Proposal for and validation of novel risk-based process to reduce the risk of construction site fatalities (Major Accident Prevention (MAP) program)

Despite developments in the prevention of fatalities in the construction industry, fatalities resulting from well-known hazards continue at an unacceptable rate. Construction fatality prevention literature describes risk management techniques to provide ‘early warning’ of potential events. In dynamic construction project environments, these ‘early warnings’ are missed resulting in serious and fatal events. Critical Control Risk Management (CCRM) provides an alternative strategy to prevent fatal events in the construction industry. However, no research exists that explores the application of CCRM to actual construction projects. This study aims to design, develop, and validate a construction fatality prevention program using CCRM principles through mixed method research. A six-phase fatality prevention process, the Major Accident Prevention (‘MAP’) program was developed and validated over 18 months on an Australian construction project. The MAP program provided a practical approach to risk management which significantly enhanced frontline risk management practices. Modelling of performance indicators identified first aid injuries and hazard reporting were the most significant measures which correlated with supervisor observations, and personal risk assessments MAP activities. A weak correlation between MAP activities and first aid injuries was identified (0.528p = \u3c 0.05) with further statistical analysis limited by the small sample size. A key attribute of the MAP program was the risk profiling planning tool which provided a four week look ahead on the fatal risks, allowing management to focus effort on verifying relevant critical controls in the field. The findings of this study aim to help construction organizations develop and implement fatal risk prevention programs

How did COVID-19 pandemic impact safety performance on a construction project? A case study comparing pre and post COVID-19 influence on safety at an Australian construction site

COVID-19 had a significant impact on construction projects due to labor shortages and COVID-19 restrictions, yet little is known about the impact it had on construction safety. To address this gap, an Australian construction project was selected to study the impact of COVID-19 on safety performance, safety climate and safety leadership. The study collected data from safety climate surveys, leading and lagging safety indicators and used linear regression to compare safety performance pre and post the onset of COVID-19. Our results showed after the onset of COVID-19 there was a significant reduction (Pr \u3e F at 0.05 %) in incident rate, an improvement in supervisor safety leadership and safety climate, and satisfaction with organisational communication. The study identified the increase level of safety awareness due to COVID-19 did not result in an increase in the level of engagement in safety leadership. Interestingly, participation in the safety leadership activities did not improve until a change of Project Manager occurred. The study determined leaders who establish a positive safety climate within a project could negate the safety performance impact of COVID-19. The study confirms the importance of site safety leadership in maintaining engagement in risk management and the value of focused safety communication

Determining the reliability of critical controls in construction projects

Across the global construction industry, fatalities continue to occur from high-risk activities, where the risk controls have been defined; however, these were unreliable. In the mining industry, Critical Control Risk Management has provided positive results in reducing major accidents, which raises the question, could the Critical Control approach reduce the fatality rate in the construction industry? This study analyzed 10 years of serious and fatal incident investigation reports from four international construction companies to (i) assess the reliability of their Critical Controls (CCs) and (ii) assess the factors that affect the reliability of CCs. The results show the reliability of CCs, measured by implementation and effectiveness, averaged just 42%. Insight into human performance and organizational factors, including risk identification, decision-making and competency, together with supervision, job planning and communication, were identified as opportunities to improve the reliability of CCs. The study used bowtie diagrams with real event data to find the actual CC reliability. This appears to be the first published study that reports on the reliability of critical risk controls in construction. It demonstrates a feasible method for determining and communicating control effectiveness that can be used to deliver meaningful insights to industry practitioners on actual control performance and focus areas for improvement. In addition, actionable findings directly related to individual CCs can be derived that enable the participating organization to focus resources on improving specific verification processes. The results confirm the applicability of CCs for the Major Accident Event hazards analyzed and highlights that further reviews are required on the factors that need to be considered when implementing a CC program. This paper details our methodology and results, to assist others applying CCs as a risk management tool

Penerapan Model Pembelajaran Kooperatif Tipe Student Facilitator And Explaining untuk Meningkatkan Hasil Belajar IPS Siswa Kelas IV SD Negeri 56 Pekanbaru

The problem in this research was result of IPS fourth graders of SDN 56 Pekanbaru still low with average value of 67.07 with KKM 75. This research aims to improve student achievement the fourth grade SDN 56 pekanbaru with the implementation of cooperative learning model student facilitator and explaining. This research was conducted during the second semester of the academic year 2015/2016, with 28 students research subjects consisted of 15 male students and 13 female students. This reseach was classroom action research with two cycles, every cycle consisting of two meetings and one daily tests. Data and research instruments consisted of a learning device (syllabus, lesson plan, student worksheets), and data collection instruments such as observation sheets teachers and students as well as achievement test in the form of daily tests. Teachers activities at the first cycle of the first meeting with percentage of 75% (good categories), the second meeting becomes 79.17% (good categories). The first meeting of the second cycle with the percentage of 83.33% (very good category), at second meeting be 91.67% (very good category). Students activities at the first cycle of the first meeting with percentage of 75% (good category), at second meeting be 79.17% (good category). Students activities in the first cycle of the first meeting with percentage of 87.50% (very good category), at second meeting be 91.67% (very good category). Before the implementation of cooperative learning model student facilitator and explaining with KKM 70, average value of base score 67.07, after the implementation of this model average value of the first cycle increased to 76.60, with the increased in 9.53 (14.20%), while the second cycle of average value of students be 82.41 with an increased be 15:34 (22.87%)

Expert opinion on risks to the long-term viability of residential recycled water schemes: an Australian study

The water sector needs to make efficient and prudent investment decisions by carefully considering the long-term viability of water infrastructure projects. To support the assessment and planning of residential recycled water schemes in Australia, we have sought to clarify scheme objectives and to further define the array of critical risks that can impact the long-term viability of schemes. Building on historical information, we conducted a national survey which elicited responses from 88 Australian expert practitioners, of which 64% have over 10 years of industry experience and 42% have experience with more than five residential recycled water schemes. On the basis of expert opinion, residential recycled water schemes are considered to be highly relevant for diversifying and improving water supply security, reducing wastewater effluent discharge and pollutant load to waterways and contributing to sustainable urban development. At present however, the inability to demonstrate an incontestable business case is posing a significant risk to the long-term viability of residential recycled water schemes. Political, regulatory, organisational and financial factors were also rated as critical risks, in addition to community risk perception and fall in demand. The survey results shed further light on the regulatory environment of residential recycled water schemes, with regulatory participants rating the level and impact of risk factors higher than other survey participants in most cases. The research outcomes provide a comprehensive understanding of the critical risks to the long-term viability of residential recycled water schemes, thereby enabling the specification of targeted risk management measures at the assessment and planning stage of a scheme

Ethylene augments root hypoxia tolerance via growth cessation and reactive oxygen species amelioration

Flooded plants experience impaired gas diffusion underwater, leading to oxygen deprivation (hypoxia). The volatile plant hormone ethylene is rapidly trapped in submerged plant cells and is instrumental for enhanced hypoxia acclimation. However, the precise mechanisms underpinning ethylene-enhanced hypoxia survival remain unclear. We studied the effect of ethylene pre-treatment on hypoxia survival of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) primary root tips. Both hypoxia itself and re-oxygenation following hypoxia are highly damaging to root tip cells, and ethylene pre-treatments reduced this damage. Ethylene pre-treatment alone altered the abundance of transcripts and proteins involved in hypoxia responses, root growth, translation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis. Through imaging and manipulating ROS abundance in planta, we demonstrated that ethylene limited excessive ROS formation during hypoxia and subsequent re-oxygenation and improved oxidative stress survival in a PHYTOGLOBIN1-dependent manner. In addition, we showed that root growth cessation via ethylene and auxin occurred rapidly and that this quiescence behavior contributed to enhanced hypoxia tolerance. Collectively, our results show that the early flooding signal ethylene modulates a variety of processes that all contribute to hypoxia survival

Critical control management - The latest on leading practice and lessons learned

Mining is a risky business with many activities having the potential to result in injury, fatalities or multiple fatalities if they are not well managed. To manage such risks, the Australian mining industry has adopted and developed risk management approaches to control hazards and prevent and mitigate unwanted events. Industry statistics suggest that progress has been made reducing injury rates and major catastrophic events within Australia. However the number of fatalities incurred in Australian mines has remained relatively unchanged over the past decade. Investigations into mining’s catastrophic and fatality events indicate that the accidents that continue to occur are associated with foreseeable risks which have known causes and controls. These accidents often stem from a failure to identify the risk and/or deficiencies in the selection, implementation and ongoing maintenance of the control needed to effectively prevent or mitigate the event. As a result, in 2015 and 2016 the ICMM, ACARP, MCA, WA CME, NSW mining, QRC and individual companies have invested in research, development programs and/or collaborative sharing and learning forums to identify leading practices for improving the selection, effectiveness, and management of controls and critical controls. This presentation provides an overview of the work done to date developing and implementing approaches that improve the control of fatal and catastrophic risks within the mining industry. It will go through each step of the ICMM Critical Control Management process and provide examples of developing practices as well as the tricks, traps and lessons learned from different company, industry and research initiatives. It will conclude by proposing recommendations for further improvements to risk identification and control management approaches that the industry can pursue to better manage fatal and multiple fatality events

Improving human control of hazards in industry

Industrial accidents are still occurring at an unacceptable level. One way to reduce incidents is to better design industrial work systems so that humans can better recognise and manage hazards. In order to design work environments that support human’s ability to deliver safe and productive system performance, it is necessary to understand the humans, their work tasks, technology, organisational factors and external influences and how these have evolved and will continue to evolve over time. The aim of this study was to 1) gain insights into past, present and future work factors that affect human’s ability to safety manage industrial systems; 2) assess suitability of existing human factors and risk management methods to identify design improvement that would help humans deliver better system control and safety performance in industry both now and in the future. The study method involved conducting a review of literature to collect and collate information to identify important factors pertaining to the changing nature of human work in industrial contexts. The information from the literature review was then used to assess the benefits and limitations of current human factors and risk assessment techniques. The results of this study shows that the nature of human work, workers’ tasks, technology, organisational factors and external influences on industry have changed over time and will continue to change into the future. These changes can impact the way humans go about managing safety in hazardous industries. Most existing human factors and risk management techniques are limited in their ability to identify and manage contemporary human, technology, organisational interaction issues and opportunities. It is recommended that further work be done to develop techniques to suit the current and future industrial control scenarios