Analysis of occupational accidents: prevention through the use of additional technical safety measures for machinery

This article presents an analysis of results of 1035 serious and 341 minor accidents recorded by Poland's National Labour Inspectorate (PIP) in 2005–2011, in view of their prevention by means of additional safety measures applied by machinery users. Since the analysis aimed at formulating principles for the application of technical safety measures, the analysed accidents should bear additional attributes: the type of machine operation, technical safety measures and the type of events causing injuries. The analysis proved that the executed tasks and injury-causing events were closely connected and there was a relation between casualty events and technical safety measures. In the case of tasks consisting of manual feeding and collecting materials, the injuries usually occur because of the rotating motion of tools or crushing due to a closing motion. Numerous accidents also happened in the course of supporting actions, like removing pollutants, correcting material position, cleaning, etc.     

User involvement in the ergonomic development of a medical instrument: a longitudinal case study

In this study the focus is on the continuous ergonomic-focused development of a medical instrument that is capable of performing blood group serological tests. Primarily, a medical device must be clinically effective and safe. At the same time it must also meet the needs of its users. This calls for consideration of numerous ergonomic aspects. The development process of the product line in question was supported by a longitudinal series of carefully designed focus groups. Altogether, the 23 focus groups conducted included 245 participants from 72 laboratories. The aim of the empirical research was to collect users’ experiences, ideas and needs as inputs for the following phase of the product development process. During the mentioned focus group analyses, around 100 development proposals were conceived. Besides presenting more of the mentioned development proposals, the focus group analysis was shown as a proper methodology to involve end-users in the development and implementation of new technology or devices.     

Importance of awareness in improving performance of emergency medical services (EMS) systems in enhancing traffic safety: A lesson from India

Objective: India has been slow in implementing a central emergency medical services (EMS) system across the country. “108 services” is one of the most popular services that is functional under the public–private partnership model. Limited available literature shows that despite access to services, many traffic crash victims are transported using private vehicles. The objective of this study is to understand the effectiveness of 108 services from a traffic safety perspective.

Method: A questionnaire survey is conducted to understand the awareness of EMS and their function. Using traffic-related fatalities as the dependent variable, a fixed effect panel data model is developed to analyze the effectiveness of the 108 services in improving the traffic safety.

Results: The results from the survey show that, in general, people are not aware of the 108 services. A majority of the population prefers taking victims to the hospital using their personal vehicles or any other vehicles available compared to calling an ambulance. Results from panel data analysis show that despite having an efficient system, these services failed to make significant improvement in the safety of road users in the states in which their services were subscribed.

Discussion: The lack of awareness of an important safety service is alarming. This could be a major reason for lower utilization of 108 services for transporting victims of traffic crashes. This article shows the importance of having efficient awareness campaigns to improve the efficiency of any similar programs that are aimed to enhance the safety of a region.     

Social identity and applicant attraction: Exploring the role of multiple levels of self

Applicant attraction is a critical objective of recruitment. Common predictor variables of applicant attraction are limited in that they do not provide a comprehensive understanding of the process that shapes the perceptions and beliefs of job applicants about the firms for which they aspire to work for. Because individuals have the inherent desire to expand and enhance their social identities (e.g., personal, relational, and collective identities), they are likely to be attracted to organizations that allow them to do so. Building on recent work on levels of self, our paper suggests that social identities mediate the relation between currently established predictor variables of applicant attraction (e.g., compensation, type of work, and organizational image) and important applicant attraction outcomes. Common predictor variables of applicant attraction can lead to the activation, evaluation, and identification processes described by social identity theory. A theoretical framework is presented that illustrates the mediating influence of social identity on the relations between common predictor variables and applicant attraction outcomes. This framework may lead to more effective recruitment strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Light transmission through intraocular lenses with or without yellow chromophore (blue light filter) and its potential influence on functional vision in everyday environmental conditions

In this research the factors used to evaluate the light transmission through two types of acrylic hydrophobic intraocular lenses, one that contained yellow chromophore that blocks blue light transmission and the other which did not contain that filter, were defined according to various light condition, e.g., daylight and at night. The potential influence of light transmission trough intraocular lenses with or without yellow chromophore on functional vision in everyday environmental conditions was analysed.     

Allometric scaling and accidents at work

Allometry is the knowledge concerning relations between the features of some beings, like animals, or cities. For example, the daily energy rate is proportional to a mass of mammals rise of 3/4. This way of thinking has spread quickly from biology to many areas of research concerned with sociotechnical systems. It was revealed that the number of innovations, patents or heavy crimes rises as social interaction increases in a bigger city, while other urban indexes such as suicides decrease with social interaction. Enterprise is also a sociotechnical system, where social interaction and accidents at work take place. Therefore, do these interactions increase the number of accidents at work or, on the contrary, are they reduction-driving components? This article tries to catch such links and assess the allometric exponent between the number of accidents at work and the number of employees in an enterprise.     

事故灾难类重大突发事件情景构建概念模型

近期重特大事故灾难频发,表现出我国安全管理水平和应急处置能力依然不足。为引导地区或企业有序地开展应急准备工作,设计了事故灾难类重大突发事件情景构建概念模型,分析了概念模型中的“机会窗”和“准备效益”等重要理念,总结了概念模型在我国当前阶段的重要指导意义。最后,以某化工园区为真实背景,开展了生产安全事故情景构建的原型研究,证明了在事故灾难领域开展情景构建的实际价值。     

高瓦斯易自燃工作面高抽巷瓦斯抽采与采空区遗煤自燃相互影响研究

为了实现瓦斯与煤自燃两大灾害的联合防治,首先对布置高抽巷条件下瓦斯与遗煤自燃多因素相互影响关系进行了理论分析和归纳总结。结合淮南潘二煤矿11223高瓦斯易自燃工作面,建立了带有高抽巷的物理模型,利用UDF编译了本煤层与邻近层瓦斯涌出源项、采空区三维孔隙率和低温条件下煤氧化反应氧气消耗速率。在此基础上,分析了高抽巷布置参数和抽采参数以及工作面风量对高抽巷瓦斯抽采效果和采空区自燃带分布相互影响的规律。结果表明,当工作面风量为2 000 m3/min,高抽巷布置在顶板上方40 m时,高抽巷瓦斯抽采浓度和纯量分别达32.3%和29.07 m3/min,占总瓦斯涌出量的69.71%,同时能满足实际防火的要求。研究结果可为类似条件下高抽巷最佳施工与抽采参数提供借鉴。     

A fuzzy logic and probabilistic hybrid approach to quantify the uncertainty in layer of protection analysis

Layer of protection analysis (LOPA) is a widely used semi-quantitative risk assessment method. It provides a simplified and less precise method to assess the effectiveness of protection layers and the residual risk of an incident scenario. The outcome failure frequency and consequence of that residual risk are intended to be conservative by prudently selecting input data, given that design specification and component manufacturer's data are often overly optimistic. There are many influencing factors, including design deficiencies, lack of layer independence, availability, human factors, wear by testing and maintenance shortcomings, which are not quantified and are dependent on type of process and location. This makes the risk in LOPA usually overestimated. Therefore, to make decisions for a cost-effective system, different sources and types of uncertainty in the LOPA model need to be identified and quantified. In this study, a fuzzy logic and probabilistic hybrid approach was developed to determine the mean and to quantify the uncertainty of frequency of an initiating event and the probabilities of failure on demand (PFD) of independent protection layers (IPLs). It is based on the available data and expert judgment. The method was applied to a distillation system with a capacity to distill 40 tons of flammable n-hexane. The outcome risk of the new method has been proven to be more precise compared to results from the conventional LOPA approach.     

Small scale boilover and visualization of hot zone

Experimental studies of boilover were conducted in small scale rig at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Malaysia and Loughborough University, United Kingdom. The study at UTP was aimed to demonstrate the ability of conducting tests at a smaller scale to simulate the boilover phenomenon. At Loughborough University, a novel laboratory scale rig was designed and built in order to obtain visual records of fuels' behaviour in a pool fire. The ultimate objective of these studies is to develop a greater understanding of boilover pertaining to fires involving the contents of storage tanks. Fuel mixtures containing light and heavy components were burnt as to study the feasibility of reproducing hot zone formation and boilover in a smaller scale and a safe environment. Boilover occurred after certain period of burning. It is found that thickness of the hot zone changed with time. It is also found that the time needed to start boilover increased when fuel thickness increased. The visualization of the fuel behaviour during the experiments was obtained to better understand the formation and growth of hot zone, the boiling of water layer and hence the boilover occurrence. Based on the data analysis and the photographs recorded from the experiments, the laboratory scale experimental rig could be used to simulate the hot zone formation mechanism and the boilover event safely and successfully. Such information are important for the understanding towards boilover phenomenon.