Development of a loading dock safety evaluation tool

INTRODUCTION: Companies that use forklifts to load and unload trucks at loading docks are well aware of the main danger associated with this type of activity (i.e., the possibility of the forklift falling or tipping over when the truck suddenly moves away from the dock). Even if various truck restraint measures can be implemented to reduce the possibility of this type of accident, a number of hazardous incidents that result in a forklift tipping over from a loading dock still do occur regularly in day-to-day activities. This situation has brought experts to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of different measures and systems depending on the context in which they are used. METHODS: The present study touched upon both the technical and the organizational aspects of the restraint measures that could have an impact on safety. Certain elements were examined very closely, especially the failure of mechanical devices and their relation to the environment in which they are used, as well as the systemic interaction between people and the various restraint measures in use in a given context. CONCLUSION: This article presents a safety evaluation tool regarding restraint measures or systems for trucks docked at loading platforms - a tool that, of course, would take into consideration both the specific contextual aspects related to the docking bay itself, and to the plant. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: This tool is designed to help companies choose the optimal safety measures to implement, while remaining realistic in terms of the technical and economic aspects of any given situation.     

2007年9-10月国内安全事故统计分析

统计了2007年9-10月国内发生的各类安全事故363起,包括矿业事故、交通事故、爆炸事故、火灾、毒物泄露和中毒及其他事故.统计表明,在这些事故中,交通事故最多,占41.60%,其次是其他事故(36.36%)、矿业事故(11.57%)、爆炸事故(4.13%)、火灾(3.31%)、毒物泄露和中毒(3.03%).363起事故共死亡1098人,伤1215人,死亡人数的百分比分别为交通事故51.91%、其他事故17.21%、矿业事故15.03%、火灾8.56%、爆炸事故4.55%、泄露中毒2.73%;受伤人数的百分比分别为交通事故47.41%、泄露中毒19.09%、爆炸事故13.99%、其他事故8.23%,、矿业事故7.82%、火灾3.46%.     

2006年中国安全生产事故与自然灾害状况

综述了2006年中国安全生产事故状况和自然灾害情况.统计和分析了安全生产事故和自然灾害发生的情况,并给出了2006年10大食品安全事件.2006年中国共发生各类安全生产事故627158起,死亡112822人,同比分别减少12.6%和11.2%.非煤矿山共发生伤亡事故1869起、死亡2271人,同比分别下降3.1%和3.0%.火灾发生222702起,死亡1517人,受伤1418人,直接财产损失784468411元.2006年各类自然灾害共造成43453.3万人(次)不同程度受灾,因灾死亡3186人;农作物受灾面积41091.3千hm2,上升5.9%,其中绝收面积5408.9千hm2,上升17.7%.因灾直接经济损失2528.1亿元,比2005年上升23.8%.浙江、福建、江西、湖南、广东、广西、重庆、四川等地受灾严重.全国因气象灾害共造成2704人死亡,经济损失约2120亿元.2006年是中国海洋灾害的重灾年,风暴潮、海浪、海冰、赤潮和海啸等灾害性海洋过程共发生179次,造成直接经济损失218.45亿元,减少34.3%,死亡(含失踪)492人.地质灾害共发生102804起.大陆地区共发生5级以上地震14次,死亡25人,直接经济损失18.6亿元.结果表明,2006年中国安全生产事故的发生较2005年有所缓和,但自然灾害状况较2005年严重.     

2005年中国安全生产事故与自然灾害状况

综述了2005年中国安全生产事故状况和自然灾害情况.统计和分析了安全生产事故和自然灾害发生的情况.2005年中国共发生各类安全生产事故717 938起,死亡127 089人,同比分别减少10.7%和7.1 %.煤矿共发生事故3 303起,死亡5 938人,同比分别下降9.2%和1.5%.2005年全国各类自然灾害共造成40 653.7万人(次)受灾,2 475人死亡,直接经济损失2 042亿元.全年农作物受灾面积3 882万hm2,绝收460万hm2.全年发生特大森林火灾3起,因森林火灾造成受害森林面积7.3万hm2.全年因海洋灾害造成直接经济损失约332亿元.全年发生赤潮82次,减少14次;累计赤潮面积约27 070 km2,上升1.7%.全年共发生造成人员伤亡或直接经济损失50万元以上的地质灾害854起,共造成直接经济损失36.5亿元.全年共发生5级以上地震13次,受灾人口208万人,受灾面积15 040 km2,造成直接经济损失26 亿元.2005年中国安全生产事故的发生较2004年有所缓和,但自然灾害状况较2004年严重.     

某槽罐车爆炸事故原因及救援措施分析

以湖南某地槽罐车倾翻导致的液化气泄漏爆炸事故为例,从爆炸发生条件的角度对事故发展过程进行了定性分析,认为环境温度升高导致压力增大是槽罐车破裂的直接原因,倾翻使罐体强度降低,容积减小是间接原因,可能的引火源为电气或静电火花而非烟头。运用PHAST软件模拟了液化气泄漏形成蒸气云爆炸的过程,利用冲击波超压和热辐射准则得到本次事故安全距离为310 m。研究结论对类似事故的抢险救援和疏散有一定的参考价值。     

Improving the Chest Protection of Elderly Occupants in Frontal Crashes Using SMART Load Limiters

Objective: To determine whether varying the seat belt load limiter (SBL) according to crash and occupant characteristics could have real-world injury reduction benefits in frontal impacts and, if so, to quantify those benefits.

Methods: Real-world UK accident data were used to identify the target population of vehicle occupants and frontal crash scenarios where improved chest protection could be most beneficial. Generic baseline driver and front passenger numerical models using a 50th percentile dummy were developed with MADYMO software. Simulations were performed where the load limiter threshold was varied in selected frontal impact scenarios. For each SBL setting, restraint performance, dummy kinematics, and injury outcome were studied in 5 different frontal impact types. Thoracic injury predictions were converted into injury probability values using Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2+ age-dependent thoracic risk curves developed and validated based on a methodology proposed by Laituri et al. (2005). Real-world benefit was quantified using the predicted AIS 2+ risk and assuming that an appropriate adaptive system was fitted to all the cars in a real-world sample of recent frontal crashes involving European passenger cars.

Results: From the accident data sample the chest was the most frequently injured body region at an AIS 2+ level in frontal impacts (7% of front seat occupants). The proportion of older vehicle front seat occupants (>64 years) with AIS 2+ injury was also greater than the proportion of younger occupants. Additionally, older occupants were more likely to sustain seat belt–induced serious chest injury in low- and moderate-speed frontal crashes. In both front seating positions, the low SBL provided the best chest injury protection, without increasing the risk to other body regions. In severe impacts, the low SBL allowed the driver to move dangerously close to the steering wheel. Compared to the driver side, greater ride-down space on the passenger side gave a higher potential for using the low SBLs. When applying the AIS 2+ risk reduction findings to the weighted accident data sample, the risk of sustaining an AIS 2+ seat belt injury changed to 0.9, 4.9, and 8.1% for young, mid, and older occupants, respectively, from their actual injury risk of 1.3, 7.6, and 13.1%.

Conclusions: These results suggest the potential for improving the safety of older occupants with the development of smarter restraint systems. This is an important finding because the number of older users is expected to increase rapidly over the next 20 years. The greatest benefits were seen at lower crash severities. This is also important because most real-world crashes occur at lower speeds.     

2015年3-4月国内生产安全事故统计分析

统计了2015年3-4月国内发生的各种生产安全事故130起,其中包括交通事故、矿业事故、爆炸事故、火灾、毒物泄漏与中毒和其他事故.统计表明,在130起事故中,交通事故占68.46％,矿业事故占7.69％,爆炸事故占1.54％,火灾占5.38％,毒物泄漏与中毒占5.38％,其他事故占11.54％.130起事故共死亡532人,伤108人.死亡人数的百分比分别为交通事故65.79％,矿业事故11.65％,爆炸事故1.32％,火灾5.64％,毒物泄漏与中毒4.51％,其他事故11.09％;受伤人数的百分比分别为交通事故81.48％,矿业事故0.93％,爆炸事故3.70％,火灾2.78％,毒物泄漏与中毒7.41％,其他事故3.70％.2015年3-4月生产安全事故发生较多的5个省、自治区分别为广东(17起)、云南(15起)、广西(10起)、安徽(10起)、黑龙江(9起);死亡人数较多的5个省分别为云南(65人)、广东(59人)、浙江(42人)、山西(40人)、安徽(39人);受伤人数较多的5个省、自治区分别为福建(24人)、内蒙古(15人)、广东(11人)、广西(10人)、云南(7人).     

2015年7-8月国内生产安全事故统计分析

统计了2015年7-8月国内发生的各种生产安全事故143起,其中包括交通事故、矿业事故、爆炸事故、火灾、毒物泄漏与中毒和其他事故.统计表明,在143起事故中,交通事故占66.43％,矿业事故占5.60％,爆炸事故占2.80％,火灾占4.90％,毒物泄漏与中毒占6.99％,其他事故占13.29％.143起事故共死亡770入.死亡人数的百分比分别为交通事故49.74％,矿业事故5.06％,爆炸事故25.32％,火灾3.51％,毒物泄漏与中毒4.55％,其他事故11.82％.2015年7-8月生产安全事故发生较多的6个省分别为广东(21起)、云南(12起)、安徽(8起)、江西(7起)、湖南(7起)和黑龙江(7起);死亡人数较多的6个省、市分别为天津(165人)、广东(75人)、云南(46人)、安徽(32人)、江西(29人)和黑龙江(29人).     

长江流域水污染事故时空特征及其环境库兹涅茨曲线检验

为了有效分析长江流域水污染事故发展阶段及变化趋势,采用1995—2010年长江流域水污染事故时序数据,运用GIS技术和环境库兹涅茨曲线(EKC)模型,探讨长江流域水污染事故发生的时空变化特点,并分析流域水污染事故发生与经济发展的关系。结果表明,1)时间上,长江流域水污染事故发生频数总体呈下降趋势;2)空间上,长江流域水污染事故的发生主要集中在广西、湖南、四川、浙江等省,而西藏、青海、上海等省市发生频数较低;3)长江流域人均GDP和工业总产值等经济发展指标与事故发生频数之间呈现"N"形EKC曲线特征。长江流域水环境事故发生频数与经济发展之间未表现出期望的倒"U"形变化关系,表明水污染事故频数增加或降低并非经济发展的必然结果,未来流域水污染事故风险仍存在巨大的不确定性,必须采用先进政策、制度和技术才可有效减少污染事故的发生。     

突发环境污染事故应急监测中存在问题与对策

专业人员、内设机构、仪器设备、资金投入的瓶颈,环境应急预案编制的质量,国家应急监测技术规范的制定,应急监测演练的实际效果等是环境应急监测中存在的主要问题。应对突发污染事故的监测,应该从监测部门的内设机构建设,专业人员的配备,政府资金的投入,设备的更新添置,提高应急预案的编制质量,加强应急监测人员的培训和应急监测演练的常态化,国家应急监测技术规范的制定等多方面入手。