Elements Of Safety Management Research Articles

Assessment of geoecological risks as an element of environmental safety management at metallurgical enterprises

Assessment of geoecological risks as an element of environmental safety management at metallurgical enterprises

Total Quality Management, Safety and Stakeholders Satisfaction: Model for Healthcare Administration

Total Quality Management, Safety and Stakeholders Satisfaction: Model for Healthcare Administration

Why do major chemical accidents still happen in China: Analysis from a process safety management perspective

As an important consideration in the chemical industry, chemical process safety has received notable attention in China. However, catastrophic chemical accidents still occur. To better understand why accidents continue to occur, this paper presented a diagnostic analysis of 14 major chemical accidents in China from 2012 to 2022 based on VOSviewer software. The authors analysed the correlation between the accident causation and their relationship with the safety management elements. The study observed that inferior process safety culture, intentional violation (rule-breaking) of procedure, inadequate safety training, and illegal operations were the most frequent causes of accidents. These causes highlighted the prominent gaps in PSM in China in the process safety culture, compliance with standards, the conduct of operations, process safety competency, and training & performance assurance. The results based on co-occurrence analysis indicated a strong correlation between these gaps in PSM. Enterprises should pay attention to collaborative management among them. These deficiencies in the enterprise’s PSM system showed that the essential defects in China’s chemical industry are a poor safety culture, inadequate accident investigation, inadequate training, and a lack of chemical safety personnel. The study recommended that the chemical industry establish superior process safety culture and competency for all personnel, monitor leading and lagging process safety indicators, apply inherent safety, and practice advanced safety management concepts. We hope that the findings can provide China’s perspectives and strengths for global chemical safety.

Application of process safety management principles to laboratory safety management

AbstractManagement of teaching and research laboratories at the university becomes increasingly complex when they become hybrid laboratories that function as both concurrently. To ensure the safety of people and assets, selected process safety management elements were adopted to establish a robust approach to laboratory safety management. These elements were adapted to meet the requirements of a regularly changing work environment (i.e., research activities) and laboratory users (i.e., undergraduates and researchers). The application focused on the user as well as technical aspects, ranging from employee participation to management of change. The fundamental objective was to create and sustain a laboratory safety culture that protects all laboratory users and minimizes asset damage.

Where risk, where capability? Building the emergency management capability structure of coal mining enterprises based on risk matching perspective

The emergency management capability of coal mine enterprises is a crucial element of coal mine safety management. Exploring the structure of the emergency management capability of coal mine enterprises under the perspective of risk matching is conducive to clarifying the core nodes of emergency management capability construction. A qualitative analysis of Chinese underground coal mine accident reports, related laws and regulations, and relevant academic papers was conducted using grounded theory. Currently, the risks in underground coal mines in China can be divided into source-generated risks, derivative risks, and residual risks. The elements of emergency management capabilities that match them are absorption capability, detection and control capability, and response capability. At the same time, some capability elements across different risks are summarized as internal enhancement and external enhancement, respectively. The study provides a reference for coal mining enterprises to improve emergency management capability and reduce risks.

A multivariate approach towards the measurement of active employee participation in the area of occupational health and safety in different sectors of the economy

Research background: Despite a dynamically growing exploration of broadly understood employee participation, there is still space left for more in-depth or new analyses in this area, and occupational health and safety (OHS) serves as a good example in this respect. In empirical studies, employee participation in the field of occupational health and safety is not treated as a separate element of ensuring safety in the organisation, but only as a minor element of occupational health and safety management, or as just one of the elements building a safety culture. Purpose of the article: The aim of the paper is to propose a synthetic measure of active employee participation in OHS taking into account the depth and scope of this participation. A comparative analysis of the level of active participation of OHS at medical facilities and in other sectors of the economy was also performed. Methods: The theoretical model for active employee participation in OHS was tested by means of a survey using the PAPI (Paper & Pen Personal Interview) method. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used. The developed construct (characterised by an adequately high level of validity and reliability) was used in a comparative analysis of medical institutions with other sectors of the economy with the use of the Mann?Whitney U test. Findings & value added: This research fills the theoretical gap in the model approach to participation in OHS. It has been found (EFA and CFA analyses) that active employee participation in OHS consists of one dimension (15 items). The model for active employee participation in OHS and the universal measurement scale developed and validated in this study represent a step forward towards the effective and reliable measurement of employee participation. In addition, the research has shown that the level of active employee participation in OHS at medical facilities is lower than in other sectors of the economy. The added value of this paper results from the approach to measuring employee participation in OHS which takes into account the depth and scope of this participation. The tool is consistent with international regulations and standards in the field of OHS, and thus can be used in other countries to assess active employee participation in OHS, regardless of the size and profile of the company or the sector of the economy.

Process safety management lessons learned from a fire accident caused by the reverse flow of high‐pressure gas in a residual desulfurization process in Taiwan

AbstractIn 2020, a fire and explosion accident occurred in Taiwan because of the reverse flow of high‐pressure recycle gas. This accident resulted in three minor injuries and caused the Taiwanese government to instruct the top three chemical groups in Taiwan to conduct procedural hazard and operability (HAZOP) studies in addition to normal HAZOP studies. The cause analysis based on the accident timeline and cause factor chart indicated that improper control of the protection logic bypass and the lack of four process safety management (PSM) elements, namely mechanical integrity, process safety information (PSI), operating procedures, and process hazard analysis (PHA), were the root causes of the aforementioned accident. The deficiencies leading to accidents are related to planning problems in PSM promotion but unrelated to the implementation of PSM programs. Maintenance processes should be evaluated and developed according to PHA results or equipment structure to guarantee equipment integrity. The incompatibility of process chemicals with pipeline materials should be considered; then, the construction materials mentioned in PSI should be extended to those of pipelines, not just equipment. In addition to the hazards of normal operations, those of non‐routine operations should be identified to ensure the completeness of the PSM program. Protection logic bypass should be appropriately controlled, and a complete safety evaluation must be conducted before resetting the initiated protection logic. A majority of the deficiencies identified in this study exist in most Taiwanese chemical companies, including the leading ones performing PSM. The lessons learned from the aforementioned accident provide advance information that can be used to develop an improved PSM system.

Fire Safety Management in Malaysian Higher Educational Institutions

Most universities and college campuses across Malaysia are engaged in developing policies, programmes, and systems to reduce fire risks, and maintain fire safety. Although the awareness of fire disasters has increased among some parts of the society, the concept of fire disaster preparedness and response in universities has not been sufficiently explored. Therefore, this paper aims to establish a conceptual framework fire safety management plan in Malaysian Higher Educational Institution. The method used by this paper is synthesizing previous articles from selected journals and conference proceedings, reports, standards on disaster risk management, higher institution contingency and fire safety plans, and existing guidelines from authorities. The key elements of fire safety variables from the previous literatures assist this study in developing a conceptual framework related to fire safety management plan. The findings of this paper include the elements of fire safety management like organizational responsibilities (mitigation/prevention), emergency preparedness including emergency facilities, emergency contact details, information, and communication training, and testing and reviewing (response & recovery). The establishment of this conceptual framework of fire safety management can guide the management teams at higher educational institutions in delivering information to Emergency Response Team (ERT) to ensure its effectiveness. Moreover, this framework will help the management team to adopt, validate, and evaluate, which enhances the ability to detect crisis signal that will minimize losses.

Health and safety management assessment among administrative staff and health and safety committee members in University of Sulaimani

Abstract : In any occupational field, all staff members, workers, administrators, and managers should know the available occupational health and safety (OHS). In general, the issue of workplace safety could not be achieved effortlessly. Based on the health and safety management system (HSMS) guidelines, a systematic approach should be existing, which employers administer to minimize the available risks of illness and injury. This comprehensive approach consists of identifying, assessing, and controlling the possible risks to the workers. The main challenges of HSMS guidelines are to decrease the possible ambiguity and hazards and proper management of the job. The present study was carried out to evaluate the safety and health management in the University of Sulaimani, its staff's knowledge and attitudes regarding main elements of health and safety management, and the level of the health and safety principles among the university staff. A total number of 135 administrative staff and health and safety committee members were studied in a descriptive cross-sectional study. Two standard questionnaires were used to collect critical data on the participants' health and safety management evaluation and their knowledge, attitude, and skills about health and safety management training programs. The collected data were analyzed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22. The results indicated that most of the participants (56.3%) worked in colleges and 43.7% in the directorate sector. Their age range was from 25 to 74 years, with more participants belonging to 35-44 and 45-54 years. Most of the participants (68.9%) were males. Regarding the participants' knowledge of and attitude toward managerial aspects of health and safety, it was seen that most of them were well aware. Regarding their health and safety responsibilities, it was concluded that most of them had enough knowledge. In terms of the participant's knowledge of health and safety program components, they had sufficient knowledge of most of the components. The main objective of occupational health and safety assessments is to specify the possible risk to workers and staff members' safety and health. However, the effect of occupational health guidelines within the universities on the improvement of university staff's health and safety has not been clarified precisely yet.

Risk identification and assessment in production of meat product packaging

Production of convenient and inexpensive packaging materials is increasing due to the constant growth of consumer demand for safer food products. The paper examines the questions dedicated to the development and introduction of the safety and quality management system in enterprises producing packaging for the meat industry. The authors analyze the elements of safety and quality management for polypropylene packaging in a form of a tray, which is a final element of the united chain in production of whole-piece meat semi-finished products. The investigations were carried out in the operating enterprise in the Moscow region. Hazardous factors in production of polypropylene packaging were identified, risk analysis with assessment of the probability of emergence and realization of hazardous factors was carried out, a Pareto chart was built, unacceptable risks were determined, critical control points (CCP) were revealed, preventive and corrective measures were developed with account for the established critical limits and requirements for CCP monitoring were formulated. All stages of production process were subjected to risk analysis; the severity of consequences from hazardous factor realization and the probability of such realization were assessed by experts for each of these stages. It was established that “injection molding and chilling in a press-mold” is a CCT as there is a risk of increasing the maximum allowable concentrations of chemical substances and compounds (formaldehyde, ethyl acetate, alcohols and others) as a chemical factor with the severity of consequences of 3 and the probability of realization of 3. Using the Pareto chart, causes that had the highest effects on safety and quality of polypropylene packaging were grouped. It was established that nonobservance of preventive maintenance schedule for equipment and, as a consequence, possible equipment failure (80%) influenced to the higher degree the realization of chemical hazardous factor.

Safety management in private construction project in Iraq

The construction industry consider one of the most dynamic industries due to the unique features such as the change in the project site and condition. These features make the application of specifications and codes more difficult. Occupational Safety requirements in project is also difficult to be implemented and monitored due to the unique features of this industry. The aim of the study is to propose a new method that will determine the performance and management of the occupational safety in the construction site, in order to increase the safety at work in the private construction sector in Iraq. Another purpose of this evaluation is to establish a fundamental point that can be graded according to the safety index for the Iraqi construction industry. The information has been collected through a checklist and a questionnaire; the study focused on data collection paradigm and framework based on a fuzzy logic approach, which is especially able to evaluate the efficiency and monitoring of management defects of private contractors in the fields of occupational safety management. The results show a high security management performance in the private construction sector in Iraq, and the survey results show that there is a great deficiency in training on job security, also study found out that the top three elements of occupational safety management in Iraq are: First Aid-medical needs, Safety committees, Hazard prevention and control.

Safety management in private construction project in Iraq

The construction industry consider one of the most dynamic industries due to the unique features such as the change in the project site and condition. These features make the application of specifications and codes more difficult. Occupational Safety requirements in project is also difficult to be implemented and monitored due to the unique features of this industry. The aim of the study is to propose a new method that will determine the performance and management of the occupational safety in the construction site, in order to increase the safety at work in the private construction sector in Iraq. Another purpose of this evaluation is to establish a fundamental point that can be graded according to the safety index for the Iraqi construction industry. The information has been collected through a checklist and a questionnaire; the study focused on data collection paradigm and framework based on a fuzzy logic approach, which is especially able to evaluate the efficiency and monitoring of management defects of private contractors in the fields of occupational safety management. The results show a high security management performance in the private construction sector in Iraq, and the survey results show that there is a great deficiency in training on job security, also study found out that the top three elements of occupational safety management in Iraq are: First Aid-medical needs, Safety committees, Hazard prevention and control.

On the Possibility of Using Structuring Hazardous Production Situations to Manage Occupational Risks in Coal Open-Cuts

The paper deals with an approach to occupational risk management based on the structuring of hazardous production situations (OPS) on the example of a coal open-cut. The possibility of using weight coefficients in determining groups of hazardous factors is shown, based on which the dominant contribution of technological and subjective factors is highlighted. An example of assessment of risks and opportunities as elements of occupational safety management based on GOST R ISO 45001-2020 is demonstrated.

Extracting Domain Knowledge Elements of Construction Safety Management: Rule-Based Approach Using Chinese Natural Language Processing

AbstractThe literature and practices of construction safety management have highlighted the importance of domain knowledge. Effectively extracting the domain knowledge elements (DKEs) of constructi...

Project-Level Safety Management Framework for Semiconductor Project

Safety is one of the greatest challenges in the construction industry. Researchers proposed various safety systems to manage site safety and improve safety performance at the project level. However, these safety systems still exhibit large disconnections between the theoretical components of the systems, luck the risk prevention from specific work procedure and controlling methods. As a result, different safety teams often implement safety plans and activities in different ways, yielding different results without stability of the safety system. A safety framework that based on the construction method statement with a clear logic of safety management elements under controlling points is proposed to increase the efficiency of safety system execution at the project level to reduce the safety risks systematically. This study begins by analysing safety systems currently on the market and breaks them down to three main components: setting up the framework through systematic models, interconnecting various safety elements through safety management theories with logic, and controlling safety management data flow through an artificial neural network model, where corporate safety management frameworks are incorporated at the project level. Then the framework is further applied and tested in a semiconductor project. This framework provides an integration of safety elements, field activities and associated risks, draft the path and flow of information data generated from the safety activities and controlling points of data which enable the field safety management system to be executed with new technology of cloud based algorithm at project levels. Because each project is different based on the construction methods and sequence, the framework only covers a certain depth in the construction process based on the assumption of construction sequence presented in the study. Nevertheless, each project requires a custom design framework to accommodate the special construction method and sequence which might be different from this study to increase construction safety performance.

Predictive Models of Accidents at Work in the Steel Sector as a Framework for Sustainable Safety

Work safety can be a component of the broadly understood sustainable enterprise approach that goes beyond the idea of sustainable development. Sustainability in an unpredictable and turbulent environment has many constellations, many aspects and many fields of the enterprise’s activity and it complements the rationality of the business. The aim is to understand the sustainability of safety, because this is the term we have adopted for rationality in occupational safety management, in the context of the analysis of work accidents in the Polish steel industry, with particular emphasis on the methodology of forecast assessment in the studied area, proposed by us. The realized forecasts were used for the creation of a combined model which formed the basis for formulating conclusions from the analysis. The publication presents the modeling of the victims of work accidents in the steel sector in Poland. Based on the research of the forecasts obtained, a downward trend is recorded in the number of persons injured in accidents at work in the steel sector. In order to select the optimal model, it was proposed to set combined forecasts. In order to select the optimal model, it was proposed to set combined forecasts. The obtained values of ex-ante forecasts in the combined model also confirmed the forecasted trends determined within the adaptation models. The study is a proposal to extend the combined forecasting methods used to assess occupational safety. We consciously chose to include the methodology of combined forecasting of the number of people injured in accidents in the interpretation of sustainability, because we see the possibility of interpreting accident rates in sustainable business in the future. In the publication, we propose the framework of the sustainable safety model as an element of work safety management in an enterprise. We are trying to answer the question about the place of accident prediction in sustainable safety.

Elements of Safety Management System in the Construction Industry and Measuring Safety Performance – A Brief

Construction industry is considered to be one of the most hazardous industries in the world. The reason could be attributed to its hazardous nature as it is an accident-prone industry. Thus, a need for better understanding of safety management system is essential for improving safety performance in this sector. This paper discusses briefly the elements of safety management by presenting different systems (such as Oregon OSHA Occupational Health and Safety Administration, and OTAR Overseas Territories Aviation Circle) and elaborating their elements. It also discusses two types of measuring safety performance the first is the lagging indicators and the second is the leading indicator. In addition, a field study was conducted to explore contractors’ perception on safety management. A questionnaire was distributed to construction firms. 200 responses were collected and analyzed. All of the results showed positive answers which indicate that safety in performance in Egypt is slightly above average as all means were close to average.

Occupational health and safety management in “small size” enterprises, with particular emphasis on hazards identification

Abstract The article presents the element of occupational health and safety management in enterprises, with particular emphasis on the identification of occupational hazards. The factors that may be a source of occupational hazards have been classified and divided. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of occupational hazards on work safety in the opinion of employees of micro and small enterprises. The research was carried out using the proprietary questionnaire. The results were verified by means of a direct interview with elements of observation. The research was compared with the trends prevailing in the enterprises of the European Union countries according to the results of the research conducted by EU-OSHA. Polish respondents considered physical and psychophysical factors to be the main occupational hazards. The results turned out to be very similar to those presented by EU-OSHA in its publicly available reports. The basic principle of occupational health and safety management, i.e. identification of occupational hazards, is reliability and correctness. Identification of occupational hazards gives the opportunity to take correct and effective corrective and preventive actions reducing occupational risk, for example through the effective use of personal protective equipment, or a more detailed treatment of both introductory and instructional training. The article also highlights the migration of individual occupational hazards, which depends on many factors, both professional and non-professional.

The Police’s role in the field of improving functioning fuel sector as an element of energy safety management in Poland

The energy sector is an example of an unusual branch of the economy whose success largely depends on the amount of energy carriers owned by a given country. Paying attention to Poland, it should be noted that next to hard coal, which is the largest quantity of raw material, the role of oil and natural gas is steadily increasing. Energy security gives the opportunity for development in individual countries only if it can function and satisfy basic goods that allow economic prosperity. These goods include, but are not limited to, energy resources, which may determine the prosperity of individual economic sectors. In turn, energy carriers along with other raw materials decide about the level of fuel security of the country, and thus affect the level of energy security. However, due to the existing threats to this sector, one of the important roles is played by the Police, which counteracts all criminogenic phenomena that deplete the economic benefits for the state from the fuel sector. The article is an interesting supplement to the issues raised in the journal, because it draws attention to a special problem that should be tackled not only on a national, but also international scale, so the text seems to be important from the perspective of the topics discussed. In addition, the issues raised, which are not so often discussed in the scientific literature, constitute an interesting supplement in the field of matter.

A resilience engineering perspective of safety performance measurement systems: A systematic literature review

Although safety performance measurement systems (SPMSs) are key elements of safety management, previous research is usually limited to the proposal or assessment of indicators, without adopting a systems perspective. Furthermore, what counts as a well-designed SPMS is contingent to the adopted theoretical perspective, which is normally implicit. In this study, Resilience Engineering (RE) has been used for assessing SPMSs, providing an explicit and systems-oriented perspective. Previous research on SPMSs was analysed in a systematic literature review, with the aim of identifying whether RE offers a new perspective on SPMSs, and understand how RE has been put into practice in SPMSs. For each paper, there was an evaluation of how it accounted for five RE guidelines concerned with the design and implementation of SPMSs. The uptake of the guidelines was low on average, indicating that RE does not largely overlap with traditional assumptions of SPMS literature. However, there were several studies moderately or strongly aligned with those guidelines, suggesting that RE has been implicitly adopted to some extent. Descriptors were devised to convey approaches for the operationalization of the guidelines, providing a reference for the design of SPMSs informed by RE. A research agenda is also proposed.