The Health and Safety Executive estimated the annual cost to British employers and other duty holders failing to comply with health and safety requirements to be up to £18 billion. It is estimated that the construction industry contributed £2billion of these appalling statistics. To date, health and safety management is still perceived as being costly and counterproductive in the construction industry. This research investigated the net benefit of accident prevention and explored the relationship between preventative costs and these benefits, with a view to drawing attention to the economic consequences of effective/ineffective management of health and safety by contractors in the UK construction industry. The need to investigate the cost of accident prevention in relation to overall benefits of accident prevention is therefore deemed necessary. A quantitative research methodology was employed in investigating these costs and benefits within the UK construction industry. From the ratio analysis small contractors spend relatively higher proportions of their turnover in total on accident prevention than medium and large contractors, and medium contractors spend a higher proportion of their turnover in total on accident prevention than large contractors. The results also show that medium and small contractors gain relatively higher proportions of their turnover in total as benefits of accident prevention than large contractors. The benefits of accident prevention far outweigh the costs of accident prevention by a ratio approximately 3:1. The relationships between these costs and benefits were examined. The costs of accident prevention were found to be positively and significantly (P < 0.005) associated with benefits of accident prevention. These associations were modelled using simple linear regression, and from these models it can be inferred from the results that the more contractors spend on accident prevention the more they derive benefits of accident prevention, which would improve health and safety performance on construction sites. ii The developed model was subsequently validated using experts and practitioners opinion from the UK construction industry. This developed model should provide good guidance to assist contractors in developing effective and efficient health and safety management for UK construction industry.

Introdução - O cruzamento do modal ferroviário com rodoviário em um mesmo nível é chamado de passagem de nível (PN), os quais apresentam baixa freqüência de acidentes, porém elevados índices de gravidade. No dia 08 de setembro de 2010, em Americana-SP, ocorreu acidente envolvendo dois trens e um ônibus em uma PN, com dez vítimas fatais e dezessete feridos, dos quais quatro foram registrados como acidentes de trabalho. Objetivo - Analisar origens imediatas e latentes desse acidente visando evitar ou minimizar as chances de ocorrência de eventos semelhante no futuro. Método - Estudo de caso que foi realizado através da pesquisa de artigos, livros, jornais e reportagens televisivas sobre o assunto. Após essa etapa, foram realizadas entrevistas com pessoas envolvidas no acidente, como canceleiros, motoristas de ônibus e maquinistas. O Modelo de Análise e Prevenção de Acidentes de Trabalho (MAPA), que propõe uma abordagem sistêmica do caso, foi usado na análise do evento. Resultados - O local é mal iluminado e com presença de construções que dificultam a visualização dos trens. Essa PN apresenta intenso tráfego de pedestres e de carros mesmo com o sinal fechado. O motorista informou que o sinal vermelho só foi acionado quando o ônibus já estava no meio da PN, instantes antes do choque. As condições de trabalho dos motoristas de ônibus e maquinistas são inadequadas com uma prática freqüente de horas extras e às vezes não é respeitado o intervalo legal de 11 horas entre uma jornada e outra. As barreiras presentes na PN eram apenas simbólicas. O sistema de comunicação entre canceleiros, motoristas e maquinistas é dependente da ação humana sendo considerado frágil. Os entrevistados afirmaram já ter presenciado acidentes em PN, confirmando a fragilidade do sistema. O acidente foi investigado pelo Instituto de Criminalística que considerou o motorista do ônibus culpado pela ocorrência, sendo atualmente objeto de processo criminal correndo o risco de ser condenado e preso. Conclusão - O acidente foi um evento complexo, com a interação entre, pelo menos os seguintes componentes: o sistema de transporte rodoviário urbano, com destaque para a ação do motorista do ônibus; o transporte ferroviário e o trabalho dos maquinistas dos trens; o sistema de controle da PN que envolve o trabalho dos canceleiros encarregados da sinalização de aproximação dos trens; a concepção, gestão e manutenção da segurança da PN, o sistema viário urbano que inclui a iluminação pública / Introduction - The railway crossing with the road on the same level is called Grade Crossing (GC), which present low incidence of accidents, however, when they happen, they usually present high rates of severity. On September 8th, 2010, in Americana-SP, there was an accident involving two trains and one bus on a GC, with ten people died and seventeen were injured, four of which were registered as work accident. Aim - To analyze the immediate and latent causes of the accident attempting to avoid or minimize the chances of similar events to happen in the future. Method Case study that was performed by means of research from articles, books, newspapers and TV reports about the subject. After this phase, interviews were carried out with people involved in the accident, like watchmen, bus drivers and train operators. The Model of Analysis and Prevention of Work Accidents (MAPA), which proposes a systemic approach of the event, was used as a guide. Results - The site is poorly lit and with the presence buildings that obstruct the visualization of the trains coming to it. This GC has intense traffic of pedestrians and cars when the traffic signal is closed. The driver said that the red traffic signal was only triggered when the bus was in the middle of GC, moments before the collision. The work conditions bus drivers and driver of train are inadequate with a frequent practice of overtime and sometimes not respected the legal range of 11 hours between one day and another. At the time the accident happened, there were only symbolic barriers. The system of communication among watchmen, bus drivers and train operators depends on the human action being considered weak. The people interviewed said they had seen accidents on GC, which confirmed the fragility of the system. The accident was investigated by the Institute of Forensic Science which has considered the bus driver guilty of the occurrence, nowadays being object of criminal procedure and may be condemned and arrested. Conclusion - The accident was a complex event, with the interaction among, at least: the system of urban road transport, especially the action of the bus driver; the rail transport and the work of trains operators; the control system of GC, that involves the work of watchmen that are responsible by traffic signal at the approaching of trains; those in charge of design, management and maintenance of safety issues in the GCs and those in charge of the urban road system that includes lighting

Introdução - O cruzamento do modal ferroviário com rodoviário em um mesmo nível é chamado de passagem de nível (PN), os quais apresentam baixa freqüência de acidentes, porém elevados índices de gravidade. No dia 08 de setembro de 2010, em Americana-SP, ocorreu acidente envolvendo dois trens e um ônibus em uma PN, com dez vítimas fatais e dezessete feridos, dos quais quatro foram registrados como acidentes de trabalho. Objetivo - Analisar origens imediatas e latentes desse acidente visando evitar ou minimizar as chances de ocorrência de eventos semelhante no futuro. Método - Estudo de caso que foi realizado através da pesquisa de artigos, livros, jornais e reportagens televisivas sobre o assunto. Após essa etapa, foram realizadas entrevistas com pessoas envolvidas no acidente, como canceleiros, motoristas de ônibus e maquinistas. O Modelo de Análise e Prevenção de Acidentes de Trabalho (MAPA), que propõe uma abordagem sistêmica do caso, foi usado na análise do evento. Resultados - O local é mal iluminado e com presença de construções que dificultam a visualização dos trens. Essa PN apresenta intenso tráfego de pedestres e de carros mesmo com o sinal fechado. O motorista informou que o sinal vermelho só foi acionado quando o ônibus já estava no meio da PN, instantes antes do choque. As condições de trabalho dos motoristas de ônibus e maquinistas são inadequadas com uma prática freqüente de horas extras e às vezes não é respeitado o intervalo legal de 11 horas entre uma jornada e outra. As barreiras presentes na PN eram apenas simbólicas. O sistema de comunicação entre canceleiros, motoristas e maquinistas é dependente da ação humana sendo considerado frágil. Os entrevistados afirmaram já ter presenciado acidentes em PN, confirmando a fragilidade do sistema. O acidente foi investigado pelo Instituto de Criminalística que considerou o motorista do ônibus culpado pela ocorrência, sendo atualmente objeto de processo criminal correndo o risco de ser condenado e preso. Conclusão - O acidente foi um evento complexo, com a interação entre, pelo menos os seguintes componentes: o sistema de transporte rodoviário urbano, com destaque para a ação do motorista do ônibus; o transporte ferroviário e o trabalho dos maquinistas dos trens; o sistema de controle da PN que envolve o trabalho dos canceleiros encarregados da sinalização de aproximação dos trens; a concepção, gestão e manutenção da segurança da PN, o sistema viário urbano que inclui a iluminação pública / Introduction - The railway crossing with the road on the same level is called Grade Crossing (GC), which present low incidence of accidents, however, when they happen, they usually present high rates of severity. On September 8th, 2010, in Americana-SP, there was an accident involving two trains and one bus on a GC, with ten people died and seventeen were injured, four of which were registered as work accident. Aim - To analyze the immediate and latent causes of the accident attempting to avoid or minimize the chances of similar events to happen in the future. Method Case study that was performed by means of research from articles, books, newspapers and TV reports about the subject. After this phase, interviews were carried out with people involved in the accident, like watchmen, bus drivers and train operators. The Model of Analysis and Prevention of Work Accidents (MAPA), which proposes a systemic approach of the event, was used as a guide. Results - The site is poorly lit and with the presence buildings that obstruct the visualization of the trains coming to it. This GC has intense traffic of pedestrians and cars when the traffic signal is closed. The driver said that the red traffic signal was only triggered when the bus was in the middle of GC, moments before the collision. The work conditions bus drivers and driver of train are inadequate with a frequent practice of overtime and sometimes not respected the legal range of 11 hours between one day and another. At the time the accident happened, there were only symbolic barriers. The system of communication among watchmen, bus drivers and train operators depends on the human action being considered weak. The people interviewed said they had seen accidents on GC, which confirmed the fragility of the system. The accident was investigated by the Institute of Forensic Science which has considered the bus driver guilty of the occurrence, nowadays being object of criminal procedure and may be condemned and arrested. Conclusion - The accident was a complex event, with the interaction among, at least: the system of urban road transport, especially the action of the bus driver; the rail transport and the work of trains operators; the control system of GC, that involves the work of watchmen that are responsible by traffic signal at the approaching of trains; those in charge of design, management and maintenance of safety issues in the GCs and those in charge of the urban road system that includes lighting

Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users in terms of traffic safety. Public transit users mostly have a pedestrian trip before and/or after the transit one. Thus, pedestrian activity is produced at transit stops naturally. The main focus of this study is pedestrian safety problems around transit stops, more specifically bus stops. The proposed methodology first includes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) analyses of the pedestrian safety along the study corridors and around bus stops on them / this enables determination of accident-prone corridor segments and bus stops, respectively. Later, two analyses are studied to understand their correlation. Finally, linear regression analyses are performed to find the significant factors affecting pedestrian safety. These analyses use parameters created in the GIS analyses in the first part, as well as others (i.e. built environment, traffic network, etc.) that have potential impact on pedestrian movement or safety. In corridor safety models, the number of pedestrian accidents or accident density (or some transformation of them) is used as the dependent variable / while it is selected as the total number of accidents within a selected buffer zone in the bus stop safety models. The case study corridors are selected based on the high density of pedestrian accidents in Ankara, including the Central Business District (CBD) and four main arterials serve from CBD to different regions. The bus stops on corridors with high motorized and pedestrian flows are found to be more critical than others.

Benchmark calculations for the validation of the coupled neutron kinetics/thermohydraulic code complex DYN3D-ATHLET are described. Two benchmark problems concerning hypothetical accident scenarios with leaks in the steam system for a VVER-440 type reactor and the TMI-1 PWR have been solved. The first benchmark task has been defined by FZR in the frame of the international association "Atomic Energy Research" (AER), the second exercise has been organised under the auspices of the OECD. While in the first benchmark the break of the main steam collector in the sub-critical hot zero power state of the reactor was considered, the break of one of the two main steam lines at full reactor power was assumed in the OECD benchmark. Therefore, in this exercise the mixing of the coolant from the intact and the defect loops had to be considered, while in the AER benchmark the steam collector break causes a homogeneous overcooling of the primary circuit. In the AER benchmark, each participant had to use its own macroscopic cross section libraries. In the OECD benchmark, the cross sections were given in the benchmark definition. The main task of both benchmark problems was to analyse the re-criticality of the scrammed reactor due to the overcooling. For both benchmark problems, a good agreement of the DYN3D-ATHLET solution with the results of other codes was achieved. Differences in the time of re-criticality and the height of the power peak between various solutions of the AER benchmark can be explained by the use of different cross section data. Significant differences in the thermohydraulic parameters (coolant temperature, pressure) occurred only at the late stage of the transient during the emergency injection of highly borated water. In the OECD benchmark, a broader scattering of the thermohydraulic results can be observed, while a good agreement between the various 3D reactor core calculations with given thermohydraulic boundary conditions was achieved. Reasons for the differences in the thermohydraulics were assumed in the difficult modelling of the vertical once-through steam generator with steam superheating. Sensitivity analyses which considered the influence of the nodalisation and the impact of the coolant mixing model were performed for the DYN3D-ATHLET solution of the OECD benchmark. The solution of the benchmarks essentially contributed to the qualification of the code complex DYN3D-ATHLET as an advanced tool for the accident analysis for both VVER type reactors and Western PWRs.

Benchmark calculations for the validation of the coupled neutron kinetics/thermohydraulic code complex DYN3D-ATHLET are described. Two benchmark problems concerning hypothetical accident scenarios with leaks in the steam system for a VVER-440 type reactor and the TMI-1 PWR have been solved. The first benchmark task has been defined by FZR in the frame of the international association "Atomic Energy Research" (AER), the second exercise has been organised under the auspices of the OECD. While in the first benchmark the break of the main steam collector in the sub-critical hot zero power state of the reactor was considered, the break of one of the two main steam lines at full reactor power was assumed in the OECD benchmark. Therefore, in this exercise the mixing of the coolant from the intact and the defect loops had to be considered, while in the AER benchmark the steam collector break causes a homogeneous overcooling of the primary circuit. In the AER benchmark, each participant had to use its own macroscopic cross section libraries. In the OECD benchmark, the cross sections were given in the benchmark definition. The main task of both benchmark problems was to analyse the re-criticality of the scrammed reactor due to the overcooling. For both benchmark problems, a good agreement of the DYN3D-ATHLET solution with the results of other codes was achieved. Differences in the time of re-criticality and the height of the power peak between various solutions of the AER benchmark can be explained by the use of different cross section data. Significant differences in the thermohydraulic parameters (coolant temperature, pressure) occurred only at the late stage of the transient during the emergency injection of highly borated water. In the OECD benchmark, a broader scattering of the thermohydraulic results can be observed, while a good agreement between the various 3D reactor core calculations with given thermohydraulic boundary conditions was achieved. Reasons for the differences in the thermohydraulics were assumed in the difficult modelling of the vertical once-through steam generator with steam superheating. Sensitivity analyses which considered the influence of the nodalisation and the impact of the coolant mixing model were performed for the DYN3D-ATHLET solution of the OECD benchmark. The solution of the benchmarks essentially contributed to the qualification of the code complex DYN3D-ATHLET as an advanced tool for the accident analysis for both VVER type reactors and Western PWRs.

Dissertation describes new methodology of design turbo-roundabouts in Czech Republic. Especially innovative is approach to the design of traffic lanes with regards to standard vehicles and widening of traffic lanes according to their dimensions. Innovative is also approach to road signs, where details of current signs are modified, however, these details are important for drivers’ better understanding while driving through turbo-roundabouts. Dissertation fills legislative, but also technical, blank spot during turbo-roundabouts design and I believe that it will benefit particularly designers of these intersections.