The Enforcement of Occupational Safety and Health Requirements in Public and Private Sectors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates

Research Problem: In Abu Dhabi, limited implementation of OSH Regulations contributes to the general unawareness among employees and workers about occupational hazards and safety measures, resulting in slow responsiveness toward enforcement measures and a lack of self-regulatory approaches within companies. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation methods practised in Abu Dhabi with those in developed countries with established OSH regulatory bodies. Methodology: Qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed to gather primary research data. Workers from various industries in Abu Dhabi were sampled on purpose and asked to respond to questionnaires and interviews on OSH protocol awareness and implementation, and circumstances of workplace incidence. Results: The findings of this study showed that the enforcement of OSH requirements in UAE positively correlated to a reduction in the rate of work-related injury and improved business performance. The quantitative research data showed that the energy sector had the highest score (15) while the tourism sector had the lowest score (5.3) in occupational health systems and improvements in business efficiency and productivity. Implications: The outcomes of this study shed light on the importance of implementing OSH Guidelines for companies to empower their safety managers to fully enforce OSH requirements in their organisations. In conclusion, effective OSH enforcement requires cooperation between general workers and OSH managers and facilitation from business owners.

Occupational Health and Safety Hazards Experienced by Healthcare Workers at Two Hospitals in Suyani, Bono Region, Ghana

INTRODUCTION Occupational safety and health (OSH) is generally the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, and control of hazards arising in or from the workplace. The study sought to assess and evaluate occupational health and safety hazards experienced among health workers in the Bono region of Ghana. METHODOLOGY The study was descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study. Data was from two hundred (200) health workers and was analyzed using the binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS The findings from the study show that risk factors associated with biological hazards were clinical staff [OR = 2.487 (1.146 - 5.397), p = 0.021], poor maintenance of hospital items [OR = 0.446 (0.240 - 0.831), p = 0.011], assault (verbal) abuse [OR = 2.581 (1.317 - 5.059), p = 0.006] and extreme pressure from work [OR = 2.975 (1.519 - 5.829), p = 0.001]. Non-biological hazards were associated with being single [OR = 0.499 (0.263 - 0.947), p = 0.034], being verbally assaulted [OR = 3.581 (1.865 - 6.876), p CONCLUSION Risk factors related with biological hazards include poor maintenance of hospital items and extreme pressure from work whereas non-biological hazards were associated with being single, being verbally assaulted. Clinical healthcare providers are more vulnerable to occupational health and safety hazards. The study recommends the provision of strategic policies to promote and protect the workers’ health based on the development of the epidemiological profile of health, needs to be readjusted and strengthened.

Sustainable Development Importance in Higher Education for Occupational Health and Safety Using Egypt Vision 2030 under COVID-19 Pandemic

Insertion of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into higher education is an important concern. This article aims to address the influences of SDGs in higher and engineering educational system in Egypt. The present study focuses on SDGs 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 11. SDG 3 is related to occupational health and SDG 4 is related to higher education development. However, SDGs 6, 7, 9, and 11 are related to both mechanical and environmental engineering, and occupational safety. The study approach involves case risk analysis, investigations, and review for design concepts of occupational health and safety before and after the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). A number of cross-sectional studies that constitute 125 multidisciplinary research plans (MDRPs) are grouped to monitor and evaluate two main factors which are an influence of involving SDGs into engineering education and selected curriculum of occupational health and safety. Then the results of these research-based studies, which performed over four academic years started from 2017 up to date 2021, are depicted and discussed. These results reveal the importance of interlink between engineering education and the intended SDGs. The latest 25 MDRPs demonstrate that Egypt response to alleviate the COVID-19 is rapidly pronounced specially on SDGs 3 and 4 simultaneously. However, those MDRPs show that neither record impacts nor delays on SDGs 6, 7, 9 and 11. The conclusions prioritize both the advanced educational mechanisms and verify the engineering curriculums to raise awareness of SDGs among both staff members and students in Egyptian universities. Finally, future work is recommended at the end of this article to focus on each specific goal to gain deep insight to state of the art for each SDG around globe using education development.

Symptoms, Pathologies, Accidents and Expectations, Regarding the Occupational Doctor and Safety Technician, in a Representative Sample of Portuguese Tattoo Artists

Introduction/Objectives: As Tattoo is being more accepted, more professionals dedicate to it. A study was designed with the aim of analysing the perception of Tattoo Artists regarding their Occupational Health/Safety team (opinion about the support provided);as to find out what type accidents, symptoms and occupational diseases they have, in order to provide a better service. Methods: This is a mixed exploratory study, containing a quantitative observational (analytical, cross-sectional) and a qualitative component (Case Study). For the statistical analysis, predominantly non-parametric tests were used. The project was approved by the Ethics Committee and informed consent was obtained. Results: In terms of symptomatology/illnesses, musculoskeletal pathology is the most reported. In terms of accidents, cuts stand out. Several statistically significant relationships were found between the variables analysed. Discussion/Conclusions: The Occupational Health and Security services are considered insufficient by most of the Tattoo artists. It would be desirable that the Occupational Doctor has concrete knowledge regarding Tattooing, in particular semiology/pathology;makes recommendations in pharmacology and/or indicates which exams could be useful. In relation to the Safety Technician, it would be desirable also to have specific knowledge about the sector, making plausible suggestions for improvement.

The Importance of Occupational Health and Safety(OHS)and OHS Budgeting in terms of Social Sustainability in the Construction Sector

Nowadays,sustainability is one of the most important construction sector goals,as it is in most other sectors.However,sustainability in the construction sector is dealt mostly with its environmental and economic dimensions,and its social dimension remains in the background.This situation causes the Occupational Health and Safety(OHS),which is perhaps the most important issue within the scope of social sustainability,to be addressed on its own,and its relationship with sustainability to be not introduced clearly.This study discussed the relationship between social sustainability and OHS in the construction sector.Based on the fact that in construction projects,the sustainability goal should be revealed forward to a great extent at the design stage,how to contribute to OHS by budgeting OHS activities together with project activities was explained.We intended to contribute to the provision of OHS and thus the social sustainability of construction projects by revealing how the budgeting will be done and how much OHS budget will be,by referring to the studies in the literature conducted about OHS budgeting and presented robust numerical data.The study is expected to help construction sector stakeholders to understand the relationship between social sustainability and OHS and to provide a clear picture of the role of budgeting in this respect.

Floating Solar Plants and Relevant Environmental,Health,and Safety Challenges

An Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA)was conducted for 2×150 MW Floating Photovoltaic(FPV)plants,based on the World Bank’s new Environmental and Social Framework(ESF).The project was the first of its kind financed by the World Bank in Pakistan and was geared towards renewable energy development in the country.Key components of the project included the installation of high-density polyethylene floats,Photovoltaic(PV)panels,underwater transmission cables to floating or shoreline inverters and transformers,and overhead transmission lines to existing or new substations.The EIA was commissioned to identify all environmental,health,and safety challenges associated with the construction and operation of the FPV plants.A risk screening criterion based on the World Bank ESF was employed to identify these challenges,while a mitigation hierarchy and hierarchy of control were used in providing measures to address these challenges.The environmental challenges identified were pollution of surface water and degradation of aquatic habitat from bird droppings on the floating panels;changes to the thermal structure and evaporation rate of the water body as a result of decreased sunlight access;direct impacts of shading on fish and aquatic algae;impacts on migratory birds and their habitats;and impacts on fish movements due to the anchoring and cabling of the floats.Likewise,the project-specific occupational health and safety challenges identified were the risk of falling and drowning in the water during the installation and maintenance of the panels over the water.Mitigation measures were provided for the identified challenges.In conclusion,the construction and operation of FPV plants have environmental,health,and safety issues.It is therefore recommended that the mitigation measures provided should be incorporated into the earlier stages of the design and operation of future similar FPV plants around the world.

Organization：A new focus on mine safety improvement in a complex operational and business environment

The daily operations in the mining industry are still a significant source of risk with regard to occupational safety and health(OS & H). Various research studies and statistical data world-wide show that the number of serious injuries and fatalities still remains high despite substantial efforts the industry has put in recent years in decreasing those numbers. This paper argues that the next level of safety performance will have to consider a transition from coping solely with workplace dangers, to a more systemic model taking organizational risks in consideration. In this aspect, lessons learned from the nuclear industry may be useful, as organizational learning processes are believed to be more universal than the technologies in which they are used. With the notable exception of major accidents, organizational performance has not received all the attention it deserves. A key element for reaching the next level of performance is to include organizational factors in low level events analyses, and approach the management as a risk control system. These factors will then appear not only in the event analysis,but in supervision activities, audits, change management and the like. Many recent event analyses across various industries have shown that organizational factors play a key role in creating conditions for triggering major accidents(aviation, railway transportation, nuclear industry, oil exploitation, mining, etc.).In this paper, a perspective that may be used in supervisory activities, self-assessments and minor events investigations, is presented. When ingrained in an organizational culture, such perspective has the highest potential for continuous safety improvement.

Frequencies Rotation at High Sound Pressure Levels Toward Low Frequencies

Today,analyzing of sound pressure level and frequency is considered as an important index in human society.Sound experts believe that analyzing of these parameters can help us to better understanding of work environments.Sound measurements and frequency analysis did to fix the harmful frequency in all sections in Shiraz gas power plant with sound analyzer model BSWA 308.The sound pressure levels(LP)and the one and one-third octave band were continuously measured in A and C weighting networks and slow mode for time response.Excel 2013 and Minitab 18.1 software used for statistical calculations.Results analyzed by Minitab 18.1 software.The highest harmful frequency in Shiraz Gas Power Plant(SGPP)was 50 Hz with 115 dB.The sound pressure level(SPL)ranged from 45 dB to 120 dB in one-third octave band and weighting network C.The maximum sound pressure level was in Craft electricity generator with 105.3 dB and 67 Hz.Sound pressure level in surrounded environment was 120 dB.According to the results,in this industry the sound pressure level exceeded the Occupational Exposure Level of Iran(OEL).The value of sound pressure level were higher than the Standard of occupational health.SGPP consumes 47000 cubic meters of natural gas per hour to produce 100 MW(Mega Watt)of electricity.It is very high and it is not economical and cost effective.These numbers indicate that the power plant’s efficiency is low.It could be concluded that the noise pollution is an important issue in these industries.Moreover,SGPP produce noise with loss energy.Frequencies rotation at high sound pressure levels toward low frequencies were happened.

Science on the Development of Standards and Their Compliance in a Representative Sample of Portuguese Tattoo Artists

Introduction: The number of Tattoo artists has been increasing and there are important Occupational Risks associated. The aim of this article was to describe the position of these professionals regarding the Recommendations and to analyze their compliance when working alone or accompanied. Methodology: It is a Mixed Exploratory Study, involving a quantitative component (Observational Analytical of transversal nature), operated through an online survey and, in a second phase, a qualitative one (Case Study), through the use of interviews. A representative sample of the population under study was obtained, considering a 90% confidence interval. The research project was approved by a Ethics Committee and informed consent was obtained. Presentation and Discussion of the Results: The sample considered 207 questionnaires and nine interviews. The compliance with Standards increases with experience;those who reported that they do not always comply are those who use less the Personal Protective Equipment (t = 2.659;p = 0.008). Compliance is also influenced by the Perception of Risk, information, social pressure (more accentuated by COVID19) and motivation to increase profit. Those who considered the Recommendations to be adequate were statistically associated with compliance with Collective Protection Measures. Regarding the compliance when working alone or not, 86.0% stated that they maintained the same posture;of those who answered the opposite, 85.7% complied more alone. Those with less education were statistically associated to less compliance with the rules when alone (X2 = 12.763;p = 0.005). Final Considerations: Previously unpublished data has been obtained, valuable to act effectively in this professional sector. It is fundamental to invest in training, as well as to elaborate Standards (developed jointly by Doctors/Safety Technicians and Tattoo artists). The organization of the Conventions should guarantee adequate conditions (area, access to disinfection/sterilization methods) and share Standards, promoting inspection and punishments for non-compliance, since they are the most unsafe places.

Environmental Monitoring of Ambient Outdoor, Indoor Air Quality Pollutants, PM 10 and PM 2.5 Conducted to Evaluate Its Impact Analysis and Quantification in Industrial Area of Dammam, KSA

The core objective of this study is to conduct precise and real-time monitoring of the industrial area Dammam located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) which consists of a number of various chemicals, minerals and petrochemicals along with administrative blocks. The objective of this study is to monitor possible outdoor and indoor air pollutant in the industry working environment. This study shall help us to enable decision to be made on appropriate control measures as may be required to protect the health of employee and occupant who may be exposed to air contamination at workplace. Air pollution monitoring in ambient air environment finding shall be compared with national ambient air quality environmental standard while parameters monitoring in indoor air environment is compared with international standards such as occupational health and safety administration (OSHA), National institute for occupational safety and health (NIOSH) and Australian national health and medical research council (NHMRC). This environment review study for ensuring industry regulatory compliance for the facility and general authority of meteorology and environmental protection (GAMEP) previously known as presidency of meteorology environment (PME). This study shall be comprehensive in nature and cover two major types of monitoring and assessment such as ambient air quality monitoring and indoor air quality monitoring.

Association between Respirable Dust Exposure and Respiratory Health Concerns among Workers in Apparel Processing Companies in Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Machakos County, Kenya

Apparel processing is an essential industry in providing clothing needs for the population. The Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Kenya employs many employees. Garment processing releases respirable dust particles, thus exposing workers to risks to the respiratory system. The study determined the respirable dust health concerns among workers in Apparel Processing Companies (APCs) in EPZ in Machakos County, Kenya. A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed where four companies were studied. Three hundred and sixty-seven participants were selected through systematic random sampling. Data was collected using questionnaires and Interview guides. The study established that workers were exposed to respirable dust PM2.5 ranging from 40.89 ± 24.0 μg·m−3 to 87.49 ± 45.2 μg·m−3 with a mean of 65.61 ± 31.5 μg·m−3. While PM2.5 ranged from 63.59 ± 21.2 μg·m−3 to 313.41 ± 468.0 μg·m−3. With a mean of 104.02 ± 26.0 μg·m−3. Workers complained of different respirable dust-related diseases. The most prevalent conditions were sneezing and coughing (86.4%), chest pains (41.1%), blocked chests (36.8%), and allergic reactions to dust (18.3%). The APC should develop an OSH management system that includes;a dust management policy, dust monitoring, Risk Assessments, Engineering controls installations, medical examination, Training on dust management, PPE provision, and use enforcement.

Investigation of the role of personal factors on work injury in underground mines using structural equation modeling

Work injuries in mines are complex and generally characterized by several factors starting from personal to technical and technical to social characteristics.In this paper,investigation was made through the application of structural equation modeling to study the nature of relationships between the influencing/associating personal factors and work injury and their sequential relationships leading towards work injury occurrences in underground coal mines.Six variables namely,rebelliousness,negative affectivity,job boredom,job dissatisfaction and work injury were considered in this study.Instruments were developed to quantify them through a questionnaire survey.Underground mine workers were randomly selected for the survey.Responses from 300 participants were used for the analysis.The structural model of LISREL was used to estimate the interrelationships amongst the variables.The case study results show that negative affectivity and job boredom induce more job dissatisfaction to the workers whereas risk taking attitude of the individual is positively influenced by job dissatisfaction as well as by rebelliousness characteristics of the individual.Finally,risk taking and job dissatisfaction are having positive significant direct relationship with work injury.The findings of this study clearly reveal that rebelliousness,negative affectivity and job boredom are the three key personal factors influencing work related injuries in mines that need to be addressed properly through effective safety programs.

Research on the Physiological and Psychological Ability Indexes of Coal Tunneling Workers

Studies have shown that accidents caused by human error account for 70-80% of the total number of accidents,and are the primary cause of casualties.In order to reduce the risk of safety accidents and reduce the human-caused accident rate,the evaluation index of safety occupational adaptability of coal excavation workers has been studied.Questionnaire survey method was used to conduct 13 physical and psychological abilities tests on 50 coal tunneling workers,and select the core ability indicators that reflect the mental load of the workers and the individual priority allocation of psychological resources.Secondly,using the Delphi method and the quartile method,the opinions of 20 experts in related fields were sought anonymously,and the main physical and mental ability indicators were screened and filtered through scoring methods.Finally,six indicators of"accuracy,attention,rapid response ability,proficiency,judgment,and foresight" were determined as the main physical and psychological indicators of coal tunneling workers.This study fills up the gap of safety occupational adaptability in the field of mining construction,and has important theoretical value and practical significance.

Dynamic response of sandwich panel attached with a double mass-spring-damping system to shallow-buried explosion:Analytical modeling

How to ensure the safety of occupants has become a challenge for protective design of armored vehicles against intensive blast loadings.In this study,for armored vehicles subjected to shallow-buried explosions,an analytical model was established to characterize the dynamic performance of an all-metallic sandwich floorboard attached with a double mass-spring-damping system(mimicking seat and occupant),with the former consisting of a front face,a core and a rear face.For validation,numerical simulations with the method of finite elements(FE)were performed.Good agreement between analytical predictions and numerical results was achieved.The analytical model was then employed to quantify the effects of explosive mass,yield stress of material make,configurational parameters of sandwich panel,spring stiffness,and damping coefficient on dynamic response of the sandwich panel and double mass-spring-damping system.With increasing explosive mass and decreasing yield stress of material make,the peak displacements of rear face,seat and occupant were all found to increase.As core relative density was increased,these peak displacements also increased when the ratio of face thickness to core height was relatively small.Increasing the ratio of face thickness to core height led to increased peak accelerations of seat and occupant.The peak displacement of rear face was insensitive to the increase of either spring stiffness or damping coefficient,while the peak acceleration of occupant increased with increasing spring stiffness.Upon increasing the damping coefficient between the rear face and seat or that between the seat and occupant or both,the peak acceleration of occupant increased.With occupant safety duly considered,the proposed analytical model provides useful guidance for designing high-performance protective structures for armored vehicles subjected to intensive blast loadings.

Collision mitigation and vehicle transportation safety using integrated vehicle dynamics control systems

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of vehicle dynamics control systems （VDCS） on both the collision of the vehicle body and the kinematic behaviour of the ve- hicle＇s occupant in case of offset frontal vehicle-to-vehicle collision. A unique 6-degree-of- freedom （6-DOF） vehicle dynamics/crash mathematical model and a simplified lumped mass occupant model are developed. The first model is used to define the vehicle body crash parameters and it integrates a vehicle dynamics model with a vehicle front-end structure model. The second model aims to predict the effect of VDCS on the kinematics of the occupant. It is shown from the numerical simulations that the vehicle dynamics/crash response and occupant behaviour can be captured and analysed quickly and accurately. Yurthermore, it is shown that the VDCS can affect the crash characteristics positively and the occupant behaviour is improved.

Forensic Identification of Cases with Infectious Diseases Such as Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia

Deaths or other legal disputes caused by novel coronavirus pneumonia(COVID-19)may require forensic pathological autopsy or forensic clinical identification.During daily forensic identification of cases in which individuals died of infectious diseases,forensic identification agencies and experts should be fully aware of the risk of infection when dissecting and examining such cadavers.Furthermore,forensic identification personnel should always adopt eflfective protective measures.As a novel infectious disease,research and information on COVID-19 are updated rapidly.Therefore,guidelines should be carefully selected for forensic identification.In addition to the above aspects,this paper has also discussed other common issues during the forensic autopsy of patients who died of infectious diseases,such as professional ethics,informed consent,insurance claims,and environmental protection.

A framework for rapid on-board deterministic estimation of occupant injury risk in motor vehicle crashes with quantitative uncertainty evaluation

Accurate on-board occupant injury risk prediction of motor vehicle crashes(MVCs)can decrease fatality rates by providing critical information timely and improving injury severity triage rates.The present implemented prediction algorithms in vehicle safety systems are probabilistic and rely on multi-variate logistic regression of real-world vehicle collision databases.As a result,they do not utilize important vehicle and occupant features and tend to overgeneralize the solution space.This study presents a framework to address these problems with deterministic and computationally efficient lumped parameter model simulations driven by a database of vehicle crash tests.A 648-case mixed database was generated with finite element and multi-body models and validated under the principal directions of impact with experimental results for a single vehicle body type.Using the finite element database,we developed lumped parameter models for four principal modes of impact(i.e.,frontal,rear,near side and far side)with parameters identified via genetic algorithm optimization.To obtain confidence bounds for the injury risk prediction,the parameter uncertainty and model adequacy were evaluated with arbitrary and bootstrapped polynomial chaos expansion.The developed algorithm was able to achieve over triage rates of 17.1%±8.5%,whilst keeping the under triage rates below 8%on a finite element-multi body model database of a single vehicle body type.This study demonstrated the feasibility and importance of using low-complexity deterministic models with uncertainty quantification in enhanced occupant injury risk prediction.Further research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of this framework under a wide range of vehicle types.With the flexibility of parameter adjustment and high computational efficiency,the present framework is generic in nature so as to maximize future applicability in improved on-board triage decision making in active safety systems.