Development of a scale for assessing the organization's safety performance based fuzzy ANP

Traditionally, safety performance is assessed through statistical analyses of incident data, known as lagging indicators. Lagging indicators are not useful since the goal of founding safety management systems is the continuous improvement. In this study, a scale was established and validated to assess the elements that affect the organization safety. The fuzzy analytic network process (FANP) procedure was applied to weigh the elements and to reveal the influence of various structures for the proposed scales on the safety performance indicator. A 120-item scale was developed following the interview process to examine the factors that affect safety performance. Based on the face validity results, eight items were removed. The mean value of the instrument's validity index was 0.79. According to the FANP results, the organizational factor had the highest weight load of 0.465, whereas the environmental factor, with a weight of 0.209, had the least effect on the organization's safety performance index. An analysis of the study data showed that the designed scale can be used as an objective and simple tool to evaluate the factors that affect safety performance.     

The oil and gas industry,the Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) and the management of emergencies - Changes necessary to achieve effective competence assessment of OIMs in controlling emergencies

Within the UK offshore oil and gas industry all installations require to be under the charge of a ‘competent’ installation manager in accordance with the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works (Management and Administration) Regulations (MAR) 1995. The Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) is responsible for the safety of all persons onboard and within 500 m of an installation. Should an incident arise, the OIM performs one of the most critical roles within the offshore industry - management of the response to the emergency to mitigate and make safe the installation to secure a place of safety for persons onboard or organise their safe evacuation. The emergency response also includes limiting the loss of hydrocarbons to the environment.Research at the University of Aberdeen has identified 8 potential barriers to the effective competence assessment of OIMs in controlling emergencies. These underlying barriers are a consequence of current UK legislation and industry practices in the assessment of OIM competence and result from:

• •multiple definitions of competence,
• •competence assessment predominantly by observation,
• •lack of specific and unambiguous competence requirements for trainers and assessors,
• •complexity in UK legislation and complicated interpretation of terms,
• •lack of statutory competence requirements for OIMs in controlling emergencies,
• •lack of ownership of OIM competence and competence assessment,
• •complex interactions across multiple UK Government departments, and
• •lack of regulation and independent audit of the competence assessment process of OIMs in controlling emergencies.

The potential barriers were identified by qualitative analysis of key documentation, including legislation, using a critical hermeneutic approach. Hermeneutics has historically been used to analyse texts within the domains of theology, business and law. It arguably, however, represents a powerful approach to the study of documents within the engineering domain and the offshore oil and gas industry.This paper discusses the identified potential barriers, research conclusions and recommendations and represents the culmination of three years of doctoral research investigating the competence assessment of OIMs in controlling emergencies within the offshore oil and gas industry. The research, in particular, is relevant to Duty Holders within the offshore industry, safety engineers and UK Government departments.     

The role of safe work method statements in the Australian construction industry

The aim of this study was to determine how managers and workers interpret and use safe work method statements (SWMS) in the Australian construction industry in order to explore if there was a gap between work as imagined and work as performed. Despite recent improvements in its safety performance, the Australian construction industry continues to be among the top four most dangerous industries within which to work. SWMS are a key strategy relied upon by the construction industry to reduce this toll. However, few, if any studies have looked at the role of SWMS in creating a safe workplace. This ethnographic study focused on the role of SWMS at two commercial construction sites in Australia. The researcher spent 6 months ‘getting to know’ the organisation before conducting 18 semi-structured interviews spanning labourers, supervisors and managers. The researcher also collected examples of completed SWMS. This study found: (1) that SWMS are important for safety, particularly for tasks that are out of the ordinary; (2) that social interaction as well as SWMS are important for safety; (3) gaps do exist between work as imagined in a SWMS and work as performed in practice, but in the minds of those on site, there were no unresolved gaps; (4) therefore construction companies must identify and resolve the gaps between SWMS, practice and task demands to make construction sites a safer place to work.     

Work-related injury and ill-health among mountain instructors in the UK

In most industrialised countries, work-related injury and ill-health presents a major burden to society. Musculoskeletal disorders and stress are the most common reported illness types with those working in some industries more at risk than others. This study aimed to understand the occupational health issues of those working as mountain instructors in the outdoor sector within the UK and to identify the cultural norms and behaviours among this unique occupational group which influence health. Semi-structured, telephone interviews were conducted with 20 qualified mountaineers to gain information on work-related injury and ill-health. The majority of interviewees reported a current work-related musculoskeletal problem. Key factors were identified which prevented effective rehabilitation, including; a ‘macho’ attitude among young instructors, self-imposed extended working hours/days and mismanagement of injuries. Self-employed instructors reported that sick leave after a minor injury or illness was not financially viable. Work-related issues leading to stress were also reported.     

Safety line method for the prediction of deep coal-seam gas pressure and its application in coal mines

Gas pressure is an important index for evaluating the outburst risk and determining the gas content in coal seams. It is recommended to predict coal-seam gas pressure of the workface at deep levels before extending mining activities to deeper levels. According to the prediction results, measurements are taken for gas outburst prevention and control and for workload estimation. At present, regression methods are always used to process the numerous gas pressure data for prediction. Because there are many factors that influence the gas pressure which could lead to a deviation from actual values, the measured data do not possess basic conditions for regression methods; this can cause unexpected dangers if the methods are adopted.Based on a statistical analysis of actual measured results of coal-seam gas pressure in a same geological section in certain coal mine, two symbol measured points are selected to make a line for prediction, i.e. safety line, and the other measured points should be below the line except the abnormal points due to the confined water. It has been successfully applied in numerous coal mines in China. Particularly, this method is analyzed in this paper for the case of the No. 8₂ coal seam in the Taoyuan coal mine in Huaibei coalfield, China. By comparatively analyzing the relationship between gas pressure and depth from surface using regression methods, it is found that the safety line method could lead to a better prediction for deep coal-seam gas pressure, and therefore promote early warning ability and mining safety.     

A framework for learning from incidents in the workplace

Learning from Incidents (LFI) in the workplace has been gaining increasing importance in the Health, Safety and Environment context. Although organisations adopt a variety of LFI initiatives, it is often unclear what learning approaches are the most appropriate and the most effective for different types of incidents across a range of contexts. The aim of the paper is to surface factors that are important for effective Learning from Incidents (LFI). The paper builds on a conceptual framework for learning from incidents, developed through an earlier study. This conceptual framework was validated through empirical data collected at two multinational corporations in the energy sector. From this data a refined framework for learning from incidents was devised with five factors important for LFI: participants of learning, type of incidents, learning process, type of knowledge and learning context. This framework can be used as an evaluation tool and as a guidance tool to develop holistic, organisational learning approaches.     

The effect of integrated management system on safety and productivity indices: Case study; Iranian cement industries

Nowadays, with implementation of management systems and environment management and due to the influence of safety and health issues on working processes, organizations have also sought to acquire health and safety management systems. This study which aims to examine the influence of integrated management system on safety and productivity indices has retrospective experimental nature. It was conducted in Cement Factories in which three systems are used: quality, environment and safety systems. The collected data were: accident reports and the investigation of events in 6 years during 2005-2010 (3 years before and 3 years after the implementation of the system). The safety indices that used in this study are: IFR, ISR, FSI, and Safe T. Score. Then, the data analyzed with the T-test, mean and standard deviation. The results showed a significant difference between various safety indices before and after the implementation. The examination of production indices such as increasing rate of productivity and production indicates the influence of these systems on production and productivity indices. The results have showed that the safety system existence cannot ensure productivity increase. Indices definition can be helpful for the safety system effectiveness and system continual improvement. It is important to say that there might be various indices definition in different industries.     

Numerical study of dust lifting using the Eulerian–Eulerian approach

The present paper shows a numerical investigation of dust lifting behind a moving pressure wave. The dispersion of combustible dust has previously been discovered to be a precursor to a potential dust explosion. Consequently, a growing interest on the subject has been observed in recent years. Numerous studies have been performed on dust lifting, however, very few investigations have focused on dust layers with high volume fractions. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to provide additional data. The simulations were carried out in a three-dimensional duct with a dust layer dispersed along the lower wall. The Eulerian–Eulerian approach was selected as the modelling technique. At first, four simulations varying the initial pressure and volume fraction of the dust were performed. The former parameter was varied between 4 and 8 bar, while the latter varied between 0.4 and 0.6. The combination of high initial pressure and high volume fraction resulted in the greatest dispersion of dust. Subsequently, two different drag force models were compared: the Schiller–Naumann, and the Gidaspow. It was discovered through this research that the choice of model caused significantly different results. The former model was found to underestimate the drag in the diluted parts of the layer. Consequently, this led to a distinctly lower lifting of the dust than in the latter model. Finally, a validation of a particle–particle interaction model was performed. It was observed that in the case where the model was disabled, an unrealistically high maximum volume fraction of the dust layer occurred. Nevertheless, the model did not seem to improve the dispersion results, which indicates that the dust lifting in this research was solely due to fluid–particle interactions.     

Study on static and dynamic strength characteristics of tailings silty sand and its engineering application

Through high pressure oedometer-undrained triaxial tests and dynamic triaxial tests, researches were conducted on the static and dynamic strength characteristics of the tailings silty sand of No. 4 tailings reservoir in De-xing copper mine. The Mohr-stress circles of the tailings silty sand under all the testing confining pressure show that the single line failure envelope cannot represent the strength characteristics absolutely, the double line failure envelope can express the strength properties when confining pressures are less than 1400 kPa, and the parabolic failure envelope can reflect the strength characteristics well under all the testing confining pressures. The grading curve of the tailings silty sand indicates that the grain composition is relatively homogeneous. Thus, the tailings silty sand is susceptible to liquefy under the dynamic loading. Dynamic triaxial tests of the tailings silty sand show that the tailings silty sand in deep areas has more liquefaction resistance strengths than in shallow. The possible explanation is that the structure of the deep tailings silty sand is more stable than the shallow one. The tests also reveal that the liquefaction resistance increases with the dry density when it is in the range of 1.51-1.61. The results can be used to guide the construction and ensure the safety of No. 4 tailings dam or other high tailings dams.     

Ports’ service attributes for ship navigation safety

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the service attributes of ports for ship navigation safety. Based on the relevant literature and the features of ship navigation in ports, the service attributes of ports for ship navigation were first investigated. A fuzzy AHP model was then used to identify those attributes from shipmasters’ perspectives. Finally, a Dissatisfaction Attitude (DA) index was used to determine the attributes’ priorities, by which the port authorities may make policies for improving ship navigation safety. As an empirical study, the shipmasters berthing their ships in Kaohsiung Port were surveyed to validate the model. The result constructs 19 port service attributes (SAs) for ship navigation safety, in which, the shipmasters place more emphasis on the SAs of operators’ professional literacy, including the marine pilot’s professional and English communication abilities, the VTC (Vessel Traffic Center) regulator’s professional and English communication abilities, and the tugboat driver’s skills. While, for Kaohsiung Port, currently, the traffic control of fairway is the most important aspect to be improved. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings for port authorities in improving ship navigation safety are discussed.