Roberto José Hernández de la Iglesia, José L. Calvo-Rolle, Héctor Quintian-Pardo
et al.
Ship repair is hazardous, often presenting unsuitable working areas and risks due to the ship’s configuration. Welding tasks are particularly dangerous due to the high temperatures generated, high enough to melt the metal in structural elements, bulkheads, linings, and tanks. This study investigates the consequences of temperature distribution during the welding of naval plates and proposes some accident prevention measures. Industry working conditions were reproduced, including the materials, procedures, and tools used, as well as the certified personnel employed. DH 36-grade naval steel, with a composition of C max. 0.18%, Mn 0.90–1.60%, P 0.035%, S 0.04%, Si 0.10–0.50%, Ni max 0.4%, Cr max 0.25%, Mo 0.08%, Cu max 0.35%, Cb (Nb) 0.05%, and V 0.1%, was welded via FCAW-G (Gas-Shielded Flux-Cored Arc Welding), selected for this study because it is one of the most widely practiced in the naval industry. The main sensor used in the experiments was an FLIR model E50 thermographic camera, and thermal waxes were employed. The results for each thickness case are presented in both graphical and tabular form to provide accurate and actionable guidelines, prioritizing safety. After studying the butt jointing of naval plates of various thicknesses (8, 10, and 15 mm), safe distances to maintain were proposed to avoid risks in the most unfavorable cases: 350 mm from the welding seam to avoid burn injuries to unprotected areas of the body and 250 mm from the welding seam to avoid producing flammable gases. These numbers are less accurate but easier to remember, which prevents errors in the face of hazards throughout a long working day.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Medicine (General)
Analyzing the mechanisms of accidents is essential for clarifying the accident evolution process, devising preventive measures, and achieving proactive accident management. To address the potential issues in existing accident causation theories, such as the unclear distinction between direct causes and incomplete accident evolution pathways in enterprise-level accident prevention analysis, this study systematically reviewed the elements involved in safety management activities and their interrelationships. We identified the central role of human factors in the accident evolution process and developed a full lifecycle evolution model for industrial accidents, which begins with hazard identification and follows a safety management logic as its primary framework. This model provides a clear pathway for constructing enterprise-level risk control lists and accident prevention schemes. The model’s effectiveness was validated through its application to China’s underground metal mining industry. Drawing on Chinese laws and regulations as well as accident investigation reports, this study identifies 11 common types of accidents in underground metal mines and maps their evolution pathways from a complex systems perspective. Quantitative data from 61 accident reports were used to pinpoint the core factors and critical pathways leading to these various accidents. The study also analyzes prevention strategies and proposes new countermeasures to control the propagation of accident risks. Practical applications of the model demonstrate that emphasizing human factors enhances the effectiveness and accuracy of enterprise-level accident analysis and risk management.
Industrial safety is crucial, considering the high cost of accidents that affect both the victims and the companies, as well as society. Brazil records over 600,000 workplace accidents annually, with a notable 2,089 electrical accidents in 2023. The implementation of Electrical Installation Dossier (EID) is a vital strategy to prevent or minimize tragedies, saving lives and protecting company assets. Regulatory Standard NR-10, which governs safety in electrical installations, requires the preparation and maintenance of the EID, a fundamental document to ensure worker safety. Failure to implement and update the EID can result in severe consequences, as evidenced by several industrial accidents. This article discusses the importance of the EID, emphasizing the need for effective implementation and continuous updates. The research is based on a literature review and analysis of real cases, highlighting how the lack of updated EID directly contributes to the severity of accidents. It concludes that a wellstructured EID is essential for accident prevention and worker protection, requiring a continuous commitment to safety in the industrial environment.
Kazunari Takaya, Nobuyuki Shibata, Masayoshi Hagiwara
et al.
Objectives: Ion-mobility spectrometry (IMS) is a promising system for on-site real-time monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Calibration curves derived from shifts in nominal arrival-time spectra of chemical substances relative to those of water clusters enable quantitative analysis at high concentrations. Methods: This study investigated the adaptability of IMS to real-time monitoring of VOCs in the work environment, using toluene as a test case. Toluene concentrations were measured by IMS at one-minute intervals during a ten-minute simulated cleaning operation. Results: The arrival-time shift was lower at high concentrations because ion production saturates as the toluene concentration approaches the limit of ionizability, with a resulting decrease in slope of the calibration curve. The lower limit of quantification for toluene was assumed to be 13.3 ppm because no arrival-time shift was observed at lower concentrations. The time-averaged toluene concentration measured by IMS for 10 minutes of operation was 45.8 ppm, which is comparable to that measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS; 44.3 ppm) within ~3%. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the measurement of toluene concentrations is possible at one-minute intervals by IMS, making it possible to track rapid changes in workplace conditions. Therefore, IMS can measure exposure to VOCs in real-time with an accuracy similar to that of GC–MS.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Medicine (General)
This study was conducted to review the safety and appropriateness of PSV (Pressure Safety Valve) installation in the supply tank, which is a pressure vessel included in supply systems dedicated to supplying the acid/alkaline substances used in the Korean semiconductor manufacturing process. Three aspects of design, risk assessment, and regulations were reviewed to determine if there is a source of pressure higher than the maximum allowable working pressure (MAWP) of the supply tank that could cause fires, explosions, and overpressure. In the case of the design review, all 17 overpressure scenarios described in API Standard 521, i.e., pressure-relieving and depressuring systems, were reviewed, and there was no overpressure scenario above the maximum allowable working pressure (MAWP). Then, the risk assessment, i.e., the Hazard and Operability Study (HAZOP) technique, was used, and as a result of reviewing all possible risk situations, we can state that there were no overpressure scenarios that can exceed the design pressure of the supply tank; thus, we decided that the installation of a PSV on top of the supply tank is unnecessary. Finally, accident prevention measures against overpressure, such as the KS B 6750-3 system design and the Korean Industrial Standard, were reviewed from a legal point of view. It was confirmed that the hazardous chemical supply system for the semiconductor industry designed in this study has several protective functions to prevent fires, explosions, and overpressure. As a result of reviewing the above three aspects, it can be said that there is no need to install a pressure safety valve in a pressure vessel storing hazardous chemicals.
An urgent issue of the state (level) of safety of Ukraine’s nuclear power industry in extreme conditions is the situation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest in Europe, due to the station’s location in the war zone and difficulties in its management and operation, as well as the safety regulation of the station in the occupied territory. In the proposed article, the possibility of Zaporizhia NPP industrial site flooding is analyzed from the elaborated hydrodynamic model and justifying calculation; the conditions of ZNPP industrial site possible flooding are determined depending on the warhead power producing a corresponding destructive effect. Probabilistic approaches to assessing the Zaporizhia NPP safety objective state (level) in extreme conditions are insufficiently justified taking into account the lessons of the largest nuclear and radiation accidents. On the basis of a deterministic approach, the conditions of Zaporizhia NPP industrial site critical flooding due to extreme military action are identified. Flooding of the plant’s industrial site may cause two initial emergency events: a complete long-term de-energization of power units and violation of heat exchange conditions in spent nuclear fuel dry storage facilities. Prevention of flooding of the Zaporizhia NPP industrial site can be based on the construction of protective flood barriers on the cooling pond coast. Prospective directions to increase the accident management efficiency related to the nuclear power units’ passive safety systems modernization and improvement of operational symptom-oriented emergency instructions/manuals for managing severe (nuclear) accidents have been identified. An effective accident management strategy with complete long-term de-energization of WWER power units can be based on a comprehensive modernization of emergency recharge systems of steam generators with steam driven pumps and natural circulation circuits of passive heat removal systems from the pressurized reactor unit.
Scientific approaches to the formation of digital technologies for managing the factors of influence on the anthropogenic risks of energy production in terms of reducing the rates of accidents and industrial injuries are outlined. On the basis of statistical material, using methods of mathematical approximation, the dependencies of injuries and errors of personnel on their professional experience were obtained. On the basis of the index method, indicators of the reliability of the professional activity of personnel in the operation of the main technological equipment of power facilities were determined. The index of professional success, which considers the professional experience of personnel, is taken as the basis for assessing their professional activity. A method for estimating this index is formed, statistical data on the influence of experience on accidents and injuries in the electric power industry are considered. The authors formulated and solved the problem of finding the numerical values of the index of professional success. The dependencies of the index of professional success on the professional experience of the personnel were obtained, confirmed by statistical data and (indirectly) by earlier studies in the nuclear power industry by scientists of the FBGU SSC FMBC named after. A. I. Burnazyan of the FMBA of Russia. The calculation of the index makes it possible to mathematically correctly solve a more general problem of assessing anthropogenic risks. Formal contradictions between the numerical values of work experience in a position and the number of injuries are considered, statistical data are presented that confirm the theoretical conclusions obtained. The presented classification of personnel errors allows for a deep analysis of their occurrence and management of the process of their prevention. Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that the influence of professional experience on the success of professional activity is proven and countable. It can be assessed by the proposed method for calculating the index of professional success of personnel, which can be mathematically correctly incorporated into the overall structure of anthropogenic risk assessment.
Human casualties caused by industrial accidents pose a serious threat to corporate management due to the continual strengthening of safety laws as well as changes in the public’s awareness of corporate social responsibility. Accordingly, companies are raising safety awareness among employees by regularly conducting on-site safety activities and training to prevent industrial accidents. However, the safety activities, education, and training of many companies are not carried out voluntarily or in practice by their employees, but mostly through formal implementation. To break away from these customary and passive behaviors and establish a mature safety culture, it is crucial to strengthen the execution capacity of safety management in the field; to this end, we plan to utilize the safety practice index (SPI). The safety practice index (SPI), which quantitatively represents the degree of safety practice, is necessary to increase the effectiveness of safety management for the purpose of preventing accidents. In this study, the correlation was verified by comparing the SPI calculated based on the 2018 and 2019 risk management and the safety activity results of manufacturer A with the reported safety accidents. It was also effective in improving the SPI and reducing safety accidents in 2020 by supplementing the weaknesses of the SPI in 2018 and 2019. According to the results of this study, SPI can be used as an effective indicator for safety accident prevention activities by supplementing weaknesses with strengths through strengthening leadership and safety policies, such as classifying and managing the safety management level of a specific period or department.
Purpose Oil and gas industries play a major role for the growth of world economy, and drilling operation is considered as most important and hazardous procedure at the same time for oil and gas drilling crew because of the lack of effectual and user-friendly safety and health teaching and learning aids with updated knowledge and training capability. According to the previous studies, there is an urgent industrial need for user interactive technological aid for enhancing the teaching and learning of oil and gas drilling crew and safety officials at onshore and offshore drilling domains to fulfill the requirements of fourth industrial and educational revolutions. Therefore, this proposed virtual reality (VR)-based Hazard Free Operation (HAZFO Expert 2.0) teaching and learning aid to reduce the workplace risk and hazards to enhance the vestibule and experiential learning performance of oil and gas drilling process at Pakistani drilling industries. Design/methodology/approach In this proposed product based study for interactive teaching and learning application for industry, sequential explanatory research design will be adopted to prevent the accidents according to the modern technologies in this era of IR 4.0. Whereas, for the development of VR-based educational aid for Pakistani oil and gas industries, Autodesk 3ds Max, visual studio and MySQL software’s will be used. Findings This new concept of VR-based interactive educational aid (HAZFO Expert 2.0) for accident prevention at oil and gas drilling industries will be based on potential hazards and their suitable controlling measures for onshore and offshore drilling sites. Practical implications VR-based interactive educational aid for oil and gas workforce will facilitate the health and safety professionals for the elimination of potential hazards associated with oil and gas drilling activities to the next level of identification of hazards which has been identified in HAZFO Expert 1.0 at onshore and offshore drilling sites. Originality/value This proposed VR-based interactive educational aid for safe drilling process will be the first visual teaching and e-learning technology which covers all onshore and offshore drilling operations in Pakistani oil and gas industries and provides effective hazard controlling strategies to overcome challenging industrial hazards.
Introduction: Noise is any unwanted sound in the work environment that comes from production machines that can cause various health problems. Noise can also cause an increase in blood pressure as a physiological reaction of the body. Apart from the noise factor, an increase in workers' blood pressure can also be triggered by several factors such as worker characteristics (worker’s nutritional status, work experience and work duration). The purpose of this study is to examine whether there is a relationship between noise and worker characteristics and blood pressure. Methods: The design of this study was cross-sectional with a descriptive observational method. The sample in this study was the total population of workers in the company's production area, as many as 42 respondents. Workers' blood pressure was measured before and after work, work environment noise was measured using sound level meter, and questionnaires were used to determine individual characteristics. Results: The increase in blood pressure before and after work occurred most in the unit with the highest noise intensity. The increase in blood pressure before and after work also occurred in the categories of the longest work period and the longest work duration in a day. Conclusion: There was a strong correlation between noise and systolic blood and a weak relationship with diastole. Nutritional status had a weak relationship with blood pressure. Period of work and blood pressure had a moderate relationship, and duration of work and blood pressure had a strong relationship.
Keywords: blood pressure, individual characteristics, noise
ali PAHNABI, Solale RAMAZANI, Ehsan MOHAMMADI
et al.
Introduction: Occupational skin diseases and hand contact dermatitis specifically are among the most common occupational diseases among the healthcare workers. Since surgical technologists have contact with allergens and irritant substances are more susceptible to hand contact dermatitis. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of occupational hand contact dermatitis and effective factors among surgical technologists in five educational centers affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.
methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted over 125 surgical technologists working in the hospitals affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences who were selected via census sampling. Later, 97 participants who met the inclusion criteria were investigated. Data were collected by Nordic Occupational Skin questionnaire (NOSQ-2002) through interview and analyzed by SPSS software version 23.
Results: The findings indicated that 68% of the examined technologists were female and 57.7% were over 37 years old. The prevalence of hand dermatitis was 45.4% (44 people). The highest prevalence was observed at the back of hands (24.7%) and between fingers (17.5%). Contact hand dermatitis had a significant correlation with the participants’ gender (p = 0.002), work experience (p = 0.028), and frequency of hand washes (p = 0.021). Moreover, having a history of eczema and allergy (P-Value≤ 0.01) was significantly effective in increasing hand contact dermatitis.
Conclusion: The prevalence of hand contact dermatitis is high among surgical technologists. Therefore, hospital managers are required to plan for preventive measures and control the current situation. Furthermore, future researchers are recommended to carry out more studies on allergic dermatitis.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Public aspects of medicine
Abstract Not all accidental releases of flammable gases and vapours create explosions; most releases do not find an ignition source and of those that do ignite, most of them generate low or moderate overpressure only (deflagrative combustion). However, when certain conditions are satisfied, deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) can occur followed by stable detonation. Although a detonation is a rare event, it is a worst-case accidental event. Items within the detonating cloud are destroyed or rendered unusable. An intense vapour cloud explosion (VCE) occurred at the Buncefield fuel storage site in 2005. Extensive research into this incident revealed that detonation had taken place in the vapour cloud and had propagated over a large unconfined and uncongested area. Unique data were collected on the impact of blast on items of industrial plant, vegetation and vehicles. Combined with advances in fundamental knowledge of detonation science and large-scale tests on detonations, these new insights have allowed a comprehensive interpretation of the multitude of previous accidents involving intense vapour cloud explosions. The review identifies beyond reasonable doubt that in several past industrial accidents detonation was the cause of major destruction and loss of life. To our knowledge, a review of this kind is timely and is primarily designed for the awareness of engineers who may not be familiar with the investigation and its implications for previous accidental events. Some ideas are presented for safety management procedures to minimise the detonation risk.
Daniel Longo Castilho, Vitor Pellegrini de Godoy, Bernardo Tavares Fernandes Barros
et al.
Throughout the 70's and 80's the world chemical industry was deeply shaken by major accidents. The tragedies of Bhopal, in India, and Seveso, in Italy, are two examples of events that, due to gravity, have served as water divisors in the history of the chemical industry. From these accidents it was obvious that something needed to change: production at any cost had gone too far. Process safety gained strength, and industrial plants around the world went through risk analysis and improvement projects were implemented. While the chemical industry began to adopt a series of improvements in terms of process safety, progress of the same magnitude was not observed in the safety of teaching and research environments. Improvised safety management in laboratories is still a reality in countless institutions to this day. This text seeks to demonstrate how a professional and previously tested safety management system in the industry can collaborate in the prevention of accidents in laboratories. The main elements of the safety management system proposed by CCPS / AIChE are described here, and in the sequence, its applicability to the laboratory environment is evaluated. Over decades the chemical industry has evaluated, discussed, tested and improved its management systems, using this knowledge generated to reduce the number of accidents in laboratories shows a promising path. Although adaptations are necessary due to the enormous difference between the teaching and research environment and the industrial one, taking advantage of existing management systems saves time and anticipates results.
Researchers in the resilience engineering space have proposed the notion that organisations operating in complex socio-technical systems cannot ‘be’ resilient but can have the ‘potential for resilient performance’. This theoretical stance also suggests that organisations wanting to enhance their potential for resilience begin by measuring their operational safety performance against four key potentials, these being: the Potential to Anticipate; the Potential to Respond; the Potential to Learn; and the Potential to Monitor. Furthermore, to measure these four key resilience constructs, organisations have been recommended to use a Resilience Assessment Grid (RAG) developed as part of this theory. However, scarce research appears to have been conducted that bridges the theory and practice divide on just how organisations can pragmatically measure their current performance against these four resilience potentials using the RAG. Therefore, this research was interested in undertaking a pilot study using RAG theory in order to examine an organisation’s four resilience potentials, and was conducted within a large road transport organisation in Australia. Results indicated that measuring both the four individual potentials and a combination of the four potentials was possible using a RAG and proved effective in providing a snapshot of operational safety system resilience concepts. Recommendations on how to increase organisational resilience potentials were provided to ensure future safety endeavours would enhance the organisation’s potential to be resilience in the face of system variability and operational demands.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Medicine (General)
Introduction. The paper considers the application of a risk-based approach to improving the level of safety of hazardous production facilities. The presented approach ensures optimal use of labor, material and financial resources, contributes to greater efficiency of state control and supervision bodies.Problem Statement. The analysis of the state of HPF industrial safety showed the need to change the principles of assessing the state and monitoring the compliance with industrial safety requirements. Reasonable methods should be used to adequately assess the safety of facilities and the frequency and validity of inspections.Theoretical Part. The use of modern tools for monitoring, collecting and storing information on the state of industrial safety will allow supervisory authorities to plan inspections of hazardous production facilities taking into account their actual condition. This can significantly reduce the administrative burden on businesses.Conclusions. The use of a risk-based approach in planning inspections will ensure a higher level of industrial safety without involving additional resources of regulatory authorities.
Police officers perform a variety of physical tasks that can range from deskwork to chasing down fleeing suspects on foot. If not sufficiently prepared these tasks can lead to an increased risk of injury or task failure. The aim of this study was to profile the routine dispatch tasks performed by the Australian law enforcement officers of a state police force by frequency and duration. Participants for this study (<i>n</i> = 53: male <i>n</i> = 43, age = 33.5 ± 7.7 years, years of service = 7.2 ± 6.4 years: Female <i>n</i> = 10; age = 31.6 ± 9.1 years, years of service = 7.1 ± 6.1 years) were drawn from ten different police stations. Data reporting the tasks attended, their priorities, and their durations were gathered from a computer-aided dispatch system. Data from 77 shifts (3.8 ± 4.0 tasks/shift) captured 292 tasks attended (29.2 ± 17.5 task per station). ‘Check bona fides’ (checking an individual’s identification; 27%) was the most frequently occurring task followed by attending a domestic incident (14%). The longest task was attending an accident (mean = 43.50 ± 78.85 min, range 2–249 min). The results of this study suggest that police tasks are highly varied in terms of type and duration and these may differ between regions. An understanding of the dispatch tasks police officers are required to attend can inform injury mitigation and return-to-work rehabilitation practices.
Industrial safety. Industrial accident prevention, Medicine (General)