Using Data to Build a Picture of Safety

PresentationProcess Safety Management (PSM) involves a number of key elements from a technical prospective ‘Plant’, operational management ‘Processes’ and the human element ‘People’. All major incidents can be traced back to the failure in the management of these elements and can be attributed to these elements being managed in silos. PSM plays an integral role in delivering efficient, reliable, cost effective and safer facilities. While PSM has been recognised by many in the Oil &Gas sector, PSM has evolved significantly over the past three decades. Citing key incidents such as Piper Alpha, Longford, Texas City and Macondo have lead regulators such as BSEE 250, EU Offshore Safety Directive 2013/30/eu, UK HSE Safety Case Regulations 2015 and COMAH 2015 to work with operators, industry bodies such as API, UKOOA, IOGP etc. and technology providers to find solutions that demonstrate an asset’s integrity and safe operating status. These various stakeholders are driving the need for standardisation in PSM yet are met with the challenge of data proliferation and growing complexity of relating data elements’ impact on overall safety status. Emerging as a standard method of conveying asset integrity health is the use of barrier models as a solid approach to improving PSM, resulting in more favourable safety outcomes. The following article is a case study that addresses the next generation of PSM leveraging, complex data, visualisation and the barrier model. Maximising utilisation of key data sources such as maintenance management systems, operating data control systems for the delivery of PSM enable standardisation in line with the aspirations from the likes of API with 754 Process Safety Key Performance Indicators, Energy Institute Process Safety Management Frame Work, IOGP 415 Asset Integrity and 456 Process Safety Leading Key Performance indicators. These are a few of the recent guidelines created in response to the need to improve both understanding at all levels of the sector and enable means to measure the effectiveness of the PSM. The following deals with one of the most difficult areas of PSM, the demonstration of the effectiveness of mitigation control measures applied when part or parts of an operating envelope are compromised. This could be a defective safety critical escalation control barrier, lack of competency in the operating team or a design that fails to deliver and work arounds having to be introduced to maintain safe operations

A South African perspective on factors that impact on the adoption and meaningful use of health information technologies

Objective: Various benefits are associated with the adoption and meaningful use of health information technologies (HITs) in the healthcare sector. Despite the associated advantages with the adoption and use of HITs, the South African healthcare sector has been slow to adopt HITs, such as electronic record systems. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that should be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare landscape.Design: A three-round Delphi study was conducted to identify such factors.Setting and subjects: The Delphi panel included 21 participants who were considered to be suitably knowledgeable about the acceptance and significant use of HITs in the context of the South African healthcare setting.Results: A total of 58 factors were uncovered by the participants. Consensus was reached on 42 factors that were considered to have a direct to significant impact on the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in the South African healthcare sector.Conclusion: The results of this study highlight factors that should be addressed to encourage the adoption and meaningful use of HITs in South Africa’s healthcare setting. These results indicate that a wide range of factors need to be addressed and involve a multitude of stakeholders.Keywords: health information technology, adoption, meaningful use, South Africa, Delphi stud

Investigating the impact of a combined approach of perceived organisational support for strengths use and deficit correction on employee outcomes

Orientation: The positive psychology paradigm suggests a balanced focus on employee strengths and deficits. However, an overemphasis on strengths has raised questions regarding the value of a focus on strengths use, deficit improvement or a combined approach with a balanced focus on both. Research purpose: The primary objective was to examine whether perceived organisational support (POS) for strengths use, POS for deficit improvement or a combined approach would be the strongest predictor of work engagement, learning, job satisfaction and turnover intention. Motivation for the study: In the literature, there is little empirical evidence to support an approach where both employees’ strengths are used and their deficits improved. Research design, approach and method: This study was conducted among 266 teachers from four public schools in the Western Cape. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Main findings: The results suggest that both strengths use and deficit improvement are important predictors of work engagement, learning, job satisfaction and turnover intention. Learning was higher and turnover intention lower for individuals experiencing a combined approach compared to those believing that their school did not support them in either using their strengths or improving their deficits. Furthermore, a combined approach was associated with higher job satisfaction than a strengths-based approach, and a deficit-based approach was shown to be associated with higher levels of work engagement and lower turnover intentions compared to an environment where neither employees’ strengths nor deficits were addressed. Practical or managerial implications: The results urge organisations to invest an equal amount of resources in their employees’ strengths and deficits, as opposed to neglecting either one. Such a combined approach may be associated with increased work engagement, learning and job satisfaction and lower turnover intention. Contribution: This study provides empirical evidence that supports a combined approach where both employees’ strengths are used and their deficits developed

The #FeesMustFall protests in South Africa: Exploring first-year students’ experiences at a peri-urban university campus

Students experienced unique challenges in transitioning to their first-year during the FeesMustFall (#FMF) protest actions. It is important to examine students’ first-year adjustment experiences amidst study disruptions to ensure better outcomes of first-year study experiences. The impact of protest actions on the economy, higher education institutions (HEIs) and the individual student may be harmful when not managed effectively. The current study aims to clarify the first-year experience to explore how South African first-year students enrolled at a peri-urban university campus experienced the #FMF protest actions. The peri-urban university campus serves a large rural catchment area. Using the Mmogo-method® and unstructured individual interviews, researchers gathered in-depth experiences of fifteen participants who provided insight into their subjective experiences of their first-year transitions during the #FMF movement. Thematic analysis resulted in four themes: Clashes between students and police or campus security; the impact of protest actions on students’ lives; psychological experiences of trauma and physical harm; and student attitudes towards and needs in times of crisis. The study uncovered the experiences of first-year students at a peri-urban campus. The knowledge gathered could aid universities to develop proactive measures to minimize the impact of the protest actions or disruptions on the institution itself, students and stakeholders involved

Introduction

This chapter provides an introduction to the volume on conflicts over natural resources in the Global South and situates the various contributions made. The authors note that such conflicts frequently involve poor, mainly rural people who are struggling to maintain access to the resources on which they depend for a living. The volume is concerned mainly with conceptual approaches to the issue of conflict. Given the diversity of conflict and cooperation dynamics and their relation with natural resources, the authors argue that general causal theories are problematic. Rather than aiming for grand explanations, the volume therefore is aimed to realise what Merton (1949) has termed ‘middle-range theory’