Occupational safety performance

Metrics should relate to the elements of the process safety system. Poorly selected metrics that do not specifically relate to the execution of process safety elements will not provide an accurate evaluation of process safety system performance. Occupational injury and illness reporting rates are sometimes used to judge overall safety performance, and this metric does track the incidence of employee injuries quite well. However, this rate does not reflect the effectiveness of the process safety system. Occupational safety is quite important to the health and well-being of employees, but the metrics involved in assessing the occupational safety performance are not appropriate for process safety system evaluation the detailed elements of a process safety program differ markedly fl-om an occupational safety program (as discussed in Chapter 3). 

The reason that good occupational safety performance does not necessarily correlate with the frequency of serious accidents is that occupational accidents tend to have simple causes. For example, if a worker traps his or her fingers in a piece of moving machinery, some likely recommendations that result from such an event are ... 

This chapter responds to a renewed interest in having measurement systems that are universally applicable, effectively assess occupational safety performance, and communicate well in terms that managements understand. Several safety measurement systems are discussed. A relatively new emphasis in safety performance measurement—leading indicators—is discussed. 

In the second edition of this book, I wrote that a renewed interest had developed in having measurement systems that effectively assess occupational safety performance, measurements that are universally applicable. Preferably, those measures would not only be historical but also predictive and serve as a base from which to prioritize future safety efforts. A significant goal was to have those measures communicate well in terms that managements understand. This renewed interest in performance measures arose out of the increased desire of some environmental, safety, and health professionals to move the profession forward by being able to establish more definitively the value of their work in relation to organizational goals. 

Cagno, E., Micheli, G.J.L., Jacinto, C. Masi, D. 2014. An interpretive model of occupational safety performance for Small-and Medium-sized Enterprises. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 44(1) 60-74. 

The identification of pollution prevention options has become a maintenance requirement. In addition to these requirements, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) performed its first investigation of indoor air quahty. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has also begun to research air quahty. 

High performance Hquid chromatography (hplc) may be used to determine nitroparaffins by utilizing a standard uv detector at 254 nm. This method is particularly appHcable to small amounts of nitroparaffins present, eg, in nitro alcohols (qv), which caimot be analyzed easily by gas chromatography. Suitable methods for monitoring and deterrnination of airborne nitromethane, nitroethane, and 2-nitropropane have been pubUshed by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (97). Ordinary sorbant tubes containing charcoal are unsatisfactory, because the nitroparaffins decompose on it unless the tubes are held in dry ice and analyzed as soon after collection as possible. 

At the fan-tip speeds required for economical performance, a large amount of noise is produced. The predominant source of noise is vortex shedding at the traihug edge of the fan blade. Noise control of aircooled exchangers is required oy the Occupational Safety and Health... 

A P2 audit differs from most other types of audits because it makes use of a dual benchmarking approach namely, it uses both technical (environmental performance) and financial performance as its basis for making corrective actions. The status quo most often serves as the benchmark, though other standards certainly can be devised. A P2 audit can also affect non-environmental issues. The types of corrective actions can affect other types of wastes, energy, occupational safety, product quality, and worker productivity. 

L. M. Conroy. Field Study of Local Exhaust Hood Performance Retdsed Final Report. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Grant 5 KOI OH00078-03. February 19, 1996. 

Perhaps, even more important, is the stagnation in our safety and environmental performance in the last five years. Until five years ago, we had seen dramatic year on year improvement in every aspect of safety and environmental performance. This has slowed down in all areas and ceased altogether in occupational safety. I expect that these changes will invigorate all our programs. Our current safety and environmental performance costs us at least 30 million each year in avoidable costs such as capital damage and clean-up costs. If we could put a dollar value on injuries to our work-force, the savings would likely be ten times this amount. 

Fiedler NL University of Medicine Dentistry of NJ, Newark, NJ Compare the neurobehavioral performance of 60 construction workers exposed to lead and/or solvents National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... 

NI0SH = National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health NSPS = New Source Performance Standards ODW = Office of Drinking Water OERR = Office of Emergency and Remedial Response 0PP = Office of Pesticide Programs OSHA = Occupational Safety and Health Administration 0SW = Office of Solid Waste OWRS = Office of Water Regulations and Standards PEL = Permissible Exposure Limit PSNS =... 

V-Nitrosodiethanolamine can be determined in air and bulk process samples. Air samples are collected on glass fibre filters, extracted with 2-propanol and analysed by gas chromatography with thermal energy analyser detection. The limit of detection is 200 ng per sample (0.42 pg/m ). Bulk samples can be screened for 7V-nitrosodiethanol-amine by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet detection (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 1990). 

ECD = electron capture detector GC = gas chromatography GFF = glass fiber filter(s) HPLC = high performance liquid chromatography MS = mass spectrometry NIOSH = National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health nitro reagent = A/-4-nitrobenzyl-A/-/ -propylamine UV = ultraviolet... 

The examples presented in this paper are based on results of our laboratory method development and validation studies. These studies, performed at both SRI International and Arthur D. Little, Inc., were supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) from 1974 to 1979. In an effort to provide validated sampling and analytical methods for determining worker exposure to toxic substances, we validated existing methods when possible and developed and validated new procedures when no methods were available. Evaluation and testing of solid sorbents played a major role throughout this work ( 1). 

We would like to express appreciation to staff members at SRI International and at Arthur D. Little, Inc., who performed the experimental work on these programs, and to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for its support. The methods developed in these studies are published in the NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (6). 

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