A behavior based safety approach at a Kuwait research institution

INTRODUCTION: Behavior based safety (BBS) initiatives are the current trend toward improving safety performance. METHOD: This study outlines the framework of the BBS process and summarizes several behavioral safety approaches to accident prevention. RESULTS: Although most of the published research has focused on the improvement of safe behavior in industry, this study is the first to apply the current approach of behavior based safety in a research/educational setting. An experiment conducted at a research institution demonstrated the effectiveness of a well-designed behavior based safety process. A follow-up study indicated that the BBS produced a lasting effect for the experimental group. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Results from this study can be the driving force to implement behavior-based safety processes into educational, research, and training organizations.     

Need for recovery in offices: Behavior-based assessment

At work, people may experience fatigue and a depletion of mental resources. The subsequent need for recovery is generally assessed employing subjective reports on evaluative statements. In this paper, we explore whether it is possible to assess employees’ recovery needs with a systematic inspection of behaviors. The idea is based on Campbell’s paradigm (Kaiser, Byrka, & Hartig, 2010), which holds that individuals will perform more, and more difficult behaviors to recover from fatigue when their need for recovery is higher.     

Analysis of major congeners of polybromobiphenyls and polybromodiphenyl ethers in office dust using high resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

The study focused on analysis of polybromobiphenyls (PBBs) and polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) congeners in office dust obtained in Pretoria, South Africa. Of the 32 congeners considered for identification, (BB-1, 2, 4, 10, 15, 26, 29, 30, 31, 38, 49, 80, 103, 153, 155, 209 and BDE-3, 15, 17, 28, 47, 66, 77, 85, 99, 100, 126, 138, 153, 154, 183, 209) only BB-2, 4, 30, 153, 209 and BDE-47, 66, 85, 99, 153 and 209 congeners were detected. The sum of PBBs concentration detected in office dust ranged from <dl − 196 ng g⁻¹ dry weight (dw) with a median and mean of 11.4 and 38.2 ng g⁻¹, respectively. On the other hand, the sum of PBDEs concentration detected ranged from 21.6 to 578.6 ng g⁻¹ dw with a median and mean of 162 and 169 ng g⁻¹ dw, respectively. A Spearman rank correlation between ∑₅PBBs and ∑₆PBDEs (r_s = 0.55, p = 0.003), indicated a statistical significant positive correlation for the similarity of pollution sources for both compound classes. However, no correlation was observed between the number of electronic materials and summation of concentrations of PBBs and PBDEs congeners detected. Concentrations of PBDEs detected in this study are substantially lower than reported in office dust in developed countries.     

Effect of outside air ventilation rate on volatile organic compound concentrations in a call center

A study of the relationship between outside air ventilation rate and concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) generated indoors was conducted in a call center office building. The building, with two floors and a total floor area of 4600 m², is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Ventilation rates were manipulated with the building's four air handling units (AHUs). VOC and CO₂ concentrations in the AHU returns were measured on 7 days during a 13-week period. VOC emission factors were determined for individual zones on days when they were operating at near steady-state conditions. The emission factor data were subjected to principal component (PC) analysis to identify groups of co-varying compounds. Potential sources of the PC vectors were ascribed based on information from the literature. The per occupant CO₂ generation rates were 0.0068–0.0092 l s⁻¹. The per occupant isoprene generation rates of 0.2–0.3 mg h⁻¹ were consistent with the value predicted by mass balance from breath concentration and exhalation rate. The relationships between indoor minus outdoor VOC concentrations and ventilation rate were qualitatively examined for eight VOCs. Of these, acetaldehyde and hexanal, which likely were associated with material sources, and decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, associated with personal care products, exhibited general trends of higher concentrations at lower ventilation rates. For other compounds, a clear inverse relationship between VOC concentrations and ventilation was not observed. The net concentration of 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate isomers, examples of low-volatility compounds, changed very little with ventilation likely due to sorption and re-emission effects. These results illustrate that the efficacy of ventilation for controlling VOC concentrations can vary considerably depending upon the operation of the building, the pollutant sources and the physical and chemical processes affecting the pollutants. Thus, source control measures, in addition to adequate ventilation, are required to limit concentrations of VOCs in office buildings.     

“Impressive?” Credentials,family photographs,and the perception of therapist qualities

The impact of the number of displayed credentials (0, 2, 4, or 9) and the presence or absence of family photographs on participants' judgments of a therapist's qualities was assessed. In a between-participants design, 227 participants made these judgments after viewing a projected digital image of a therapist's office. The judgments of the characteristics yielded three factors, Qualifications, Friendliness, and Energy. Analyses indicated that in general, the greater the number of credentials, the more positive the judgment of the therapist's Qualifications and Energy. The presence of family pictures had no significant impact on judgments. Results are discussed in terms of recommendations for the counseling environment.     

Screening life cycle assessment of an office used for academic purposes

The aim of this study is to contribute to the analysis of the environmental impacts deriving from common aspects of the service sector activity and to identify auxiliary actions and hot spots in order to improve the environmental performance of offices used for educational purposes. In that aspect, a screening life cycle assessment (LCA) for a university office-workstation of Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, was performed with the application of the SimaPro LCA software, and the Impact 2002+ method with fifteen impact categories for the interpretation of results. Findings from this research indicated that energy consumption for the powering electronic appliances was the key factor affecting most of the environmental impact categories examined. The impact categories most seriously affected by the office life cycle were the emissions of respiratory inorganics (39%), global warming (31%) and non-renewable energy use (27%). The saving of the energy consumed due to standby mode could lead to a reduction of 2.4% of the total energy consumption in the office in a yearly basis with proportional positive influence in all the respective impact categories. Additionally, utilization of solar energy through photovoltaic panels could lead to a reduction close to 90% for a number of impact categories. Therefore, actions and strategies for improving the environmental performance of academic offices should focus on the reduction of energy consumption.