Exploration of relationships between safety performance and unsafe behavior in coal mining processes

PresentationIt is well known that safety performance is differentiated to two components, namely, safety compliance and safety participation. However, relationships between safety performance and unsafe behavior were barely explored. In this work, the scales for safety compliance and safety participation were slightly revised for usage in coal mining processes, and job burnout scale was developed on the basis of MBI-GS. Then, structural equation model was employed to investigate the interaction of these factors using samples of 367 front-line coal miners in large state-owned mining companies in China. The results show that individual unsafe behavior could not be diminished significantly by only focusing on these two dimensions of safety performance. Compared with safety participation, safety compliance has more significant influence on unsafe behavior, and job burnout is an indispensable moderator between these two components and unsafe behavior. More importantly, it is vital to pay close attention to employees’ occupational psychological health problem for improving organizational safety management and promoting personal performance

Characteristic Analysis of Unsafe Behavior by Coal Miners: Multi-Dimensional Description of the Pan-Scene Data

As a high-risk occupation, coal mining has many accidents, primarily due to the unsafe behavior of coal miners. Based on the research of analysis of unsafe behavior and pan-scenario data of miners, a theoretical framework for the analysis of unsafe behavior characteristics was proposed in this paper. The collected data were divided into realistic scenes and abstract scenes according to different manifestations; the pan-scene data were described from the eight dimensions of time, behavioral trace, location, behavioral property, behavioral individual, degree, unsafe action, and specialty using a quantitative method for the structure conversion; and the rules were discovered through cluster analysis and association analysis. A total of 225 coal mine gas explosion accidents were used for analysis, and the pan-scene data description and structure conversion of unsafe behavior that caused these accidents were realized. In a certain cluster, the distribution rules of dimensions and the interaction between different dimensions of unsafe behavior were explored after analysis. The results show that the proposed eight dimensions can fully explain the basic characteristics and attributes of the unsafe behavior of coal miners. The structure conversion can reduce the workload of managers and effectively improve the safety data processing capabilities, and the result of data analysis can provide data support and a management basis for safety management. A new method and thought for the data analysis of miners’ unsafe behavior is provided

Timeliness analysis on organization intervention of miners’ unsafe behavior

In order to investigate the effect and the timeliness of the organization intervention of miners’ unsafe behavior, the organizational intervention system which covers the entire coal mine system was constructed combining with the actual coal mine.The system dynamics model of organization intervention of miners’ unsafe behavior was constructed based on the analysis of miners’ unsafe behavior organization intervention method set and the principle of system dynamic.Dynamic simulation with different length and different intervention coefficients was carried out by using Vensim simulation software.At the same time, the objective of the conclusion was verified by comparing the simulation results with the actual data.The result shows that the effect of organizational intervention is obvious in the short term, however, it can not make the level of unsafe behavior continue to reduce in a longer period of time.The effectiveness of organizational intervention will be significantly improved through continuous optimizing intervention measures and improving the intensity of intervention

Metabolome and Transcriptome Profiling Reveal That Four Terpenoid Hormones Dominate the Growth and Development of Sanghuangporus baumii

Sanghuangporus baumii is a traditional medicinal fungus that produces pharmacological terpenoids, but natural resources are insufficient for applications, and its growth and development mechanisms are poorly understood. Combining metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses, we found four terpenoid hormones and a central gene, isopentenyl diphosphate isomerase (IDI), involved in growth and development. Additionally, an exogenous hormone test was used to further confirm the importance of the four terpenoid hormones. Finally, hormone content determination and qRT−PCR were performed to explore the growth and development mechanism; we found thatcis-zeatin (CZ) plays a major role in the mycelia stage, trans-zeatin (TZ) and gibberellin A4 (GA4) are important in the primordia stage, GA4 is crucial for the fruiting bodies stage, and abscisic acid (ABA) may be a marker of maturity. The IDI gene was also found to affectterpenoid hormone content by regulating the relative gene transcript levels, thereby controlling morphological changes in S. baumii. Our results revealthe growth and development mechanisms of S. baumii and may promote the breeding and utilisation of high-quality varieties

Exploring the Underlying Causes of Chinese Eastern Star, Korean Sewol, and Thai Phoenix Ferry Accidents by Employing the HFACS-MA

Maritime safety is a significant topic in the maritime industry since the numerous dangers at sea could lead to loss of property, environmental pollution, and even casualties. Existing research illustrates that human factors are the primary reasons of maritime accidents. Indeed, numerous maritime accidents can be classified into different types of human factors. In this context, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System for Maritime Accidents (HFACS-MA) model is introduced in this paper. The HFACS-MA framework consists of five levels, complying with the core concepts of HFACS and the guiding principles of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Based on the five levels of the framework, this research explores the underlying causes of Chinese Eastern Star, Korean Sewol, and Thai Phoenix accidents, and a comparative analysis is conducted. The analysis demonstrates the utility of applying the HFACS-MA model to the maritime industry, and the results emphasize the importance of the following categories: legislation gaps, organizational process, inadequate supervision, communication (ships and VTS), decision errors, and so on. Consequently, the research enables increased support for HFACS-MA and its application and provides valuable information for safety management and policy development in the maritime industry at different levels

Exposure levels and health damage assessment of dust in a coal mine of Shanxi Province, China

The concentrations, health risks and quantitative probabilistic health effects for dust at four workplaces from a coal mine in Shanxi were discussed. A total of 582 dust samples from 21 types of works in various workplaces were collected and analyzed, and their mean concentration ranged from 1.29 to 19.38 mg/m. The probabilistic health damages assessment for coal miners caused by dust were conducted by Monte Carlo simulations and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) inhalation risk model. The roadheader drivers and drillers in driving place suffered the greatest health risks with the average value of 5.60×10 and 5.55×10, respectively. The health risks in other workplaces are relatively lower and in the sequence of coal place, transshipment point, and shotcreting point. The health damages for coal miner at various workplaces followed a lognormal distribution, the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) ranked in the following sequence: driving face (1.76±0.14a) > coal face (1.63±0.06a) > transshipment point (1.24±0.11a) > shotcreting point (0.97±0.07a). Sensitivity analyses indicate that exposure duration (ED) have the greatest impact on the dust health damages, followed by exposure time (ET), inhalation rate (IR) and dust concentration (C). These results provide basic information for dust pollution control and health management in coal mines

Exploring the Relationships between Safety Compliance, Safety Participation and Safety Outcomes: Considering the Moderating Role of Job Burnout

Safety compliance (SC) and safety participation (SP), which are key factors predicting safety outcomes (e.g., accidents, injuries and near misses), are related but distinct. However, which component is more significant remains controversial. Job burnout is a typical occupational psychological syndrome of employees that impacts safety outcomes, but the role that it plays in the relationship between SC, SP and safety outcomes is ambiguous. To clarify these relationships, Chinese coal mine workers were sampled. Then, hypotheses on the influencing mechanisms were initially proposed and later tested empirically. To conduct this testing, SC and SP scales were revised, and a job burnout scale was developed. The results showed that there were significant relationships between workers’ SC and SP and safety outcomes; meanwhile, exhaustion, cynicism and low professional efficacy had significant effects on these relationships. Job burnout acted as a significant and indispensable moderator. Moreover, workers’ occupational psychological health condition should be considered when improving safety outcomes

Source analysis and health risk-assessment of ambient volatile organic compounds in automobile manufacturing processes

The sources and process-specific emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from an automobile manufacturing plant in Beijing, China were explored and monitored to assess the health risk from VOCs to workers of the automobile manufacturing plant. Eleven VOCs were detected in the air samples collected from the 12 working posts of five workshops of the automobile manufacturing plant using a meteorological chromatographic analytical method. The health risks exposed to VOCs were assessed using the probabilistic risk-assessment method, and the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis were conducted using the Monte Carlo simulation method. The results showed that VOCs mainly originated from the use and volatilization of chemical raw materials. The total carcinogenic risks were large owing to the high concentrations of benzene and ethylbenzene in various processes, suggesting a definite risk. The total non-carcinogenic risk in the paint shop was the highest, and the topcoat post, mixing paint post and basecoat post contributed to more than 70% of the total risk of this workshop. Exposure duration and concentration of VOCs had a greater impact on the health risk. These research findings may provide scientific basis for policy toward improving the health status of workers in automobile manufacturing enterprise in China

Evaluating Targeted Intervention on Coal Miners’ Unsafe Behavior

Miners’ unsafe behavior is the main cause of roof accidents in coal mines, and behavior intervention plays a significant role in reducing the occurrence of miners’ unsafe behavior. However, traditional behavior intervention methods lack pertinence. In order to improve the intervention effect and reduce the occurrence of coal mine roof accidents more effectively, this study proposed a targeted intervention method for unsafe behavior. The process of targeted intervention node locating was constructed, and based on the analysis of 331 coal mine roof accidents in China, three kinds of targeted intervention nodes were located. The effectiveness of targeted intervention nodes was evaluated by using structural equation model (SEM) through randomly distributing questionnaires to miners of Pingdingshan coal. The results show that, in preventing roof accidents of coal mines, the targeted intervention nodes have a significant positive impact on the intervention effect. The method can also be applied to the safety management of other industries by adjusting the node location and evaluation process

Risk Assessment of Miners’ Unsafe Behaviors: A Case Study of Gas Explosion Accidents in Coal Mine, China

China’s coal mine production situation is grim and various types of accidents occur frequently, and gas explosion accidents are the highest incidence of coal mine accidents. The authors selected 200 gas explosion accidents of coal mine enterprises in recent years, and extracted a large number of workers’ unsafe behaviors. Meanwhile, four working types related to gas explosion accidents were obtained, namely ventilation, gas prevention and fire extinguishing, blasting, and electrician. This article listed some influencing factors of unsafe behaviors and corrected the probability of unsafe behaviors. In addition, a probabilistic risk assessment model was established, and the Monte Carlo method was used to analyze the risks caused by unsafe behaviors of various working types. The results show that the risk of unsafe behaviors caused by the ventilation working type is the highest, followed by gas prevention and fire extinguishing, and finally blasting and electrician. This paper studies the influencing factors of miners’ unsafe behaviors from the perspective of behavior, guarantees effectively the safety management of coal mine enterprises, and lays a foundation for studying unsafe behaviors related to coal mine gas explosions