Safety Improvement Measures Research Articles

Crash Stop Maneuvering Performance Prediction: a Data-Driven Solution for Safety and Collision Avoidance

The continuous increase of marine traffic and the entry of autonomous ships into the market is urging an improvement in safety measures to guarantee avoidance of collisions between moving objects at sea. This rise in automated maneuverability requires gaining further insight in the vessel’s behavior. The ship design has to ensure that the vessel is controllable and capable of maneuvering securely, even at critical operating conditions. Crash stop maneuvering performance is one of the key indicators of the vessel’s safety properties for designers and shipbuilders. Many factors affect this performance, from the hull design to the environmental conditions; hence, it is non-trivial to assess them accurately during the preliminary design stages. In this paper, the authors focus on predicting accurately and with minimal computational effort the crash stop characteristics of a vessel in the design stage, for the preliminary assessment of safety requirements imposed by the classification societies. The crash stop prediction model of the said vessel can be utilized in combination with collision avoidance algorithms. The authors propose a new data-driven method, based on the popular Random Forests learning algorithm, for predicting the crash stop maneuvering performance. Results from full-scale measured data show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Analysis of the spatial distribution of road accidents attended by the Mobile Emergency Service (SAMU-192) in a municipality of northeastern Brazil

This study describes the epidemiological characteristics of road accident victims attended by the Brazilian Mobile Emergency Service (SAMU-192) and located in the areas of highest accident density in the municipality of Olinda, (Pernambuco, Brazil). Kernel density estimation was used to detect spatial agglomerations of accidents. In 2015, 724 accidents occurred; of these, 73.48% of the victims were males aged 20-39 years. There was a predominance of accidents involving motorcycles (54.97%). Accident clusters were detected in the main traffic corridors, with run-over accidents located near bus terminals. Spatial analysis proved to be a relevant instrument for the identification of accident clusters and the application of effective prevention and traffic safety improvement measures.

Identifying quality markers of a safe surgical ward: An interview study of patients, clinical staff, and administrators

BackgroundPostoperative care quality is variable. Risk-adjusted mortality rates differ between institutions despite comparable complication rates. This indicates that there are underlying factors rooted in how care is delivered that determines patient safety. This study aims to evaluate systematically the surgical ward environment with respect to process-driven and structural factors to identify quality markers for safe care, from which new safety metrics may be derived. MethodsSemistructured interviews of clinicians, nurses, patients and administrators were undertaken for the study. ResultsIn the study, 97% of staff members recognized the existence of variation in patient safety between surgical wards. Four main error-prone processes were identified: ward rounds (57%), medication prescribing and administration (49%), the presence of outliers (43%), and deficiencies in communication between clinical staff (43%). Structural factors were categorized as organizational or environmental; organizational included shortage in staffing (39%) and use of temporary staff (27%). Environmental factors considered layout and patient visibility to nurses (49%) as well as cleanliness (29%). Safety indicators identified included staff experience level (31%), overall layout of the ward, cleanliness and leadership (all 27% each). The majority of patients (87%) identified staff attentiveness as a safety indicator. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that there are a number of factors that may contribute to safety on the surgical ward spanning multiple processes, organizational, and environmental factors. Safety indicators identified across all these categories presents an opportunity to develop broader and more effectual safety improvement measures focusing on multiple areas simultaneously.

Assessment for Improvement: Harvesting Operations in Small-Scale Forest on Thai Steep Terrain

Timber harvesting on steep terrain is always a challenge in terms of safety, operating costs, and environmental impact. The motor-manual, cut-to-length method is the most common in harvesting operations in the mountainous areas of Thailand. The motor-manual operations are characterized by various negative features such as high fatality rates, expensive operating costs, and low productivity. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevailing harvesting operations, to propose new working methods and systems, and to suggest work safety improvement measures. The results indicated an extremely high fatality rate in Thailand compared to the average in other countries. Possible reasons for this may include ineffective safety regulations, inadequate worker training programs, seasonal forestry workers, and a lack of personal protective equipment. Consequently, alternative working methods have been suggested as a system. The proposed working method was intended to improve work safety, enhance productivity and reduce operating costs using by simulation to find best solution. Shifting from a cut-to-length to tree-length processing and moving forward to mechanization was introduced as alternative harvesting systems. The results showed that partly-mechanized systems would significantly improve the productivity. Potential work safety improvement measures may consist of adequate training, personal protective equipment, and technological improvement. Obstacle for implementation is the high investment for forest machines and silvicultural practices.

The use of a virtual environment in managing risks associated with human responses in emergency situations on offshore installations

This paper presents the use of a virtual environment for investigating risks associated with human responses in emergency situations on offshore installations. The virtual environment and the risk management can be used to analyze risks associated with human responses by investigating the effectiveness of existing safety measures, identifying areas of improvement, and proposing new designs for safety measures. ProblemsDealing with emergency scenarios on offshore installations is a tremendous undertaking. The interaction of personnel using the safety measures in emergency situations can be affected by hazards, environment conditions, malfunctioning equipment, and inadequate emergency preparedness. Such factors have the potential to prevent personnel from arriving at a safe area, increase the level of risks, and consequently, cause injuries or fatalities to personnel. Risks associated with human responses in emergency scenarios are often unforeseen due to difficulties with modeling realistic emergency scenarios. ObjectiveThe objective of the research is to study demonstrate the use of virtual environments for investigating and managing risks associated with human responses in emergencies. MethodRisk management is employed to assess and manage risks associated with human responses in emergency scenarios. The risk management is tested using experimental data collected from past studies of human responses in virtual environments. ResultsRisks associated with human responses during emergency scenarios are determined by safety measures, the environment, and the egress route choices that have been taught. Participants’ performance and interaction with improved safety measures are better than the performance of participants without safety measures. ConclusionThis paper provides a demonstration of the utility of virtual environments to assess risks associated with human responses in emergency situations. ApplicationThe findings of this study may be useful for offshore energy operations.

Flexible sustainable manufacturing via decision support simulation: A case study approach

The main purpose of this article is to illustrate a decision support system for the redesign of an existing assembly facility in an automotive factory for new product introduction in a flexible and sustainable way with the help of a simulation-based optimization approach. In our study, we have assigned equal weightage to each performance parameter of the facility, including economic, environmental, social, and manufacturing flexibility. Our analyses further helped validate the changes required before implementation. Implementation of the proposal based on our findings helped the organization achieve economic benefits, saving around USD 0.314 million, and environmental benefits, saving around 335 kW of energy per day compared to the previously estimated measures. Along with these benefits, our studies have also helped improve safety measures and working conditions. Finally, we have outlined the limitations of our study and noted future research directions.

Safety related key performance indicators for securing long-term business development – A case study

An application of the Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) modelling is presented as a support in establishing process safety related key performance indicators (KPIs) for business management purposes. A relation to the managers' trust into results of risk analysis results is made. The case study deals with a possible spill, ignition, and explosion of methanol during a ship tanker unloading operation at the liquid cargo terminal at the port of Koper, Slovenia. Considerations of business impacts of such a major accident proved to be of particular relevance to the top management. Besides direct financial costs indirect economic impacts, like longer business interruption and impact to reputation, caused stronger concern due to their possible overall financial scope. This finding triggered a management requirement for establishing new, direct, measurable KPIs in association with multiple organizational safety improvement measures. Despite their small individual contribution to overall risk reduction, they are altogether effective in better understanding of the benefits of risk analysis for business. The BBN modelling assisted in identifying dominant contributors to key failure events, which was the guidance for proposing the meaningful, measurable business relevant KPIs. Benefits of such KPIs rely on regular monitoring by mid and top managers.

Probabilistic risk assessment on maritime spent nuclear fuel transportation (Part II: Ship collision probability)

This paper proposes a methodology to assess and reduce risks of maritime spent nuclear fuel transportation with a probabilistic approach. Event trees detailing the progression of collisions leading to transport casks’ damage were constructed. Parallel and crossing collision probabilities were formulated based on the Poisson distribution. Automatic Identification System (AIS) data were processed with the Hough Transform algorithm to estimate possible intersections between the shipment route and the marine traffic. Monte Carlo simulations were done to compute collision probabilities and impact energies at each intersection. Possible safety improvement measures through a proper selection of operational transport parameters were investigated. These parameters include shipment routes, ship's cruise velocity, number of transport casks carried in a shipment, the casks’ stowage configuration and loading order on board the ship.A shipment case study is presented. Waters with high collision probabilities were identified. Effective range of cruising velocity to reduce collision risks were discovered. The number of casks in a shipment and their stowage method which gave low cask damage frequencies were obtained.The proposed methodology was successful in quantifying ship collision and cask damage frequency. It was effective in assisting decision making processes to minimize risks in maritime spent nuclear fuel transportation.

Paintball related ocular injuries: First case report in Saudi patients

Paintball is a popular recreational sport. This case series describes three Saudi patients exposed to paintball ocular injuries with sever ocular trauma. Two patients developed hyphema and traumatic cataract and one patient had vitreous hemorrhage, choroidal detachment, commotio retinae and retinal tear. All patients require surgical intervention. Final best corrected visual acuity was 20/200, 20/30 and 20/50 respectively. Paintball related ocular injuries can result in severe visual loss and in most of the time requires surgical intervention. Most injuries occur in under-supervised settings and are easily preventable. Our main aim was to increase awareness among local ophthalmologists and eye professionals about this new game. Improved safety measures and appropriate public education could prevent such serious ocular injuries.

Safety Improvement Measures of Elevator Facilities

Safety Improvement Measures of Elevator Facilities

Analysis of Blunt Abdominal Trauma with Respect to Associated Injuries, Period of Survival And Mechanism of Death Among Autopsies Conducted in Dept. of FMT, RIMS, Ranchi.

Introduction: Since the abdominal cavity contains the vital organs like liver, spleen, kidney, stomach, intestines etc, trauma to this region challenges the integrity and even the viability of the individual. Because of its size and anatomical position, it is a major site of trauma in road accidents. Even with the improvement in safety measures in vehicles and greater availability of state of art resuscitative measures, the mortality rate in crush injuries to the abdominal region has not declined. Material and Method: Materials for the present observational study were collected from the medico legal autopsies, showing blunt abdominal injuries, carried out at the mortuary of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, during the period from 1 st December, 2014 to 30th November, 2015. Results: Among the 296 subjects studied, Blunt abdominal injuries were most commonly associated with Thoracic (198 cases i.e., 66.89%) and head injuries (160 cases i.e., 54.05%). Majority of cases died within 2 hours of sustaining injury which were mostly accidental in nature, the cause of death being Neurogenic shock and haemorrhage.

Identifying Quality Markers of a Safe Surgical Ward: An Interview Study of Patients, Clinical Staff and Administrators

Abstract Background Postoperative care quality is variable. Risk-adjusted mortality rates differ between institutions despite comparable complication rates. This indicates that there are underlying factors rooted in how care is delivered that determines patient safety. This study aims to evaluate systematically the surgical ward environment with respect to process-driven and structural factors to identify quality markers for safe care, from which new safety metrics may be derived. Methods Semistructured interviews of clinicians, nurses, patients and administrators were undertaken for the study. Results In the study, 97% of staff members recognized the existence of variation in patient safety between surgical wards. Four main error-prone processes were identified: ward rounds (57%), medication prescribing and administration (49%), the presence of outliers (43%), and deficiencies in communication between clinical staff (43%). Structural factors were categorized as organizational or environmental; organizational included shortage in staffing (39%) and use of temporary staff (27%). Environmental factors considered layout and patient visibility to nurses (49%) as well as cleanliness (29%). Safety indicators identified included staff experience level (31%), overall layout of the ward, cleanliness and leadership (all 27% each). The majority of patients (87%) identified staff attentiveness as a safety indicator. Conclusion This study demonstrates that there are a number of factors that may contribute to safety on the surgical ward spanning multiple processes, organizational, and environmental factors. Safety indicators identified across all these categories presents an opportunity to develop broader and more effectual safety improvement measures focusing on multiple areas simultaneously.

Approach to Identifying Black Spots Based on Potential Saving in Accident Costs

In improving road safety, the identification of black spots based on potential saving in accident costs is an attempt to make the selection of black spots to treat out of the identified ones. This selection is based on a new approach in which safety potential is employed as a key parameter which has a dual function of identification and prioritization. With this approach, it is possible to find black spots where safety improvement measures are expected to have the greatest economical effectiveness. Therefore, the approach may be a practically suitable tool for developing countries in road traffic accident reduction effort. This paper intends to introduce the new approach to identify road accident black spots in detail. First, the evolution of criteria for black spot identification is reviewed. What follows is an analytical framework for identifying black spots based on potential saving in accident costs. Finally, a particular case of practical implementation is enclosed in order to illustrate the approach.

Identifying Black Spots Based on Safety Potential - A Suitable Approach to Accident Reduction in Developing Countries

In improving road safety, identifying black spots based on safety potential is also known as identifying locations with potential saving in accident costs. Such identification is an attempt to make the selection of black spots which are most suitable to treat out of the identified ones. This paper intends to introduce an approach to identifying locations with potential saving in accident costs. In such approach, the key parameter used to assess the safety performance of road spots is the safety potential. This approach enables the identification of the black spots for which safety improvement measures are expected to have the greatest economical effectiveness. As a result, the approach is of great use to accident reduction in developing countries facing limited budgets for road safety improvement.

An aftermath analysis of the 2014 coal mine accident in Soma, Turkey: Use of risk performance indicators based on historical experience

On the 13th of May 2014 a fire related incident in the Soma coal mine in Turkey caused 301 fatalities and more than 80 injuries. This has been the largest coal mine accident in Turkey, and in the OECD country group, so far. This study investigated if such a disastrous event should be expected, in a statistical sense, based on historical observations. For this purpose, PSI's ENSAD database is used to extract accident data for the period 1970–2014. Four different cases are analyzed, i.e., OECD, OECD w/o Turkey, Turkey and USA. Analysis of temporal trends for annual numbers of accidents and fatalities indicated a non-significant decreasing tendency for OECD and OECD w/o Turkey and a significant one for USA, whereas for Turkey both measures showed an increase over time. The expectation analysis revealed clearly that an event with the consequences of the Soma accident is rather unlikely for OECD, OECD w/o Turkey and USA. In contrast, such a severe accident has a substantially higher expectation for Turkey, i.e. it cannot be considered an extremely rare event, based on historical experience. This indicates a need for improved safety measures and stricter regulations in the Turkish coal mining sector in order to get closer to the rest of OECD.

Characteristics of Farm Equipment-Related Crashes Associated With Injury in Children and Adolescents on Farm Equipment.

Operating or riding on farm equipment is one of the leading causes of farm-related injuries and fatalities among children and adolescents. The aim of this study is to examine environment, crash, vehicle, and occupant characteristics and the probability of injury, given a crash, in youth under age 18 on farm equipment. Data from the Departments of Transportation on farm equipment-related crashes across 9 Midwestern states from 2005-2010 were used. Odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression to assess the relationship between environment, crash, vehicle, and occupant characteristics and the probability of injury, given a crash. A total of 434 farm equipment-related crashes involved 505 child or adolescent occupants on farm equipment: 198 passengers and 307 operators. Passengers of farm equipment had 4.1 higher odds of injury than operators. Occupants who used restraints had significantly lower odds of injury than those who did not. Furthermore, occupants on farm equipment that was rear-ended or sideswiped had significantly lower odds of injury compared to occupants on farm equipment involved in noncollision crashes. Likewise, occupants on farm equipment that was impacted while turning had significantly lower odds of injury compared to those on equipment that was impacted while moving straight. Precautions should be taken to limit or restrict youth from riding on or operating farm equipment. These findings reiterate the need to enforce policies that improve safety measures for youth involved in or exposed to agricultural tasks.

Recreational motor vehicle use and facial trauma.

The use of recreational motorized vehicles (RMVs), including all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), snowmobiles, and go-carts, has increased in recent decades. Because RMVs are lightly regulated, there are numerous safety concerns. This analysis examines a nationally representative resource to estimate the incidence of craniofacial trauma secondary to RMV accidents, evaluating injury and demographic patterns. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was examined for facial trauma resulting in emergency department (ED) visits stemming from the use of ATVs, motorbikes/scooters, snowmobiles, and utility vehicles. Characteristics including demographics, anatomic sites, mechanism, and location of injury were evaluated, as well as details regarding helmet and alcohol use. There were 1,464 entries extrapolating to an estimated 61,312 ED visits over a 5-year period for facial trauma from RMV use. From 2009 to 2013, there was a 28% reduction in ED visits. The majority of patients were male, and the median age was 17 years. Lacerations (45.1%), contusions/abrasions (26.7%), and fractures (24%) were the most frequent injuries. Among fractures, the most common types were nasal (29%), followed by mandible (20%) and orbital (8%) fractures. All-terrain vehicles (62%) were the most common vehicles. Alcohol consumption resulted in a higher rate of facial fractures (48.5% vs. 22.8%). As there is a significant potential for injury, familiarity with injury patterns associated with RMVs is useful in the management of facial trauma. Recreational motorized vehicles facial trauma results in tens of thousands of ED visits annually. This data reinforces the importance of pursuing further efforts to raise public awareness and improve safety measures.

ANALYSIS OF GROUNDING ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY HUMAN ERROR

Despite modern bridge equipment, new technologies, and improved safety measures, maritime accidents still occur, and an analysis of their causes is essential in preventing future accidents. Ship groundings are one of the more frequent types of accidents encountered, and this study examines the maritime accident reports issued for grounded ships between 1993 and 2011. These were sourced using the International Maritime Organization's Global Integrated Shipping Information System and the reports published by the countries and relevant institutions that investigated the accidents. The grounding accidents are analysed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, and the objective of this study is to act as an advisory paper on the prevention of grounding accidents involving human error. The results suggest that the most significant causes of these types of accidents are, lack of communication and coordination in Bridge Resource Management, position-fixing application errors, lookout errors, interpretation errors, use of improper charts, inefficient use of bridge navigation equipment, and fatigue. It is suggested that providing more education and training opportunities to seafarers, promoting widespread use on board of Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems, and improving seafarers' working hours and rest breaks would help to reduce grounding accidents significantly.

자전거 사고예측모형 개발 및 개선방안 제시에 관한 연구

본 논문은 무동력 비탄소 교통수단 중 하나인 자전거 이용의 활성화를 위해 자전거교통의 안전성을 향상시키고자 한다. 이에 현재 설치 운영되고 있는 자전거도로의 문제점을 분석하고, 자전거 교통사고 자료를 토대로 자전거 사고예측모형을 개발하였다. 그에 대한 절차는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 국내 자전거도로의 현황 및 사고 자료를 제시하고 최근 3년(2009년~2011년)동안 전국에서 발생한 자전거교통사고를 수집하여 자료를 토대로 자전거교통사고 특성을 분석한다. 둘째, 전라남도 자전거 사고 자료를 사고 특성 분석을 통해 자전거 사고건수에 영향을 주는 변수를 선정하고, 'SPSS Statistics 21'의 중회귀분석을 이용해 사고예측모형을 개발하였다. 이때 자전거사고건수는 도로형태(교차로, 횡단보도, 기타단일로)별 연장에 따른 사고건수를 사용하였다. 도출된 사고예측모형을 검증하기 위하여 2011년도 광주광역시에서 발생한 자전거 사고자료를 이용하였으며 예측값과 실제 사고건수를 비교하였다. 그 결과, 일부 자료를 제외하고는 대부분 실제사고건수와 일치하는 것을 통해 사고예측모형의 신뢰성이 확보되고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 자전거도로 문제점 분석을 위해 자전거도로 현장조사를 실시하였으며 도출된 문제점에 대한 개선대책을 제시하였다. 본 연구를 통해 향후 자전거도로 계획 및 재정비 시 기초자료로 활용 될 것으로 판단되며 자전거 이용자의 안전성을 향상시키고 교통수단으로서의 자전거 이용의 활성화를 도모할 수 있을 것으로 기대된다. This thesis aims to improve the safety of bicycle traffic for activating the use of bicycle, main means of non-powered and non-carbon transportation in order to cope with worldwide crisis such as climate change and energy depletion and to implement sustainable traffic system. In this regard, I analyzed the problem of bicycle roads currently installed and operated, and developed the bicycle accident forecasting model. Following are the processes for this. First, this study presented the current status of bicycle road in Korea as well as accident data, collect the data on bicycle traffic accidents generated throughout the country for recent 3 years (2009~2011) and analyzed the features of bicycle traffic accidents based on the data. Second, this study selected the variable affecting the number of bicycle accidents through accident feature analysis of bicycle accidents at Jeollanam-do, and developed accident forecast model using the multiple regression analysis of 'SPSS Statistics 21'. At this time, the number of accidents due to extension per road types (crossing, crosswalk, other single road) was used. To verify the accident forecast model deduced, this study used the data on bicycle accident generated in Gwangju, 2011, and compared the prediction value with actual number of accidents. As a result, it was found out that reliability of accident forecast model was secured through reconciling with actual number of cases except certain data. Third, this study carried out field survey on the bicycle road as well as questionnaire on satisfaction of bicycle road and use of bicycle for analysis of bicycle road problems, and presented safety improvement measures for the problems deduced as well as bicycle activation plans. This study is considered to serve as the fundamental data for planning and reorganizing of bicycle road in the future, and expected to improve safety of bicycle users and to promote activation of bicycle use as the means of transportation.

Seismic vulnerabilities and risks for urban mitigation planning in Turkey

Chronic seismic hazards and resulting secondary impacts as natural conditions of the country, and the loss of robust building and prudent settlement practices as aggravated by rapid population growth make cities the most vulnerable geographical and social entities in Turkey. For the development of risk reduction policies, an essential step is to prioritize settlements according to their vulnerability levels. This could be determined by hazard probabilities and attributes of the building stock of each settlement. Measurement of vulnerability levels allows the ordering of settlements into risk categories. Vulnerability levels of settlements are then assumed to depend on a number of attributes of cities to explore whether vulnerability could be related to a set of urban properties. Results of statistical analyses indicate that total building loss is related to the ratio of population over the total number of buildings in mid-range settlements, and directly related to population in metropolitan cities. Relative loss on the other hand is related with the rate of agglomeration and development index in almost every size category of settlements. Observations provide guiding principles for effective mitigation practices in Turkey by ordering settlements and offer means of differential implementation. These could contribute to improved safety measures in urban standards, building codes, building supervision procedures, insurance systems, and investment priorities.