Safety Department Research Articles

Developing A Novel Small‐Scale Test to Predict Large‐Scale Explosivity

AbstractThere is a need for small‐scale (gram) tests that accurately predicts large‐scale (kilogram) detonation performance of energetic materials. Many attempts have been made to create such tests, but they are either too narrow in scope [1–3] or fail to demonstrate correlation with large‐scale behavior [4–9]. When creating regulations relative to safety and transportation, accurate small‐scale tests are crucial to organizations such as the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Herein is reported small‐scale (15 g) detonation tests which can be reasonably correlated to large‐scale results. The protocol utilizes a ” diameter rate stick, booster to overdrive the sample, seeding with RDX, and evaluation of the run distance to failure using optical techniques. By these means we hope to develop reliable safety information prior to scaleup of production.

Communicate About Quality and Safety: Let's Think Outside the Box! Experience From a Cancer Center.

While the priority of caregivers in any health care establishment is patient care, they are often constrained by time and cannot fully devote themselves to projects aiming at improving the quality and safety of care. Although the culture of quality is widespread in health care establishments, the quality and safety department team must continue to improve existing procedures and develop new ones, in order to reinforce the take-home message that safety is of paramount importance. Since good communication is a key factor in the success of quality plans, the quality and safety team in our establishment is placing special emphasis on "out of the ordinary" activities that take professional carers out of their daily routines, arouse their curiosity, and increase their adherence to quality procedures. The issues addressed during these activities are based on the year-round continuous assessment of in-house procedures. Only those that have been deemed essential for safe care are focused upon. Most of the activities that are implemented have already been tried and tested in the fields of industry and aviation, and they all have a fun, collaborative, and creative component. Their impact and effect are assessed by carrying out the same assessments as those used at the beginning on the project. These innovative activities, which have received strong support from the staff, have had a positive effect on interdepartmental cooperation, on the adherence to the new methods presented, and on ensuring that information is made available to the greatest number of professionals. They have allowed the staff to acquire and consolidate new professional knowledge and have promoted good practice. This new program of activities has considerably improved the safety culture within our establishment. While the relationship between the skills of professionals and patient safety is clear to all, the message needs to be delivered in an original way that makes a lasting impression, in addition to using "standard" communication methods such as plenary meetings. The bottom line is to get as many professionals as possible fully adherent to the culture of quality, since quality is everyone's business and health care procedures are constantly evolving. Based on our experience, we provide a set of activities that can be improved and adapted according to the setting in which it is used.

Spontaneous coal combustion risks and risk indication methods

Currently, despite the development of alternative technologies, the main source of energy is fossil fuels. A significant proportion of fossil fuels is solid fuels, which, along with the undoubted advantages, have a high fire hazard, including related to their ability to spontaneous combustion. The process of spontaneous combustion has not been sufficiently studied, and the methods of combating it are still far from perfect. Self-ignition has long been an object of scientific research, both in Russia and abroad. For a long time, Irkutsk National Research Technical University has been carrying out comprehensive studies of spontaneous combustion in coal deposits and objects of storage and consumption in Eastern Siberia, aimed at developing methods for early diagnosis and technologies for preventing spontaneous combustion. The article describes the main directions of research and the achievements of the Department of Promecology and Life Safety in this area.

Professional competition as a significant resource for improving pedagogical skills

Introduction. The subject of the study in this article is a theoretical understanding of the role of professional competitions to ensure the safety of children on the roads in the development of pedagogical skills of educational workers. It is argued that the competitive participation of creative teachers demonstrating the best integration practices serves as confirmation of the continuity of pedagogical education, its qualitative progress. A model of improving pedagogical skills in the field of child traffic safety based on the ideas of axiology, integration, communicativity in competitive professional activities is justified. Its leading functions and stages are defined. Scientific reasoning is based on the results of the examination of inter-subject road safety projects presented as part of the All-Russian Pedagogical Festival (Moscow, 2021), conducted by employees of the Department of Human Physiology and Life Safety of Mininsky University.Materials and Methods. The materials were the results of an expert assessment of competitive projects (273) of interdepartmental and integrative training of children in safe behavior on the roads, carried out by teachers of 43 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Analysis and evaluation of author's projects was carried out on the basis of a system of diagnostic methods, revealed in domestic and foreign works, and formatted within the framework of the Pedagogical Festival. The objective and objectives identified the need for analysis methods, including comparative; generalizations and systematization, forecasting and modeling.Results of the study. Formation of a modern scientific idea of professional competitions as effective means of continuing education and substantiation of the model of improving pedagogical skills in the field of child traffic safety based on the implementation of integration projects in competitive professional activitiesDiscussion and Conclusions. The merits of professional competitions in the understanding by teachers of their own experience and reflection in the direction of further self-realization in the context of new educational strategies have been revealed; it was concluded that it is necessary to model the professional improvement of teachers in the training of children in road safety in the logic of integrative design activities and diverse communicativity.

Changing attitudes about workplace violence: Improving safety in an acute care environment.

The United States Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines workplace violence (WPV) as any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site. OSHA recognizes that WPV ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide. There are no OSHA standards specifically related to WPV however the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the OSHA Act of 1970, requires employers to provide a workplace that is free of conditions that could cause death or serious harm to employees. The Joint Commission published standards in 2022 related to WPV. The standards require a proactive analysis of the organization relative to WPV. Monitoring of events and training of staff are also required. This article will explore one hospital's journey to understand the frequency and types of violence experienced by nurses in the facility; implement evidence-based strategies to mitigate violence in the hospital; maintain compliance with regulatory and accrediting bodies; and most importantly, to protect our staff from harm.

The VSP App Adoption by Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) in Law Enforcement

This study aimed at discovering the factors of VSP app adoption by RMP in law enforcement particulary towards crime prevention. Using qualitative methodology of case study design, significant discoveries were obtained through in-depth interviews with five VSP Enforcers from the Crime Prevention and Community Safety department or Jabatan Pencegahan Jenayah dan Keselamatan Komuniti (JPJKK) of Bukit Aman representing the Royal Malaysia Police. The NVivo 12.0 software was used in the process of open, axial and selective coding. The data were analzed by applying the thematic analysis. The result indicates that the RMP utilizes VSP application due to five salient factors that are; VSP acts as a prevention tool, identity protection, an espionage medium, comprehensible and last but not least, RMP utilizes VSP app in law enforcement in particular to prevent crime due to its functionality.

Associations of wrong surgery with other critical healthcare quality and patient safety challenges: a cross-sectional nationwide study of 100 general hospitals in Spain.

Wrong surgery (wrong-site, wrong-procedure, or wrong-patient surgery) is among the most feared patient safety problems in hospitals. We aimed to evaluate associations between numeric assessment of risk assigned to wrong surgery with that of other healthcare quality and patient safety challenges. This nationwide study collected information from healthcare quality experts in charge of a clinical quality and/or patient safety department in general hospitals of ≥ 150 beds in Spain. Out of the 100 included hospitals, the highest strength of associations were observed with risk priority number (RPN) for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, RPN for venous thromboembolism in hospitalized patients, RPN for incorrect patient identification, RPN for lack of informed consent for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures, RPN for catheter-related bacteremia, and RPN for adverse events and injuries due to medical devices related to use and/or design. These results are of potential interest for designing combined and coordinated strategies to improve patient safety in hospitals.

1292P A review of in-hospital end-of-life care (EOLC) for oncology patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Globally, 40 to 60% of all patient deaths occur in an acute hospital setting. Patients with cancer make up a significant proportion of those who die in hospitals. Clinicians involved in their care should be competent at recognising dying and documenting the quality of EOLC delivered to patients and families. Continued evaluation and audit of the care of the dying patient is essential for quality improvement at an organisational level. The management of patients who died in Cork University Hospital under the Oncology Service’s care between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2021 was analysed. Paper and electronic records were reviewed, and patient care was assessed using the Oxford Quality Indicators (QIs) for EOLC. Ethical approval was granted by the Cork University Hospital Quality and Patient Safety Department. 66 patients were identified (M:F 29:37). The median age at time of death was 64 years [30-82]. The average length of admission resulting in death was 12.4 days [0-44]. 6% of patients died in the emergency department and 12% of patients died in the intensive care unit. The risk of dying was documented in 95.5% of cases and was communicated to 65.2% of patients and 82.8% of patients’ families. There was a do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) order in place for 89.4% of patients. Unnecessary investigations and interventions were stopped for 71.2% of patients. Symptom assessment was documented in 81.8% of cases. What was important to the patient was documented as explored in 24.2% of cases. 10.6% of patients were offered a chaplain or faith advisor. The inpatient palliative care team were involved in 77.2% of cases. Using the Oxford QIs for EOLC, the average quality score was 3.5, on a scale of 1-5: 1 (very poor): 0%, 2 (poor): 21.2%, 3 (satisfactory): 33.3%, 4 (good): 19.7%, 5 (excellent): 25.8%. The average EOLC quality score was 3.5. Oncology patients at our centre received, on average, satisfactory-to-good quality EOLC. Shortcomings identified have led to the development of a care of the dying Pro-forma to improve EOLC delivery and a survey of bereaved relatives to identify gaps in care. Holistic care of the dying is a fundamental part of the cancer care spectrum and needs to be prioritised in the acute hospital setting.

Leadership behaviors, attitudes and characteristics to support a culture of safety.

It has been estimated that medical errors are the third highest-ranking cause of death in the United States. A patient safety culture has been touted for many years as best practice to reduce medical error. While there is a general agreement of its importance, it has remained elusive for many. This study sought to learn how strengthening leadership skills within a health care organization could catalyze patient safety culture improvement. The research asked the following to gain an appreciation for that question: How does a leader ensure consistency in policies, practices, and protocols to create a patient safety culture? What attitudes, beliefs, and collective efficacy are needed to produce a patient safety culture? What leadership characteristics are needed to create a patient safety culture? The research participants were the employees who make up the patient safety department in a large academic health care system. Information was gathered to capture their view of leadership's role in patient safety culture and to gain knowledge relative to their individual experiences following a medical error.

Study on the impact of human factors on health and safety performance

Although industries are showing a substantial progress in controlling occupational hazards, health and safety, recurrences of accidents and industrial disasters have caused studies related to enhancing the emergency responses and safety capability assessments across industries. This study emphasises primarily for the need for an increased attention associated with human factors and its association with organizational policies and practices in occupational safety and health management (OSHM) and the study furthermore proposes an effective approach for analysing its effects with goal for addressing on reinforcing the industrial safety protocols and regulations with regards to hazards assessment. The present study addresses on key concerns attributing on whether the present industrial policies, objectives, protocols, critical communication, safety culture, training and competency development programmes and facilities and services within the industry are in correlation with OSHM standards as it is pivotal for the safety department and improving standard protocol for further strengthening, coordinating and collectively monitoring the execution of all the actions intended to deal with an industrial accident and its impacts. The findings from the rendered cross-sectional regression data from the series of sessions were explored over the course of the study investigation.

Performance Analysis of the Behavior Based Safety Program in Reducing Occupational Accident Rates

Introduction: PT. X is a company that concentrates on the agricultural sector by producing ammonia and urea fertilizers. Occupational accidents at PT.X are reported and recorded by the Department of Occupational Health and Safety, one of which is a form of monitoring the performance of the BBS program at PT. X. The research objective was to determine the performance of the Behavior-Based Safety (BBS) program in reducing occupational accidents due to unsafe actions at PT.X. Methods: This study is an observational study. Determination and sampling in this study used accidental sampling technique for safety officers as many as 5 respondents, while the cluster sampling technique was used for the workforce of 95 respondents. The data analysis method used was descriptive semi-quantitative. Results: The results showed the fulfillment of the criteria and maturity level of behavior-based safety at PT. X, In general, PT X was already at level 4, namely "High Performing" with an average of 3.5. Meanwhile, the work accident rate analysis using the Safe T-score of PT. X was in the category between +2.0 and -2.0, meaning that the number of occupational accidents at PT. X after implementing behavior-based safety did not experience any significant changes. Conclusion: The performance of the behavior-based safety (BBS) program in reducing occupational accidents due to unsafe actions at PT. X in 2019 was effective even though the maturity level of the application of BBS was still not at the high performance level criteria on all criteria, and there was still no significant change in the reduction of the number of occupational accidents.

Assessment of Indoor Air Quality at Different Sites of Higher Educational Buildings of a University, Shah Alam

Introduction: Indoor air quality is an important aspect in defining Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). SBS triggered by inadequate IAQ may harm occupants. Objective: This study was conducted to establish the relationship between IAQ and SBS in the higher educational building. Methods: The research method is divided into three main categories; indoor air chemical and contaminant analysis, microbiological contaminant analysis, and questionnaire. A cross-sectional study was conducted at seven locations in a university in Shah Alam. Results: The results were compared to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health standard (DOSH). Significant correlation with temperature (p<0.05), relative humidity (p<0.05), and particulate matter (PM10) (p<0.05) were found.This study suggests that enhancing housekeeping standards and monitoring indoor air quality can enhance the indoor air quality in Malaysian higher education buildings. Conclusion: Based on correlation between IAQ and SBS symptoms, poor IAQ and SBS symptoms among occupants may impact teaching and learning process in the university. Conclusion: This study suggests that enhancing housekeeping standards and monitoring indoor air quality can enhance the indoor air quality in Malaysian higher education buildings.

Prepare a crisis communications response plan for handling complex legal, reputational issues

Behind every legal issue facing your campus safety department are communications issues that need to be addressed. The way you choose to address these issues will influence how they're perceived by others, whether such issues might become entangled in the legal process, and the potential reputational damage to your department and institution.

The effect of spelt flour on the quality of puff pastry

Croissant is one of the puff pastry products. This product is widely distributed in France. The assortment of croissants is very diverse, but in order to increase the assortment and improve the quality of this product, spelt grain flour has been used in our research. The purpose of the research is to study the effect of spelt flour of the Alcoran variety on the quality of puff pastry. The tasks are to consider the production technology of croissant; to investigate the organoleptic and physical and chemical parameters of croissant; to calculate the economic efficiency of the production of croissant. The methods used are the following: the regulatory framework of the research is the legislation of the Russian Federation on standardization and certification, regulatory documents (GOST, technical specifications). The assessment of organoleptic and physical and chemical parameters has been carried out according to the technical specifications 10.71.11-046-38826547-2016. The results are: trial baking has been conducted in the Volgograd State Agrarian University at the Department of Processing Technologies and Food Safety. Puff yeast dough for Croissant is divided into two main technological processes: kneading yeast dough; lamination of dough. The appearance of the croissant with spelt flour is vague, the color is brown, there is a taste of «nutty flavor», sweeter. The conclusion: when calculating the profitability of croissant production, it has been found that the raw material costs of spelt flour products are 1.6 times higher, which is associated with the cost of spelt grain flour. The calculation of profitability has shown an increase in costs by 2% in the production of croissants with spelt flour. The production of spelt culture refers to organic farming. Healthy natural products lead to an increase in the cost of raw materials, which cannot but affect the cost of further products.

Актуальные вопросы оказания медицинской помощи пострадавшим в дорожно-транспортных чрезвычайных ситуациях в Алтайском крае

The aim of the research was: – to elaborate organizational and methodical bases of medical evacuation for the population of the Altai region in cases of traffic accidents including emergency situations, in conditions of healthcare optimization, namely, under the process of merging of the territorial center for disaster medicine with the emergency medical aid station; – to determine starting points for further development of the Emergency Medicine Service of the Altai Krai. Materials and research methods. The statistical data of registration and reporting form no.55 “Information on the Activity of Healthcare Institution (Medical Formation) which took part in liquidation of medical and sanitary consequences of emergencies” of Altai Krai Disaster Medicine Service approved by the Order of the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development of Russia dated February 3, 2005, no.112, and official statistical data of Altai Krai State Road Safety Department were analyzed. The sample included statistical data for 2019-2021. The study used a set of analytical and statistical methods, which made it possible to process and to analyze the data obtained, to assess the system of medical care and to develop a set of measures to improve the medical evacuation system in Altai Krai using the data about victims of traffic accidents, to predict the duration of their treatment and rehabilitation. The statistical data were processed by means of Statistica 10.0 program complex with the calculation of intensive indices, mean representativeness error (±m) and significance of differences by Fisher’s method. Results of the study and their analysis. The results of the analysis of organizational and methodological bases of medical evacuation of the population of Altai Krai in road traffic accidents in the conditions of optimization of healthcare in 2019-2021 are presented. The prospects for further development of the regional Disaster Medicine Service, directions of interdepartmental planning and conducting of special tactical exercises, which are one of the basic tools ensuring readiness of managers and personnel of territorial medical institutions for actions on liquidation of consequences of traffic accidents and emergencies, were determined. The necessity of training the population and interested persons in rendering first aid, which is carried out within the framework of the work of the training center of disaster medicine, has been substantiated.

Prediction of construction accident outcomes based on an imbalanced dataset through integrated resampling techniques and machine learning methods

PurposeCentral to the entire discipline of construction safety management is the concept of construction accidents. Although distinctive progress has been made in safety management applications over the last decades, construction industry still accounts for a considerable percentage of all workplace fatalities across the world. This study aims to predict occupational accident outcomes based on national data using machine learning (ML) methods coupled with several resampling strategies.Design/methodology/approachOccupational accident dataset recorded in Turkey was collected. To deal with the class imbalance issue between the number of nonfatal and fatal accidents, the dataset was pre-processed with random under-sampling (RUS), random over-sampling (ROS) and synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE). In addition, random forest (RF), Naïve Bayes (NB), K-Nearest neighbor (KNN) and artificial neural networks (ANNs) were employed as ML methods to predict accident outcomes.FindingsThe results highlighted that the RF outperformed other methods when the dataset was preprocessed with RUS. The permutation importance results obtained through the RF exhibited that the number of past accidents in the company, worker's age, material used, number of workers in the company, accident year, and time of the accident were the most significant attributes.Practical implicationsThe proposed framework can be used in construction sites on a monthly-basis to detect workers who have a high probability to experience fatal accidents, which can be a valuable decision-making input for safety professionals to reduce the number of fatal accidents.Social implicationsPractitioners and occupational health and safety (OHS) departments of construction firms can focus on the most important attributes identified by analysis results to enhance the workers' quality of life and well-being.Originality/valueThe literature on accident outcome predictions is limited in terms of dealing with imbalanced dataset through integrated resampling techniques and ML methods in the construction safety domain. A novel utilization plan was proposed and enhanced by the analysis results.

Assessing the effectiveness of performance standards for Salmonella contamination of chicken parts

The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service implemented Salmonella performance standards for establishments producing chicken parts in 2016. The standards were chosen based on the assumption that a 30 % reduction in the occurrence of Salmonella-contaminated chicken parts samples (i.e., legs, breasts or wings) would result following implementation of the performance standard program. The derivation of the performance standards was based on data collected prior to the implementation of the standards and in the intervening years, so overall changes in the Salmonella contamination of this product can be assessed. This study presents a historical review of changes in Salmonella contamination on chicken parts as these changes relate to the performance standard. The analysis demonstrates that the reduction in Salmonella contaminated chicken parts samples was more than 75 %, so the FSIS risk assessment significantly underestimated the actual reduction in Salmonella contamination. An analysis of chicken parts samples collected at retail demonstrates reductions of a similar magnitude. Changes in the characteristics of Salmonella contamination that are potentially relevant to the occurrence or severity of human illness, such as seasonal changes in contamination, the composition of serotypes and changes in antimicrobial resistance, are also assessed. Small but significant seasonal increases in contamination were observed, with the peaks occurring in late winter rather than the more traditional late summer peak. Rapid changes in both the five most common serotypes and antimicrobial resistance patterns were also observed.

Body mass index and occupational accidents among health care workers in a large university hospital

ABSTRACT Introduction Obesity is associated with a number of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The association of obesity with occupational accidents has been suggested although the evidence is less convincing. The objective of the study is to analyse the relationship between BMI values and ergonomic accidents in a large University Hospital. Methods The relationship between body mass index (BMI) and the incidence of ergonomic occupational accidents over a period of 8 years was investigated in a cohort of employees of a large University Hospital, covering almost 27,000 person-years of observation. This relationship was stratified according to the variables age, gender, functional status within the organization and work schedule (part-time or full time). Height and weight were objectively measured, demographic data were obtained from the human resource department and the registration of ergonomic accidents was carried out by the safety and prevention department of the hospital. Results The number of ergonomic accidents, expressed as number/1000 person-years was higher for female employees compared to male employees, increased with age and markedly increased from functional class A (leading or expert function and higher educational level) to D (executive function in patient care and technical department). However, the incidence of ergonomic accidents accompanied by loss of working time was not significantly associated with BMI, independently of age and gender. In addition, the type of accident and the severity of the accidents expressed as the number of days absent from work were unrelated to BMI. Conclusion No independent relationship between BMI and the incidence of ergonomic accidents could be identified in our cohort. Tailoring working conditions to individual BMI levels is not recommended.

Nuclear knowledge management system in the Republic of Belarus

The article provides an overview of the basic concepts in the field of knowledge management, taking into account the recommendations of the United Nations in this area, as well as the nuclear knowledge management from the perspective of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The assessment of the state of nuclear knowledge management in the world, Eurasian Economic Union countries and Republic of Belarus has been carried out. The information and analytical activities and the specifics of the work of the national regulator in the field of nuclear and radiation safety – Department of Nuclear and Radiation Safety of the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus (Gosatomnadzor) – in the field of nuclear knowledge management were analysed, as well as the best practices in this area in the Republic of Belarus. A description of modern information technologies for nuclear knowledge management system is given, including the further development of the capabilities and tools of software products – Intellectual information system of an employee of Gosatomnadzor to ensure control (supervision) in the field of nuclear and radiation safety and electronic portal of nuclear knowledge of the Republic of Belarus BelNET (https://belnet.bsu.by/ ). The basic principles for work and further development of nuclear knowledge management system in the Republic of Belarus are presented.

Predicting the Growth of Listeria monocytogenes in Cooked, Sliced Deli Turkey Breast as a Function of Clean-Label Antimicrobials, pH, Moisture, and Salt

The use of antimicrobials in formulated ready-to-eat meat and poultry products has been identified as a major strategy to control Listeria monocytogenes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends no more than 2 log of Listeria outgrowth over the stated shelf life if antimicrobials are used as a control measure for a product with postlethality environmental exposure. This study was designed to understand the efficacy of a clean-label antimicrobial agents against the growth of L. monocytogenes as affected by the product attributes. A response surface method-central composite design was used to investigate the effects of product pH, moisture, salt content, and a commercial "clean-label" antimicrobial agent on the growth of L. monocytogenes in a model turkey deli meat formulation. Thirty treatment combinations of pH (6.3, 6.5, and 6.7), moisture (72, 75, and 78%), salt (1.0, 1.5, and 2.0%), and antimicrobials (0.75, 1.375, and 2.0%), with six replicated center points and eight design star points were evaluated. Treatments were surface inoculated with a 3-log CFU/g target of a five-strain L. monocytogenes cocktail, vacuum packaged, and stored at 5°C for up to 16 weeks. Populations of L. monocytogenes were enumerated from triplicate samples every week until the stationary growth phase was reached. The enumeration data was fitted to a Baranyi and Roberts growth curve to calculate the lag time and maximum growth rate for each treatment. Linear least-squares regression of the lag time and growth rate against the full quadratic, including the second-order interaction terms, design matrix was performed. Both lag time and maximum growth rate were significantly affected (P < 0.01) by the antimicrobial concentration and product pH. Product moisture and salt content affected (P < 0.05) lag phase and maximum growth rate, respectively. The availability of a validated growth model assists meat scientists and processors with faster product development and commercialization.