The development of the Internet and the technological advancements in multimedia are some of the breakthroughs the 21st century has witnessed. Innovative ways are being sought for the application of technologies such as the Internet and multimedia, for the development of effective learning methods. The potential for using the Internet in combination with multimedia for teaching and learning is great; we are only beginning to understand and use the advantages it can offer. Web-Based safety training is an innovative self-paced learning aid which provides distinctive advantages over the traditional, instructor-led classroom training. This study provides an in-depth evaluation of Web-based safety training against instructor-led classroom training. The Web-based safety training uses multimedia such as power point slides with text, images and video clips. This study is designed as an experiment to determine the relative improvement in knowledge of woodshop safety when Web-based safety training is used against instructor-led classroom training. An opinion survey is conducted to determine participant’s attitude towards the training methods.

Safety in logging operations in the Southeastern United States has long been an issue of concern. Recently, a growing number of Spanish-speaking workers have become employed in logging operations in the Southeastern U.S. There is a growing concern that injury and fatality rates could increase due to inexperience, possible lack of proper safety training, and language barrier problems attributed to the new Spanish-speaking workers. The study area is the Southeastern U.S., comprising twelve states ranging from Texas to Virginia. The goal of this study is to determine the current percentage of Spanish-speaking workers in the study area, assess the previous and present safety training received by Spanish-speaking workers, and provide recommendations addressing the short and long-term logging safety training needs of Spanish-speaking workers. Data was collected through a combination of field surveys and questionnaires. The surveys collected data from 1890 logging operations in the study area, and was used to determine the population of Spanish-speaking workers in the logging industry. The questionnaires were completed during the summer of 2005 by 41 selected sample loggers who employ Spanish-speaking workers, in which they addressed the previous and present safety training received by Spanish-speaking workers, in addition to other information pertaining to safety. The percentage of Spanish-speaking workers in the logging industry in the Southeastern U.S. was 3.37%. Ten percent of operations employed one or more Spanish-speaking workers. Relevant literature as well as data collected through this study suggests that Spanish-speaking worker populations will continue to increase. The survey showed Spanish-speaking workers in the logging industry have tended to immigrate to specific regions, Arkansas and North Carolina. Loggers tend to employ one or two Spanish-speaking workers with several non-Spanish-speaking workers rather than forming entire crews of Spanish-speaking workers. Average employment tenure for Spanish-speaking workers was six years. The majority of loggers (90%) who employed Spanish-speaking workers had at least one worker who could translate safety training/instructions to other Spanish-speaking employees. Loggers ranked this method as the most effective way for presenting safety training to Spanish-speaking workers. Based on the survey data, Spanish-speaking workers are not likely to substantially impact logging industry injury statistics in the Southeastern U.S. in the near future, but could in the long term. Recommendations were developed from a combination of survey and questionnaire results and literature reviews. It is recommended that: (1) The use of multiple safety training methods will maximize the Spanish-speaking workers learning ability, (2) The combination of hands-on/demonstration training and the use of a bi-lingual employee/translator seem to be the optimal combination of safety training methods for Spanish-speaking workers, (3) Determine the education/literacy levels of Spanish-speaking employees. It is not appropriate to provide a Spanish-speaking worker with written safety material if they cannot read, (4) Safety training methods used for Spanish-speaking workers may require more "customization" than that of non-Spanish-speaking workers. This is, in part, due to language barriers, questionable literacy, and the fact that in other industries Spanish-speaking workers seem to be more accident prone, (5) It is advisable not to assign inadequately trained and experienced Spanish-speaking workers to tasks such as manual felling, trimming, or bucking with a chainsaw, as this is one of the most hazardous logging tasks. Assigning an experienced employee for a period of at least one week who can oversee the Spanish-speaking worker and correct any unsafe practices would be advisable when assigning a new Spanish-speaking worker to this task, (6) Use universally accepted hand signals around the landing area rather than verbal communication to prevent any miscommunication between Spanish-speaking and non-Spanish-speaking workers, (7) Monitor the Spanish-speaking worker population in the logging workforce closely. Depending on political and economic factors, this population could grow quickly and begin to impact safety/injury rates and (8) Crews comprised entirely of Spanish-speaking workers would likely communicate better. While the limited availability of Spanish-speaking workers in some areas may currently restrict this idea, it may be feasible in the future as more Spanish-speaking workers enter the logging workforce. At this time it may be beneficial for employers to learn Spanish or for Spanish-speaking workers to learn English. / Master of Science

Working around conveyor belts is the cause of numerous accidents each year that are costly to the mining industry. Current safety training practices generally include the use of slide show presentations, lectures, videos, and paper material before sending each worker onto site with an experienced person for on-the-job task training. These training methods are passive in nature and do not allow for an actual realization of consequences resulting from ignoring safety practices during interaction between the employee and the environment. It is with this in mind that virtual reality (VR) is being proposed as an added effective method of safety training. In order to prove this hypothesis, a working VR prototype application of a mining environment has been developed. The application is designed in two modules. The first consists of an instructional based module, where the user is given all relevant information based on background research dealing with safety issues, hazard awareness, conveyor maintenance, and conveyor components and assemblies. The second module is a task-based training session that then tracks the user's performance as they complete assigned tasks. An evaluation scheme was performed on the prototype to determine the usability and usefulness and identify areas in need of improvement. First, industry professionals were presented the application in an informal setting where the types of information and overall concept were examined and perceived usefulness was discussed. Secondly, users, both novice and industry professionals, were asked to go through the prototype training application and rate their agreement with statements based on the user interface and usability of the application. Finally, subjective interviews were performed to record perceived benefits of the virtual reality application over typical training material. This final stage consists of using both industry professionals and novice experience individuals and documenting their perceptions of benefits and challenges of using both typical methods of training and the designed prototype. This document consists of an explanation of the research steps and papers that are published (or in press) detailing certain areas of the research, compiled findings, conclusions, and future research suggestions. / Master of Science

This study explored the risk that social workers face in the field while serving vulnerable adults to determine if there is need to implement mandated safety training based on social worker experiences and their desire for initial safety training. There needs to be a clear understanding of risks faced by social workers and their desire for safety training to implement safety standards and training for social workers across the board in social service agencies and academic institutions. There is minimal research currently on this topic and thus this study is paving the way for future research, as well as providing insight to risks faced by social workers who conduct field visits. This quantitative study presents different field situations that have put the social worker’s personal safety at risk and desire for safety training based on their personal experience. The results show a desire and need for mandatory safety training prior to entering the field. The results show a positive correlation between years in the field and risks faced in the field. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between age and desire for field safety training. There were differences found in risks experienced and desire for safety training by gender, education and ethnicity. This study is the start to understanding safety risks faced by social workers in the field and suggests developing safety training policy to ensure social worker safety in the field in both social service agencies and academic institutions.

Although many efforts have been exerted to increase safety on construction sites, it has never been easy to run a construction project with zero accidents. Previous research indicated that lessons learned from previous projects could help construction professionals prevent repetitive mistakes, but those lessons are based on individual experience, and therefore it is difficult to document and reuse them. Various web-based database systems were suggested to better manage this tacit knowledge in construction, but transforming someone's tacit knowledge into value for the next project using these systems is still challenging. Well-designed computer games often offer a number of constructive instructional features especially for young generations who have grown up in an era of computer games. Research in education reports that visual presentation facilitates the human's cognitive process. Would visual representation of tacit knowledge in a computer game help construction professionals acquire tacit knowledge and use it to reduce repetitive accidents on construction sites? In order to figure out whether visual presentation of accident cases in a computer game could improve tacit knowledge acquisition and retention, a prototype Xbox 360 computer game presenting accident scenes using 3D computer models was developed and tested with college students working in the field of construction management. The game had 3D construction site accident scenes with treasure boxes hidden and the players had to find the treasure boxes and read the information obtained from it. The treasure boxes were placed relative to the information they carried. The text part had the same accident scenes explained in text with details of what should have been followed to avoid the accident. Students from the field of construction management and civil engineering were requested to participate in the test. Each participant went through two accidents in text and two accidents in the game environment and answered a set of 16 questions based on the knowledge they gained. There was no time limit for the test. They also had to answer an exit question as to which training method they preferred. The participants were asked to come again on the seventh day to answer a set of 16 questions without going through any training to check the retention of knowledge. Statistically we can say that on an overall basis visual training had more correct answers than text for knowledge dissemination as well as retention. But there was no statistical difference seen in the number of correct answers obtained from dissemination and retention tests for text as well as visual training.

Construction is a very deadly industry with Texas having the highest rate of deaths of construction workers of any state. Hispanic workers are at an even higher risk than white, non-Hispanic workers for being injured or killed while working on a construction site. However, traditional materials available through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to train workers in job safety cannot effectively reach the Hispanic construction worker population because of language and educational barriers. This study examines a non-traditional safety training program tailored specifically for Spanish monolingual construction workers in order to reach these otherwise hard-to-reach workers, created by Workers Defense Project (WDP) in Austin, Texas, through a Department of Labor grant. Through participatory learning techniques, WDP has had a high rate of success in educating low-literacy, Spanish monolingual construction workers on workplace safety and rights. Through further evaluation of this program, the unique methods utilized in this training can be developed and applied in other areas and industries to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities in construction and other hazardous industries. / text

Safety training and safety climate are widely researched topics in the area of safety management. Safety training, as one of the safety interventions, is believed to be an antecedent of safety climate improvement within organisations. The rapid advancement in the safety management field has also raised many questions, mainly regarding the roles of safety training and safety climate within organisations. Recent literature has viewed safety climate as a mediating variable between organisational policies and practices (such as safety training) and safety outcomes. Nevertheless, to date far too few attempts have been made to empirically study the impacts and influence of safety training on safety climate change and to subsequently improve safety outcomes over a period of time, especially in developing countries like Malaysia. To facilitate the expansion of current theoretical perspectives, the research attempts to improve our understanding of safety training's impact on achieving a positive safety culture (via safety climate changes), particularly with regard to improved safety outcomes over a period of time. A quantitative approach, using a longitudinal panel design, was employed for the purpose of data collection. The results were based on two data collections carried out in a Malaysian manufacturing plant in 2008 and 2009. The response rate was 83 percent (N=330) in Time 1, 2008 and 98 percent (N=402) in Time 2, 2009. The findings of this study revealed that there was a significant improvement in all safety training impact subscales indicating that employees' perceived their level of safety knowledge and skill transfer, safe work practices, and their understanding of safety and risk to all be higher in Time 2. The findings of this study also revealed significant improvements in the safety climate dimensions related to Management Attitude and Management Action, indicating that the management role has been viewed as crucial in improving and supporting employees' and organisations' safety. Over a period of time the positive correlation between safety training and safety climate became stronger with a significance difference of .005, where in Time 1, r=.740 and in Time 2, r=.745. This finding adds to the theoretical proposition that safety training is an antecedent to improving safety climate. Similarly, safety outcomes have significantly improved over a period of time and have a negative correlation with safety training and safety climate. Overall, the current study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding of safety training impacts and its influence on safety climate, particularly with regard to the improvement of safety outcomes. However, this study has thrown up a number of questions that are in need of further investigation. The need for further research to investigate the effectiveness of specific safety training intervention with the addition of motivational factors, and its relation to safety climate over a period of time in various industries, remain crucial.

Magnetic resonance imaging is a major advancement in the diagnostic imaging field. Most patients can tolerate an MRI however, there are some who are unable to complete a lengthy scan while lying completely still without sedatives or anesthesia. Non-MRI healthcare providers are trained to use equipment that is “unsafe” in the MRI suite due to the strong magnetic field. Staff who are not fully knowledgeable and trained in MRI safety measures can endanger staff and patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge level of non-MRI healthcare providers regarding safety risks associated with MRI and to determine their level of satisfaction regarding the MRI safety training they received. This study concluded that non-MRI healthcare providers are knowledgeable about most of the safety hazards. They are satisfied with annual training but would like more in-depth material added to their current learning modules.

Safety training is a vital component to the well-being of individuals in all industries. With technology advancing at the current pace, conventional training methods are no longer the most effective way to communicate information. There is a strong need for safety training that incorporates new methods and forms of communication to obtain higher levels of comprehension. Virtual reality systems offer a highly customizable and interactive form of delivering information to users. This research addresses major gaps in the field of safety training using virtual reality systems and provides a design framework for creating a virtual safety-training system. A model for the virtual environment is designed and developed and the process and justification is described. The environment and an applied use case for this model is developed and verified using a sample of trainees that would use the model. This exploratory framework provides a significant contribution to the field of safety education through virtual reality systems and can be expanded with further research.

<p>The U.S. construction sector ranks second in fatal occupational injuries in 2021 among other sectors. Although many research efforts have been conducted for decades to improve safety at construction jobsites, fatal occupational injuries did not reduce to the desired level. Specifically, previous studies argued that still more than 70% of hazards often remained unrecognized by construction workers even after receiving safety training. In addition to the enforced safety regulations, the Organizational Safety and Health Administrator (OSHA) has mandated safety training for construction workers to train them regarding potential hazards and risks at jobsites while mainly focusing on a general overview of the hazards and preventive measures.</p> <p>However, in the last decade, it was extensively argued that workers’ low performance in hazard identification may not only be related to their hazard knowledge and more related to the cognitive processing of information to identify and perceive the cues in a construction environment to remain situationally aware (i.e., cognitive failures). Therefore, there is a critical need to identify a new approach for customizing training construction workers to address the lack of knowledge and cognitive failures that workers may experience. Thus, this thesis aimed to develop multi-modal personalized safety training to reduce human errors and construction workers' unsafe behaviors by improving their hazard identification abilities.</p> <p>To do so, workers’ hazard identification skills were assessed through subjective and objective non-invasive psychophysiological metrics (e.g., visual attention, emotional responses) in an immersive 360° virtual environment and customized training for them. The effectiveness of the developed personalized training was tested and validated, and the findings indicate considerable improvements in subjects’ hazard identification performance after receiving this customized training.</p> <p>This thesis contributed to the body of knowledge and practice by proposing an advanced personalized safety training framework that automatically translates workers' subjective test results and objective psychophysiological responses into customized training recommendations. The outcomes lay the necessary foundations for building tailored training regimens to improve construction worker safety using comprehensive cognitive analysis and effective intervention strategies. The developed personalized safety training will not only improve workers' hazard identification performance but will also save construction companies time delays and cost overruns by eliminating the need for a repetitive retraining of the workforce.</p>