Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Tampere University of Technology, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-174). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Technical University of Denmark, 2002. / Title from the title screen. "March 31, 2003." Includes bibliographical references.

Despite an increased understanding of the individual and contextual factors that influence both employee safety behavior and workplace safety incidents (e.g., injuries, accidents), there has been surprisingly little theoretical or empirical consideration of the individual employee's psychological experience of safety at work. Given that feeling safe is widely theorized to be a basic psychological need with implications for individual well-being and safety-related work behavior, the purpose of this dissertation was to use cybernetic theory-a conceptual framework that explains self-regulation through negative feedback processes-to explore both the antecedents and outcomes of individuals' perceived safety at work. Theory-based hypotheses were tested in a field sample of 595 production employees and their foremen at three weapons production sites in the southern United States. Results revealed that psychological safety climate and perceived job risk were both meaningful correlates of workers' perceived safety whereas personality variables (i.e., trait anxiety, safety locus of control) and personal safety knowledge were not meaningful correlates. Consistent with cybernetic theory, lower perceived safety was associated with increased safety-related anxiety. However, contrary to theoretical expectations, safety-related anxiety did not share consistent, positive associations with self- or foreman-rated safety behaviors. There was limited support, however, which suggested that safety-related anxiety is positively associated with self-reported safety participation behaviors. The implications of these findings in conjunction with a number of explorative analyses are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.

This study sought to investigate the relationship between safety voicing and employee turnover. A model of the safety exit interview process was developed, along with reasons why conducting a safety exit interview may help improve workplace safety. A generic safety exit survey template was developed and administered to a sample of workers previously employed in high safety risk occupations. 126 participants completed the study measures. The type of information which the safety exit survey elicited is described. Results found clear evidence that safety concerns had influenced participants to leave their previous job. It was also found participants wished to voice these safety concerns at exit, but for some reason they could not or chose not to do so. Results also support the predictions that management and co-worker trust and support for safety, would be negatively associated with voicing within the safety exit survey context. Support was also found for the prediction that management trust and support for safety, would be positively associated with the actual voicing of safety issues on the job. Overall, this study seeks to improve workplace safety through encouraging the use of a safety exit interview.

Safety Management Systems (SMS) are becoming the industry standard for safety management throughout the aviation industry. As the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to mandate SMS for different segments, the assessment of an organization’s safety culture becomes more important. An SMS can facilitate the development of a strong aviation safety culture. This study describes basic principles and components of an SMS and how safety culture and SMS are integrated. Studies focusing on safety culture assessment were identified for other industries as well as for different areas of the aviation industry. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between an organization’s safety culture and SMS implementation in collegiate flight schools. The research study was designed to determine (a) relationship between SMS implementation and safety culture, (b) the relationship between safety promotion and safety culture, and (c) the relationship between management commitment and safety culture. The study population consisted of 453 individuals at 13 collegiate flight schools. Data were gathered through an online survey to safety officers at collegiate flight schools within the University Aviation Association to determine the level of SMS implementation; and the Collegiate Aviation Program Safety Culture Survey (CAPSCUS) was used to measure the safety culture at those collegiate flight schools. The results indicated that a relationship existed between SMS implementation and safety culture, safety promotion and safety culture, management commitment and safety culture. The relationship for all three was more prominent within the Formal Safety Program major scale of the CAPSCUS. It is recommended that collegiate flight schools examine their existing level of SMS, management commitment, and their safety promotion and assess safety culture within their institution. Future studies should be done to further examine the relationship between SMS implementation and safety culture so that the collegiate flight training environment would have guidance regarding SMS implementation.

<p><b>Introduction</b>: Non-compliance with respiratory protection programs among firefighters may put them at increased risk of injury and illness from occupational exposures during fire extinguishing activities. This research aims to characterize respiratory protection practices among Florida firefighters. This information will allow better understanding of factors that are associated with non-compliance with respiratory protection guidelines. </p><p> <b>Methods</b>: Survey questionnaire was used to characterize Florida fire departments in this cross sectional study. Four hundred and seventy-seven surveys were administered to Florida firefighters both in person and electronically to collect information regarding firefighter knowledge and participation in their respective respiratory protection programs during the past twelve months. Survey questions were developed from the model set by the National Fire Protection Association which provides standards and regulations regarding firefighter protections. Collected data were used to produce summary statistics regarding firefighter department size, coverage area, and firefighter employment type. Further data analysis used Statistical Analysis Software to compute multinomial logistic regression analysis. </p><p> <b>Results</b>: The 477 respondents were 91% male with a mean age 39 years old (range 21&ndash;65 years). The majority of respondents, 76%, were non-smokers, 21% former smokers, and 3% current smokers. In regards to ethnicity, respondents were 77% Caucasian, 13% Hispanic, 3% African-American, and 4% other. Most respondents were career firefighters, 97%, with less than ten years of experience, 44%, working in a fire department with at least 21 firefighters, 98%. Most respondents, 80%, had a written respiratory program in place. The most cited reason for not having implemented a written respiratory program was lack of knowledge related to the program. Multinomial logistic regression analysis of departments with response areas of at least 250,000 square miles produced a statistically significant 0.44 odds ratio for having a written respiratory program as compared to those with a less than 10,000 square miles response area. </p><p> <b>Conclusion</b>: Additional resources need to be given to Florida fire departments to ensure that all firefighters receive adequate respiratory protection in accordance with National Fire Protection Association guidelines. There is an association between fire departments with large response areas and non-compliance with respiratory protection guidelines in regards to: having a written respiratory program, the frequency of respiratory fit testing, and the frequency of medical fitness testing. This suggests that rural fire departments need additional resources to ensure fire fighters are adequately protected. Additional research should focus on why these differences exist in the rural fire departments. Respondents stating a lack of knowledge or no requirement for a written respiratory program suggest that future efforts should focus on respiratory protection education and training. </p>

published_or_final_version / Transport Policy and Planning / Master / Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning

In the past few years, there has been a large push towards adapting traditional industrial manipulators to other, more consumer-centric applications [1]. These include not only house and elderly care, but also towards medical applications that manipulators may be especially suited for, such as rehabilitation of patients who have suffered neurological trauma [2]. Impeding this push are the strict safety requirements necessary to certify a manipulator for use. These requirements include low speed operation and preventing humans from entering the manipulator workspace [3]. These restrictions effectively prevent a manipulator from being used in many of these applications. Previous work done in manipulator safety research has focused on improving the system’s knowledge of its environment and controlling the manipulator’s motion to keep away from potential hazards. These methods are extremely important in terms of avoiding potential collisions but provide little insight into the situation that occurs once a hazard occurs and the manipulator is forced to react. In order to improve upon the ability to evaluate a manipulator’s overall safety, this report establishes a framework to evaluate the capacity of a manipulator to safely “halt” itself. Two sets of criteria are presented in this report. The first set seeks to quantify both the potential of the manipulator to avoid a collision during the stopping motion and the potential severity of the collision. The second set of criteria quantifies the effect of the stopping motion at the actuator level, allowing the operator to identify potential hardware faults and the capacity to which the actuators are performing. A framework for mapping the manipulator’s actuator parameters for the gear reduction ratio and the motor torque to the potential safety criteria performance is formulated to allow the manipulator designer to match task requirements to the manipulator design. Finally, an examination of the effects on operating parameters such as manipulator configuration, end-effector load, and operating speed is presented with a 6DOF industrial manipulator. This analysis showed that the operating speed of the manipulator is the most important determinant of the safety performance, with the distance traveled by the manipulator increasing by a factor of 15 for all configurations when the speed is increased only by a factor of four. Recommendations for the application of these criteria are presented to the reader as well. / text

<p> <i><b>Purpose</b></i>. Exposures to paper dust, classified as Particulates Not Otherwise Regulated (PNOR), in an industrial setting can cause irritation to the eyes, skin, throat and upper respiratory tract. An exposure assessment was conducted to evaluate the paper dust exposures in the coupon manufacturing facility during a normal production working period. <i><b> Methods.</b></i> Total and respirable personal dust sampling was performed according to NIOSH 0500 and 0600 methods. Six total dust samples and seven respirable dust samples were taken within the sampling areas where airborne paper dust was produced to evaluate the Time Weighted Average (TWA) of the exposed employees. <i><b>Results.</b></i> Results showed that the TWAs for total dust within the three sampling areas ranged from 0.4% to 4.7% of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) and 0.5% to 7.1% of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) Threshold Limit Value (TLV), except sample RD-4 in the Baler Room. TWAs for respirable dust within the Press Room and Collation Area ranged from 0.8% to 0.9% of the OSHA PEL for all samples and 1.4% to 1.5% of the ACGIH TLV. Descriptive statistics showed the sample standard deviation for both total and respirable dust to be below 1.0. The coefficient of variation for TWAs of total dust in the Press Room was 32.7% while all other total dust and respirable dust coefficient of variations for TWA ranged from 1.3% to 3.4%. <i><b>Conclusion.</b></i> Exposures to paper dust ranged from 0.4% to 7.1% of either the OSHA PEL or ACGIH TLV with an exception of sample RD-4 in the Baler Room which was 34% of the OSHA PEL and 56.7% of the ACGIH TLV. Identical respirable dust data and variable total dust data in the Press Room and Collation Area suggest that the dust being generated is of a larger particle size and therefore affects the nose, throat, and upper lungs. The engineering and administrative controls present appeared to be adequate based on the sampling data. Respiratory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was not considered a requirement but should be permitted if requested. Present workplace practices also appeared adequate based on the sampling data. </p>