Safety Related Matters Research Articles

Responsible leadership and workplace safety: do safety culture and safety motivation matter?

PurposeWe sought to examine the effect of responsible leadership on employee safety in the workplace both directly and indirectly through mediation effects of safety motivation and safety culture in the oil and gas industry in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachWe employed a quantitative approach (survey) to collect data from 226 pump attendants of the fuel stations in the Accra Metropolis. This study used PLS-SEM to test the research hypotheses in the study.FindingsOur findings show that leaders’ responsible behaviours had a positive and significant impact on both their employees’ wellbeing and safety as well as their motivation to adhere to safety standards and also imbibe a sense of safety culture in the workplace. Furthermore, the inclusion of safety motivation and safety culture as mediating variables reveal that leaders’ ability to achieve a robust workplace safety through responsible leadership was partially contingent on these organisational factors.Practical implicationsWe highlight that leaders should continuously improve their responsible leadership behaviours and also the management of oil and gas companies should encourage managers to focus on day-to-day interactions with employees on safety-related matters (e.g. effectively inspiring and motivating employees to adhere to safety standards and procedures and applying sanctions when necessary).Originality/valueThis study answers the recent calls for a contingency perspective on the relationship between leadership styles and organisational/employee level outcomes by providing empirical support for our conceptual model which identifies safety motivation and safety culture as important organisational factors by which responsible leaders can positively influence workplace safety.

Safety culture development in the construction industry: The case of a safety park in Sweden

The problem of occupational accidents in the construction industry has necessitated a focus on proactive measures such as safety management programs. An example of this is safety parks, i.e. facilities where employees and managers from different construction companies can participate in site-specific activities and train in safety-related matters in a realistic context. Two specific focus areas are often present within these types of safety management programs: hands-on safety training and safety culture development as being within the purview of management. The purpose of this article is to investigate the developers' intentions with the park in relation to safety culture development. Twenty interviews were conducted with experts in the area of health and safety. Results indicate that the safety park can contribute as a mirror for the companies own operations, with new information and knowledge of how work can be performed with safety being prioritized, to developing communication regarding safety-related matters, and finally the stations at the park may initiate a translation process as to how the lessons learned at the park can be applied to the participants’ own workplaces. All in all, the activities at the park can be said to be normative in nature, i.e. the developers seemingly have a desire to steer the safety culture development in a certain direction. There is a need for further research focusing on the concept of safety culture in these types of programs and, more broadly, in relation to its intended industry-wide effects.

Automated Identification and Qualitative Characterization of Safety Concerns Reported in UAV Software Platforms

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are nowadays used in a variety of applications. Given the cyber-physical nature of UAVs, software defects in these systems can cause issues with safety-critical implications. An important aspect of the lifecycle of UAV software is to minimize the possibility of harming humans or damaging properties through a continuous process of hazard identification and safety risk management. Specifically, safety-related concerns typically emerge during the operation of UAV systems, reported by end-users and developers in the form of issue reports and pull requests. However, popular UAV systems daily receive tens or hundreds of reports of varying types and quality. To help developers timely identify and triage safety-critical UAV issues, we (i) experiment with automated approaches (previously used for issue classification) for detecting the safety-related matters appearing in the titles and descriptions of issues and pull requests reported in UAV platforms and (ii) propose a categorization of the main hazards and accidents discussed in such issues. Our results (i) show that shallow machine learning (ML)-based approaches can identify safety-related sentences with precision, recall, and F-measure values of about 80%; and (ii) provide a categorization and description of the relationships between safety issue hazards and accidents.

Deep-Learning-Based Sound Classification Model for Concrete Pouring Work Monitoring at a Construction Site

In the present study, the utilization of sound data in research and technology is examined, data classification techniques are analyzed, and the applicability and necessity of these techniques are explored in order to propose an acoustic classification model that differentiates between normal and abnormal sounds during concrete pouring. The paper presents an experiment in which normal sound data occurring during concrete pouring, main noise data from construction, and symptom data that could affect structural quality or even cause a collapse incident were collected. By analyzing sound data from actual construction sites and experiments, a deep-learning-based classification model was developed with the aim of preventing events that could compromise the quality and safety of structures in advance. In the classification model, both CNN (convolutional neural network) and RNN (recurrent neural network) exhibited high accuracies of 94.38% and 93.26%, respectively, demonstrating remarkable performance in identifying the status of concrete placement. Unlike previous research that only collected and sorted normal construction-related sound data, the current study developed a sorting model that addresses quality- and safety-related matters by including sound data that may influence material separation, concrete leakage, and formwork collapse during concrete placement, and differentiating these sounds from normal concrete pouring sounds. The research findings are expected to contribute to the improvement of safety management and work efficiency at construction sites.

Alert but somewhat unaligned: public sector organisations' social media listening strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, public sector organisations produced thousands of social media messages weekly answering citizens questions and informing the public on safety related matters. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the pandemic shaped social media listening in Finland's public sector organisations and how these organisations aligned their listening and strategic communication to address emerging questions, news (real and fake) and rumours during the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on a theoretical background from strategic communication, organisational listening, digital marketing and public sector communication, qualitative interview data included communicators (N = 14) from all central Finnish public sector organisations in charge of COVID-19 communication. Findings were themed and analysed qualitatively to understand the level of alignment of strategic communication on social media.FindingsThe findings revealed that the pandemic had strained public sector organisations' communication capabilities, forcing them to align their processes and resources reactively to enable useful content and limit false/misleading content. The results confirmed that organisational listening remained somewhat unaligned. A dual role of public sector communication as speakers but increasingly as listeners was highlighted.Originality/valueThe study’s findings point to organisational listening on social media being a central requisite for public sector organisations overcoming a crisis.

A Post-Analysis of the Introduction of the EU Directive 92/57/EEC in the Swedish Construction Industry

The EU directive 92/57/EEC focuses on ensuring that health and safety-related matters are taken into consideration during every stage of construction-related work and has been introduced into the regulations of the member countries. In 2006, Sweden was tasked by the European Commission to clarify its implementation of the directive, including which management roles and responsibilities were to come into effect during both the planning and eventual execution of construction work—changes that ultimately were introduced into the national regulations in 2009. Focusing on the accident trends in the construction industry in the years immediately following these regulatory changes, we find that the new management roles and responsibilities had no apparent effect on the accident rates. Furthermore, we argue that there is a need to broaden the analysis regarding the implementation of the EU directive 92/57/EEC to also include nation-specific changes to health and safety management and policy. These qualitative studies should also include a dedicated focus on how changes to management structures and processes may affect the prevalence of occupational diseases specifically.

Incidents and Disaster Avoidance: The Role of Communication Management and the Organizational Communication Climate in High-Risk Environments

Health, safety and the working environment are of paramount importance, especially in the high-risk environments found at facilities in the oil and gas industry, where hazards are inevitable and accidents may lead to regrettable situations such as explosions, oil spills and other disasters. The high number of accidents and disasters at such facilities bring safety-related matters to the fore. The complexity of the communication process is very often underestimated, where failures in communication could lead to major disasters. This paper investigates the role of communication management and the organizational communication climate and their impact on incidents and disaster avoidance. This study embarks on a quantitative approach involving 260 personnel from high-risk workplaces at oil and gas facilities, based on purposive sampling. Hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM to identify causal relationships and for mediation analysis. The findings of this study show that communication management and the organizational communication climate have a significant impact on disaster avoidance. The organizational communication climate is also found to be a significant mediator for the relationship between communication management and disaster avoidance. Communication management and the organizational communication climate need to be enhanced and to be integrated with other technology and innovation to improve safety regulation adherence in the oil and gas industry.

EMPLOYEES’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SAFETY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND SAFETY PERFORMANCE OF SMES INDUSTRY IN KELANTAN

Safety management practices have been aggressively put into action to encourage employees' involvement and commitment towards safety-related matters but yet there are still many incidents and accidents reported involving small and medium enterprises industry. However, the study involving employees' perceptions of safety management practices and small and medium-sized safety performance companies, in particular, are also missing. This research, therefore, tests the attitudes of the workers about the partnership between safety management activities, namely adherence to safety management, employee engagement o safety, safety management program, safety culture, and safety training for better safety efficiency. Security reduction strategies enhance working conditions; favourably influence the actions and activities of workers about health, thus reducing occupational injuries. This research makes use of questionnaires as a method. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) for the Partial Least Squares. The identified Small Medium Enterprise in Kelantan received a total of 350 questionnaires, with a response rate of 300 questionnaires (85.71 percent). The analysis showed that safety monitoring activities had a good association with protection efficiency across all dimensions. These findings provide valuable guidance to researchers in identifying the mechanisms by which they may improve safety at work.

Headmasters’ Safety Management and Performance in Two Malaysian National Primary Schools

A conducive environment to ensure safety among school students is crucial as most of the time they are at school and grow up in school settings. It is vital to understand that, this period is a critical development stage for students whereby their personality is developed holistically in a different environment from home. The failure of handling hazards effectively and neglecting attitude on reporting cases contributes to the rising number of accidents in schools. Thus, the study aims to explore headmasters’ strategies in safety management and how they strengthen teacher’s safety performances in schools.  An explorative case study research design was adopted using purposive sampling. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with two headmasters. The data analyses were performed by reviewing the informants’ transcripts, and the transcripts were coded through open, axial and selective coding. The findings of the study revealed seven strategies implemented by the headmaster's in managing school safety are: (a) Importance of Safety Management; (b) Acting as Role Model; (c) Communicates School Safety; (d) Safety Practices; (e) Training Teachers; (f) Budget Arrangements; and (g) Alliance with School Community. Findings also revealed headmaster’s strengthen teacher’s safety performances in schools in two ways: (a) Trust in Teachers; and (b) Teachers Execute Programmes. This study provides an insight into the headmaster's safety management and safety performance in two Malaysian primary schools. Besides, policymakers will benefit from the change that could be made on safety-related matters with the aim of reducing the number of accident and incident cases among school students.&nbsp

Communication on drug safety-related matters to patients: is it even more significant in this digital era?

Communication on drug safety-related matters to patients: is it even more significant in this digital era?

Systems and actual practices of occupational safety and health risk management in the People's Republic of China

To investigate the systems and actual practices of occupational safety and health risk management in China. First, we gathered basic information through a literature review using an academic search engine (Japan Medical Abstracts society, Pubmed, and Google Scholar), as well as a general search on the Internet. Next, we conducted field surveys at a graduate school for public health, providers of occupational health services (e.g. medical examinations, working environment measurements), and local workplaces of a Japanese construction machinery company in China. This information was analyzed in terms of legal framework, professional staff, working environment measurements, medical examinations, occupational diseases, and occupational health service providers. Health and safety-related matters have become codified in Chinese workplaces as a result of safety laws and measures to prevent occupational diseases. While the country does have safety and hygiene officers, they lack official frameworks for occupational physicians and nursing professionals. The employers are not obligated to appoint medical professionals. While general medical examinations are not provided for under Chinese law, businesses are obligated to bring in external providers of occupational safety to perform special medical exams and working environment measurements. Occupational diseases are on the rise; pneumoconiosis comprises roughly 80% of cases. In addition, occupational health technical service providers have specialized staff and are not permitted to perform medical examinations or other services without government accreditation. There are great disparities in specialist knowledge about health and hygiene between company staff and external organizations, thus running the risk of corporate health and safety policies existing only on paper. This issue demands greater utilization of public health physicians in Chinese workplaces and support from Japanese professionals who understand how occupational safety and health risk management operate in China.

EFT and Intimate Partner Violence: A Roadmap to De-escalating Violent Patterns.

This article aimed to extend and refine the existing roadmap of emotionally focused therapy (EFT) in cases of situational couple violence (SCV). SCV is a common problem with couples who seek out couple therapy. Based on attachment theory, academic research, EFT, and our clinical experience, we argue that SCV can be safely treated using EFT. Through a detailed case description of stage 1 of EFT with a violent couple, we demonstrate how EFT can help to reduce violence. We also discuss safety-related matters, specific therapeutic interventions, and potential limitations of the proposed method.

Revision of IMO Model Course 3.17 Maritime English. Focus on Maritime English to Auxiliary Personnel

Under the Manila 2010 amendments to the STCW , all crew members on board cruise vessels, mainly those assisting passengers during emergency situations and not only, should be able to communicate safety-related issues in English or in the language spoken by the passengers and other personnel on board. Having in view that navigational and safety communications from ship to shore and vice versa, ship to ship, and on board ships must be precise, simple and unambiguous, so as to avoid confusion and error, besides the need to standardize the language used, there is a growing demand of developing communication skills in English, especially for personnel working on cruise vessels, but also on RORO vessels, yachts and small passenger vessels. This is the reason why the authors have designed, developed and are already delivering the English for Auxiliary Personnel course in Specialized Maritime English to auxiliary personnel working on board cruise vessels to develop their ability to communicate with passengers, mainly during an emergency. The course covers the specific language used to describe the parts of ships, organisation on board ships, all essential safety-related matters and work-specific topics. It also reflects the situations in which auxiliary personnel need to communicate, with each other, with other crew members and with shore side authorities. The final goal of this course is to improve fluency in spoken English in real life situations which, of course, can be both routine and non-routine.

Proposal for a ‘surgical checklist’ for ambulatory oral surgery

The authors propose a new checklist model adapted for ambulatory oral surgery procedures based on the 'surgical checklist' proposed by the WHO. The proposed document contains 18 items divided into two sets: those that must be verified before beginning surgery and those that must be verified after its completion, but prior to the patient's departure from the site where the surgery is performed. A checklist is an easy-to-use tool that requires little time but provides order, logic and systematization taking into account certain basic concepts to increase the level of patient safety. The authors think that the result is a checklist that is easy to complete and ensures that key patient safety-related matters are dealt with in this field of surgery.

An architecture for fault detection and isolation based on fuzzy methods

Model-based fault detection and isolation (FDI) is an approach with increasing attention in the academic and industrial fields, due to economical and safety related matters. In FDI, the discrepancies between system outputs and model outputs are called residuals, and are used to detect and isolate faults. This paper proposes a model-based architecture for fault detection and isolation based on fuzzy methods. Fuzzy modeling is used to derive nonlinear models for the process running in normal operation and for each fault. When a fault occurs, fault detection is performed using the residuals. Then, the faulty fuzzy models are used to isolate a fault. The FDI architecture proposed in this paper uses a fuzzy decision making approach to isolate faults, which is based on the analysis of the residuals. Fuzzy decision factors are derived to isolate faults. An industrial valve simulator is used to obtain several abrupt and incipient faults, which are some of the possible faults in the real system. The proposed fuzzy FDI architecture was able to detect and isolate the simulated abrupt and incipient faults.

FAULT ISOLATION USING FUZZY MODEL-BASED OBSERVERS

Model-based fault detection and isolation is an approach with increasing attention in the academic and industrial fields, due to economical and safety related matters. However, in practice it is very difficult to achieve accurate models for complex nonlinear plants. The inherent characteristics of fuzzy logic theory makes it suitable for Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI). This paper proposes a regularity criterion to determine the structure of fuzzy models and a fuzzy decision making approach to isolate faults. An industrial valve simulator is used to detect and isolate several abrupt and incipient faults.

Regulating safety in an unsafe world (risk reduction for and with communities)

Safety regulators and the public they serve often have contrasting views on risk perception and the veracity of institutional estimates of risk and harm. Conflict and distrust between these groups is often a result of a lack of public involvement in decision making on safety related matters. Such concerns also emerge from differences in professional training, authority and experience between the groups. Fire services internationally, carryout fire safety assessments on behalf of communities. This assessment role is unusual in that unlike conventional approaches to regulatory safety assessment, fire fighters are direct end-users of their own regulatory assessment and closer to the people they protect. This paper discusses how fire services are beginning to seek closer links with communities by defining clear regulatory frameworks for conventional safety assessments and conceptual frameworks that allow a redefinition of their role towards establishing partnerships with communities to promote sustained safety.

Microstructural evolution in reactor pressure vessel steels

The irradiation-induced changes occurring at the nanometer level in the microstructure of the reactor pressure vessel have been shown to be responsible for a degradation in mechanical properties that occur in large structures with dimensions in the tens of metres. These changes can place severe restrictions on the reactor both at the startup and under continual operation; and in the long term could compromise the safe operation of the plant. The large financial and safety related matters have given the necessary driving force to study the factors controlling the microstructural evolution, resulting in a multi disciplinary approach to the problem. This paper aims to review the current understanding of the subject, giving were possible examples of the approach and techniques used to obtain this. We also highlight areas of current research activity and indicate the type of work still required to provide information on aspects that currently lack a full understanding.