Saf Sci

Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) pose a significant financial burden to employers and account for over 33% of the total nonfatal workers' compensation cost in the United States. Previous analyses documenting the burden of STF incidents in the mining industry have focused on occupational fatalities or STFs during equipment ingress, egress. There is limited information on the burden of nonfatal STF incidents in the mining industry and most of it is outdated. Hence, to increase awareness and highlight the importance of STFs in the mining industry, this analysis documents the burden associated with nonfatal STF incidents at surface stone, sand, and gravel (SSG) mines from 2008 through 2017. In this time frame, nonfatal STF incidents occurred at a rate of 62 per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees per year. Pits had a higher prevalence of injuries, but plants had a higher incidence rate. In addition, nonfatal STF incidents at surface SSG mines led to approximately 23,800 total days lost per year with an estimated cost to the mining industry of $17.5 million per year. Assessed violations that are not related to reported injuries but are related to STF hazards identified during Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspections cost the mining industry approximately$3 million per year from 2013 through 2017. Based on the data analyzed in this study, falls to the lower level pose a higher burden in terms of cost; however, falls to the same level have a higher number of incidents and incidence rate.CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2020-12-01T00:00:00Z31555024PMC67609048741vault:3621

Effects of Slips and Trips on Resultant Lumbar Kinematics, Lumbar Muscle Activity and Low-Back Loads

Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) represent one of the leading causes of occupational injuries and fatalities. In particular, many prior reports have linked STFs with the onset of low-back disorders, which, depending on the severity of the incident, can leave the worker physically limited both in the workplace and at home. In contrast, the incidence and outcomes of loads acting on the low back due to a slip and trip that does not lead to a fall (i.e., slip/trip without fall: STWF) remain only marginally investigated to date. To address this research deficit, this quantitative study was designed to explore selected physiological outcomes of STWFs. In terms of methodology, participants completed several walking trials during which two unexpected perturbations involving a slip and trip were introduced (a harness prevented a fall). A biomechanical model developed using the AnyBody modeling software yielded trunk kinematics and muscle geometry. These outputs - along with the electromyography of fourteen lumbar flexor and extensor muscles - were employed as input data for our 3D, dynamic, EMG-based lumbar spine model. Results of (a) lumbar kinematics (range of the motion of the trunk relative to the pelvis), (b) lumbar muscle activity, (c) lumbosacral reaction forces, and (d) moments all indicated more than a two-fold increase during the slip and trip trials compared to normal walking. Specifically, reported values for the slip trial were (a) 45°, (b) 0.694, (c) 2939 N, and (d) 52 Nm; Reported values for the trip trial were (a) 42°, (b) 0.691, (c) 2898 N, and (d) 50 Nm; and the analogous figures for normal walking were (a) 19°,(b) 0.195, (c) 1174 N, and (d) 16 Nm. Findings from this study can be used to develop interventions to avoid such incidents; for example, to determine specific training parameters (e.g., frequency, duration, and intensity) to optimize a developed intervention’s effectiveness. Such approaches may lead to the control of specific mechanisms involved with lowback disorders consequent to a slip or trip, and potentially reduce the risk for slip- and trip-related injuries

REAL-TIME BACKWARD SLIP DETECTION USING A SLIP-INDUCING SYSTEM AND MACHINE LEARNING METHODS

Wearable devices have been developed to assist walking based on the wearer’s intention. However, it would be dangerous if a device misidentifies falling as intentional motion; it is necessary to detect falls in real time. In particular, backward slip is the most common and dangerous type of falls. Fifteen participants walked on a split-belt instrumented treadmill while random backward slip perturbation of belt speed acceleration was provided to the foot. We aimed to identify slip within 0.35s after the onset of the perturbation, the typical window of slip, using lower limb kinematic data obtained within 0.3s; only 0.05s was allowed for the identification. We developed 5 machine learning models, and the logistic regression model showed the highest accuracy of 87.5%. The initial study is expected to contribute to the prevention of falls by developing and applying the results to wearable devices

Prevenção a queda da própria altura: um estudo teórico empírico / Prevention of falls on the same level: a theoretical empirical study

A queda da própria altura é um tipo de acidente de trabalho em que a queda ocorre ao mesmo nível em que a vítima se encontra, geralmente após tropeços ou escorregões. Referente à fonte de dados, os órgãos brasileiros de referência que abordam segurança e acidentes de trabalho não oferecem números objetivos que possibilitem identificar as causas deste tipo de acidente. Tal fato contribui para que no Brasil o tema queda da própria altura não receba a devida importância, resultando na impossibilidade de comprovação dos dados de ocorrências e suas respectivas consequências sociais e econômicas. Outro fator que representa obstáculo à merecida atenção ao tema no Brasil, é o aspecto não-fatal das consequências das quedas da própria altura. A presente pesquisa está pautada na realização de um estudo de caso nos ambientes do Câmpus Campo Mourão da Universidade Tecnológica do Paraná, tendo como objetivo analisar, identificar e implementar ações prevencionistas contra quedas da própria altura. A técnica de coleta de dados foi a pesquisa observacional sistemática, cujas informações foram registradas em formulários especificamente elaborados para atender às necessidades da investigação. Com as informações levantadas e analisadas, a etapa final consistiu na elaboração de um sistema de ações de segurança e saúde do trabalho, apropriado para evitar quedas da própria altura nos ambientes determinados como escopo

Dynamic safety and security risk management of hazardous operations

Hazardous operations, such as the operations in process plants, are confronted by three major risks: occupational, process and intentional damage risks. Previous works have studied these risks independently. Furthermore, these works failed to consider many important elements. For example: 1) Hazardous operations are expanding to remote areas in harsh environments, and thus harsh environmental factors need to be included in the assessment model to deal with this emerging challenge. 2) Scarce prior data can cause uncertainty of assessment results. Conventional assessment methods, such as fault trees, produce static outcomes which neither reduce the uncertainty caused by scarce data nor reflect the latest risks. 3) Variables in the models are considered to be discrete (normally binary). This approximation reduces the accuracy of assessment results. 4) Influence of intrusion scenarios on security risks is not considered. 5) Safety and security have interactions which can influence the real risk level and decision making. Existing works neither conduct a dynamic assessment of integrated risk considering such interaction in a robust framework, nor do they analyze the measure selection for the effective prevention of integrated risks. To overcome these limitations, this research establishes a dynamic model which includes harsh environmental factors to quantify the occupational risks and identify the critical causal factors. Moreover, a continuous Bayesian network is proposed to represent the continuous variables. Intrusion scenarios have been included in the dynamic assessment model for intrusion risk. The critical intrusion scenarios and weak links of the security system are identified. Then the interaction of safety and security is analyzed in an integrated framework. Its influence on risk level and decision making is studied using a Bayesian network and influence diagram. These methods applied in this research not only reduce the uncertainty of assessment results, but also explore a new area of integrated risk assessment and management

Alternative Measures of Toe Trajectory More Accurately Predict the Probability of Tripping than Minimum Toe Clearance

Tripping is responsible for a large percentage of falls. Minimum toe clearance (MTC) during the swing phase of gait is commonly used to infer the probability of tripping (POT). However, there is limited empirical evidence to support the relationship between these two variables, and other measures of toe trajectory may better predict POT than MTC. The goals of this study were to: 1) quantify the relationship between MTC and POT; and 2) explore alternative measures of toe trajectory that may predict POT more accurately than MTC. POT was estimated by comparing the distribution of obstacles measured along heavily-used, paved sidewalks on a university campus to the toe trajectory of 40 young adults obtained while walking over an obstacle-free walkway in a research laboratory. POT exhibited a curvilinear relationship with MTC, and regression equations were established to predict POT from MTC. POT was more accurately predicted when using virtual points on the bottom of the anterior edge of the shoe to determine MTC, compared to using a physical marker located on top of the toes to determine MTC. POT was also more accurately predicted when using a new measure of toe trajectory (the area below 40mm and above the toe trajectory, normalized by the swing length), compared to just MTC. These are the first empirical results supporting a relationship between MTC and POT. These results may improve the ability to identify risk factors that influence POT, and aid in developing interventions to reduce POT

Bibliography of communication and research products 2012

This document presents a bibliography of NIOSH communication and research products for the year 2012. Product types include journal articles, book chapters, numbered publications, abstracts/proceedings, control technology reports, fatality assessment and control evaluation reports, fire fighter fatality investigation and prevention reports, an author index, a keyword Index, and the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) IndexI. Journal articles -- II. Books or book chapter -- III. NIOSH numbered publications -- IV. Proceedings -- V. Abstracts -- VI. Control technology reports -- VII. Fire fighter fatality investigation and prevention reports -- VIII. Health hazard evaluation reports -- IX. Author index-- X. Keyword index -- XI. National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) index."April 2013."Also available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (4.87 MB, 129 p.)

New Risk Methodology Based on Control Charts to Assess Occupational Risks in Manufacturing Processes

The accident rate in the EU-28 region of the European Union showed a value of 2 fatal accidents per 100,000 people in 2019 that mainly affect construction (24%), manufacturing (19%) and logistics (19%). To manage situations that affect occupational risk at work, a review of existing tools is first carried out taking into account three prevention, simultaneity and immediacy characteristics. As a result, a new dynamic methodology called Statistical Risk Control (SRC) based on Bayesian inference, control charts and analysis of the hidden Markov chain is presented. The objective is to detect a situation outside the limits early enough to allow corrective actions to reduce the risk before an accident occurs. A case is developed in a medium-density fiberboard (MDF) manufacturing plant, in which five inference models based on Poisson, exponential and Weibull distributions and risk parameters following gamma and normal distributions have been tested. The results show that the methodology offers all three characteristics, together with a better understanding of the evolution of the operators in the plant and the safety barriers in the scenario under study.This research was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain, with reference DPI2016-79824-R

A reliability approach to the quantification of occupational accidents in the offshore oil and gas industry

Occupational accidents continue to occur at a frequency unacceptable to the offshore oil and gas industry. Current information and approaches related to the topic have been studied. Using reliability techniques, a holistic quantitative model has been developed and validated which can predict accident frequency. Model inputs include factors directly affecting accident frequency as well as corporate and external elements. Literature related to occupational accidents has been reviewed, concentrating on (i) modelling approaches taken by researchers over the past half century, (ii) statistical information currently available and (in influencing factors suggested by researchers for inclusion in accident models. A gap in the knowledge was confirmed, specifically the absence of a holistic, quantitative approach to oil and gas occupational accidents. An analysis of current global offshore oil and gas occupational accident statistics was performed, which revealed significant inter-regional and inter-company differences in accident frequency. This result helped to confirm that the group of factors affecting occupational accidents extended beyond the traditionally included direct and corporate elements to include external societal factors. Based partially on the literature review and database analysis, a model was developed which can predict occupational accident frequency in the offshore oil and gas industry. The model's holistic approach combines accident theories often preferred by representatives from the management, safety, engineering, and psychology disciplines. The approach is based on a chain of influence originating with external factors, which act through corporate elements to affect factors directly influencing the accident process. Expert opinion was used extensively to quantify (i) the relative strengths of the model elements directly affecting accident frequency and (ii) the relationships between the external, corporate, and direct layers. Using further expert opinion to provide input values, the model was validated by comparing its predictions with known results on Canadian production installations and in the Gulf ofMexico drilling sector

Bibliography of communication and research products 2011

I. Journal articles -- II. Books or book chapters -- III. NIOSH numbered publications -- IV. Proceedings -- V. Abstracts -- VI. Control technology reports -- VII. Fatality assessment and control evaluation reports -- VIII. Fire fighter fatality investigation and prevention reports -- IX. Health hazard evaluation reports -- X. Author index-- XI. Keyword index -- XII. National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) index"April 2012."Also available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (3.13 MB, 143 p.)