1,720,980 research outputs found
A semi-quantitative risk assessment method in process plants: Confined spaces
Full text linkThe purpose of the present work was to develop a methodology for the confined spaces risk assessment in the workplace. Within the technological risk function, R=PxD, in order to account for the specific features of confined spaces, the probability of occurrence P was defined in two indices: the frequency of exposure to confined spaces, F, and the contact time I (strictly related to the complexity of the intervention that must be performed). The damage M has been separated into specific parameters considering the energy, the environment and the geometry of the confined space under examination, and in detail: an incorrect or not correctly signalled insulation that may lead to a sudden operation of part of the system with consequent accidental leakage of fluids or substances inside the confined space and / or movement of any mechanical part, with the energy damage factor DE; the atmosphere present in the confined space, which may be poorly oxygenated, corrosive, harmful, toxic or potentially explosive, with the environment damage factor DA. Moreover, as a specific corrective factor of damage factors, the criticality of the physical and geometrical characteristics of the confined space is evaluated, considering how it’s easy for the worker to leave the confined space or to be rescued if he feels bad, with the factor of FCDG geometry damage correction. Once the damage factors have been identified and corrected with the FCDG factor, the specific risks of the confined space are evaluated by multiplying each damage factor by the probability of occurrence P, thus obtaining the index of: Risk of contact with hazardous substances or with moving mechanical parts; Asphyxiation risk; Chemical risk; Risk of fire and explosion. The application of this method to the confined spaces of a real process plant allowed to validate the methodology
Assessment of the risk of occupational accidents using a “FUZZY” approach
No full textThis paper presents an assessment method of the risks of occupational accidents based on fuzzy logic. The purpose of this work was to create a methodological instrument that can semiquantitatively assess the risk of occupational accidents for different industrial and site activities and to identify the most efficient intervention measures that can be taken to reduce risks. This approach, which is new in the assessment of the risk of occupational accidents, allows qualitative, imprecise and in some cases contradictory data to be elaborated, as the data that describe an occupational accident usually are. The set-up analysis model therefore allows (1) an assessment to be made of the level of risk of a work phase and/or a work sector, (2) a verification and quantification to be made of the reduction of the risk after having adopted preventive and/or protective measures and (3) a priority of interventions to be established on the basis of the assessed risk levels. It can be seen how the method, here applied to a company producing industrial vehicle tyres, can be considered applicable for any type of company, with the only prerequisite of having a record of sufficient and homogeneous number of accidents so as to be able to correctly instruct the software and tune the reference parameters
Risk based approach for procedures' optimization
Full text linkDespite an increase in the process automation, different activities remain mainly operator driven, as the loading and unloading of tankers, maintenance operations, and so on. In these cases, the activities performed by the operator can be critical, both for the safety and for the product quality. Optimizing the operational procedures is thus a key factor for quality and safety. A risk assessment of the procedure can be adopted as a base for optimisation, highlighting which of the tasks within the procedure mainly contributes to the risk of the working activity. Usually the analysis of the procedures is carried on through a task analysis as in Builes et al. (2014). In this paper the task analysis is used as a starting point for a quantitative risk assessment carried on through an integrated dynamic decision analysis. The logical-probabilistic model of the procedure is elaborated jointly with a consequences analysis, obtaining a risk assessment for all the sequences of tasks of the work procedure under analysis. The risk assessment considered both possible equipment failures and the potential operational errors in executing the tasks. The proposed approach is in this paper demonstrated through the application of the integrated decision analysis for the operation of unloading of ammonia in a plant for the production and storage of fertilizers
Preliminary risk assessment of ecotoxic substances accidental releases in major risk installations through fuzzy logic
Full text linkIn the present work a fuzzy logic model to preliminary assess the risk of accidental releases of ecotoxic substances in hazard plants has been developed. The methodology is based in three steps, the characterization of the hazardousness of the substance, the delimitation of the soil and groundwater vulnerability and the identification of the protective and preventive measures of the plant. The tool has been tested with a set of storage yards of ecotoxic substances, mainly oil, in the Regione Piemonte area (Italy). The results obtained are in good agreement with the real situation of the surveyed storage yards. Thus, by using this methodology it is possible to preliminary assess the risk from uncertain data.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version
Occupational accident-precursors data collection and analysis according to Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) taxonomy
Full text linkData were collected in an automotive production plant during a campaign of observations performed by safety experts. A period of one week of observations was done during which safety experts monitored the working activity of an assembly line. All accident-precursors identified were reported in a format and immediately analysed and classified according to HFACS. Each collected element was classified in 3 categories as: unsafe acts (related to human behaviour), unsafe condition (related to the working condition and working organisation) and near miss (a situation that involved workers without physical consequence for them). Then each element was classified according to the four levels of HFACS: individual factor (violation or error), environmental factor, supervision and organisational factor. This step was supported by short interview with workers and/or supervisors involved to better identify the characterising factors of the event. This survey allowed the identification and classification of 100 accident-precursors that could be used in the company where they have been collected and, more in general, in manufacturing companies, to identify behaviours and areas of improvement for health and safety based on more recurrent factors that characterised the observed events, according to the methodology described elsewhere
Application of fuzzy logic to assess the risk of accidental releases of ecotoxic substances in major hazard plants
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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