applications. In particular, teams have to retrieve paper based records that often lack the detail of electronic systems. Individuals who have only used electronic information systems face particular problems in learning how to apply paper-based fallbacks. The following pages compare two different failures of healthcare information systems in the UK and North America. The intention is to ensure that future initiatives to extend the integration of electronic patient records will build on the ‘lessons learned’ from previous systems.     

Emergency response study for chemical releases in the high-tech industry in Taiwan—A semiconductor plant example

In the past two decades, there has been continuous investment and expansion of semiconductor, photoelectric panel, or solar cell plants in the high-tech industry. For example, establishing a semiconductor plant costs about US$ 3 billion. In addition, the output value of integrated circuits (IC) of Taiwan as a whole is estimated to be about US$ 5.215 billion, and globally of US$ 275.2 billion in 2008. A large amount and a variety of specialty gases or chemicals are applied during processes in high-tech facilities and these chemicals are characterized by inflammability, toxicity, and corrosiveness. Accidents may result once errors or leaks occur in any part of the supply chain, which consists of storage facilities, supply equipment, process machines, and tail gas elimination devices. Personnel casualties can result in serious situations. This study discusses the emergency response procedures and common response defects in semiconductor plants with a view to enhancing emergency response effects and capabilities, avoiding casualties, reducing property loss and shortening operation interruption.     

Why did the pilots shut down the wrong engine? Explaining errors in context using Schema Theory and the Perceptual Cycle Model

Although human error remains a dominant issue in aviation research, methods that predict human error have been criticised for not providing adequate causal explanations, rather they have focused on classification. The concept of Schemata has prevailed in the literature and has been shown to describe the contextual causes of human error. The purpose of this paper is to review the recent error literature and demonstrate that Schema Theory (as incorporated in the Perceptual Cycle framework) offers a compelling causal account of human error. Schema Theory offers a system perspective with a focus on human activity in context to explain why apparently erroneous actions occurred, even though they may have appeared to be appropriate at the time. This is exemplified in a case study of the pilots’ actions preceding the 1989 Kegworth accident. Schema Theory is presented as a promising avenue for further exploration into the context of human error in aviation.     

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.     

Analysis of the experimental results of the initiation of detonation in short tubes with kerosene–oxidizer mixtures

The paper describes the experimental investigation of detonation initiation in a mixture of kerosene–oxidant in a short test tube. Various mixtures of oxygen and nitrogen were used as an oxidant, from pure oxygen to the composition of air. The goal of the study was to determine the minimum diameter of the tube and the minimum level of energy needed for the direct initiation of detonation. As a result of the measurements the pressure courses were obtained for two kinds of cases: with and without (only shock waves) of fuel injection. The results of both kinds of measurements were compared, providing information about the initiation of detonation in a fuel–oxidizer mixture. Brief analyses of the results for different initiators and different oxidizers were performed and compared with the shock wave and Chapman–Jouget velocity.     

Risk and characteristics analysis of the flow-induced vibration of the dip tube in opposed multi-burner gasifier

The vibration of dip tube in multi-burner gasifier changes the stress at the connection, causing flange seal failures and high temperature gas erosions with heavy economic losses and industrial accidents. This work aims to reveal the dip tube vibration mechanism, with special focus on obtaining the effect of operational parameters on the fatigue damage and long-term stable operation of gasifiers. A three-dimensional numerical simulation of the water-scrubbing cooling chamber was conducted to obtain the excitation source in the flow field. Then a FSI (fluid-structure interaction) transient dynamics simulation was carried out to investigate the vibration characteristics. Two major flow forms were found: a vertical annular flow near the dip tube outlet in the water-scrubbing cooling chamber; and a gas-liquid coupled flow caused by the syngas entrained the liquid. These two unstable multiphase flow forms exerted an energy excitation on the dip tube, resulting in a self-excited flutter. The dip tube vibration was similar to the first mode of a cantilever beam. The peak frequency was less affected by the initial liquid level and the syngas stream inlet velocity, which was close to its own first natural frequency. Note that, the alternating load generated by vibration may cause fatigue damage, which needs to be specifically considered in the design and manufacturing process of opposed multi-burner gasifier.     

Use of association rules to explore cause–effect relationships in occupational accidents in the Taiwan construction industry

Most models of the incidence of occupational accidents in the construction industry are composed of multiple factors. Although statistical techniques can be used to infer cause-and-effect relationships among these factors, the large number of factors involved and the complexity of the relationships among them make it difficult for managers to identify potential hazards in construction projects and thus develop effective safety procedures. This study addresses this problem by using the association-rule method of data mining in performing an analysis of 1347 accidents in the Taiwan construction industry during the period 2000–2007. The association-rule method enables potential cause-and-effect relationships to be identified among the many factors that play a role in occupational accidents in the construction industry. The study finds that such accidents tend to occur when certain combinations of hazards are present – especially working in high places without protective measures, loss of balance when in motion, failure to use protective equipment, insufficient experience, and injurious contact with unstable structures. These hazards are especially evident in small enterprises with less than 10 persons. The results can help management to formulate effective safety policies with regard to management shortcomings and staff training.     

HAZOP – Local approach in the Mexican oil & gas industry

HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) studies began about 40 years ago, when the Process Industry and complexity of its operations start to massively grow in different parts of the world. HAZOP has been successfully applied in Process Systems hazard identification by operators, design engineers and consulting firms. Nevertheless, after a few decades since its first applications, HAZOP studies are not truly standard in worldwide industrial practice. It is common to find differences in its execution and results format. The aim of this paper is to show that in the Mexican case at National level in the oil and gas industry, there exist an explicit acceptance risk criteria, thus impacting the risk scenarios prioritizing process. Although HAZOP studies in the Mexican oil & gas industry, based on PEMEX corporate standard has precise acceptance criteria, it is not a significant difference in HAZOP applied elsewhere, but has the advantage of being fully transparent in terms of what a local industry is willing to accept as the level of risk acceptance criteria, also helps to gain an understanding of the degree of HAZOP applications in the Mexican oil & gas sector. Contrary to this in HAZOP ISO standard, risk acceptance criteria is not specified and it only mentions that HAZOP can consider scenarios ranking. The paper concludes indicating major implications of risk ranking in HAZOP, whether before or after safeguards identification.     

“Hypersensitivity to Electricity” in the Office; Symptoms and Improvement

Nineteen persons “hypersensitive” to electricity and 20 nonafflicted persons were studied for 1 ½ years. The most discernible hypersensitivity symptoms were pricking sensations and redness in the face, but these symptoms were present in only half of the afflicted. Other symptoms were similar to symptoms experienced during office work and this study does not support the idea that electrosensitivity is one single syndrome. The “hypersensitive” persons improved significantly, mainly on neuropsychiatric symptoms, but the skin problems sustained— as did the belief about their cause. The afflicted persons used less conventional medication than the group of the nonafflicted, which suggests a general tendency for attribution to environmental factors.     

Sexual orientation harassment in the workplace: When do observers intervene?

Little is known about when and why observers of harassment incidents choose to intervene. On the basis of a model of observer intervention by Bowes‐Sperry and O'Leary‐Kelly (2005), we examined situational (directness of harassment, relationship to target, knowledge of target orientation, recurrence beliefs) variables as potential predictors of observer decisions to intervene when witnessing sexual orientation harassment. We also examined how costs and benefits analysis and recurrence beliefs relate to the level and immediacy of involvement. Relationship to the target, directness of the harassment, recurrence beliefs, knowledge of target orientation, and costs evidenced some connections to the nature of intervention. We discussed implications for organizations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Managers’ attitudes towards safety measures in the commercial road transport sector

Safety measures and related costs and benefits have been widely discussed and analysed in academic circles and by the authorities and industrial sectors. The study reported in this paper addresses these aspects from a cognitive based perspective. Risk management is about dealing with the conflict between production and safety. Enterprises which spend too much on safety will meet bankruptcy, and those not concerned with safety measures will meet with severe accidents and related damage. Inspired by James Reason’s theoretical framework, managers (n = 106) of commercial transport enterprises were asked about their attitudes towards safety management, what factors have contributed and their belief that further effort and investments in health, environment and safety (HES) measures will pay off. One half of the managers perceive HES work as too expensive and approximately one quarter assess mandatory HES work as compromising their competitiveness. One third of the managers do not find further safety measures than those already implemented necessary or remunerative. They claim that there are no other alternative ways of doing their activities and that there are no technical measures available that could meet outstanding safety challenges. Managers do acknowledge HES work as important for the reputation of the enterprise. The factor analysis gave five HES attitude factors: (I) concerned with formalities, (II) HES work improves health, environment and safety, (III) HES work is ineffective, (IV) HES regulation is appropriate, and (V) HES work can be improved.     

Explosions of gasoline–air mixture in the tunnels containing branch configuration

In order to investigate the effects of branch tunnels on explosion propagation, experiments were performed in five different configuration tunnels (straight configuration and configurations with 1 branch, 2 branches, 3 branches and 4 branches). Pressure and flame transducers were used to record the history of the pressure development and track the velocity of the flame front. It was shown that the branch tunnels had ability to enhance the maximum overpressure, rate of overpressure rise, and deflagration index (K_G) of the gasoline–air mixture explosion due to the turbulence induced by the branch tunnels. The overpressure rise rate and K_G of the explosion increased as a function of the number of branch tunnels. Experiments also showed that the maximum flame speed increased as the branch number increasing from 0 to 3 due to the enlargement of turbulence induced by the branch tunnels. However, an increase of branch number did not always lead to an enhancement of flame speed because the heat loss was intensified resulting from the increase of flame surface caused by the branch tunnels. When the number of branch tunnels exceeded 3, the maximum flame speed dropped.     

Ergonomic Diagnosis of the Driver’s Workplace in an Electric Locomotive

This paper deals with research aimed at developing a method for ergonomic analysis of the driver’s workplace in an electric locomotive. It presents the structure of the diagnosis and its assumptions, and includes a re-evaluation of the questionnaire-expert method in ergonomic research. The article presents research data on weights and evaluations including their standard deviations for particular priority features. Ergonomic levels of the studied operator’s cabin in locomotives are compared.     

Workers’ Involvement—A Missing Component in the Implementation of Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems in Enterprises

Effective implementation of occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation based on European Union directives requires promotion of OSH management systems ( OSH MS). To this end, voluntary Polish standards (PN-N-18000) have been adopted, setting forth OSH MS specifications and guidelines. However, the number of enterprises implementing OSH MS has increased slowly, falling short of expectations, which call for a new national policy on OSH MS promotion. To develop a national policy in this area, a survey was conducted in 40 enterprises with OSH MS in place. The survey was aimed at identifying motivational factors underlying OSH MS implementation decisions. Specifically, workers’ and their representatives’ involvement in OSH MS implementation was investigated. The results showed that the level of workers ‘ involvement was relatively low, which may result in a low effectiveness of those systems. The same result also applies to the involvement of workers’ representatives and that of trade unions.     

The critical runaway condition and stability criterion in the phenol–formaldehyde reaction

The procedure of phenol–formaldehyde polymerization is a rather important and complicated reaction in the chemical industry. This exothermic polymeric reaction releases a huge amount of heat. The high amount of energy accumulated and increasing temperature in this reaction process always lead to runaway reaction and a hazard situation owing to the high released heat and improper operation. In this investigation, we used sodium hydroxide as alkali–catalyst in the phenol–formaldehyde polymerization and estimated the reaction kinetics parameters to evaluate the thermal hazard conditions. The critical temperatures and stable criteria of the runaway reaction in this exothermic polymerization were evaluated. This technique is important and useful for safe operation in the phenol–formaldehyde polymerization process.