The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) is the technical institute for precast/prestressed concrete industry. The plant involves activities such as placing high tensile steel strings inside the concrete products before they harden. This process needs the strings to be "stressed" hydraulically with high tension, which provides possibility of breaking the strand. Hence, employees may face a severe injury around the stressing bed. As various activities take place on the plant at the same time, employees must follow certain safety protocols while being around the plant. Another safety concern on the precast plant is silica exposure. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has provided various guidelines and tools to minimize silica exposure. Employees need to be careful and follow these safety protocols, otherwise it may lead to severe lung disease. Thus, employees need the appropriate safety training which will motivate them to follow safety protocols rigorously. The Bayesian Network (BN) methodology helps analyze plant structure to understand potential risk factors and causes that can be fixed by the employer paying more attention. The current traditional training methods such as videos, PowerPoint slides, or on-paper training, are not as effective in conveying the severity of the risky situations. This research focuses on precast plant activities while trying to identify the factors affecting plant safety. The current results suggest that using the BN study for the factors, such as stressing, chipping, leg injuries, tripping, and suspended loads, that may cause accidents or affect plant safety have a major impact on overall plant safety. Further sections of the dissertation discuss Fault Tree Analysis for risk assessment. It is observed that the BN study outperforms the risk assessment. Improvisation in safety protocols associated with these factors will help mitigate overall plant risks. In addition, study includes the development of immersive training methods and comparison of the immersive method to current safety training methods. Virtual Reality (VR) training module provides significant evidence to improvement in motivation level compared to traditional training. Knowledge gain concerning the safety protocols proves to be increasing for employees after the VR training method compared to the traditional training methods.

The impact of a mandatory Part 48 training program on the health and safety knowledge level of newly employed inexperienced miners in Texas was studied. Part 48 training was defined by compliance with Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) mandatory health and safety training requirements. A two-group pretest, posttest research design was utilized. Group one individuals were newly employed inexperienced persons who received mandatory Part 48 training in accordance with MSHA guidelines. Group two subjects were newly employed inexperienced persons who worked for companies that were exempt from conducting a Part 48 training program. MSHA's health and safety knowledge inventory was utilized. A significant difference was found in the health and safety training program when compared with individuals who did not receive the training . A significant difference was also found in the posttest scores for eight of the ten subject areas of the MSHA health and safety knowledge inventory for persons who completed a Part 48 training program when compared to persons who did not receive the training . Analysis of gain scores resulted in significant differences in the same subject areas indicated by posttest scores. It was concluded that MSHA Part 48 did have a significant impact on the health and safety knowledge level of newly employed inexperienced miners. Additional implications noted relate to the impact of a Part 48 training program on accidents, productivity, absenteeism, turnover, job satisfaction and management styles; role of MSHA in miner training; development of new training materials; methods of training; and the evaluation of health and safety training programs.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Deborah Canter / Junehee Kwon / Foodborne illnesses are a challenge, especially in ethnic restaurants partly because of differences in food handling practices and ethnic cultures. Chinese restaurants, representing the largest number of ethnic restaurants in the U.S., have unique food safety challenges. This study investigated variables including Chinese cultural values (CCVs) that influence U.S. Chinese restaurateurs’ behavioral intention regarding food safety training. The qualitative study, individual interviews with 20 Chinese restaurateurs, found 17 major CCVs that are important to participants. Most participants felt satisfied with previous health inspections, but several expressed difficulty with understanding health inspectors’ instructions and the reports. A limited number of participants provided food safety training mainly because it was required by law. Lack of money, time, labor, energy, and perceived needs for food safety training were major obstacles to providing food safety training in Chinese restaurants. The quantitative study assessed behavioral intention to provide food safety training and the influencing factors including CCVs using the instrument developed based on the qualitative study. Sample included 500 Chinese restaurateurs across the U.S., and 261 provided usable data. Among 17 CCVs, respondents perceived “courtesy” (6.95±0.24), “respect” (6.87±0.47), and “harmony” (6.85±0.41) as most important. The opinions of customers (5.74±1.71), family members (5.73±1.60), and business partners (5.49±1.57) were considered most important. Barriers to providing food safety training included employees’ physical exhaustion (5.89±1.58), employees’ learning capabilities (4.80±1.97), and financial resources (4.56±2.19). Of five CCV factors identified, CCVs pertaining to customer relations (β=0.133, p<.05) and interpersonal relations (β=0.320, p<.001) were significantly associated with behavioral intention to provide food safety training. Additional factors influencing food safety training intention were, personal influence (Fchange=3.98, p<.05), perceived barriers (Fchange=6.42, p<.05), and past experiences (Fchange=21.78, p<.001). Among participants, the males (t =2.97, p<.05) valued customer relations, whereas the females (t =5.52, p<.001) valued interpersonal relations. Chinese restaurateurs with bachelor’s degrees or higher (F=5.905, p<.01) had greater intentions to provide food safety training than others. Manual-based food safety training (6.17±1.23) in Chinese (6.13±1.33) was preferred by the respondents. Future research should evaluate if recommendations from this study have positive influences on food safety training at Chinese restaurants.

The dangerous work environment in the construction industry and the inherent high risks associated with construction work make it the focus of safety training and regulations. Highway construction and maintenance has unique hazards but seemingly less directly applicable safety standards, regulations, and programs. Department of Transportation (DOT) employees working in highway maintenance are exposed to a variety of unique hazards specifically associated with their work and not relating to the adjacent traffic. Yet, highway construction and maintenance work has not received sufficient attention in terms of safety research and programs. The lack of safety training and education in highway construction and maintenance work leaves a significant portion of DOT employees prone to different work-related hazards that can be avoided with additional safety awareness. As part of the efforts of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to improve safety of their employees, the study describes the design, implementation, and evaluation of a pre-task safety briefing toolbox. By analyzing recordable incidents of KYTC maintenance employees and identifying frequent hazards present within their typical work operations and the causes behind the frequent incidents, the final product of design phase is a toolbox that is relatable and relevant to KYTC maintenance crews. The toolbox presents these hazards along with incidents causes and the appropriate safety practices to avoid or mitigate the associated risk. The goal of this safety toolbox is to improve safety awareness of KYTC maintenance crews. The second part of the study is a comprehensive systematic evaluation of the effectiveness of the toolbox. Three evaluation phases including reaction and knowledge evaluation, implementation evaluation, and behavior change evaluation were carried out to assess the effectiveness of the toolbox. With 22% improvement in workers safety knowledge, 23% improvement in workers hazards identification skills, and 33.24% increase in the likelihood of safe behavior, the results showed that pre-task safety toolbox talks can increase highway workers’ safety awareness, improve their hazards identification skills, and increase their safe behavior. In addition to serving an underserved audience of the construction workforce, this study contributes to the body of knowledge in different ways. First, it sheds the light on a significant underserved portion of construction workers and the unique hazards present in their work environment. Second, it presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a data driven safety intervention that addresses the most frequent safety issues in highway maintenance operations. Finally, it presents an empirical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a common practice used in the construction industry in a unique sector of the industry that has not received sufficient research efforts.

Il presente progetto di ricerca muove dalle riflessioni sul ruolo e sulle caratteristiche che la formazione alla sicurezza ricopre oggi nei diversi contesti organizzativi ed istituzionali. L’importanza di educare e formare alla salute e alla sicurezza è riconosciuta sia a livello nazionale sia a livello europeo, come dimostrano i numerosi atti normativi italiani ed europei. Il progetto di ricerca si è posto l’obiettivo di analizzarne in maniera approfondita gli aspetti pedagogico-educativi della formazione alla sicurezza in famiglia, nella scuola e negli ambienti di lavoro, per giungere alla formulazione di indicazioni pedagogiche utili per formare alla sicurezza nelle diverse età della vita. / The present research project starts from reflections on the role and characteristics of safety training in the various organizational and institutional contexts. The importance of educating and training in health and safety is recognized both at national and at European level. The research project analyze the pedagogical-educational aspects of safety training in the family, in the school and in the workplace, to arrive at the formulation of pedagogical indications useful for training for safety in different ages of life

I detta kandidatarbete undersöker jag hur man med hjälp av virtuell verklighet (VR) kan skapa en fabriksmiljö för att bidra till ökad medvetenhet och säkerhetstänk i fabriken.  Undersökningen baseras på en utmaning från Volvo med deras egen fabrik i fokus där dem velat ha en säkerhetsutbildning för deras gångtrafikanter i fabriken. Med hjälp av designperspektivet design thinking har Volvo fått vara delaktiga genom hela processen där vi kunnat skapa en produkt åt dem tillsammans. Undersökningens frågeställning är “Hur kan man med hjälp av Virtual Reality skapa upplevelsen av fabriksmiljö för att bidra till ökad medvetenhet och säkerhetstänk i fabriken?” där jag valt att gestalta detta i ett spel integrerat med VR. Med hjälp av de valda metoderna för designprocessen kunde jag sätta mig in i Volvos problem och skapa en fabrik som efterliknar deras så mycket som möjligt. Volvo själva fick ta del av skapandet genom bilder och videor för att ge feedback om miljön, samt hur realistisk upplevelsen kändes jämfört med deras egen fabrik. För att gestaltningen skulle testas och godkännas av Volvo involverades dem konstant i arbetet. Undersökningen resulterade i ett VR spel med en kort säkerhetsutbildning om fabrikens miljö och vissa faror som kan komma att ske i den. Eftersom ökad medvetenhet och säkerhetstänk hos personer inom arbetet inte kan mätas direkt har frågeställningen kunnat blivit besvarad efter endast ett fåtal test. De personer från Volvo som har testat det gav positiv respons och nya tankar och idéer kring tekniska utbildningar inom säkerhet som dessa har väckts hos många. / In this bachelor thesis I’m examining how to create a factory environment with virtual reality (VR) to contribute to increased awareness and safety mindset in the factory. The examination is based on a challenge from Volvo with their own factory in focus where they wanted to have a safety training for their pedestrians in the factory. With help from the design perspective design thinking, Volvo has been involved through the whole process where we could create a product for them together. The survey question is ”How can you with help from Virtual Reality create the experience of a factory environment to contribute to increased awareness and safety mindset in the factory?” where I chose to shape this into a game integrated with VR. With help from the selected methods for the design process I could put myself into Volvo’s problem and create a factory that resembles theirs as much as possible. Volvo took part of the creation themselves through pictures and videos to provide feedback on the environment and how realistic the experience felt compared to their own factory. For the design to be tested and approved by Volvo, they were constantly involved in the project. The examination resulted in a VR game with a short safety training about the environment of the factory and some dangers that may occur in it. Because increased awareness and safety thinking in people within the work can not be measured directly, the survey question has been answered after only a few tests. The people at Volvo who have tested it gave positive results and new thoughts and ideas about technical training in security, such as these, have been awakened by many.

Introduction: The purpose of this report is to study the possibility of building a safetytraining park in Jönköping County. The construction safety training park is a physicaltraining facility that provides an opportunity for workers in the construction industry tocarry out various training and practice safety. To build the park, the study will focus oncompanies who have an interest in this type of facility. The main aim of the park is toreduce accidents on construction sites by increasing the awareness of the employeesabout the danger that can happen. Method: This study is a case study with both quantitative and qualitative data. Thechosen data collection methods are survey interviews, and observation. The survey wasanswered by 42 individuals. Interviews were arranged with several people with deferentroll in the construction industry. Two interviews were conducted online, and the restwere conducted on the construction site. Finally, an observation in was made in theconstruction safety training park in Stockholm, Arlanda to take a closer look at howsuch a park works. Results: The study shows that the construction industry has certain safety deficiencies.The shortcomings could be solved by having a construction safety training park and theresult shows extensive interest from companies to have a construction safety trainingpark in Jönköping County. This park will help the construction companies to avoiddamage and get the workflow going, which in turn leads to increased profits for thecompanies. Analysis: The analysis methods used in this case are quantitative and qualitative. Thedata collection is presented in figures and tables to simplify for the reader. Analysis ofthe studied data shows the need of this type of training safety park in constructionindustry, due to the high number of injures that have occurred the last few years.Discussion: The main discussion in this case was about increasing reliability. Therecould be higher reliability if the number of respondents is increased. / Introduktion: Syftet med denna rapport är att studera möjligheten för att bygga enbyggsäkerhetspark i Jönköpings län. Byggsäkerhetsparken är en fysiskträningsanläggning som ger möjlighet för människor inom bygg ochanläggningsbranschen att utföra olika utbildningar och praktisera säkerhet. För attbygga parken kommer studien att fokusera på vilka företag som har intresse av den härtypen av anläggningar. Huvudsyftet med parken är att minska olyckor påbyggarbetsplatser genom att öka medvetenheten hos medarbetaren om olyckor som kaninträffa. Metod: Denna studie är en fallstudie med både kvantitativa och kvalitativa data. Devalda datainsamlingsmetoderna är en enkät, intervjuer och en observation.Enkäten besvarades av 42 personer. Intervjuer arrangerades med flera personer medolika roller inom byggbranschen. Två intervjuer utfördes online och resten utfördes påbyggarbetsplatsen. Slutligen gjordes en observation i byggbranschens säkerhetspark iStockholm Arlanda för att titta närmare på hur en sådan park fungerar. Resultat: Studien visar att byggbranschen har vissa säkerhetsbrister. Bristerna skullekunna lösas genom att ha en byggsäkerhetspark och resultatet visar på ett stort intressefrån företag att ha en byggsäkerhetspark i Jönköping Län. Denna park ska hjälpabyggföretagen att undvika skador och få igång arbetsflödet vilket i sin tur leder till ökadvinst för företagen. Analys: Analysmetoderna som används i detta fall är kvantitativa och kvalitativa.Datainsamlingen presenteras i figurer och tabeller för att förenkla för läsaren. Analysav studerade data visar på behovet av denna typ av säkerhetspark i byggbranschen, pågrund av det höga antalet skador som inträffat under de senaste åren.Diskussion: Huvuddiskussionen i detta fall handlade om att öka reliabiliteten. Detskulle kunna bli högre reliabilitet ifall antalet respondenter utökas.

Restaurant managers complete certification in food safety in order to ensure that food is handled and prepared in a manner that decreases risk factors associated with food-borne illness. However, the literature has been inconclusive concerning the connection between manager certification and the incidence of critical food-safety violations. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between the presence or absence of a certified food safety manager (CFSM) and the number of risk factors cited on food inspection reports and the food safety score. In addition, this study was designed to determine whether operation type (i.e., chain vs. independently owned) has an impact on the number of risk factors and food safety score. This study was an analysis of 2013 data from 1,547 restaurants in North, Central, and South Georgia health districts using a 2-tailed independent-sample t test. Restaurants with a CFSM had significantly more risk factors cited on food safety inspections and lower food safety scores than restaurants without a CFSM. There was also a significant difference among chain and independent restaurants. Chain restaurants had fewer risk factors cited on restaurant inspections and had higher food safety scores. In the epidemiological triangle model, breaking the chain of transmission disrupts the link among agent, host, and environment. Thus, CFSMs have the responsibility to implement food safety training programs to break the chain of transmission by identifying and correcting unsafe food practices among food workers. This study has the potential to assist managers in understanding the importance of food safety and implementing food safety training programs that decrease risk factors associated with food-borne illness. Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness of manager certification in reducing critical violations.

I detta kandidatarbete undersöker vi hur med hjälp av virtuell verklighet (VR) kan gestalta en fabriksmiljö och upplevelse som ökar säkerhetstänket för nyanställda på Volvo i Olofström. Undersökningen utgår ifrån vårt samarbete med Volvo och deras egen fabrik som är i fokus där de har velat ha en säkerhetsutbildning inom VR för deras nyanställda och gångtrafikanter i fabriken. Med hjälp av designperspektivet digital didaktisk design har vi kunnat ställa i centrum på lärandet i görandet, att planera och skapa aktiviteter för någon så att användaren i fråga kan tillägna sig nya kunskaper. Frågeställningen inom denna undersökning är “Hur kan man skapa en fabriksmiljö inom VR som främjar lärande.” Med hjälp av metoderna vi valde för designprocessen kunde vi gestalta en fabrik som simulerar deras och även främja lärandet för säkerhetstänket som var en viktig del att komma till insikt om. Resultatet på undersökningen är att vi skapade en VR-prototyp med hjälp utav spelmotorn Unity. I denna VR-prototyp tar användaren igenom sig en livlig och hektisk fabriksmiljö som speglar det vi själva har fått uppleva genom våra observationer när vi var på besök hos Volvo i Olofström. Genom våra undersökningar inom VR säkerhet har vi upphöjt vår förståelse om vilka möjligheter VR har inom lärandet och att förmedla information. Dem viktiga punkterna för oss var att öka säkerhetstänket hos användaren genom att placera dem i scenarion där deverkligen får uppleva hur det verkligen är att vara inom en livlig fabrik och vad som förväntas av dem. Nyckelord: Virtuell verklighet (VR), säkerhetsträning, fabriksmiljö, Volvo / In this bachelor thesis, we investigate how, with the help of virtual reality (VR), we can create a factory environment and experience that increases the safety thinking for new employees at Volvo in Olofström. The survey is based on our collaboration with Volvo and their own factory, which is in focus where they have wanted a safety training in VR for their new employees and pedestrians in the factory. With the help of the design perspective digital didactic design, we have been able to put the focus on learning in practice, to plan and create activities for someone so that the user in question can acquire new knowledge. The question in this study is "How to create a factory environment within VR that promotes learning." With the help of the methods we chose for the design process, we were able to design a factory that simulates theirs and also promote learning for safety thinking, which was an important part to gain insight into.  The result of our research is that we have created a prototype with the help of the game engine Unity through this process that takes the user through a lively and hectic factory environment that reflects what we ourselves have experienced through our observations when we visited Volvo in Olofström. Through our research in VR security, we have raised our understanding of what opportunities VR has in learning and to convey information. The important points for us were to increase the security thinking of the user by placing them in scenarios where they really get to experience what it really is like to be in a lively factory and what is expected of them Keywords: Virtual reality (VR), safety training, factory environment, Volvo

Das Risiko, im Straßenverkehr getötet zu werden, ist für Motorrad-Aufsassen vielfach höher als für andere Verkehrsteilnehmer. Dabei spielt das Verhalten der Motorradfahrer eine zent-rale Rolle. In Abhängigkeit von ihrer Fahrkompetenz können Fahrer durch entsprechendes Agieren und Reagieren kritische Situationen und Unfälle vermeiden. Zur Analyse des Fahrerverhaltens in Situationen individuell unterschiedlicher Kritikalität wurden Versuchs-fahrten mit Motorradfahrern unterschiedlicher Fahrerfahrung auf einem abgesperrten Test-gelände und im öffentlichen Straßenverkehr durchgeführt. Dazu wurde ein Versuchsmotor-rad mit Messtechnik ausgestattet, um detaillierte Informationen zum Fahrer, zum Fahrzeug und zur Umgebung zu erfassen. Die Probanden wiesen große Unterschiede im Fahrerverhal-ten auf, was in den meisten Fällen auf die unterschiedlichen Fahrerfahrungen der Teilneh-mer zurückzuführen ist. Durch detaillierte Analysen des Fahrerverhaltens konnten fahrer-spezifische Defizite festgestellt und entsprechende Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten aufgezeigt werden. Auf Basis dieser Erkenntnisse wurden Konzepte zur Unterstützung des Fahrers bei der Erweiterung seiner Fahrkompetenz beim Motorradfahren aufgestellt. Die Konzepte se-hen eine aus Standardmanövern und Realverkehrsfahrten kombinierte Schulung bzw. ein kombiniertes Training vor. Im Rahmen dessen werden dem Fahrer vor, während oder nach der Fahrt direkt oder indirekt (über eine Begleitperson) relevante Informationen im Hinblick auf entsprechende Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten zur Verfügung gestellt. Darüber hinaus wur-de ein kompakter Datenrekorder prototypisch entwickelt, womit die Grundlage für den prak-tischen Einsatz geschaffen wurde.