Heuristic job rotation procedures for reducing daily exposure to occupational hazards

This paper discusses 2 heuristic job rotation procedures for preventing industrial workers from being excessively exposed to ergonomics and safety hazards in their workplaces. The objective of the procedures is 2-fold: (a) to find a minimum number of workers required for the given set of jobs, and (b) to determine a set of safe worker-job-period assignments such that all workers' exposure to hazard does not exceed the permissible limit. Here, occupational hazards are divided into 2 categories: single- and variable-limit hazards. In the first category, workers are considered to have equal capability to withstand the hazard; in the second category, the limit of hazard exposure varies for different individuals. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the procedures.     

An innovative three-dimensional approach for the simulation of pressure vessels exposed to fire

The present study introduces an innovative approach to the detailed simulation of the pressure build-up in equipment containing saturated liquids when exposed to fire. The approach is based on the adoption of a fully three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the inner fluid. Experimental data gathered from literature studies were used to validate the model considering vessels of several scales and geometries exposed to a full engulfing pool fire. The comparison between the results of the 3D CFD model developed and those of two-dimensional (2D) literature models was also carried out. This enabled deriving precise indications on the selection of the most suitable approach based on the type of accidental scenario to reproduce, confirming 2D models as sound and reliable tools to model the fluid behaviour when homogeneous heat exposure conditions are present. On the other side, limitations of 2D approaches in capturing edge effects on i) temperature profiles, ii) recirculation patterns, and iii) energy accumulation in the vessel lading during fire exposure were identified and discussed. The results obtained represent a valuable source of information to support risk management and emergency response planning.     

Integrating major accidents hazard into occupational risk assessment: An index approach

Major Accident Hazard (MAH) and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) are two separated topics in both industrial practice and legislation; recently, interest is increasing toward an integrated risk assessment mainly forced by the tendency to a more efficient safety management system. The present study proposes a semi-quantitative approach to integrate MAH in OSH risk assessment. The two risk types are characterized by opposite features: the OSH analysis is usually task-based and focused on job profiles, while the MAH analysis is space-based and focused on plant characteristics. The basic idea of the proposed approach is to merge spatial information and job profile features in order to improve OSH assessment; thus, a risk index derived by the recent standard ISO 12100 (2010) has been adapted. In detail, the proposed index combines exposure times of each worker at each plant unit – derived from the OSH analysis – with damage areas derived from MAH analysis allowing a quantitative assessment of the MAH risk level for each individual job profile. The model has been tested in a large petrochemical plant; several hypotheses have been developed in order to validate the model. Results have showed the potentiality of the proposed approach in providing a common and coherent representation of both MAH and OSH risks, according to job profiles and plant units.     

Prevention of occupational injuries: Evidence for effective good practices in foundries

IntroductionOccupational injuries are a relevant research and practical issue. However, intervention studies evaluating the effectiveness of workplace injury prevention programs are seldom performed. Method: The effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention aimed at reducing occupational injury rates (incidence/employment-based = IR, frequency/hours-based = FR, severity = SR) was evaluated between 2008 and 2013 in 29 Italian foundries (22 ferrous; 7 non-ferrous; 3,460 male blue collar workers/year) of varying sizes. Each foundry established an internal multidisciplinary prevention team for risk assessment, monitoring and prevention of occupational injuries, involving employers, occupational physicians, safety personnel, workers' representatives, supervisors. Targets of intervention were workers, equipment, organization, workplace, job tasks. An interrupted time series (ITS) design was applied. Results: 4,604 occupational injuries and 83,156 lost workdays were registered between 2003 and 2013. Statistical analysis showed, after intervention, a reduction of all injury rates (− 26% IR, − 15% FR, −18% SR) in ferrous foundries and of SR (− 4%) in non-ferrous foundries. A significant (p = 0.021) ‘step-effect’ was shown for IR in ferrous foundries, independent of secular trends (p < 0.001). Sector-specific benchmarks for all injury rates were developed separately for ferrous and non-ferrous foundries. Conclusions: Strengths of the study were: ITS design, according to standardized quality criteria (i.e., at least three data points before and three data points after intervention; clearly defined intervention point); pragmatic approach, with good external validity; promotion of effective good practices. Main limitations were the non-randomized nature and a medium length post-intervention period. In conclusion, a multifaceted, pragmatic and accountable intervention is effective in reducing the burden of occupational injuries in small-, medium- and large-sized foundries. Practical Applications: The study poses the basis for feasible good practice guidelines to be implemented to prevent occupational injuries, by means of sector-specific numerical benchmarks, with potentially relevant impacts on workers, companies, occupational health professionals and society at large.     

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.     

The (affective) dispositional approach to job satisfaction: sorting out the policy implications

The dispositional approach to job attitudes has played an important role in refocusing attention in organizational behavior on person factors, in addition to situational factors, as determinants of job attitudes and behaviors. I focus on what have been suggested as policy implications of research on dispositions, in particular, research on affective dispositions. My reading of the evidence suggests that affective dispositional factors may be useful in employee selection, and I identify questions that need to be resolved for this case to be stronger. On the other hand, I find little in the way of logic or evidence to support the claim that dispositions constrain the success of situational interventions designed to improve employee attitudes (or behaviors). Consistent with recent developments in the personality literature and with arguments made by Gerhart and Davis‐Blake and Pfeffer in the organizational behavior literature, I show that within‐person consistency in attitudes and behaviors can coexist with mean level changes in attitudes and behaviors induced by situational changes in the workplace. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于格子Boltzmann的非均质采空区瓦斯运移仿真方法

瓦斯在采空区内运移造成工作面上隅角瓦斯超限是煤矿安全的重大隐患.为揭示采宅区瓦斯运移规律,提出基于格子Boltzmann的非均质采空区瓦斯运移仿真方法.综放采场采空区是由非均质多孔介质组成的空间,大气和瓦斯混合气体在采空区的流动是非常复杂的具有层流、过度流和紊流的渗流运动.基于修正的Brinkman-Forchheimer-Darey定律,建立非均质采空区瓦斯运移的控制方程组.由于该方程组求解复杂,分别建立瓦斯渗流速度场和瓦斯浓度场的格子Boltzmann模型.通过格子Boltzmann模型的演化,实现采空区瓦斯运移的仿真.模拟实例表明,用该方法进行仿真可以得到任何时刻采空区内任意位置瓦斯和大气混合气体的流动速度和压力以及瓦斯浓度等数据,同时也可以得到采空区流线分布规律、速度变化规律、采空区压力的变化规律和采空区瓦斯运移规律.该方法能将时间、空间和系统行为结合起来,可在直观的条件下完成对地下煤矿采空区瓦斯运移态势的精确分析与模拟,可为揭示综放采场采空区上隅角瓦斯超限的原因提供一种新的方法.     

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.     

燃气管网定量风险分析方法综述

以城市燃气管网的风险为研究对象,分析并提出一种可用于城市燃气管网定量风险分析的新思路,包含了不同事故后果及其物理模型的分析即事故可能性分析、后果分析和风险评价,分为失效事故假定、泄漏率计算、物理效应计算、致死率计算、风险值计算、风险评价等环节;整理、研究城市燃气管网定量风险分析所涉及的多种物理模型,并通过比较不同模型的特点,分析各个模型的不足之处;最后针对国内外研究现状及燃气管网风险的特点,指出研究发展方向:研究风险在燃气管网内的传播,提出燃气管网相继失效的风险分析方法。所提出的分析思路、计算方法可与工程应用相结合。     

ACT method for safety training: An approach to improve on-site safety performance

Unsafe behavior is one of the main causes limiting the improvement of on-site safety performance. Safety training is an important means of preventing unsafe behavior. With changes in the scale of operations and employee characteristics, traditional training methods have largely failed to meet the practical demands. Therefore, to improve the effectiveness of safety training, this paper analyzes the shortcomings of the current training methods, demonstrates the potential value of accident cases for improving the training effect, and the advantages of 24Model for case analysis in safety training. Subsequently, this paper constructs a systematic training system with Accident-Cause-Training (ACT) as the training relationship chain, which runs the accident cases throughout the training process, 24Model is utilized to trace the unsafe behaviors that lead to accidents from the perspectives of organizational and individual level, and the training content is established according to the analysis results. This paper also conducts a case study to verify the operability of the ACT method, specifically, a training programme for limited space operations at a national-level oil and gas storage and transportation company is designed and implemented. Finally, by comparing the similarities and differences between the ACT method and other training methods from various perspectives, the universality and participation of the ACT method are proved, and the development trend of the ACT method is also discussed. It is believed that the proposed ACT method could enrich the types of safety training methods and provide an effective and scientific tool to enhance the safety performance of field operations.     

The dispositional approach to job satisfaction: more than a mirage,but not yet an oasis

This paper readdresses the person–situation debate in organizational research. The well‐known arguments of Davis‐Blake and Pfeffer (1989) are evaluated in light of research and theory that has transpired since the publication of their original critique. A new dispositional model of job satisfaction is then proposed. The model is based on several informational and action steps including exposure to work events and condition, as well as the evaluation, memory, retrieval, and expression of affect in the organizational context. Using this model, we discuss how dispositional affect can influence what is experienced in the workplace, how one evaluates it, and how it is expressed to others, including organizational researchers. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

企业外用工安全管理探讨

企业用工制度改革后,外用工越来越多,给企业安全管理带来了许多新的问题。叙述了对外用工安全管理中存在的问题,提出了改进措施。     

Risk analysis for road and rail transport of hazardous materials: a simplified approach

A simplified approach to transportation risk analysis for road and rail transport of dangerous goods is proposed, which is based on the use of a product databank, containing the impact areas for a number of pre-selected accidental scenarios, and on the selection of a few typical average values of the involved parameters, relevant to the type of transport activity and to the route. Such an approach enables also a non-specialist to very rapidly perform a transportation risk analysis, obtaining both individual and societal risk measures for the study case(s): the results may be used to support a decision making process, and/or as a basis for a more in deep analysis.     

突发性环境污染事故应急系统探讨

根据突发性环境污染事故应急工作的特点，提出了突发性环境污染事故 应急系统指导原则,并对应急响应系统、应急监测系统进行了探讨。可供各地进行突发性环境污染事故应急处理时参考。     

Risk analysis for road and rail transport of hazardous materials: a GIS approach

An approach to transportation risk analysis for road and rail transport of dangerous goods is proposed, which is based on the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to manage territorial information, coupled with a product data bank in a risk evaluation tool. Such an approach enables to accurately take into account the local data affecting risk analysis, such as population, accident rate, and weather conditions along all the route, by means of a system which can be easily updated. The resulting risk evaluation tool assists in the step of route identification and allows to rapidly perform an accurate transportation risk analysis, for a single transportation event as well as for multiple substances, trips and itineraries.     

FREEDOM II: An improved methodology to assess domino effect frequency using simulation techniques

The uncertainty and the complexity associated with the domino effect is a barrier to assessing the frequency of such accidents analytically. The use of simulation techniques, such as Monte Carlo, to examine the domino effect instead of analytical techniques has shown great promise. In this paper, a new method to assess the frequency of domino accidents is proposed—FREEDOM II—which is an improvement on the recent algorithm proposed by the authors (FREEDOM). The modifications on FREEDOM were carried out to overcome a limitation of the method and to extend its capabilities. A key shortcoming of the earlier method was its inability to handle multiple failure scenarios. This shortcoming has been overcome in FREEDOM II. A new and improved algorithm has been developed that carries out the simulation in a significantly shorter run time. The applicability of the new model is shown by performing a multi-scenario case study.     

An approach to estimating the individual risk for toxic-gas releases using the load-resistance model

A new approach to quantify the uncertainty of the individual risk for toxic releases is presented in this paper. The individual risk is defined as the probability of fatality per year. The probability of fatality is calculated by a classical load-resistance model based on reliability (survivability) theory. The load effect is defined as the concentration intensity to which a human is exposed. Furthermore, the resistance is defined as the human tolerance to a certain concentration load in this study. The Monte Carlo method is used to obtain the probability distributions of outputs (the load effect and resistance) propagated from the uncertainties of the input variables. The fatality probability exceeding a limit state can then be obtained by comparing pairs of samples from the load effect and the resistance distributions. The separation of sampling from the load and resistance distributions is also proposed to allow more efficient calculation than that achieved by the classical Monte Carlo method. The analytical risk estimates computed by the load-resistance model are compared to conventional risk estimates that correspond to the upper-end percentile of the load-effect distribution. A case study shows that the conventional risk estimates can be directed to wrong decisions when the load-effect distribution has upper-end tail heaviness.     

小城镇灾害易损性可拓评估的原理和应用

为给小城镇防灾减灾和小城镇规划等提供科学依据,本文借鉴可拓原理对小城镇灾害易损性进行了可拓评估.首先,建立了小城镇灾害易损性的可拓评估流程,结合湖南小城镇实例,选取评价指标,确定灾害易损性的分级标准;其次,构建了可拓评估的经典域、节域蝌和物元;然后提出了用简单关联函数计算指标权重;最后,计算了灾害易损性的关联函数值和关联度,评估了灾害易损性的等级并计算了其变量特征值.与模糊评估方法相比,两者平级结果总体上一致.结果表明,该方法能较真实地反映小城镇灾害易损性等级,同时也证明了将可拓原理应用于小城镇灾害易损性评估的可行性.