Computerizing occupational safety and health information

Various regulations increase the responsibility of employers to retain appropriate safety and health information, for as long as several years. Handling this increasing volume of safety and health information manually is impractical, time consuming and hence, not at all cost effective. The purpose of this research is to examine the various aspects of computerizing safety and health information, and to evaluate a number of commercially available safety software packages. This paper initially discusses the impact of OSHA on retaining safety and health information, and the different areas which can benefit from computerization. It also provides guidelines to analyze existing safety and health information systems in an establishment, and develops general guidelines for selecting and developing a computerized safety and health information system. The work concludes with an analysis of nine of the most widely used commercially available safety software packages using data obtained from product catalogues and demo diskettes

The identification of trends in outgassing technology

A large amount of chemical analysis data involving identification of outgassing products from spacecraft, experiment modules, and support equipment accumulated at the Goddard Space Flight Center over the past ten years were reduced to a computer compatible format and subjected to a variety of relevant program operations. From these data a list of the most troublesome outgassing species were compiled and several useful and interesting materials' correlations were developed. The frequency of occurrence totals show that in aerospace program, di(2-ethyl hexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most often found individual species in outgassing samples and that esters are the leading generic class of compounds. The effectiveness of this data bank was demonstrated by the good correlations between materials and their outgassing products for solar panel bakeouts and cable bakeouts. However, trends in frequency of occurrence of many compounds were demonstrated where no correlation could be established. In the case of the class of compounds called aliphatic hydrocarbons, it is shown that the number of instances of significant outgassing due to these materials is increasing

Trends in Materials' Outgassing Technology

Test sample acquisition and chemical analysis techniques for outgassing products from spacecraft, experiment modules, and support equipment is described. The reduction of test data to a computer compatible format to implement materials selection policies is described. A list of the most troublesome outgassing species is given and several materials correlations are discussed. Outgassing from solar panels, thermal blankets, and wire insulation are examined individually

System model development for nuclear thermal propulsion

A critical enabling technology in the evolutionary development of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) is the ability to predict the system performance under a variety of operating conditions. This is crucial for mission analysis and for control subsystem testing as well as for the modeling of various failure modes. Performance must be accurately predicted during steady-state and transient operation, including startup, shutdown, and post operation cooling. The development and application of verified and validated system models has the potential to reduce the design, testing, and cost and time required for the technology to reach flight-ready status. Since Oct. 1991, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), and NASA have initiated critical technology development efforts for NTP systems to be used on Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions to the Moon and Mars. This paper presents the strategy and progress of an interagency NASA/DOE/DOD team for NTP system modeling. It is the intent of the interagency team to develop several levels of computer programs to simulate various NTP systems. The first level will provide rapid, parameterized calculations of overall system performance. Succeeding computer programs will provide analysis of each component in sufficient detail to guide the design teams and experimental efforts. The computer programs will allow simulation of the entire system to allow prediction of the integrated performance. An interagency team was formed for this task to use the best capabilities available and to assure appropriate peer review

Biodiversity Informatics for Public Policy. The case of CONABIO in Mexico

In this work I present an overview of the development of the system of biodiversity information that was developed for the federal government of Mexico. I describe briefly the organization that made the system possible and some of its history. Then I focus on the principles of design of the information system, and a few of its major uses. I provide data on costs and usage, and finish reflecting on the institutional fragility of such systems

Biodiversity Informatics for Public Policy. The case of CONABIO in Mexico

In this work I present an overview of the development of the system of biodiversity information that was developed for the federal government of Mexico. I describe briefly the organization that made the system possible and some of its history. Then I focus on the principles of design of the information system, and a few of its major uses. I provide data on costs and usage, and finish reflecting on the institutional fragility of such systems

Stratospheric ozone layer depletion : a computer aided case study

In industries today, there is a desire to stop pollution before it starts, through the process of pollution prevention. Unfortunately, many university level students are not exposed to the thinking process involved in environmental problem solving early enough in their academic career, if they are exposed to it at all. The goal of this thesis is to develop and to evaluate an interdisciplinary case-study about the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). This case-study will be used to teach first year chemistry students about environmental problem solving. The case study was assembled from existing literature according to principles derived from environmental texts. The written case study was evaluated first by a panel of four industry experts. The case study was then transformed into a computerized teaching tool using a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) editor. The computer tool was then evaluated by a separate panel of experts comprised of three industry experts, and three university professors. The professors were from the fields of chemistry, economics, and history. Both the economics and history professors were familiar with the field of environmental policy. This mix of disciplines allowed for a balanced evaluation of the interdisciplinary teaching tool. Finally, the experts\u27 comments were incorporated into the final version of the teaching tool