A taxonomy of performance influencing factors for human reliability analysis of emergency tasks

This paper introduces the process for, and the result of, the selection of performance influencing factors (PIFs) for the use in human reliability analysis (HRA) of emergency tasks in nuclear power plants. The approach taken in this study largely consists of three steps. First, a full-set PIF system is constructed from the collection and review of existing PIF taxonomies. Secondly, PIF candidates are selected from the full-set PIF system, considering the major characteristics of emergency situations and the basic criteria of PIF for use in HRA. Finally, a set of PIFs is established by structuring representative PIFs and their detailed subitems from the candidates. As a result, a set of PIFs comprised of the 11 representative PIFs and 39 subitems was developed.     

Joint analysis of process and operator performance in chemical process operational safety

Independent studies of case histories by the Health and Safety Commission in the UK and by a Honeywell led industrial consortium world-wide showed that human errors represent the major cause of failure in process plant operation. In contrast to this discovery the majority of previous studies on computer aided systems for fault detection and diagnosis has focused on the process side. This paper presents a methodology, which can involve human factors into the development of systems for automatic identification and diagnosis of abnormal operations and develops methods and techniques that can be used to simultaneously capture, characterise and assess the performance of operators as well as of the process. A joint process–operator simulation platform is developed which is used as a test-bed for carrying out the study. The process part is a simulator, which simulates in high fidelity the dynamic behaviour of the process that is subject to the influence of various disturbances and operators’ interventions. The operator module is developed as a real-time expert system, which emulates operator’s behaviour in interpretation of received signals, and planning and execution of decisions. The interaction between the two modules is managed through an interaction module, which handles the real-time exchange of data using Dynamic Data Exchange. The interaction module also contains the toolkits for analysing the dynamic behaviour of the joint process–operator system. The method and system are illustrated using a simulated case study.     

Research on 10-year tendency of China coal mine accidents and the characteristics of human factors

The trend of China coal mine accidents in the latest 10 years was studied and the human factors in these accidents were analyzed by multi-dimensional statistic analysis. It shows that the number of major coal mine accidents and the death toll in the accidents were decreasing steadily, while sporadic death accidents still accounted for the largest percentage of deaths. Gas outburst accidents, gas explosion accidents and mine water accidents remained the major part of the whole story and subject to close attention. Among the causes of these accidents, human factors accounted for 94.09%, of which intentional violation, mismanagement and defective design accounted for 35.43%, 55.12%, 3.54% respectively. Improper operational and management practices in which the safety system, procedures and specifications were neglected or broken were still key roots of China coal mine accidents.     

A comparison of required coefficient of friction for both feet in level walking

The required coefficient of friction (RCOF) is one of the critical elements in determining whether a slip incident might occur. Most researchers, when measuring RCOF, do not differentiate between the two feet of the same participant under the same walking condition. Results from a recent study (Chang et al., 2010) indicated that the stochastic distributions of the RCOF of both feet were different in 76% of the cases. Using the previous data (Chang et al., 2010), this paper presents a comparison of the RCOF for both feet of 50 participants under four level walking conditions resulting from two footwear types and two walking speeds using a t-test, commonly used by safety professionals to compare two pools of data. The current results indicated that 78% of the RCOF data showed a statistically significant difference between the RCOF from two feet for the same participant under each walking condition. The results of the logistic regression analysis used to identify factors that contributed to the outcome of the t-test indicated that the walking speed was the only factor with a statistical significance (p = 0.044).     

大型活动客流监测预警方法研究

随着我国经济文化的发展,大型活动日益增多,大型活动中人群拥挤事故作为大型活动事故预防控制的重点,逐渐引起人们的重视.本文从观众结构、时间分布、空间分布及运动性特征四方面分析了大型活动客流的相关特性;论述了大型活动安全监测的内容与方法,确定了安全监测的重点部位;从安全容量、安全密度、安全速度、密度变化率和速度变化率五个角度提出了大型活动客流风险的预警方法,并比较了各类方法的优缺点.研究成果为保障我国大型活动的顺利召开,避免拥挤踩踏事故的发生有一定的借鉴意义.     

Exploration of relationships between safety performance and unsafe behavior in the Chinese oil industry

Safety performance is comprised of two components, safety compliance and safety participation. However, relationships between safety performance and unsafe behavior have not been thoroughly investigated. In this work, scales for safety compliance and safety participation were revised for use in the oil industry, and job burnout scale was developed on the basis of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). A structural equation model was then employed to investigate the interactions of these factors for 238 front-line oil workers from the PetroChina Huabei Oilfield Company in China. From the results, it was determined that workers' unsafe behavior could not be reduced significantly solely from these two dimensions of safety performance. Compared with safety participation, safety compliance was found to have a greater influence on unsafe behavior. However, job burnout was found to be a significant moderator between these two components and unsafe behavior. Furthermore, it was determined that oil workers' occupational psychological health conditions must be taken into account to improve organizational safety management and reduce workers’ unsafe behavior.     

Impact of human development on safety consciousness in construction

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reports that the risk of fatal occupational injuries in developing countries is almost twice as high as in developed countries, indicating a potential relationship between the fatality rates and the development level. The human development index (HDI), based on life expectancy, knowledge level and purchasing power parity, endorsed by the United Nations Development Programme, is a widely accepted measure of the development level. This study investigates the relationship between the HDI and the fatality rates reported by the ILO. A 23-country data set is used to demonstrate the general trend of the relationship followed by country-specific analyses for Australia, Spain, Hungary and Turkey. The study conducted is limited to fatal occupational injuries in construction, where the accidents are notoriously high. The results demonstrate a statistically significant inverse relationship between the fatality rates and the HDI.     

红壤丘陵脆弱生态环境的形成与整治对策

通过对我国东南部红壤丘陵区生态状况的历史回顾，分析了该区脆弱生态环境形成的主要原因，提出其整治应采取的生态、经济、社会诸方面的综合措施。     

农村经济活动对云南野生稻居群的影响

云南野生稻包括普通野生稻(O.rufipogon Griff)、疣粒野生稻(O.meyeriana Baill)和药用野生稻(O.officinalis Wall),是属于全国仅存的几处宝贵基因资源库之一。野生稻具有许多优良特性及其相应的基因,在栽培稻育种和生物技术利用等方面具有巨大的潜力。文章在对云南野生稻居群长期调查或考察的基础上,分析了云南野生稻居群濒危的现状,认为热区经济开发、游牧、木材消耗、采集草药、外来种入侵和环境污染等农村经济活动是致濒的主要因素。阐明了选择合理的保护方法、加大普法和执法力度、完善保护体制与运行机制、调整种植结构是当前云南野生稻居群保护管理与经济协调发展的四项重点措施。     

Portuguese coastal zones and the new coastal management plans

Coastal zones in Portugal, as interface areas between land and sea, have problems related to the growing human pressure in terms of changes in land use associated with urban and industrial occupation, new accessibility (ports, motorways) and traffic flows, intensification of recreational use (beaches, water sports) and excessive fishing. Impacts include deterioration of water quality and sediments; alteration and degradation of natural habitats; new hydrodynamic situations; major landscape changes: and rapid changes in habits and way of life of the local populations and increased exposure of populations and assets to natural and induced risks (storms, accidents, spills, explosions). Plans for the Management of the Coastal Zone (POOC) have been developed and seven of them have been approved, while two similar plans are at a final stage of preparation. Together they cover the entire coast of Portugal. Their implementation and assessment could be a first step towards an integrated management of the Portuguese coastal zones. River Basin Management Plans (PBH) have been concluded and recently approved for the whole country. However, these plans do not consider estuarine systems and some other issues related to coastal systems. The National Water Plan (PNA) is under public presentation and discussion. Several ‘key messages’ are presented in this paper as a contribution for assessment of the proposals of this plan on issues related with coastal waters.