Integrating ILS in dissolving palm fruit cellulose

Ionic liquids (ILs) are introduced to improve the production of palm oil in industry in order to extract more thus lowering the oil losses. The main objective of this study is to investigate the potential of sulfate-based ILs in dissolving palm fruit cellulose. The interpretation study was done in lab scale by dissolving cellulose (that directly extracted from palm fruit) in ILs and percentage of cellulose dissolved is calculated based on weight percentage dissolved. The highest average percentage dissolving of cellulose was 10.67 wt% with condition concentration of sulfate-based ILs is 9000 ppm and the mixing time was two hours. In a nutshell, the higher concentration of ILs and more mixing time will achieve higher percentage of cellulose dissolved

Occupational safety and health assessment in metal industry within small and medium enterprise

According to annual report from the Social Security Organization (SOCSO) between years 2009 and 2011, metal industry has the highest reported number of accidents compared to the other manufacturing industry in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the actual causes of problems that lead to the accidents involving metal industries within SMEs. In this study, checklist through site visits has been used to collect the data. The overall result reveals that the main causes of accident are due to organization failure, human factor, machine failure and surrounding environment

Current status of industrial accident learning in Malaysia

The accident rate in Malaysia is decreasing; however, statistically it is still high if compared with other developing nations. One of the reasons why accidents keep on happening is due to poor learning from accidents. This paper discusses the level of accident learning from accident reports submitted to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Malaysia and the Society Security Organization (SOCSO) Malaysia involving 1,291 accident cases. Based on the quality and completeness of accident reports, their levels of learning were classified into five accident causation levels which are no, limited, fair, good and excellent learning

Statistical analysis of metalworking accidents within small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are known to be one of the major contributors to the national economy. However, in terms of occupational safety and health (OSH) implementation and performance, these SMEs, especially in the metalworking sector have yet to meet the necessary standard. This paper discusses the statistical analysis of accidents in metalworking industry by using accident reports submitted to the Department of Safety and Health (DOSH) and Social Security Organization (SOCSO) which involved 1635 accident cases. The main objective is to identify the real causes of accidents and recommend an appropriate action plan for accidents prevention at the workplace

Survey on employers commitment towards OSH and its implementation in the metalworking industry

The accident rate in metalworking industries does show a slight reduction over the years, but still so much higher compared to the other industries. The government of Malaysia has provided various incentives to improve this situation, however the problems still remain. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the commitment and implementation of occupational safety and health (OSH) aspect in the metal working industry. Thus, a survey has been carried out by posting 550 questionnaires to metal manufacturing companies throughout Malaysia. As many as 131 questionnaires have been returned and statistical analysis has been done. Analysis shows that the employer commitment for safety operation is high but its implementation is poor due to lack of resources and OSH knowledge

Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry Management (OSHCIM) implementation - academician's perspectives

The high incidents number of injuries and fatality rates in the construction industry are generally due to hazards on site. Early intervention of hazards could lead to safer construction processes. The Safety by Design (SbD) is a process that identifies hazard and assesses risks early in the project design stage, in comparison to during the construction stage. A study in Spain shows that there is still lack of emphasis on the SbD concept in higher education although the concept had been implemented for quite some time. The lack of tertiary education regarding SbD could lead to insufficient knowledge for the effective implementation of SbD by future professionals. As for the Malaysian construction industry, SbD will be soon implemented as the Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health in Construction Industry (Management) - OSHCIM. Therefore, this paper sought to review the perception of academician regarding OSHCIM implementation. The quantitative strategy is adopted, and a set of questionnaires are distributed among academicians involved in educating architecture, civil engineering, quantity surveying, mechanical and electrical engineering courses in Malaysia's Institute of Higher Learning. The research indicates that most of the academicians appear to agree that sufficient knowledge and the right attitude is essential for the successful implementation of SbD education in university. It seems that all academicians from different background have higher attitude mean score compared to their knowledge mean score. Even though some of the academicians might not be familiar with the concept, most of the academician was not against it and had a positive attitude towards it

Risk assessment of design components of building construction

Lack of designer's knowledge of construction safety risks and HSE personnel's knowledge of structural designs and means and methods of construction have been highlighted as significant barriers to the implementation of design for construction safety. These barriers often result in poor collaboration among designers and HSE personnel in addressing safety issues that lead to accidents and frequent work stoppages. This study explored the ability of HSE officers, engineers and superintendents to recognize and assess risk associated with constructing structural components of a building (foundation, columns, walls, beams and roofs). The objective was to determine how consensus is risk perceived among the three groups of field personnel. The paper used a quantitative methodology that evaluates safety risks related to performing construction activities to supports designers to carry out construction designs using a risk assessment-based approach. The methodology compares cumulative risks of five designs and ranks the severity level of each design. The methodology also compares risk perception among HSE personnel, engineers and superintendent. Using this method of risk assessment will identify significant risks during design stage and highlight them in advance. Thus, a range of risk elimination or mitigation measures will be implemented before and during construction. The study was done with a survey questionnaire, and 40 construction field personnel (12 HSE, 14 superintendents and 12 engineers) were asked to evaluate risk's level of severity and time of exposure for each activity. Data collected were analysed with SPSS Statistics using descriptive statistics, general linear models (Multivariate) and Bivariate correlations (Pearson and Spearman). The results of the analysis showed that roof construction was perceived to have the highest risk followed by beam, foundation, wall and column. The differences in risk perceptions among the respondents were found to be non-significant statistically