High Risk Conditions

There are numerous high risk work conditions that have a higher level of risk than other work conditions. These vary from workplace to workplace. 

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Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is recommended for children ages 2 months to 2 years and Al in those with high-risk conditions and older than age 2. 

So far we can conclude that it is possible to describe intentions in communicative acts with the help of qualitative changes in movements. Yet it is still unclear which changes are present, because MED only crudely describes qualitative changes on a holistic level. Single movement features are not captured by this method. Yet our hypothesis is confirmed that under high risk conditions, communicative acts are forced to a level where it is only difficult to assess them with generic coding methods. This situation has lead us to a series of new developments which we currently pursue. 

Heart Protection Study Collaborative Group. Effects of cholesterol-lowering with simvastatin on stroke and other major vascular events in 20536 people with cerebrovascular disease or other high-risk conditions. Lancet 2004 363 757-67. 

Persons with high-risk conditions (eg, asthma)... 

Influenza Inactivated virus or viral components Intramuscular One dose (children si 2 years of age should receive split virus vaccine only children < 9 who are receiving influenza vaccine for the first time should receive two doses administered at least 1 month apart) Yearly with current vaccine 1. Adults 50 years of age 2. Person s with high risk condit ions (eg, asthm a) 3. Health care worke rs and others in contac t with high-risk groups 4. Reside nts of nursin g homes and other reside ntial chroni c care faciliti es... 

Clarke R, Lewington S, Youngman L et al. (2002). Underestimation of the importance of blood pressure and cholesterol for coronary heart disease mortality in old age. European Heart Journal 23 286-293 Collins R, Armitage J, Parish S et al. (2004). Effects of cholesterol-lowering with simvastatin on stroke and other major vascular events in 20 536 people with cerebrovascular disease or other high-risk conditions. Lancet 363 757-767 Dahlof B, Devereux RB, Kjeldsen SE et al. (2002). Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in Losartan Intervention For End Point Reduction in Hypertension (LIFE) study a randomized trial against atenolol. Lancet 359 995-1003... 

A rise in ambient temperature can have cardiovascular effects. In high-risk conditions, cardiovascular monitoring during treatment has been advised (SEDA-6, 148), although patients with cardiovascular disease and hypertension are also reported to tolerate PUVA therapy without evidence of cardiovascular stress (7). 

The immediate causes of accidents are circumstances that immediately precede the contact with the source and flow of energy. They usually can be seen or sensed. Frequently they are called unsafe acts (behaviors that could permit the occurrence of an accident) and unsafe conditions (circumstances that could permit the occurrence of an accident). Modern managers tend to think a bit more broadly, and more professionally, in terms of high-risk practices and high-risk conditions, which are defined as deviations from an accepted standard or practice. 

High-risk conditions are physical work conditions throughout the workplace that are below accepted standards. This results in a high-risk situation or an unsafe work environment. High-risk work conditions include ... 

Accidents and near-miss incidents are always a result of multiple causes, normally a combination of high-risk conditions and practices, and seldom, if ever, is an accident or a near-miss incident attributable to a single cause. Proactive safety cultures endeavor to determine all the contributing causes of an accident and do not dwell on the behavior only. This practice is termed looking beyond the injured. 

People normally pay most interest to what the CEO wants them to pay interest to. If this happens to be safety, safety will get their attention. Executive leadership, commitment, and a desire to improve the work standards and reduce high-risk behavior and high-risk conditions lead to better safety, production, and higher quahty standards. Only executives can set safety objectives that can be cascaded down to lower levels within the organization, and which will eventually bring about a change in the safety culmre. 

Fortune, chance, or luck plays a major role in determining the outcome of high-risk acts and high-risk conditions. 

There must be a quick, easy, and effective way for employees to communicate safety concerns, high-risk conditions and acts, and high potential near-miss incidents to the line management without them being worried about repercussions. 

Anybody can be appointed to this position, but in most cases they are selected from a work area, and represent that area or division. They are the employees most familiar with the machinery and the process of their particular workplace, and are therefore ideal candidates to identify high-risk conditions and practices within that workplace. 

In this type of situation where a work operation creates a high-risk condition in a certain area, the area must be secured so that no one can enter without proper safety precautions. It is also important to assure the safety of workers working in a high-risk area. Adequate falling protection, a safety harness in most cases, is vital when work must be done in a place without stationary fencing. 

The majority of undesired events (high risk acts, high risk conditions, and near miss incidents) do not end up in injury. Less than 1 percent of all undesired events result in serious injury (injury-producing accidents), approximately 2 percent result in minor injury, and about 5 percent cause damage to property, material, and the environment. Based on the Bird-Germain (1992) 1 10 30 600 ratio, the majority are ranked as near miss incidents. 

The basic (root) causes of accidents are categorized as personal and job factors. They are the underlying reasons why high risk acts are committed and why high risk conditions exist. A personal factor conld be a lack of skill, physical or mental incapability to carry out the work, poor attitude, or lack of motivation. Job factors conld include inadequate purchasing, poor maintenance, incorrect tools, or inad-eqnate equipment. 

These basic causes then trigger the immediate causes that are unsafe work conditions and unsafe work practices (high risk conditions and high risk acts). 

The high risk conditions or acts give rise to an exchange of energy and a contact that is the stage in the accident sequence where a person s body or a piece of equipment is subject to an external force greater than it can withstand, which results in injury or damage. 

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