Human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) plays a crucial role in business success but is particularly vital to the furniture manufacturing industry. Unfortunately, the furniture manufacturing industry suffers from occupational injuries and illnesses resulting from ergonomically poorly designed systems. This thesis’s objective was to better understand HF/E through the furniture manufacturing industry’s managerial knowledge and opinions in order to design more productive, safer, and healthier systems. The study also aimed to raise manager awareness in the industry and introduce the potential HF/E benefits by providing current literature. Sixtyour American furniture manufacturing industry managers participated in a web-based questionnaire survey. The survey revealed that managers’ demographic properties and companies’ characteristics were some factors that affect managers’ awareness, knowledge, and opinions on HF/E. In general, managers were unfamiliar with HF/E and lacked a broad background on and knowledge of HF/E. In addition, companies, particularly small companies, lacked sufficient resources for HF/E.

This case study involved a safety and maintenance audit of Mercer University's intramural and recreational sports program. The purpose of the audit was to expose potentially hazardous conditions in the area of supervision, conduct of activities, facilities and equipment. A method of risk reduction in the form of a risk management strategy was implemented to control for potential injury producing conditions to participants. Regular safety inspections, the hiring and training of program supervisors, upgrading of facilities and equipment and a closer relationship between the intramural program and other campus departments were some of the remedial steps taken at Mercer to provide a relatively safe environment. / M.S.

Health and safety issues have always been a major problem and concern in the construction industry. Wherever reliable records are available, construction is found to be one of the most dangerous on health and safety criteria, particularly in developing countries. Efforts have been made to address this problem, but the results have been far from satisfactory, as construction accidents continue to dominate the overall construction industry. Despite the programs implemented by government authorities and measures introduced by companies themselves, the number of construction accidents still remains alarmingly high. In developing countries, safety rules usually do not exist; if they do, the regulatory authority is usually very weak in implementing such rules effectively. The UAE is one of developing countries that are currently enjoying a strong growth in construction activities. Unfortunately, some sectors of its construction industry suffer from poor safety and health conditions. Any framework of the existing occupational and health conditions is fragmented and inadequately enforced, making construction sites more hazardous. It may even be argued that relevant regulations are outdated and irrelevant in day-to-day construction operations. From this perspective this research explores the approved methods adopted in the UK in order to improve the existing code of practice in the UAE and thus introduce the foundations on which appropriate health and safety systems may be built. A framework for Health and Safety management in the UK is suggested. To reach this objective an overview of the published materials as well as the legislation has been undertaken. Questionnaires were designed and distributed to potential construction industry players and interview sessions have been conducted to meet the first objective of the project which to determine the health and safety measures currently applied on construction sites. In addition, structured interviews were carried out with selected managers from a selection of construction and oil companies, medium and large size. This thesis specifically, it investigates the safety perceptions, attitudes, and behaviour of construction workers and management safety practices. Based upon the analysis of the results, this study has demonstrated that the majority of those questioned UAE construction companies have a poor degree of risk awareness and do not seems to take health and safety as an important issue.

Thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of M.Sc. Building (Project Management in Construction) to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, 2017 / The construction industry plays an important role in our lives, more specifically the residential sector, which serves to help people access their basic human right to housing. Housing is a basic human right which most South Africans are yet to realise. The high demand for housing and other forms of infrastructure by both the private and public sectors have attracted entrepreneurs who fall under the small and medium contractor categories, to venture into the residential construction mostly as sub-contractors. The construction industry is predominantly constituted of small, micro and medium enterprises. The construction industry is also unfortunately widely known to be a hazardous and accident prone sector; whereby workers are exposed to health and safety hazards on a daily basis, some which lead to loss of life. Literature has found that small and micro enterprises (SMEs) experience more occupational health and safety problems in comparison to their medium and larger counterparts. A positive safety culture is considered as an essential contributor to improved occupational safety performance in construction. Due to the highly reported health and safety challenges faced by construction SMEs, the study seeks to determine the existing safety culture of small and micro enterprises operating in private residential construction sector. The researcher explores the safety perceptions, attitudes, and behaviour of construction workers and management safety practices on small residential construction sites and therefore determine the existing safety culture. An existing safety climate assessment questionnaire was administered to workers employed at the Waterfall Country Estate, Midrand and the findings indicated that there generally exists a good safety culture on the affluent residential construction site. Unsafe worker behaviours have been blamed as the lead cause of accidents on construction work sites, but the current health and safety status of industry calls for more accountability instead of blame shifting amongst stakeholders. Interventions and strategies that seek to address the occupational health and safety of the construction industry should not be reactive, but should rather be a proactive and anticipatory process. It is therefore crucial to begin exploring proactive approaches towards the establishment of a positive health and safety culture, whereby more commitment and accountability is shown from all key stakeholders who collectively have the means to influence and contribute towards the creation of a positive safety culture in residential construction. / XL2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, 2016 / Eskom is a state owned enterprise that generates, transmits and distributes electricity to various sectors. Hence, it supports South Africa’s growth and development aspirations by constructing new electricity infrastructure. This can be achieved by adopting safety, health, environmental and quality (SHEQ) management as a business imperative. Presently, there have been a number of incidents and accidents at some construction sites of the Eskom distribution sector in the Mpumalanga province, which are mainly due to non-compliance with construction health and safety. This research project aims to determine the compliance of contractors servicing Eskom. This is achieved by checking the compliance of the health and safety file of contractors with the Safety, Health and Environmental specification checklist of Eskom. The study aims to investigate if the use of the checklist has improved contractors’ compliance by 2014. In order to achieve these aims, factors are addressed relating to the current state of construction health and safety legislation; the impact of construction health and safety on the economy; project parameters; roles and responsibilities of parties involved on construction sites; performance of small and emerging contractors. The study shows that established contractors always achieved higher compliance when compared to the emerging contractors. In 2014, 90% of contractors complied with the checklist, hence in 2015/16 the contractors can be expected to meet the 100% requirement, therefore complying with the Eskom value of “Zero Harm”.

This thesis reports on the modification of the "Safecode" computer-program to monitor the safety of radio-isotope laboratories, and its application to 24 compliance audits in NSW during the period 1999 to 2006. Additionally, an attempt was made to predict the level of risk to persons working within those laboratories. Based on the current NSW radiation control legislation and the relevant Australian Standards a comprehensive audit checklist was developed for this project. Each safety requirement in those documents was used to develop a question, resulting in 187 questions in the checklist. The questions were grouped into the following seven Topic Elements: Licensing and Registration; Radiation Safety Administration; Personal and Area Monitoring; Dose Limit Compliance; Documentation/Records; RSO/RSC Qualifications and Duties; and Facilities. A novel feature was the allocation of "weighting factors" to individual questions and Elements. The computer program facilitated analysis of data and provided output in spreadsheet and graphical form. .The on-site physical audits were conducted using the project check-list, and were supplemented by discussions with the client's representative. The results showed significant variation between sites with overall compliance scores ranging from 37% to 94%. The reasons for this large variation stem from differences in local management regime; the appointment of an RSO at one site; variation in the extent of adoption of relevant codes of practice; and legislative weaknesses. Further analysis of the data presented legal, advisory and combined scores for each Element for each site; and variations over time. The graphic displays of the results were appreciated by client management. The formula developed to predict risk, based on the physical parameters alone, showed little relationship to the total audit scores. Statistical analysis of the two data groups by correlation coefficient confirmed this general finding. Development of the formula however served to indicate deficiencies in the Question Set, and the importance of human factors in achieving a high degree of safety.

The use of medical devices and drugs is constantly increasing in the United States. New techniques are developed, pharmaceutical companies manufactured thousands drugs and medical devices each year, these products are put on the market immediately; therefore, the consequences can be terrible. / In the US, thousands even millions of people suffer from personal injuries because they use a defective medical product; this is referred as a mass tort. The class action procedure is often used in order to repair these personal injuries. Plaintiffs always ask for the use of this procedure, but the federal American courts always refuse the certification of the class because the conditions of Rule 23(b)(3) are not fulfilled. This is what is called "the new trend of American courts". / The non application of the class action procedure leads to terrible results; victims of a defective medical product cannot receive compensation for the injury they are suffering from. These victims choose the class action procedure because of its advantages, if the class action is not certified they won't sue individually. If the real problem was the non respect of Rule 23(b)(3)'s conditions, a modification or a reform of the Rule would have been done. Unfortunately the laxity of the federal judges tends to influence the American Congress who ignores the need for a reform of this rule. This makes us wonder what the real justifications motivating this refusal of certification are.

This thesis reports on the modification of the "Safecode" computer-program to monitor the safety of radio-isotope laboratories, and its application to 24 compliance audits in NSW during the period 1999 to 2006. Additionally, an attempt was made to predict the level of risk to persons working within those laboratories. Based on the current NSW radiation control legislation and the relevant Australian Standards a comprehensive audit checklist was developed for this project. Each safety requirement in those documents was used to develop a question, resulting in 187 questions in the checklist. The questions were grouped into the following seven Topic Elements: Licensing and Registration; Radiation Safety Administration; Personal and Area Monitoring; Dose Limit Compliance; Documentation/Records; RSO/RSC Qualifications and Duties; and Facilities. A novel feature was the allocation of "weighting factors" to individual questions and Elements. The computer program facilitated analysis of data and provided output in spreadsheet and graphical form. .The on-site physical audits were conducted using the project check-list, and were supplemented by discussions with the client's representative. The results showed significant variation between sites with overall compliance scores ranging from 37% to 94%. The reasons for this large variation stem from differences in local management regime; the appointment of an RSO at one site; variation in the extent of adoption of relevant codes of practice; and legislative weaknesses. Further analysis of the data presented legal, advisory and combined scores for each Element for each site; and variations over time. The graphic displays of the results were appreciated by client management. The formula developed to predict risk, based on the physical parameters alone, showed little relationship to the total audit scores. Statistical analysis of the two data groups by correlation coefficient confirmed this general finding. Development of the formula however served to indicate deficiencies in the Question Set, and the importance of human factors in achieving a high degree of safety.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Background: Health care workers who sustain needle stick injuries are at risk of contracting blood-borne pathogens, e.g. Human Immunodeficiency Virus,Hepatitis B virus or Hepatitis C virus. Needle stick injuries are viewed as occupational hazards that can lead to health care workers developing acute or chronic diseases, which may lead to disability or death. Due to these healthrelated risks, health care workers are encouraged to adhere to universal precautions and standard operating procedures. In South Africa, the Occupational Health and Safety Act promulgated in 1993 required institutions draw up protocols in line with the regulations of the Act. However, if the health care workers do not comply with the protocols they may not be compensated for contracting a disease, e.g. Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection, following needle stick injuries. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the health care workers’ perceptions of the needle stick injury protocol at a level 2 hospital in Cape Town. Research design: A qualitative approach was used to make sense of health care workers’ compliance to the protocols when sustaining a needle stick injury. An exploratory descriptive, contextual design was used to carry out an in-depth investigation of the phenomenon. Sample: The study was done at Mowbray Maternity Hospital, a level 2 obstetric hospital in Cape Town. The researcher made use of convenience, purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the research data. Data collection: During the data collection phase, ethical considerations towards participants were ensured to include, among others, anonymity, autonomy and confidentiality of information. Data analysis: It included the following steps: reading and rereading,coding, displaying, reducing and interpreting the data. Findings: Some health care workers do not view sustaining a needle stick injury as risky enough to report the injury or even go for follow-up testing. This risky behaviour can have detrimental effects on their health. There is also a lack of knowledge about the institutional needle stick injury protocol. Recommendations: It is recommended to have educational and training sessions for all health care workers and new employees to familiarise them with the needle stick injury protocol and policies of the institution; to provide adequate management support 7 following work related injuries and to make health care workers aware of the consequences of non-compliance to institutional protocol.

Food service businesses in the United States have experienced millions of dollars in losses caused by foodborne illness outbreaks, which can lead to bankruptcy and business closures. More than 68% of all foodborne illness outbreaks occur in food service establishments. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore the strategies leaders of food service establishments use to implement food safety regulations. Force field analysis was the conceptual framework for this study. The population for the study consisted of 3 leaders of food service establishments located in the southeastern region of the United States. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and a review of the business policies and procedures that support compliance with critical food safety regulations. The methodological triangulation approach was used to assist in correlating the interview responses with company policies and procedures during the data analysis process. Yin's 5-step data analysis approach resulted in 3 themes: (a) organizational performance analysis for improvements in food safety, (b) strategies applied to improve food safety, and (c) stability of new strategies for food safety. The key strategies identified included adhering to the guidelines of food code and regulation, conducting employee training and awareness building, and working closely with food safety inspectors. The implications for positive social change include the potential to add knowledge to businesses, employees, and communities on the use of effective food safety strategies to minimize foodborne illnesses. Such results may lead to the improvement of service performance and long-term growth and sustainability of food service establishments.