Safety Inspection Program Research Articles

The Impact of Periodic Passenger Vehicle Safety Inspection Programs on Roadway Fatalities: Evidence from US States Using Panel Data

Presently, 15 US states require that passenger vehicles undergo periodic safety inspections. Past studies estimating the effectiveness of these safety inspection and maintenance programs (I/M programs) in their stated aim of mitigating road accidents and fatalities have tended to rely on outdated data sets or to focus on specific geographic regions. Since inspection program effectiveness continues to be deliberated in legislative bodies across the country, this paper aims to present a replicable and data-driven quantification of the effects of I/M programs on road fatalities, applying the largest available data set, covering all 50 US states over a 44-year period. Numerous panel data regressions showed a negative correlation between the presence of state I/M programs and the fleet size–adjusted roadway fatality rate. Fixed-effects (FE) estimates suggest that states with I/M programs had 5.5% fewer roadway fatalities per 100,000 registered passenger vehicles—95% confidence interval (CI): 0.4% to 10.6%—nationwide based on nearly exhaustive data for fatal passenger vehicle accidents from 1980 to 2015. These results are complemented by an additional FE specification with fewer variables, but over a longer period. A two-stage least-squares specification is also presented that not only supports this finding but also implies a causal relationship between the presence of I/M programs and lower road fatality rates. The convergent results of the regressions presented in this paper provide compelling evidence that jurisdictions experience lower roadway fatality rates due to the presence of an active safety I/M program for passenger vehicles.

Tire Screening for a Safer and Greener Future

Systems that check commercial vehicles in motion for tire problems – even at highway speeds – are essential to automated safety inspection programs

Las asfixias accidentales en México: un problema de salud pública oculto

ObjectiveTo characterize the epidemiology of unintentional asphyxias in Mexico from 1999 to 2017. MethodSecondary analysis of vital registries, three national health surveys and information from the safety inspection program of the Ministry of Health in Mexico were used to characterize fatal and non-fatal drownings (ICD-10: W65-W74) and other asphyxias including suffocation, chocking and strangulation (ICD-10: W75-W84), and to estimate the level of exposure to different risk factors within households and daycares. Results100,834 deaths were registered, 44.66% were drowning and 77.17% male. Drownings mainly affect children and adolescents, occur in April, July and August, on Sundays, during the afternoon. Other asphyxias affect children and the elderly more frequently, occur mainly from December to February, on Sundays and from 4 to 6h. According to ENSANut-2012, 53,065 individuals experience a non-fatal asphyxia per year, 26.21% of them with permanent consequences in their health and wellbeing. Important risks of unintentional asphyxias are present in 38% of daycares and 80% of households analyzed. ConclusionsUnintentional asphyxias are a major public health problem that needs to be urgently attended to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular the 3.2. Evidence presented in this work constitutes an input to inform and orient efforts directed to tackle this problem.

Data-Driven Analysis to Support Revised Tire Tread Inspection Standards

Despite a long-term focus on passenger vehicle safety, there are still 38,000 vehicle-related fatalities annually. Some are the result of failure to maintain safety components of vehicles, such as brakes, tires, or headlights. Following NHTSA guidelines, 18 states have implemented periodic safety inspection programs in which certified inspectors assess components, and owners are required to repair or replace deficient components. In the case of tires, when the tread depth falls to 2/32 in., its stopping distance becomes excessive. Thus, this tread depth level was built into the safety inspection thresholds for tires. One challenge is that, in an annual vehicle inspection, if a tire passes at a level of 3/32 in., it may fall below the safe (2/32 in.) threshold soon after inspection. In an era of higher vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and reduced attention to maintenance, perhaps the thresholds set for safety inspections should be higher than the “safe level” to provide a buffer. Using 6 million safety inspection records from Pennsylvania from 2006 to 2016 we calculated tread depth deterioration and annual VMT at the vehicle level. We estimated the “percent of vehicles at risk of having unsafe tires before the next inspection” (using the 2/32 in. threshold) to be about 30%. We also estimated how the percent of at-risk vehicles decreases as the inspection thresholds are raised, and found an attractive threshold at about 5/32 in. for which the percent of at-risk vehicles would be very low. Such changes could further reduce fatal and non-fatal accidents.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Vehicle Inspection Regulations in Different States of the U.S.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) guideline on state motor vehicle inspection programs recommends that states should maintain a vehicle safety inspection program to reduce the crash outcomes from the number of vehicles with existing or potential conditions. Some states have started to terminate the vehicle safety inspection program because of insufficient effectiveness measures, budget constraints, and modern safer automobiles. Despite the consensus that these periodic inspection programs improve vehicle condition and improve safety, research remains inconclusive about the effect of safety inspection programs on crash outcomes. There is little recent research on the relationship between vehicle safety inspection programs and whether these programs reduce crash rates or crash severities. According to the 2011–2016 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data, nearly 2.6% of fatal crashes happened as a result of the vehicle’s pre-existing manufacturing defects. NHTSA’s vehicle complaint database incorporates more than 1.4 million complaint reports. These reports contain extended information on vehicle-related disruptions. Around 5% of these reports involve some level of injury or fatalities. This study used these two databases to determine the effectiveness of vehicle inspection regulation programs in different states of the U.S. A statistical significance test was performed to determine the effectiveness of the vehicle safety inspection programs based on the states with and without safety inspection in place. This study concludes that there is a need for vehicle safety inspections to be continued for the reduction of vehicle complaints.

Proactive behavior-based system for controlling safety risks in urban highway construction megaprojects

Abstract Urban highway construction megaprojects are commonly beset by significant and dynamic safety risks because of their large size, the scattered nature of the works involved, compressed construction schedules, technical difficulties and numerous participants. However, traditional on-site safety inspection cannot fully address all challenges, particularly those with behavior-based safety (BBS) risks. To deal with these challenges, this study describes the novel use of the proactive construction management system (PCMS) with a third-party safety inspection program. The definition, abstraction and implementation processes of the PCMS-aided third-party inspection program are demonstrated and tested through a case study of the Shanghai Central Loop Pudong highway construction project with multi-section sites. Based on a “before and after” comparative study, quantitative and qualitative data are triangulated to evaluate variations in the effectiveness of third-party inspection programs with and without the PCMS aided at the macro, meso, and micro levels. Results indicate the usefulness of the novel idea that applies the PCMS as a part of a third-party inspection program to improve BBS risk control on certain risky sites and incorporates its feedback into third-party inspection on all section sites to strengthen the overall safety training, safety inspection, and timely safety risk responses. These results not only provide an increased understanding of the role of PCMS in the safety management of highway megaprojects and the guidelines required for its future application but also serve as a precursor to future research into megaproject safety management.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH INSPECTION PROGRAM ACHIEVEMENT OF SAFETY CULTURE IN NOODLES INDUSTRY PT ABC SEMARANG

Noodle industry in production process activity there were hazard risk factors caused work accident and work-related diseases due to unsafe action and unsafe condition. Prevention efforts the company through by the OHS inspection program to realize the safety culture so as to suppress the occurrence of unsafe behavior. The purpose of this study was to know the OHS inspection program in the achievement of safety culture in the noodle industry. This research employed a descriptive method to describe the implementation of occupational safety and health inspection program as the attempt of creating safety culture observed through data, interview and direct observation then analyzed with related regulation. Results of research in the noodle industry PT. ABC Semarang has implemented OHS inspection program consisting of informal inspection and planned inspection such as safety patrol and special inspection. Based on the analysis of accidents caused, observations and interviews can be seen that safety culture has not been formed properly. It can be seen from the average of work accident caused by unsafe action and labor behavior in using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which still not in accordance the regulations. The Company has applied occupational safety and health inspections program corresponding to Government Regulation, however occupational safety and health inspection program has been able create safety culture in company environment. Thus, the company should restudy the occupational safety and health inspections program and improve the effectiveness of occupational safety and health inspection program implementation. Keywords : Occupational Safety and Health Inspection program, Safety Culture

Failure rates and data driven policies for vehicle safety inspections in Pennsylvania

Rail, truck, commercial bus, and aircraft have federally mandated safety inspection programs in the United States, while inspections of personal vehicles, which make up the majority of passenger miles, are optionally imposed at the state level. In recent years, some states have chosen to eliminate the vehicle safety inspection program because of budget constraints and concerns about program effectiveness. Currently, 26 states have a schedule for conducting safety inspections, but Pennsylvania is one of thirteen states that currently require all personal light duty vehicles to be inspected every year. The remaining states have completely eliminated safety inspection programs. However, as automobiles become safer, Pennsylvania legislators are now pushing to phase out the inspection program to reduce the costs of owning a vehicle. This study combines Pennsylvania vehicle registration data with two large samples of results from state safety inspections. We find that the state safety inspection fail rate for light-duty vehicles is 12–18%, well above the often-cited rate of 2%. Vehicles that are older than three years old or have more than about 30,000miles can have much higher rates. When analyzing new vehicles, less than or equal to one year old, it is found that even these vehicles have a failure rate greater than zero. Furthermore, while the vehicle fleet appears to be getting safer over the past few years by improvements in technology or other external circumstances, the inspection failure rate does not appear to be trending toward zero in the near future. We also show that accurate inspection data is limited and often incorrectly analyzed. Lastly, the importance of vehicle maintenance over a vehicle’s lifetime is proven to be evident, since regular usage causes vehicles to deteriorate. We conclude that vehicle safety inspections should continue to be implemented in order to keep driving conditions safe.

What to expect when you’re inspecting: A summary of academic laboratory inspection programs

As a result of incidents in academic laboratories, there has been review of laboratory safety in academia, leading to an assessment of the laboratory safety programs currently in place. In 2013 Iowa State University Environmental Health and Safety (ISU EHS) conducted an online survey to benchmark the laboratory safety inspection programs of 42 universities and colleges across the nation. Results have provided a useful baseline of the current laboratory safety programs in a subset of public and private universities across the United States, and showed areas within individual programs that can be improved upon.

Should Smaller Commercial Trucks Be Subject to Safety Regulations?

Abstract Motor-carrier safety is a critical and challenging issue in the US motor-carrier industry. Despite the vast safety improvements in the industry, a continuing challenge is the economic costs associated with regulatory oversight of safety inspection programs. The purpose of this article is to compute the costs and associated benefits of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's driver and vehicle inspection program of commercial motor vehicles in the 10,001- to 26,000-lb category. Our analysis reveals that for every dollar spent in program costs, the benefits are $8.86.

Post-Earthquake Building Safety Inspection: Lessons from the Canterbury, New Zealand, Earthquakes

The authors discuss some of the unique aspects and lessons of the New Zealand post-earthquake building safety inspection program that was implemented following the Canterbury earthquake sequence of 2010–2011. The post-event safety assessment program was one of the largest and longest programs undertaken in recent times anywhere in the world. The effort engaged hundreds of engineering professionals throughout the country, and also sought expertise from outside, to perform post-earthquake structural safety inspections of more than 100,000 buildings in the city of Christchurch and the surrounding suburbs. While the building safety inspection procedure implemented was analogous to the ATC 20 program in the United States, many modifications were proposed and implemented in order to assess the large number of buildings that were subjected to strong and variable shaking during a period of two years. This note discusses some of the key aspects of the post-earthquake building safety inspection program and summarizes important lessons that can improve future earthquake response.

크레인 설비의 검사에 따른 기초연구

Self-Inspection is being used in the workplace hazardous, dangerous machinery and equipment to build capacity for the voluntary safety risks due to use of machinery and prevention of industrial accidents that inspect facilities for safety issues, is to check. However, December 31, 2008 as part of Article 36 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (safety inspection), the financial vanish as the self-test, Safety inspection program has been changed., In each individual workplace that creates its own standards and regulations to use the existing inspection system is in some cases. This study is located in the southeast industrial complex as a risk reducer manufacturer, machine-based target zones in S Corp owns most of the crane based on the results of the tests is to analyze the problem. Then check the results - to bring its measures and information you need to know for sure is to propose.

Presence and Numbers of Campylobacter, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella Determined in Broiler Carcass Rinses from United States Processing Plants in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-Based Inspection Models Project

In 1999, the USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service introduced an inspection system called the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP). The HIMP varies from standard inspection in that the emphasis of Food Safety and Inspection Service inspection program personnel is shifted. Each carcass is still visually inspected according to the Poultry Products Inspection Act, but some responsibility for food safety and identification and removal of defects is shifted from the regulatory agency to the processor, freeing up inspectors to more effectively verify the process and food safety system of the establishment. This survey was conducted in 2 stages: first to examine carcasses collected in HIMP and non-HIMP plants and then to test carcasses from all 20 volunteer plants currently operating under HIMP inspection. Carcasses were collected at rehang and postchill being careful to follow the same flock through processing. Postchill carcasses from HIMP plants were found to have equal bacterial contamination (numbers of Campylobacter and Escherichia coli and presence of Salmonella) as carcasses from standard HACCP plants. Overall, HIMP inspection, which places additional responsibility on the plant for process control, does not affect the microbiological quality of fully processed broiler carcasses.

Building Aspects of the 2004 Niigata Ken Chuetsu, Japan, Earthquake

The 23 October 2004 Niigata Ken Chuetsu, Japan, earthquake ( Mw=6.6) significantly damaged many buildings. Major damage was generally confined to areas where very strong ground motions and/or permanent ground displacement occurred in the epicentral region. Outside this region, however, in Nagaoka about 1,000 buildings were completely destroyed, and almost 50,000 sustained some damage. Closer to or in the epicentral region, Ojiya, Kawaguchi, and Yamakoshi all sustained major building damage, with many traditional Japanese houses collapsing. A newer and larger type of housing specific to the region, which has full-perimeter reinforced concrete walls, generally performed very well. A promptly and widely employed safety inspection program appears to have functioned well.

PLANT SECURITY GOES REGIONAL

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, AN INdustrial area northeast of San Francisco, and New Jersey are developing programs that require chemical plants, refineries, and other industrial facilities to adopt plant security measures to reduce the odds and impact of a terrorist attack. Unlike the U.S. government's approach, the county and state are including the plant security oversight in their ongoing plant safety and environmental inspection programs. They began their efforts in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In Contra Costa, county officials have interpreted a California accidental release prevention regulation as giving them authority to require vulnerability assessments. New Jersey passed a specific law, the Domestic Security Preparedness Act, within one month of Sept. 11. The law requires that state agencies implement a counter-terrorism program for some 20 infrastructure sectors in the state, including chemical plants, refineries, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology facilities. For these faciliti...

A Job Safety Program for Construction Workers Designed to Reduce the Potential for Occupational Injury Using Tool Box Training Sessions and Computer-Assisted Biofeedback Stress Management Techniques

This project was conducted with a multicultural construction company in Hawaii, USA. The job duties performed included drywall and carpentry work. The following objectives were selected for this project: (a) fire prevention training and inspection of first aid equipment; (b) blood-borne pathogen training and risk evaluation; (c) ergonomic and risk evaluation intervention program; (d) electrical safety training and inspection program; (e) slips, trips, and falls safety training; (f) stress assessment and Personal Profile System; (g) safety and health program survey; (h) improving employee relations and morale by emphasizing spirituality; and (i) computer-assisted biofeedback stress management training. Results of the project indicated that observed safety hazards, reported injuries, and levels of perceived stress were reduced for the majority of the population.

Effectiveness of Altered Incentives in a Food Safety Inspection Program

Background. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services revamped its retail food establishment inspection program in 1998 to include, among other novel provisions, the prominent posting of grades. The purpose of the present study is to examine results from the second year of the revamped program to determine the longer-term impact of the program.Methods. An analysis of program results for Year 1 led to several program refinements: stratification of risk categories, certification of food handlers, and an external fraud hotline. Outcome measures used included routine inspection scores; closure rates; scores from owner-initiated inspections and departmentally initiated inspections; inspection frequencies; compliance with food handler certification requirements; and frequency of use of the external fraud hotline.Results. Inspection scores continued to increase in 1999, while the rate of closures decreased. The owner-initiated inspections also resulted in improved scores, generally maintained on subsequent inspections. Higher risk establishments were inspected more frequently than were lower risk establishments. Over 30,000 food handlers were certified. The external fraud hotline received 16 fraud complaints.Conclusions. Results indicate that retail food establishments are taking stronger action to assure compliance with food safety practices.

Community Safety Inspection and Audit Programs and Policies

Community Safety Inspection and Audit Programs and Policies

Engineering group offers risk assessment

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has completed the first phase of a research program to use risk-based methods for developing inspection requirements and guidelines for systems and components subject to catastrophic failure. Nuclear power plants, fossil-fuel generating plants, and petroleum and chemical processing facilities are among those systems that could benefit. The initial report of an ASME task force, Risk-based Inspection—Development of Guidelines: Volume 1, General Document, is about to be published. So, too, is a companion document that will apply that methodology to light-water reactor nuclear power plants. Similar documents are planned for other types of facilities, including petroleum and chemical, over the next two years in a second phase of the program. Recent catastrophic structural failures, ASME notes, have highlighted the need for vigorous safety inspection programs. By identifying concerns that may lead to failure, the results of such a program can assist in determining ...

Regulating motor vehicle safety maintenance: can we make it cost-effective?

Our analysis suggests that a properly designed and implemented safety inspection program for motor vehicles would probably produce benefits in excess of costs, whereas most existing state programs probably produce costs well in excess of benefits. That these findings are somewhat inconclusive is both regrettable and unnecessary: the data required to carry out a satisfactory evaluation of alternative safety inspection program designs are obtainable. Unfortunately, serious policy-relevant empirical research is costly; for that reason, more conclusive findings may never be available.