Academic literature on the topic 'Health and Safety at Work Management System'

AbstractThe relevance of this work is intertwined with the problems of development of an occupational safety and health management system in the field of transport. Good working conditions and optimal safety should be of the priorities of the company management, because the safety and health together with profitability, quality and environment conservation are an integral aspect of their responsibilities. The realization that the safety and health of the employees are important indicators of the company is good understanding of the economic and organization benefits. The basic but underestimated factors for increasing the effectiveness of work are ensuring health and safety at work. Their provision within the organization’s context leads to decreasing expenses of any nature, to improving the organization’s image before the competitors and not last to increasing the effectiveness of labour.

Industrial activities are planning and controlling well through the implementation of occupational safety and Health management The purpose of this research is to know the implementation of occupational health and safety management in order to minimize work accidents. This research is done by qualitative research methods with a type of descriptive research. The results showed the planning and implementation of occupational safety and health management that has been well implemented so as to minimize work accidents.

Abstract Problems related to work safety have been accompanying humanity since the dawn of time. In times before the Industrial Revolution, human and animal muscle strength was used to work, and “safe work” solutions were developed and introduced individually by the user or supervising the work. Only a change in the way work was done due to the industrial revolution, the introduction of new energy sources, the transformation of manufactories into factories and the birth of the working class brought about greater, concrete changes. It was at that time that various machines and devices began to be introduced into the workplace, which on the one hand improved work and on the other hand created more and more potentially dangerous situations. Security was started holistically and institutionally. With the transformation and return of capitalism, the subject of real work safety returned. Health and safety was to be not only a fashionable slogan, but a value that was supposed to guarantee profit – in accordance with the principle that accidents reduce productivity. It was also connected with the process of adapting Polish law in the field of health and safety to the law of the European Union (EU), which resulted from Poland’s pursuit of EU membership. Moreover, an important factor initiating these changes was the interest of enterprises in quality management systems compliant with the ISO 9000 series and environmental management systems compliant with the ISO 14000 series, and related attempts to adapt the system management concept to the area of occupational health and safety, resulting in PN-N standards 18000 series. This publication analyzes the new standard PN-ISO 45001:2018 – “Occupational health and safety management systems – Requirements with guidance for use” comparing it with the standard PN-N 18001:2004 – “Occupational health and safety management. Requirements”.

Mainly based on Singapore’s workplace safety and health (construction) regulations 2007 and China’s safety management measures for section(subsection) works with major hazards 2009, the paper introduces and analyzes the Singapore’s safety management system for high-risk construction works, and simply compares it with the management mechanism of China’s section(subsection) works with major hazards, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) The application scopes of Singapore’s high-risk construction work permit-to-work system and China’s the management mechanism of section(subsection) works with major hazards are different, and generally speaking, the former includes more construction works than the latter. (2) The mechanisms of Singapore’s high-risk construction work permit-to-work and China’s management of section/ subsection works with major hazards are different. (3) In Singapore no independent construction safety supervision system exists, while in China it is usually required by the laws. (4) In Singapore any person who contravenes any provision of workplace safety and health (construction) regulations 2007 which imposes a duty on him shall be guilty of an offence and may be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years; in China any person who contravenes any provision of safety production law, building law and corresponding safety regulations but doesn’t lead to serious consequences shall not be liable on conviction to imprisonment. (5) In Singapore the safety assessor evaluating and endorsing the application for a permit-to-work must assume his lawful duty for his undue conducts and decisions, in China the safety experts responsible for checking the special safety construction scheme needn’t assume any lawful duty.

The occurrence of accidents at work is largely caused by human factors (unsafe act), i.e., the behavior that is not secure. And the fraction is caused by environmental factors (unsafe condition). Therefore, to ensure the safety and health of the medical personnel, non-medic personnel nor others who visited the hospital, it takes an effort to minimize the risk of danger that exists, it needs to be applied to the safety management system and Occupational Health Hospital. The purpose of this research was to analyze the effect of the application of safety and health management system Work Against a work Behavior And environmental conditions of work at the Dr. Harjono General Hospital of Ponorogo. The research design was analytic observational with a quantitative approach. Research on variable i.e. application of the occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) as the independent variable, the behavior of the working conditions and working environment as the dependent variable. This research population all employees in installations of polyclinics, inpatient care installations, medical record and pharmaceutical installation Dr. Harjono General Hospital of Ponorogo as many as 446 employees. Samples taken with the cluster random sampling technique as much as 258 respondents. Data is collected with instruments ceklist and processed in coding, editing, tabulating and scoring as well as tested with linear regression test. Linear regression results indicate that partially and simultaneously the value of p values there are shows so that 0.05 < influence influence the application of safety and health management system Work Against a work Behavior And Work in environmental conditions at Dr. Harjono General Hospital of Ponorogo. The existence of the application of management system of safety and occupational health will create the most benefits to the maintenance of a good workforce that can be seen from the behavior of the work and the working environment

The concept of occupational health and safety is not defined in Polish law. The only place where such a definition can be found is PN-N-1801:2004. Nevertheless, according to the Act on standardisation, the application of Polish Standards is voluntary. Activities in the field of occupational health and safety should be an integral part of business management. Companies from countries which are members of the European Union, in accordance with Directive 89/391/EEC, are obliged to implement standards related to occupational health and safety. The most commonly used and recognised standard for occupational health and safety management systems, in line with the specifics of each company, is the OHSAS 18001 international management system, while in Poland it is the PN-N-18001 standard. The study examined the scope of OHS at work among Research and Innovation Centre Pro-Akademia employees. The employees were subjected to surveys. The results obtained show that employees appreciate the importance of OHS regulations, but they do not always consciously comply with them. One of the tools that enabled author to prepare this article is analytic method called desk research. Desk Research is a research method that boils down to analyzing the records of available data sources, including in particular their compilation, mutual verification and processing. Such analysis is the basis for drawing conclusions about the examined problem. For example - the effect of the Desk Research analysis proceeded as part of the labor market survey is the diagnosis of the state of the labor market in the studied area, the characteristics of all its component groups as well as a description and verification of the actions taken by the institutions operating within it.

OBJECTIVE: Various support measures useful for promoting joint change approaches to the improvement of both shiftworking arrangements and safety and health management systems were reviewed. A particular focus was placed on enterprise-level risk reduction measures linking working hours and management systems. METHODS: Voluntary industry-based guidelines on night and shift work for department stores and the chemical, automobile and electrical equipment industries were examined. Survey results that had led to the compilation of practicable measures to be included in these guidelines were also examined. The common support measures were then compared with ergonomic checkpoints for plant maintenance work involving irregular nightshifts. On the basis of this analysis, a new night and shift work checklist was designed. RESULTS: Both the guidelines and the plant maintenance work checkpoints were found to commonly cover multiple issues including work schedules and various job-related risks. This close link between shiftwork arrangements and risk management was important as shiftworkers in these industries considered teamwork and welfare services to be essential for managing risks associated with night and shift work. Four areas found suitable for participatory improvement by managers and workers were work schedules, ergonomic work tasks, work environment and training. The checklist designed to facilitate participatory change processes covered all these areas. CONCLUSIONS: The checklist developed to describe feasible workplace actions was suitable for integration with comprehensive safety and health management systems and offered valuable opportunities for improving working time arrangements and job content together.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer six principles that health system leaders can apply to establish a governance and management system for the quality of care and patient safety. Design/methodology/approach Leaders of a large academic health system set a goal of high reliability and formed a quality board committee in 2011 to oversee quality and patient safety everywhere care was delivered. Leaders of the health system and every entity, including inpatient hospitals, home care companies, and ambulatory services staff the committee. The committee works with the management for each entity to set and achieve quality goals. Through this work, the six principles emerged to address management structures and processes. Findings The principles are: ensure there is oversight for quality everywhere care is delivered under the health system; create a framework to organize and report the work; identify care areas where quality is ambiguous or underdeveloped (i.e. islands of quality) and work to ensure there is reporting and accountability for quality measures; create a consolidated quality statement similar to a financial statement; ensure the integrity of the data used to measure and report quality and safety performance; and transparently report performance and create an explicit accountability model. Originality/value This governance and management system for quality and safety functions similar to a finance system, with quality performance documented and reported, data integrity monitored, and accountability for performance from board to bedside. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first description of how a board has taken this type of systematic approach to oversee the quality of care.

More needs to be done to improve safety and quality and to manage risks in health care. Existing processes are fragmented and there is no single comprehensive source of information about what goes wrong. An integrated framework for the management of safety, quality and risk is needed, with an information and incident management system based on a universal patient safety classification. The World Alliance for Patient Safety provides a platform for the development of a coherent approach; 43 desirable attributes for such an approach are discussed. An example of an incident management and information system serving a patient safety classification is presented, with a brief account of how and where it is currently used. Any such system is valueless unless it improves safety and quality. Quadruple-loop learning (personal, local, national and international) is proposed with examples of how an exemplar system has been successfully used at the various levels. There is currently an opportunity to “get it right” by international cooperation via the World Health Organization to develop an integrated framework incorporating systems that can accommodate information from all sources, manage and monitor things that go wrong, and allow the worldwide sharing of information and the dissemination of tools for the implementation of strategies which have been shown to work.

Historically society has, at various periods in time, protected the health, safety and welfare of those most disadvantaged by using socially based collective mechanisms. Within the United Kingdom the model used to achieve this collective protection has developed from proscription, under the Factories Acts, to a more self-regulatory and risk based approach advocated by Lord Roben's under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and its relevant statutory provisions. The body tasked with providing examples of good practice and regulating the provisions of the Act, The Health and Safety Executive, advocate a management-led model using the principles of total quality management (TQM). This model is one which purports to focus on a systematic and empowered approach by involving all staff in the evaluation and reduction of systematic error within processes throughout the whole organisation. It can be argued that the contemporary disadvantaged are no longer the children of the industrial revolution but are those members of society who seek employment yet are handicapped by society through disability or impairment- the paradigm of disability. This study sought to explore this paradigm of disability and TQM within the context of two contrasting industrial sectors - the engineering and retail sectors. The study sought to break new ground by exploring whether the TQM model, which advocates system totality, reduction in variation and continuous improvement as fundamental principles, does in fact provide improved cognitive adequacy (a construct of institutional responsibility, communication and problem resolution) within the paradigm of disability. The study used a triangulation methodology to collect qualitative data at the individual and institutional level. This involved a number of phases comprising group discussions, focus groups and self-completed questionnaires (n=1135) by economically active disabled, impaired and handicapped individuals and at the organisational level case study analysis (n=8) and self-completed questionnaires (n=2181) by institutional key players. Although the construct of disability is multifaceted, the study concluded that at the individual level a number of factors were perceived to be ranked higher and as such more important to disabled employees in maintaining their health, safety and welfare. These were further classified into 'software' and 'hardware' domains of a safety management system with institutional social support being most important. Social support comprised support, communication and trust and was perceived to be low at the organisational level. At the institutional or organisational level social support can be measured using the theory of cognitive adequacy comprising responsibility, communication and problem resolution. When measured at the organisational level, via the policy domain, cognitive adequacy was once more concluded to be low or absent. These results applied equally to individuals within both the retail and engineering sectors. The study also concluded that, at the organisational level, safety systems which can be categorised as formal did not exist to meet the needs of the disabled within the organisations studied. This was particularly evident at the policy domain level where it was noted that few companies had included provisions for the allocation of specifically defined responsibility and control. However there existed many informal sub-systems which had developed through group dynamics and personal interrelations. In many cases those tasked with operational responsibility were unaware of such sub-systems. There also existed many barriers within the disability paradigm to both the duty holder and disabled employees meeting specific duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In particular communication, both verbal and non-verbal, presented the highest ranked barrier to organisations achieving a high cognitive adequacy condition. Each construct was measured using contingency tables and log-linear analysis to determine any association between TQM and non-TQM organisations for the paradigm of disability. Significant differences in data acquisition, performance measurement and problem resolution existed between TQM and Non-TQM organisations. However in relation to the paradigm of disability, the study concluded that the data supported the null hypothesis that, in the context of the paradigm of disability, no significant differences were exhibited between the safety management systems (SMS) of organisations who had adopted TQM and those that had not. Holistically this study has provided a deeper understanding of the complexity of the disabled paradigm and safety provisions at work.

The maritime industry is vital to the Swedish trade and economy. Shipping has less environmental impact per ton transported goods than other transport modes. Furthermore, ships use the sea as their roads, thus not requiring additional impact on the environment in the form of building roads or tracks to be able to transport goods or people. The aim of this thesis is to identify the characteristics of the safety management approach and safety management systems (SMS) in five Swedish companies operating in the Swedish shipping industry. It furthermore explores whether a new approach to safety management such as Safety II and resilience engineering can offer a complementary view to the current safety management. The study design of this thesis has been a multiple case study. A literature review has been performed to gain insights into the domain and safety management in the domain in specific. Data has been gathered through semi-structured interviews with 10 respondents working within shipping or crew management companies. Five of the respondents work ashore with safety management and five of the respondents work onboard as Chief Officers or Chief Engineer. Chief Officers as well as Chief Engineers have responsibilities regarding safety for their respective department and thus have management positions within the operations. The results show that the participating companies’ safety management and SMSs are of the reactive kind. There is furthermore a gap between work as imagined, WAI, and work as done, WAD, that affects the suitability of the routines, procedures and equipment used in operations. Complexity of a system is also a contributing factor when it comes to safety management, and in the participating companies, aspects regarding complexity were identified at a regulatory, organisational and operational level. This affects the possibility to create routines and procedures that correspond to the demands, variations and situations encountered in operations. It is suggested in this thesis that a Safety II approach to safety management, along with the use of resilience engineering to develop and enhance the domain’s adaptability, can serve as a complement to the current safety management approach. Being able to adapt, respond and manage various unforeseen situations is a way of ensuring safety in operations even in complex socio-technical systems. The resilience assessment grid, RAG, is suggested as a tool to be developed to be usable in the participating companies. The RAG could serve as a tool to taper the gap between WAI and WAD, as well as to provide input to the development of indicators other than accidents for improving safety. Furthermore, it could also facilitate learning from everyday operations and what is going well – the everyday successes in everyday execution of tasks involved in operations.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to provide information from field realization of safety audit in industrail company using Self - Audit Handbook for SMEs. In case of significant deficiencies, propose a precaution for improvements in system of control and managemnt of safety.

Abstract Cold is a very common physical risk factor in workplaces in circumpolar regions. Cold has many detrimental effects on human health and performance, and on the safety, quality and productivity of work. In this study a systematic general Cold Risk Management Model was developed, applied and evaluated. The model can be integrated in a company’s or an organization’s occupational safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ) management systems and practices in workplaces. The Cold Risk Management Model and methods were later included in ISO 15743 Ergonomics of the thermal environment – Cold workplaces – Risk assessment and management. The Cold Risk Management Model and methods were applied in two case company’s SHEQ systems and practices in the fields of construction and maritime administration and services. Based on the case studies, the concrete cold risk management activities and the personnel training campaign resulted in immediate positive results and improved attitudes towards further development. At the national level, working in the cold was estimated to increase personnel costs in the construction industry annually by €50M, which is 3% of the industry’s annual personnel costs. This study also showed that the Cold Risk Management Model and methods are profitable. In the case construction company, the savings achieved by cold risk management activities at a construction site were 2.5 time the costs of those activities. A follow-up study in the case company in the field of maritime administration and services showed that implementation and dissemination of the Cold Risk Management Model and methods require systematic work also after the initial development process. The implementation process could and should be enhanced by early establishment of organization-wide guidelines, visible concrete actions, a training campaign and use of necessary external experts. This study also presents a Safety Management Matrix Model for analyzing development and implementation activities during the process time span
Tiivistelmä Kylmä on yksi yleisimmistä työympäristön riskitekijöistä pohjoisissa oloissamme. Kylmästä aiheutuu haittaa ihmisen toimintakyvylle ja terveydelle sekä työn turvallisuudelle, laadulle ja tuottavuudelle. Tässä väitöstutkimuksessa kehitettiin systemaattinen kylmäriskien hallintamalli osaksi yrityksen työterveys- ja työturvallisuus-, ympäristö- ja laatujohtamisjärjestelmiä (SHEQ). Kehitetty kylmäriskien hallintamalli menetelmineen on nykyisin osa standardia ”SFS-EN ISO 15743 Lämpöolojen ergonomia. Kylmät työpaikat. riskin arviointi ja hallinta”. Kylmäriskien hallintamallia ja sen menetelmiä sovellettiin ja edelleen kehitettiin kahdessa tapausyrityksessä rakennusalalla sekä merenkulun tukipalveluissa. Konkreettisista kehittämistoimenpiteistä ja henkilöstön koulutuksesta koettiin tapausyrityksissä saadun välitöntä hyötyä, ja ne johtivat positiivisiin asenteisiin jatkokehittämistyötä kohtaan. Tutkimuksessa arvioitiin kylmätyön myös lisäävän rakennusalan henkilöstökustannuksia vuosittain 50 miljoonalla eurolla, mikä oli 3 % alan vuotuisista palkkakustannuksista. Tapaustutkimuksen avulla osoitettiin, että kylmänhaittojen hallinta on kannattavaa. 20 henkilön rakennustyömaalla kylmänhaittojen hallinnalla saavutettavat säästöt olivat 2,5-kertaiset toimenpiteistä aiheutuneisiin kuluihin verrattuina. Merenkulun tukipalvelujen alalla toimivassa tapausyrityksessä tehdyn seurantatutkimuksen mukaan kylmäriskien hallintamallin käyttöönotto ja levittäminen yrityksessä vaatii kuitenkin aikaa ja systemaattista työtä. Mallin käyttöönottoa ja levittämistä voidaan tutkimuksen perusteella nopeuttaa kehittämistyön näkyvyydellä ja konkreettisuudella, koulutuksella, organisaatiotasoisten ohjeiden laatimisella aikaisessa vaiheessa sekä erityisesti asiantuntijatuen saatavuudella koko implementointivaiheen ajan. Tutkimuksessa syntyi myös turvallisuusjohtamismatriisi työkaluksi kehittämistyön suunnitteluun ja arviointiin

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the hazard identification, risk assessment and related determining controls aspects of occupational health and safety topic, within the framework of a safety management system, for the construction industry. To achieve this purpose, a literature survey is carried out with specific emphasis on the standards, guidelines, codes of practices and other documents published by authorized institutions and national legislation related with the subject. The Marmaray Project, which is considered as one of the major transportation infrastructure projects in Turkey, is chosen as the case study area. In the Marmaray Project, the case study is carried out at Ü
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dar Underground Station Construction Site as an example for the cut and coverunderground station construction and at Yedikule Tunnel Construction Site for the tunnel construction and achieved results are assessed within the context of this thesis.

The aim of this diploma thesis is a basic overview of system safety audit in the industrial enterprises with the application and evaluation of methodology of self audit in an industrial enterprises processed according to the Self-Audit Handbook for SMEs designed for small to medium-sized enterprises and to recommend measures to improve the occupational safety and health system.

The diploma thesis deals with preparation and implementation of an OHS audit in the industrial enterprise. In the theoretical part, contemporary trends in OHS are described and then attention is kept to the occupational safety, including injury rate in Czech republic and new requirements for occupational health and safety management system according to standard ČSN ISO 45001:2018. In the practical part, company FORTEX – AGS, a.s. is introduced, especially department of transport and mechanization, where was safety audit executed. Then there is assessed occupational health and safety management systém introduced, first by analyzing this system and then by internal audit OHS, in which were requirements new standard ČSN ISO 45001:2018 accounted. At the last part, recommendations are proposed to improvement of occupational health and safety management system and obtaining certificate ČSN ISO 45001:2018.

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The commitment assumed by Brazil to ILO in order to pursue actions toward the ILO/OSH-2001 adoption in the country poses the issue of modeling the institutional arrangement the set roles and relationship between government, standards organizations, health and safety organizations, professionals and other institutions to deploy the ILO/OSH-2001. This Thesis develop institutional arrangement models based on the current model and also in the ISO 9000 scheme and others. It is studied the US case with OSHA and VPP, the OHSAS 18001 and ANSI/AIHA Z-10, in addition to actual context of the regulating norms NR s. The scenarios developed are put to evaluation on feasibility, potential changes and effects on current MTE auditors work scheme. The main results are five scenarios developed and that the MTE auditors tend to be reactive to the change toward the ILO/OSH-2001.
A assinatura em 2005 de Termo de compromisso do Brasil em adotar a Diretriz de Sistema de Seguran?a e Sa?de Ocupacional da Organiza??o Internacional do Trabalho denominada ILO/OSH 2001 coloca o problema de modelar arranjos que definam pap?is e intera??es de governo, organiza??es de normas e de seguran?a e sa?de ocupacional, profissionais da ?rea e outras institui??es para implementar essa Diretriz. Nesta disserta??o investigam-se modelos alternativos de arranjos institucionais baseados seja em uma adapta??o direta do atual modelo normativo e de controle existente baseado no Minist?rio do Trabalho e Emprego, seja nos modelos existentes de certifica??o ISO 9000, e outros. O estudo investigou os modelos de Sistema de Gest?o de Seguran?a e Sa?de Ocupacional, dentre eles os modelos do Voluntary Protection Program da OHSA, a OHSAS 18001, ANSI/AIHA Z-10, al?m do contexto atual das Normas Regulamentadoras- NR?s. V?rios modelos de arranjos s?o desenvolvidos e avaliados conforme crit?rios. Adicionalmente, uma consulta explorat?ria com auditores-fiscais de seguran?a do trabalho do Minist?rio do Trabalho e Emprego foi realizada. Os principais resultados apontam para cen?rios que podem ser ?teis para a adequa??o do Brasil ao compromisso com a OIT e que os auditoresfiscais do MTE tendem a ser reativos a essa mudan?a

Dissertação apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Segurança e Higiene no Trabalho
A importância dos Sistemas de Gestão da SST nas organizações é reconhecida por todos os trabalhadores e partes interessadas, tendo como vantagem para a segurança e saúde dos trabalhadores a redução dos riscos de acidentes e das doenças profissionais. Para a gestão global das organizações podem-se salientar, entre outras, a redução de perdas por paragem de produção, a eliminação de sanções por incumprimento legal, melhoria da produtividade e melhoria da imagem da empresa (Nunes, 2010). O trabalho elaborado tem como objetivos contribuir para compreensão da OHSAS 18001 e dos seus requisitos, no âmbito da implementação de Sistemas de Gestão da SST numa organização, identificar as etapas para a sua implementação, e conhecer as vantagens e as limitações da sua aplicação. O método utilizado consistiu na pesquisa bibliográfica, em documentação sobre o normativo OHSAS 18001, entre outros documentos, que permitiram a interpretação da norma e das ações necessárias ao cumprimento dos requisitos. A implementação de um sistema de gestão da segurança e saúde do trabalho permite que as organizações controlem os seus riscos para a SST, dos colaboradores e das partes interessadas, alcançando a melhoria no seu desempenho e assegurando a conformidade com a política de SST.
Abstract: The importance of OSH management systems in organizations is recognized by all workers and stakeholders, with the advantage for the safety and health of workers at risk reduction of occupational accidents and diseases. For the overall management of organizations can be noted, among others, the reduction of losses by stopping production, the elimination of the legal sanctions for non-compliance, improved productivity and improved company image1 (Nunes, 2010). The elaborate work aims to contribute to understanding of OHSAS 18001 and its requirements in the implementation of OSH management systems in an organization, identify the steps to implement it, and know the advantages and limitations of its application. The method used was the literature research on documentation of OHSAS 18001 standards, among other documents, which allowed the interpretation of the rule and the actions necessary to meet the requirements. The implementation of a management system for safety and health at work enables organizations to control their risks for SST, employees and stakeholders, achieving improvements in their performance and ensuring compliance with the OSH policy.

In this thesis, methods used at present in occupational health and safety management are analyzed and a model safety management system is developed. History, development and recent occupational safety regulations in the United States of America and European Union are introduced to give a sight on this subject in developed countries. The suggested model is evaluated with work accident data taken from a company and hazard and risk analysis methods are used to investigate these accidents. Preventive measures to eliminate and reduce the consequences of these accidents are recommended. Finally a model safety management system which can be used in all types of industry is developed.

SUMMARY Current monograph represents and reviews key approaches to creating an effective internal quality and safety control system for an organization, based on patient-oriented approach, process approach, risk management, continuous process improvement and other methods including definition of all applied terms, a number of examples and step by step manuals on executing key measures and events to create and develop a quality control system and local documentation samples. Target audience for this monograph: hospital leadership, including CMO, deputy CMO on quality, head of quality control committee or designated quality control specialist, other medical workers. ABOUT «THE BASICS OF MEDICAL CARE QUALITY AND SAFETY PROVISION» All changes and reforms in healthcare should provide for medical care quality improvement, preservation of life and health of all citizens. Once an abstract word “quality” has its’ own specific meaning today, acquired by means of legislative validation of the term “medical care quality and safety”. Providing healthcare quality and safety is one of the key priorities within the confines of Russian Federation national policy for citizens’ health protection. Current issue represents actual knowledge and practical experience in terms of medical care quality and safety control, continuous medical organization efficiency improvement. Current issue addresses the matters of theoretical and practical aspects of introducing management and internal quality and safety control system in medical care. It also contains the methodological description of Proposals (practical recommendations) of Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Healthcare, developed based on global experience generalization, adapted to Russian specificity, aimed at quality and safety provision. Current issue represents a large number of samples, examples, templates and check-list tables. Data, accumulated in the monograph, allows the reader create a proper system of measures in a medical organization to comply with the order № 381-н of Ministry of Health of Russian Federation «On approving Requirements towards organizing and executing medical care internal quality and safety control». TARGET AUDIENCE Current issue is intended for a wide range of readers, interested in management: for healthcare organization leaders, CMOs and deputy CMOs, deputy CMOs on quality, quality control committee leaders or designated quality control specialists, physicians, nurses, medical academicians and students, and all specialists, interested in medical organizations’ stable development and improvement.

The monograph contains the results of research concerning, firstly, the ecosystem as a response to the challenges of the XXI century. Secondly, the problems of labor longevity and success in organizations that form an ecosystem approach to working with personnel, including through the use in practice of biomedical factors, socio-economic conditions, nagging as a "soft power" to push older workers to productive work. Thirdly, the realities and problems of combining work and private life, studied from several positions. Among them: the formation of corporate policy, corporate interest, professional orientation; the actual balance of "work — private life", as well as the optimization of labor behavior through the formation of a sense of self-esteem in the workplace, the management of employees ' experience. Fourth, systematization of the results of the health management study, taking into account the experience gained during the coronavirus pandemic — occupational safety management, health promotion in the organization, including the situation of self-isolation. Fifth, the concept of compliance in the personnel management system. For students, undergraduates, postgraduates, doctoral students, researchers studying or conducting research in the field of personnel management, as well as the teaching staff of universities and employers.

AbstractIt is critical to understand, analyze and improve the work system of medical residents in order to support the care processes in which they are involved, as well as their educational processes. The discipline of human factors (or ergonomics) (HFE) provides systems concepts and methods to improve the multi-faceted work system of medical residents and, therefore, care processes and educational processes, and outcomes for both patients and residents. In this chapter, we apply the SEIPS (Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety) model to the work system of residents, and use it to explain how the outcomes of patient safety and medical resident well-being are related. Various challenges need to be addressed in order to improve residents’ work system. In particular, it is critical to adopt a systems approach that can optimize multiple outcomes for a range of stakeholders. In line with the participatory ergonomics approach, we contend that residents have a critical role to play in improving their work system; we describe various ways that this can be accomplished.

AbstractThe increasing complexity and dynamicity of our society (and world of work) have meant that healthcare systems have and continue to change and consequently the state of healthcare systems continues to assume different characteristics. The causes of mortality are an excellent example of this rapid transformation: non-communicable diseases have become the leading cause of death, according to World Health Organization (WHO) data, but at the same time there are new problems emerging such as infectious diseases, like Ebola or some forms of influenza, which occur unexpectedly or without advanced warning. Many of these new diseases diffuse rapidly through the different parts of the globe due to the increasingly interconnected nature of the world. Another example of the healthcare transformation is the innovation associated with the introduction and development of advanced communication and technology systems (such as minimally invasive surgery and robotics, transplantation, automated antiblastic preparation) at all levels of care. Consequently, the social and technical dimensions of healthcare are becoming more and more complex and provide a significant challenge for all the stakeholders in the system to make sense of and ensure high quality healthcare. These stakeholders include but are not limited to patients and their families, caregivers, clinicians, managers, policymakers, regulators, and politicians. It is an inescapable truth that Humans are always going to be part of the healthcare systems, and it is these human, who by their very nature introduce variability and complexity to the system (we do not necessarily view this as a negative and this chapter will illustrate). A microlevel a central relationship in focus is that between the clinician and the patient, two human beings, making the health system a very peculiar organization compared to similarly high-risk organizations such as aviation or nuclear energy. This double human being system [1] requires significant effort (good design) in managing unpredictability through the development of personal and organization skills, such as the ability to react positively and rapidly to unexpected events and to adopt a resilient strategy for survival and advancement. In contrast to other similar industries, in terms of level of risk and system safety, healthcare settings are still plagued by numerous errors and negative events involving humans (and other elements) at various levels within the system. The emotional involvement is very high due to the exposure to social relationships daily and results in significant challenges to address both technical and non-technical issues simultaneously.

ABSTRACT Background: Hospital occupational health and safety is all activities to ensure and protect the safety and health of hospital human resources, patients, patient companions, visitors, and the hospital environment through efforts to prevent occupational accident and occupational disease in the hospital. It is necessary to support resources, organization, and policies in the implementation of occupational safety and health in hospitals in order to create a safe, secure and comfortable hospital condition. This study aimed to analyze the implementation of occupational safety and health at Hospital X Semarang, Central Java. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative study conducted at Hospital X Semarang, Central Java. A total of 6 informants consisting of the main informants (members of the hospital occupational health and safety team) and triangulation informants (head of the hospital occupational health and safety team) were enrolled in this study. The data were obtained from in-depth interview method. The data were analyzed descriptively. Results: The hospital already had and provided the special budget needed in the field of hospital occupational health and safety, such as 1) Activity and provision of hospital occupational health and safety infrastructure; 2) Human Resources (HR) and assigns personnel who have clear responsibilities, authorities, and obligations in handling hospital occupational health and safety; 3) Hospital occupational health and safety official team but with double work burden; and 4) Policies were owned and compiled in written form, dated, and endorsed by the main director as well as commitment from the top leadership. Conclusion: The implementation of occupational safety and health in hospital X is quite good. Meanwhile, there is still a double work burden and have no independent hospital occupational health and safety team. Keyword: resources, organization, policy, work safety, occupational health, hospital Correspondence: Dhimas Herdhianta, Masters Program of Health Promotion, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Diponegoro. Email: herdhianta@gmail.com. Mobile: 085749312412 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.04.09

Abstract Introduction In the United States, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) requires an offshore lease operator to implement a Safety and Environmental Management System (SEMS), and to have it audited at least once every 3 years to evaluate its compliance to the regulatory requirements detailed in 30 CFR 250, Subpart S. The first round of these SEMS audits, which concluded in 2013, was executed using varying audit styles – from system audits through to compliance audits. These varying audit styles, in turn, lead to differing types output, levels of detail, format and presentation.These diverse approaches may have been due, at least in part, to disparities in the expectations of stakeholders, differing interpretations of the use of the Center for Offshore Safety's (COS) SEMS Audit Protocol tools, use of other audit protocols, the experience-level of individual auditors, and the newness of the regulation. System audits are intended to be a holistic assessment of a system, its elements, and how the elements work together to achieve system objectives. Compliance audits, on the other hand, are intended to assess adherence to specific requirements. This white paper proposes that both types of audits should be used in tandem to reduce risk and increase confidence that a management system, and its verification programs, is operating as designed and meeting regulatory and company requirements.

The terms “risk assessment” and “risk management” are both commonly used to describe some method of identifying, understanding and controlling risks. In the pipeline industry, risks are encountered and must be addressed at the concept and design phase, construction and commissioning phases and the operations and maintenance phases. Risk assessment is a detailed, systematic examination of any pipeline activity, location or operation system to identify risks, understand the probability and potential consequences of the risks, and to review the current or planned approaches to controlling risks. Risk management is the set of ongoing management and engineering activities to ensure that risks are assessed and controlled to a reasonably achievable, tolerable level. A continuous improvement approach is also required. A wide variety of risk management or loss control activities are in use in the pipeline industry internationally. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss some of these techniques and the benefits to be derived from the application of risk management techniques throughout all phases of pipeline activity. Effective risk management allows organizations to preempt losses and get on top of managed system problems before incidents and accidents occur. After all, the vast majority of the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) problems at work sites are system problems, not operator problems. This paper will present an overview of several risk assessment and risk management techniques to acquaint conference participants with the information needed to select the most appropriate techniques to utilize during the various phases of pipeline development and operation.

Organizations are giving greater attention to workers' quality of life, seeking to implement measures related to health, safety and the environment. However, to implement these measures, it is necessary to follow standards defined by the Ministry of Labor. Due to the rigidity of standards and the amount of information needed to file in audits, companies spend a lot of time and effort. In this context, EHS was proposed, a web system that integrates information on health, occupational safety and environmental processes. The system aims to manage the information in a way that facilitates audits and helps management to take decisions and implement preventive measures in the company.

Attention to safety and health are of ever-increasing priority to industrial organizations. Good Safety is demanded by stockholders, employees, and the community while increasing injury costs provide additional motivation for safety and health excellence. Safety has always been a strong corporate value of DuPont and a vital part of its culture. As a result, DuPont has become a benchmark in safety and health performance. Since 1990, DuPont has re-engineered itself to meet global competition and address future vision. In the new re-engineered organizational structures, DuPont has also had to re-engineer its safety management systems. A special Discovery Team was chartered by DuPont senior management to determine the “best practices’ for safety and health being used in DuPont best-performing sites. A summary of the findings is presented, and five of the practices are discussed. Excellence in safety and health management is more important today than ever. Public awareness, federal and state regulations, and enlightened management have resulted in a widespread conviction that all employees have the right to work in an environment that will not adversely affect their safety and health. In DuPont, we believe that excellence in safety and health is necessary to achieve global competitiveness, maintain employee loyalty, and be an accepted member of the communities in which we make, handle, use, and transport products. Safety can also be the “catalyst” to achieving excellence in other important business parameters. The organizational and communication skills developed by management, individuals, and teams in safety can be directly applied to other company initiatives. As we look into the 21st Century, we must also recognize that new organizational structures (flatter with empowered teams) will require new safety management techniques and systems in order to maintain continuous improvement in safety performance. Injury costs, which have risen dramatically in the past twenty years, provide another incentive for safety and health excellence. Shown in the Figure 1, injury costs have increased even after correcting for inflation. Many companies have found these costs to be an “invisible drain” on earnings and profitability. In some organizations, significant initiatives have been launched to better manage the workers’ compensation systems. We have found that the ultimate solution is to prevent injuries and incidents before they occur. A globally-respected company, DuPont is regarded as a well-managed, extremely ethical firm that is the benchmark in industrial safety performance. Like many other companies, DuPont has re-engineered itself and downsized its operations since 1985. Through these changes, we have maintained dedication to our principles and developed new techniques to manage in these organizational environments. As a diversified company, our operations involve chemical process facilities, production line operations, field activities, and sales and distribution of materials. Our customer base is almost entirely industrial and yet we still maintain a high level of consumer awareness and positive perception. The DuPont concern for safety dates back to the early 1800s and the first days of the company. In 1802 E.I. DuPont, a Frenchman, began manufacturing quality grade explosives to fill America’s growing need to build roads, clear fields, increase mining output, and protect its recently won independence. Because explosives production is such a hazardous industry, DuPont recognized and accepted the need for an effective safety effort. The building walls of the first powder mill near Wilmington, Delaware, were built three stones thick on three sides. The back remained open to the Brandywine River to direct any explosive forces away from other buildings and employees. To set the safety example, DuPont also built his home and the homes of his managers next to the powder yard. An effective safety program was a necessity. It represented the first defense against instant corporate liquidation. Safety needs more than a well-designed plant, however. In 1811, work rules were posted in the mill to guide employee work habits. Though not nearly as sophisticated as the safety standards of today, they did introduce an important basic concept — that safety must be a line management responsibility. Later, DuPont introduced an employee health program and hired a company doctor. An early step taken in 1912 was the keeping of safety statistics, approximately 60 years before the federal requirement to do so. We had a visible measure of our safety performance and were determined that we were going to improve it. When the nation entered World War I, the DuPont Company supplied 40 percent of the explosives used by the Allied Forces, more than 1.5 billion pounds. To accomplish this task, over 30,000 new employees were hired and trained to build and operate many plants. Among these facilities was the largest smokeless powder plant the world had ever seen. The new plant was producing granulated powder in a record 116 days after ground breaking. The trends on the safety performance chart reflect the problems that a large new work force can pose until the employees fully accept the company’s safety philosophy. The first arrow reflects the World War I scale-up, and the second arrow represents rapid diversification into new businesses during the 1920s. These instances of significant deterioration in safety performance reinforced DuPont’s commitment to reduce the unsafe acts that were causing 96 percent of our injuries. Only 4 percent of injuries result from unsafe conditions or equipment — the remainder result from the unsafe acts of people. This is an important concept if we are to focus our attention on reducing injuries and incidents within the work environment. World War II brought on a similar set of demands. The story was similar to World War I but the numbers were even more astonishing: one billion dollars in capital expenditures, 54 new plants, 75,000 additional employees, and 4.5 billion pounds of explosives produced — 20 percent of the volume used by the Allied Forces. Yet, the performance during the war years showed no significant deviation from the pre-war years. In 1941, the DuPont Company was 10 times safer than all industry and 9 times safer than the Chemical Industry. Management and the line organization were finally working as they should to control the real causes of injuries. Today, DuPont is about 50 times safer than US industrial safety performance averages. Comparing performance to other industries, it is interesting to note that seemingly “hazard-free” industries seem to have extraordinarily high injury rates. This is because, as DuPont has found out, performance is a function of injury prevention and safety management systems, not hazard exposure. Our success in safety results from a sound safety management philosophy. Each of the 125 DuPont facilities is responsible for its own safety program, progress, and performance. However, management at each of these facilities approaches safety from the same fundamental and sound philosophy. This philosophy can be expressed in eleven straightforward principles. The first principle is that all injuries can be prevented. That statement may seem a bit optimistic. In fact, we believe that this is a realistic goal and not just a theoretical objective. Our safety performance proves that the objective is achievable. We have plants with over 2,000 employees that have operated for over 10 years without a lost time injury. As injuries and incidents are investigated, we can always identify actions that could have prevented that incident. If we manage safety in a proactive — rather than reactive — manner, we will eliminate injuries by reducing the acts and conditions that cause them. The second principle is that management, which includes all levels through first-line supervisors, is responsible and accountable for preventing injuries. Only when senior management exerts sustained and consistent leadership in establishing safety goals, demanding accountability for safety performance and providing the necessary resources, can a safety program be effective in an industrial environment. The third principle states that, while recognizing management responsibility, it takes the combined energy of the entire organization to reach sustained, continuous improvement in safety and health performance. Creating an environment in which employees feel ownership for the safety effort and make significant contributions is an essential task for management, and one that needs deliberate and ongoing attention. The fourth principle is a corollary to the first principle that all injuries are preventable. It holds that all operating exposures that may result in injuries or illnesses can be controlled. No matter what the exposure, an effective safeguard can be provided. It is preferable, of course, to eliminate sources of danger, but when this is not reasonable or practical, supervision must specify measures such as special training, safety devices, and protective clothing. Our fifth safety principle states that safety is a condition of employment. Conscientious assumption of safety responsibility is required from all employees from their first day on the job. Each employee must be convinced that he or she has a responsibility for working safely. The sixth safety principle: Employees must be trained to work safely. We have found that an awareness for safety does not come naturally and that people have to be trained to work safely. With effective training programs to teach, motivate, and sustain safety knowledge, all injuries and illnesses can be eliminated. Our seventh principle holds that management must audit performance on the workplace to assess safety program success. Comprehensive inspections of both facilities and programs not only confirm their effectiveness in achieving the desired performance, but also detect specific problems and help to identify weaknesses in the safety effort. The Company’s eighth principle states that all deficiencies must be corrected promptly. Without prompt action, risk of injuries will increase and, even more important, the credibility of management’s safety efforts will suffer. Our ninth principle is a statement that off-the-job safety is an important part of the overall safety effort. We do not expect nor want employees to “turn safety on” as they come to work and “turn it off” when they go home. The company safety culture truly becomes of the individual employee’s way of thinking. The tenth principle recognizes that it’s good business to prevent injuries. Injuries cost money. However, hidden or indirect costs usually exceed the direct cost. Our last principle is the most important. Safety must be integrated as core business and personal value. There are two reasons for this. First, we’ve learned from almost 200 years of experience that 96 percent of safety incidents are directly caused by the action of people, not by faulty equipment or inadequate safety standards. But conversely, it is our people who provide the solutions to our safety problems. They are the one essential ingredient in the recipe for a safe workplace. Intelligent, trained, and motivated employees are any company’s greatest resource. Our success in safety depends upon the men and women in our plants following procedures, participating actively in training, and identifying and alerting each other and management to potential hazards. By demonstrating a real concern for each employee, management helps establish a mutual respect, and the foundation is laid for a solid safety program. This, of course, is also the foundation for good employee relations. An important lesson learned in DuPont is that the majority of injuries are caused by unsafe acts and at-risk behaviors rather than unsafe equipment or conditions. In fact, in several DuPont studies it was estimated that 96 percent of injuries are caused by unsafe acts. This was particularly revealing when considering safety audits — if audits were only focused on conditions, at best we could only prevent four percent of our injuries. By establishing management systems for safety auditing that focus on people, including audit training, techniques, and plans, all incidents are preventable. Of course, employee contribution and involvement in auditing leads to sustainability through stakeholdership in the system. Management safety audits help to make manage the “behavioral balance.” Every job and task performed at a site can do be done at-risk or safely. The essence of a good safety system ensures that safe behavior is the accepted norm amongst employees, and that it is the expected and respected way of doing things. Shifting employees norms contributes mightily to changing culture. The management safety audit provides a way to quantify these norms. DuPont safety performance has continued to improve since we began keeping records in 1911 until about 1990. In the 1990–1994 time frame, performance deteriorated as shown in the chart that follows: This increase in injuries caused great concern to senior DuPont management as well as employees. It occurred while the corporation was undergoing changes in organization. In order to sustain our technological, competitive, and business leadership positions, DuPont began re-engineering itself beginning in about 1990. New streamlined organizational structures and collaborative work processes eliminated many positions and levels of management and supervision. The total employment of the company was reduced about 25 percent during these four years. In our traditional hierarchical organization structures, every level of supervision and management knew exactly what they were expected to do with safety, and all had important roles. As many of these levels were eliminated, new systems needed to be identified for these new organizations. In early 1995, Edgar S. Woolard, DuPont Chairman, chartered a Corporate Discovery Team to look for processes that will put DuPont on a consistent path toward a goal of zero injuries and occupational illnesses. The cross-functional team used a mode of “discovery through learning” from as many DuPont employees and sites around the world. The Discovery Team fostered the rapid sharing and leveraging of “best practices” and innovative approaches being pursued at DuPont’s plants, field sites, laboratories, and office locations. In short, the team examined the company’s current state, described the future state, identified barriers between the two, and recommended key ways to overcome these barriers. After reporting back to executive management in April, 1995, the Discovery Team was realigned to help organizations implement their recommendations. The Discovery Team reconfirmed key values in DuPont — in short, that all injuries, incidents, and occupational illnesses are preventable and that safety is a source of competitive advantage. As such, the steps taken to improve safety performance also improve overall competitiveness. Senior management made this belief clear: “We will strengthen our business by making safety excellence an integral part of all business activities.” One of the key findings of the Discovery Team was the identification of the best practices used within the company, which are listed below: ▪ Felt Leadership – Management Commitment ▪ Business Integration ▪ Responsibility and Accountability ▪ Individual/Team Involvement and Influence ▪ Contractor Safety ▪ Metrics and Measurements ▪ Communications ▪ Rewards and Recognition ▪ Caring Interdependent Culture; Team-Based Work Process and Systems ▪ Performance Standards and Operating Discipline ▪ Training/Capability ▪ Technology ▪ Safety and Health Resources ▪ Management and Team Audits ▪ Deviation Investigation ▪ Risk Management and Emergency Response ▪ Process Safety ▪ Off-the-Job Safety and Health Education Attention to each of these best practices is essential to achieve sustained improvements in safety and health. The Discovery Implementation in conjunction with DuPont Safety and Environmental Management Services has developed a Safety Self-Assessment around these systems. In this presentation, we will discuss a few of these practices and learn what they mean. Paper published with permission.

U. S. commercial reactor plants are installing spent fuel storage facilities formally called Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installations (ISFSI) to provide needed storage space for spent nuclear fuel assemblies. Although this might be a primary objective for the utility that owns the plant, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (U.S. NRC) has other priorities as addressed by ISFSI regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 72. These regulations establish a number of criteria that ensure that above all, the storage of spent nuclear fuel does not adversely affect the health and safety of the public or the environment. There are 3 primary ISFSI design activities that ensure the health and safety of the public and protection of the environment: site selection, storage system selection, and storage facility design. The regulatory requirements that address ISFSI site selection are found in 10 CFR 72, Subpart E, “Siting Evaluation Factors.” This section requires that potential ISFSI sites be assessed for impacts such as site characteristics that may affect safety or the environment, external natural and man-induced events, radiological and other environmental conditions, floodplains and natural phenomena, man-made facilities and activities that could endanger the ISFSI, and construction, operation, and decommission activities. All of these potential impacts must be carefully evaluated. First, the ISFSI capacity requirements should be determined. Potential sites should then be evaluated for siting impacts to ensure the site has adequate space, it can be licensed, it will minimize radiological doses to the general public and on-site workers, and construction, operation, and decommissioning won’t have a major effect on the environment or nearby population. The regulatory requirements that address storage system selection are found in 10 CFR 72, Subpart F, “General Design Criteria.” This section requires that the storage system be designed to withstand environmental conditions, natural phenomena, fires and explosions and that it includes confinement barriers, retrievability measures, and criticality safety. In order to be licensed by the U. S. NRC, all spent fuel storage systems must be evaluated to show how they meet these requirements. U.S. NRC approval of the system ensures that the requirements have been met and therefore ensure the health and safety of the public and environment are protected. The regulatory requirements that address the ISFSI design are also found in 10 CFR 72, Subpart F as well as 10 CFR 72, Subpart H, “Physical Protection.” Like the storage systems, the ISFSI site must be designed to withstand environmental conditions, natural phenomena, fires, and explosions. But the design must also include security provisions. Security features protect the spent fuel from attack or sabotage and therefore protect the health and safety of the public and the environment. The primary potential impact of spent fuel storage is radiation dose. The key regulatory requirement that addresses radiation dose is found in 10 CFR 72.104. This section requires that the dose to any individual member of the public not exceed 0.25 mSv (25 mrem) to the whole body, 0.75 mSv (75 mrem) to the thyroid, and 0.25 mSv (25 mrem) to any other organ, from exposure to direct radiation from the ISFSI, radioactive liquid or gaseous effluents, and radiation from other nearby nuclear facilities. Design features of the storage system and ISFSI include shielding by the cask enclosure, distance, berms as required, etc. to attenuate direct radiation, and confinement provisions to prevent radiological effluent leakage. The ISFSI must be located such that the cumulative doses from the ISFSI and reactor plant do not exceed regulatory requirements. Thus it can be seen that ISFSI site selection, storage system selection, and storage facility design all work together to ensure the health and safety of the public and environment are protected. Comments regarding the contents of this paper may be submitted to the author, Donald W. Lewis, Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, 9201 E. Dry Creek Road, Centennial, Colorado, 80112, U.S.A.

As with the storage of all radioactive materials, the storage of spent nuclear fuel (SF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) must conform to safety requirements. Safety aspects like safe enclosure of radioactive materials, safe removal of decay heat, nuclear criticality safety and avoidance of unnecessary radiation exposure must be achieved throughout the storage period. The implementation of these safety requirements can be achieved by dry storage of SF and HLW in casks as well as in other systems such as dry vault storage systems or spent fuel pools, where the latter is neither a dry nor a passive system. After the events of Fukushima, the advantages of passively and inherently safe dry storage systems have become more obvious. TÜV and BAM, who work as independent experts for the competent authorities, present the licensing process for sites and casks and inform about spent nuclear fuel management and issues concerning dry storage of spent nuclear fuel, based on their long experience in these fields. All safety relevant issues like safe enclosure, shielding, removal of the decay heat or behavior of cask and building under accident conditions are checked and validated with state-of-the-art methods and computer codes before the license approval. It is shown how dry storage systems can ensure the compliance with the mentioned safety criteria over a long storage period. Exemplarily, the process of licensing, erection and operation of selected German dry storage facilities is presented.

WESKEM, LLC’s Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) Department had previously assessed that a lack of consistency, poor communication and use of antiquated communication tools could result in varying operating practices, as well as a failure to capture and disseminate appropriate Integrated Safety Management (ISM) information. To address these issues, the ES&H Department established an Activity Hazard Review (AHR)/Activity Hazard Analysis (AHA) process for systematically identifying, assessing, and controlling hazards associated with project work activities during work planning and execution. Depending on the scope of a project, information from field walkdowns and table-top meetings are collected on an AHR form. The AHA then documents the potential failure and consequence scenarios for a particular hazard. Also, the AHA recommends whether the type of mitigation appears appropriate or whether additional controls should be implemented. Since the application is web based, the information is captured into a single system and organized according to the ≥200 work activities already recorded in the database. Using the streamlined AHA method improved cycle time from over four hours to an average of one hour, allowing more time to analyze unique hazards and develop appropriate controls. Also, the enhanced configuration control created a readily available AHA library to research and utilize along with standardizing hazard analysis and control selection across four separate work sites located in Kentucky and Tennessee. The AHR/AHA system provides an applied example of how the ISM concept evolved into a standardized field-deployed tool yieling considerable efficiency gains in project planning and resource utilization. Employee safety is preserved through detailed planning that now requires only a portion of the time previously necessary. The available resources can then be applied to implementing appropriate engineering, administrative and personal protective equipment controls in the field.

Prognostics and health management (PHM) frameworks are widely used in engineered systems, such as manufacturing equipment, aircraft, and vehicles, to improve reliability, maintainability, and safety. Prognostic information for impending failures and remaining useful life is essential to inform decision-making by enabling cost versus risk estimates of maintenance actions. These estimates are generally provided by physics-based or data-driven models developed on historical information. Although current models provide some predictive capabilities, the ability to represent individualized dynamic factors that affect system health is limited. To address these shortcomings, we examine the biological phenomenon of epigenetics. Epigenetics provides insight into how environmental factors affect genetic expression in an organism, providing system health information that can be useful for predictions of future state. The means by which environmental factors influence epigenetic modifications leading to observable traits can be correlated to circumstances affecting system health. In this paper, we investigate the general parallels between the biological effects of epigenetic changes on cellular DNA to the influences leading to either system degradation and compromise, or improved system health. We also review a variety of epigenetic computational models and concepts, and present a general modeling framework to support adaptive system prognostics.

Background. Timely discharge of hospitalized patients can prevent patient harm, improve patient satisfaction and quality of life, and reduce costs. Numerous strategies have been tested to improve the efficiency and safety of patient recovery and discharge, but hospitals continue to face challenges. Purpose. This Technical Brief aimed to identify and synthesize current knowledge and emerging concepts regarding systematic strategies that hospitals and health systems can implement to reduce length of stay (LOS), with emphasis on medically complex or vulnerable patients at high risk for prolonged LOS due to clinical, social, or economic barriers to timely discharge. Methods. We conducted a structured search for published and unpublished studies and conducted interviews with Key Informants representing vulnerable patients, hospitals, health systems, and clinicians. The interviews provided guidance on our research protocol, search strategy, and analysis. Due to the large and diverse evidence base, we limited our evaluation to systematic reviews of interventions to decrease hospital LOS for patients at potentially higher risk for delayed discharge; primary research studies were not included, and searches were restricted to reviews published since 2010. We cataloged the characteristics of relevant interventions and assessed evidence of their effectiveness. Findings. Our searches yielded 4,364 potential studies. After screening, we included 19 systematic reviews reported in 20 articles. The reviews described eight strategies for reducing LOS: discharge planning; geriatric assessment or consultation; medication management; clinical pathways; inter- or multidisciplinary care; case management; hospitalist services; and telehealth. All reviews included adult patients, and two reviews also included children. Interventions were frequently designed for older (often frail) patients or patients with chronic illness. One review included pregnant women at high risk for premature delivery. No reviews focused on factors linking patient vulnerability with social determinants of health. The reviews reported few details about hospital setting, context, or resources associated with the interventions studied. Evidence for effectiveness of interventions was generally not robust and often inconsistent—for example, we identified six reviews of discharge planning; three found no effect on LOS, two found LOS decreased, and one reported an increase. Many reviews also reported patient readmission rates and mortality but with similarly inconsistent results. Conclusions. A broad range of strategies have been employed to reduce LOS, but rigorous systematic reviews have not consistently demonstrated effectiveness within medically complex, high-risk, and vulnerable populations. Health system leaders, researchers, and policymakers must collaborate to address these needs.

The Center for Plant Health Science and Technology (CPHST) was designed and developed to support the regulatory decisions and operations of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program through methods development work, scientific investigation, analyses, and technology—all in an effort to safeguard U.S. agriculture and natural resources. This 2008 CPHST Annual Report is intended to offer an in-depth look at the status of its programs and the progress it has made toward the Center’s long-term strategic goals. One of CPHST’s most significant efforts in 2008 was to initiate efforts to improve the Center’s organizational transparency and overall responsiveness to the needs of its stakeholders. As a result of its focus in this area, CPHST is now developing a new workflow process that allows the customers to easily request and monitor projects and ensures that the highest priority projects are funded for successful delivery. This new system will allow CPHST to more dynamically identify the needs of the agency, more effectively allocate and utilize resources, and provide its customers timely information regarding a project’s status. Thus far, while still very much a work in progress, this new process is proving to be successful, and will continue to advance and expand the service to its customers and staff. The considerable and growing concern of homeland security and the management of critical issues drives CPHST to lead the methods development of science-based systems for prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. CPHST is recognized nationally and internationally for its leadership in scientific developments to battle plant pests and diseases.

The National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC) is a world leader in providing science-based solutions to complex issues of wildlife damage management. As the research arm of Wildlife Services (WS) program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, NWRC work with WS operational staff to provide Federal leadership and expertise to resolve wildlife conflicts related to agriculture, livestock, human health and safety (including wildlife diseases), invasive species, and threatened and endangered species. NWRC is committed to finding nonlethal solutions to reduce wildlife damage to agricultural crops, aquaculture, and natural resources. As part of WS' strategic plan to improve the coexistence of people and wildlife, NWRC has identified four strategic program goals: (1) developing methods, (2) providing wildlife services, (3) valuing and investing in people, and (4) enhancing information and communication. WS is dedicated to helping meet the wildlife damage management needs of the United States by building on NWRC's strengths in these four key areas. This annual research highlights report is structured around these programs goals.