A Study To Determine How to Measure the Laser Safety Climate at Academic Institutions

Statement of Problem The purpose of this study was to determine if the laser safety climate can be measured at academic institutions and what factors would provide valid measures of the laser safety climate at academic institutions. Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions: Research Questions RQ1. Can laser safety climate be measured at academic institutions using a climate survey instrument? RQ2. What factors should be measured by a laser safety climate instrument? RQ3. What measures would provide actionable data for prescriptive intervention by laser safety professionals at academic institutions? (p. 4

Screening of energy efficient technologies for industrial buildings' retrofit

This chapter discusses screening of energy efficient technologies for industrial buildings' retrofit

Advanced manned space flight simulation and training: An investigation of simulation host computer system concepts

The findings of a preliminary investigation by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in simulation host computer concepts is presented. It is designed to aid NASA in evaluating simulation technologies for use in spaceflight training. The focus of the investigation is on the next generation of space simulation systems that will be utilized in training personnel for Space Station Freedom operations. SwRI concludes that NASA should pursue a distributed simulation host computer system architecture for the Space Station Training Facility (SSTF) rather than a centralized mainframe based arrangement. A distributed system offers many advantages and is seen by SwRI as the only architecture that will allow NASA to achieve established functional goals and operational objectives over the life of the Space Station Freedom program. Several distributed, parallel computing systems are available today that offer real-time capabilities for time critical, man-in-the-loop simulation. These systems are flexible in terms of connectivity and configurability, and are easily scaled to meet increasing demands for more computing power

The Comprehensive Handling of Safety in an Autonomous Robot Capstone Project

A systematic approach to safety issues is described in the context of an autonomous robot capstone project. The treatment of safety should not be an ad hoc or an after-thought aspect of design projects. Engineering students need to consider safety as an integral component of the design process and to identify and address hazards systematically in each stage of project work. Appropriate actions include researching professional standards and regulations, incorporating safety best practices, developing safety checklists and operating protocols, and providing significant safety documentation. Formal safety components were added to a capstone design project for electrical and computer engineering undergraduates in which an R2D2-like robot was designed and built. The work provides project examples, lessons learned, and student feedback related to the safety treatment

Programmable Electronic Mining Systems: Best Practice Recommendations (In Nine Parts) - Part 1: 1.0 Introduction

This report (An Introduction to Safety) is the first in a nine-part series of recommendations addressing the functional safety of processor-controlled mining equipment. It is part of a risk-based system safety process encompassing hardware, software, humans, and the operating environment for the equipment's life cycle. Figure 1 shows a safety framework containing these recommendations. The reports in this series address the various life cycle stages of inception, design, approval and certification, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. These recommendations were developed as a joint project between the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. They are intended for use by mining companies, original equipment manufacturers, and aftermarket suppliers to these mining companies. Users of these reports are expected to consider the set in total during the design cycle. \ue2\u20ac\ua2 1.0 Safety Introduction.\ue2\u20ac\u201dThis is an introductory report for the general mining industry. It provides basic system/software safety concepts, discusses the need for mining to address the functional safety of programmable electronics, and includes the benefits of implementing a system/software safety program. \ue2\u20ac\ua2 2.1 System Safety and 2.2 Software Safety.\ue2\u20ac\u201dThese reports draw heavily from International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard 61508 and other recognized standards. The scope is "surface and underground safety mining systems employing embedded, networked, and non-networked programmable electronics." System safety seeks to design safety into all phases of the entire system. Software is a subsystem; thus, software safety is a part of the system's safety. \ue2\u20ac\ua2 3.0 Safety File.\ue2\u20ac\u201dThis report contains the documentation that demonstrates the level of safety built into the system and identifies limitations for the system\ue2\u20ac\u2122s use and operation. In essence, it is a "proof of safety" that the system and its operation meets the appropriate level of safety for the intended application. It starts from the beginning of the design, is maintained during the full life cycle of the system, and provides administrative support for the safety program of the full system. [

The Promise of Health Information Technology: Ensuring that Florida's Children Benefit

Substantial policy interest in supporting the adoption of Health Information Technology (HIT) by the public and private sectors over the last 5 -- 7 years, was spurred in particular by the release of multiple Institute of Medicine reports documenting the widespread occurrence of medical errors and poor quality of care (Institute of Medicine, 1999 & 2001). However, efforts to focus on issues unique to children's health have been left out of many of initiatives. The purpose of this report is to identify strategies that can be taken by public and private entities to promote the use of HIT among providers who serve children in Florida

Standardization Roadmap for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Version 2.0

This Standardization Roadmap for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Version 2.0 (“roadmap”) is an update to version 1.0 of this document published in December 2018. It identifies existing standards and standards in development, assesses gaps, and makes recommendations for priority areas where there is a perceived need for additional standardization and/or pre-standardization R&D. The roadmap has examined 78 issue areas, identified a total of 71 open gaps and corresponding recommendations across the topical areas of airworthiness; flight operations (both general concerns and application-specific ones including critical infrastructure inspections, commercial services, and public safety operations); and personnel training, qualifications, and certification. Of that total, 47 gaps/recommendations have been identified as high priority, 21 as medium priority, and 3 as low priority. A “gap” means no published standard or specification exists that covers the particular issue in question. In 53 cases, additional R&D is needed. As with the earlier version of this document, the hope is that the roadmap will be broadly adopted by the standards community and that it will facilitate a more coherent and coordinated approach to the future development of standards for UAS. To that end, it is envisioned that the roadmap will continue to be promoted in the coming year. It is also envisioned that a mechanism may be established to assess progress on its implementation

Systems approach to assessing and improving local human research Institutional Review Board performance.

ObjectiveTo quantifying the interdependency within the regulatory environment governing human subject research, including Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), federally mandated Medicare coverage analysis and contract negotiations.MethodsOver 8000 IRB, coverage analysis and contract applications initiated between 2013 and 2016 were analyzed using traditional and machine learning analytics for a quality improvement effort to improve the time required to authorize the start of human research studies.ResultsStaffing ratios, study characteristics such as the number of arms, source of funding and number and type of ancillary reviews significantly influenced the timelines. Using key variables, a predictive algorithm identified outliers for a workflow distinct from the standard process. Improved communication between regulatory units, integration of common functions, and education outreach improved the regulatory approval process.ConclusionsUnderstanding and improving the interdependencies between IRB, coverage analysis and contract negotiation offices requires a systems approach and might benefit from predictive analytics