Pushing,pulling and manoeuvring an industrial cart: a psychophysiological study

One of the most frequent manual occupational tasks involves the pushing and pulling of a cart. Although several studies have associated health risks with pushing and pulling, the effects are not clear since occupational tasks have social, cognitive and physical components. The present work investigates a real case of a pushing and pulling occupational task from a manufacturing company. The study initially characterizes the case in accordance with Standard No. ISO 11228-2:2007 as low risk. An experiment with 14 individuals during three modalities of pushing and pulling was performed in order to further investigate the task with the application of electrophysiology. At the end, a simple questionnaire was given. The results show electrophysiological differences among the three modalities of pushing and pulling, with a major difference between action with no load and fully loaded with a full range of motions on the cart to handle.     

Development and evaluation of RAMP I – a practitioner’s tool for screening of musculoskeletal disorder risk factors in manual handling

RAMP I is a screening tool developed to support practitioners in screening for work-related musculoskeletal disorder risk factors related to manual handling. RAMP I, which is part of the RAMP tool, is based on research-based studies combined with expert group judgments. More than 80 practitioners participated in the development of RAMP I. The tool consists of dichotomous assessment items grouped into seven categories. Acceptable reliability was found for a majority of the assessment items for 15 practitioners who were given 1?h of training. The usability evaluation points to RAMP I being usable for screening for musculoskeletal disorder risk factors, i.e., usable for assessing risks, being usable as a decision base, having clear results and that the time needed for an assessment is acceptable. It is concluded that RAMP I is a usable tool for practitioners.     

基于风险等值线的职业安全评价分级方法

依据危害因素引发工伤、职业危害事件的后果严重度和可能性来开展职业安全评价,在严重度和可能性的定量评价基础上,引入等值风险线的概念,建立风险评价分级方法,并在单一危害因素的职业安全评价基础上建立了作业场所、工厂、企业的职业安全(风险)评价分级方法.通过应用实例分析,验证了该方法的可操作性.     

Workplace Hazards and Prevention Options From a Nonrandom Sample of Retail Trade Businesses

Employer commitment is a key factor in an effective safety program, yet limited research has focused on the safety priorities of retail store managers. To address this, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recruited 4 experienced ergonomists, who met and interviewed 9 retailers in different parts of the eastern USA. The reports from the 9 interviews were used to document the hazards facing retailers and the interventions they attempted. Those interviewed were managers/owners of establishments that ranged from a small bakery with 11 employees to a supermarket with 85 or more employees. The main hazards across all establishments included overexertion, contact-with-objects, and falls-to-the-same-level. We also compared the retailers’ perceptions of safety hazards with injuries from actual hazards as supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This report provides insight into the retailers ‘ perceptions of safety hazards as well as their commitment to the prevention of workplace injuries.     

火电厂(汽轮机部分)职业安全健康风险评价与控制研究

依据职业安全健康管理(OSHM)的要求,在危险辨识的基础上对火力发电厂(汽轮机部分)的危险源进行分类及其相互作用、影响的分析,建立了职业安全健康管理模式及其问卷,针对现场的运行、维修和试验部分进行了详细的调查。应用工业风险评价的定性及量化分析方法,通过现场调研和分析,对各种危险性事件发生的可能性及其后果的严重度进行评价,从安全管理和安全工程两方面提出对不可接受的危险源的预控措施。危险源的有效预测和控制,对火电厂职业安全健康水平的提高将发挥积极作用。     

Fatal workplace accidents in outsourced operations in the manufacturing industry

Several studies have indicated that outsourcing increases the risk of accidents and presented some explanations for this phenomenon. For example, higher accident proneness of external employees has been presented, but the common causes of accidents have not been reviewed in depth. This paper provides information about typical accidents, the contributing factors, and preventive measures of fatal occupational accidents that occurred in outsourced manufacturing tasks. This paper also compares whether these factors differ from accidents that occurred when tasks were performed in-house in the manufacturing industry. The focus is on operations executed in the factory area for or by an organization operating in the manufacturing business. The accident analysis is based on information gathered from accident reports for fatal workplace accidents that occurred in Finland during 1999–2008. At outsourced operations in manufacturing, accidents occur most commonly when installations or work preparations are being performed. According to the reports, dangerous work practices and insufficient hazard identification most frequently contributed to accidents. In order to prevent typical accidents, e.g., occupational instructional and guidance, hazard identification, work practices, supervision, and task planning should be improved. Statistical differences between outsourced and in-house operations were also found, mainly within the contributing factors. Therefore, the safety of outsourced manufacturing operations should be considered in detail in order to prevent accidents and ensure occupational safety also when operated with other performers.     

新冠疫情背景下建筑从业人员统计生命价值研究

为研究建筑职业风险和新冠疫情风险下的统计生命价值(VOSL),以成都市建筑从业者为对象采集数据,基于生存分析处理删失数据的特性,运用二分式条件价值法(CVM)和Kaplan-Meier法测算不同背景下的VOSL,运用COX回归对VOSL影响因素进行分析。研究结果表明：成都市建筑从业者在职业风险和新冠疫情风险下的VOSL分别为429.472,459.079万元,生命价值评估具有情境依赖性且存在“引导悖论”;2种风险背景下受访者学历、月收入及安全重视程度的提高均会增强支付意愿,而安全满意程度的提高则会降低支付意愿;职业风险下影响支付意愿的关键因素为安全设备保障满意程度、重视程度和学历,新冠疫情风险下影响支付意愿的关键因素为卫生安全重视程度、学历和月收入。     

Team-Based Risk Assessment and Action Plans as Participatory Methods for Safe Patient Handling in Two Swedish Municipal Care Homes for the Elderly

Objective. We investigated the usefulness of a team-based risk assessment method in patient transfer situations in municipal care homes for the elderly. Methods. Evaluation of risk assessment and action plans carried out in 2009. Focus group interviews with care givers and one-to-one interviews with managers and occupational therapists. Results. The evaluation showed that action plans and interventions were developed for each resident with identified risk connected with movement/transfer in daily life. Twenty-six patients (28%) of a total number of 94 were assigned to the “no risk” category regarding movement/transfer situations in daily life. The other 68 patients (72%) required further interventions, which were documented in action plans. The interviews indicated that the approach of team-based risk assessment and action plans was perceived as a functional participatory method aiming to improve daily life and work. Conclusion. Systematic team-based risk assessment and action plans benefit staff as well as residents at care homes for the elderly.     

Manual Material Handling Assessment Among Workers of Iranian Casting Workshops

Manual material handling (MMH) tasks can be found in most workplaces and they may constitute a risk factor for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of WMSDs and to compare MMH loads with the acceptable weight and force limits among Iranian casting workers. Data were collected from 50 workers of casting workshops who performed MMH tasks. The Nordic musculoskeletal disorders questionnaire and the Snook tables were used as tools for data collection. Hand/ wrist symptoms were the most prevalent problems among the workers (84%). The results of the Snook tables showed that the loads in lifting (84%), lowering (86%), carrying (66%), pushing with initial (43%) and sustained force (59%), and pulling tasks with initial (48%) and sustained force (93%) exceeded recommended limits. WMSDs occurred in high rates among the workers and, thus, ergonomics interventions should focus on decreasing WMSDs and redesigning MMH tasks.     

Assessing safety management systems

Traditionally, both academe and practitioners have tended to address fire safety by focusing on technical aspects and looking for the immediate causes of fire incidents or accidents after they have taken place. More recently, organisations have focused on assessing the consequences of the fire risk inherent in their operations pro-actively. However, fire safety still tends to be addressed in isolation, though fire loss is an emergent property. An organisation's emergent property results from the interrelated activities of people who design it, manage it and operate it. There is still a need for a systemic approach to understand the systemic nature of fire safety. This paper describes a fire safety management system (FSMS) model that aims to maintain fire risk within an acceptable range in an organisation's operations in a coherent way. This systemic approach can be used as a diagnostic tool to assess the effectiveness of existing safety management systems (SMS). It is hoped that this approach will lead not only to more effective management of fire safety, but also to more effective management of safety, health and the environment for any organisation.     

Training courses for specialists in working conditions: Some survey results

Initial results are presented of a survey in 14 countries into the training of six professional groups in the area of working conditions. The groups are occupational physicians, occupational hygienists, safety advisors/engineers, ergonomists, occupational health nurses and health and safety/labour/ (social) insurance inspectors.The paper concentrates on the diversity of the professional groups involved in working conditions, the level, length and certification of their training, and, for a limited number of the countries surveyed, the overlap in training content between groups.Conclusions are drawn in respect of the potential for sharing of training content and materials.     

企业职业伤害风险分级模型研究

我国严峻的安全生产形势主要原因之一是缺乏对企业强有力的安全监察.对比分析了国内外安全监察的差距,提出了分级安全监察的理念,并研究了支持分级安全监察的企业分级指标和模型,使用模型对调查企业数据进行计算、排序和分级,效果明显,该模型能够起对分级安全监察起到指导和支持作用.     

An investigation of ergonomics analysis tools used in industry in the identification of work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

Web-based surveys were sent to Canadian certified ergonomists, Joint Health and Safety Committees (JHSCs) and health and safety certification trainers to understand better which ergonomics analysis tools were used in industry and help JHSCs obtain the necessary training required to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). The results showed that most of the certified ergonomists used the Snook/Mital tables, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) equation and rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) /rapid entire body assessment (REBA). The most frequently used methods by JHSCs to identify ergonomics risk were injury reports and worker complaints. The surveys for the health and safety certification trainers revealed that most curricula did not include ergonomics analysis tools. There appears to be a gap between what is recommended by certified ergonomists for JHSC, what is taught in training and what is used by JHSCs for ergonomics risk analysis. A better understanding, modifications in training curricula and education of JHSCs are needed to help reduce WMSDs.     

高科技制造业环安卫风险管理系统

只要有危害源就会存在一定的风险。由于生产过程的需要,高科技制造行业往往使用大量有毒、危险化学品,生产环境与生产设备也不同于传统产业,也因此,如何运用有效地环安卫(环境保护、工业安全、职业健康)风险管理机制来避免各种危害源可能对企业造成的负面冲击,以降低高科技行业营运过程可能遭遇的环安卫风险一直是高科技行业风险管理者所面临的挑战。本文将介绍如何以PDCA持续改善的架构来贯穿高科技行业环安卫风险管理流程与风险管理概念。     

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.     

An Exploratory Study of Meanings of Risk Control for Long Term and Acute Effect Occupational Health and Safety Risks in Small Business Construction Firms

A qualitative study of employers' and employees' meanings of occupational health and safety (OHS) risk control was conducted among a sample of small businesses engaged in the Australian construction industry. Two OHS risks relevant to the construction industry were selected for study. One risk (falls from height) represented an immediate consequence, whereas the other (occupational skin disease) represented a long-term health effect. Meanings of the sources and control for these risks were explored during in-depth interviews. Participants perceived the immediate effect, falls from height OHS risk, as being more important in their workplaces than the delayed effect, skin disease OHS risk. The risk of falls from height was perceived to be controllable but requiring a great deal of effort to prevent, whereas there was a fatalistic resignation to the risk of occupational skin disease. Meanings of risk control for both occupational skin disease and falls from height focused on individual rather than technological risk controls. Organizational barriers to the adoption of technological OHS risk controls in the construction industry were identified.     

企业职业卫生综合风险管理评估体系的研究与应用

为了能够全面、客观地评估企业职业卫生风险管理质量,利用美国EPA吸入风险评估模型、新加坡化学物职业暴露半定量风险评估模型以及风险指数评估模型,对作业场所存在的职业病危害因素进行风险水平评估,并结合企业职业卫生管理评估模型,对企业职业卫生管理水平进行定量评估,以风险等级和管理水平,综合判断企业职业卫生风险水平。将该体系应用于实例分析,结果表明:体系在充分考虑企业职业病危害因素时空分布以及企业管理现状的基础上,能够定量评估职业病危害因素的急慢性影响以及企业职业卫生管理水平。     

The productivity assessment tool: computer-based cost benefit analysis model for the economic assessment of occupational health and safety interventions in the workplace

INTRODUCTION AND MEthod: This paper describes the concepts behind cost benefit analysis in occupational health and safety and introduces the Productivity Assessment Tool, a method by which an analysis may be performed relatively easily in a service or manufacturing workplace. The advantage of using such analyses is to show the important financial role that safe and efficient workplaces play in the workplace. RESULTS: By using analytical tools, the effectiveness of an intervention (workplace change) may be estimated prior to its introduction. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This places occupational health and safety on the same financial footing as other proposed workplace changes and thus places occupational health and safety in a strong position to attract scarce resources.     

Delphi法职业危害风险评估模型及案例研究

为科学合理地进行建设项目职业病危害风险分类,基于系统工程及风险评估的基本原理,采用Delphi法分析和确定了影响职业病危害风险程度的因素,通过构建风险评估指标体系,建立了职业病危害影响因子赋值法(OHFA)定量化风险评估模型。根据对作业场所的危害源、本质及附加防护设施水平、人员接触机会、职业病防治管理等因子的综合分析,预测分析了研究对象的职业病危害的风险程度,为职业病危害风险辨识、风险评估、防治管理及防护设施设计等提供参考。并以某石化行业硫磺回收项目为实例进行应用与验证,得出了该项目的总体职业病危害风险度值为12,风险等级为Ⅰ级,各职业病危害因素的风险度由高到底排序为硫化氢、一氧化碳、二氧化硫、硫磺、高温,其风险分类的关键决定因素为硫化氢。实践表明该方法与专家评估结果及工程实际吻合较好,应用于职业病危害风险评估中可给出定量化的风险分类结果。     

基于G1法的高危作业疲劳风险模糊综合评判

疲劳严重威胁作业安全,许多事故都直接或间接由疲劳引发。针对高危作业疲劳风险评价问题,考虑作业疲劳致因,综合运用G1法,提出高危作业疲劳风险的模糊综合评判方法。首先,根据疲劳的表现,系统分析影响高危作业疲劳的因素,以管理因素、岗位因素、作业环境、生理、心理等5个因素为准则,构建作业疲劳风险的评价指标体系。然后,应用G1法,确定指标权重,建立高危作业疲劳风险多级模糊综合评价模型,评判疲劳状况。最后,通过一个案例验证了模型方法的可行性与有效性,为综合评判高危作业疲劳发生可能性提供了一个新视角与方法。