Industrial Safety Management Using Innovative and Proactive Strategies

Safety is considered a top priority due to its significance in safeguarding human lives and properties, especially in high-risk industrial sectors such as aviation, oil and gas, construction, transportation, steel manufacturing, and mining industries. These industries are plagued by workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities because of the dangerous work environments. As such, it is very vital to integrate safety into every work process in any industrial environment just like quality is built into products and services. It is important to establish and execute an effective safety management system to prevent the risks of irreversible accidents. This chapter begins with a background to safety management in industrial engineering and a discussion of the various issues of industrial safety management. It follows with an extensive description of existing and commonly used safety performance measurement methods. Several case studies are used to explain the methods and explore the important application areas relevant to most industrial sectors. The techniques and tools for safety data collection, analysis, and sharing are introduced together with their applications for safety management. The last section explains how emerging technologies can be implemented in most industrial sectors to enhance safety management

The Impact of Different Building Assemblies on Thermal and Air Quality Performance: An Experimental Student Project in an Architectural Course Comparing City Building Code Versus Passivhaus Standard

Building technology can promote environmental sustainability and is a critical component of energy conservation. Well-functioning indoor microclimates do not only affect buildings, however—occupant health must also be considered. Recent research has demonstrated that sustainability and occupant health go hand-in-hand when designing or retrofitting a building. What is the best way to accomplish these goals and to effectively preserve a balance among architecture, efficiency, and health when designing and constructing new buildings? What is then the best approach to integrating this building technology knowledge into an architecture course? This research-educational project introduced an investigation of the effects of two different building assembly strategies (located in the hot and humid climate of San Antonio, TX) to a building science course. With faculty guidance, architecture students designed (and will build next semester) two distinctive testbeds following the San Antonio building code and Passivhaus standard, a standard focused on energy efficiency and healthy architecture. The indoor air temperatures, relative humidity levels, and R-values of both structures were simulated and compared during class. The effects of the outdoor environment parameters like air temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed were also explored. The results underline the positive effect of the Passivhaus standard envelope, which considerably reduces the indoor temperature as compared to the city code assembly. Additionally, indoor air quality parameters such as carbon dioxide (CO2), particle concentration (PM2.5 and PM10), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and formaldehyde (HCHO), will be also measured and analyzed once the building phase is complete

Active Work Zone Safety: Preventing Accidents Using Intrusion Sensing Technologies

Highway construction work zones are hazardous environments characterized by a dynamic and limited workspace. A host of interactions between workers, passing commuter vehicles, and moving construction equipment occurs in highway work zones, fostering dangerous situations that can result in injury or death. Active strategies, such as the deployment of intrusion sensing and alert technologies in highway work zones and in transportation infrastructure construction and maintenance, can be effective at mitigating these unforeseen conditions. The main objective of this study was to conduct both conceptual analysis and experimental evaluation of intrusion sensing technologies for work zone safety. To achieve the objectives of this research, an exploratory review of the applicable technologies was conducted to identify the intrusion technologies that can be implemented for work zone safety. An objective assessment of each technology was provided based on selected evaluation metrics to elicit their capabilities. Candidate commercially available technologies were selected and evaluated using field experiments in simulated work zones. The findings of the study indicate that the commercially available technologies have the potential to enhance safety of work zone workers by providing warning alerts when hazardous situations exist. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by providing strategies for selecting and implementing intrusion sensing technologies for active work zone safety

Effects of Heat Stress Prevention Training on the Knowledge of Construction Students

Construction workers exposed to extreme heat in hot and humid climates are at risk of heat stress and heat-related illnesses. Although several studies have been conducted on heat stress research in the construction industry, only a few have focused on safety training and its effects on improving the knowledge of the construction workforce. This study examines the effects of training on the knowledge of the future construction workforce for heat stress prevention. The training was conducted for the future construction workforce (i.e., undergraduate construction senior students). Pre-tests and post-tests were administered before and after the training to determine the trainees’ knowledge. In addition, self-assessment surveys were administered after the training to evaluate trainees’ perception of knowledge improvement through the training. The questions of the tests and assessment were designed to ascertain the participants’ knowledge of the risk factors, types of heat-related illnesses, and prevention strategies. The results illustrate an overall significant positive impact of training on the participants’ knowledge and ability to protect themselves from heat stress

Wearable Sensing Devices: Towards the Development of a Personalized System for Construction Safety and Health Risk Mitigation

Wearable sensing devices (WSDs) are increasingly helping workers stay safe and healthy in several industries. However, workers, especially in the construction industry, have shown some aversion towards the use of WSDs due to their ability to capture specific information that may be considered personal and private. However, this revered information may provide some critical insight needed by management to plan and optimize worksite safety and support technology adoption in decision making. Therefore, there is a need to develop personalized WSD systems that are mutually beneficial to workers and management to ensure successful WSD integration. The present study aims to contribute to knowledge and practice by filling this critical gap using insight from 330 construction workers with experience using WSDs. The results from this study indicate that all 11 WSD functions identified through this study play a vital role in improving worker safety and health and that approximately two out of three workers are open to sharing the physiological and environmental information captured using these WSDs with their management. However, functions for detecting workers\u27 proximity to workplace hazards, specifically energized electrical materials, toxic gas, and fire/smoke, were the most critical functions that had mutual value to workers and management. Finally, the present study proposed and evaluated a phased personalized WSD system that should encourage successful WSD integration

Trends of occupational fatal and nonfatal injuries in electrical and mechanical specialty contracting sectors : necessity for a learning investigation system

The specialty electrical and mechanical contracting sectors provide crucial services and perform functions that are vital to the products delivered by the construction industry. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the causes of fatal and nonfatal injuries in these specialty construction sectors over time as well as their effects on the level of safety performance in the industry. Accordingly, the most prevalent causes of fatal and nonfatal incidents in the mechanical and electrical sectors are investigated and presented as a longitudinal study from 2005 to 2015. The trends in occupational injuries in these sectors over this period of time are also compared with the trends reported in previous studies. The results from this study show that the direct causes of fatal and nonfatal injuries in the electrical and mechanical sectors differ from those found in the construction industry in general. In addition, the electrical and mechanical construction industry trends identified in this study are similar to previously reported trends. The similarities between the current findings and those of previous studies highlight real shortcomings in the safety management approaches within the construction industry. Based on the findings of this study, a learning investigation system has been recommended to improve safety performance among electrical and mechanical specialty contractors

ICT Needs and Skills Requirements for Reference Services in the Post-covid Era.

The paper examined the ICT needs and skills requirement for reference services in the post COVID era. Non-probability judgmental sampling was used to select six (6) reference librarians, two from each of three higher institutions in Ibadan: Kenneth Dike Library, University of Ibadan, University Library, Lead City University and Polytechnic Library, The Polytechnic Ibadan. Data was collected through interview and was analyzed thematically. The results revealed that the basic needs of ICT for reference services are to provide fast and accurate service to patrons, easy access and retrieval of reference material, achieve fast and effective communication between the reference librarian and the users and to facilitate feedback. Additionally, the relevant ICT skills needed for reference services in the post COVID era are word processing skills, computer literacy, mobile technology skills, use of social networking sites, the use scanner, photocopier and printer. Moreover, the study reveals that the ICT skills of the respondents is moderately high and majority of the respondents acquire their skills through trial and error, training and re-training by their colleagues and self-sponsorship. The study also revealed that the relevant ICTs used for reference services such as Word processing, e-mail, instant messaging tools, internet, scanner, printer, photocopier, mobile technology, and social media. The major challenge revealed by this study is inadequate funding which is at the center of all other challenges highlighted in this paper. The study suggests management support for ICT skills training and continuous professional development to improve reference librarians among others

Incident Analysis and Prediction of Safety Performance on Construction Sites

The hazardous nature of the construction environment and current incident statistics indicate a pressing need for safety performance improvement. One potential approach is the strategic analysis of leading indicators for measuring safety performance as opposed to using only lagging indicators, which has protractedly been the norm. This study presents a systematic safety performance measurement framework and statistical modeling processes for analyzing safety incident data for accident prediction and prevention on construction sites. Using safety incident data obtained from a construction corporation that implements proactive safety management programs, statistical modeling processes are utilized to identify variables with high correlations of events and incidents that pose dangers to the safety and health of workers on construction sites. The findings of the study generated insights into the different types and impacts of incident causal factors and precursors on injuries and accidents on construction sites. One of the key contributions of this study is the promotion of proactive methods for improving safety performance on construction sites. The framework and statistical models developed in this study can be used to collect and analyze safety data to provide trends in safety performance, set improvement targets, and provide continuous feedback to enhance safety performance on construction sites

Overcoming barriers to smart safety management system implementation in the construction industry

The reliance on networked technologies in construction safety and health management is expected to increase; however, studies have reported potential resistance to the broad implementation of smart technologies within structured construction safety management systems (SMS). This study examines the challenges and drivers impacting the implementation of smart SMS in the construction industry using quantitative and qualitative research methods. The current state of safety knowledge and practices was reviewed and critical insights were obtained from construction industry practitioners. To identify barriers and solutions to implementing smart technologies in construction safety management, a literature review was conducted. Based on this review and semi-structured expert interviews, a survey was developed and distributed to U.S. construction industry management to assess their perceptions of these barriers and strategies. The study revealed 24 implementation barriers of which 14 were considered critical with mean normalized values ≥ 0.50. These barriers were categorized into four groups – organization, infrastructure, cost, and system integration-related barriers based on the correlation between the four different groups. Sixteen strategies that could help overcome these challenges and improve the integration of IoT-SMS technologies were uncovered and discussed. The findings from this study extend technology implementation theories by proposing an organization-infrastructure-cost-system integration framework for SMS implementation. Moreover, the study creates a foundation for evaluating barriers and strategies associated with implementing technology-driven SMS in the construction industry, thereby advancing research at the intersection of SMS and emerging technologies

Hazardous proximity zone design for heavy construction equipment

The construction industry continues to be among the leading industries for workplace fatalities in the U.S. After experiencing 824 fatal injuries in 2013, the construction industry continues to rank as one of the most dangerous work environments when compared to other private industrial sectors in the U.S. Conditions of construction sites often produce hazardous proximity situations by requiring ground workers and heavy equipment to operator at close proximity. The gathered injury and fatality statistics indicate that current safety practices of construction workers have proven inadequate. The objective is to design hazard zone around pieces of heavy construction equipment in which ground personnel should not enter during construction operations. The scope is limited to construction sites and equipment at a horizontal grade and hazards between heavy construction equipment and workers-on-foot. A framework for creating the hazard zone around any piece of construction equipment is presented including detailed methodology discussions for each step. The hazard zone for a dump truck, excavator, and backhoe are shown using the created framework. Construction resource tracking data was used to validate the created hazard zone around a dump truck. Results indicate that hazard zones for ground workers can be created around construction equipment to increase hazard awareness for workers. Furthermore, additional safety standards can be formulated based on the ability to design and eventually implement hazard zones on construction equipment.Non UBCUnreviewedFacultyOthe