International Journal of Occupational Hygiene
Volume:13 Issue: 2, Jul 2021

Numerous studies have been conducted to assess the role of human errors in accidents in different industries. Human reliability analysis (HRA) has drawn a great deal of attention among safety engineers and risk assessment analyzers. Despite technical advances and the development of processes, damaging and catastrophic accidents still happen in many industries.

Human Error Assessment and Reduction Technique (HEART) and Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method (CREAM) methods were compared with the hierarchical fuzzy system in a steel industry to investigate the human error.

This study was carried out in a rolling unit of the steel industry, which has four control rooms, three shifts and a total of 46 technicians and operators. After observing the work process, reviewing the documents, and interviewing each of the operators, the worksheets of each research method were completed. CREAM and HEART methods were defined in the hierarchical fuzzy system and the necessary rules were created and analyzed.

The findings of the study indicated that CREAM was more successful than HEART in showing a better capability to capture task interactions and dependencies as well as logical estimation of the HEP in the plant studied.

Given the nature of the tasks in the studied plant and interactions and dependencies among tasks, it seems that CREAM is a better method in comparison with the HEART method to identify errors and calculate the HEP.

Enhancing the level of resilience to crisis is one of the key goals in medical environments. Various parameters can affect resilience to crisis. This study was designed and conducted to analyze resilience to crisis in medical environments based on crisis management components.

The present study was a cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study that was performed in 2020 in 14 hospitals and medical centers. Based on Cochran's formula, the sample size was estimated to be 343.5. Data collection in this study was performed using a 44-item crisis management questionnaire of Azadian et al. (2016). The components of crisis management in this questionnaire included management commitment, error learning, culture learning, awareness, preparedness, flexibility and transparency. Analysis of study data was done based on the structural equation modeling approach using IBM SPSS AMOS v. 23.0.

The means of age and work experience of the participants in this study were 37.78±8.14 and 8.22±4.47 years, respectively. resilience to crisis index based on crisis management components was estimated 2.96±0.87. The results structural equation modeling of resilience to crisis showed that all components of crisis management have a significant relationship with this index (p <0.05). The highest and lowest impacts on resilience to crisis index were related to Preparedness (E=0.88) and Transparency (E=0.60). Goodness of fit indices of this model including RMSEA, CFI, NFI and NNFI (TLI) are estimated 2.86, 0.071, 0.965, 0.972 and 0.978, respectively.

The findings of the study indicated that the resilience to crisis index was moderately evaluated in the medical environments. Furthermore, based on the results of structural equation modeling, in prioritizing measures to increase the level of resilience, the impact of each component on the resilience to crisis index should be considered.

Despite abundant resources, the automotive industry is reported to adversely impact the environment owing to the use of heavy machinery, diverse and governmental management policies for car production per hour, remarkable employed labor force, production cycle timing, etc. For this purpose, many studies involving environmental risk management have been conducted. To this aim, the present study has been carried out in pre-paint part No. 2 of IKCO (preparation process). In this regard, using FUZZY FMEA and VIKOR methods, the identified risks were assessed and reformative measures and solutions were classified, respectively. A total of 15 individuals considered HSE experts of IKCO were selected as a statistical sample size according to the Morgan table. Consequently, the high level risks were identified and appropriate solutions were suggested to reduce the environmental effects, and according to achieved scores, “torch adjustments based on compliance report” with the objective of reducing air pollution was selected as the compromise solution. IKCO should consider torch adjustment based on compliance report actions as its first priority.

Resilience as a counterpoint to vulnerability can reduce the vulnerability of various natural, man-made and technological threats in complex technical systems. The present study was designed and conducted with the aim of comparative assessment of the vulnerability of the gas supply network to natural and technological threats.

This study was carried out in the form of a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study in Tehran metropolis gas supply network including town board stations, gas supply and distribution networks in 2019-2020. This study is based on vulnerability analysis method including three factors of likelihood, severity of consequences and the degree of preparedness for threats. Comparative vulnerability assessment in these three sections of the gas supply network was performed using IBM SPSS software v. 23.0.

The findings showed that out of eleven identified hazardous elements, the vulnerability index for three hazardous elements were estimated in the weak level threat, four hazardous elements in the medium level threat and the vulnerability index for four hazards were aevaluated in the severe threat. The results of comparative vulnerability assessment based on three parts of the gas supply network showed that the highest vulnerabilities belong to the gas distribution network (133.66±24.63), gas supply network (115.0±35.35) and town board stations (79.49±68.51), respectively. In addition, the results of Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the vulnerability difference in these three sections was not significant (p>0.05).

The findings of the comparative assessment of vulnerability between   different parts of the gas supply network including town board stations (TBS), gas supply and distribution network indicated that the resilience of these parts were relatively low and require special attention to reduce vulnerability in the Tehran metropolis gas supply network.

Appropriate environmental performance is considered one of the most important indicators in the sustainable development of organizations and industries. Evaluating the environmental performance in ports as one of the two main parts of the maritime transport system is of particular importance. Therefore, the current study was designed and conducted to develop a method for evaluating the environmental performance of ports based on the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP). In the present study, 22 experts in the field of environment and marine sciences were selected in 2020. Firstly, various studies on the factors affecting the environmental performance of ports were reviewed. Secondly, a questionnaire was designed to assess ports’ environmental performance. Thirdly, this questionnaire was developed using the Delphi technique. Finally, by determining the weight of each parameter, the method of environmental performance assessment in ports was developed based on the FAHP. The final normalized weights for six environmental performance factors including reactive and proactive performance, sustainability, socio-cultural, economic, and governance were estimated 0.202, 0.241, 0.226, 0.070, 0.080, and 0.182. Additionally, it was found that each of the parameters had a different weight and impact on these factors. The highest and lowest impact on the environmental performance index belonged to environmental risk assessment (weight=0.217), cultural effects, and justice (weight=0.107). In the current study, a new method was developed for evaluating the environmental performance of ports based on six factors, 32 parameters, and FAHP. Therefore, this method may provide an effective step in reducing environmental impacts and improving the level of environmental performance in ports to achieve the goal of green port.

Shift work is a social phenomenon with adverse effects on the lives and health of people in various aspects. This adverse effect decreases shift workers’ ability over a time period. The aim of the present study was to survey disturbances due to shift work and some disorders associated with work ability index among nurses in educational hospitals, Ahvaz, Iran. This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 33 nurses at the Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz, Iran. The survey of shift workers questionnaire (SOS) and the Work Ability Index (WAI) questionnaire was used as data collection tools. The related data was analyzed based on the descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation test, and Spearman correlation test using IBM SPSS software version 19. The results showed that 97% of problems related to the effects of shift work on the individuals’ lives, families, and musculoskeletal disorders, 87.9% related to insomnia and social problems, and 75.8% related to mental disorders. Although it showed a significant relationship between the workability index with the variable of experience and mental disorders, it showed no significant relationship between the prevalence of insomnia and musculoskeletal disorders variables. The results of this study showed that shift working disrupts mental, social, and physical health that ultimately adversely affect the ability of shift workers. Therefore, it was recommended to adjust working hours and allocate the appropriate shifts to improve the workability of individuals.

The root cause of many incidents in workplaces is the lack of knowledge on occupational safety and health principles. Despite the safety and health authorities in organizations, safety and health is a general responsibility of all other experts working in an organization. Experts and managers are expected to think, decide and work safely in workplaces. However, we don’t know how much they received safety and health related education when they were in universities. We have no reliable published report on the academic teaching of safety and health courses and syllabus in higher education in Iran.  Therefore, this study aimed to provide a general view of the status of teaching occupational safety and health subjects in different academic disciplines (excluding specialized fields in occupational safety and health) in the Iranian higher educational system.

First, the latest edition of the entire program (curricula) of all academic disciplines held in Iran’s universities was downloaded. Then, the required information including discipline title, program’s degree, number of required (core) and elective (non-core) courses, and program’s date of approval were recorded in an Excel sheet. Every course’s title and syllabus are then studied to finding out any safety and health-related topics. Finally, data were analyzed and reported.

251 academic disciplines in the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) and 771 discipline in the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT) were investigated. Most of the curriculums have been revised by both ministries since 2011. Results showed that 20 percent of the MOHME‎ ‎disciplines and 10.4 percent of MSRT‎ disciplines are included in occupational safety and health courses. The number of courses with health and safety content (syllabus outline) in the MOHME ‎ ‎and the MSRT‎ were 168 and 173 respectively. Most health and safety courses presented in the MOHME academic majors were in the basic medical sciences category of disciplines. In MSRT covered academic majors most of the safety and health courses and topics were presented in the Engineering category of disciplines. Presenting lessons with health and safety content at the MOHME ‎ ‎is more practical than that of the MSRT.

The quality and quantity of teaching on safety and health topic are not at satisfactory levels. Revising the course syllabus of the academic disciplines and adding theoretical and practical courses related to the specific health and safety curriculum of each field can make a significant contribution to improving the general knowledge of the safety and health of the university graduates. It is, in turn, improves future workplace safety and health conditions, managers' insights and decision-makers on the importance of safety and health at work, and protects the people's life and the property of the organization.