Needs assessment--Cost analysis--Modeling--Pilot studies--Sample programs--Training programs--Communication.

This project presents the marketing strategy that should be developed in order to be successful in the Latin American market. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the market's opportunities and threats linked to the customers/consumers expectations by using the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis.

Needs assessment--Cost analysis--Modeling--Pilot studies--Sample programs--Training programs--Communication.

Mid-sized metropolitan areas face very different challenges and transportation planning issues than those faced by larger metropolitan areas. This is especially true in the area of safety conscious planning (SCP). Conflicting organizational cultures and limited staff and technical tools are major challenges in SCP efforts for mid-sized metropolitan areas (200,000 to 600,000 population). This study surveyed mid-sized metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and conducted seven case studies of mid-sized metropolitan areas to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing SCP in such a context. The national survey and case studies focused on long range planning, data collection, human resources, technical analysis, and collaboration aspects of SCP as applied today. The results indicate that the majority of mid-sized MPOs have incorporated safety consideration into their long range transportation plans vision, goals and objectives, but some mid-sized MPOs are more proactive in the quantitative analysis of project safety outcomes than others. The dissertation recommends that the institutional and technical issues faced by mid-sized MPOs can be overcome by engaging all government levels of planning in SCP efforts that identify a safety champion in the management ranks, encourage state departments of transportation to provide mid-sized MPOs with more tools and training in SCP, promote a stronger relationship between the Governor s Safety Representative and the MPO, and create a more comprehensive forum for collaboration among safety professionals.

Historically, the traditional planning process has not given much attention to the road safety evaluation of development plans. To make an informed, defensible, and proactive choice between alternative plans and their safety implications, it is necessary to have a procedure for estimating and evaluating safety performance. A procedure is required for examining the influence of the urban network development on road safety, and in particular, determining the effects of the many variables that affect safety in urban planning. Safety planning models can provide a decision-support tool that facilitates the assessment of the safety implications of alternative network plans. The first objective of this research study is to develop safety planning models that are consistent with the regional models commonly used for urban transportation planning. Geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR), full-Bayesian semiparametric additive (FBSA), and traditional generalized linear modelling (GLM) techniques are used to develop the models. The study evaluates how well each model is able to handle spatial variations in the relationship between collision explanatory variables and the number of collisions in a zone. The evaluation uses measures of goodness of fit (GOF) and finds that the GWPR and FBSA models perform much better than the conventional GLM approach. There is little difference between the GOF values for the FBSA and GWPR models. The second objective of this research study is to examine the temporal transferability of the safety planning models and alternative updating methods. The updating procedures examine the Bayesian approach and application of calibration factors. The results show that the models are not temporally transferable in a strict statistical sense. However, relative measures of transferability indicate that the transferred models yield useful information in the application context. The results also show that the updated safety planning models using the Bayesian approach predict the number of collisions better than the calibration factor procedure.

Historically, the traditional planning process has not given much attention to the road safety evaluation of development plans. To make an informed, defensible, and proactive choice between alternative plans and their safety implications, it is necessary to have a procedure for estimating and evaluating safety performance. A procedure is required for examining the influence of the urban network development on road safety, and in particular, determining the effects of the many variables that affect safety in urban planning. Safety planning models can provide a decision-support tool that facilitates the assessment of the safety implications of alternative network plans. The first objective of this research study is to develop safety planning models that are consistent with the regional models commonly used for urban transportation planning. Geographically weighted Poisson regression (GWPR), full-Bayesian semiparametric additive (FBSA), and traditional generalized linear modelling (GLM) techniques are used to develop the models. The study evaluates how well each model is able to handle spatial variations in the relationship between collision explanatory variables and the number of collisions in a zone. The evaluation uses measures of goodness of fit (GOF) and finds that the GWPR and FBSA models perform much better than the conventional GLM approach. There is little difference between the GOF values for the FBSA and GWPR models. The second objective of this research study is to examine the temporal transferability of the safety planning models and alternative updating methods. The updating procedures examine the Bayesian approach and application of calibration factors. The results show that the models are not temporally transferable in a strict statistical sense. However, relative measures of transferability indicate that the transferred models yield useful information in the application context. The results also show that the updated safety planning models using the Bayesian approach predict the number of collisions better than the calibration factor procedure.

Suicide ranks as the second leading cause of death for youth aged 10-24. To address this public health problem, novel and effective risk mitigation interventions are needed. Evidence-based research has found that collaborative safety planning is a promising approach to reducing suicide risk. Traditionally, safety plans have been administered in a paper-based format. Emerging research has attempted to translate suicide prevention safety plans to mobile Health (mHealth) smart technologies (i.e., mobile apps); yet, this work is still in preliminary stages and lacks systematic assessment, especially mHealth apps for youth. Our research aims to highlight the needs of technological solution for suicide safety planning and call attention to the shortcomings of baseline safety planning apps so that mHealth researchers can build a better solution for youth to manage their mental health. To do this, we developed a mobile application for suicide safety planning called “SafeLINC.” We had young adult participants assess and compare this newly developed app with an open-source suicide safety planning app currently available for use (i.e., “Suicide Safety Plan") to identify whether either app would be useful for youth to manage their mental health through safety planning. SafeLINC is an Android and iOS app that incorporates the six dimensions of Stanley and Brown’s framework for suicide safety planning as well as sharing safety planning data with parents and clinicians, and visualizing safety planning data over time. We conducted a user study with ten college students (ages 18-21). We first aimed to understand how they currently managed their mental health and their perceptions. Then we asked them to complete a core set of tasks across both suicide safety planning applications to conduct a comparative analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the two apps. We also asked participants to suggest new features to incorporate into the apps that would better support their mental health and coping strategies. We found that most participants use a variety of emotional outlets to cope with their mental health; sometimes using online tools to support these outlets. When using the apps, participants overall preferred SafeLINC to the baseline app because it allowed them to connect with their support network, provided better guidance in the creation of their safety plans, and enabled them to keep track of changes to their mental health. However, participants identified barriers that could inhibit their use of safety planning applications. For example, the downsides of including parents or guardians in the support network, unclear terminologies, and reminding negative feelings were prominent perceptions while using the SafeLINC app. Participants offered suggestions relating to the weaknesses they observed in both apps. Our study highlights how suicide safety planning apps may be beneficial to manage mental health, but contextual factors may still affect usage. We provide recommendations for overcoming these challenges based on the insights gained from our study.

Safety of workers in the construction environment remains one of the greatest challenges faced by the construction industry today. Activity-based hazard identification and prevention is limited because construction safety information and knowledge tends to be scattered and fragmented throughout safety regulations, accident records, and experience. With the advancement of information technology in the building and construction industry, a missing link between effective activity-level construction planning and Building Information Modeling (BIM) becomes more evident. The objectives of this study are 1) to formalize the safety management knowledge and to integrate safety aspects into BIM, and 2) to facilitate activity-based hazard identification and prevention in construction planning. To start with, a Construction Safety Ontology is created to organize, store, and re-use construction safety knowledge. Secondly, activity-based workspace visualization and congestion identification methods are investigated to study the hazards caused by the interaction between activities. Computational algorithms are created to process and retrieve activity-based workspace parameters through location tracking data of workers collected by remote sensing technology. Lastly, by introducing workspace parameters into ontology and connecting the ontology with BIM, automated workspace analysis along with job hazard analysis are explored. Results indicate that potential safety hazards can be identified, recorded, analyzed, and prevented in BIM. This study integrates aspects of construction safety into current BIM workflow, which enables performing hazard identification and prevention early in the project planning phase.

The current research was a cross sectional research and was designed to assess the performance of the selected wind power company on compliance with health and management system OHSAS 1800:2007. One wind power company in Pakistan was selected for the research purpose. To collect quantitative data survey was conducted based on Questionnaire. For finding gaps within the existing practices and also for effectiveness of the research check list was designed. Questionnaires were distributed to the employees and one check list was given to the top management. The questionnaires were distributed randomly to the employees and out of fifteen questionnaires twelve were received back. After analyzing the data from the eleven questionnaires, the results shows that overall employees are 61 % strongly agree, 30 % agree, 2% disagree and 1% strongly disagree that the requirements of the system OHSAS 18001:2007 are met. 6% did not decide about it. The check list was received from top management after analyzing data from the check list results shows that top management of the subjected wind power organization is 74% strongly agree, 23% agree and 3 % undecided about the implementation of the system OHSAS 1800: 2007. From the results it can be concluded that both employees and top management of the subjected organization are agree with the fact that the H&S system OHSAS18001:2007 is being implemented well within the organization.

Som en följd av att byggbranschen implementerar och använder sig av BIM har nya yrkesroller skapats för att hantera och leda arbetet. Forskning har visat att det råder en osäkerhet gällande dessa yrkesroller, vilka arbetsuppgifter och vilka faser de ska vara delaktig i. BIM används generellt sett i större utsträckning i projekteringsfasen än produktionsfasen, samtidigt visar forskning att det finns fördelar om BIM används genom alla faser. Denna studie har undersökt hur det i planeringen inför produktion skulle kunna gå att använda sig av BIM, vilka förutsättningar som finns och vilken roll som ska leda arbetet. Baserat på en intervjustudie presenteras fyra arbetsgångar gällande några av produktionsplaneringens områden: Arbetsmiljö, APD-plan, Tidsplan, Kalkyl och hur dessa skulle kunna genomföras med stöd av BIM. I en enkätstudie har sedan platschefer, arbetsledare och kalkylatorer fått svara på frågor angående inställning, förutsättningar och ledarskap kopplat till arbetsgångarna. Fallstudien visar att det finns goda förutsättningar att använda BIM i produktionsplanering då de anställda ser en stor nytta och är positiva till att arbeta med stöd av BIM. Samtidigt konstateras att kunskapsnivå är blandad och skiljer mellan områdena vilket kan skapa ett hinder i implementeringen. För att arbeta med stöd av BIM anses den nya rollen, i studien kallad BIM-ledare, som viktig. I arbetet med kalkyl, där de anställda visar en högre erfarenhet och kunskap om BIM än övriga områden, anses BIM-ledaren framförallt behövas som tekniskt stöd. I övriga områden anses BIM-ledaren istället ha en mer närvarande roll och vara delaktig i framtagandet. BIM-ledaren anses behöva ha stor erfarenhet av byggprocessen. På vilken yrkesroll ansvaret för modellen skall ligga på i produktionsplanering finns en osäkerhet där BIM-ledare, platschef och projekteringsledare är tänkbara kandidater. Baserat på personalens bedömda engagemang och kompetens har studien utifrån teorin om situationsanpassat ledarskap presenterat olika ledarstilar som kan ses som vägledning för BIM-ledaren. För arbetet med kalkyl rekommenderas en delegerande ledarstil, för arbetet med arbetsmiljö och APD-planeringen en coachande och stödjande ledarstil medan arbetet med tidplan en mer instruerande ledarstil. / As a result of the AEC industry implementing and using BIM, new roles have been created to manage and lead the work. Research has shown that there are uncertainties regarding these roles, which tasks they should perform and which phases they will be involved in. BIM is generally used more during the design phase than the production phase, even though research shows that there are advantages if BIM is used throughout all phases. This study has investigated how the planning for production could make use of BIM, the conditions for implementation and the role that will manage the work. Based on an interview study, four areas of production planning: safety planning, site planning, time scheduling and calculation are examined. A scenario for each area and how these could be implemented with BIM is presented followed by a survey of the employees working on the matters and their thoughts and their attitude towards it. The case study shows that there are good conditions for using BIM in production planning as employees see great benefits and are positive about working with BIM. At the same time, it is noted that knowledge levels differentiate between the employees and between the areas, which can create an obstacle to the implementation. The BIM manager is considered important in all four areas. In the work with calculations, where employees show a higher experience and knowledge level of BIM than other areas, the role is considered to be needed as mostly technical support. In other areas, BIM managers are considered to take more part of the work process. They show that the BIM manager is considered to have extensive experience in construction. There is an uncertainty about the responsibility for the model in production planning where the BIM manager, site manager and design manager are all considered for the task. Based on the employees estimated commitment and competence, the study has presented different leadership styles with respect to the theory of situational leadership. This could be seen as guidance for the BIM manager. For the work with calculations, a delegating leadership style is recommended, for safety and site planning a coaching and supporting leadership style is recommended. For the work with time scheduling a more directing leadership style is recommended.